we are working tirelessly to keep you informed on all of our platforms we're all interested in being run together and we're making sure you stay safe everybody. stay safe stay safe please stay safe. a moment of truth for our planet in a year filled with extreme climate events exactly 5 years after the paris agreement a virtual climate ambition summit this weekend once a breathe new life into curbing carbon emissions with the u.s. back onboard can world leaders bring about the sea change that's needed and rescue the planet's whale her awkward role in this is the day.

the promise was made the very very few guns because. we're still in a state of complete denial climate change is the most a very suitable trysts. millions of people are already suffering from climate think . it's not just a crisis but a transformation and there is no vaccine. and also on the day germany is in the grip of an intensive scare this week nic over 1000 cases and deaths in germany reached record highs there are now 40 percent more seriously ill patients and icy use than there were back in the spring. for weeks we are working on a very big pressure in some areas the president is so big that people are getting sick over this the psychological and the physical for they have to work is immense

. european union leaders have reached a heart far deal to make a dramatic cuts to the e.u.'s greenhouse gas emissions after all night talks the member states agreed to reduce emissions by 55 percent by the end of the decade as head of the e.u. presidency german chancellor angela merkel welcomed the deal saying it had been worth staying up all night to clinch it and then in targeting aims to reach net 0 emissions by 2050 council president shall michelle says it will make europe the leader in the fight against climate change. let's take a listen now to what you commission president or as of underwire had to say about the agreement. and today's agreement puts us on a clear pass what's climate neutrality in 2050 it gives certainty to investors to businesses to public authorities and to citizens it future proves our union

all you countries should benefit from the transition with economic growth a cleaner environment and healthier citizens the european green deal will be our growth strategy and their pledge to achieve climate neutrality by leaders in brussels comes 5 years almost to the day after world leaders gathered in paris pledging you guessed it to cut the output of greenhouse gases but that they achieved that take a lesson. that girl was 5 years ago the historic paris agreement was adopted at the climate conference call 21 the goal is to keep the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. since then 199 have ratified the agreement but 5 years on progress has been slow.

the biggest emitters have yet to submit goals that will put them in line with the accord. some countries have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 you'll have. that includes the world's 2nd biggest emitter the united states which had withdrawn from the accord but it set to rejoin under president elect joe biden. the world's biggest polluter china promises to follow suit by 2060 but no nation has yet outlined details for how they will meet these climate goals. carbon dioxide emissions declined by around 7 percent this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but nation's plans for an economic recovery still have really focuses on supporting sectors burning fossil fuels. nation should be looking instead toward investment in green jobs and infrastructure says u.n. secretary general antonio good terrorists making peace with nature is the

defining process of the 21st century it must be the top priority for everyone everywhere the u.n. estimates that of countries continue as they're doing there could be a temperature increase of over 3 degrees celsius this century leading to impacts far more devastating than we've witnessed this year even with the pandemic. well for more on this i'm now joined by david wright fischer he is an expert in international climate policy from german watching and you campaigning for equity between the global north and the global south and he joins us now from bonn a very warm welcome sir it is ironic of course that emissions haven't fallen you know 7 percent in a 2020 the pandemic forcing a sits we were never done otherwise d. carbonized do you have faced now in the east pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 well 1st of all thank you very much for having me tonight yes

the pledge today is a. minus 55 percent by 2030 is an extremely important step towards reaching those goals in line with the paris agreement of course just goals is it's just a point of orientation and what medicine now is how we put all that into action and not it's not just the goal that the you agreed on but also the budget for 2021 to 2027 and those above one trillion that's crucial that those are invested in compatible investment has essentially has there been any progress so you think that has been made in the last 5 years. yes there has definitely been significant progress 2 years ago we would have not seen such an announcement we just saw today

we are told that in large part to the youth movement in the street that has had a significant impact but also because the paris agreement has worked well it has proved giving us a point of our intake this head of benchmarking climate compatibility compatibility with the paris agreement is the new standard we don't we just not only see it by nations we see it by cities regions investors and real economy actors alike but for now we only see countries and leaders pledging making pledge pledges and and it's all very very ambitious goals but just how viable are these goals how we listed are they absolutely so far it's just gold and it's important it's not just lip service we have no time to spare the climate crisis is ongoing i mean we just saw the 2 harry conceding under us just as an example but it is possible we have seen

the dramatic decline in him in emissions and not just because of the pen damage because we don't want dress that drastic cuts like a pandemic has hit all of the societies but it's possible we have seen a dramatic decline as an example in germany on coal consumption over the past 2 years and rapid increase in renewable energies we see how 0 emission vehicles are picking up so it is possible it is possible that in the u.s. the incoming biden administration expressed a commitment to tackle climate change put this in perspective for us how crucial is america's commitment. that leadership is highly important. wouldn't would i mean the trouble and mr he did not manage to do rail the paris agreement it empowered to a certain degree of the like or it's like saudi arabia australia brazil but within you by administration there is the potential for a very new and is celebrated dynamic and nonetheless.

all the other countries moved on without the u.s. so it's not just if we had just looking at the u.s. everyone moves on and the u.s. can step on the bandwagon and contribute to that dynamic and accelerate that dynamic and they organization campaigns for equality for rich and the poor and in poor countries are they in a position to d. carbonized we really so and actually it's very is poor and vulnerable countries have presented a very ambitious goal for 2030 despite the fact that they hit severely by the corona and having that they hit by fiscal constraints by and debt in this and still they are putting out high and vision the important thing is that developed countries bringing in the resources to support those countries developed countries have pledged to provide $100000000000.00 u.s.

dollars by 2020 and we do not know yet whether they actually will have matched that numbers and they will need to increase further that support because there are those resources are necessary that developing countries can actually met them bishan and debt to the effects of climate change david right experts in international climate policy from german watch thank you for joining us thank you very much. germany has set a new record for corona virus infections with nearly 30000 cases in the past 24 hours 598 people have died the highest daily total yet weeks of a partial lockdown have been slow the spread of infection and nuff and much tougher restrictions seem almost inevitable now with political momentum building for a stricter along down over the holidays several german states are now already taking matters in their into their own hands here the record infections are not

just a number german hospitals like this one in mannheim are struggling to treat the rising number of patients with covert 19. get out on the streets you might not know the country is in crisis the so-called lockdown light restrictions mean shops and schools are still open the german state of baton written back is not waiting for the federal government to take action you fire up. from december 12th on we are imposing a general lockdown for all of battenberg back on. from saturday residents there may only leave their homes with a valid reason such as going to work or school the situation is dangerous all lawmakers seem to agree on that several other german states are urging action at the national level. we can see it getting away from us slipping from our hands we have to make a decision that's clear more resolute and more understandable and try to escape

this is a matter of life and death to put it clearly it's a matter of ethical responsibility that we in the government have. chancellor angela merkel is also in support of stricter measures on sunday germany's federal and state leaders will meet once more to discuss the crisis. meanwhile germany's schools are preparing for more restrictions or a possible expansion of the vacation period yet education ministers are asking for as few cuts to schooling as possible. in our opinion vacation should not be extended but rather we should introduce remote learning or even a lifting of compulsory attendance or a combination of both these are 3 models we have. just under 2 weeks to christmas eve and a holiday that will probably be a lot quieter than usual. and here with me on the set to discuss the economic

fallout of another log down is my colleague rob watts from d.w. business rob just how bad would a 2nd hard lock down be for the german economy well business is a really bracing themselves for this particularly businesses in the retail sector they're the ones that stand had to really suffer from a further lockdown particularly at this time of year you know christmas period is when a lot of shops do a lot of their best business and that's a huge amount of revenue that they stand for tension he missed out on retail groups urging the governments of the different states please don't force us to close all of our shops they say that in a worst case scenario the retail sector for germany could be losing a 1000000000 your is a day. if the harshest possible lockdown is put in place so they say no what you need to be doing is choosing where you put these lockdowns in place focus them on where things are the worst thing that you know is the retail side as it stands in

line for some real problems if this does happen we've also got hospitality sector you know restaurants and bars have already been heavily restricted since the start of november the idea of a continuing for them i'm sure is not very appealing then you know manufacturing has been recovering and that's now in a position where it doesn't know what impact a further lockdown might have on its supply chain are there any plans by the german government to soften the blow somehow well it could be said that the german government's done quite a good job of doing just that so far it's nice to avoid insolvencies with grants and loans but he's taken on you know unheard of amounts of money for a german government to do that we've also had the short time work scheme that prevented people being laid off because the government's been paying the wards the the wages that they're not actually being able to work for. what they've had in place since the start of this lockdown light as we keep calling it since the start of embers that the government has been paying up to 75 percent of the lost revenues

to businesses they've been affected by the lock down the thoughts to widen to include shops and many more businesses than it already does that's potentially an awful lot of money and probably more money than the german government is willing to put in now will the german economy look very very different after this pandemic it could indeed look. pretty different time particularly in terms of smaller businesses like shops and such that where we have this phenomenon called the design business which is businesses that are really only being kept alive by the help they're getting from the governments of the moment and when that support disappears and they have the rug pulled from beneath them we may actually find ourselves having a wave of businesses the can no longer be bob rob watts reporting to you business thank you so much rob great to have you on never. so that's the likely economic effects of the impending lockdown a heavy price to pay but the human cost of not acting is chilling $600.00 deaths

a day in germany and the country's hospitals in intensive care wards are close to being overwhelmed by the ill in many regions we asked who a young since an intensive care doctor to tell us what is the situation like on the frontline. the burden is very high the pressure is very high about not just. starting this week for weeks we are working on a very big pressure in some areas the president is so big that people are getting sick over this the psychological and physical stress for they have to work is immense they stand up against disaster of to end this inevitable situation but we fear that the strength of these people is getting. down in the next few days so we stated this morning that we

want the government and all the governments in germany the 16 states to get to a locked on much harder than it was pronounced early in november this is the only way to slow down the highway infection rates and to stop the rising numbers of infected covered 9000 people on the i.c.u. was all over germany dr johnson so therefore on the way forward my next guest is bettina martin the education minister of one of germany's 16 federal states is so good to have you with us now listening to dr yon since there he is warning he is urging germany and the federal states to act now he sees caseload and death rates rising and yet there is still a debate going on in this country about whether restrictions should be tightened

what is everybody waiting for why isn't the country in this together. well we found a lot down in november unfortunately did not show the results we were all hoping that we would have a one month lockdown will then go into a better better phase over christmas this whole didn't wasn't a field and now we see the numbers rising in a very. very concerning way also in the most in our city even the northeastern state where i am in history and we're very concerned and the state can use together with a chance to meet on sunday and will decide what will have to happen and i think there is is like a consensus that there will have to be more measures taken so nobody is waiting we have to now take measures and then act now we've heard about the economic

consequences and of course the health care emergency what's being done in your region. well we for example and we we are the one of the 2 states that have the lowest numbers of and factions at the moment and have had it for the whole time of the pen endemic however we are now seeing their numbers rising in a very concerning way so we decided. to days ago that we will close down the pressure of the physical class attendance in our schools starting from the 7th grade up starting on monday so we have only happens there cherno in our schools which is a very painful step because let's face it for the kids to go to school and to have education and also to have a structured day it is very important to ensure to say ok we take half of all the.

students out the pupils out of school that's a that's a big measure that's drastic and for me i mean we've you just heard in your program concerns about. the people the shops and the loss of money in the sales for christmas i am very concerned about the shooter not getting the education they deserve in this time so for me it's a very hard step to take you to take people kids out of school and have them in digital learning at home this is a big step looking back do you think a chance was miss here in november when germany decided not to go for a tougher lockdown. well i think everybody hoped it would have better results and it's always easier to to say what we should have done at that time and it seemed to be the right step and it's always

a balance and as soon you know we've been in this crisis now for so many months but still this is we go step by step and we have to see how things hard the results are and obviously might have been better to go a bit more drastic into the november budget at that time seem to be right and for me as an education minister minister for education for universities to fair for signs and for culture and these are the areas where people are really suffering not for being able to to work not being able to be educated not being able to perform this is hard steps and you are just have to balance and ok but looking backwards might have been better to go a bit more drastic into this but you know not better and we'll see what their 2nd year is the chance of a side on sunday and a few moments that i have left to do what has been the biggest challenge for us

a politician in dealing with this pandemic and for me as as an educational minister for me being the kids at school which is such a fundamental right for children it's a it's a right it's a human right for all for education and to combine this with the right for health and to find a balance between these 2 this is a huge challenge to deal with a few years of the parents to deal with or as the concerns of the teachers and to fire the balance this is a huge challenge for all of us that the goal of the world but you know martin education minister in mecklenburg western pomerania thank you for joining us thank you very much. life can be a dull routine for many domestic workers in hong kong who often cook and clean 6 days a week many are filipino migrants to sacrifice their lives back home for higher

wages elsewhere but on sundays their day off one group has decided they want to do something entirely different and they're aiming to win big. for. nothing. well drilled and athletic they look like they could be a professional team before these filipino women crickets and all the rituals that go with it is a hobby for their rare day off on a sunday. it's a chance to one wind down after a week cooking and cleaning for households in hong kong. it's very relaxing to look you know it's my day to. worthwhile so it's good to forget all the stress because of all this. you know everything and just focus on what you do and that's.

back home in the philippines basketball or baseball or a sport typically captures the imagination of sports fans the s.e.c. divas are working on changing that they're a breath of fresh air in hong kong's cricket scene which is rooted in its british colonial past. in the now on the run of life to be yours because i've done so much good noting down getting better and every did a learning lot of cricket in skills and i'm dead too he's discussing how to play cricket more and better. not that this group need much teaching now they've won their league twice and are on the beaten say fog this season maybe even provided most of the prayers for a newly created philippines national team. looking at the else are you know really in to was there for all this on line to set certain sports. and be different than guidelines and closer to you know support from people

all once the system into all this. we have it all the while they continue to rack up the runs scoring for success a welcome break from into a job. finally st peter's square in rome was awash with lights and music as the vatican held its annual christmas tree lighting ceremony while the 30 meter tall spruce tree that's nearly 100 feet was glittering with tens of thousands of lights for francis wasn't there but a small round gathered observing covert regulations allison to the band play season on the. move.

on festive cheer there for you well that was the day as ever the conversation continues online you'll find us on twitter at d w news stay healthy out there. to

the point strong opinions clear positions international perspectives. following terrorist attacks this fall french president jacques rogge wants to crack down on radical islamists will they succeed in stopping the cycle of violence or further divide the country find out on to the point. to point. the 2 minutes on t w. every journey begins with the 1st step and every

language the 1st word going to conclude the coaxing germany to shut. why not permit them. to suffer in simple mind on your mobile and free. t.w. zealand in course because free german made easy. prize meal and i'm game did you know that 700000000000 land of them are killed worldwide so that we can include but it's not just the animals of all suffering it's the environment we went on a journey to find ways out of the nutrition if you want in a cold way click to the priest and the culture has changed as the thesis listen to our podcast on the green fence.

in the far north. beyond the inhabitable world. it's lonely. barren. and breathtakingly beautiful. the arctic. powerful expanse of bitter cold. and the sound of global warming. we take a journey around the north pole reach profiteers and talk with people experiencing a changing environment. for the ice disappears earlier and it keeps retreating. our future depends on what happens here in one of the most fragile ecosystems of. northern lights the arctic circle starts december 21st g.w. .

this is you know when you fly from berlin raising the bar the. agrees on a more ambitious goal in the fight against climate change member states agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent in the next decade also coming up there's been no let up in germany sees a 2nd record day of corona virus infections with nearly $30000.00 new cases the pressure is growing for a new nationwide law down to begin the for christmas and a landmark a bill pro-choice activists celebrate as argentina's lower house of congress votes

narrowly to liberalize the country's abortion laws. and while iraq thank you very much for your company well we begin this broadcast with a development at a high stakes summit to european union leaders have reached a heart fought deal to dramatically cut their country's greenhouse gas emissions after all my talks one member states agreed to reduce emissions by 55 percent by the end of the decade well the new target aims to put the e.u. back on track to reach net 0 emissions by 2050. judging by their faces there was no doubt it had been a long night here in brussels. after hungary and poland had finally agreed to drop their veto on the entire e.u. budget leaders could get on with tackling what was the commission's most pressing

issue before the pandemic struck the climate crisis. the c o 2 the keeping this was worth a sleepless night i can't imagine what would have happened if we weren't able to reach this result. she's talking about the e.u. use new more ambitious climate goals compared to $990.00 the plan now for sea slashing greenhouse emissions by 55 percent in the next 10 years by investing in green energy and technology. the e.u. has pledged to become climate neutral by 2050 the previous target of 40 percent have been criticized as being far too low but some eastern countries with coal dependent economies feared serious consequences they demanded more clarity on funding to ease the transition according to the outcome of the meeting each member states individual situation will be addressed level to this year and will is to take into account that different countries had different starting points to take up the issue with the spirit of equality and solidarity. to the polish prime

minister's office tweeted we have an agreement which creates the conditions for a just transformation of the polish energy an economy. with another major obstacle out of the way it was time for us to wrap up germany's e.u. council presidency the stuffings are going to us i can tell you the german presidency was a lot of fun although we weren't able to achieve a lot of things that we planned this is all for me last time and as it's come 2021 portugal will be taking over our itself let's bring in now executive director of greenpeace international jennifer moore again a very good to have you with us miss morgan now these measures said that we just are heard in that report are they too little too late. they are definitely too little and although we still have time they risk being too late excuse where in

a climate emergency and we're experiencing extreme weather fires drought storms all around the world and the e.u. needed to take on a 65 percent cut rather than this 55 percent cut which isn't actually much more than they're already you know on track to meet so we need more from the e.u. and we'll keep working for that right but is that viable that 65 percent that you just mentioned as the e.u. is already committing now more than a couple of billions of euros into renewable energy will that help. well i think that it is definitely possible i mean right now you have a situation that around the world according to the international renewable energy agency that 95 percent of new energy that's being installed is from renewables it is cheaper more affordable than coal and most other fossil fuels so this is a a win win win i you know that it brings much better air quality in places like central and eastern europe and health benefits it brings new jobs into the system

and it tackles climate change which is a life and death situation so it's doable it makes sense and it would benefit the e.u. to go even further than what they did today let's talk about nuclear which is believed to be part of the solution there how is that going down with greenpeace. nuclear is not the solution nuclear is risky from a range of different perspectives the waste issues the risk of the fallout issues it's also extremely expensive and so when you have an energy source around wind around solar and energy efficiency all put together it's it's not needed and it's very much too late it takes too long we need to act now we need to have global emissions in the next 8 years now in terms of economic impact which is of course also something that countries have to keep in mind what does this goal mean.

i think the goal means that from an economic perspective i mean there's 2 parts of this right one is that the e.u. is preparing itself for that 0 carbon economy and it is creating jobs i mean if you look across the job market some places where say renewable energy is booming it was one of the largest growth in jobs in the united states for example over the last number of years so from an economic perspective of that piece of it it's definitely a benefit for him and also will help the e.u. this is a global piece but you have to think about the impacts of climate change itself to the farming system to our infrastructure to our buildings that just cause tremendous cost which often is not taken into account so if you put that all together you know this is this is sound for the e.u. to do it just needs to be further and it needs of course to be working with other countries to move in the same direction and that in the last remaining 30 seconds

that we have together i mean is there enough sense incentive for countries to propel them to do more. i think the movements around the world if people can look at their kids in the face and hear that youth that are out on the street that should be enough incentive beyond all of this economics that i'm talking about this is the moral issue of our time. to thank you so much jennifer morgan executive director of greenpeace international good to have you on thank you i'd like to bring up to speed now with some of the other stories making news around the world british media say the government is planning to protect roll the country's fishing waters with the help of the royal navy it's no gregs a trade deal can be reached reports say naval vessels would have the power to stop checking and impound all your fishing boats operating in british waters. work has restarted on the controversial north stream to gas pipeline between russia

and germany almost one year after u.s. sanctions brought the project to a halt the pipeline is almost complete washington says it will make europe too dependent on russian gas berlin meanwhile says it will create a secure energy supply. germany is lifting a ban on deportations to syria for the 1st time in 8 years despite the ongoing conflict in the war torn country the decision means that syrian nationals convicted of a crime or deemed a security risk face deportation starting january 1st. germany has set a new record for corona virus infections with nearly 30000 cases in the past 24 hours 598 people have died the highest daily total yet weeks of a partial lockdown have been slow the spread of the infection enough and tougher restrictions now seem almost inevitable but political momentum building for a stricter log down over the holidays. here the record

infections are not just a number german hospitals like this one in mannheim are struggling to treat the rising number of patients with covert 19. get out on the streets you might not know the country is in crisis the so-called lockdown light restrictions mean shops and schools are still open the german state of baton rittenberg is not waiting for the federal government to take action. from december 12th on we are imposing a general lockdown for all a bad back. from saturday residents there may only leave their homes with a valid reason such as going to work or school the situation is dangerous all lawmakers seem to agree on that several other german states are urging action at the national level. we can see it getting away from us slipping from our hands

we have to make a decision that's clear more resolute and more understandable and. this is a matter of life and death to put it clearly it's a matter of ethical responsibility that we in the government have. chancellor i'm going to machall is also in support of stricter measures on sunday germany's federal and state leaders will meet once more to discuss the crisis. meanwhile germany's schools are preparing for more restrictions or a possible expansion of the vacation period yet education ministers are asking for as few cuts to schooling as possible. in our opinion vacation should not be extended but rather we should introduce remote learning or even a lifting of compulsory attendance or a combination of both these are 3 models we have. just under 2 weeks to christmas eve and a holiday that will probably be

a lot quieter than usual. so how is the german government planning to respond to this record surge in infections earlier but that very question to do political correspondent salmiya. well i we know that the government is inclined to impose tough measures when necessary above all chancellor merkel herself supports a tough lock down we heard an emotional peel appeal from her in parliament just the other day saying that you know it really more action was needed a lot of this action is going to be put in place by germany's regional states because they have responsibility for. a lot of things like schooling and so on so but now we're seeing that one state after another coming forward bargain version bag they're imposing a curfew from tomorrow saturday you won't be able to go out freely without good reason that you're going to work or you're going to see the doctor and other states

doing something similar in north rhine-westphalia another big populous state in the west telling old school peoples to follow the lessons from home and saxony is imposing a full lockdown of closing shops and schools from monday so it's pretty clear which way the wind is blowing. well now to south america where argentina's lower house of congress has passed a bill to legalize abortion thousands of pro and anti abortion activists rally through the night and one of us as lawmakers debated the legislation if the bill clears the senate it would make argentina the 1st major latin american nation to decriminalize abortion. and are you 131 in favor 117 against with 6 abstentions. it means what these women have tirelessly campaigned for. as other got my eyes and we've

been fighting for this fundamental human right for 15 years so we're overjoyed we held a 21 hour vigil outside congress and in more than 40 places around the country we took to the streets once more to make sure lawmakers knew they had to vote in favor just as the people already have. argentina has some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws women who undergo the procedure face prosecution. the rules are only waived in a handful of circumstances thousands of women have resorted to back street abortions and died. in the digital western of human rights social justice and public health. crisis right is one we must begin a debate and begin to think about our role as women and what we want whether or not we want to be mothers this is it. it is ok. but not everyone was happy

meters away antiabortion activists held their own rally. that i don't believe it's a right i think the unborn have a right to live. and i think there are other options such as education and prevention. if the bill passes the senate it will make abortion legal up to the 14th week of pregnancy but pro-choice activists can't rest on their laurels yet is the 2nd time this has happened in 2018 a similar bill was rejected after passing the lower house and despite enjoying strong public support these women hope that will be repeated. the and. the vatican has officially inaugurated its christmas tree st peter's square earlier this evening we want to leave you now with the pictures from the ceremony

have a wonderful weekend. why are people forced to hide in trucks. there are many reasons. there are many answers. and there are many stories.

to make up your. job made for mines. as coronavirus cases in germany hit record highs businesses brace themselves a strict christmas lockdown looks all but certain with some states moving to implement want this week at. meanwhile consumer confidence in the u.s. is rising despite the country also posting record called it numbers so why the optimism we'll ask our correspondent in new york. and cuba is getting rid of its currency system the dollar have pegged convertible pay as being taken out of

circulation put us why. this is to be a business on what's in berlin welcome to the program. a christmas lockdown was once considered the worst case scenario by many in germany but now it's all but inevitable on friday the country reported almost 30000 new cases in 24 hours a daily record and the number of deaths continues to reach all time highs. it's a shock for many germans the record new cases suggesting tougher lock downs around their way stores could face much stricter measures including closing entirely nationwide this christmas season the time when retailers had expected over 100000000000 years in revenues experts fear devastating economic consequences. we expect significant increase of bankruptcies in 2021 are

longer and the stricter any law lasts and will become the higher the likelihood of even more bankruptcies next year and author. of an increase of unemployment opinion is split as has become so common during this pandemic between the joule priorities the health of the public and the health of the economy. i think it's good but i don't think is good is that shops are supposed to close because it affects all the small retailers while the large supermarkets and drug stores where the situation is much more dangerous are allowed to stay open. he has a slim even though it's bad for the economy and everyone else i think a lockdown would be better it would definitely be better off either. but it wouldn't be better for business data agency credit reform predicts up to $24000.00 insolvency proceedings next year that'd be the biggest jump since the end of the 2nd world war with tourism catering and the cultural events industries being hit

the hardest germany had expected christmas to be tough on everyone this year but for retailers across the country it could be an exceptionally dreary holiday season . meanwhile u.s. consumer confidence has risen in december suggesting growing optimism about the longer term prospects for the economy the u.s. is posting record numbers of coronavirus hospitalisations and. yes economists had been expecting a drop in confidence compared with november however it experienced a bounce according to data from the university of michigan. let's get to the bottom of this with financial correspondents in new york quarter explain to us why confidence can be rising at this time. yeah i mean it has been a slippery slope into pretty an even recovery what might have felt consumer

confidence is all the news about the vix scenes that we've gotten maybe also all those headlines all for records on the stock markets in recent weeks might also have helped to increase confidence up but then if we do see what happens with the consumer confidence figures they are not really bipartisan so after the election said democrats are definitely felt much better than republicans that that's interesting so republicans feeling more downbeat democrats feeling more of the needs are already of them right. well there might be overly optimistic also if you look at the stock market by the way and you see all those funny constructions that they're building here to avoid dining by the way the governor of new york today actually announced that in your dining will be stopped in the upcoming mondays so that could be tough for the

restaurant owners we might see more layoffs talking about layoffs just on thursday we got those weekly jobless figures that came in much worse than expected so clearly there is all this hope was the reccy and the like but that might take a while and especially in the upcoming months the situation old economically could get worse and then also if you look a lot of people did not have to pay rents for now the same is true with evictions that were stopped for now but that's going to change at some point and that could also dent in the mood of consumers once again. on the streets of new york thanks for joining us. now some of the other business stories making the news work has resumed on the north stream 2 pipeline which will move natural gas from russia to germany despite u.s. complaints washington has threatened sanctions on companies involved in the project . and the you is set to announce new rules next week to punish

misbehaving tech firms including 6 percent fines on turnover brussels wants the likes of google and facebook to crack down on illegal content on their plan or. other trading relationship between the e.u. and the u.k. is going to change at the start of january deal or no deal but we still don't know how it or change among those worst affected by the uncertainty of british farmers. these fields have been cultivated by monte andrew's family for 5 generations the farm of a temperate rex it he hopes to reclaim the freedom and independence of pre e.u. days wanted to take things back into his own hands just like boris johnson promised . but now with bricks it looming he says he feels abandoned by his government. well it's like driving into a fog with no law it's just me. i don't know i don't really don't know if you.

tell me what to do. or do it but are there is no good think there's just a lot of talk on the television but there's no what do we do. andrew's dream was for britain to become an independent trading power again after brics it. but independence still requires structure a framework. will there be trade agreements or not if you don't stand what it's doing at the moment it doesn't so we're on our own we'll go back to the wall again but don't worry we. will. still your people and we know will come through it. like i'm sorry no more. we trauma andrew brown forced to stay in the e.u. it's common agricultural standards. these are higher than those in the us the

country boris johnson wants to close a trade deal with. a trade deal that could spell ruin for farmers like him. the way they treat their animals i think is absolutely appalling that they're saying they won't allow low standards food into the u.k. that is that is produced at lower standards than ours but they refused to put that into into law yet such a law would grant protection to british farmers brown and others like him simply can't compete with the low costs of industrial farming but so far all he has a vague promise is a new guarantee that imports will have to be at the same standard that we grow yes absolutely there's no point in having all the environment with high animal welfare standards if you learn allow them to be undercut much and ultimately if you have

high standards here and then you're in from elsewhere you're not really contributing to animal welfare or environmental standards you're simply offshoring those low standards and that's wrong but with bracks it less than 3 weeks away and actual nor guaranteeing this has still not been passed. cuba is scrapping one of its 2 official currencies in january the convertible peso mainly used by visitors to the country will go as part of a reform package that will also see the minimum wage dramatically increase cubans will soon have to get used to paying with just one kind of money the peso the communist government says doing away with the convertible equivalent is about improving fairness. it's already been said that this reform is not a magic solution to all the problems that are present in our economy however it will enable the creation of conditions necessary to enhance in a more substantial manner. in normal

shops people will only be able to use the peso doing away with the convertible peso which was pegged to the dollar but because the cuban government desperately needs hard currency a number of new dollar stores now offer household and other imported goods in exchange for dollars or euros this means fewer goods like these in other stores so retailers could theoretically increase their prices for scarce goods but shopkeepers are being warned not to stoke inflation. we will not tolerate speculative pricing because it clashes with our coronavirus measures those not complying will face severe punishment. good shortages remain an issue in cuba whatever the currency the pandemic and related drop in tourism have hit the country hard whether pesos or dollars are in scant supply is

essentially a moot point. and finally one of the ways you know christmas is coming into a pattern when you start saying looking everywhere. the japanese retail phenomenon is caught. and what's inside the bag is with more than the price tag but the catch you don't know what's inside to you. that's all from me in the business team here check out our website. slash business .

true the point is strong opinions clear positions international perspectives. following terrorist attacks this fall french president jacques rogge wants to crack down on radical islamists will they succeed in stopping the cycle of violence or further divide the country to find out on to the point. to the point. the system focus on the t w. to go beyond the

obvious. as we take on the world. where it. is the stories that matter to you. the ball something. good to see more than ever it takes to. me come up the system introduced me to another. man. i. was in the century for an eccentric monarch. love filled with fantasy. was. to see.

tragic. secrets to success starts december 25th. ave. this is the news africa coming up in the program where the 2nd wave is hit several african countries record new spikes including our virus cases study in kenya shows far more people have been expected from previously thought. also coming out. although the gaming industry in africa is booming.