the scene when you try to. see the. stars december 25th. supply chain severed travel routes suspended markets fall in the u.k. sudden isolation following the discovery of a new coronavirus variance can london and the e.u. work out a coordinated response. also on the show we'll talk to the c.e.o. of german vaccine developer biotech about that variance and whether it's vaccine just approved in the e.u. can protect against it. and the e.u. and china say they're closing in on a landmark investment deal we'll speak to the head of the european chamber of

commerce in china about what it could mean. welcome to the show i'm stephen beardsley in berlin in the u.k. says it's working with france to end the border closure that stops all traffic on the island stranding travelers and severing one of europe's most important trade routes of france and not to the bad monday in the rising concern over new variants of the coronavirus in the u.k. for truckers in particular the border closure has only added to their burden more than 10000 trucks have been stuck in a traffic jam near the port of dover since france close its border on sunday the line is growing longer by the hour on both sides of the channel truck drivers are getting desperate as you also it's a big problem a catastrophe for truck drivers it's a catastrophe never. for safety we have family in germany it's it's christmas in 2 days we want to go back we want to go. the initial french border shut down will be

in effect for a total of 48 hours british supermarkets warn that if it's extended the closure could lead to food shortages which is why long lines are forming outside the shops the british transport association is working on a proposal lucian to mitigate the chaos and keep goods flowing. you know sort of testing of drivers people 8 people in europe i think if it goes beyond 40 i was going to start to see some significant challenges but even if they were to be tested the results are often not known for days that means the drivers may still have to wait it out in their trucks the reason for the border closure a mutant strain of the corona virus which is sent to be up to 70 percent more infectious the strain is believed to have already spread to other countries. and one big question surrounding that variant of corona virus is whether newly developed vaccines will also protect against it the c.e.o. of german company buy on tack which developed one of the drugs with u.s. company pfizer said tuesday that he was highly confident it would of course the

heene said his firm would have a few a full answer in a few weeks so his comments come a day after the e.u. approved his company's vaccine for distribution. and here's what he told our correspondent conrad bosun take a listen. is your vaccine effective against this variant we don't know so far. because we did not get test. in the next 2 weeks we've built this new virus valient the p. piece of this virus variant and had better immune response against our vaccines able to inactivate that scientifically the likelihood is high that this is the case because even though this new valiant has mountable new taishan only one percent of this protein is changed and that means 99 percent is still the same and we know that our sponsor or the sponsor that is induced by all of axion this is attacking

this protein on multiple sites so that the likelihood is high and that the vaccines . but we will get that assad's into 2 weeks and then we can be sure. you know if you find out that you will have to develop. new vaccine against this mutated virus how long would the development of such a vaccine take you so technically we can put you in. new vaccine and in about 6 weeks but the development would most likely take longer because we were test to show for this new vaccine against this new variant that induces immune response s. and we have we have to discuss with. that they would accept such a change of the. vaccine and this is this is scientific and medical met medical this discussion but i am confident that if there is a need for a change that the technology that they're using the message on it technology could

data about the change. correspondent there with biotech c.e.o. . and let's take a look at some of the other business stories making headlines a $900000000000.00 stimulus package is ready to be passed into law by u.s. president donald trump. the legislation was rushed through both houses of congress late monday the deal is months in the making and includes $600.00 cash payments to qualifying americans. india's agriculture minister says the government is ready to hold further talks with protesting farmers who are demonstrating against 3 reform laws farmers have blocked roads connecting new delhi with neighboring states because they say the reform laws economically hurt them while benefiting big retailers. and staying in asia china and the e.u. have been negotiating an investment agreement for the past 7 years a deal is intended to put to rest sharp criticism over unfair competition to

chinese state 8 talks are reportedly nearing a breakthrough and china and the e.u. are 2 of the biggest trading partners in the world in 29000 alone the e.u. explored 198000000000 euros worth of goods to china and coming from the other direction significantly more 362000000000 euros worth of goods the e.u. machinery vehicles manufactured goods and chemicals were among the top european exports to china the e.u. also imported a large amount of machinery and manufactured goods from china over the past few years the e.u. has accused china of putting up more barriers to its companies wishing to operate there forcing them to enter partnerships local with local firms or competing against businesses funded by the chinese state. deal could have broad geopolitical impact and for more on this we want to speak to your vote he's president of the european chamber of commerce in china alone mr bowker good to have you on the show how important would this deal assuming that it comes to fruition how important

would this deal be to european businesses. well it would have 2 angles to it 1st of all yes there is a lot of architects spend if it's in their insurance and in finance but also for manufacturing things will be slightly better there's no was nowhere perfect deal but i think also very important is the symbolism of this that in times of decoupling in times of trade war that 2 large economic regions find a consensus and hope that this is going to be sort of come true that next week is speaking of symbolism much of the criticism of this deal is that it's being rushed for optics saying that china wants to have a deal before u.s. president elect biden comes into power in the term he would like to have a deal before it's presidency of the e.u. ends what do you say to those concerns and criticisms well i mean i'm sure that china wants to be seen with the big boys in order to complete a deal of that magnitude before the new administration goes into the white house so

i mean for us it's great as leverage in order to find more grounds that we can cover for germany to cover this was simply voiced by uncle america in the beginning of the u.s. he said 8 years is more that enough at the end of the day it is old boy it's down to the political will do you or don't you another 8 years is not acceptable for us and now we are exactly in this kind of final stretch sometimes negotiations china it's called the dark moment when you really don't know which direction is going to take but i'm very hopeful and again i think i'm grateful for to just put put an end to this does this potentially signal send a negative signal however to the u.s. the u.s. said they want to work closely with the u.s. when it comes to deterrence against chinese inroads into the economy for example. no i mean it's a bilateral deal i mean we should look into the benefits of brings to european companies we should look into the benefits it brings to job creation in back home

in europe and we should also of see what it does to the americans i mean they offer all signs of phase one deal in january and i'm sure that they did look over the atlantic in order to see how we feel about it no this is by natural deal and sure there's a lot of overlap with the united states we will i guess stick do a lot of communication with the biden mistry because we have a lot of common concerns but this is viewed separately it is something that has to be done and the sooner the better all right your vote your vote president of the european chamber of commerce in china thank you very much thank you. well germany's harts mountains may not be well known outside of the country but they are a popular destination for german hikers cyclists and around this time of year skiers but not this year however many businesses in the area are now low on cash and wondering when the once again except in visitors. it says if the weather knew

about the lock down far and wide no sign of real snow on them bad mountain normally resort owners would fall back on their snow can and now the snow can in ski lift in the new slopes cost this resort $12000000.00 euros last year but this year general manager fabio only goes up his slope 2000 meters once a week to check things out at the foot of the mountain there's plenty of time for repairs this year in normal times his staff would be busy around the clock now there's only enough work for 2 of the company's 30 employees the others are working short time. when we talk get to know at the moment we're not doing very well at all it's actually it's very bad thank goodness we're still healthy but this is the 1st time in years of the phone book ski lift that will be on home celebrating christmas

and new year's with the family and those of you more intimate about the not really a little of the buy in for me and why not going to rest if i am coming. more than 1300000 overnight stays were booked in the area last year but while lots of germans came on in mind vacations in the summer the 5000 inhabitants here will be abandoned for the winter. the area is 100 percent dependent on tourism so the coronavirus pandemic has been hitting us hard for months of lockdown this year no overnight stays no tourists and no revenue and it was against the by. even ski center and hotel operator to must post. has no idea how long the tourist sector in the prologue ski area can survive he still has financial reserves but for how long you will have to wait and see how things develop in the near future we don't think we can continue here on january 10th as if nothing ever happened and he isn't real

. for the time being the hard lock down stays in place 2 months host has moved his brand more stand from the slope down to the town so that at least a few of his employees have something to do the hotel operator hopes that by the beginning of january at the latest there will be more certainty for him and everyone else affected here. and that's it for me and the business team you can find out more about these and other business stories on line of. business also facebook and twitter thanks for joining.

the fight against the corona virus pandemic. has the rate of infection been developing what does the latest research say. information and contacts the coronavirus update. on d w. trying. to come to. one giant problem.

by immediately changing. climate. how will climate change affect us and our children ogham. dot com slash water. it's. the stress of the coronavirus pandemic is taking its toll on all of us. there's the ever present fear that you or a loved one could catch the virus. on top of the strain of having to work and learn from home. with normal ways of relaxing and socializing on hold for now scientists are starting to study the emotional impact the pandemic is having on people everywhere from the oldest to the youngest.

1. 5. children perhaps can't fully comprehend the unusual strain that this pandemic is placing upon them is not normal times for anyone and the impact is being felt strongly by those who would normally need the most help the elderly are among. the 3 friends have met up to play cards in leipzig germany they are between 70 and one over 90 years old they all still live in their own homes they regularly to exercise

classes together and meet up in a restaurant on sundays so how do they feel about the contact restrictions. i don't want to take any risks i prefer to follow the recommendations i won't take any risks and there's no tillage their loss of course this is stressful because he's become really isolated and very alone. and you need a bit more. at least i personally need a little bit more company. nursing homes have had restrictions for a long time visits are now limited to half an hour each day one of this home's residence is lucy a little she is 99 years old has 4 children and she's a grand and great grandmother they mention excel and really go to sleep humans are meant to be social you can have a good life when you have closeness when you can hug things that aren't possible

now. and how think you have to think in the end i don't care to shake hands with the children that's not what you're supposed to do and that's the hardest part the . man has experienced a lot in her life as scape from war illnesses and great upheaval so you know the lesson all we can do is stay calm and accept whatever comes our way and the impact of when through come the only thing we can influence that is by being considerate to each other. the impact of the coronavirus on the mental health of people of all ages is something that's being studied very closely we can now speak to professor christoph corral from the sherry tate medical school here in berlin he's conducting a major international survey called the collaborative outcomes study on health and functioning during infection times or co fit for short and i think we need a short version of that thank you very much for joining us professor i mean what's

the aim of your study. yes when cofa it actually cool it hit the world as we were stunned by it myself and marcos only the cool vi and we thought we need to do something to learn from it and feel fortified so the idea is to state and be fit pool fit during the covert pandemic and of the next trying to understand who are the people who are at highest risk of having poor outcomes from it and one are coping strategies to actually do well during the pandemic so that we could learn from india from individuals for individuals but also to do something like evidence based governance that politicians and society could learn from what kind of strategies to deal with pandemic health both physical and mental wellbeing or actually make it worse so what sort of thing is you asking people. so you are asking many things that's a long survey that's

a little bit of weakness about 30 minutes for a adults and adolescents and about 15 to 20 minutes for all children age 6 to 13 we're asking them obviously where they live how they live but they know someone who has been infected or they've been infected themselves if they're in karm teen right now or not but also do they have a physical or mental illness already and what is the help seeking behavior during the condemning getting the medication or they can have a need and then we are asked symptoms looking at not full validated scales but we drew out single questions to b.s. trans diagnostic as possible having as many mental domains and physical domains we want to cover and then we already saw that having drawn out just a couple of questions always 'd on 0 to $10.00 how much you feel it is true not that you're anxious lonely or stressed angry and how it was that the 2 weeks

before the pandemic hit in order to see a change and then we also ask about coping strategies what works the best and then we want to see people who do well what kind of coping strategies they use versus those that don't so that we can actually recommend certain strategies to people who may not use them appropriately they're already send theories on the impacts that their pandemics been having on mental health all the specific ideas that are trying to either challenge all or prove with this. so i mean we're looking both at normal modifiable risk factors which are basically socceroo definitions and modifiable risk factors so can we do something that we want to change so for example. how much people go outside how much they are in contact with other is it just personal contact or what about also online contact that is

already pretty good what about telemedicine that supplements for in person visits and can still maintain well being so when we're testing a couple of also resilience factors it doesn't resilience change over time or is it something that you're born with into the pandemic what about altruism and altruistic behavior change and thereby also improve outcomes these are all some of the questions we're asking with in looking on the program and specifically the impacts for young people and older people are there specific groups that you are expecting to see the pandemic having a lot to impact on. yes all we're looking at 1st of all this is an anonymous for the general population but we're very interested in subgroups migrants pregnant women women in general the young the very old the people who live alone from plant health care workers all of these will be examined we count if 110000 people across

the world 147 countries 6 continents to participate we need more people to understand it better but what we've learned already is that women seem to be the brunt they have more stress and more angry and they also feel somewhat more lonely than males and particularly it seems those that have to do triple time skiing there are home running the household but they have to do home schooling and maybe also do a home office kind of work and it seems that they are much more affected all they are more open and honest about it because also more women participated in the survey saw a would be interesting to see which groups to turn out to be the greater effective professor christoph corral from the sharia to medical school and the code fit study thanks for joining us thanks for having me and you can take part in the survey by

visiting fitz dot com they want people from all over the world and it's available in lots of different languages and you can help create a better understanding of the human impact of covered 90. now is the part of the program where we put one of your questions submitted through how you chip channel to our science correspondent derrick williams. i would like to know why the pfizer vaccine needs to be kept separate cold especially since it presumably has to be warmed up prior to administrative to answer this i 1st have to go over a few basics of cell biology the vaccine developed by biotech and pfizer is what's known as a messenger r.n.a. or m r n a baxi l m r n a is a chain like molecule that fulfills a very important function and cells it contains codes to make proteins and it acts

as a messenger between the cells control center and its protein building machinery as hence the name but the protein this particular m r n a vaccine that codes for isn't a human one it's a protein that's made by the corona virus and when the m.r. n a is injected it causes your cells to begin making that viral protein and then it provokes an immune response just as if you caught coke at 19 sending in the pretty simple quick to produce a code molecules to make these these complicated proteins and getting the body to do all of the work of producing them this business elegant solution to a complex problem but of course it can't be all easy we've been trying to produce these kinds of vaccines for decades now and one of the major hurdles has been keeping the m.r. in a stable long enough for it to accomplish its task after all messenger r.n.a.

isn't built to last in the cell that's supposed to break down again after it's proteins have been produced not hang around because that would cause all kinds of problems so lots of the research in the field involves keeping this pretty fragile molecule stable and one way to do that is to code it in a in a specially designed molecular envelope and then and. and freeze it at all to a low temperatures of when he thought back out again the more n a begins to degrade but not instantly the best description i've heard of the process compared these vaccines to chocolate covered ice cream bars with with the coding hoping to retain the integrity of the ice cream to some extent even as it slowly melts finds are and by untag say that there vaccine if refrigerated remains stable for up to 2 about 5 days after thawing and modernity which which

makes the other m.r. and a back seem candidate that's making headlines at the moment it says that it's those says have a refrigerated shelf life of up to 30 days. that's all from us stay healthy. all. oh.

pick up. the leisure magazine invested by the last minute christmas champion reclaiming the top cause they're really. very christmassy jeff to back. door to the 1st major blow. to. 30 minutes on d w. surviving the winning team and then returning

to normal life. meaningless like the patients struggles of long term side effects they don't know if their symptoms will never go away. troll studies hoped. for a life after the disease close. in 90 minutes on t w. story of prejudice and propaganda. they were called the rhineland bastards. their mothers were germans living in the occupied rhineland their fathers soldiers from the french colonies. days after the german children had

a hard time because they were a reminder of the german defeat. they grew up in a climate of national pride and racism the thought of the european population felt that it was important to be mighty and to stay right. exclusion and contempt culminated in forced sterilization under. the concert. documentary examines the few traces that remain of their existence. on. i'm.

playing the bad. this is deja vu news live from berlin the head of german vaccine maker biotech pledges customized protection over shockey and says his company can build a vaccine specifically tailored to the more inspections 1st 1000 in just 6 weeks but he's also i think that biotech's existing vaccine works against the new treated virus.