Company Purdue Pharma appears before congress to answer for its role of the buick crisis. We begin in the u. S. Where covered 19 cases have now passed 50000000 with no slowdown in size the rollout of the 1st Pfizer Vaccine across the atlantic and the u. K. Offers hope but relief in the states is still a long way off on tuesday president elect joe biden and his plan to bring an end to the pandemic mike hanna has a story. President tran convened what was billed as a proxy summit just days before the f. D. A. Is q. To decide on whether to grant an emergency use authorization for the 1st of 2 vaccines and it appears the president is intent on claiming credit for the unprecedented keeps up the fact seems development were just days away from authorization from the f. D. A. And were pushing on the heart that which point we will immediately begin mass distribution before operation warp speed the typical time frame for development that approval has you know. Could be infinity and we were very very happy that we were able to get things done at a level that nobody has ever seen before surmount representatives from pfizer and learn or their companies are waiting if the approval would not be present at the meeting submit strip or so that the transfer administration declined to take up an option with pfizer for an extra 100000000. 00 doses earlier this year confirmed by a former f. D. A. Commissioner whos now on pfizers board i think theyre betting that more than one vaccine is going to get off rising will be more vaccines on the market and that perhaps could be why they didnt take up that additional 100000000 option agreement which really one of required necessarily even to front money it was just an agreement that they would purchase those vaccines President Trump signed an executive order aimed at preventing the export of vaccines from the u. S. Before all americans have been treated an order that would appear to be an impossible given the International Contracts both pfizer and mcdonough have signed. Another figure absent from the white house meeting with the countrys foremost infections diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci opus had another green gage meant to open school a little meeting with the president elect which eventually hes been asked to advise. I look forward to advising you on these most urgent priorities and to work with this team of world class experts whom i have known for many years and deeply respect i have been through Many Public Health crises before but this is the toughest one we have ever faced as a nation dr fox she was on the high powered Advisory Team introduced by joe biden this team will help get at the latest at the last 100000000 covert 19 vaccine at least 100000000 covert vaccine shots into the arms of the American People in the 1st 100 days 100000000 shots in the 1st 100 days all eyes now on the food and Drug Administration which is likely to complete its review of the application for merchants to use authorization by the end of the week mike hanna aljazeera washington the British Health to say the rollout of the vaccine will be a marathon and not a sprint thats just called challenges maim the majority Vulnerable People will have to wait until early next year they have back reports for months. It is happening a turning point in the global fight against a virus that killed more than a 1000000 people around the world 90 year old grandmother Margaret Keenan made history becoming the 1st person to be vaccinated with the pfizer bio and take drug outside a trial she encourage others to follow her lead. Over it because its free and its the best thing thats ever happened and the moment do please go for it in a somewhat dramatic turn the 2nd vaccine went to a man called William Shakespeare a poetic star perhaps to a new chapter in the fight against corona virus more than half of the people whove died of the virus in the u. K. Are over 80 theyre getting the injection 1st along with the elderly in care homes and their carers unused doses are going to frontline medical staff the british governments call this a v. For vaccine day but the Prime Minister warned its too early to call this a v. For victory in scotland and wales in england people are having the vaccine for the 1st time and it will gradually make a huge huge difference but i stress gradually because you know were not. Yet we havent defeated this virus yet bunches of the pfizer biotech drug approved for use in the u. K. Last week have been arriving from pfizers factory in belgium the logistical challenge has been immense the vaccine needs to be kept to the round minus 70 degree celcius in england dozens of hospitals with facilities to store the super chill drug are the 1st places to administer it scotland wales and Northern Ireland have also begun similar programs the government sorted 40000000 doses so far and initial 800000 will be available in the 1st round of treatment this week capable of inoculating 400000 people with 2 injections 21 days apart weve shuttered our economies. And struggle through months of grief and anxiety lives cut short and elderly people separated from their loved ones weve known for some time but the only sure fire way out of this pandemic is a vaccine and now a shred of hope that miller not too distant future things might start returning to normal its hope so full 1000000 people will be back soon 80 before the end of the year when boxes of the vaccine that come in packs of almost a 1000 doses will be split up and sent to doctors surgeries and care homes around the country the vaccine can be stored at normal fridge temperature but only for a short period its a day of mixed emotions joy and hesitation most Vulnerable People wont get the vaccine until next year but with infection rates going up here in london and elsewhere restrictions may have to get tighter before they get easier. But it is only a matter of some scientists set their minds on defeating this common enemy a process that normally takes many years and now against all odds a sense of the long march out of the pandemic of. The park al jazeera london. They Oxford Astra Zeneca corona virus vaccine has been deemed safe and effective in the 1st pair of you that phase 3 trials but the Lancet Medical Journal says more work is needed to prove its 90 percent success rate that was achieved when some trial participants were mistakenly given a half dose of the vaccine followed by a full fewer than 6 percent of participants got the smaller dose and all were under 55. 00 that astra zeneca vaccine is seen as a particularly important one for tanks and grown a virus in the developing world as its cheaper and easier to distribute. Well it is a Vice President of Vaccine Research and development at the weather logics and an adjunct professor at the university of michigan he says a centralized approach is needed for distribution of a vaccine for such a national. Pandemic and demick it is very important to have a one body that treat it and deal with it in one way. Across the country and not allow it for a governor of the state to deal with it different ways so if you have a centralized operation doesnt promote its operation will be much more efficient in achieving the goals compared to each state will deal it differently and also you know in each state you will have different policies and different priorities you have to have a centralized operation and this is whats happening with the team that was going to his or put together by. President elect by then and giving the priority to experts in the field to Public Health officials and to institutions like the you know and the c. D. C. And the f. D. A. And the department of health and Human Services all these together really its a comprehensive approach to to this problem hamas authorities who control the gaza strip considering imposing a 2nd lockdown as corona virus infections continue to set a sofa avoided taking such a drastic measure because of the harm it could do to an economy with more than a 1000000 People Living below the poverty line hi folks it has. Gazas intensive care units are filling up this week nearly 90 percent of the i. C. U. Beds equipped to treat cope with 1000 patients who occupied the mathematics of the surge in cases seen in a skate experts warn the system will soon be overwhelmed their mortality is. High yet from lots october there were 50 cases in 2 months from october to walk past of this number the number has been. In recent days more than 30 percent of those being tested have registered positive for the corona virus with 2. 00 to 3000. 00 tests carried out a day in a population of 2000000. 00 its thought only a fraction of cases are being detected gazas Hamas Run Health Ministry is calling on the population to follow Safety Measures and on the International Community to help where otherwise a dangerous scenario is waiting for us and we might find ourselves forced to take harder preventative measures in the coming days including a general lockdown. The much of this year gazas besieged blockaded status that helped keep it almost entirely insulated from the pandemic but since the detection of Community Transmission in august the other realities of that 13 year isolation enforced by israel in egypt the ravaged economy the teetering Health System a worsening the crisis Health Officials also blame a lack of public compliance on mosques gatherings and social distancing a lockdown in late august person economy were already 65 percent of young people are unemployed those whove clung on to their jobs worry about what a 2nd lockdown might mean is the other how we already get half celery because of the better canonic situation and there is fear that the owner of the business could reduce the working days and pass even lease is the new code in 1000 measures destroyed the business. And there are security concerns too after recent weeks in which rocket fire into israel and airstrikes on gaza have started to resume the creation of the health. Social could have access to action and is board sinks. Do we need to have another war do we have another plan have another put us on the border the National Committee need to. Continue like this. Recently there has been some increased assistance 15 ventilators from kuwait oxygen from qatar but a wave of disease is already on the way causes shaky institutions are said to be tested too and perhaps beyond their limits are a force that aljazeera still ahead on aljazeera their prospects and nothing to lose a test as railing against corruption and repression in Northern Iraq refused to back down. And with breaks its trade talks on a knife edge the u. K. s Prime Minister tries to reach a last minute compromise but the head of the European Commission. Theres a bit of a change the weather taking place in the immediate future in the u. S. 1st of all the story was going off the east coast thats a cold tukey in bihari and there is some story in canada but the quiet weather still give you fog in the northwest and some parts of the upper midwest and the red flag warnings it means with the dry weather throughout much of california increase me going back down to Southern California once more quickly look at that what do you spot if you didnt but the temperature in denvers 18 degrees that seems to warm for december so it is the average is 6 denvers 18 the more in 16 kansas city 80 much of the plane they went to the plain states far more when they should but it wont last will change without the 6 degrees or 9 ish on thursday as that next tranche of cooler weather comes there now the original cold front weve just seen cause not story weather off the east coast is this one here as the tail end goes through jamaica haiti and dancer costa rica and panama will spawn some pretty big showers and it will funnel the potential for a really big shot i think of panama or costa rica leaving behind rather cool weather for this time yet again 4 or 5 degrees below average in for example of our. Captors memory and present reality is. The camera is a to the top of it and off. When i saw i was most deprived areas children who have nothing. Have a voice. Part of the viewfinder latin america series on out as they are. The the. The the. Youre watching aljazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour u. S. President elect joe biden has pledged to get a grip on the pad demick in his 1st 3 months in office in ounce his medical team and promise to provide 100000000 vaccine to actions in the 1st 100 days of his administration. President donald trump signed an executive order to prioritize vaccines for the u. S. Sending aid to other countries signing comes amid reports that the president rejected an early offer from pfizer to double their order of medication. The 1st fully tested grown a virus vaccine has been administered in the u. K. 90 year old grandmother Margaret King in a history becoming the 1st person to be vaccinated 800000. 00 doses of pfizer biotech vaccine are now available in 17 hospitals. Indonesian Officials Say they are imposing Strict Health measures at polling stations as around 100000000 people vote in local and Regional Elections indonesia is experiencing the worst covert 19 outbreak in Southeast Asia recording more than 580000 cases and 18000 virus related deaths some Health Experts are worried a large voter turnout will make matters worse the election has already been delayed once because of the growing infection rate. Donald trumps quest to overturn the Election Results suffers another defeat as the u. S. Supreme court rejected an appeal to throw out votes in the u. S. State of Pennsylvania Republican party wanted to dismiss up to 2 and a half 1000000 ballots arguing the state 2019 expansion of mainland voting was illegal under state law the nations highest court didnt explain its reason for denying the emergency request state officials had already certified president elect joe biden as the winner. The future trading relationship between the u. K. And europe is hanging in the balance with just 3 weeks before the u. K. Leaves the use Single Market british Prime Minister boss johnson expected to travel to brussels for crucial talks with the European Commission president despite months of negotiations there are still significant differences on key issues paul brennan reports from brussels 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 bunny a brief dui 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 Patients even a unit 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. Most commentators regard the dispute of a fishing rights a solvable whether to science of one into more trouble is issues of fundamental principles such as the concept of sovereignty to access the e. U. Single market the u. K. Except it will have to abide by e. U. Standards rules. That the idea that the e. U. Could impose rules and sanctions that seem overbearing youve got to be you got to be optimistic youve got to believe that is the power of sweet reason. To get this the over the lawyer but ive got to tell you its looking very very difficult at the moment there may even be a 3rd way another stretching out the already stretched headlines its looking very likely that. The e. U. Will have to use the procedure of a provisional application which would mean that the deal will enter into force even if not. Even if the ratification will not have been completed yet which throws up the risk that if. One actor you cite still have to ratify in february or so that the deal. Would be off and would be nolen voice a writ richer actively which would be of course a legal nightmare. The mood was certainly improved with tuesdays news that the u. K. An e. U. Had reached agreement in principle on border checks in Northern Ireland with the result of the u. K. Withdrew contentious proposals to override the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement but the main talks remain on a knife edge the slightly better mood may not be enough to overcome the substantial differences hope brennan aljazeera brussels. You know as Arab Emirates and egypt have welcomed kuwaiti and american mediation efforts and the 3 year blockade of qatar Egypts Foreign Ministry spokesman said cairo hopes the talks will lead to a comprehensive solution and hueys minister of state for foreign affairs. Tweeted saying his country supports saudi if its on behalf of the 4 countries both countries say they appreciate media if mediation efforts rather by kuwait and the u. S. Have to saudi arabia announced progress had been made saudi arabia the u. A. E. Pa brain and egypt imposed a land air and sea blockade on qatar and 2017 well the u. A. E. Ambassador to the us told the Hudson Institute that there are signs of reconciliation is taking place. There is definitely progress or at least theres seeds of progress theres a lot of commitments a lot of artes members. Governments decisions to kind of tone things down to stand down if that holds i think its promising and theres a chance that you can at least begin a process of the conflict whether that holds whether it doesnt hold whether everyones on board i think its still too early to tell but i think theres definitely progress towards some kind of. Well trita parsi is the executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute he joins us live from reston virginia via skype thank you for your time what do you make of this news and i hear that what do you make of this news that the u. A. E. And egypt a welcoming mediation efforts to end the blockade i mean hasnt the u. A. E. Been one of the staunchest proponents of it. It certainly has and just a few weeks ago the u. S. Ambassador where you had on made comments saying that resolving this problem is not a priority it may very well be that there is an effort by the u. A. E. At this point to try to signal that it is becoming more conciliatory at a minimum come across as if it is it is not the problem here mindful of the fact that its clearly the wishes of the United States both on the do certain restriction but also on that in next administration that this is should be resolved then the u. A. E. Probably doesnt want to enter the new administration with the perception that it is the one that is holding off an agreement is that all it comes down to do you think the u. A. E. Is the king had to abide an administration and wants to be good 1st thing i guess i think it could be one of the factors at the end of day theres very little that has happened all we have is a signal from the u. A. E. That theyre welcoming these mediation efforts but when it comes to the issues of substance we have not yet seen anything that really reveals that we are close to a solution that does not mean that there may not have been some progress made but progress made in reaching a solution are still 2 rather Different Things what about the u. S. Plans to sell if that a 55. 00 digits to the u. A. E. Might that be a play here. It could possibly tomorrow is going to be the votes in the senate in regards to this sale is a sale less from the beginning so it seemed to be facing no problems is actually facing some significant problems in the senate and if it turns out that the senate votes against this bill it would be an indication that u. A. E. Is going to start facing the same type of challenges in congress as saudi arabia has over the last couple of years 1015 years ago these are not major issues for saudi arabia already u. A. E. But we have seen a significant deterioration of the congressional view of saudi arabia in the last couple of years and it may be reaching the u. A. E. As well tomorrow will be one in the kaito of as to whether that has happened or not that might be the case congressionally speaking but saudi as we all know has enjoyed a very close relationship of the Trump Administration so why is saudi arabia particularly so keen to put an end to this the side the signals a positive signal seem to be coming from saudi arabia why do you think about wanting to go down that road. Because when it comes to saudi position i think its clearly related to that by the campaign we should keep in mind as well that the driving force of the blockade is of the qatar even though of course saudi arabia has had its issues with qatar is rock the driving force nevertheless has been the u. A. E. The biking administration have already signaled that they have some tremendous difficulties with saudi arabia and i think the saudis may be quite nervous about the challenges that they will be facing in washington come january and putting some pressure on the u. A. E. To resolve this issue may also be an effort by the saudis to improve their own ability to be able to deal with it by the ministration i have to leave it at a time thank you so much for analysis trita parsi there from the quinsy thank you for having me. A curfew has been imposed in iraqs Northern City mandia province after at least 5 people were killed in antigovernment protests kurdistan is reeling from a longstanding financial dispute between the central and Regional Government made worse by a Global Climate oil prices which is their Public Servants on pay for months some are faulting reports. This is the office of Kurdistan Security agency near a town of. One of many government buildings set ablaze by angry protesters in iraqs northern soul in money a province its a defiant show of dissent in the region where Security Forces use deadly force against antigovernment demonstrators many here are afraid to show their faces on camera in fear of being targeted. You know going to tell. The girl oh. Oh. A 6. In nearby town mourners gathered to pay their respects to the family of 23 year old. Shot to death on monday by Security Forces who opened fire at demonstrators. At sunset we went to a brother shop on the main street he didnt participate in the protests within the army of the Kurdish Democratic party open for the protesters and he died the protests began over the nonpayment of government salaries but have spilled into brother anger at the ruling parties in kurdistan who stand accused of corruption nepotism and repression. Is stations are very but is now have you know what and. Is not. Here. In north. Kurdistan is supposed to get a share of the Central Governments budgets to cover Public Sector salaries but but the dod has refused to pay up because kurdistan is selling its oil independently rather than for the Central Government kurdish politicians say theyre being denied a constitutional right. There is a constitution in place and let it be the judge between us and iraq therefore this issue should be within the framework of the constitution but the Iraqi Government owes the could the star region billions of dollars. The drop in oil prices has shifted attention to nonna revenues like customs duties every year billions of dollars in goods enter iraq from turkey via disport across in kurdistan at the moment all customs revenue goes to the kurdistan Regional Government but some say much of it is siphoned into private pockets most of the major. Option is doesnt go into the books so in a place like abram clean and other places. They simply write it off they dont include that in the revenues for the government in october the government implemented a new system to automate Financial Reporting in an effort to boost transparency which would also facilitate revenue sharing with baghdad for years the federal government of iraq and the Regional Government of kurdistan have quarreled over how to share revenues in august they agreed to split customs revenues from border process like these but since then new political tensions have hampered the implementation of. The latest demonstrations have put pressure on kurdistan to agree to terms for releasing their budget chair but the people protesting now are not just unpaid Public Servants they are youth who feel they have no prospects and little to lose some wonderful teenagers era in iraqi kurdistan. A Champions League football match has been suspended and both teams walked off the pitch accusing an official of using a racist term players from the turkish team istanbul the shock here were incensed that a red card was shown to an assistant coach they claim the 4th official described the coach using a racist term left the pitch the whole party says youre montemayor also walked off. The italian city of venice has been flooded of the heavy rain and strong winds took off policies by surprise tuesdays downpours arrived before officials could activate huge flood barriers which were only introduced 2 months ago the system of 78. 00 gates guard the entrance to the venetian to protect the city from tides of up to 3 metres bus heres the catch they require 48 hours notice to be activated and whether bulletins had forecast such high tides. You can always find it much more on our website the address for that is of course all just there. This is all just there and these are the top stories u. S. President elect joe biden has introduced his team of Health Experts to combat coronavirus he pledged to bring the pandemic under control with his 1st 3 months in office. This team this team will help get at the latest at the last 100000000 covered 19 vaccine at least 100000000 covert vaccine shots into the arms of the American People in the 1st 100 days 100000000 shots