of violence of prompted shops to shout and people to hunker down in their homes from the capital bangui catherine soy has more. panic in the wild quickly spread that troubles to be making their way to the capital who were in the city center when suddenly everyone around us started running and traders were closing the shops many were here 13 or the mostly move on group arrived in force and overthrew the then president francois so no one wants to be caught unawares this time it comes out an incident in the p.k. 12 suburbs on the outskirts of the city treat that the commotion. memo says we have been told that government troops and trucks came speeding into the city people panicked and started running the soldiers fired into the year to contain the population but that only caused more panic. we went to p.k. 12 and found more of the same this man told us he is fed up and frustrated big. trouble is always in c.r.y. i would like to know what all the international forces are doing here yet there is no peace he says it's an emotional time for everyone ahead of sunday's general election what's ha

official in the capital bangui after 3 peacekeepers are killed ahead of sunday's elections. sami's a than this is al jazeera live so coming out. the new coronavirus variant spreads further japan and france report the 1st cases of the new strain. the mystery around the nashville explosion deepens police say they found human remains at the scene of the blast. and the young writers are sharing in a renaissance of iraqi literature music to be silenced. central african republic is a nation on edge as it waits for a landmark ruling on whether to perspire on sunday's election rebel forces are advancing after a ceasefire with the government broke down 3 un peacekeepers have been killed by unidentified attackers in the color of u.n. secretary general antonio has condemned the killings he's demanding an investigation. oh international community is becoming increasingly concerned violence could spiral out of control in central african republic russia france and rwanda are deploying military forces in support of the government catherine sawyer reports from the capital bangui. was presid

where the electoral cards are distributed are open and people are coming massively as they are in bangui which are some of the to get their electoral card. most of the opposition presidential candidates have stopped their lection campaigns and want to the poor rescheduled the government however says that is not an option catherine saw. a huge fire has destroyed 4 large tents set a migrant camp in bosnia herzegovina which was due to close this weekend for winter refurbishing the leaper camp near the croatian border is home to about 1200 migrants i had seen usage was at the camp. well we can see a still do smoke behind my back i'm currently on the side where there is camp in northwestern bosnia we can still see the smoke rising above the tents on to one side and on the other side we can see several 100 refugees and migrants which are now basically left without a committee ation international organization for migration said they would withdraw from the camp because the camp is not suitable for the winter and because the government in bosnia and herzegovina hasn't provided a not their tempor

where the electoral cards are distributed are open and people are coming massively as they are in bangui which are some of the to get their electoral card. most of the opposition presidential candidates have stopped their lection campaigns and want to the pool rescheduled the government however says that is not an option catherine. bond. coming up on this news hour from london donald trump defies congress in his dying days in office refusing to sign off on coronavirus relief and vetoing a national defense bill is also provoked anger in iraq by pardoning foreign military contractors jailed for shooting dead that 14 civilians including children in baghdad and things didn't go according to plan for the n.b.a. champions in their season opener basketball action coming up in sports. the u.k. is now facing the threat of to cope with 19 variants one detect after the tech thing another potentially more infectious strain. in 2 people who traveled from south africa this comes as the u.k. have reports its highest increase in cases since the pandemic began with 39237 new infections the government als

fighters have also rejected the legitimacy of the government and are struggling to march on the capital bangui . has more now from the capital we have spoken to u.n. officials who say that 80 percent of the country is safe enough for people to go to vote they fear that all the process of the laptop process is how smoothly in the other parts of the country they could have trouble areas are just few if you speak to the government spokesman and we spoke to him yes the day he paid that he. expects is going to be a little vote but he hopes that they. cannot is not going to be so low as to discredit the electoral process the european union has launched a mammoth vaccination effort to a new coronavirus variant detected in the u.k. continues to spread across the kong. hungry was the 1st to announce that it's already started vaccinating doctors and health care waters around $10000.00 doses of the fines or by on take vaccine are being distributed across the e.u. . up to $14000000.00 americans will lose jobs benefits by the end of saturday after u.s. president from proof used to sign a $900000000000.00 k

fighters have also rejected the legitimacy of the government and are threatening to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers meanwhile have been killed in rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 when thousands of civilians were killed catherine so is in bangui and says there are concerns fewer people will show up to cast their ballot. we have spoken to u.n. officials who say that 80 percent of the country if they cannot people to go to vote they did that all the process of the electoral process is how smoothly in these are the parts of the country they say that the trouble areas are just few if you speak to the government spokesman and we spoke to him yet the day he said that he expects there's going to be a little. but he hopes that this town out is not going to be so low as to discredit the electoral process if you speak to opposition leader does and we've spoken to several of them that say that they had disappointed by the ruling death saying that there are a great many people likely to come out to blow and particularly that the one of the you mentio

called off a cease fire it had declared them wednesday my only because they are trying to come to bangui you sent our africans must open your eyes help our armed forces n.p.'s keep. those from rwanda and russia giving us a hand i'm to fight has come into the city. 16 presidential candidates have been cleared to run in the polls. sound of the country's only south declared emperor has withdrawn citing security concerns former president francois was disqualified by the constitutional court state officials and the u.n. accuse him of being behind the c.p.c. rebellion to disrupt the election and overthrew the government has backed and he said who's a march to as president would dare a strongest challenge. president is the founder of one of the strongest political parties with solid policies he himself is a very popular leader but he did not back my candidacy it's the party that endorsed me. most opposition candidates a while back and won the election postponed presidential candidates are each promising to finally bring it back to the republican vibe and provide basic services but people talkin

from the capital bangui. was president for stina darragh arrives for his final election rally in bongi in 4 force has been telling people to come out and forth on sunday without fear i recently formed a group called the patriot put change all c.p.c. has threatened to march to the city and launched attacks against government troops backed by un peacekeepers in some rural areas the c.p.c. reaches a coalition of several armed groups has called off a ceasefire it had declared them wednesday my only because they are trying to come to bangui you sent our africans must open your eyes help our armed forces un peacekeepers meaning those from rwanda and russia giving us a hand and to fight has come into the city. 16 presidential candidates have been cleared to run in the polls. south of the country's only self declared emperor has withdrawn citing security concerns former president francois was disqualified by the constitutional court state officials and the u.n. accuse him of being behind the c.p.c. rebellion to disru

there of planning to rig the vote as there was catherine so reports now from the capital bangui. laurel is a driver and shows us pictures from my recent walk trip to a town 300 kilometers north of the capital bangui shortly after he took this photos he says on demand attacks and he had to flee he's worried about relatives who live in the town he blames rebel groups calling themselves the patriots correlation for change or c.p.c. for the latest security crisis in the central african republic he told the town is almost empty some of the men are asking civilian to give up their electoral college others in the charge as far as they know there cannot be a proper election in bossangoa. president forced to our deborah has asked people to come out and vote those in to be vigilant with concerns the violence may intimidate who says and undermine the point the government is looking to provide reassurance you have countries throughout the world. there is no. one let's see if and when. people decide not to vote and you have a level of 0 for what it is but it's a patient which is no it doesn't

rigging rebels also rejected the legitimacy of the government and threaten to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers have been killed and human rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 when thousands of civilians were killed in a moment we'll hear from the u.n. but 1st catherine saw it has more on an election seen as a crucial test for a nation that suffered years of conflict. judges the constitutional judges made this unanimous decision in the courtroom behind me and they say that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election postponed now we've. so what this means is that the election is going to go on tomorrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials with a 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out to vote we have spoken to the government spoke spokesman who said that. they expect a low water tunnel but they hope that this turnout is not going to be so low as to discredit the process but the reason we are not just in areas where there is active fighting back in places like even bongi we have been

armed groups calling itself the patriots coalition for change has friend to march to the capital banguithe u.n. mission there says it's pushing back the rebels to prevent them from taking control of important supply routes and strategic towns our correspondent catherine who is on the ground there and reports now from. panic in the wide quickly spread that troubles could be making their way to the capital who were in the city center when suddenly everyone around us started running and traders were closing the shops many were hearing 213 with a mostly mostly armed group sell a car arrived in force and overthrew the then president francois so no one wants to be caught unawares at this time it turns out an incident in the p.k. 12 suburb on the outskirts of the city treat that the commotion. memo says we have been told that government troops and trucks came speeding into the city people panicked and started running the soldiers fired into the year to contain the population but that only caused more panic we went to p.k. 12 and found more of the same this man told us he is fed up and frustrat

rebels parts by the former president from swan's bruiser overtimes catherine so he is in the capital bangui and has more. we've been speaking to officials from the un peacekeeping mission here in central african republic and that telling us that they have been able to push back this rebel movement remember this is a group that was formed over the weekend calling themselves the patriots for change it's a group of 15 we are the country's main groups and they started seeing onto the copy told calling for among other things no government without president. so as officials at the u.n. says that in the west where this is a rebellion has started they've been able to contain the situation in some towns and villages but in many other areas it remains very fluid indeed because we also have groups outside of this main. that are causing trouble saying the same area we also have other. troops we have a russian. while also carrying out operations against this grouping they are the russians and the londons are not under the un mandate that means that they are able to use more force. signed the country. gr

former president of attempting a coup it says francois boozy is intending to march in the capital bangui with his men was easy who was in power for 10 years up until 2013 was recently barred from running in elections because of an international arrest warrants and un sanctions against him the un peacekeepers have been deployed after reports of violence in the lead up to the vote on december the 27th the un secretary general and to a new terrorist has appealed for calm to ensure peaceful and credible elections but ca r.'s 3 main armed groups which control. parts of the country they are joining forces against the government nicholas hong has covered the situation in central african republic extensively he joins us live from senegal if he does decide to go ahead with this threat and march on bondi due to the optics in the run up to this election well the march has actually started now in the name of concert with a himself but we know that 11 armed groups some of the signature of this statement against the president essentially have started deploying their troops have called on armed groups

where the electoral cards are distributed are open and people are coming massively as they are in bangui which are some of the to get their electoral card. most of the opposition presidential candidates have stopped their lection campaigns and want to the pool rescheduled the government however says that is not an option catherine all just 0. 0 journalist much more to say and has now spent 4 years in egyptian detention without charge nor a trial hussein was arrested while visiting family in december 26th seen a number of rights groups have now joined al jazeera and demanding his immediate release his detention is in violation of both egyptian and international law. the u.s. cyber security agency says a sprawling hacking campaign made public last week as having a broad impact on government didn't give further details but said federal state and local government networks have been affected they were hacked using the tech companies solar winds which provides network management tools president elect joe biden has promised to find those responsible. well tough new restrictions are in place acr

rigging rebels also rejected the legitimacy of the government and threaten to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers have been killed and human rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 when thousands of civilians were killed in a moment we'll hear from the un but 1st catherine sawyer has more now on an election that could be a crucial test for a nation that has suffered years of conflict. judges the constitutional judges made this unanimous decision in the courtroom behind me and they said that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election postponed now we. so what this means is that the election is going to go on tomorrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials with a 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out to vote we have spoken to the government spoke spokesman who said that yes they expect a low water tunnel but they hope that this turnout is not going to be so low as to discredit the process but the reason we are not just in areas where there is active fighting back in places like even bongi

and fighting in the north of the country on friday rebel forces are advancing towards the capital bangui after a ceasefire with the government broke the un secretary general and 20 has condemned the killings and is demanding an investigation. denise brown is the deputy special representative of the secretary general of the un's peacekeeping mission she says the people are determined to go ahead with the vote despite the fear of violence. situation in bankia this morning where i'm talking to you from. distribution of the voter cards ongoing and people through this country who are registered are coming in large numbers to collect their cards the population is determined in this country to vote tomorrow and we are determined as you know i think they should this were an international community to ensure that the vote goes ahead. well the rebels accuse president for stun are changed of planning to rick sunday's elections the constitutional court is judy to hear an opposition request to perspire in the coming few hours catherine sawyer reports now from the capital bangui. was president for sti

polling stations in the capital bangui while in other parts of the country fewer people went to polling stations because of fears of violence or boycotts by the rebel coalition 1st results are expected next month. we head to south africa to meet a young woman who's turned a dream into a thriving business her expertise is restoring been tige cars and before selling the vehicles on she likes to take them for a spin out on the open road to use a green krege tells us her story. this 947 pontiac. sprite and joy she bought the vehicle for less than $200.00 euros she spent about. 2000 euros renovating it. the 38 year old renovates vintage cars which she later than either runs out or sells for a nice price a property in the middle of nowhere on south africa's eastern cape it looks like a cross between a scrap yard and to car museum. i don't have so much equipment i'm using trying to remove the best and i used. to 7 years ago and saw a documentary on classic cars that sparked my interest. her husband walks with a man is a polity but it's also a gifted comic cannick together they founded the comp

in elections in the central african republic long lines formed at polling stations in the capital bangui fall in other parts of the country fewer people went to polling stations because of fears of violence or boycotts by the rebel coalition 1st results are expected really next monday. the chinese citizen journalist has been sentenced to 4 years in jail for reporting for move on during the early months of the pandemic former lawyer chong shon was detained after making a number of videos criticizing the government's response to the outbreak she was accused of spreading. secret a virus began spreading from china in the spring reports have mounted of racism towards members of europe's east asian communities here in germany people of asian appearance say they've been targets of xenophobia incidents one victim of such discrimination here in berlin set out to find others who shared her experience and offer support. he started in early march victoria noticed something had shifted when she rode public transportation skeptical glances from passengers of those who would move to different parts of

the elections in the central african republic long lines formed at polling stations in the capital bangui while in other parts of the country fewer people went to polling stations because of fears of violence or boycotts the rebel coalition 1st results are expected early next month. fish kek the capital of kyrgyzstan is one of the world's most polluted cities for several years now it's been choked in small for several months over the winter that's when many in the central asian city of 1000000 inhabitants heat their homes with coal fires but with a credit pandemic hitting the country's economy hard moving away from cheap coal will not be easy as the w.'s sure when found out. coal is selling like hotcakes in the freezing cold winter temperatures in the city of average at minus 6. degrees celcius call is an essential good because homes on the outskirts aren't connected to the city's central heating network. by a lot of these bags sometimes 20 at once as you can see there are private houses all around here and they all heat with coal. that. made headlines several times in december for being

held that despite disruption by armed groups long lines formed up holing stations in the capital bangui reports from the regions say rebels disrupted voting 1st results though are expected early next month. and witnesses say boko haram islamist militants have killed at least 10 people in northern nigeria she had just jihadists and drove through villages torching shops homes and churches and shooting residents who fled into the bush un says boko haram has killed 36000 people since 2009. 100 of migrants a stranded in northwestern bosnia and herzegovina have spent a 4th night in freezing temperatures and squalid conditions the u.n. and international aid groups are appealing to authorities to provide proper accommodation they warn of that without urgent action people will die. they were already living in misery. and then things got worse. preaching temperatures. no heat in a big tent and just plastic sheeting for a roof one that threatens to cave in from the snow piling up on top some people here say they're not getting enough to eat. when there is a worry called we can't sleep in here. any

which threatens to overwhelm the central african republic hundreds of women march to the capital bangui of the pol they believe this mike must be held. he said we want peace to right now in this country we say no to the rebels and we say no to the opposition that wants to push back that died of this election. season i can see. this is part of the opposition campaigning for a poll they don't want to go ahead they can't balance who stand regardless but he says he's concerned by the growing insecurity nationwide. in every city there are armed groups getting in the way of this process who says. so i think it's wise that to consider postponing the elections. does on groups of now need the outskirts of bagi their advance created panic in the capital loss wake the president sees the hand of his political foes behind these militia men in an exclusive interview the incumbent told day w. he stands for pace. they proposing a return to violence they have mobilized says man and now they're looking at the destabilization of benghazi as tension mounts more un peacekeeping troops have been arriving the

which threatens to overwhelm the central african republic hundreds of women march to the capital bangui of the pol they believe this mike must be held. he said we want peace to right in this country we say no to the rebels and we say no to the opposition that wants to push back that date of this election. season. that some say. this is part of the opposition campaigning for a poll they don't want to go ahead they can't balance who stand regardless but he says he's concerned by the growing insecurity nationwide. in every city there are armed groups getting in the way of this process who says. so i think it's wise that to consider postponing the elections. does on groups of now need the outskirts of bagi their advance created panic in the capital loss wake the president sees the hand of his political foes behind these militia men in an exclusive interview the incumbent told d.w. he stands for pace. they proposing a return to violence they have mobilized as men and now they're looking at the destabilization of benghazi as tension mounts more un peacekeeping troops have been arriving their

accuse the president to a debt of rigging the vote straight now to catherine soil in the capital bangui catherine what else do we know about these reports of trouble i'm assuming here is to the west of where you are. yes and the u.n. sent out this tweet just a little while ago saying that there has been problems in that town of korea they said that groups have been shooting in the air in different polling stations had scared people away but then also this statement says that u.n. peacekeepers have been reinforced more peacekeepers have been deployed to that area and that now for now it seems that the situation has been contained but then people are still afraid like i say the run away and we're not just talking about bria we're also hearing of similar. similar things in other towns in the provinces of people in some towns people hiding out afraid to come out vote in other places polling stations have not opened yet a lot of intimidation by armed groups are being told in some places as well but the u.n. says that these problems are localized to very few areas most of the country say for

let's go straight to katherine sawyer who's in the capital bangui katherine how is the turnout looking so far. well we've visited several polling stations this morning and this is by far the busiest missing hundreds of people here many of them telling us that they are determined to cast their ballot for peace to say for peace they say so basically here in benghazi we've not hard any major incidents voting is going on a smoothly in many parts but we are hearing of destruction in our some big towns in the provinces we're hearing in some places people are still hiding out in bushes so i'm able to come out to vote in other places polling stations have not been open in one particular town walk up to gunshots so they are unable to go and vote so a lot of fear in the countryside a lot of fear here as while some people are saying that they are waiting to see how safe it can be for them to come and work but we have been talking to u.n. official those who have told us that this problem areas are just few and most of the country is safe enough for people to come out to the polling stations to cas

this verse well our correspondent catherine swayze on the ground and joins us now from the capital bangui catherine so polls are now open but i imagine it's feeling pretty tense there this morning.

stable enough to ensure a free and fair election on sunday forces are advancing toward the capital bangui after a ceasefire with the government broke down u.n. secretary general antonio good tennis has condemned the killings and is demanding an investigation. and so he joins us now live from the capital of the central african republic catherine so the court has ruled that the vote can go ahead but with everything that's going on when people want to do they feel safe. well it really depends on who you talk to we have spoken to u.n. officials who say that 80 percent of the country if they cannot force people to go to vote they fear that all the prophets of the electoral process is going on in these other parts of the country they feel that the trouble areas are just few if you speak to the government spokesman and we spoke to him that day he thought that yes he expects there's going to be a little vote but he hopes that the local the town out is not going to be so low as to discredit the electoral process if you speak to opposition leaders and we've spoken to several of them they're saying

store owners in the central african republic are shutting their doors or span express in the capital bangui a new alliance of armed groups calling itself the patriots coalition for change has threatened to march to the capital ahead of sunday's elections the u.k. is now facing the threat of 2 kovan 1000 mutations with a new strain reported in 2 people who have recently travelled from south africa the u.k. is also reported the highest think recent cases since the pandemic began with 31237 new infections the government also recorded another $744.00 deaths on wednesday we are quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found in the u.k. 2nd placing immediate restrictions on travel from south africa and finally and most importantly. anyone in the u.k. who has been in south africa in the past fortnight and anyone who has a close contact of someone who's been in south africa in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately thousands of drivers are stranded in the u.k. port of dover waiting to be tested for coronavirus they've been stuck there for days after european nations whole to travel wi

overthrown it's we need 13 the militants are said to have seized control of towns outside of the capital bangui randon and russian troops have been deployed to help be under. now we'll have more on those developments in a moment but 1st a look at how religiously it is addressing the standoff which some are trying to frame as a clash between christians and muslims. was it's prayer time into your 1000000000 able who would in benghazi it's here we need in mom was a lady. we muslims we have no right to wage war. our sees the conflict broke out in 2013 but in mom together with other religious leaders has traveled across the country preaching a message of peace he says religion has never been the cause of the fighting in the christian majority country instead its politics with us not to permit some tough weekend the conflict in ca our had been likened to an interlude just conflict. religion had nothing to do with it the main actors are politicians they are the only ones who can give valid reasons for the situation in the central african republic. and groups of controlled large parts of the country se

official in the capital bangui after 3 peacekeepers are killed ahead of sunday's elections. salman say this is al jazeera live so coming out. the new coronavirus variant spreads further from.

republic of reported the bahrain as the country's 4th largest city as they push towards the capital bangui the government has accused rebels backed by the former president was do say of attempting a coup and united nations investigators have handed the security council evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in mali armed groups and security forces are implicated in the report those are your headlines i'll be back with another news update on al-jazeera that's after listening post which is next. following 2 fatal crashes and the past year boeing decided to ground the brand new 7 for 7 max but this wasn't the 1st time the wound had a new aircraft back in 2013 the 787 dreamliner back into trouble when the battery caught fire but as allan just the us investigative unit discovered there was more to the problem than just smoking batteries. rewind a broken dream the boeing 787 on al-jazeera. one of the things that really struck me you could feel not just that people were fearless but that there were joyous. there was a way in which they brandished signs the ways in which they scream po

essentially have started deploying their troops have called on armed groups to head towards the capital bangui and as a result the 12000 strong un peacekeeping force have taken position on main arteries leading to the capital so has been deployed the central african republic army that was trained by the russians that is out in deployed to try to stop any of these forces from entering the capital just one week before this much anticipated presidential election so why are they all marching towards the capitol simply because they say the president is not respecting the agreement that they had signed in 2001000 in khartoum which was in effect to give these armed groups leaders a position in government but also funds so that they could disarms remember these armed groups have control over large territories i mean we're talking about central african republic is the size of france there are some of these armed groups that have control of areas that are the size of wales or scotland and that's what's at stake in this election to try to reestablish the rule of law in the government in places where it h

is katherine sawyer spoke to us earlier about the president's final campaign rally in the capital bangui. there's a lot of. people. who are saying that they are ready to point a lot of the out that they cannot change rubble i think that the reason why they don't have the fire because the president and the prime minister has not been listening are that that that government should have been at mocking b.p. he put this on and already here in the white house about 500. every hour where the fighting is going on at all one of the. mining areas in the people are very. many parts of the country. here in bonn here while i have the wait for that election on monday. it was al jazeera live from london still ahead i have a small present anyway maybe looking for something to read. that is boris johnson's breck's a deal with the e.u. going to satisfy his neighbors or his own party. and electric dreams become a reality for china's plug in car makers who are keeping them cheap. hello there and season's greetings has officially been a white christmas for parts of england with a little dusting of snow into

security was tight in the capital bangui with armoured vehicles on standby outside some polling stations overnight for millions of americans struggling to make ends meet across the country — after president donald trump's refusal to approve a 2.3 trillion dollar financial package. the package in question was finally approved by congress after months of negotiations but had to be signed into law by the president by midnight on saturday. freya cole reports. this is america in 2020, long queues at food banks made up of families in desperate need. thank you. do you want me to put it in the back? oh, you got it? have a good day. according to the organisation feeding america, more than 50 million people experienced food insecurity this year, including a potential 17 million children. the food crisis is linked to record levels of unemployment triggered by the outbreak of covid—19. and now millions of americans have lost their next welfare payment because president trump refused to sign the covid relief bill into law. what the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel. many millions of

reportedly seized barri the country's 4th largest city as they continue their push towards the capital bangui tension has been rising in the run up to the december 27th election the government has accused rebels backed by a former president falls well posies a of attempting a coup has sent additional troops while russia says it sent $300.00 military instructors at the government's request those are your headlines we're back with another news bulletin for you here on al-jazeera now it's the stream stay with us. we asked realistically how can you do it in just as corruption in this country we listen if this breaks up a conflict between pakistan and india this has implications for the rest of the world we meet with global newsmakers and talk about the stories that matter on al-jazeera. and i hear me ok today on the stream you're going to look at how means of people are coping in countries where conflict and insecurity really make international headlines we just stand by for you and your cheap jewels your questions about the democratic republic of congo about yemen and about syria i would do my b

bespoke ones but the government's house rejects at that conference only reports from the capital bangui. the mood in this market in benghazi is just right for christmas kristi's central african stake their celebrations seriously and traders are making a killing it's also an election season they go to the polls on sunday and their main mori is security on sunday vote on a safety of course but it's christmas and who doesn't want a good cheer. but everyone is in a festive mood though many residents want to get their voices hard some through religious processions praying for peace. others like this women condemn the newly formed peaches for change a coalition of several armed groups that has threatened to march to the city and is already causing havoc in the countryside and in 1006 to 6 our country has gone through coups rebellions mutinies and each time it sets us back the 2013 conflict protests a lot of sorrow women have been raped many people have died and others displaced. they are hoping that the 12000 u.n. peacekeepers in the country alongside government troops and other international

have also rejected the legitimacy of the government and they're settling to march on the capital bangui. has more now from the capital we have spoken to u.n. officials say that 80 percent of the country if they cannot force people to go to vote they fear that all the process of the laptop process is how smoothly in the country they could have trouble areas are just few if you speak to the government spokesman and we spoke to him yet the day he stated that he. expects is going to be a little. but he hopes that they. cannot is not going to be so low as to discredit the electoral process federal investigators in the u.s. are searching a home linked to a person of interest over the explosion that rocked downtown nashville on christmas day emergency communications have also been knocked out across large parts of tennessee after the blast ripped through buildings and injured at least 3 people no fatalities have been confirmed police evacuated nearby buildings on friday after the vehicle blared a warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. up to $14000000.00 americans will lose job benef

republic of reportedly seized barring the country's 4th largest city as they push towards the capital bangui tension has been rising in the run up to an election next week one to his sense additional troops russia says and some 300 minute transfer of the government's request to cues rebels backed by the former president francois posies a of attempting a coup catherine sawyer in the. with more. we've been speaking to officials from the un peacekeeping mission here in central african republic and that telling us that they have been able to push back this rebel movement remember this is a group that was formed over the weekend they're calling themselves the patriots for change it's a group of kids we are the country's main groups and they started advancing on to the copy told calling for among other things government without president. so it's official that the u.n. says that in the west where this a rebellion has started they've been able to contain the situation in some towns and villages but in many other areas it remains very fluid indeed because we also have groups outside of this main. th

overthrown in 2013 the militants are said to have seized control of towns outside of the capital bangui were wonder and russia have sent troops to help counter the rest some religious leaders are trying to frame the standoff as a clash between christians and muslims here's more. was. it's prayer time in the up illimitable who would in benghazi it's here we meet in mom was a lady. we muslims we have no right to wage war. sees the conflict broke out in 2013 but in mom together with other religious leaders has traveled across the country preaching a message of peace he says religion has never been the cause of the fighting in the christian majority country did its politics we both know to bring some profit in the conflict in ca our had been likened to an interlude just conflict ladies you know you know religion had nothing to do with it. the main actors are politicians they are the only ones who can give valid reasons for the situation in the central african republic. and groups of controlled large spots of the country sees the treaty if it's in civil war and there's been an increase in vi

of rigging the vote that's one soyuz monitoring the election for us out of the capital bangui she says it is going smoothly at her location where she is reports have emerged of incidents in more remote western provinces. where we visited several stations in the city and this is the busiest 2000 people here telling us that the money. they come here and check their names against this is to make sure that this is the polling station and then let's get in and see. this is where they register to vote and they get the ballot papers while they are electing a president and. they go there to the polling booth where they mark the ballot before coming to. this ballot boxes. pretty standard procedure we have observers here we're seeing african union observers local observers as well civil society here in this polling station we also have u.s. officials observers i guess are still here in beaumont everything is going on smoothly we've not had any major incidents but we are hearing reports from the provinces that have been incidents in incidents in several towns completely in the north in the west a

security was tight in the capital bangui with armoured vehicles stationed outside some polling boothsion in the country since a peace deal was struck in february 2019. millions of americans have lost unemployment benefits as a consequence of president trump failing to sign a massive covid relief bill into law by a deadline of midnight. president—elect, joe biden, has warned of devastating consequences for the people who would have been helped by the bill, which passed overwhelmingly in congress. the relief package aimed to provide a $1.1; trillion federal budget, agreed by both sides of the house. it also proposed one—off payments of $600 dollars to most americans, but despite his administration negotiating the deal, president trump changed his mind, saying he wants to give $2,000 instead. he also wants to cut foreign aid. legislators could pass a stopgap bill by monday to prevent a partial government shutdown looming a day later, but it would not include coronavirus aid and mr trump would still have to sign the bill. ashwin vasan is the president of fountain house, a community—based