this is news live from germany heads full i try to lock down the restrictions over the festive period tell us hopes of a christmas recovery a dash to stores and schools were told to close from wednesday. coronavirus numbers no choice coming up the u.s. prepares to launch an historic vaccination if it in its fight against the pandemic doses of the pfizer buying take vaccine a big shift across the country bringing hope to many. join the. real must by whose name the time synonymous with the cold war is. not.

and in german football after a spectacular win of a hoffenheim take the top spot in the board as the. amount to be held welcome to the show germany is set to return to a total walk down from wednesday off the chants of the medical announced a raft of tough new measures schools and kindergartens will close as well as non-essential shops and services setting the stage for a rather bleak holiday season in germany merkel and germany's regional leaders. in response to shop the rising tide did 19 in fiction rights and it health departments reported more than 16000 new infections in the last day that's 4000 more. and on

monday last week 188 people died with covey 19. of them all let's bring in data believe political correspondent nina has a name to welcome the numbers are still rising 4000 cases more compared to last monday and 41 more deaths compared to last monday windows they simply become too much for the german health care system anglo-american will said in the press conference on sunday where she explained the latest measures that the german health system was extremely heavily burdened and that these measures are necessary to help the system cope you have to remind yourself that the goal is of course to bring down the rate of new infections to 50 per 100000 people in a period of 7 days and currently we're looking at 3 times that number and everybody says that you need to have a maximum of 50 so that the german health system is in

a position to do contact tracing for example and also what's different to the 1st wave in the spring is of course that people in the hospitals doctors nurses etc they have been working under extreme pressure for months now so they're reaching their limits even though the number of free intensive care unit beds is still pretty high with some 4600 nationwide but some clinics are saying already that they have exceeded their capacity but with christmas just days away shops in germany were of course hoping to compensate some of their losses by had earlier this year but now i have to close on wednesday let's take a look. on the hunt for stuffing fillers in a 1000000000 toy store the owners have been planning all year for the christmas rush which will now be abruptly cut short. yet they are cutting us off right now when we have the biggest sales of the whole year. of course that makes me

angry that. it's part of a new more strict coronavirus lockdown announced by chancellor angela merkel amid surging infection numbers. and now due to christmas shopping the number of social contacts has risen considerably that means we must implement these measures they will have a broad impact on many many people we are aware of that. across germany it has become clear in recent weeks the lata restrictions imposed at the start of november have not been sufficient to control the pandemic more and more people are dying with the virus and hospitals are approaching the limit of their intensive care capacity. we have many deaths to mourn. all watching the statistics. of this in the us and we know that their health system is very heavily burdened. and our job was always to avoid overburdening the health

system in. retail shops will suffer missing out on the most lucrative days of the year in the lead up to christmas and they are only being given 2 days' notice but the government is once again mobilizing billions to soften the blow. if it comes to a complete closure for a whole month we expect to spend just over $11000000000.00 euros for that month. that shows that this is a very generous support package. one thing i want to say to you i think it's absolutely justified it. will be a reluctantly quiet holiday season in germany. but the hope is it will be also true for the health care system. restore with us most agree the new lock down starting on wednesday is necessary it is also incredibly expensive costing billions of euros

per month the question being how long can germany keep this up germany was extremely fiscally disciplined until the country was hit by the pandemic so it was in a good starting position the finance minister who we saw in the report was in a position to essentially tell people yes we'll compensate you for your losses and we'll take the measures that are necessary but we'll still manage to keep public life flowed and we'll still manage to keep people in an economically viable position now that is of course something that many people have beginning to doubt how long that will be able to be able to do that for and many people are saying that we need to address this topic at the next crisis meeting that we're going to see on the 5th of january because they scar and strategy that we're seeing where you have a crisis meeting every few weeks and then you implement strict measures and then

you change them and then you have to compensate people for their losses is not a sustainable one then of the public is being blamed for the lock down lot not producing the desired results why should we have any faith that is tough it's going to work. many people are saying that the strict measures that are coming into force on wednesday right and that they are coming too late in fact if you look at the latest polls from the last couple of months there will always a majority of germans who said that their government was doing the right thing by trying to combat the the virus with strict measures but about a set of germans always said that those measures were not enough and they had wanted stricter measures and what we saw throughout the or tim was that that was a patchwork of measures across the country so it really depended on where you were which rules apply was not a very coherent picture which made it probably also not so easy for people to

really stick to the measures and this is something where the state leaders are hoping including anglo machall that it will be easier for germans to comply with the measures because they're strict and they are coherent now they don't believe political correspondent they know how to thank so much or one of germany's most important scientific advisory bodies that they have pulled ina academy issued an urgent call for a nationwide lockdown last week so let's talk now to professor ralph half week he's a member of the academy and also a psychologist professor movies like this may just be enough to bring the infection right back under control here jim. first of all good morning. i think if you look at some other countries who. are not on such as ireland or france or belgium. i mean worth your. time for you. tell. me. and the

other course. rules and it's not what happens to some extent. we're not. now it might be hard to measure but trying to fatigue same's real people struggling to understand different measures church services being allowed but no walk in the open with more than 5 people and 2 households is politics perhaps filing us by implementing rules that are not logical to everyone. yeah i think that norman to your point often and i think it's also fair to say that over the last months germany and politicians were quite weird often not quite clear in the signal when there was often and make sure all of the different rules and rules also differed from country to country but it would also like to see this is a highly complex society like any other society and we want to have

a small set of rules and of course just all the rules to all those this if you so the situation is also a huge she call complex so in other words incoherence and inconsistency is almost inevitable well speaking of inconsistency the controls will be relaxed christmas itself is there a danger or how much of a danger is that this still might become a super spread advent as thanksgiving was in the united states. yeah you know it's a very important question and there are some reasons that on me hopeful that this is not going to happen what is that as part of the set of measures we have to kind of self harm t. in other words before we even meet or enough ones that there's going to be we can both how do we can which we hopefully or many most all context so that's certainly one important measure the other measures of course again to the extent to which we are complying with the rules and then last couple of these i think there's no

mention of any real sense of urgency every 3 minutes person dies off with corona think most of the population that has understood that this is we need a change in fact the support of the new mesh is very hard. i guess with the new measures in mond we also look back professor and ask why was germany's pasha locked down such a failure. another good question i mean just in terms of the numbers we didn't manage to reduce the context you know in spring we had a reduction of 3063 percent just talking the wrong you want to manage 43 percent and again there are probably 2 main drivers won't is lekker compliance of all of us and the others is probably a mixed signal politicians and i think politicians the least for too long that getting a number stable is actually a stable state and in fact if you have stable numbers you know i agree level and

this is a new self is a very fresh oil state profess a rough half acres gemini's leopold in an academy of sciences thanks so much. thank you thank you very much. well a historic vaccination if it is due to get on the y. in the united states with the arrival of millions of dozens of the covenanting vaccine health care workers in this ng 100 students are expected to be among the 1st to be given the by pfizer vaccine but with the number of coronavirus deaths in the u.s. approaching some 300000 it comes too late for many. this is the closest tammy been can safely get to her husband has another life hit hard by the pandemic he lies motionless unable to breathe on his own. mind though is this nothing you really want to want to do in my district or a window. to heart over the past 2 weeks the u.s.

has repeatedly exceeded 2000 covert related deaths per day surpassing earlier pandemic tolls other surge back in may we were tired we were exhausted and we thought wow i don't know how this could really get much worse and fast forward to now to this week and the surge that we thought we were having that was really nothing compared to what we're experiencing now but a massive logistical effort is underway that will hopefully save lives and ease the strain on frontline workers this weekend the 1st shipments of the biotech pfizer vaccine left the manufacturing facility in the state of michigan this precious cargo is expected to reach hundreds of key sites across the country by monday 2 major package delivery services u.p.s. and fed ex are part of the ground in air operations. i was pretty excited. they just came up and said hey you're going to be one of the few people

unloading vaccines for us and you know what that's pretty monumental for so i was pretty excited happy to be helping know this is like i can finally do something about these problems instead of just staying on hold of those great states are responsible for the distribution one supplies arrive front line workers and millions of the most vulnerable are supposed to get the 1st doses. just ok let's take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world. iran's foreign ministry has summoned the envoys of germany and france after the european union condemned the execution of an opposition journalist ron described it as an acceptable interference in its domestic if it is. was hanged on saturday of his role in protests 3 years ago. police shot and killed a gunman on the steps of new york's st john the divine shortly after

a christmas carol concert attendants were leaving at the end of the event when the mosque opened fire no one else was wounded motive remains unclear. and president. has made his 1st appearance since he was flown to a hospital in germany after testing positive for the corona virus in october the 75 year old said he is expected to make a complete recovery within 3 weeks. well staying in the u.s. and the electoral college meets today to cost their votes for president democrat joe biden won a majority of the votes but as it's laid out in the u.s. constitution it's the college that actually elects the president now the electoral college is made up of some $538.00 a lake is chosen from a state to vote on behalf of citizens the number of elect is each gets depends on how many senators and representatives it has now to win a candid that needs

a simple majority that's at least $270.00 electoral college votes in november joe biden won $306.00 electoral college votes to drill donald trump's $232.00 now california the most populous state has a total of $55.00 electives and wyoming just 3 whoever wins the voters in a state wins all of the electors with a few exceptions now after the electors mate vote is then reviewed at a joint session of the u.s. senate and the house of representatives that will be on january 6th count the electoral votes and finally declared the winner. now while joe biden prepares for his move to the white house what is the man he's replacing despite a defeat that even now he's unwilling to admit donald trump has galvanized republican voters like no other presidential candidate what does his future look

like and that of the grand old party in his poll reports. trump supporters rallying for him again they won't accept that their president lost the elections that determines to keep him as their leader around 73000000 americans voted for trump making them a formidable force a force that also threatens to run out of control he loves america he loves america he does not quit on america and that's why america will not quit on him i'd like trump to start a new party if he wanted to the republican party changed real fast so we're ready we're going to be represented by the soldiers the veterans the hardworking people going to country not by the corrupt politicians that sit up here and get back on our money and steal everything. there are many who want to take the republican party down a more moderate path to strengthen their case they talk about this man abraham

lincoln he was the president who won the civil war and ended slavery and he was a republican he is the man anti trump republicans turn to when they want to invoke reason and moral values into present day arguments the lincoln project is a political action committee set up by former republicans to prevent donald trump being reelected i want to hear their thoughts on the future of the g.o.p. from rick wilson one of the co-founders i'm worried about the more competent smart . presentable version of trump it's going to come. down the pike in a few years back to me. enormously concerning impact of trumpets they're going to be driving the party further and further into the trumpet space which is authoritarian which is nationalist which is highly

regimented around the obedience to the dear leader i also want to hear from a man who sees the new president's democrat joe biden as the driving force for republican party unity called rove a top republican political strategist who is also a contributor for fox news international which is the way liberal in europe i think the republican party will have a you know we'll have some disagreements and fractures but that biden ministration and the left way that they were going to party are going to are going to be a force for cohesion among republicans if he wants to have influence he wants to have it inside a party that has representation in the house the senate and across the country he doesn't want to start a new party. but to support us leave no doubt that they want donald trump and his family to stay in the white house even the g.o.p. to decide whether they want to follow him or risk falling apart to me the

british spy brother john mccarthy has died at the age of 89 off to catch pneumonia novelist saw a number of his books turned into films including take a time a soldier spy and spike came in from the cold like how they his real name was david cornwell found some of his inspiration for his thrillers while working himself at the british secret service. let's get more from scott roxboro from culture in boston scott hollow we are talking to you from bomb gemini's from a capital that cutty had a special connection to that city i believe tell us more. yes definitely i mean this city here in bonn was where john kerry was 1st stationed as a spy as an agent of m i 6 the british intelligence service and he also sent one of his famous novels here a small town in germany and look harry always had a very close connection to germany he studied the german language and one of the

most famous characters george smiley also was a german literary scholar in fact just a few years ago 2011 john kerry received the the good medal for services to the german language and to international understanding so i think it's quite appropriate that i'm talking to you from from from bonn where where john kerry was at home. how would you describe his literary legacy. i think in some ways you could look at john kerry's books and then all of the films and t.v. series that were made of them as almost an alternative history of the cold war i mean he really looked behind the curtain and behind the rhetoric of the of the great powers particularly britain after. who took over after the 2nd world war and and carried out espionage around the world and was incredibly critical of the methods and the actions undertaken in the name of freedom and in the name of

democracy completely different than for example to ian fleming the author of the james von novels legends ball and a sort of a sexy jingle sort of british rock cheerleader john kerry is much more morally ambiguous and with his spies the ends never quite justify the means he's never quite sure if the characters never quite sure if they're on the right side of history if they're on the right moral side right you told us so much about the man and the author already but what do you think was the secret of success. i think it was 2 things one he knew his stuff i mean he was a spy he knew the sort of the grubby details of spy craft and that is in all his books the sort of exact precise details of how spies go about their work but i think just as important maybe even more important is he understood human motivation and he was able to bridge the gap between the sort of elevated rhetoric of defending freedom of defending democracy that these spy agencies projected to the

world and often the very immoral motivations behind some of the some of the actions greed jealousy and so forth and that combination i think created the ambiguity of some of his best the most powerful of characters and is truly his his his his literary legacy you paint the picture as all about spies agents and steal this but there was more to one than that saying what the underlying thing to his novels. yes i think i mean in general i mean market out what i think said it best she said his sort of. reading john kerry you understand the mid 20th century i mean he looked at basically what happened after the end of the 2nd world war and the gap between what the winning powers the demo democracies of the west said and what they did by the end of his life john kerry became very bitter towards these winning powers particularly britain his last book was

a sort of an antique book and he basically said that. despite all this great rhetoric what has actually come of it and maybe the the winners of the 2nd world war were morally that much superior. to the defeated powers on the day we lost a literary legend scott ross perot thanks so much. sports now is and has gone top of the standings in the bundesliga by took the 1st place after a win of a hoffenheim on sunday and by by munich late on by lee hit scored twice to live in houston including one shot which are about to say that will certainly be a contender for goal of the season. leon bailey's performances this season have again attracted the interest of several big english clubs there's club scouts didn't have to wait long for another glimpse of bailey magic. to sure corner routine with knotty mary and then the strike

a contender effort goal of the season 4 minutes gone because if this go with the sublime things went the ridiculous 3 opponents hoffenheim just over 20 minutes later on drake crammer riches lackluster back path intercepted by bailey and he did the rest have. to now the hosts were coasting to the top of the table. 5 minutes into the 2nd half and hoffenheim hit back with a screamer of their own christophe paumgarten looking up and eyeing the corner of the nets. but moments later the to go christian was restored florian via its change through the visiting to friends after a nice exchange with patrick shaikh hoffenheim exposed the end of the game with 9 men in. the final act and lucas allowed a penalty to make it 41 and ensure the business league has

a new name at the top of the table. all staying with the bundesliga in the legs on the winless team shell looks set to clinch their 1st victory but denied them in the final minutes of a dramatic 2 will draw midway through the 2nd half and fired into the late that after a perfect cause from. and the shot was too difficult for the keeper to handle but in added time saved a point for. the asking shoppers hopes to india winless streak which now stands at an incredible $27.00 games. and look now at the bundesliga tiber which shows that limit keys and have claimed that top spot . that drops by many to 2nd and we're now going to take a look at the title i'm going to tell you a reminder of the top story we're following for you this hour germany's government

has announced a return to try to lock down measures from this wednesday as the country struggles to stop the rising to run of our states and infections schools and can the gods will close earlier than planned ahead of christmas holidays non-essential shops and businesses will also shut down. the watching day double of news monica johns is in next with business the state shift.

the focus your country people will make you rich. think we're going to call it off the coast of ca. in 2000 so that investors made big promises but years later reality looks very different. the drinking water

shortage an. oil promises. in 45 minutes on d w. children to come to. one giant problem and me in no need to see the kids here you. can imagine. how will climate change affect us and our children laugh. and e.w. dot com slash water. and you you may know yours there's a reason you in her last years german chancellor when you bring your uncle out machall as you've never heard her before surprise yourself with what is possible

who is medical really what moves her and want. to talk to people who followed her along the way admirers and critics alike now as the world's most powerful woman shaping her legacy join us from eccles last august. and they're still talking brussels and london decided to ignore sunday's deadline and instead to keep on running over a trade deal as time is running short. meanwhile german retailers prepare to go into lockdown this time many of them could be shutting down good. ground as germany tries to diversify its energy supply construction of the country's 1st l.n.g. port terminal gets underway.