happen the meeting yesterday of the chancellor and the regional leaders has produced this closing of non-essential retail from wednesday and also school pupils significantly most of them anyway will be told to follow lessons from home and stay at home so it's a big shock for many people around germany's part of the german president's job to protect germans from shocks and to help them deal with them so i think christmas in germany is a family celebration normally but it's also i think right to say that it's a festival of koma us and now you know he's just telling people well forget about that part of it for a couple of months i think it's a big ask for many germans right well this strict lockdown which begins on wednesday follows the current sort of lock down light which clearly has not worked inevitably people are saying that this was predictable. yeah i mean the plan that

was introduced the small the lockdown at the beginning of november was really based on appeals to get people to observe the distancing of the bay the rules and just you know hope to reduce contacts that way it didn't happen. the infection numbers of continue to rise they were they were held in check for awhile but now they're rising exponentially again according to chancellor merkel she was among the 1st politicians to warn that tougher measures will be needed some regional leaders were reluctant to close shops but now they've decided that they've really got to react and impose this stricter shutdown now that germans have been generally supportive of the government's coronavirus measures so d. w. spain asking whether the support is likely to remain. then for if everything had already closed at the beginning of november it would have been ok then maybe we

could have had a normal christmas if it's good if it's now i think it's good that the lockdown is coming now if it had taken another week i think it would have been too late it's better to get it over with the next now and to wait longer if not longer it's about . we have to go shopping now because doors will close from wednesday but it's understandable that stores will have to shut down the surplus and basically all of you i like think it isn't good for anybody to close everything the week before christmas. let the my mom and most shops make their biggest earnings right now and then that's the volume of via difficult financially for a lot of people. here to finance their own back to d.w. political correspondent simon young what do you think simon does uncle america's government still have the public support for its handling of this crisis. i think they generally do but as you heard it is a lot of disappointment about particularly this closure of retail shops in the run

up to christmas and the economic impacts of this decision are going to be very significant the industry your organizations a warning about that meeting before this latest decision 40 percent of germans was saying that the measures to deal with covert 19 had had an impact on their income so this is just going to make their situation worse at the political level most of the opposition parties are supporting the government but they are saying a clearer and more structured plan and approach going forward would be helpful so i mean broadly i think there is support but the next few weeks ago to be tough let's talk about vaccinations simon coming vaccinations have already begun in britain and the you asked where is germany in this race. well of course a lot of people in germany are impatient to get the vaccine they've seen that some

other countries are already rolling it out they're wondering when they're going to get it among them the health minister against spahn himself who's been tweeting he's saying you know every day counts the vaccine could save lives and he also says that all the data about certain least the bio on tech pfizer vaccine is currently available so it's been seen that type of talk as putting pressure on the european medicines agency germany is waiting with other you e.u. countries to hear from the european medicines agency whether they approve that vaccine they in turn have said that they're going to complete an approvals process by the 29th of december for some people that will be a bit to late but of course it's also important that people have confidence in any approvals process and from that point of view this type of pressure from politicians may be counterproductive. political correspondent simon young thank you

must talk about what's going on in the u.s. than a major milestone in the battle against of a corona virus pandemic is happening there it's the largest vaccination campaign in u.s. history and it's begun a nurse from the intensive care unit at the long island jewish medical center that's become the 1st person to receive a battery in the u.s. health care workers a nursing staff a nursing home residents are 1st in line to get those this coffee vaccinations will not be carried out across the u.s. along the arrival of millions of doses of the bound tech pfizer vaccine with a number of coronavirus deaths approaching 300000 in the u.s. clearly it's too late for many. this is the closest tammy can safely get to her husband has another life hit hard by the pandemic motionless unable to breathe on his own. it's nothing you really want to want to do in life is that for

a window. start 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. 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 stay home this is great states are responsible for the distribution one supplies arrive from line workers and millions of the most vulnerable are supposed to get the 1st doses. of german chancellor i'm going to makeover is facing one of the busiest appear as an off. first dealing with the coronavirus and having the user rotating presidency but every time and teach less than a year away in september next year she will not seek a 5th term as chancellor in german national elections her party the christian democrats have not yet fought for the potential candidate because they have to pick

a new party leader 1st time 3 men are in the running for the job state premiers on in their life from their party center corporate lawyer free to commands representing the parties or invite when i'm foreign policy expert no but richard you all 3 are due to answer party members questions in an online forum today. to the united states where the electoral college meets today to cast its votes for president doubtful for president democrat joe biden won the popular vote but the u.s. constitution stipulates that the college must elect the president so the electoral college is made up of $538.00 electors chosen from each state to vote on behalf of citizens and the number of electors each state receives depends mostly on its population to win a candidate needs a simple majority that's at least 270 electoral college votes so in november joe

biden won 306 of those votes to donald trump's 232 the most populous state california has 55 electors wyoming with the smallest population as 3 or 4 wins the vote in a state who wins all their electors with a few exceptions after electors made to their vote will be reviewed at a joint session of the u.s. senate and the house of representatives on the 6th of january congress will have to count the electoral votes again and finally declare a winner. well while joe biden prepares for his move to the white house now what about the man he's replacing well despite a defeat. still unwilling to admit donald trump has galvanized republican voters like no other presidential candidates so let's take a look at his future and that of the grand old party the dumb who's in this poll reports. from supporters rallying for him again they won't accept that

their president lost the elections and that determines to keep him as their leader around 73000000 americans voted for chumps 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 changing real fast so we're ready we're going to be represented by the soldiers the veterans the hardworking people in this 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 that's going to come down the pike in a few years that me. and enormously concerning impact of trump is 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 the way little in europe i think the republican party will have it will have some disagreements and fractures but evidence of a party that has representation in the house the senate and across the country he doesn't want to start a new party. but his supporters leave no doubt 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 to me well take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world now a new commission presents us at a fund the line is reporting some progress in talks of the blocks future relationship with the u.k. negotiators are trying to resolve differences on issues including fishing rights and fact competition for business britain leaves the e.u. single bucket in just over 2 weeks. the u.s.

has removed sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism opening the african nation to financial assistance that could help its struggling economy washington placed tough sanctions on sudan in 1993 claiming that president omar al bashir was harboring militant groups including al qaeda. farmers in india staging a day long hunger strike as protests against government reforms to the agricultural sector intensify unions say the changes will hurt their earnings and only benefit big corporations and governments insisting the measures will attract investment and boost farmers incomes 7 and several rounds of talks between the 2 sides have. thank you. so it's a wolf starts with the you're all important draw for football's champions league round of 16 and the knockout stages of europe's top club tournament and defending

champions of byron munich will face off against italian club lads you proceed dortmund will play severe other games include liverpool against leipzig manchester city against a mansion glad bath and last season's runners up terry savage a man against barcelona the 1st games of the match is over 2 legs are due to take place in the middle of february. well as soulful but this league teams have made it into the champions league they say they have progressed into the knockout stages and some consider that a shock because of what this new guy has been to as a farm is laying in the level of competition except at the very top it's a lesser quality than elsewhere but this season 2 clubs beyond the regular contenders by an adult and already shown that worth. a lot of. ends are be like sick. one looking to return to their glory days of the 1970 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 1977 nearly 10 years before the oldest player on their current roster was born in blood bought into that drought by picking up points against real madrid and the law number one in 2 on the all time title list in their final group stage match there was joy in defeat after learning the end invest. in stores because he made it through and my team deserves a lot of respect in private for that matter much of i'm very proud of the guys rb leipsic who 1st earned promotion to the bundesliga in 2016 maybe to the champions league semifinal slask season and they did it without the services of t.-mo vienna which made you the in 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 in the bulls stampeded through. yet another that's what i meant regulations 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 nobleness league even made it through to the t.v. and sleep quarterfinals last season 2 teams reach the final 4 in the bundesliga repeat that success and she gets farmers leave today once and for all. well in the bond as they go the only team without a win shall cut looked likely to clinch their 1st victory on sunday that were denied by burke in the final minutes 2 will draw midway through the 2nd half naseem have. a lot of fire shall get into the lead

a suit said the perfect pass the club's shot to halt the huddle for the keeper in time marco richter saved a point for housework is heaven dashing child prince hopes to end their winless streak which now stands at $27.00 games. so here's a look at all the results from match state 11 laver commission beat hoffenheim denied childcare their 1st win on your own burley in held by a munich to a draw or stuttgart standoff meant the lives they could beat bremen the bloodbath drew with hatter ballin freiburg down to being the felt color defeated mind and evolved breed to frankfurt on friday. a british spy writer john kerry has died at the age of 80 died after falling ill with pneumonia he was best known for his intricately plotted the cold war fearless some of which were turned into films and he's real that was david corbel and he found some of the inspiration for his books

while working for the british secret service. the bestseller also told to carry the world of espionage never lost its fascination the spy turned over a list had a writing career that spanned 6 decades with 25 novels to his name. was the main impact from carry himself worked for british intelligence and hamburg in 1964 he quit to dedicate himself try to write saying. i started writing just for fun a few years back. i was already writing about spies before i joined the service. i was in born when the war went up in august 960 on it and that drew me to berlin. many of his best sellers were made into movies the spine who came in from the cold

starring richard burton came out in 1965. didn't stop writing when the cold war ended with the fall of the berlin wall in 1989. people carried the world of espionage was always a metaphor for the human condition. the rights i was disappointed with geopolitical developments in the ninety's tailor of panama as a novel was my 1st novel with no ideological content its spoke to the new materialism to the new postwar era it spoke all. so to my own disappointment that there was no energy for the reconstruction of the world when the cold war ended. his stories are often delayed in germany. that's incorrect

because in some mysterious way my dense to me always to write about germany in one way or another the writer often made cameo appearances in the film fashions of his future but it will show a loss of taking part in a b.b.c. series in time you know. but sometimes it was booming and you'll miss. the master of spying fiction jonah kerry has passed away at the age of 89. ask more from scott rock's brought from d.w. culture who joins us from germany's former capital bomb welcome scott i don't like kerry had a special connection where bob thomas will yes definitely he was stationed here as a spy for 4 m i 6 back in the day and obviously he used that material

of his life in future books including a small town in germany but john kerry as we heard the piece had very close connections to germany he worked here as a spy and he studied german mastered the language characteristic that he passed on to his most famous fictional character george smiley and even a few years ago too in 2011 john kerry won the good to metal for contributions to the german language and for furthering understanding between nations so it's quite appropriate that i speak you. from here from bonn a city that was very very close to john kerry's heart so how would you describe his literary legacy. yeah i think the best way is to compare maybe to fleming the creator of james von fleming's view of spy craft was sort of sexy exciting and james bond was sort of our rah rah cheerleader for british imperialism

kerry's view was very very different he was a very much more morally ambiguous in his books and his character george smiley for example is sort of the anti james bond he's a short fat bookish type who's who's always conflicted about what he's doing and i think. kerry's legacy is almost an alternative narrative of the cold war where the winners of the cold war that britain american particular are not necessarily the morally superior groups and that the ends don't always justify the means so given that this lack of flash and excitement why do you think these folks were so successful. i guess it was a combination of maybe 2 things one is he knew his stuff i mean he was a spy he knew the sort of nuts and bolts of spy craft the ideas of dead drops of honey traps he knew all the specific details and he put those into his novels but on the other side i think just as important he understood the motivations of of the men and women who became spies and i think what kerry was such

a master at was bridging that gap between the the idealist rhetoric that was used to justify as being ours the rhetoric of spreading freedom and democracy and the actual often grubby motivations of the spies themselves the jealousy greed and ambition that drove them. talking to thank you for that so scott rush from. culture . italy's mt etna has erupted providing a spectacular nighttime display of ash and explosions the large as globe could be seen from nearby city of khatami or authorities are not reported any dangers to the villages and towns on the mountain slopes even the volcanic ash cloud can disrupt flights khatami's airport is operating normally. this is newsnight life. more world news of top of the hour coming up next tomorrow today also time mining war materials for modern technology affects out and bought

good to.

me. at 1st glance it looks like a scrap. but on the 2nd. gold mine. valuable metals are found in almost all the time devices. researchers in germany want to separate them from this crop in the most environmentally friendly way. they're experimenting with highly specialized bacteria to move to the. next.

how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll. introduce 3 the tax and weekly radio show is called spectrum if you would like any information on the clone of virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. slash science. i think it's everything. i became a muslim. so much different culture between here and there so challenging for everything. from islamists i think it was worth it for me to come to germany. and got my license to work as a swimming instructor here in our 2 children $100.00 just robbed us of just.

what's your story take part sheriff on info migrants dot net. our planet contains many treasures we extract metals and minerals from the ground to use for building roads machinery and computer chips all our technological progress depends on these resources but supplies of raw materials are not infinite in many cases mining them poisons people and the environment and yet the electronics industry critically relies on them how can we continue to develop technology without draining our world's resources.