you and let's bring in our political correspondent with the very latest hi nina the health minister here obviously putting on the pressure and germany still does not have a date for rolling out the vaccine as we heard britain and the u.s. are ahead here so what is the hold up. it's looking increasingly as though the german health minister is asking him the same question because we know that. planning to have a meeting on vaccines on the 29th of december but if you look at those tweets by and spawn the health minister is looking as though he is losing patients and he did say in the tweet that every day counts and every day we can start sooner lessens the suffering and helps protect the most vulnerable of people and we asked his spokesperson today and the spokes person repeated to germany does want to go the european way doesn't want to go it alone but of course it is looking as though

they're losing patience as well. what we mentioned the german president. made a direct appeal to german people which is pretty where what did you make of his words. frankfurter stein my as the president is the number one in our state and traditionally of course the german president doesn't interfere in day to day politics but we have seen addresses to the nation by phone fire in this crisis before and they always came at a point when he felt that germany was at a crossroads and that it was important to boost people's morale and he did say that he was well aware of a sense of corona fatigue in the population he does hold regular meetings with members from the public and he does have a good feeling of the overall mood here in the country but he did use that opportunity to reiterate why he felt that the strict measures that are coming into force on wednesday are necessary that there's just no way around it and he urged

people to understand that each and every one of us can play their own part in combating the virus and yet mean at that partial lockdown until now we know that it wasn't effective in bringing down numbers so why should people believe that this tougher lockdown will bring about the numbers needed in the 2nd wave germany went for a patchwork of measures there were different rules that applied in different regions it very much depended on where you were in the country which rules applied and of course that meant it was very difficult for people to understand the legitimacy of some of the measures as well and so the big hope is that because those measures didn't work now we have to have a short but rigorous lock down for a couple of weeks to really bring down infection numbers and then develop a proper strategy that will bring germany through the winter because of course everybody is well aware that it won't go away after christmas even if there is

going to be a next crisis meeting on the 5th of january. there reporting for us thank you very much. meanwhile as we mentioned a massive vaccination effort is getting underway in the united states with the arrival of millions of doses of the covert 1000 back scene health care workers and nursing home residents are expected to be among the 1st to be given the biotech pfizer vaccine but with the number of coronavirus deaths in the u.s. approaching 300000 it comes too late for me. this is the closest tammy been can safely get to her husband his another life hit hard by the pandemic he lies motionless unable to breathe on his own. room window is this nothing you really want to do want to do and i think for a window. start over the past 2 weeks the us has

repeatedly exceeded 2000 covert related deaths per day surpassing earlier pandemic tolls that are 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 people

unloading vaccines for us and you know. what that's pretty monumental for so i was pretty excited happy to be helping now this is like i can finally do something about these problems instead of just staying at home this is great states are responsible for the distribution one supplies arrive frontline workers and millions of the most vulnerable are supposed to get the 1st doses. also in the u.s. the electoral college meets today to cast their votes for press. and democrat joe biden won the majority of the votes but as it is laid out in the u.s. constitution it is the college that actually elects the president and the electoral college is made up of 538 electors are chosen from each of these states to vote on behalf of citizens the number of electors each state gets depends on how many senators and representatives it has to when a candidate needs

a majority of these 270 electoral college votes you might remember november joe biden she won 306 of those votes to donald trump's 232 now if we look at a comparison here california is the most populous state it has a total of $55.00 electoral college votes meanwhile wyoming the least populous only has 3 whoever wins the vote in a state wins all of their electors with a few exceptions after the electors meet their vote is then reviewed at a joint session of the u.s. senate and the house of representatives that will be on january 6th they will count the electoral votes and finally declare the winner while while joe biden prepares for his move to the white house what about the man he is replacing despite a defeat that he is 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. reports. from

supporters rallying for him again they won't accept that their president lost the elections and they're determined to keep him as their leader around 73000000 americans voted for trump making them a formidable force of force but 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 get the republican party real fast. iraq would be represented by the soldiers the veterans the hardworking people of this country not by the corrupt politicians it set up here and get back on our money and steal everything from which. 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 and tightrope 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 pres presentable version of trump that's going to come down the pike in a few years that to me is. an enormously concerning impact of trungpa they're going to be driving the party further and further into the trungpa 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 a way liberals in europe i think the republican party will have a you know we'll have some disagreements it's a fractious vote but that by the administration and the left wing 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 of the house the senate and across the country he doesn't want to start in court. but his supporters leave no god that they want donald trump and his family to stay in the white house leaving the g.o.p. to decide whether they want to follow him or risk falling apart. now to some other stories making news around the world e.u.

chief was enough on the line is reporting some progress in talks over the future relationship with the u.k. negotiators are trying to resolve differences on several issues including fishing rights and fair competition for business britain leaves the use single market in just over 2 weeks iran's foreign ministry has summoned the envoys of germany and france after the european union condemned the execution of an opposition journalist iran described it as an unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs. was handed on saturday over his role in protests 3 years ago. and more of the thought comes as reporters without borders has released its annual report on journalists who have been detained are missing or held hostage world wide 387 journalists are in detention globally just to fewer than last year the biggest jailers are china saudi arabia and egypt but the study also cited an unprecedented crackdown in

valorous which has seen months of unrest since its disputed election the report noted a pandemic effect for countries use the coronavirus had to make to increase control over the media. for more that we can speak now to christian mirror he's the executive director of reporters without borders here in germany christiane good to have you with us 1st of all i have to ask you about the prominent iranian journalist. he was executed on saturday and that provoked an international outcry what kind of diplomatic response would you like to see. i mean 1st of all i mean it was really i mean we were shocked this report of the board is about this execution because we were expecting this and we even had words u.n. human rights commission. that recently said about as possible it's a huge and i was happy actually that we at least has. some diplomatic 3 mentions that an ambassador panel at a prominent conference on economic and european conference in tehran has been

cancelled or the person patient of european ambassador is at because of but i think this is definitely not enough because we have existing sanctions regime of the european union and we have a knowledge based targeted sanctions regime and i see and i think he'd is aware of who's the mastermind behind this execution and we need individuals and she would be against those people who are as possible causes if we look at other worrying developments your report also highlights china on your list 177 down on that list and last week a reporter for bloomberg was arrested in beijing on suspicion of endangering national security christine can you tell us any more about that case. yeah case unfortunately fits into a recent paper that actually not to the chinese journalists who are working and

independently for blocks or file chinese media but as well chinese journalists of cooperators who cooperate where for rest and beyond i groom are at risk and that actually nobody is really safe anymore in china and so this is why we are really really worried about his recent arrest and of course we demands immediate release but in the starting point at least granting axes to to lawyers to medical to many for treatment for her but it's for me a pattern that everybody who's working independently is this risk and christine i want to ask you as well about something else report mentions a pandemic effect where countries are using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to repress journalists what does this mean. i mean what we actually saw in these here actually according to our data are all over data which will call not exhaustive but if we seize it we release this year's golf ball increase in

a particular area rest of journalists during the 1st 3 rounds or to call it in our teams thread around the world through the 3 months the count from march till may be and from the start with harry to the end of november to say when do we so often to every wrist they were present a certain height is and all the press freedom violations loft glue and here you meet see that actually is it called it's 19 and it is used as an excuse to support for a 3 d. because those countries and so there is government arrested jarrett is actually where the website will always wear and he's of press freedom. christian mare executive director of reporters without borders germany thank you very much thank you stephen. to football now and the all important draw for the champions league round of 16 the knockout stages of europe's top club tournaments the defending

champ spire in munich will face off against the italian club. darkman will play said the other match ups include shall see against atletico madrid liverpool play like sick manchester city match up against mention and last season's runners up parasite your mom played barcelona at the 1st games of the 2 like match ups are set for mid february. so that means all 4 bundesliga teams that made it into the champions league this season have progressed to the knockout stages and some consider that a shock because the bundesliga has been referred to as a farmer's league meaning that the competition level except at the very top is of lesser quality than other leagues but this season beyond the regular contenders byron indorsement 2 other clubs have already shown they're worth. a lot of buy. and r.v. life sick. one looking to return to their glory days of the $970.00 s.

. the other looking to prove their historic run last season wasn't a fluke. plot by having reached the knockout stages of europe's top club competition since 977 nearly 10 years before the oldest player on their current roster was born. in it that dropped by picking up points against reality drake and milady number one in 2 on the all time title list in their final group stage match there was joy in defeat after learning they had advanced. made it through and my team deserves a lot of respect in private for that matter i'm very proud of the guys rb leipsic who 1st earned promotion to the bundesliga in 2016 maybe to the champions league semifinal slashed season and they did it without the services of t.-mo vienna which made you be an august man look even more impressive at the helm in

a tough group that included last season's finalists p.s.g. leipzig needed a win last week against manchester united in their final group stage match in order to advance and the bulls stampeded through. yet another sort of an isolation to my team for getting to the next stage that was a big win for us after the experience last year in the knockout phase and the lads were burning to get there again and they did it 2 years ago no but this league sides even made it through to the champions league quarter finals last season to teams reach the final 4 can the bund is legal repeat their success and shake its farmers leaf tag once and for all. the british spy writer john. caray has died at the age of 89 after catching pneumonia the novelist saw a number of his books turned into films including tinker tailor soldier spy and the spy who came in from the cold like ira whose real name was david cornwell found

some of the inspiration for his thrillers while working for the british secret service. that's got more in his legacy now with scott roxboro from culture hi scott you are in bonn right now which is germany's former capital and like ira had actually a special connection to that city tell us about that yes hi yeah john kerry was stationed here as a spy. undercover at the british embassy and they have a great connection to the city of course he said one of his famous novels a small town in germany here in bonn and. really close connections to germany and even to the german language and he studied german and he gave that trade on to one of his most famous characters george smiley and various of his novels even the fact that a few years ago he received the good medal for contributions to the german language and for international cooperation so i think it's particularly appropriate speaking

about john le carre from from this town and ball on where he had which he had great affection for how would you describe his literary legacy. yeah i think margaret atwood put it best when she said. kerry's works are key to understanding the 2nd half of the 20th century i mean he basically gave an alternative history to the of the cold war turned of narrative he instead of looking at the the victors of the cold of the world war 2 as being the great heroes and the moral heroes of the 2nd half of the 20th century he questioned their moral actions and he really looked at the gap between the lofty rhetoric that came out of the 2nd world war with britain and america talking about freedom and democracy and looked at sort of the the grob reality of what these powers did in their espionage efforts throughout

these throughout the decades and he was wildly successful in doing so scott i mean what do you think was that secret behind all of a success. i think was a combination it was that he knew his stuff i mean he knew spy craft he knew both the details of dead drops and how he traps and put that all into into his books but then even as important i think was the fact that he understood motivation and he understood what drivel drove people to be spies and drove them to take these actions and as i say i think he understood this gap between the lofty rhetoric of freedom and democracy that was professed by by these espionage pete players and the often quite nasty morally ambiguous reality of people driven by jealousy greed and ambition he was truly an amazing writer scott roxboro from culture on the passing of british spy writer john thanks ira thank you scott. now the current of our spend

demick has left its mark on almost every part of public life for many forgoing the traditional family get togethers during festive holidays has been one of the biggest sacrifices but while cope with restrictions mean the jewish festival of hanukkah will certainly be different this year tanya kramer found out that it doesn't have to mean missing out all together. it's the time of the year for this special treat so jenny donetsk the baker yousif who now fia and his team intimidate this is making the traditional right treat for the reclaim festival o'connor because they are in great demand. simplicity the feeling of good enough you know when they see this suv going to. let me know i was here and they said how do you new one feeling this is very special now and i'm here as if you have grown and i respect her and it's reminds us to put it behind us and to be optimistic with. where the jelly or chocolate filled of you can the comfort food

does just fine in the midst of the pandemic the dome that is only so doing. also known as the festival of lights. the holiday commemorates the rededication of the 2nd temple in jerusalem more than 2000 years ago and in europe it's miraculous the stage unlike what 8 or 9. today there's no miracle inside the corona virus infection rate has gone up again the government warns that restrictions could be tied to your budget that nighttime curfew during the holiday was canceled for no leave i understand that the curfew was coming so that it was on again right now it seems but even if it's going to happen it doesn't matter we celebrate at home with our families your neighbors the head of it all kind of what's different this time is that because and celebrate together with a whole family but we're still trying to enjoy the holiday as much as possible

because it's still sort of going to be. still i think any of us said it about. in the evening it's time for the candle lighting and this ultra orthodox rubbish i should think is a nice way to light the 100 kiya and the square and. he's dressed as a trader the 4 sided spinning top it's often played as children during the holiday . the air since o'connell ca is to bring the light from darkness and thank god we have a lot of darkness now because everybody's down everybody feels a little bit to be at home to be i can go away right wrong there's no i pads there's going to restaurants so everything is going to make sure i think so i have to add to it to find my ino happiness i can do is to knit last week a 1st small batch of vaccines against a krone virus has arrived in israel. that same nations are expected to start by the

end of december at last prospects for light at the end of the tunnel. coming up next on news asia soaring coronavirus cases pushes south korea to consider its 1st ever national lockdown since the pandemic began. last sunday news asia statement.

in these challenging times it's especially important to us the issue of how be and how the. current of ours has kept us apart from family and friends. i'm just easy to feel alone especially during this holiday season we go g w we're here with you we will keep you informed go long long for someone to remind

you we're all in this together we wish you happy holidays merry christmas everyone a very merry christmas eve merry christmas and stacy happy holidays everyone coming home means to you and say happy holidays england is fixing. to use crime fighters are back africa's most successful radio drama series continues. this season the stories focus on hate speech color of prevention consisting of charcoal production small of a sow's are available online and of course you can share and discuss on africa's facebook page and other social media platforms. crime fighters tune in now. can you hear me no no yes yes we're going to do you and how the last 2 years german chancellor will bring you i'm going to back off as you've never tired have before surprised yourself with what is possible. cold reading what moves have employed.

who talks to people who follow along the way i admire and critics alike how is the world's most powerful woman shaping huddling to join us from apple's last stop. this is deducted using the show coming up to do an emergency situation in south korea. that's the assessment from the country's president as south korea recalled its hardest daily increase in total by discourses so far this year is the country on the verge of its 1st ever national motto. trying to cordoba to slow down silenced india's slick song productions plus a new generation of do it yourself rappers are at the ready to fill the vacuum and capture a few fans.