Serve as a u. S. President ial cabinet secretary. In the past Cyber Security breach that said the United States deepens President Trump tries to downplay the scale of the attack. We begin in the u. K. Where emergency talks about a new strain of corona virus of lead to a further typing of restrictions a higher tier of locked out is not a fact across london and southeast england where a viral mutation is responsible for a surge in cases thats filling up hospital wards the governments also backtracking on easing restrictions for the Christmas Holidays the chief medical officer for england chris when he says the mutated strain is 70 percent more transmissible than the original though its not thought to be more deadly and vaccine should still be effective rory chalons reports. For days scientists and opposition politicians have been saying its the government shouldnt be letting so many english households micks over christmas on saturday Boris Johnson relented it is with a very heavy heart i must tell you we cannot continue with christmas those plans. A new coronavirus variance with spreading alarmingly in london and the southeast he said adding that the World Health Organization had been alerted to the mutant strain its 70 percent more transmissible and a new 4th tier of restrictions is needed residents in those areas miss stay at home apart from limited exemptions set out in law nonessential retail indoor gyms and Leisure Facilities and personal Care Services was close individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space. Just days ago Boris Johnson mocked his opposition rival kier starmer for questioning why restrictions were being eased for christmas and if he really is going to press ahead with this can he tell us whats the assessment and has it been done of the impact that it will have on infection rates and increase pressure on the n. H. S. Whats the impact. Mr speaker we should have the guts just to say what he really wants to do which is to cancel the plans people have made and cancel i cancel christmas thats really thats what i think thats what hes driving at this is bigger. London has gone from tear to tear for a no family christmas in just 4 days in parts of england in lower it is allowing 3 households to mix for 5 days is being reduced to Just Christmas day itself scotlands 1st minister says her country is allowing only one day of mixing to and is essentially pulling up the drawbridge if you had people travelling to join you for christmas from in sweden. That will no longer be permitted equally it will no longer be permitted for any advise to travel anywhere in the rest of the u. K. For christmas and we simply dont take the risk of this stream travelling from different parts of the. Party its not just the United Kingdom other European Countries are tightening restrictions too among them italy has announced a new National Lockdown over most of the holidays its a lead germany france and 5 other e. U. States are coordinating the start of their vaccinations its this italys Prime Minister says that signals the nightmare is about to end rory chalons aljazeera london denis nash is a distinguished professor of epidemiology at the City University of New York School of Public Health he says that new strains wont alter vaccination plans the more needs to be learned about the mutation. I dont think it changes the changes the role of the vaccine by any means the new vaccines are protective against all of the sars. 2 strains that are in circulation now and some of which have also mutated from the original strain and so we dont have any reason to think that this mutation will allow the virus to evade the new vaccines on i for want to be really waiting my opportunity be vaccinated one day soon i think we dont know yet we its not as i said its not uncommon for viruses to mutate during pandemic spread sometimes these mutations change the virus its behavior they can become more or less transmissible more or less virulent or you. Know cause more or less likely to cause severe symptoms usually not both of these things at once and a new advantage and one of these attributes usually comes at the expense of the other but i dont think we know the details yet and theres a lot more to learn and its great that the u. K. Is looking so closely and monitoring these aspects of the virus its really important to make these settlements really quickly. And so hopefully well be knowing more in the next few days in the u. S. The 1st batch of madonnas facts enos being prepared for distribution trucks carrying millions of doses will roll out on sunday its the 2nd vaccine or the rise for emergency use bringing a ray of hope for the worlds hardest hit country which is there as how to jocasta reports. Lifesaving vials of a 2nd f. D. A. Authorized covert 19 that scene are going in boxes destined for hospitals and clinics across the country government Officials Say americans will begin receiving the Madeira Novak seen monday unlike the Pfizer Vaccine that began rolling out a week ago these dont require ultra cool storage making them easier to handle between the 2 back scenes nearly 8000000 doses will have been released although the distribution effort has already had hiccups governors from several states have complained of receiving tens of thousands fewer vaccine doses than had been promised the army general overseeing the federal governments distribution effort offered an apology saturday saying hed fail to understand theres a delay between when a vaccine is available and when its released there is no problem with the Pfizer Vaccine there is no problem with the madonna vaccine right it was a plain error and i am responsible for both axes are close to 95 percent effective in Clinical Trials Vice President mike pence got his 1st dose on Live Television and Health Care Workers across the country have done the same people in Nursing Homes are also part of phase one i feel 5 years feel good to shop with no problem the u. S. Governments goal removes 20000000 vaccinations by years end but that will not nearly cover the amount of people the c. D. C. Recommends as part of distribution phase 2 so it is up to the states to prioritize who gets those vaccines older people over the age of 65 those with preexisting medical risk factors or essential workers always jostling for those limited doses these vials of hope have arrived meanwhile Congress Continues to work on legislation to help shuttered businesses and families facing eviction every day that we delay may very well cause more Small Businesses theres about will cost more American Workers their jobs and yes cost more americans their very lives. A deal is close both parties say but the economic help cant come soon enough nor the vaccines as the latest weekly average shows more than 2600 people dying from coded each day in the United States. Castro aljazeera washington. Colombia has locked agreements with pharmaceutical Companies Pfizer and astra zeneca to provide 20000000. Vaccines in 2021 the 1st 4000000 doses. This is the country. With a number of infections. Reports. Its usefulness might be debatable but some Business Owners in capital are going to the extreme of mass spraying this infected people to control the spread of. As crowd strong malls and streets for the holiday season. Health officials are also worried cases of up in recent weeks. Stepped up their testing campaigns in parks treats and. People have. A seat among my friends and this is very worrying the news on t. V. And i fear whats been happening in europe and the us will be even worse here if we dont protect ourselves. Past 40000 deaths and on friday reached a new record for daily confirmed cases as people gathering increasing numbers ahead of the Christmas Holidays intensive care units are again reaching full capacity in a number of provinces from. New restrictions on restaurants and bars and imposing curfews but theres a Silver Lining the government has announced a deal with pharmaceutical Companies Pfizer and astra zeneca to provide 20000000 doses of coby in 1000 vaccines in 2021 another 20000000 could arrive through the mechanism geared toward helping less wealthy countries. As designed with kovacs and the pharmaceutical companies is that for the 1st weeks of 2021 we will be starting the process of mass vaccination. But this by the optimistic announcement the plan is to vaccinate only 2000000 people in the 1st trimester of next year starting with Health Care Workers and those with preexisting conditions. Far away some medical experts believe the country prepared to face many more months of new cases in. Many regions already in a situation and a Health System with very limited capacity its true that theres been an increase in a number of i. C. s in the country from 530211000 but that doesnt mean that were able to attend to all patients that these new units have been fitted properly we lack the provision medicines and doctors say the government should return to more drastic restrictive measures. But for now many more interested in celebrating the season and their liberties while the lasts even if the hangover could be deadly. Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received his covert 19 vaccine live on television to kick off israels Vaccination Program israel expects 4000000 Pfizer Vaccines this month with Health Care Workers 1st in line and occupations start on sunday and include jura settlers living inside the illegally occupied west bank but it excludes the territories to a half 1000000 palestinians. U. N. Secretary general antonio has called on armed groups in Central African republic to put down their weapons peacekeepers were deployed ahead of the december 27th elections a number of armed groups have branded together to form an alliance president. Bush. Has been accused of planning electoral fraud in order to secure a 2nd term. Nicolas hawk has covered the situation in the Central African republic extensively he gave us an update from senegal. We know that 11 armed groups some of the signature of this statement against the president essentially have started deploying their troops have called on armed groups to head towards the capital bangui and as a result the 12000 strong Un Peacekeeping force have taken position on main arteries leading to the capital so has been deployed the Central African Republic Army that was trained by the russians that is out in deployed to try to stop any of these forces from entering the capital just one week before this much anticipated president ial election so why are they all marching towards the capitol simply because they say the president is not respecting the agreement that they had signed in 2001000 in khartoum which was in effect to give these armed groups leaders a position in government but also funds so that they could disarms remember these armed groups have control over large territories i mean were talking about Central African republic is the size of france there are some of these armed groups that have control of the areas that are the size of wales or scotland and thats whats at stake in this election is to try to reestablish the rule of law in the government in places where it has retreated but also come to help to these millions of Central African republic people who population that have seen little of their government helping them. Still to come here on aljazeera the asian casino capital macau marks the 21st anniversary of its return to chinese control well look at how it became a model for beijings one country 2 systems policy. Hello weve got more snow in the forecast for japan over the next couple of days the Winds Continuing to drift across the sea of japan coming in from a northwest direction picking up that moisture that sea effect snow something more outbreaks of the white stuff then across the good parts of the honshu and also into hokkaido i showed by the mountains not too bad in tokyo should be largely dry here temps is around 10 celsius spotting sunshine across the Korean Peninsula into a good part of china china just a lousy drive and notice some wetter weather just around taiwan and that wet weather continues to push down across the philippines where we have the potential for a developing Tropical Storm coming through here it is locally known as a vacate here we go that spinning away now pushing across into the South China Sea and the legacy of this is the problem thats coming in across luzon more heavy rain here as we go on through tuesday on into wednesday as well and by that stage well see some wetter weather also affecting the far south of vietnam west of where that will eventually this system will eventually push its way down towards the southern parts of thailand now to Southern India you could see some showers longer spells of rain coming through here and a city looking wet over the next couple of days with the possibility of flooding this frank. And new perspectives can change a wild. The luncheon is in one began as a hobby. Has grown into a caution a way of life. Teaching the next generation to strive for a higher level. And encircle installing in his country a sense of freedom and strength. New heights my chin is via on aljazeera. This is. The main news this hour britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced new restrictions in london and southeast england nonessential shops cylons and indoor venues are closing the government is also backtracked on easing some restrictions for the christmas holiday. But tougher rules are in response to the discovery of a new strain of corona virus its 70 percent more infectious fuelling the spike in englands hospitalisation race its normal though to be deadlier than the original. The peacekeepers are being deployed in the Central African republic several groups form an alliance ahead of elections later this month president frosty in 2 addenda has been accused of planning electro ford in order to secure. The us President Donald Trump has contradicted his own secretary of state saying that the hacking of 6 Government Departments is under control like pompei are said that its pretty clear that Russian Hackers are behind the cyber attack which is believed to be the worst in American History but trump has hinted that china could be behind whats been described as some politician by some politicians as a declaration of war america reports. President trump has weighed in on whats seen as the biggest Cyber Espionage attack against washington downplaying its. He says the cyber hug is far greater in what he called Fake News Media than an actuality i have been fully briefed and everything is well under control russia russia russia is the priority chant when anything happens because lame stream is for mostly financial reasons petrified of discussing the possibility that it may be china it may speaking on a radio show mike pompei who said it was clear russia was involved with very significant effort and i think you were a case but now we can say pretty clearly that it was the russians for release of most activity the full extent of the cyber attack is still emerging but at least 6 u. S. Government departments have been infiltrated among them the agency that manages Nuclear Weapons however theyve said the arsenal security hasnt been compromised. The hack began as early as march and targeted widely used software made by solar winds the Texas Based Company says up to 18000 customers downloaded compromised Software Updates which allowed hakas to spy on email exchanges i think the damage is going to be. Potentially more worse i suppose or no longer. It seems to be attackers are aiming to steal information that its not right or theyre not trying to. Protect its owners of the system some members of congress are demanding answers from President Trump National Security is the number one challenge the number number one responsibility of a government is to protect our people every Government Agency is compromised our National Security is compromised. Im disappointed that he is not bringing the government together to respond to it and the threat is far from over experts saying many more systems may be compromised without anyone knowing and the only way to be sure and it is clean is for it to be bent down to the ground and rebuilt america 3. Well heres a closer look at the cyber intrusions that many describe as the worst ever to hit the United States the breach was 1st discovered by a Cyber Security company i who had a range of what are called Red Team Tools stolen the tools are made up of complex software that a crucial as they used to mimic a Network Attack major Government Agencies were hits including the treasury and Homeland Security departments and microsoft so far identified 40 of its customers that were affected most are in the u. S. But also affected canada mexico the u. K. Belgium spain israel and the u. A. E. Glencoe as a former cia Deputy National Intelligence Officer transnational threats he joins us now live via skype from boston massachusetts good to have you with us once again glenn what do you to make of the president s attempts to downplay this just how serious was this attack. Well the the dilemma for journalists who are 5 years and 4 experts in serious people for 5 years and per americans frankly is what to do about what dollhouse says and since he is the president we cannot avoid. Listening or paying attention to what he says however we do know 3 things by now long since one hes almost inveterate liar he almost says nothing and this is not me asserting things stablished fact 2 hes an unindicted coconspirator for numerous crimes all of which are related to his personal activities that he has directed most of which are tied into russia and 3 i have been saying i think ive been the 1st one serious literally and public to say 5 years ago that he is a traitor that he is a russian asset so we really shouldnt be paying a lot of attention to what he says i know my colleagues in the Intelligence Community i dont like my pay or trust him but here he is simply repeating what the over whelming assessment of the Intelligence Community is which is that russia has hacked or done a brilliant Cyber Operation against the United States so what should what should we make of donald trump statements we should ignore them or view them as distant from asian coming from moscow how does the us defend itself against attacks like this and when it retaliate for this one. Im sure the United States will retaliate the Cyber Threats in the intelligence world is without question the greatest threat facing any nation in particular in the United States because we will be the target. Of. Number of adversaries and there are no friends in the intelligence world and the conclusion of the experts in United States has spent dozens of billions of dollars in the past 20 years trying to address the cyber threat the conclusion is that there is essentially no defense against a sophisticated adversary and the russians are sophisticated the only defense that one can have is a good offensive capability and there then comes possibly a mutual deterrence because the other sides will fear what the United States or another actor will do but its its almost impossible to stop. A sophisticated cyber attack if this was russia what is the motive here why would why would russia want to do this oh well the reasons are quite want the russia views the United States as its principal obstacle an adversary that the United States has in russias view. Lorded it over other countries unjustly and call the river the shots or made the rules United States wants a normative International System and that has existed roughly for 75 years and russia instead wants his fear of influence International System where it can extend again its power into what is now called Central Europe and affect western europe and now in the middle east with dolphins help so they want a different world order and anything that is bad for of the United States is good for russia they view it as a 0 sum game and any chance that russia has and this goes frankly for any country to gain insights and thus advantage into what an adversary or another country does they will do it so there are many classic reasons why russia would do this to was could still tear many thanks indeed glencoe and boston massachusetts. President elect joe biden has rolled out his environment and energy team assuring in some governmental 1st sitting clues the 1st black male to head the Environmental Protection agency a Renewable Power advocate to lead the department of energy and the u. S. Is 1st of a native american cabinet secretary holland has been nominated to be the interior secretary the 1st indigenous person to serve in the role that looks after tribal lands and vast parts of native will this voting is underway in thailands 1st local election since the coronavirus pandemic began tens of millions of people are expected to participate in the polls for regional representatives when it wont have much impact on National Politics the vote could gauge how influential recent student protests have been jodi chang is live for us in summit. Province and i suppose thats what this is all about in terms of significance isnt it funny. Yes absolutely i mean these are determining the provincial government jobs are too easily superceded by those of National Government but this is only the 2nd time weve had elections here since the 2014 crew and as you mentioned those student protests which started 5 months ago i think many people are seeing this as a gauge of how much in pain that has had not just in bangkok but around the country there have been protests around the country but i think this is a chance for voters to go to the polls and to express their choice and they are getting a choice this time usually these are posts which are held by powerful political founders in those particular provinces often had from father to son in many cases but this time were seeing a bit of a change move forward which was the party that did remarkably well in last years general election but has since been disqualified in its leaders forced out of politics for 10 years has put up a very spirited defense in a lot of problems is there contesting at least 2 thirds of the provinces in these elections and i think theyre being seen as a very strong threat to the established sort of. The established powers if many young people come out that could be problematic for the government and it gets them a foot in the door in what is essentially been a very close political space for the last couple of years tony chang reporting live from some of our common type. A cow is marking the 21st anniversary of its return to china from portuguese control the gambling hope like hong kong is a political experiment the began of the late 1990 s. When china reclaimed both territories from western colonial powers but unlike hong kong because embraced beijings typing grip to view the problem reports. This is a tale of 2 cities macau a former portuguese colony now a casino powerhouse the other hong kong a former british colony and an International Financial center both returned to chinese rule in the late 1990 s. But while hong kong pushed back against beijings tightening control in the following years that with little opposition in macau macau has a Large Population with very strong mainland chinese attachment emotion the politically and culturally havent set that in the reason years there are a minority of young people in macau who tend to support western style democracy and one of those is 29 year old sulu sue an opposition member of my cows Legislative Assembly who says gaining support for the fight for democracy is an uphill battle. While the british in hong kong instilled the idea of democracy in their final years the portuguese largely recognise chinas sovereignty over macau. Mainland china is crucial for the citys economy bestowing favorable policies boosting tourism and building major Infrastructure Projects like the 20000000000. 00 hong kong macau you highbridge perhaps this is the most tangible symbol of the communist partys push to integrate hong kong and macau into Mainland China when it was launched 2 years ago it became the 1st physical link between the 2 former colonies and set them up for the next phase of unification the Greater Bay Area Development plan its part of beijings efforts to knit hong kong macau and southern chinese cities into a tech. More. And ill ask for it to. Do this let me west a strong china. Im to. Chinas leaders sheeting paying called macao a shiny