paul brennan, al jazeera, westminster. anchor: uganda's musician turned presidential candidate says he is being allowed to return home after being arrested for the third time in months. he was detained while campaigning in the central region. police dismissed reports of the arrest. they accused him of holding rallies in violation of coronavirus rules. o÷o÷o÷o÷o÷o÷o÷o÷ai>úog narrator: on this episode of "earth focus," the most basic human need is also its most precious commodity. in california's central valley, home to 19% of the food producon in e worl many li withoutlean driing war whileat the ee of mocco's saharregio harvesng waterrom fog s the pontial toeeply imct culture amera fos ring ccking] hutter clicking]

paul brennan is in brussels for us paul just talk of the biggest concerns are for the e.u. in all of this. the biggest let's start by remembering that according to both sides 97 percent of this delays already agreed so it's only about 3 percent but it's a fundamental matters of principle that are entailed in those 3 percent and what we're talking about is britain's expressed desire to diverged from the european union regulations and rules that was at the very essence of what britain feels the brics it was all about to escape from underneath as it sees it european rules from the european side they also insistent that the integrity of the single market this bloc of $27.00 countries trading freely with exactly the same rules and regulations among all $27.00 the integrity of that single market has to be protected and they don't want britain as a near neighbor diverging from those rules perhaps undercutting introducing state. changing environmental and labor restrictions or rules and thereby gaining an unfair advantage on the near neighbors the european competitors there's a lot

ok paul brennan many thanks indeed for joining us that from brussels. i was seeing some pictures from argentina from aries of protesters who have also been up all night hours on the streets hoping for a result in their harlem and snore makers are discussing whether or not to legalize abortion in the country let's cross over to to raise a bushies about in amongst the protesters interests are it's 6 am in the morning people steadfastly staying out on the streets but what's happening inside parliament. lacerated least 2 hours of the vote its own people yes i've been waiting for now you have been the world eating lunch of this is a baby that is currently happening i don't know how much we're told but as old as the men are this is in the lower crime where the government started out just lucky that they were to have enough of votes in order for the legalization of operation to pass the law where you know you got a view of the t.v. difference sure but when you talk to people here when you talk to the women said are here to tell you about why legal are you hold

ok paul brennan bring us all the fact latest live from brussels paul thank you. well take as president russia time i've heard someone that had this to say in response to those sanctions a short time ago they sure didn't look the folly of these sanctions will harm all the parties it is not benefiting either side despite all this we believe common sense about shared interests would cause the right steps to be taken any difference can be resolved through dialogue despite the sanctions turkey's doors will remain open to all investors both the us and the e.u. administrations should not listen to the n.t. ticky lobbies rather go back to common sense and practical policies. cells come on al-jazeera the canary islands regime fights to send migrants back home or surge in arrivals and morocco's king tries to reassure the palestinian leadership after his nation agrees to normalize relations with israel. we've got some pretty cold weather coming in across northern parts of china over the next couple days little band of cloud here just around the yellow sea just pushing over

brennan reports from london. the approval of a vaccine almost exactly a year since coded 901st emerged in china is a triumph for science the final trial data for the pfizer buy on tech vaccine was only submitted to the u.k. regulator the m h r a a week ago but as a result of a process of rolling approval examining data even as the trials were taking place the regulator has been able to move swiftly and confidently to declare it effective and safe the safety of the vaccine has been scrutinized independently by our commission on human medicines and no stone has been left unturned so absolute confidence in the safety effectiveness and quality of the pfizer violent tech vaccine britain has bought 40000000 doses of the pfizer biotech jab and the 1st 800000 doses will be available in the u.k. next week 10000000 doses will be delivered this year and the remainder will arrive during 2021 this is a monumental step forward it's no longer if there's going to be a vaccine it's when in our battle against the virus help is on

brennan reports. they spoken twice by telephone in recent days and still not been able to bridge the gaps boris johnson and van de lay and forced to admit the conditions for a deal are simply not there. when the e.u. chief negotiator michel barnier a brief d.-u. ambassadors this week he was described as being downbeat and gloomy with no tangible progress on the 3 main sticking points of fisheries a level playing field and dispute resolution so ahead of the leaders face to face meeting in brussels the negotiating teams have been asked to step back take stock and produce a summary report that peter. martin have of the brickie group creation even a unity refutation of the work of the negotiating teams is constrained by their own respective mandates the political leaders of course have a little bit more leeway within the bounds of their own political redlines face to face talks may unlock the empress or presented with a list of just how big their differences are the 2 leaders may end up admitting defeat.

brennan al-jazeera london. well the barker has more now on what lies ahead for the u.k. government's. when it comes to the race to regulate the u.k. appears to be leading the pack but the real question now is can it continue to lead logistically when it comes to rolling out this vaccine over the coming weeks and months we know that there are some huge hurdles some sticking points when it comes to the practicality of it all we know also that as of next week only a small batch of doses will arrive around 800000 that will help 400000 people because there you need 2 doses 21 days apart we know that certain people across british society a prima prioritize the elderly in care homes in the care workers that look after them and then progressively down the age groups the different levels of vulnerability people will eventually receive the vaccine let's not forget also that perhaps by the start of next year when the bulk of people will be able to receive this pfizer biotech vaccine there may well be other vaccines availa

brennan reports from london. the approval of a vaccine almost exactly a year since coded 901st emerged in china is a triumph for science the final trial data for the pfizer buy on tech vaccine was only submitted to the u.k. regulator the m h r a a week ago but as a result of a process of rolling approval examining data even as the trials were taking place the regulator has been able to move swiftly and confidently to declare it effective and safe the safety of the vaccine has been scrutinized independently by our commission on human medicines and no stone has been left unturned so absolute confidence in the safety effectiveness and quality of the pfizer violent tech vaccine. brussels airport has been demonstrating its refrigerated cargo facilities in expectation of a major role in distributing the belgian made vaccine britain has bought 40000000 doses of the pfizer buy on tech job in the 1st 800000 doses will be shipped to the u.k. within days we're packing vials of fact seeing as we speak and will be shipping in

brennan al-jazeera london officials in the us and are racing to follow the u.k. and approve the pfizer vaccine as early as next week approval for the madonna vaccine could soon follow the u.s. health secretary says that he hopes 40 percent of adults could be inoculated within 3 months. we can make our 1st shipments of vaccine to state this month and we are on track to be able to ship enough vaccine for $20000000.00 americans before the end of the year of course we're all eager to have enough supply vaccinate every american who wants it because of operation works we'd we expect to be at that point in the spring vaccines will only bring this pandemic to an end if enough americans choose to take these vaccines the world health organization is also reviewing the pfizer bio and tech vaccine for emergency listing however it could take developing nations months to get access to it we need to develop more vaccines we should stop we need more the least 3 or 4 we need to increase production we need to pull the price down we need we'd love a woman those vaccines because the

was pushing trade terms no prime minister could accept so paul brennan is in brussels for us paul i know it's been a busy year for everyone a difficult year but wow talk about leaving it late. yes and the hope was that the 2 leaders coming face to face could produce some kind of breakthrough that the negotiating teams operating on a technical level hadn't been able to achieve in the weeks and months leading up to now i mean of course those negotiating teams are constrained by the very strict mandates that they've been given by their superiors so the hope was that getting the 2 superiors together the c. evening here in brussels would actually lead to a breakthrough would give some kind of political movements on there some some kind of political impetus but the dinner broke up after the working dinner broke up after 3 hours on the 2 statements emerging one from each side in this although it did extend the deadline to sunday i detect no enthusiasts and no compromise whatsoever i mean skimming through the words the underlaying statement spoke of a lively and interesting discussion but a clea

brennan reports. the refrigerated vans drove through the night destinations including rome paris spain and hungary the precious cargo the vaccine developed by pfizer biotech kept at between minus 17 minus 80 degrees the mass inoculation is due to start in a coordinated launch later on sunday but the 1st job went to work at a hospital in budapest but. she had a vaccination plan is ready with help because the other front of the queue those working with patients in intensive care and emergency care units will be vaccinated 1st so they can continue the heroic struggle to see of the. europe has seen 16000000 coronavirus cases and suffered more than 400000 deaths the approval and distribution of this 1st vaccine is reason for considerable hope across the continent. we have in total $19500.00 doses which makes $3100.00 vials these those will be stored in our freezer at minus 80 degrees which will be done distributed to the different elderly homes and public hospitals . if you start in the companion because w

brennan joins us live now from brussels and paul the u.k. e.u. negotiating teams have had countless meetings over the years and months trying to put together some kind of trade deal so how does the dynamic changed now that you have boris johnson an arsenal of underline face to face. well the negotiating teams obviously have very strict negotiating mandates and guidelines and restrictions on exactly what they can sign up to and what they can't the political leaders have slightly more leeway but only slightly because don't forget they have their own stakeholders and constituents to accommodate with boris johnson it's his own conservative party it's the arch euro skeptics within the party and it's his you know it's industry it's the fishermen for example in the u.k. who are demanding a good deal from this negotiation with us live on the lion it's the germans and the french and the other european union countries who are absolutely adamant that if britain wants a bracks it that britain seems to want which is to diverged from european rules and re

paul brennan al-jazeera london. at least 11 people have been killed after 3 avalanches in the mountains north of iran's capital rescue workers are searching for 7 people reported missing since friday and other 7 climbers have been taken to hospital with frostbite. federal investigators in the u.s. are searching a whole list they look for clues into a christmas day explosion in nashville 3 people were hurt it's around 40 buildings damaged john hendren reports from national. in what could be a crucial break federal investigators searched the home of a person of interest in the nashville christmas by the role of the man identified as 63 year old anthony quinn warner is not yet clear the top prosecutor in the case has his own name for whoever is responsible this this is ultimate scrooge on christmas morning instead of spreading joy and sheer decided to spread devastation and destruction u.s. authorities pursuing more than 500 tips and leads expressed confidence after finding what they believe to be human remains near th

will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible paul brennan is live for us in london paul what impact is this going to have on the pandemic. well it's been described as a game changer by the people here in the u.k. and certainly the flexibility of this vaccine certainly says that it could go all around the world far easier than for example the pfizer buy on tech because the pfizer by onset vaccine needs to be stored at minus between minus 17 minus 80 degrees so to hyper cold storage and this vaccine doesn't need to be stored at those kind of low temperatures it can be kept at normal fridge temperature that creates huge opportunities for developing nations for example where refrigeration is an issue what the obstacle at the moment is is approval now the british medical approval body has approved this for use in the u.k. and britain has ordered 100000000 doses of it there are already doses orders for 400000000 doses that have been made by the europeans however the european drugs agency has not yet approved it and saw a quote from the european medical agency's deputy exe

thanks very much indeed that's paul brennan bringing us up to date from brussels. and let's bring in john holl he's talking to us form a westminster as paul was saying there it sounded as though there had been a certain amount of a clarification at least as far as trade was concerned so there was a move or suggestion that something might be moving forward but we had the u.k. prime minister talking just a few hours ago and he certainly seemed to have the tone of preparing people for a no deal bragg's it. well he's maintained that certainly throughout the last week or so one has to wonder of course whether this isn't the sort of predictable perhaps inevitable moment of high drama at the end of these negotiations ultimately brinkmanship if you like before a deal is struck at the 11th hour it wouldn't be the 1st time and that is indeed possible but i think you'd be a fool to bet on it and boris johnson seems very much to be putting the country on notice now to get ready for a no deal scenario at and telling people basically that everything will be fine but make no mist

brennan has more from dover in the u.k. the border is still closed from the u.k. going to france the border gates is essentially over my shoulder here what we are seeing is some trial.

brennan reports. it was nearly 50 years ago that the u.k. joined the european economic community but a new relationship has now been signed into reality european commission president live on the land smiled broadly european council president sharma shelf appeared a little more rueful signed sealed and delivered from brussels via a british air force jet to london for prime minister boris johnson to put pen to paper ink was julie applied in downing street the prime minister flanked by his chief bracks it negotiated and the u.k.'s e.u. ambassador for parliament was recalled from christmas recess to ratify the deal in a rapid one day session boris johnson extolling the virtues of the new agreement. in less than 48 hours we will leave the e.u. single market and the customs union as we've promised and yet british exporters will not face a sudden thicket of trade barriers but rather for the 1st time in the history of e.u. agreements 0 tariffs and 0 quotas. britain officially left the european union back in j

where a more contagious variant of credit line has been spreading and as paul brennan reports from drivers they're all crying wolf. facing a 4th night trapped in their vehicles and unable to depart mccalla a. frustration and anger led one group of drivers to briefly blockade inbound freight arriving from france there was a confrontation at the police trying to clear the road a demonstrator lay down in front of one of the lorries. speak to the drivers and time and again the lack of information is what's really causing tempest a flare and by the know what's going on the police will tell you what's going on all they want the most of the more from around the ball to let these people follow them blindly no no no no no no no it. should be bustling now instead it is ghostly shut down by the impact of the new variant of covert in the u.k. the french ban on arrivals and that on wednesday morning but the condition of travel is possession of a negative covert test and getting one of them while trapped in a queue like this is impossible testing is available at the temporary lorry pocket mountain airfi

now i see central london and paul brennan hold the u.k. or rather england set to come by its all of its 2nd coronavirus lot saying but it seems the economic damage is already being done. that's right. way on oxford street, that very famous shopping streets in central london and in the stores all along here. you peer through the glass. and you can see the shop assistant stocking the shelves preparing for tomorrow because the national lockdown finishes at midnight tonight from tomorrow. all of those stores will be able to open again, there's a sense of excitement in many of them. unfortunately, the store where i'm standing, the evidence that same sense of excitement will simply not be present because although the doors are open and trading grill continue, this store, this store is going to go into liquidation if you don't already been in and ministration since earlier this year there were hopes of a rescue package by the company j.t. sports. but with the news from yesterday, that arcadia was going into administration, and arcadia has a large

brennan al-jazeera london officials in the us allow racing to follow the u.k. and approve the pfizer vaccine as early as next week approval for the madonna vaccine could soon follow the u.s. health secretary says he hopes 40 percent of adults could be an ocular he said within 3 months. we can make our 1st shipments of vaccine to state this month and we are on track to be able to ship enough vaccine for $20000000.00 americans before the end of the year of course we're all eager to have enough supply vaccinate every american who wants it because of operation works he'd we expect to be at that point in the spring vaccines will only bring this pandemic to an end if enough americans choose to take these vaccines the world health organization is also reviewing the pfizer bio and tech vaccine for emergency listing however it could take developing nations months to get access to it we need to develop more vaccines we should the stuff we need more the least 3 or 4 we need to increase production we need hold the price down we need we'd love a woman those vaccines because

brennan reports from london. the approval of a vaccine almost exactly a year since coded 901st emerged in china is a triumph for science the final trial data for the pfizer buy on tech vaccine was only submitted to the u.k. regulator the m h r a a week ago but as a result of a process of rolling approval examining data even as the trials were taking place the regulator has been able to move swiftly and confidently to declare it effective and safe the safety of the vaccine has been scrutinized independently by our commission on human medicines and no stone has been left unturned so absolute confidence in the safety effectiveness and quality of the pfizer violent tech vaccine britain has bought 40000000 doses of the pfizer biotech jab and the 1st 800000 doses will be available in the u.k. next week 10000000 doses will be delivered this year and the remainder will arrive during 2021. this is a monumental step forward it's no longer if there's going to be a vaccine when in our battle against the virus help is on its

paul brennan al-jazeera london. well federal investigators in the u.s. are searching a home as they look for clues into the large explosion in the southern city of nashville minutes after blaring a record of warning of what was to come a parked most a home blew up on a street early on christmas morning 3 people were hurt and about 40 buildings damaged the house being searched belongs to someone police are calling a person of interest but our correspondent john hendren is in nashville with more on that so-called person of interest. file they have identified that one man his name is anthony quinn warner a 63 year old man from the town of antioch about 15 kilometers from here where the explosion happened but he's only been identified as a person of interest what makes that intriguing is that in google earth photographs it appears that there is an r.v. or recreational vehicle parked in the driveway of the home that is being searched and that's interesting because it was an r.v. that exploded down here after broadcasting warnings to anybody who was nearby so

where a more contagious form of covered 1000 has been spreading and as paul brennan reports from dr a dr as they are growing more frustration. facing a 4th night trapped in their vehicles and unable to depart mccullough a. frustration and anger led one group of drivers to briefly blockade inbound freight arriving from france there was a confrontation at the police trying to clear the road a demonstrator lay down in front of one of the lorries. to speak to the drivers and time and again the lack of information is what's really causing tempest a flare and i don't know what's going on the police will tell you what's going on all they want to most of the morning from around the ball to get these people follow them blindly really no no no it's no no it. should be bustling now instead it is ghostly shut down by the impact of the new variant of code in the u.k. the french ban on arrivals ended on wednesday morning but the condition of travel is possession of a negative kovi test and getting one of them while trapped in a queue like this is impossible testing is available at the temporary lor

brennan reports. she was an active little girl who loved swimming and dancing but for the whole of deborah short life she was surrounded by toxic air pollution living next to london's busy south circular road alone was regularly exposed to nitrogen dioxide levels in particular matter and excessive u.k. legal limits on world health organization guidelines she'd suffered seizures and been taken to hospital 9030 times in the 3 years before her death but the original inquest into her death did not include air pollution as a factor and only after relentless campaigning by alice mother who's this new coroner's inquest ordered the outcome is groundbreaking it was about my daughter getting air pollution on the death certificate which we finally have and we've got the justice will have which she so does that have to but also it's about the children still as we walk around our city of high levels of air pollution the death of electricity deborah is not just a personal tragedy for this family it highlights a nat

brennan al-jazeera over. large parts of england being put on the tougher covert 19 restrictions from saturday as a more contagious variant of the virus is spreading new infections have risen by 57 percent in the past week more people are in hospital any time since april. international travelers arriving in new york will be forced to quarantine for up to 2 weeks that's under the new rules allowed by the mayor responds to new corona virus strains being discovered in the u.k. and south africa one teens will be monitored by sheriffs with heavy fines for those who break the rules. new restrictions are in place across south korea to contain covert 19 limiting gatherings to just 4 people major tourist spots and national parks are also closed under the measures south korea recorded one of its highest daily rises on tuesday almost 1100 cases brought mcbride reports from seoul. this is all attempts really to try to keep this 3rd wave under control the concern is for the authorities here that the 2nd and 1st waves of th

brennan al-jazeera over. another 553 people have died of covert 19 in italy taking the country's death toll past 70000 and there's a tally ins prepare for a new nationwide lockdown over the christmas holiday but reeve families have launched legal action against local and national authorities about $500.00 relatives of covert $1000.00 victims say they're seeking a $122000000.00 in damages the civil lawsuit has against prime minister just at the quantico italy's health minister and the governor of lombardy which is the hardest hit region screw the u.s. now the country has suffered its 2nd deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic with more than 3400 deaths recorded there on tuesday johns hopkins university said there were also more than 195000 new cases the pharmaceutical giant pfizer has announced it will supply the u.s. with 100000000 more coben 1000 vaccine doses by july. the united states faces the prospect of a year end government shutdown after president donald trump threatened not to sign a massive coron

brennan al-jazeera over. the u.s. suffered its 2nd deadly stay of the coronavirus pandemic with more than 3400 deaths recorded there on tuesday johns hopkins university said there were also more than 195000 new cases the pharmaceutical giant pfizer has announced that will supply the u.s. with 100000000 more cope at 19 vaccine doses by july. well the united states faces the prospect of a year end government shutdown after president trump threatened not to sign a massive coronavirus relief bill in a twitter video trump called the bill a disgrace he said he's asking congress to raise its stimulus payments to individual americans from $600.00 to $2000.00 democrats support higher payments but many republicans oppose them $900000000000.00 relief bill was passed on monday after months of negotiations trump is also a veto the $740000000000.00 defense bill this fight the bill having strong support in congress. and donald trump has been tweeting about the u.s. embassy being hit by rockets on sunday he says they came fr

paul brennan al-jazeera london more than a 1000 refugees and migrants are stranded in a burnt out camp in bosnia-herzegovina in freezing weather a fire this week destroyed much of leeper camp near the town of be hutch that's near the croatian border the camp was meant to be a temporary shelter for the summer was set to be closed on wednesday but politicians in bosnia haven't been able to find anywhere else to send the people staying there at least 10000 people from asia the middle east and north africa stuck in bosnia hoping to reach western europe. we are living like any most human and well new like mentor us so please a request. your know our us all and yours to help us because if they cannot help us we really don't. so please help us. now despite appeals from leaders for a pause during the pandemic the united states has continued to deport central americans back to their home countries this year alone more than 20000 watt somalians have been returned they found conditions there even worse than when they left out as it was just home and reports. it's been a desperate homecoming for m

brennan al-jazeera over. large parts of england are being put on the tougher covert 19 restrictions from saturday that says more contagious a more contagious variant of the virus is spreading new infections have risen by 57 percent for the past week more people are in hospital than at any time since april . international travelers arriving in new york will be forced to quarantine for up to 2 weeks that's under the new rules announced by the mayor in response to new corona virus strains being discovered in the u.k. and south africa quarantines will be monitored by sheriffs with heavy fines for those who break the rules. mexico has received its 1st shipment of the 5 is a biotech vaccine it's the 1st country in latin america to have a vaccine ready to roll out but it's battling a sharp rise in infections that's overwhelming hospitals john home and reports from mexico city. it's what everyone in mexico wants for christmas. and the one from pfizer has now finally arrived. as the phrase goes good things are vive in

thank you so much ok now we have paul brennan who is in london paula talking with alan about the numbers we're seeing in the u.s. after thanksgiving i mean what might that mean for the u.k. and the lead up to christmas how might that bode. well the government here in the u.k. is wrestling with the same dialogue that the american government is wrestling with and many governments across europe are wrestling with and that is how to prevent the further spread of the infection how to stop the health care system from being overwhelmed and how to minimize the economic impacts of this corona virus which is causing so much business destruction while at the same time offering the public the population some hope and the christmas holiday is so cherished and so much part of the british and european calendar that the u.k. government has decided that it will despite the increasing numbers of infections relax the restrictions in the 5 day period on the side of 'd christmas it's a curious decision on many levels i think it goes to behavioral analysis as much as epidemiological analysis we've just heard

now paul brennan joins us live from london paul the numbers we're seeing in the u.s. there a high numbers off the thanksgiving how does that bode for the u.k. with the christmas holidays coming up. it doesn't bode well and certainly the concerns of epidemiologists who look purely at the data are being echoed by the concerns of behavioral scientists who are analyzing how people react to news and to expectations and to habits not forgetting christmas is a traditional family time to get together the differences in advice and law here in the u.k. raise the issue of potential confusion we heard yesterday from boris johnson we're going to hear some more from the minister of state responsible the health secretary matt hancock in just over an hour's time where he talks about whether or not there's going to be a restriction or a loosening of the tier system we have a 3 tier system here in the u.k. at the top level 2 or 3 households are not allowed to mix indoors that will change for christmas specifically for the 5 days that boris johnson was talking about in journals report t

brennan has more from dover the u.k. . the border is still closed from the u.k. going to france the border gates is essentially over my shoulder here what we are seeing is some trucks being allowed through but when i spoke to the police and to the security guards here they say that is unaccompanied freight so the driver will take his trailer into the port area drop it off and then come back out again and it will be picked up and put onto a ferry and then picked up by another driver at the french side that escaping the blockade that is currently in place i have to say as far as the backlog it is enormous yesterday grant shapps the transport secretary spoke about 170 trucks that has been significantly up to date to the smalling by the home secretary pretty patel when she spoke about 650 lorries parked up on the on the m 20 motorway and about 8 $17873.00 lorries at an ad base called manston i have to say that with the evidence of my own eyes those figures do not include scores of lorries that i've seen parked up in labor eyes

we'll leave it there thank you so much paul brennan reporting live from a very quiet oxford street in central london. the more contagious variant of the coronaviruses now also been found confirmed in japan 5 people who arrived from the u.k. were found to be infected and put into quarantine they travel before japan joined more than 50 other countries and banning flights from britain. australia has reimposing coronavirus restrictions in parts of sydney after 9 new cases in the state of new south wales were traced to a cluster in the city's north in other areas of the city people were told not to go shopping on boxing day that to sydney's northern areas will now be under stay at home orders for at least 3 days. the u.s. city of nashville is under a curfew after a motor home exploded in a neighborhood on friday it blew up early on christmas morning after a recorded bomb morning was played several buildings were damaged 3 people suffered injuries the police haven't been able to establish a motive we have found 2 issue that we believe could be remains that were just there that you know exam

paul brennan there with all the latest for us from brussels thanks so much paul well covered $1000.00 vaccines from adana and astra zeneca are reported to be close to approval that's off to 5 has given the go ahead for more countries but it's tragic the us is now due to roll out its fastest on monday. meanwhile germany is imposing stricter coronavirus lockdown measures that will last until the middle of january chancellor angela merkel says they're necessary to reduce the surge in cases most stores and schools will be closed and social contacts and. hundreds of students in nigeria are feared missing after gunmen stormed a school and kidnapped a number of children about 800 students attend that school in katsina state many of them fled during the attack police say 200 have returned afghan police say 3 people have been killed in attacks on the capital a prosecutor was shot dead in the east of kabul in a separate attack 2 people were killed and a bomb blast targeting a member of parliament no group has yet claimed responsibility indonesian police say they've arrested a man believed to be

and 11 percent in europe but only marginally in china well let's get more now from paul brennan he joins me live from brussels paul let's start with that i can ching pledge on emissions as a very ambitious target sells more of. well they certainly burn the midnight oil on this one or in future they'll burn 55 percent less midnight oil because they went into the wee small hours of the morning to try to get this sticking to the target as you say is from 40 percent by 2030 reduction based on $990.00 levels down to 55 percent less than 1911 and that by the year 2030 in the ultimate ambition is for the european union bloc to be carbon net 0 by the year 2050 it's is a massively ambitious goal but they certainly believe that they can do it the wrangling was over how to get there and how to get unanimity among all 27 members and the holdouts poland in particular poland's economy very dependent on coal and poland wanted reassurances from the other countries that its economy would be protected they want to 2 things in particular they wanted a guaranteed access to european transition funds and they

brennan who joins us from brussels or paul any news on what may be coming out of that dinner between doris johnson or 7 they're lying. now they've been inside for 2 hours now and no news at all as to exactly how the talks are going in that what's clear is that they were a little bit sort of testy with each other as they as they went in boris johnson keen to take the masks off for a photo call we saw live on the land rather nervous about that and insisting that they maintain a 2 meter distance between them and kept the masks off for as brief a time as possible before they disappeared behind those sliding doors and into the talks what we do know is that the negotiators teams are joining the 2 leaders so that they're all going to be sort of in the same room and able to talk about how this might go forward but what's also absolutely necessary is that needs to be a kind of political impetus now for the for the negotiations if the negotiations are to go forward from here but negotiating teams feel that they've exhausted every avenue that within the parameters of their mandates that they si

brennan is live for us in brussels paul tell us more about this this ambitious deal. well 55 percent is a massive increase on the 40 percent that was originally the targets set by the european union and the way these things get sort of goes through various committees and lower levels so we knew that 55 percent was the ambition but it took the leaders to actually sign off on it and that's what happened today in the early hours of this morning here at the european summits the european council summit with the all the leaders gathered together now as you say there is a little bit of control to see about how they're going to achieve 55 percent instead of 40 originally the 40 percent target didn't think klute for for example forestry management it was about you know reducing the carbon emissions and greenhouse gases issued by industry and things like that the 55 percent target will allow carbon sinks as they're called forests to be included in the. environmental campaigners are concerned that that effectively allows or allows the possibility of cooking the books you know yo

brennan who joins us from brussels paul why is the situation so bad there. well the situation is bad for a lot of the 23 parts to that 1st of all there's a rather fragmented administration system here in belgium with different regions and different counts on sort of not working necessarily in close collaboration with each other and there are also different language areas as well which adds to a degree of fragmentation that said some of the worst of the statistics do appear to have passed i mean it's certainly true that per capita belgium was the worst in europe as far as infection rates they were twice as bad as france 7 times worse than germany and this far as death rates they were even 5 times worse than the united states you know it was 17400000 here in belgian deaths compared to 3.5 in the united states but we're only talking about a population of about 11 a half 1000000 so a small outbreak can have a disproportionately large impact on statistics that said the belgians and indeed the rest of the europeans will be eyeing britain's role out of this fire as

paul brennan al-jazeera london. only swell there smith is a professor of emerging infectious diseases at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine she joins us now via skype from grinned unwalled in switzerland madame thank you so much for joining us here on al-jazeera it's been an interesting couple of weeks in europe on the one hand starting from the u.k. the facts and got approved and they documentations programs started now that spreading in other european countries almost at the same time we started seeing this new variant emerge and now spreading across the continent how do you read the situation are you more worried than you used to be or do you see the so-called light at the end of the tunnel. so with the vaccine i am seeing the at the end of the the delighted at the end of the tunnel but the and we also have to see that there are a lot of marion's and over the months we've seen a lot of mutations the concern about this particularly particular virus variant is that it has were to reasons in 14 place

brennan our correspondent. well the british health secretary might hang his due to hold a briefing shortly we will be getting that live but 1st we can join us at bag who is our correspondent in london of course we are expecting the british health secretary to give us more information about this current strain this mutant strain of covert 19 and how it's affecting specific areas of the u.k. . the stand that ministers have been discussing whether the current measures are tough enough now in the u.k. we have a tiered system to want to tear for now with tier 4 being the most strictest the toughest conditions that's london and the southeast where non-essential businesses are closed people are told to stay at home and work from home unless they absolutely have to travel and people are not allowed to travel from tier 4 areas to . the tears now that was born borton after the government said that this new strain of covered $9000.00 it was more transmissible and they were concerned about that so the boat interior for now

brennan al-jazeera over. the u.s.s. suffered its 2nd deadliest day of the coronavirus penned them make with more than 3400 deaths recorded there on tuesday johns hopkins university said there were also more than 195000 new cases the pharmaceutical giant pfizer has announced it will supply the u.s. with 100000000 more covert 1000 vaccine doses by july. and the united states faces the prospect of a year end the government shutdown after president donald trump threatened not to sign a massive coronavirus relief bill in a twitter video trump called the bill a disgrace he said he's asking congress to raise a stimulus payments the individual americans from $600.00 to $2000.00 democrats support higher payments but many republicans oppose them the $900000000000.00 relief bill was passed by the house and the senate on monday after months of negotiations i'm also asking congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill or else the next administrat

paul brennan, al jazeera, doha. >> meanwhile, large parts of england are being put under even tougher covid restrictions as a more contagious variant of the virus spreads further. infections have risen by 57% over the past week, and more people are currently in the hospital bennett any other point since april. -- than at any other point since april. flights have been canceled. >> we are quarantining cases and close contacts of cases found here in the u.k. second, we are 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 is a close contact of someone who has been in south africa in the last fortnight must quarantine immediately. >> italy's coronavirus death toll has passed 70,000, preparing for a new nationwide lockdown over christmas. action has been launched against authorities over the pandemic. a group of around 500 relatives of covid-19 victims say they are seeking $122 million in damages. they have launched the suit against the government, the health mi

paul brennan is covering developments in the u.k. he joins us from london we'll begin though with dominic kane in berlin the numbers there pretty grim just like the rest of the e.u. take us through the rollout process for the vaccine that. so on sunday the 1st doses of the vaccination will be made available to people who are considered to be in the most greatest need now different states of germany are applying different classifications but broadly in principle anyone over the age of 80 will be amongst the 1st to receive the vaccine anyone who is in living in a care home or more crucially working in a care home dealing with such patients will be given top priority as will doctors and nurses physicians who are working on coronavirus wards in hospitals and clinics right around the country as the 1st thing to say now and so far is the city of berlin is concerned it's ever so slightly different because they have built mass vaccination centers here 6 of them in this city to deal with a population of more than 3700000 people what they're d

paul brennan al-jazeera london. at least 11 people have been killed after 3 avalanches in the mountains north of the iranian capital tehran rescue workers are searching for 7 people reportedly missing since friday and other 7 climbers have been taken to hospital with frostbite. a high level egyptian delegation is on its way to libya for peace talks they'll meet with officials from the un recognized government in tripoli the egyptian delegation includes the defense minister the deputy foreign minister and the deputy head of intelligence it all comes a day after the eastern warlord only for half to threaten to use force against tripoli. joins us live now from tripoli so mark mood as far as the egyptian delegation is concerned what's the the u.s.p. they can bring to the table here. well peter or they're trying to bring time is back to normal with western libya as you know that relations between western libya and egypt. have been halted for the past 6 years since 2014 since the egyptian embassy was closed down here in t

brennan reports now from london. the approval of a vaccine almost exactly a year since coded 901st emerged in china is a triumph for science the final trial data for the pfizer buy on tech vaccine was only submitted to the u.k. regulator the m h r a a week ago but as a result of a process of rolling approval examining data even as the trials were taking place the regulator has been able to move swiftly and confidently to declare it effective and safe the safety of the vaccine has been scrutinized independently by our commission on human medicines and no stone has been left unturned so absolute confidence in the safety effectiveness and quality of the pfizer violent tech vaccine. brussels airport has been demonstrating its refrigerated cargo facilities in expectation of a major role in distributing the belgian made vaccine britain has bought 40000000 doses of the pfizer buy on tech job in the 1st 800000 doses will be shipped to the u.k. within days we're packing vials of vaccine as we speak only shipping in the next 2

paul thanks very much indeed that's paul brennan talking to us from brussels john hall is joining us now from westminster jonah paul was saying there that it appears as though both sides don't seem to be that far apart that the u.k. prime minister about an hour ago or so ago was making a statement he was giving the impression at least that was my impression he was giving people up for accepting that there was going to be no deal in this. i mean i think you've got to ask the question is this the sort of rather predictable high drama at the end of a negotiation to the to make brinkmanship if you like with a deal to be reached at the absolute 11th hour as we've seen before quite possibly but i think you'd be a fool to bet on it and yes it does sound more and more as if certainly over the course of the last week boris johnson has been putting the country all notice that no deal at the end of this year of trade talks is a distinct possibility earlier in the week he said please talk to a very very likely to fail we're told that the government is put in place a $5000000000.00 contingency pl

brennan there following those talks for us in brussels thanks so much paul well let's now cross over to london where barbara starr is standing outside westminster barber we've been hearing about this potential phone call that's going to take place as the clock is ticking down operates now really having to prepare for a possible no deal back since. absolutely miss the us and even though you could think you could say the country's been talking about nothing other than bricks that apart from the and then making a fuss for months for 4 and a half years it's only now that the no deal option is becoming a realistic one that people are both worrying and preparing for an overnight the country released the contingency plan saying that they will spend around $5000000000.00 trying to ease a lot of the congestion that could come from a no deal breaks it's a for example an extra $9900.00 border patrol guards at the border and also another $1100.00 to be hired by march helplines to help businesses prepare for the potential of a no deal break said certainly the government is trying to sound upbeat

from january the fast while our correspondent paul brennan is in brussels for us paul it does seem that banja is sounding rather guarded this morning about how these discussions actually going. yes that's right i mean michel barnier the european union's chief negotiator had 2 briefing meetings today firstly to brief the 27 e.u. ambassadors that was an early morning 730 meeting and then at 830 he briefed the coordination group of the european parliament's all of these people that he has to keep on board and up to date with how things are going in the negotiating room without i have to say giving away any of the nitty gritty of exactly what the sticking points are he generally paints in broad brushstrokes on the reports that we get back from those passages are in broad brushstrokes but the feedback that we got from that 1st meeting with the e.u. and busters was as you say he's guarded about the prospects for a deal couple of other things came out he said there was still disagreement on state aid michel barnier he said there had been backtracking unfortunately on fisheries i have to say th

brennan who is near the southern english port of dover and paul obviously the rain teeming down where you are miserable conditions so what have you seen in terms of any movement at the port. well there has been some movement but not in the way that the drive is over my shoulder would like it we've seen some trucks arriving from france on the ferries arriving from kalai and going out into the u.k. bringing what appeared to be largely fresh produce to be honest netherlands trucks spanish trucks as well but i'm going to just briefly stand out of the way and let some the camera man look over my shoulder because in the last half an hour these drivers van drivers and truckers who can facing us you off a single night trapped here on the outskirts of the vehicles actually blockaded this roundabout in front of the port and friends the police have now persuaded them to move to the central reservation at least and some traffic is at least moving but tempers really flared here the grievances of these drivers are that there is no food the public toilets just a short way down the road are closed th

well in a moment we'll get the view from brussels with paul brennan but 1st let's go live to the far kerry joins us from downing street in london needs our hopes high of a breakthrough on the u.k. side. hopes always higher but the reality though might be a different story the promise of johnson's just arrived here back at number 10 downing street after facing tough questions from the leader of the opposition clear starmer the opposition accusing the government of dragging its feet when it comes to a range ing of reaching a trade deal with the european union the government to hitting back and saying that it is reached its primary objective of making the united kingdom leave on time on january the 31st ever since the u.k. has been in the transition period likened to a departure lounge in an airport it's meant of use this time to hammer out a trade deal to avoid any kind of friction any uncertainty when the transition period ends at the end of this month earlier on in the year for mr bush johnston said that a trade deal was often ready but repeatedly we've heard the opposition accusing