this is g.w. news live from berlin tonight the poisoning of russian opposition leader the this finds you trying to kill him had been following him for your investigation claims a hit squad linked to russian intelligence. for years including the date this summer when he was poisoned with the nerve agent. also coming up germany's president urges people to forego christmas shopping and get togethers as the country heads for a new tougher lockdown and the united states begins the most ambitious vaccination

campaign in its history as an intensive care nurse in new york state receives the very 1st coronavirus maxi. plus he gave us the spy who came in from the cold. john le carre has died at the age of 89 tonight we look back at the real life spy turned author whose name became synonymous with the cold war espionage thrill. to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome there is a new developments surrounding the poisoning of russian opposition leader. a new media investigation has found that a group of russian spies followed of all need for years including the day the summer when of all me was poisoned the agents. in russia's security service f.s.b.

are reportedly part of an intelligence team specializing in toxins and nerve agents alexina volney is still recovering here in germany after collapsing on a russian domestic flight back in august doctors here found that he had been poisoned with the nerve agent no veto the investigation by website billing cat in the insider together with their spiegel and c.n.n. discovered telecom and travel data showing the f.s.b. agent still in of all new including on that day last summer when he almost all. are joining me here in the studio now to discuss this development is my colleague public public what do we know about the people who have been identified in this investigation well you've mentioned some of the details there already we're talking 8 people they're all working for the russian domestic security services the f.s.b. almost all of them have medical training or training with chemical weapons especially with the research and development of this novacek agent which is part of

this some salvia family of poisons essentially which was used back in 2018 in the poisoning of saturday script on his daughter and now back in august. we know as well that they work out of f.s.b. offices various ones across moscow and 3 of them are reported to have followed me to the city of tomsk in siberia back in august what proof is there for these allegations well as you've mentioned as well belling cat i have been investigating this alongside you know the insider c.n.n. and there spiegel as well as the pace and they went deep into this and they took a look at our records but really we spoke with one of the balun investigative journalists earlier eric tolerance spoke to our colleague phil gale and this is what he told. the russian privacy is pretty much nonexistent without allies there and so we examined the russian debt of market telecom data and also passenger manifest for flights to look at suspicious so we looked for people who had travel

itineraries that closely matched that of all around the time he was in siberia so he flew in the one city called it was a big risk and syria and he left from another city called tomsk a week later these are about $300.00 or so kilometers from each other and so we're looking for people who want roughly the same itinerary and we're following up because we figured if you're an f.s.b. officer turned into poison opposition figure you'll arrive a day or so before he does and leave a little bit afterwards and we did this we found that there were 3 people who had to say no. they were really surprised we looked more of these people and we notice that these people want the future colleagues had fallen of only for over 30 trips to 2070 practically every time the only one around russia because he was a presidential candidate i'm sorry 2017 these people had the exact same travel itinerary try following the bombing and these are not just normal f.s.b. officers they're ones who have medical i'm chemical weapons training that matched that of the actual incident he suffered in. public i mean this is explosive information i'm wondering how has the volley reacted to this 3 years of your life

being followed over you know 30 trips it's incredible and then move on the as you can probably imagine is incredibly angry about this actually and also it's not the 1st time it appears there was some sort of attack on his life actually he spoke about a trip that he took with his wife at to the city of kaliningrad over the summer in which all of a sudden his wife you began to feel incredibly ill not at the time he feared something was odd but he couldn't really put his finger on it of course but now he realizes that actually the symptoms that she had at the time were very similar to the ones that he had when he was poisoned but as i said he's incredibly angry and this is what he had to say. i know who wanted to kill me i know where they live i know where they work i want to know their real names i know their fake name like z. and i have photographs of them put that get out he certainly does have photographs he has the names of course now for the moment moscow says there's no evidence stanton avani was poisoned 'd and that there is nothing to investigate yeah of

course that's what we would expect to be coming out of the kremlin with this explosive information. as always public thank you here in germany a tougher lock down is coming today german president from voters don meyer pleaded with the public to abide by the new restrictions as the country struggles to fend off a surge in 1000 cases germany will enter a stricter loan on wednesday it comes after weeks of a partial lockdown which failed to drive down infection numbers steinmeyer and other leaders are urging the public to make sacrifices as the country prepares for a holiday season like no other. last minute christmas shopping came early this year people are still roaming belling streets looking for gifts but from wednesday on the shops will have to close as germany enters a tougher lockdown why polls show around free quarters of germans backing the

measure opinions on the high street are mixed. 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. we have to go shopping now because stores will close from wednesday but it's understandable that stores will have to shut down. those below if you i think it isn't good for anybody to close everything the week before christmas. most shops make their biggest earnings right now and the length of what you will find difficult financially for a lot of people. you know. the germans have been under a partial lockdown for the past 6 weeks with bars restaurants and all the leisure facilities closed. the new rules include closing schools and prohibiting alcohol consumption in public. the defense of continuously high infections and deaths

germany's president appealed to the public to take responsibility. because in q. we're not completely at the mercy of the virus it's up to us and we know what to do . you can perspiring and celebrations friends and relatives will also be happy to receive their presents at a later point. what matters now is to preserve health and to say you. mentioned leaving. with germany heading into a new food lockdown this year's christmas will be far from ordinary. when out to a big milestone in the united states fight against the coronavirus the country has begun to administer the 1st doses of the bio on tech finds or coronavirus vaccine doctors nurses and other at risk groups are 1st in line for the shots with the u.s. death toll nearing 300 samples that millions are hoping that today will mark

a turning point in the country's fight against this pandemic. a moment of hope in the u.s. most of all for frontline medical workers who are honored with receiving the 1st coronavirus vaccinations in the country. this is the beginning of the end for cove it together as a community as a nation we can end this the 1st recipients seemed eager to convince others that the vaccine was safe. very important that. the. advisory panels in the u.s. and the u.k. have determined that the benefits of the shot far outweigh the risks. yet one in 3 people in the u.s. say they won't take it. sorry i'm not interested i will never take it out of my dead body i don't think i am full with it but i don't know one so.

that has this know a lot of people. getting a vaccine to the willing poses another challenge because the country is so big and the concoction so fragile. the biotech pfizer vaccine must be kept at a chilling negative 70 degrees celsius or $95.00 degrees fahrenheit a deep temperature requiring massive amounts of dry ice. despite all this u.s. officials are preparing for the largest vaccination campaign in the country's history along with front line workers the elderly are 1st in line to get inoculated . as coronavirus cases climb sharply u.s. authorities have set a goal of vaccinating every willing american by midway through next year. also in the u.s. it is the important final milestone for joe biden on his path to the u.s. presidency members of the electoral college are convening today in all 50 states to

officially cast their presidential votes informally designate biden as president elect one of the 1st states to hold his electoral vote was pennsylvania which casts all 20 of its votes for biden and his vice presidential running mate come all here candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes nationwide to be elected president joe biden is set to easily pass that number with 306 even as biden moves closer to the white house donald trump is still refusing to accept the election outcome his defeat has left republicans divided over the party's path forward. trump supporters rallying for him again they won't accept that their president lost the elections and that determines to keep him as their need 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 get 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 and sit 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 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 to me is. an enormously concerning impact of trump and they're going to be driving the party further and further into the truck to 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 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 liberals in europe i think the republican party will have

a you know we'll have some disagreements and fracture spoke 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 his supporters 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 all right let's take a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world countries across europe are tightening coronavirus restrictions after a surge in new infections the british capital london and parts of southern england will go into a stricter lock down from midnight on tuesday night the netherlands and the czech republic are also implementing stricter measures e.u. commission president underlying it is reporting some progress in talks over the

e.u.'s future relationship with the u.k. negotiators are trying to resolve differences over issues including fishing rights and fair competition for business britain leaves the e.u.'s single market in just over 2 weeks. the prime minister of s. one seanie has died after contracting covert 19 that's according to the government there the 52 year old embryos. announced in november that he had tested positive for the corona virus but was feeling well he was later hospitalized in neighboring south africa the army had been prime minister of the country formerly known as swazi land since 2018 the u.s. has removed sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism terrorism opening of the african nation up 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 alcott.

anxiety and anger in nigeria tonight 3 days after gunmen kidnapped hundreds of boys from a school in the northern part of the country the attackers stormed the school in the state of kut ciena late on friday prompting a rescue operation nigerian authorities say they are now in contact with the kidnappers in negotiating the boy's release parents say the government has repeatedly failed to keep their children say. this who uniforms are still hanging on the wall but the pupils have gone taken in a violent attack by dozens of gunmen on motorcycles while they were asleep in that duma trees. to some is one of the lucky ones he managed to escape the kidnap is less i would i will let you a little when i decided to run they pulled out a knife and threatened to kill me but i ran away really quickly to little with so i

ran into the crowd so they couldn't get me and then i turned my clothes inside out so they wouldn't recognise me. then i ran i climbed out of rocks and ran through the forest. officials say 333 pupils from the boys' boarding school is still missing it's uncertain how many of them are in the hands of the kidnappers some may have managed to flee like osama and still be in hiding the attack has been blamed on armed criminals so-called bandits who at parades in this part of nigeria are the group's attack civilians and kidnap them for around some. as the anguish of parents is growing so is that anger at the government's failure to stop these attacks and to bring their children back. to the well we have begging this government with the sake of allah. to strengthen its efforts so that our children will come home. this is my call to the federal government and all other

agencies that can help are one of the thing that they will go with that. the government said on monday that it is in contact with the bandits and is negotiating the release of the boy's. parents here will be praying that they succeed and their sons will be returned to them on. the bell rusian opposition leaders footlong that. has called on germany to lift its visa requirement for bella rusin citizens amid the crackdown on opponents of president lukashenko she made the call during a visit here to berlin she said and scalia met with german president frank fata steinmeyer she said the protests and the rooms will continue into next year and she predicted that they would ultimately be successful he wus while the mere as he paul spoke with. after that meeting you're just coming from the talks you through there will bring you down to germany what was the talk the talk we're talking about.

we're talking about the risk of course and to relieve the stress of questions 1st of all we discussed the role always seemed in social point of crisis and this we need to insist that all see is to. continue to. try to. lead to the nice mediation for future negotiations in the us. then being talked about assistance of germany in the. fore. in the full force in society into those for people who are under pressure we discussed the question of. is a question just to. simplify getting visas for those who are under pressure injured people. you mentioned yesterday that list people going to protest

in the streets protesting bill arose. in the energies not morally there so what do think how long these protests continue they are looking for different ways of protest in the their changing forms of protest in a way they now they use underground. methods of protest in and all this stuff they are strengthening they are going to zation this is also kind of they are strengthening strike and committees and trade unions so please don't tell that to be that the protests in movement is headed to prison no way would be russian interests in power changing you know what else would russia support the removal of aggression go. you know we we have to ask russia about this but their main question is the duerson themselves in they want to power to be

changed and they want they want to build a new democratic country and this was what made us one last question what gives you hope that the real success. with gives me hope that real success would give you more opposition movement will be reaching the victory which are you talking about real people our unity how understanding that. this regime of the violence of this regime that to watch us can be forgiven and forget for what we want to renew our identity we are we now we realize that we are nation that we are united we want to be be a recess not a part of russians and that you know a lot of europeans think that builders this. is is russian i don't know but we are separate country we separated the entity and we now we understand that we have proud that we have you ever sense and. the. children attending and independence

extremely important for us and the applicant for these and we know that all would be open to. our sports news now to the all important role for football's champions league round of 16 the knockout stages of europe's top club tournament defending champion byron munich will face off against italian club lot c.-o. dortmund will play so the other games include liverpool against leipzig manchester city against mentioned and last season's runners up. against barcelona the 1st games of the matches over 2 legs are due to take place in the middle of february as you saw 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 buddhist league has been referred to as a farmer's league meaning the level of competition except at the very top is of lesser quality than in other leagues but this season 2 clubs beyond the regular

contenders by an endorsement have already shown they're worth. a lot of bought. and r.v. life 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 blood bought into that drought 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 pride for that moment i'm very proud of the guys rb leipsic who

1st earned promotion to the bundesliga in 2016 made it to the champions league semifinal slask 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. yeah that's what i meant rationalisations 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 bonus league sides even made it through to the champions league quarter finals but last season 2 teams reached the final for him the bendis league repeat their success and shake its farmers league tag once and for all. now the british spy novel

author john le. he has died from complications from pneumonia he was 80 not the car he was best known for his intricate cold war thrillers a number of which were turned into movies john le carre whose real name was david cornwell found some of the inspiration for his novels while working for the british secret service. for bestselling author john le carré the welt of espionage was an endless source of inspiration the spy turned novelist head of writing career that spanned 6 decades with 25 novels to his name. the cold war was the main backdrop. for the british intelligence service a nearly $960.00 s. . many of us bestsellers when made into movies like the spy who came in from the cold starring richard burton.

his stories were often session germany where he had spent time as a young secret engines i think but it was in some mysterious way my destiny always to write but germany in one way or another in. the world of espionage was always a metaphor for the human condition he didn't stop writing when the cold war ended with the fall of the berlin wall though he was disillusioned with what came after it. tailor of panama as a novel was my 1st novel with no ideological content its spoke to the new materialism to the new post-war era it spoke also to my own disappointment that there was no energy for the reconstruction of the world when the cold war and it. shone like a master of spy fiction passed away at the age of 89. you're

watching t w news from berlin after a short break i'll be back to take you through the day but 1st we want to take you to south america where millions witnessed one of nature's most spectacular shows a total eclipse of the sun.

was the same for a new trick monarch. the. fantasy.

lock. to see. the secret because it starts december 25th the body. of the more. current. the pros will. use them. in those long rows smaller. rooms. there's no he's known.

for the with. his. parents. still. tiny points of light in the darkness of this pandemic amid mounting debts the 1st corona virus vaccines were given today in the united states one in every 1000 americans has now died from coated 19 here in germany daily new infections are exploding l 3 times higher than their springtime peak the result a tougher lockdown begins this week lasting into jane you.