this is date over the news is live from berlin and paris johnson cancels christmas for millions in the u.k. these with a very heavy heart and more to be coming to continue with christmas as planned the british prime minister on dials ties a coded restrictions as a new strain of the virus causes infections to spike also coming out of israel starts to roll out the covert 19 taxane the talent students have to wait with the west bank in lockdown and infection rates there on the rise all foreigners have yet to secure supplies at the shop.

i record his welcome to the program british prime minister boris johnson has reversed plans to ease coronavirus restrictions over the christmas period the turnaround he says is due to a new strain of the virus which has seen a surge in cases has imposed an effective lockdown on london and south east england where the new variant is spreading more quickly in an interview with british television the health minister matt hancock said the mutated virus could only be controlled through social distancing and suggested the tighter measures could be in place for some time. shoppers in london made a final dash to the stores before the new restrictions went into force set made nice under the latest rules many will be forced to cancel their christmas plans

indoor meetings between different households are now banned as all travel from areas under stay at home orders the number of kids are going up so i guess it's needed it's hard it's are great for business it's not good news for people but. i guess there's no way to avoid this kind of a sad day for what's coming to. be said for. the best. part of the room. was. the decision to as little christmas get togethers in london and surrounding areas is a major climbdown for british prime minister barak johnson. we don't want to as i say to burn christmas too to cancel it and i think that would be frankly inhuman bts with a very heavy heart i must tell you we cannot continue with christmas as planned millions of p. johnson said a new viral strain has forced him to change his mind when the science changes we

must change our response. when the virus changes its method of attack we must change our method of defense and as your prime minister i sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me scientists say the evidence shows the new variant of the corona virus is more infectious than other strains it has been linked to a surge of infections in recent weeks in southeast england. and now millions of people living in the area will spend christmas and love day in the seasonal sparkle told by the pandemics force. of annoyance go straight to london now and our correspondent charlotte tells them hill who's standing by charlotte quite a sudden turnaround of people in that report same resigned to the news so what's the wider mood there in london this morning. yeah we're back oh well for so

many people here this is heartbreaking news they had been told that there would be a 5 day period where some of the covert restrictions would be parallax they'd be able to see family and dollars that now has been ripped away from them just days before christmas people are having to rethink their plans just behind me there's a big queue of people that the local bitches here are having to quickly soak up on emergency food no one few people were expecting that just days before christmas these plans would have to be changed there were some people we did see images of people getting on trains out of london late last night before these measures came into place the vast majority of those we had there are resigned to these restrictions and i understand why because the concern about christmas slowly is now being matched about concern for what this new variant of this virus really means how it's going to impact us in the months going forward what it will mean and not just for the existing restrictions that are in place but what could come in future

to tackle the fact it is going to be more trying this transmissible and that is something of course that isn't just being watched closely here the eyes of the world are on the way and this new variant to find out exactly what it means and how it's spreading and indeed where it spreads here on christmas is being the initial hurdle obviously this has a bigger ramifications but a story of this new strain has been spreading since the beginning of the month now the health minister has been talking today did he say anything about why it's taken the government so long to respond. well the health minister this morning said information about this new variant is still coming in now as we speak he said that they actually found out just how transmissible it believed it could be on friday then said that they took swift action on saturday but of course if it's so many people who are angry that the plans have been changed they want to know why this wasn't predicted in some form looking at the case rises that have skyrocketed in certain parts of the country why people weren't warned earlier this 5 day

relaxation just wasn't realistic so a lot of anger among the public and opposition politicians here as well. now obviously a lot of worry about this new strain do we know anything more about it how dangerous it could be. yeah well we've had that transmission could be as high as 70 percent higher than the existing very and that of course is an alarming figure for who are a lot of people here that do have to be some carry out from scientists mutations do happen it's not believed at this stage that this is a very into any more deadly or more dangerous than the existing varies and it is believed currently that the vaccines and treatments that have been other are being rolled out across the u.k. at the moment will still be effective but this is of course a huge cause of concern 1st minute said nicholas sturgeon of scotland saying that this is potentially the most dangerous job since the beginning of the pandemic or on child until some pill is speaking to us from london thank you. let's turn now to

some other stories making headlines this hour a powerful blast has rocked the afghan capital kabul killing at least 9 people officials say the explosion was caused by a car bomb more than 20 people were wounded in the attack including a member of parliament. police in japan and rescue dozens of ski is trapped on a ski slope by heavy snow fall the group including $22.00 children had to spend the night in a cottage after toppled trees and power lines blocked the road to their resort. record snowfall has caused disruptions across northern and central japan. because he ations for a post breaks a trade deal remained deadlocked as the a u. and britain tried to hammer out a last minute agreement in brussels the european parliament had set midnight tonight as a deadline for a deal but major obstacles remain including fishing rights the u.k. is due to leave the e.u. single market on december 31st. israel has begun its covert

19 vaccination campaign with health care workers and people over the age of 60 at the front of the line prime minister benjamin netanyahu already has had his shot a successful vaccination program could give him a much needed political boost the pandemic came when his government was hit by a corruption scandal now it says it's secure enough doses to inoculate most of the population but it's unclear whether the rollout includes plans to vaccinate palestinians living under israeli control. the streets of jericho aren't usually this quiet most business is a shot apart from pharmacies and bakeries palestinian police are enforcing the strict lockdown in the west bank it's going to be like this till the beginning of january the palestinian controlled parts of the west bank were already suffering economically before the pandemic people are hoping they will get the job soon

northern israel of although a lot of the palestinian people need a vaccine which is certified by the world health organization it would help the palestinians who are suffering a lot from the coronavirus pandemic which is adding to the problems of the israeli occupation. sure a lot of it i live with god's will this vaccine will be effective and we can escape this crisis which has affected every part of our life she undoubtedly. at the corona virus testing labs more and more samples are testing positive for covert 19. countries in the region like saudi arabia bahrain and israel are beginning mass vaccination programs who but the cash strapped palestinian government has not closed any supply deals with drug companies yet.

it will be many months before we receive a quantity of the vaccine sufficient to vaccinate people on mats. bethlehem is usually bustling during the christmas season christians normally flock to the holy sites on the west bank but this year the celebrations will be muted as it struggles with a pandemic. they use highest court has backed belgium ban on her kosher slaughter of animals the ruling states livestock must be stunned before they a killed the european court of justice says its ruling balances animal with welfare and the religious freedom of jewish and muslim communities but the ruling has been condemned by religious leaders who are calling it an attack on their traditions and religious liberties. for more i'm joined by data reporter. have a thanks for coming in does this ruling maine

a total ban on hello and kosher rights no not at all according to the european courts of justice as you mentioned there they believe that it's they've reached a middle ground. are permitting we'll say religious groups like muslims and jews to carry out the. kosher slaughter of the animals but they have to be stung 1st now the religious groups are claiming that that actually is not a middle ground that it actually goes against their religious freedoms so this is once again it's it depends on how you interpret it but the european courts of justice claim that it is a middle ground right they have spoken by the religious leaders have reacted quite angrily to the decision what about to say they have indeed been incredibly angry a bit angry about it they're saying that this was essentially a way of their religious freedoms here in europe being curtailed or attacked and actually what happened was i spoke to margolis. he's from the european jewish

association and. l u z d he's from the central council of muslims here in germany and they explained why their groups are so angry about this decision from the european courts of justice let's hear what they have said drish people cannot live in europe you are the not the basic rights you're really there for therefore any decision or anyone will through this every decision the state of the clutha jewish people who are not there shouldn't the right to continue to be able to consume food. i cannot i cannot say that this people who really would like to see urges should look at the new libya something that their religious freedom is gradually being undermined and traditional religious people are pushed to the not much as a whole society how should limbs and jewish feel at home in europe when they are increasingly denied access to who want

a call here according to their various can't retorts. so very clear there from both religious leaders and actually if you if you listen to it they're very similar in for what they're saying and they're saying that their right to be able to eat the food that they eat and the animal being slaughtered in the way that they at once wanted to be slaughtered is being attacked now what animal rights group groups have to say is completely different here what have they said are they happy with this decision they've been happy about it and particularly the fact that belgium where in certain regions of belgium there's already been. rules like this already in place and in fact what the european courts of justice have done is that they're essentially backing the ruling that is already in place in certain regions of belgium so i spoke to a rights activist singer roughly aamco she's from the animal rights group guy and they had a lot to do with this rule being implemented in belgium so let's hear what she had to say. you need to accept 2020 we have to do everything we

can to prevent the most suffering and the needs are there the needs exist to reversable standing exist it has been proven that you can. move and standing will not kill it and this was the condition for muslims and jewish people so i don't see why are you going to be stubborn i mean this is it should this should be the end of the discussion and it's certainly not going to be the end of discussion around very different opinions there on how to proceed with this but at the moment that's what the decision has been by the european courts of justice life thanks very much for bringing that to us. you're watching it date over the news live from berlin up next our documentary the pope and hitler opening the secret files on the pious 12 i'll be back at the top of the

hour more news headlines don't go away. and you hear me now on yes we don't need you and how last year's german chancellor will bring you back or you've never heard her before surprised yourself with what is possible who is merkel really what and moves and want. to talk to people who followed her along the way maurice and critics alike join us for michael's last stop.

hope francis has set out to herald a new era for the catholic church. an era of transparency. now he has opened the vatican archives and given access to past the twelve's files one of the most controversial pontiffs in history. pius the 12th remained silent as millions of jews were killed by the nazi regime. because of his silence some called him hitler's pope. others pious the 12th was a saint who secretly saved the lives of thousands of jews finally the vatican files about pius the 12 are fully accessible. and can shed new light on his silence during the holocaust the time for truth has come.

rome 2nd of march 2020. on this day the documents from the papacy of pius the 12th were declassified. millions of files from 939958 kept secret in the vatican for decades. off finally accessible to researches and historians. german historian who put forth was one of the 1st to look at the documents. disposed of as i live not really made in the 1st thing that everyone naturally associates with the vatican secret archives of the war is of course dan brown's novel some kind of hermetically sealed glass cubes in which archivists regulate the

oxygen supply from outside a can absolute nonsense the vatican archive is not kind of like any other. obvious ones i tried to get over we have actually been working regularly in the vatican archives a printed years now on because it was of course something special and are going to because one simply has a whole range of questions at the pops for the what did the pope know about the mass murder of jews when he had been in for you informed him had it if you believe what he was told him because he didn't. hope francis had announced his decision one year earlier. and i bowed less to me i'm not sure it will be a matter of if you in in you can minimize the queen on the stairs of the dunes then

maybe just roll up through your feet where you reach up get ready with the party monument. and the later nearly is director of the vatican news outlet and one of them in closest to the holy father. according to him this decision reveals francis his commitment to a transparent church. like gears of a border that only got the church does not fear the truth because pope francis holds firm to this principle story from a big let us also consider the great scandal the struggle against abuse he has insisted the baby full transparency by in his decision to open the archives can be seen in this light. since his election pope francis's mission has been to restore credibility to an institution suffering

from sexual and financial scandals. pope francis's choice was to open the doors of the church. there should be no more room for secrecy in the vatican. 'd even inconvenient truths have to be confronted in public. the opening of the archives was big news as pious. the 12th is still a matter of heated discussion between catholics and jews across the world.

don't from pop pope francis decision to open the so-called secret files of pope pius the 12th is certainly an encouraging sign is house talk. for count. than a later one can revisit the question of a possible beatification and then jointly recognize yes this was a man who really did do all that he could or that he was a pope who perhaps could have done more done things differently should have acted or could have acted differently down there zoltan. past the 12th reputation started to become controversial in the 1960 s. when a theater play the deputy exposed the pope silenced you in the the holocaust. as international protests broke out the then pope paul the 6th decided to make thousands of documents from the 2nd world war period public.

for many historians though this collection was incomplete. and pious the 12th has remained a mystery. pius the 12th was born in $876.00 under the name. at the age of 23 he entered the priesthood. after rising swiftly in the curia and $917.00 but chile became the pope's ambassador in munich. church historian stefan some ascii studied the exchange of letters between the vatican also known as the holy sea and its representatives in germany. many of these letters were written by the future pius the 12th. one patella came to be a variant he obviously came to a catholic state and he was welcomed very joyfully and warmly as if. however the

political situation was at the end of 1918 the beginning of 1901 so exactly what the celli did not want. in $918.00 the 1st world war came to an end defeated the german empire collapsed and that made the turmoil the socialists tried to seize power the situation was particularly tense in munich with a chilly lived socialist republic was proclaimed its direct he was directly attacked by representatives of the socialist republican munich they came to the vatican embassy and wanted to confiscate his car schlock know. you. keep communism was he knew about communism from his studies he knew that communism is not compatible with catholic teachings but above all he knew communism from this experience in munich they put a gun to my head my life was in danger and they created total chaos and used.

in 925 chile was transferred to berlin. in the capital you negotiated a contract on relations between state and church with the german government the russians concorde. was a stadium puppets and guns noise suddenly it was a whole new political system and what had been a monarchy now became a republic context and in this context the relationship between church and state had to be completely reorganized neuer is concerned holiday regulations universities training of priests the old spirit on as it touched all areas that had to be regulated between church and state.

father compulsions probably one of the few living witnesses who has personal memories of a chalice time in germany. i personally met the future pope pius the 12th for the 1st time when i was very young well when i was 6 or 7 years old both to me exchanged a few words with no you know later i got to know him and i noticed that an aura of spirituality and when i did from him that i had never seen with other people like him i dealt with other pope's 2 private audiences with paul the 6th john paul the 2nd i'm john the 2030 owners and so on your list and they were all great men and important personalities and good people but i must honestly say that nobody made such an impression on me as pious the 12th george and i become of p.p.s. as we have. for many years father google advocated for the beatification of pius

the 12th in the course of this process he had a unique opportunity to look at the secret documents in the vatican archives as well and. in those days during the 2nd world war thousands of letters arrived at the vatican they were answered whenever possible and just make ritual. he was not someone who made easy choices it was before making a decision people always wanted to study a problem from all sides so as not to make a mistake so he was careful and that was right that's good scorched. the process of making pies the 12th the saint was started in 1965 all that is missing to finalize it is proof of the reckless healing as required by the regulations. pope francis has announced that the process is on hold and.

electro said that the ability to see my up at. the end zone for my. core and known. not to. that's for me. went in and i mean i've got you know. if they're mentally you know. an even bigger obstacle to past the 12th beatification is the control over his relationship with the nazi regime. this began in the 1930 s. back then a tele was appointed state secretary the most powerful man in the vatican after the pope. at the same time germany was witnessing the rise of the national socialist party and its

leader at all for hitler. again your particular 1st eugénie your peccerelli knew nothing about hitler even wrote to his colleague or even the vatican ambassador in vienna as we asked him for information about the hitler youth and he'd look a certain had luck if he also never met hitler in person back then he did not see hitler as a great danger niched ice-t. cause if you fast. in january 933 hitler became german chancellor. just one month later after the burning of the ice target the persecution of german jews began. in april a jewish woman named edith stein botha letter to the pope that historians found in the vatican archives years ago. it is time i did stein

a jewish woman with an advanced philosophical education turned to the pope with an urgent request. you know being in a bitter. she asked him to speak out publicly and loudly against the persecution of the jews and therefore we should keep in mind that edith stein was jewish and she had converted to catholicism is them contradictory we now know from by chelas note that this letter from edith stein was actually presented to the pope people before they get standing pups will be fully focused. or. all of us who are faithful children of the church and who look at the conditions in germany with open eyes feel the worst for the reputation of the

church if this silence lasts much longer. i'm told. and then there was a reply which is actually embarrassing. upped but shelley road to the art chapel represented the letter to the holy father. he had seen it and offered his encouragement and gave the papal blessing and compared to the request no mention. in hardly. a historian at their core. is researching the relationship between jews and catholics at that time nina. ramon did but she did do some good budget his main concern was the protection of the catholics and the catholic church in a nazi germany for the vatican jewish problems were not a priority. there.