st peter's basilica to hear their traditional be at or be blessing. the pope also urged compassion for refugees comparing them to mary and joseph journeying to bethlehem. by. a merry business christmas day is over and retail is objecting their stockings to see if they've been bad or good this season tech has been top of many christmas lists we'll check in with the trends also coming up china's new silk road cannot hundred billion dollars revive the oldest trade route in the world and. santa sells how the self-styled home of father christmas finland is drawing tourists from all over asia. and on the winter and this is your christmas business update he made a list he checked it twice and now father christmas can put his feet up meanwhile retailers will be taking stock of the run up to the seasonal festivities retail

chains and department store sold a lot of books toys and gadgets more people than ever also went online to buy items for their family and friends the german retail association says online sales increased here by ten percent this holiday season to twelve billion euros. and many of the big money spending products are from the world of tech from both the serious and the city. look at the little drummer boy playing without a drum set he's playing on free drum using sensors to track a drum his movements high tech his fun throw in a roller coaster at copenhagen's to fully you can ride a dragon through a fantasy world or enjoy the thrills of a hyper realistic london skyline adventure when in fact you're laying in an advanced swivel chair. virtual reality made a big splash in twenty seventeen but not only for thrill seekers v.o.r.

is a learning tool to this shirt lets you look inside the body a lesson in biology ready to wear. wearables were all over the place dressing humans in east and dogs with the collar that connects to g.p.s. and other devices. and if wearing your tech isn't personal enough for you how about implants chipping people sounds like an orwellian horror scenario but it's quite practical. once chipped employees at a swedish company can open doors with the swipe of a hand employees thrilled i want to be fair and honest you share. a future where even information about your train ticket is stored under your skin a future where you pay using your fingertips privacy issues not for these early adopters. my facebook account probably knows more about me than this company will

ever know about me i thought so i'm not really bothered by that humans and technology taking another step towards each other in twenty seventeen you do the walking the avatar follows at least for now. and we're staying in tech bitcoins wild swings continue over the holiday season prices of range between eleven and fourteen thousand dollars for the last twenty four hours overall it's lost of course. of its value in the past week alone some observers suggested that many investors were cashing in on massive gains across the board as they closed their books ahead of the holidays despite the recent sell off overall bitcoin has still rallied since the beginning of this year by get this around thirteen hundred percent. and israel's markets regulator wants to ban because in the israel securities authority is looking to stop companies who do business in the digital currency from trading on the television stock exchange the move will be subject to

approval by the i s a board next week and in another move israel's treasury says it will introduce a challenge a two bit calling a digital shackle the a will be to stop millions of dollars worth of value x. in the country via global crypto currency that's as more countries investigate digital alternatives to cash now a thousand years ago caravans of camels brought porcelain spices and silk from china to the west along with a network of trade routes called the silk road now china is reviving that tradition with the casually titled infrastructure project the belton road initiative and it's gigantic take a look at this costing nine hundred billion dollars the project includes transport hubs roads bridges railway lines sea ports and airports this week we're tracing this new silk road and we begin in the former imperial city of she and also the historic silk road starting point from there it leads three and

a half thousand kilometers towards whole goss home to twelve thousand companies on the kazakhstan border. on the outskirts of ceann three men are preparing for a modern day silk road caravan sun surely examines the assignment and says they'll take the highway for the entire route. they're going to deliver to dump trucks that have just rolled off the assembly line. was. seen on is a city with millions of residents and was the capital of china during several dynasties more than two thousand years ago seann was the starting point of the renowned silk road. camel caravans transported silk and other goods to europe until the middle ages gold and jewelry were brought to china. if everything runs smoothly the men will reach whole gas in six or seven days it's

a border city in northwestern china. that's where the kyrgyz is client will pick up the trucks. there of course it's a long trip but i like traveling this route i've been doing it for the past four or five years i really like it. that the truckers have a three and a half thousand kilometer journey ahead of them. china has expanded the route substantially in recent years beijing has earmarked some nine hundred billion dollars for its new silk road including roads railway lines pipelines ports and airports. the route goes through breathtaking landscapes the colorful mountains were barely known until a few years ago now there are tourist attraction. many people here hope to benefit from the new silk road. the oasis city of don't honk is already reaping the rewards

part of the desert is a national park and camels now transport tourists instead of goods. only doesn't pay much attention to the beauty of the landscape he often thinks about his ten year old son. he frequently calls him since the two seldom see each other. and become a truck driver it's too dangerous the army could be good for him because you can develop a strong character there. the last province on the route is shin jungle where the muslim turkic speaking wiggers complain of discrimination china is often accused of suppressing the ethnic group in its efforts to fight terrorism investment along the new silk road may help ease the situation and defuse the conflict. the three drivers are close to their destination spending the last night at

a highway rest area it costs two dollars cheap enough for their limited budget they can finally get some rest and have a smoke. when he's not sure they get used to this life. the next day they'll reach their final destination on the border with kazakhstan and then return to see on by train. a new high tech metro line has launched in the indian capital delhi if we just drive less technology although for now it'll be driven manually the magenta line was inaugurated by prime minister narendra modi it connects the southern part of delhi with the satellite city of noida is an i.t. hub the rail cars feature wife on a u.s.b. charging point and state of the art safety features. britain's railways are mostly closed for repairs over christmas but one of the country's busiest terminal stations euston has been opened to people who normally hug the shadows there two

hundred homeless people were given christmas dinner along with warm clothing socks clubs and lucky backs the charity event was funded by a total of forty five companies. for and staying with christmas in scandinavian folklore santa claus doesn't live at the north pole but in the north of finland in lapland a small village there styles itself as the home of father christmas to attract tourists and with its grottos reindeer and plenty of snow it's a dream come true for the young and the young at heart. it's a winter wonderland at santa claus village just outside the city of rovaniemi more than three hundred thousand tourists come here each year with high seas and in december here in northern finland they can enjoy a reindeer ride and join in the festive holiday spirit people from warmer climates are particularly fond of the snow. people here are very friendly and whiskey is

quite different and there will be and it's really i actually knew this is like holiday everywhere a few years ago many of the visitors came from neighboring russia they helped drive up revenue in santa claus village but times have changed in the last season alone we didn't witness hundred percent growth of chinese markets and also the overnights from from singapore and they will they are big numbers from the others asian markets as well but those are the. snowslide snowman and us no bar there's plenty to please the tourists. feel like a star is being said to really love the ride the bus in the poison very very hot country nearby accommodations are convenient for the many guests this typical finnish style hotel cost six million euros to build and was financed by chinese investors they can turn

a good profit in lapland with the help of asian tourists and some are likely to return next year after warmly recommending the finnish winter to their friends. it really is a window wonderland and that wraps up another gift of the show if you want more christmas cheer check us out on social media on facebook and twitter i'll be back tomorrow same time same place see that. we've. moved to.

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