♪ >> the who advises unvaccinated and vulnerable people from traveling as more countries report cases of the omicron variant. new findings show it existed before south africa sounded the alarm. ♪ >> this is al jazeera live from

doha. uganda and the democratic, -- republic of congo carry out attacks. nato warns russia will have a hi price to pay if there is aggression against ukraine following the recent troop buildup. ♪ anchor: we begin with the latest on the covid-19 pandemic, and the spread of the new omicron variant. the who is urging unvaccinated and vulnerable people to delay travel to possible hotspots, saying like it travel restrictions will not curb the spread. canada is expanding a travel ban from african nations to include egypt, nigeria, and malawi. they require mandatory covid-19

checks. brazil is the first latin american country to report on cases. it is one of the worst covid-19 affected countries with more than 600,000 deaths. let's talk with julia ponce, an epidemic just who joined us from skype -- epidemiologist who joins us from skype. given how bad things were from brazil --in brazil, how well-equipped is the country now to handle this new variant? guest: thank you for having me on. brazil has gone through several waves of covid infection, including waves that devastated entire cities like the c apital. we also had situations where a variant first described in brazil, it took over the original strain of the virus. brazil, as of now, faster than

we first believed it to be capable of doing. we are now at 76% of the population inoculated with two doses. we also have a lot of regional differences. states in the southeast are closer to 80%, while some northern states are closer to 30% of people with two doses. anchor: the reports say that the two people who tested positive for the omicron variant had up to now displayed mild symptoms. it is only two people but what do you take from that? guest: that is correct. they arrived on the 23rd. they were supposed to leave the country the 25th and that is when the virus was detected through genomic sequencing. other countries have shown the omicron variant, especially in

people unvaccinated, are presenting milder symptoms but there is also concern it might be more transmissible and i could be an issue in countries with an uptick of cases, such as south africa, that are seeing higher numbers of inflections -- infections and deaths, especially under -- in the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. anchor: how do you say -- because the president has shown a cavalier attitude about covid-19 in the past, what is your estimation of how the new zealand government will deal with this --brazilian government will deal with this? guest: so far, we have been slow and have not taken the right measures to curb the spread. we have stopped flights from six

african countries but not any other european countries where higher numbers of the variant has been detected. the country does not ask visitors to present vaccination cards. first, we get an influx of unvaccinated tourists. that could be a problem, especially now that the end of the year parties are arriving, the holidays, and there is concern carnival, which happens around february or march, might be a hotspot for the unvaccinated tourists coming into the country. no type of selection at the borders for vaccination status, and that could represent an uptick in cases at the moment. anchor: good to talk to you, joining us from sao paulo. guest: thank you. anchor: omicron cases have been reported -- not been reported in the u.s. but health officials urge people to get booster vaccines to protect against the mutation.

alan fisher has more from washington. alan: brazil has confirmed it now has cases of omicron. this might be a new variant but the advice from public health officials in the united states is the same thing we have needed for a year: wear a mask, particularly indoors. keep your distance and watch. her hands. . if you have not been vaccinated, get the vaccination as soon as possible. it is a concern it will be here soon. in the early days of covid, there was one reported case in seattle. people thought it would not come here and it came quite significantly in the weeks following that. there is, of course, a travel ban for south africa and seven countries in the southern part of the continent. the who has said that is not going to help. we will not be able to stop it spreading that way, and simply will not be able to block it from coming to your country, so

that asking for countries to review those travel bans and saying anything they do should be based on evidence and also after a risk assessment. the united states may come under pressure to start lifting the ban on southern africa sooner than later. dr. fauci said it could be two to four weeks before they get a full idea of just how different this omicron variant is and whether the vaccine works. that will bang us up close to the christmas holiday in the united states, which means thousands will travel by plane, by train, and meeting in big, family gatherings, a big concern for public health officials who do not know the extent of this variant. anchor: scotland and the netherlands confirmed the variant was in europe before south africa, and alerted the who last week. . health authorities said they detected a variant november 19.

scotland's first minister said nine cases are linked to a singular event on november 20. south africa alerted the who last week, spanning travelers from southern africa. germany's incoming chancellor says mandatory vaccines are necessary to contain a fourth wave. he wants parliament to vote on the matter before the end of the year. dominic kane has more from berlin. dominic: the seriousness of the covid situation in germany has focused many minds with medics and ministers on what they can do to try to dampen down this wave of covid that has been washing across the states of germany for many weeks now. in one sense, the politicians have decided to decide later. many of the ministers who took part in a conference on tuesday afternoon in germany are trying to get some form of decision in

their individual states, but in the event, what is being decided is to wait. we know what is going to be on, the table, but we know that the incoming chancellor, olof schultz, wants to see a mandatory vaccine requirement for everyone who has not had one will have to have one. he wants the parliament to vote on it. he is in favor of reducing the length of time a person's vaccine status actually will apply. it is a 12 month period in germany. he wants the vaccine status of a person to last six months, far shorter than what the eu is proposing recently. anchor: uganda is deploying troops across the border into democratic republic of congo as it battles an armed group. that is after airstrikes against the democratic forces, part of a joint convert -- operation with the congolese army. it has placed allegiance to --

pledged allegiance to iso-. -- isil. malcolm webb has this update from nairobi. malcolm: an army spokesperson announced a military operation began with artillery fire by ugandan forces. there allied democratic forces in congo. the congolese army spokesperson has told us the ground troops have pressed -- crossed on foot into the eastern congo. the uganda government blames the adf for three suicide bombings in uganda's capital two weeks ago. the adf originates from the 1990's. the ugandan army push them into eastern congo, where they have interest in cocoa and timber and other natural resources, found in areas they control, but for seven years, theyave been responsible for massacres against civilians in and around

the town of benny and more recently further to the north in a jury province. the congolese army brought in a siege six months ago, supposedly to stabilize the provinces, but there has been criticism the siege has not worked. leaked documents show corruption, some in the military budget being stolen. recently, congo's parliamentarians have called for another kind of solution. the uganda military is what they hope will end the conflict but certainly others are skeptical following the invasion of congo in 1996 and accusations of meddling, funding rebel groups ever since then. it has led people to worry this will cause instability rather than bringing stability to the eastern congo. anchor: the u.s. and taliban

concluded two days of meetings where they discussed the humanitarian crisis in afghanistan. the taliban asked the u.s. to unfreeze assets and remove sanctions. the u.s. because on the taliban to ensure the rights of afghans and form an inclusive government. they u.n. says of more than half of afghans are suffering from acute food shortages. the u.s. secretary of state says any russian aggression in the ukraine will trigger what he calls serious consequences. antony blinken is meeting foreign minister's to discuss the buildup of russian troops on ukraine's border. correspondent: nato foreign ministers say there will be correspondent: correspondent: a high price to pay for any new military aggression against ukraine. moscow was reminded the west has already used economic, financial, and political sanctions. >> we have seen russia's playbook many times over. part of that playbook is to

attempt to create and manufacture a so-called provocation, as justification for something russia is planning to do all along. whether that -- what has been reported fits into the playbook,. . i don't know correspondent: correspondent: ukraine forces face off against separatists in the east of the country. there has been fighting on and off since russia annexed crimea from the ukraine in 2014. for the second time this year, russian troops are building up along ukraine's border. moscow dismisses as inflammatory any suggestions is preparing for an attack, and president vladimir putin says he has his own redlines with nato countries involving themselves further in ukraine. >> if some kind of strike systems appear on the territory of ukraine, the flight time to mascot will be seven to 10 minutes, and five minutes in the case of a hypersonic weapon, creating such threats in ukraine posing redlines for us.

i hope it does not come to that. i hope a sense of common sense, responsibility from both our countries and the world community will prevail. correspondent: russia says nato had deployed significant amounts of military hardware near its borders. anchor: in june, joe biden and vladimir putin held their first summit. it came just a couple of months after a russian troop build along the border of ukraine. now, here is another buildup, and a kremlin says it is holding stock -- talks with the white house about another possible summit. the biden administration says it does not know of any plans, but it does say it has been holding talks with russian officials about ukraine. anchor: still ahead on al jazeera, the first black woman inducted into the pantheon. why france has planted an artist and civil rights activist its highest honor. the fifa arab cup is underway in

qatar with stadiums for next year's world cup open. ♪ >> look forward to brighter skies. >> away we go with your weather story. we have this intensifying radiancy, pushing rain into -- and in days to come, it will be under an amber alert, 100-200 ml of rain and some might go into new delhi toward thursday. off to the southeast of asia, it will take you east of the philippines with the storm looking to steer toward the north so not impacting line-up anywhere.

this area of low pressure is spinning to the south of sumatra and the west of java. throwing around rain. we have seen a lot of rain. it is drying off that is for vietnam. a few showers along the east coast but nothing like we have seen over the past few days. for the southeast of china, central eastern portions. temperature is where it should be and settled conditions. we have a solid batch of rain. this same batch brought 100 millimeters of rain to korea so it will roll through and push out toward the pacific wednesday and drag much cooler air. bundle up. that is your weather update. see you soon. ♪ >> the weather, sponsored by qatar airways. >> ever since i was aittle boy in india, i was going to finally do it. >> one man's quest to realize a lifelong invision -- am ibition. >> the story i chose was my own

village and its transformation. >> he brings his personal story to life. my own private bollywood. ♪ ♪ anchor: you're watching al jazeera. our top stories this hour. the who is urging unvaccinated and vulnerable people to delay their travel to possible hotspots. brazil is the first latin american country to report omicron cases. uganda is deploying troops into democratic republic of congo as it battles, after airstrikes

against the allied democratic forces, a joint operation with the congolese army. the u.s. secretary of state warned russia any aggression in ukraine will trigger what he cause serious consequences. antony blinken attends a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss russia's buildup of troops on ukraine's border. a sudanese security forces have used tear gas against pro-democracy protesters, rallying the capitol. thousands rejected the deal between the military and the prime minister, which saw him reinstated to his position last week. correspondent: starting from the heart of sudan's capital, protesters gathered once again, to demonstrate against last months military takeover, which saw the power-sharing government dissolved. they chanted, but the demand was the same. they do not want the military to remain. >> we and sudanese have come out

for the same reason today. we want freedom, peace, and justice. we want a civilian. . government without the military. the military should stay and focus on their country's security at the borders and not get and governance. no military will rule this country. this is the country of the people. the government is for the people and the military should be in the barracks. correspondent: protests were held near the presidential palace. protesters are angry at the prime minister, for signing a deal with the army on november 21. the deal saw him release from house arrest and reinstated to his position. it included the release of political prisoners arrested by the military and on the day of the protests, the last of those known to be arrested was set free. some were released earlier. >> we were treated with professionalism while we were detained, but the tension is detention, and a violation of rights. we got news of what is happening

outside and that people were continuing to protest. seeing people out on the streets has eased the pain we feel, even though we were past some. correspondent: other states also witnessed military demonstrations. police used tear gas and stun grenades to suppress prods in front of -- crowds in front of the palace. some hospitals that provided medical care were rated with protesters who were seeking treatment arrested. the prime minister said does have right to expression and female protests -- peaceful protesters. despite the violence, protesters say they will continue to support the demand for several you government to ensure transition to democracy continues. for many here and around the country, the reason for continuing to protest is the main slogan they repeat. after living under a military

dominated government for 30 years, and overthrowing it in 2019, they say they will not -- they will not return to the same rule. anchor: hundreds of people in the libyan capital protested the upcoming presidential elections, calling for them to be postponed until a referendum takes place on the constitution. the first round of voting is december 24. the legislative councils have not agreed on a constitutional framework to hold the election. the united states has officially removed the former colombian rebel group from its list of terrorist organizations. the decision will allow aid agencies to operate in columbia where former fighters live and work. the u.s. will designate to breakaway groups as terrorist organizations. one of ghislaine maxwell's accusers has testified on the second day of the six-week trial. the socialite is accused of

grooming underage girls with jeffrey epstein. gabriel has followed the trial from manhattan federal court in new york. gabriel: this was the first time -- we are on day 2 --that she has come face-to-face with an accuser. the accuser is going by the pseudonym jane, referred to in court. she says she was first approached by ghislaine maxwell, sitting at a park bench eating ice cream with friends. she was 14 years old at the time. she said it started a simple conversation that ultimately was the start of years of sexual abuse at the hands of jeffrey epstein and at some point, even ghislaine maxwell she said. prosecutors in a dramatic moment asked jane if it was so bad, at any point, after all this

transpired, if she considered taking her life. her answer was yes, there were times on the witness stand she broke down briefly in tears, explaining her fear and anxiety of being called by jeffrey abstain to come over to one of his homes for what she knew would turn into a sexual abuse. she went on again in her testimony for years. she was so young at the time this happened, she did not have a drivers license, so in many instances, epstein would send a card to pick her up and bring her to his home, or fly her there. it is ghislaine maxwell that is on trial, so the key part of this testimony is, did ghislaine maxwell recruit and groom jane for this abuse? jane answered clearly over multiple questions in her testimony, yes, to both of

those, and not only yes to being recruited and groomed, but also she said maxwell was present in the room or took place -- took part in some of the sexual abuse on multiple occasions. now, the defense did briefly offer some cross-examination before they adjourn for the night, and the defense is starting to later argument of -- this happened more than a decade ago. why did you not reported back then? why did you wait so long? we will hear more from the defense wednesday but clearly, strong testimony in this courtroom tuesday. anchor: french american artist josephine baker has become the first black woman to enter france's pantheon mausoleum. the special ceremony with president macron calling her a fighter for the liberty of all. correspondent: a hugely symbolic moment. josephine baker becomes the first black woman and only the sixth woman ever to be admitted

to the pantheon in paris. ♪ correspondent: the french president pay tribute to a woman who defied huge challenges. >> josephine baker fought so many battles with freedom, lightness, and love. dazzling beat -- dazzlingly beautiful in a century full of distractions, she made the right choice at every stage. she could always separate light from dark and nothing was preordained. correspondent: she was born in missouri in 1906 but by 14, she was in new york dancing in musicals. in 1925, the move to paris where she would start at the champs-elysees theater. she made headlines for her routines, appearing topless, something that attracted criticism from anti-colonial activists. >> josephine baker would

represent all of the fantasies of that era. it was a colonialist attitude toward her, a condescending view, but not as racist as what she had known in the united states,, and that is why she tolerated the attitude and played with it. >> she is part of the whole generation of people who moved to france. there were black but they were also american, so they were in a higher position than the africans of the west indians, who also lived by the thousands in france. correspondent: baker toward europe and appeared in movies, but world war ii changed everything. now a french citizen, she worked for the resistance using her performance as a cover to spy on the nazis and dictator most illini. she would become a female pilot under de gaulle. she may -- remained loyal to him even under the 1968 protests. she got involved in antiracist

politics, the only woman to speak at the march on washington, d.c., where martin luther king delivered his i have a dream speech. she adopted 12 children and lived in southwest france. she died in 1975, days after her final show, celebrating her half-century on the stage. at the request of our family, her body will remain the way she was buried. this coffin contains soil from three places close to her heart, the u.s., monaco, and france. ♪ anchor: this time next year, qatar will host the fifa world cup and the gulf nation is hosting the fifa arab cup to test the infrastructure that will be used in 2022. qatar kicked it --off their campaign with a win in a stadium

played in for the first time. ♪ correspondent: in under a years time, qatar's stadium will host the 2022 world cup, a game that will see the home team playing on football's biggest age for the first time. the official opening of the stadium came on day one of the arab cup, but many fans were counting down to the kickoff next november. >> it is amazing. i am excited. today, qatar is going to win! see you, qatar, 2022! >> the whole country is excited. you can see everyone is coming. >> i have seen more than any

other events before, which is a lot encouraging. we expect to see a lot next year. >> it is very proud of the countries, families, and everyone. they are proud about qatarlo)?■ó

(sophie fouron) not having a boat here is unthinkable. it's because here, everything happens on the water. it's their main way of transportation. people travel on boats, construction materials, food supplies, water, students in the morning. when you first get to bocas, the diversity in the population strikes you. the ngäbe people, the indigenous people of panama, live side by side with the afro-caribbean community of bocas. they're descendants of panama canal workers and they're established here. i guess it's that mix of cultures that makes this place so unique and