by choice he is caught in because even though way to transmit the truth. and in the question how much and i will. do to you. this is d.w. news and these are our top stories. prominent russian opposition figure alexina volley says he has spoken with one of the security agents allegedly involved in his poisoning last august he maintains the agent believed he was talking to a government official and revealed details about the attack the investigative website belling katz says russian security agents have been tailing of only 4 years . the european union has approved the biotech pfizer

coronavirus vaccine it comes after approval by the european medicines agency e m a germany italy in austria plans are vaccinations on december 27th inoculation is already in use in the united states and the u.k. it's said to be 95 percent effective against the virus. travel bans imposed because of the new strain of corona virus that has emerged in the u.k. have left trucks stranded in southern england long lines of stationary vehicles have built up on the highways leading to dover britain's busiest ports all passenger and truck crossings of france are blocked and supermarket chains are warning of possible food shortages. this is g.w. news from berlin follow us on twitter on instagram n t w news or visit our website that's t w dot com. u.k. prime minister barak johnson is dealing with 2 of the biggest economic shocks his

country has ever suffered in peacetime leaving the european union and the coronavirus pandemic the latest breck said the deadline passed on sunday and the 2 sides are still talking britain was dealt dealt another blow today as the e.u. and countries around the world bans travelers from the u.k. because of a new mutant strain of corona virus i'm phil gale in berlin and this is the day. the new variant is out of control and we need to bring it under control it is not as though we can stop this getting into other places there's some they're ready for a little break and i can't go because all. the girls. will be playing but how do i like being able to fly through the air on europe. i think it's a little bit annoying for the country has the right to make the wrong decision if

they think it's going to be for the safety of their citizens it's the right thing to do i just hope that maybe 2021 is going to be different. and that. also on the day our german court hands down to life sentences to a right wing extremist after he killed 2 people near a synagogue last year survivors of that attack are still feeling its effects so does the world never had a problem with the fireworks on new year's eve in the past but i noticed this year that they made me feel a bit. i wouldn't say they made me nervous but i really don't feel comfortable with the misuse of it. welcome to the day germany france india and saudi arabia are among about 30 countries lining up to impose a bans on travelers from the u.k. as britain battles and mutated strain of corona virus that he said to be much more contagious u.k.

ports and airports have been thrown into chaos leaving the country effectively cut off from continental europe. entry denied trucks headed from england to the european mainland forced to turn back after alarms were raised over the new coronavirus train the channel crossing to france is a crucial trade route truck drivers and their goods now stranded. young to law by new. glossy shoes this is good to like a chip this is what you need but the next 2 days you know it will make you. think. they. travel at london's heathrow airport was also disrupted with some passengers left in limbo. confused at this time because even out i appeared on board in december situation you see the situation is

totally different it's hard going to. really. bring on a lot of people but. i think overall we're all just waiting on the opening up of the country. now sense to see your family get back together. and the new covert strain has already been detected in mainland europe and as far away as australia experts say the newly developed vaccines should still protect against the mutation . well let's take a closer look at this mutation with john campbell he's an independent health analyst an educator and joins us from colorado in the north of england i welcome to day w. it's in the nature of viruses to mutate so why is this mutation got authorities so exercised. well they go to is that this new tape should all this in berrien form of the virus was more prevalent in areas where there is an increase in incidence of the virus generally so in london in the southeast for example there was an

escalation of cases and they found out that this virus was current dated with that escalation in cases and then this went to porton down to newport and down the biological virological institute in the u.k. they did some blood based tests read the culture of the virus in the out of human cell cultures question 50 k. did experiments and the conclusion from their work with that this virus is more of this this variant of the virus is more transmissible so we seem to have a virus which is more transmissible than the previous forms of this virus is still the soccer virus too of course is just a new variant but about 70 percent if that and 70 percent more contagious and that increases the transmission ability by about by about $5.00 to point $8.00 something like that so it is quite a significant increase in the degree to which the virus can be transmitted around and what that means is that if the virus has

a particular biological tendency to to be transmitted we have to be even more rigorous without accordance with our hands faced space ventilation measures because the viruses that bit easier to catch so i think that's why people are worried about like there is evidence that is more transmissible so more contagious does that necessarily mean it's more deadly. it certainly doesn't mean that the particular mutation on this virus is called the n. $51.00 y. now that is the 501st amino acid on the spike protein and that affects what's called the receptive binding domain where it actually fits into the receptive cell to cause the infection so we know it's a specific part of the virus which is specifically adapted to fitting into the receptor sell it doesn't seem to be affecting anything else in the virus itself so it's an increase in transmissibility and as well as that when we look at the n.p.t.

me ology yes there's more people admitted to hospital in an area where this mutation is but that's because there's greater numbers of the virus all together so the virus does not seem to have a greater pathogenicity in this variant it seems to cause disease is the same as the other virus but it spreads and more people get sick all of the same time is the problem and we've only just started to vaccinate people i know the fact they should have begun in the u.k. are already. happy that these vaccines will still work against this mutant strain. so remarkably good question now the vaccines work in different ways especially on a vaccine like the oxford vaccine which we are looking out to the moment probably going to be accredited soon and we have research the reason quoting lots for vaccine is we have peer reviewed publications on where the pfizer in the media and with more going by press releases but we know that the oxford vaccine will stimulate these neutralizing antibodies now they may be partly effective because the neutralizing antibodies stick onto the spike protein so it's possible there

will be partly affected but the vaccine also generates a gluten ating out the bodies that clump a lot of the viruses together and the vaccine also stimulates cellular immunity which is probably even more important than antibody immunity so it stimulates a group of cells called natural killer cells which will kill virally infected cells it stimulates a group of cells court t. cytotoxic cells which again kill virally infected cells and it also stimulates cells that eat the virus called fungo sitting rounds such as macrophages and mutual feels so it's attacking the virus in many different ways so it might have a minimal effect on one aspect of immunity but the vaccine is still going to work overall because it's the vaccine is boosting immunity in so many different ways so it's a no win situation where countries all over the world abounding flights from the u.k. is that likely to be effective i mean is it is it already out there. this virus was

definitely identified on the 28th of september now alarm bells were particularly round it not time because this and fiber one mutation was just one of actually 12000 mutations that this virus has been documented to have had since it left way back in january and the start of the year so it wasn't particularly worrisome that there is this new mutation but the so what was the question for. the question was was about a country is. banning flights in the u.k. is that likely to be affected yeah yeah yeah this is it because it's already been around from the 20th september you have the end of september all of october all of november into december to spread around the world so we know it's spread around or class of the u.k. we don't it's all over wales for example the prevalence is not high yet but it's also in scotland do we know for sure it's spread to denmark the netherlands and the

stray aliya and it may well have spread to other countries now i strongly suspect the robot caught institutes in the centers for disease control in the united states are frantically doing genomic analysis in as we speak to see if that drug benefit is already there i suspect it's certainly you're screwed it could be a good talking to as ever thank you so much that's very clear john campbell independent health analyst thank you well the european union has now caught up with the u.k. the united states and others by approving the coronavirus vaccine developed by buying tack and pfizer germany and other say they'll start vaccinating within a week britain and the u.s. have already authorized the drug which is manufactured in belgium now with a european travel ban in place a british transport minister grant shapps was came to reassure people that u.k. abscessed 2 supplies of the vaccine will not be affected. most vaccine doesn't come

by what's called roe roll on roll off which is what we're talking about here in other words it's not usually accompanied by by a driver by a hole or it comes on those containers and i just put this into context there are about 6000 vehicles we'd expect to stand in dover today probably i would say 4000 would have gone across from dover just under 2000 on the euro tunnel but there's probably something like $32000.00 units that will be in the daily total so the vast majority including. all of that scene actually comes by container and as you say there are good supplies in the meantime so this well i mean bans on nation program faster you transform into grant shapps and despite what he says the u.k. is looking increasingly isolated it leaves the european union its biggest trading partner in less than 2 weeks and no deal on future trading arrangements has been struck at britain's office budget office of budget responsibility projects that

leaving the e.u. will cost the country between $1.00 and a half and 2 percent of g.d.p. and $300000.00 jobs so add to that the economic and social costs of a coven pandemic and this latest european channel ban unknown at 10 downing street is likely to be having a happy christmas so how is boris johnson's government coping with these body blows u.k. analyst quentin pinto is an associate a member of chatham house so welcome back to t.w. and let's start with bracket sunday was supposed to be the latest deadline for a deal between the e.u. in the u.k. does it matter that another deadline has been missed. i think it does i think the whole uncertainty that this is creating really throughout british business and british industry is very bad news the. business is coming out again today begging the government to give them clarity about how to plan the

government is shouting get business to say get on get ready for it and they say well get ready for what we don't know if we're going to crash out without a deal or we don't we whether we're going to have a pretty modest deal but at least no terrorism no quotas which makes a huge difference to the red. ok how do you then read this that this latest step a new travel ban and that because of this newton coronavirus trainee do you see this as a necessary precaution or perhaps i'm piling on the bracks impression. i think it's the former rather than the latter because but it does make it very clear that the brics it this is an this is really an early taste of the sort of chaos that i think we're going to see after january the 1st particularly if we have no agreement i don't think that the e.u. has been as you say piling on the pressure i think that mainly it's just to find

a landing space for both sides to be able to come out of the door and say oh well we did all right we got a victory the trouble is that the british side and boris johnson in particular have been saying all along this was going to be so easy we could have our cake and eat it we could get a good deal just like and it is proving to be much much more difficult so both on the kelvin side and on the brics side boris johnson is looking to be somebody who is living in fantasyland i did want to ask here are there missions countries have spent a year going into and out of economically destructive lockdowns and back again but we have some national leaders like i'm going to back up and just send to our own who have seen their popularity soared despite this as boris johnson fairing. not well at all and there was a recent poll done by

a conservative party website which suggested that party activists his own supporters confidence in boris johnson was 2.9 percent in contrast to confidence in his chance of the exchequer his finance minister resume act which was over 70 percent so boris johnson is really suffering quite badly from being perceived to constantly. hope for the best on coded hope for the best on rexx it and then having to retreat or do you and i think what his problem is really and it's a problem both with british voters and with his fellow e.u. leaders or is former fellow e.u. leaders i should say that he's losing trust they don't actually believe what he says one victory for boris johnson's government has been that it was one of the 1st in the world so approve a vaccine and begin

a vaccination program that hasn't helped him. not a lot i mean it is the only bit of good news is that there have been these at least 3 vaccines we know of that seem to have come in with good results and be usable now the brits rushed through the process of actually getting the 1st of the vaccines approved for use and distribution of course we can't forget it most of the vaccine developed in britain it was developed in germany an. american l so this sort of great british drive was actually just about rushing through the validation process but having said that it was good news i feel that it's already almost evaporate he won boris johnson won last year the l action with the conservatives 1st convincing majority for many years that there are a lot of conservatives do have a lot to be grateful a to him for but the conservative party is also

a notoriously ruthless about holding on to power is he now a liability i think he's looking pretty frail actually i mean it is an extraordinary situation that was a tremendous election victory only last december but he's been weakening ever since i feel part of it is built into the man this is a man whose real no claim to success has always been to be full of optimism full of good cheer funny guy doesn't really matter if he doesn't do the detail and he's suddenly been faced with this nightmare of a pandemic on the one hand and delivering very complicated bret's it on the other which do not play to his strengths he's not a details man and that's why he's in a mess so on that point as you say it was always going to be politically fraught

and then we had covert has punished johnson just being unlucky. i think it's worse than that actually i think he's very badly qualified for the job i think that he played his cards quite cleverly to get the job if you remember he ruthlessly undermined the previous prime minister to resign may and he won the leadership of the party but this is a man who has never been good at choosing the right people to surround him i don't think he's got people who warn him against be overoptimistic i just for one example remember that he said the brits were going to have a world beating test and trace man it was quite out there sarah to make exaggerated nationalistic claims for it and it's been a pretty good disaster so he's just been the wrong man in the job at the wrong time quentin pale from chatham house thank you.

amnesty international is accusing spanish health authorities of effectively abandoning residence of cat stewarding that covered 19 pandemic and one of its most serious allegations porter says many people in facilities for the elderly have been denied access to hospital k t w z young from a shelter reports there is just time for a coffee before one has to go back to his care home in a month that it suburb now at least the 81 year old can leave the home for a short while in spring when the pandemic began it was different for months one was imprisoned in his 10 square meter room at the same time every hospital in the city was told not to admit and he'd walk home resident. says she not of course i heard about it and it made me think i asked myself what happens if i'm sick then that be no one to help me anymore that makes you scared to be 3 months alone with these

thoughts at least i could speak to my family but it was all very heart. one says his little drawing strife away the dark thoughts one in 5 residents in his care home has died of covert 19 states ignacio fought this wrote a report for human rights organization and is the international un spain's and legal pandemic in his view the country violated several basic rights of elderly people. there is no way that human rights violation can be the solution for a problem we're talking about and this is what happens here these people who don't go to the doctor couldn't go to see their doctor or go to the hospital these are acceptable because this is commission against a specific group and a group this case the people. in madrid and barcelona particularly

people's rights were being abused still hopkins said about spain. health minister. also came under criticism for him aware that there are some investigations he should be stationed. they cannot make any. move before the day right body. to make a judgment on these procedures to ensure. it was a clear. instruction from the. measure of the health he seeks. to describe any kind of discrimination. more than 30000 care home residents in spain have died of covert 19 though the situation has got better recently doctors representative say many cases would have been avoided both at the care homes being better equipped. with christmas just around the corner spain seems to regain some optimism infection rates are falling some restrictions are being relaxed however

the discussion regarding the violation of basic human rights of elderly people during the pandemic will certainly continue after an hour outside must make his way back to the care home he likely won't leave even for christmas the risk is apparently too high and he'd rather be alone in his small room he says and see a return to the conditions of spring. here in germany a far right extremist has been sentenced to life in prison for attempting one of the country's worst anti semitic attacks since the 2nd world war the 28 year old was convicted of murder and attempted murder after he killed 2 people last year in a thwarted attack on a synagogue in the eastern city of hama. his only regret is that he wasn't able to kill more people at times chiffon be smiled as the judge read out her verdict she called his crime cowardly and said he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

had he succeeded in his attack it would have been the deadliest hate crime in post-war germany but his attempt alone convinced many in germany that anti-semitism has become a problem that authorities do not have under control. it was 2019 on yom kapoor the holiest day of the jewish calendar that more than 50 community members and guests were celebrating in the synagogue and holler. at midday stephon be heavily armed attacked the synagogue. he fired shots at the door and threw hand grenades. but the synagogue solid wooden door withstood the attack and it saved the lives of those inside. among them was max privoxy chairman of hollows jewish community the experience has left him traumatized. as a disease never had

a problem with the fireworks on new year's eve in the past but i noticed this year that they made me feel a bit. i wouldn't say they made me nervous but i really don't feel comfortable with me. because i associate them with the attack in the me these are months luck. when he failed to enter the synagogue the right wing extremists shot a woman who had spoken to him while walking by he then storm to a snack bar and opened fire killing a customer. he filmed everything on a helmet camera streaming the attack live on the internet a sign in the window commemorates the 2 people who were killed. max perverts he has twice found paper swastikas left in front of the jewish community office. once he saw a police officer quietly removing a swastika he finds this unsettling. in the month kind

of mind the pulitzer when you can't feel completely sure that you can trust or depend on police or security authorities. for the loss of calm. and that's a bad thing. politicians and hala and throughout germany stressed that combating anti-semitism is their highest priority all the same many jews and holler so they are afraid to show their religious affiliation in public. the synagogue door which saved their lives has been replaced with a new one that is even stronger. germany has seen an increase in anti semitic attacks over recent years so we asked the government anti semitism commissioner felix klein what was behind this well there are many factors that have. led to that situation one is the radicalization and brutalization in the internet also or the the perpetrator of hell is

a good example for that he was radicalized. quickly and to such an incredible extent but also other factors the attacks of populist politicians against our remember in sculpture and the fact that so many taboos so many red lines are being crossed and people don't. don't hesitate to do that anymore so so that has led to a rise of. of the crimes because many of them are committed in the internet like holocaust distortion holocaust denial. but also incitement of the people and now we have to find all the means possible as the state but also as a civil society to counter that. that's it after a day. the

to. pick up on. the finish to. the last minute a christmas champion reclaiming the top of the business jumped on top of that. storm suffered a major blow and loses to the boss. on t.w. . the sense of freedom. to do is

a success story behind because he's done quite a mom. and it has to do with the social emancipation of the mile an. hour of an old idea of enjoying strength to tell a decima small scale coffee farmers to withstand the most difficult circumstances. in the 45 minutes of monte w. l e t. for in its monarch. fantasy.

up. this. track. see. stars december 25th. up. much take 13 of the bundesliga put this season's over achievers firmly in the spotlight.