most of the details are of course still to be revealed but from what we do know is this a good deal for the e.u. well you can be sure that both sides will be trying to sell this agreement that we are still wishing for as a big win for them so certainly or the lion is going to do so as well but it's important to stress that that for the european union it was crucial to make sure that the u.k. only gets access to the single market if it's a building to have similar regulations and rules to make sure that there will be good for competition and that there will be a mechanism so both sides can impose tariffs for example if one of them is trying to undercut the others or regulations and that is something that both sides seem to have agreed upon. and the european parliament has said it's too late now to ratify the deal before that end of year deadline so what's going to happen now even with

if we have a nonsmoker of a deal the process is not over by dan because all the member states all 27 e.u. member states have to sign off on the agreement so the ambassadors could even come together here in brussels this evening but the capital still to scrutinise the agreement we're talking here presumably about 2000 pages and then if every single capital in the european union is happy then the commission can provisionally implement the deal but in general steal the rupee and problem and has to approve the agreement on the way it continues alexander phenomenon speaking to us from brussels thanks very much. thousands of truck drivers remain stranded in southern england waiting to make the journey back to mainland europe british authorities are warning it could take days to clear the backlog as the

monumental task of testing the drivers for covert 19 begins france abruptly hole to travel on sunday over a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant in the u.k. authorities then agreed to let the drivers through but only if they could show a negative test result although some trucks are slowly moving into france many of facing the prospect of spending christmas in their cab. let's take a look at some of the other developments in the pandemic drugmakers beyond taken pfizer will supply the united states with an extra 100000000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine the u.s. government hopes to immunize 20000000 people by the end of this month canada has followed the u.s. 5 proving the madonna kovan the vaccine 2 weeks after giving the go ahead to the buy on take 5 the shot and the british government has brought in a ban on visitors arriving from south africa after 2 cases of another new strain of covert 19 was detected in the u.k. . india has recorded nearly 25000 new coronavirus infections in the past

24 hours the total number of cases there is now over 10000000 that's the 2nd highest in the world out of the u.s. since september the number of new infections in india has been declining sharply as everywhere though the pandemic has made life difficult especially for the poor and people have lost their jobs. back in july we reported on 17 year old twins in delhi who set up a national hotline to help we checked back in with them to say how it's been going . oh. what. a share can't hari and a sister a ses get a dozen calls per day the girls have set up a telephone helpline in delhi they use it to distribute food and medicine the coronavirus pandemic has plunged hundreds of thousands of indians into joblessness

and poverty. when the lockdown started there was so many people out there who had lost their jobs even have enough money or resources to get the most basic necessities like food or medicine and we were so done tweeting. and asking the parties to take action so we thought we'd create this hope why. many people come to this barrier fence word has spread they can get help here mina malik has 3 children they were fed at school until the school closed due to the pandemic her husband lost his job and she did turn. i've had no job for 4 months my nobody needs us not even for a little odd jobs. between his mother helps finance the initiative as sakes they say doing good works is important to them. you know in my religion we always put

aside the money to be spent with charity and it's one of 2 wars rises over any of our generation the building my parents never see. the twins mother also brings food medicine and mosques to delhi's outlying districts tens of thousands of market workers live in this settlement when her daughters got the 1st call for help people here had gone hungry for 5 days straight. but new coal has come in for the twins they've already helped feed $50000.00 families in over 30 cities across the country now flour sugar and rice is heading to a family but the demand continues. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines this hour the o.p.m. state media says the military has killed over 40 paypal involved in wednesday's massacre in western bend sango gomers region security forces arrested 5 local

officials following that attack which left more than 100 people dead it's the latest episode of unrest in ethiopia following a deadly civil conflict in t. grime. football side paris st germain have sacked german coach thomas took hold despite winning his last match for nil to who won 6 trophies with payers change and led them to the champions league final last season the team currently 3rd in the french top division former tottenham boss. is expected to take over. the us president donald trump has vetoed a major military spending bill that's been passed by a large majority of republicans and democrats in congress trying to have previously criticized the $740000000000.00 national defense authorization act saying it would benefit china congress could now move to overturn the veto. and president trump has issued new pardons for his allies including the father of

his son in law. trump has now granted clemency to 15 paypal this past week the list includes several people convicted in the investigation into the trunk campaign's ties to russia allies from congress and other felons championed by friends have also. christmas is the time for family and friends and donald trump has not forgotten his not long after his arrival in florida for the holiday season the outgoing president's latest set of pardons were announced. what is interesting about the latest batch of pardons from president trump is that many of them have centered on people with whom he has a personal or political connection or bond among them was the father of his senior advisor and son in law jared cushion a. child's cush know was sentenced to 2 years in prison for tax evasion witness tampering and making unlawful campaign donations the white house cited cushions

charitable work since completing his sentence as the reason he deserved clemency but it's the pardoning of poll manifold and brought just stunned that has sparked the most outrage both men were convicted under the investigation into ties between the trump campaign and rush up trump is now part and full people convicted in that investigation. mr president my family and i humbly thank you for the presidential pardon you to start on me what's cannot fully convey how grateful we are manifold and started to not considered conventional pot and recipients in part because burt was saying to show a lack of respect to the criminal justice system manifold was accused of witness tampering and starr and was convicted of lying to congress republican senator ben sasse cole that pardoning rotten to the cole. ok make up a fraction of the $26.00 targeted pardons the president issued on wednesday and

with less than a month left in office more pardons aren't supported from the outgoing president. or for christians around the world it's christmas eve and in germany as in many countries one of the most popular traditions is decorating a tree millions of young pines i cut down every year to adorn living rooms up and down the land while there's growing criticism over the damaging environmental impact so some entrepreneurs are creating war sustainable alternatives. a tree is cut down. and another. every year we cut down millions of trees just so that we can have one for christmas in germany alone around $30000000.00 trees are sold over the festive season. benedict bruiser is selling christmas trees with a difference to make a difference well the idea of the regions of christmas trees is that we develop

a system where we only cut the top off the tree and then we have the natural succession of the tree and that will again build a new branch hopefully so it's a regenerative tree that never is being killed but it always regrowth. in january birds of peas people if they bring back the bits they've had over christmas. those bits are cut up and mixed into soil becoming nutrients in the tree plantation. underneath the cover brazil plants potatoes or wild strawberries. and in the middle blackberries. and all around them the regenerating christmas trees. which have a special meaning for birds or. through through all the technological advancements and the digital world we have lost many of those just natural ways of coming

together and communicating and celebrating life and you know being aware of what life actually means and for me tradition is the christmas tree at christmas where you come together as a family and you just enjoy being together and having that time to also reflect on the year if the project proves successful hopes the technique will be used around the world to make christmas trees a little bit greener. well despite the wait for a break the deal there was some drama at london's downing street this morning while camera crews waited for boris johnson larry they kept 2 lives at the prime minister's residence made a decision completely focused on what he wanted and certain of how to get it there was no distracting larry as he moved in on his target. but luckily for the page and larry lacked the killer instinct to finish the job and

headed home and embarrass. i'm sure sketch writers will be working as we speak up next a date of a documentary silent night a song for the world i'll be back with more news headlines at the top of the hour i'm rebecca ritter's thanks for watching. can you hear me now oh yes we're going to tell you in high last year's german chancellor we'll bring you that map call as you've never been surprised to see it was just possible who is medical really what moves want. to talk to people along the way maurice and critics alike joining us from echols life stops. there.

her. on december the 24th 1818 the young priest yosef more sent out for open golf austria to visit his friend from screwball. run together they want to just set his poem which knocked silent night to music. he needed to him to perform at the

christmas mass in his parish that same night. at the time gruber was a teacher organised and sacristan and on store for a small community north of zounds fork. he was expecting his friend to arrive by the early evening bounty knew how long and arduous the journey was in winter.

the 2 friends both musicians did not take long to find the right melody to accompany moore's contemplated what. it is only a simple composition without any special meaning gruber wrote in his diary and.

by that christmas 1818. on christmas eve $1818.00 a time marked by bitter poverty and meantime the original german version of silent night holy night is less 1st song during christmas mass an open door of the 2 friends to the sound of a guitar line because of. this word only it was intended to be a song of peace and hope in the difficult years after the napoleonic wars. mass water time fatalities famine epidemics and failed harvests had created a mood of despondency with those of more himself or grown up in grinding poverty and had enjoyed much in the years before he penned the poem that would go on to become a world famous carol. google or more together with france he created

a song sung today by 2000000000 people across the globe during the christmas season one that has been translated into more than 300 languages and dialects of business to become but it took 117 years and a very long journey via hamburg new york and los angeles before silent night became the most popular christmas carol of all time. the journey takes us to the california desert to palm springs at the time the home of pain crosspiece being crossed. by then being crosby was already the most successful singer of his day he lives just outside palm springs in the small away series of rancho mirage. his company's offices however were located on hollywood sunset boulevard the

building stone exists today. i grew up in this being proud. and we knew it in english from being crosby and we knew it in spanish because those were the 2 languages that were the most famous i would say in america but every schoolchild around the world will sing this song in their language and that's that's how you know the song is just completely transcended popular culture into into world history. like being crosby came to sing silent night by chance one sunday night in the autumn of 1934 he and his brother larry would busy preparing for an annual christmas radio special when a missionary thing you came calling. please accept my apology larry this morning for this intrusion but i have a proposal for mr crosby is he a holmes morning. father it's been

a while what can i do for you i have a proposal for you do have a minute could you perhaps sing silent night a. sacred songs are a little out of my league for a crooner like myself mr crosby the recording will only be heard at the parish your father ran a hand talked being into recording this. what song has meant in the annals of history to so many people was something i had been

italy didn't know when i 1st recorded the song i was basing my understanding of the song on other artists i heard sing it it was a cover of another christmas song you know i didn't deep dive into the history of it because i was so concerned about how we would make it new i didn't i wasn't thinking so deeply about the old with it and so to learn about its roots in salzburg to learn about its history through the course of the last many generations sends chills down your spine and so it's an incredible. gift that keeps on giving as a singer to know about. a story that deep and that profound and and inspires whenever i sing in the future so and so it's it's a lovely lovely story. a.

clue. literally my 1st experience outside the u.s. when i was a sophomore in high school we went to vienna that was the very 1st place we went and we literally met in a boys' choir and got to hear them sing and it was so magical i mean you have like

teenagers who aren't generally listening to music like that sobby like because it was so beautiful and energy something about about the boy singing like that like before they become men when you hear something that moves you and moves you no matter what the languages and there's just some songs and i feel like silent night is one of those that when you're seeing it doesn't it doesn't even it's so weird it transcends the lyrics it transcends the music. around 1820 life in austria is terrell region was as hard as it was across the rest of europe and the alpine winters were particularly harsh mountain dwellers only left the house when necessary and it took them hours to get down into the valley the musical reiner siblings lived in the 2 little valley and it was this family quartet that helped spread silent night.

in the winter of 822 and preference here was of advanced korea and russia czar alexander the 1st were residing if you can castle one evening the rhine a siblings were hired to entertain the guests. silent night was among the songs they performed. our. the alliance trees cast was so taken by their performance that there's i invited them to visit russia. as a result the siblings began a tour across europe was carrying. out

a new. they performed on recommendation in many european cities up to 1839. they even sang for england's kin george the 4th in windsor castle. i. think. that same year the wryness siblings traveled to the united states after what must have been a difficult crossing of the atlantic they arrived in new york just before christmas . relieved to have arrived safely the musical family visited trinity church on broadway to give thanks they sang silent night for the 1st time ever in english in

the united states. a word.

come. to ask when did i 1st sign it nice kind of like. when she 1st 3. of us is that i cannot remember i say that such

a crazy thought i just cut everything. see. non. we wrong. i've always been a big christmas obsessed so when it gets to the time i even like a little bit close to it. i'm just going for it like i make it home. and i think my house and myself i mean yes there is a money making thing we mustn't deny this was it is you know so it's valentine's day. but somehow. i don't catch me as much money as you think i'm going happen to think i am so is everyone else by the christmas marks the birth of jesus christ. if a christmas day falls on december 25th a public holiday.