The in. The in the evening. Youre watching aljazeera a reminder of our top story this hour in the u. S. Elections democratic nominee joe biden is pulling ahead in the race for the white house is now one the state of michigan giving him 264 Electoral College votes just 6 shy of the 270 required earlier biden said he was confident of securing enough states to win the presidency but the campaign has filed lawsuits to stop vote counting in michigan and pennsylvania while calling for a recount in wisconsin and its also looking to intervene in a Supreme Court case to stop pennsylvania counting votes up to 3 days after the election the count of absentee ballots continues in battleground states like pennsylvania georgia and arizona its a tight race in nevada where biden has a narrow lead with 86 percent of the votes tallied so far. And this is how those results look on the map with wisconsin and michigan now in this state still in play are here in yellow georgia North Carolina nevada and pennsylvania joe biden again just 6 Electoral College votes away from victory lets speak to a new manual now bought all this shes director of the Aspen Security Forum and is joining us via skype from San Francisco very good to have you with us so theres clearly now a shift in bidens favor across key battleground states its hard to know of course what the final results will be nuking ly but its looking good for biden if even if theres still a number of states in contention if biden wins as expected right now will this be more of a trump loss than victory in your opinion. Thank you for having me happy to be here no i think it would be a buying victory you know let me just say a prayer it looks messy right now but this is democracy at work more americans voted in this election than ever before one of the good things about american elections is that you dont know who is going to be victorious in advance it doesnt look like i mean is going to win and i think that means that the American People divided as we are different news sources that we listen to are hoping to come together and have a calmer more thoughtful rational way forward so i do think its a win for by because i mean youre the clearest state Department Official the whole world of course is watching this election very closely and iran the while the u. S. Has been steen as a beacon of democracy how much does the fact that voice you know were seeing so Much Division right now so much contention about the legality of man in dallas were hearing about way counts and so on how much how damaging is it to americas reputation you think it can america still hold the moral high ground when it comes to democracy after this. You know a very good question i do think if we go through this process in the institutions work as they are intended no there are recounts the recounts are fair or the judiciary weighs in when they need to weigh in and old to reach every one of relates to the outcome which is what democracy is i think we will again be a beacon for democracies around the world this is never easy in every country where you have a democracy you have different views and how its run and the key is can we all come together afterwards and move the country forward rather than persisting in the joe Biden Victory certainly would reassure most tornados the you know. That such chaos as weve seen in the last 5 years it is over for now but how much do you think would u. S. Foreign policy actually change under Biden Administration especially in places like asia not just in style but but in action how much would change. The tone would change substantially exactly as you just said and i think youll see. 2 very important things youll see a real rebuilding of alliances and there is a president by reassuring our nato allies who are a little bit rattled our allies and asia japan and south korea where this Current Administration has been arguing with them about facing right now i think youll also get the feeling that the United States can be a trusted partner again i would imagine that if there is a biden presidency will begin paying our dues again to International Institutions like the world health organization. We will likely rejoin the paris Climate Change afford right all of those things that the u. S. Is seen to be a good Global Citizen i think those will change pretty substantially theres a buy but i know what way increasingly seeing a world split in 2 camps right now china and the u. S. Would what a Biden Administration actually and the spate i mean you talked about alliances. It seems that were seeing almost a new cold war. Yes that china u. S. Relationship is the most important bilateral relationship and there is no reason for there to be a cold war i think its possible for both these powers to coexist peacefully if in competition with each other and so there i think you put your finger on it really i think in terms of substance you know putting american priorities 1st saying you know we dont want chinese cheating we want our Market Access if theyre going to have their access to western markets calling china out on some of its human rights abuses i think those would very much continue under advisement station but you can see to abort differences the tone would likely be much more constructive you would once again look for areas where the 2 great powers china and the United States can Work Together for example on the pandemic and on Climate Change and i think to the extent that theres pushback on china it wouldnt be as much us versus china but it would be the u. S. And our friends in asia and europe against only china is more important to lists or illegal approaches thank you so much anya for speaking to us we appreciate hearing your views on emanuel is a former state Department Official joining us there from San Francisco thank you for your time thank you. Donald trump and joe biden are the 2 oldest president ial nominees in American History and that means their running mates have become more important than ever mike pence and common to have couldnt be more different from their politics to their personalities. And has more senator harrison Vice President pence thank you for being here when Vice President mike pence and senator coming to harris took to the debate stage in october viewers around the world witnessed a study in contrasts but when you see what the American People have done over these last 8 months hasnt worked. Its a great disservice to the sacrifices the American People of many so lets talk about caring about the American People the American People have had to sacrifice far too much because of the incompetence of this administration on the republican side 61 year old Vice President mike pence who over the past 4 years has proven himself president Donald Trumps most loyal ally. Known for his opposition to abortion the former governor of indiana is an evangelical christian and champion of the religious right critics say pence has been a driving force in the trumpet ministrations efforts to roll back protections for lesbian gay bisexual and transgender people before being chosen as trumps running mate in 2016 pins had openly questioned some of trumps policies after joining the ticket though pins transformed into an adept 2nd in command who always defer to his boss because thanks to your leadership from early on not only are we bringing a whole of government approach to confronting the coronavirus were bringing in all of america approach even as head of the White House Coronavirus task force pince wouldnt let the news that members of his team had tested positive for coping 19 keep him off the campaign trail. Continuing to campaign for trump even as Public Health officials criticized the decision. Greetings an america on the democratic side 56 year old senator Camila Harris the daughter of immigrants from jamaica and india harris in 2016 became the 1st south Asian American and 2nd africanamerican woman elected to the u. S. Senate where she represents the state of california in 2020 as the democratic Vice President ial nominee she became the 1st woman of color to be included on a major partys president ial ticket that im here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me women and men who believe so fiercely in the promise of equality liberty and justice for all known as one of the toughest interrogators in Congress Harris has repeatedly used skills honed during her tenure as a prosecutor and a former attorney general of california while questioning trumpet Administration Officials during harriss short lived president ial Campaign Critics questioned her shifting positions on policy issues and her record as a prosecutor but as a barrier breaking running me to Joe Biden Harris an advocate for racial and social justice has proven popular with supporters applauding harris has pledged to offer a path to citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants living in the u. S. In the final weeks of the campaign and members of harriss team also tested positive for colbert 19 after learning the news harris temporarily stopped traveling at a bracing reminder that for americas 2020 Vice President ial candidates differences in politics policy and personality could not be more stark. Lets turn our attention to other world news now and the United Nations is calling for a deescalation of tensions in ethiopias Northern Region after the federal government launch a military operation their Prime Minister had declared a 6 month state of emergency in tikrit and has accused the regions ruling party of attacking federal troops but local authorities dismissed sad accusing the Nobel Peace Prize winning Prime Minister off property in conflict the conflict into gray has sponsored fears of a civil war and further instability in the horn of Africa Malcolm webb is far and following developments from neighboring kenya. Ethiopia was due to hold nationwide elections in august that they were postponed the Central Government said because of covert 19 its a grain Regional Government said that meant Prime Minister ahmed and his government would no longer legitimate to grain Regional Government when they had no doubt organize its own Regional Elections in september the Central Government didnt accept the results of that election so we really had a situation where these 2 or thirtys werent recognizing each other the central federal government and threatened to cut funding to the to grow region is also significant that the majority of ethiopias armed forces are stationed in the to great region including most of its tanks and its heavy artillery its again Regional Government has said that part of the military known as the Northern Command has defected to its side to the Central Government refutes that certainly any split within ethiopias large military along with the grain aligned militias already on that side do pose a very high risk of a very dangerous civil war and now the reason for so much of the military being based in that part of the countries because of decades of conflict between ethiopia and neighboring eritrea another conflict was finally resolved to. Years ago when Prime Minister r. B. I. Made came to power he was even given a Nobel Peace Prize for ending it and now we have a situation where eritrea is allied with the Central Government in addis ababa so a conflict between baba and to gray could see eritrea being drawn in on this side risks spreading the conflict around the region and destabilizing the whole of the horn of africa. 2 more people have been killed in postelection violence in ivory coast bringing the number of dead to 13 rival factions have been fighting since the weekend elections that return president Alassane Ouattara to power i mean dangerous has our report of the days after the reelection of president Alassane Ouattara was he supporters take to the streets with a victory dance was the mood isnt the same among the opposition many oppose what continued in power saying his bid for 30 years and constitutional while ivory coast has a limit of 2 president ial terms what arises assisted a new constitution which is 60 allowed him to run again the homes of key opposition figures have been surrounded by police after some announced a Transitional Council saying they would prepare for a new election the government called that and are front to constituted authority. On monday the opposition issued a statement setting up a transitional body in the face of such a serious situation it is important to strengthen security and ensure that there are no surprises the government said it deployed at least 35000 security personnel across the country for the vote at least 9 people were killed in fighting between political supporters and Security Forces on election day according to local authorities dozens were also reported killed in election violence. The opposition has denounced the latest actions by Security Forces and say they will not give in to intimidation says that dichotomy not do these unjustified nighttime armed attacks by elements of our forces bear witness to a serious setback toward democracy and an unacceptable abuse of law and individual freedom on tuesday meet the convoys of 2 cabinet ministers were attacked and some people reportedly killed raising fears of more violence. More than 3000 people have crossed into neighboring countries fearing the outbreak of postelection violence similar to that seen in 2010 and 20 luckily the United Nations office of the coordinator for humanitarian affairs says at least 2600 people and i would like bierria and it expects more to follow in the coming days i may decrease as it is here. Kenyas president has extended the countrys nighttime curfew to contain a surge in coronavirus cases kenyatta announced the measures will last until the 1st week of january few hours have been pushed up from 11 to 10 pm and will last until 4 am the rate of infections in kenya shot up to 16 percent in october 4 times what it was a month earlier by less of an hour england will go back under lockdown to curb a 2nd wave of Coronavirus Infections many try to enjoy their last day of freedom on thursday before shops and restaurants shut down for a month is a move the Prime Minister had promised to avoid but as john a whole reports the countrys better prepared this time around. Not long ago you could get a haircut and a cocktail at blade clubbing in london so a concept that proved so popular the owners were about to open a branch in new york heres the new york wasnt. We we had to take you to actually to go 19th of march and it wasnt into everything just went up in the air and the 1st lockdown destroyed a dream despite government help the 2nd may prove lethal full livelihoods im still shocked and still. It was its a show because its been so quiet sensual and we were just trying to reach everybody and now for the last few days is just so many people receive us and we hoping its only 4 weeks were going to be close and loving islam so were going to try. Everything we can to really. Its something the government said wouldnt happen repeat national law just last week the Prime Minister said it would be disastrous for the economy. But new modeling predicted soaring hospital admissions and many thousands more deaths he was persuaded otherwise we have to face the reality that in common with many other countries in this part of the world. We are now facing a surge in that virus which this house must now with the measures weve outlined they will expire as all of the members know on december 2nd so ho by night the optimism of summer long wrong the gloom of a winter lockdown setting in the mood one Business Owner told me is one of panic many people dont believe these restrictions will be lifted as promised in a months time raising the prospect of lost revenue all the way up to christmas the hope is that lockdown will bring th