i am. this is g.w. news live from berlin the long awaited european union u.k. trade deal is done e.u. leaders say it's fair and balanced the british prime minister gordon a small christmas present also coming up. germany's president from belgium steinmeyer ses there is light at the end of the tunnel we'll have more on what he had to say about the coronavirus and to make it his traditional christmas interest . plus a christmas eve mast with social distancing in broke both francis holds

a scaled back service in the vatican as easily as moses new restrictions of the one thing. i asked. to see one to welcome to the program autumn and soften certainty britain and the european union have finally struck an agreement on a protest breaks it a trade deal its implementation will mock big changes the u.k. and e.u. will form 2 separate markets and free movement between the 2 will and now both sides patched up their differences at the 11th hour which a virtual crisis as the end of the transition period approached. much of the british press hailed it as briggs morris the deal itself more important than the details after months of missed deadlines in terms talks the prime minister tried to reset the e.u. you can't relationship. i think this deal means a new stability and

a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship we will be your friend your ally your support or and indeed never let it be forgotten you will number one market. on the streets of london there was relief at the end of the ordeal. i think it's brilliant it was a mistake to try to come off the union in the 1st place but that was what most people decided and we've done it and we just got to get on with it and make it as profitable for ourselves as possible it seems to me that it was probably deliberately left to the last minute so it could not be properly considered before put into law so that tells me there's something fishy in their fishing rights had been one of the slipperiest subjects the final deal left the u.k.

fishing industry disappointed european boats will still drop nets in british waters giving up only 25 percent of their catch closures. british exporters face new bureaucratic burdens with business groups say they have little time to prepare. travellers will no longer roam freely facing the hassle of applying for visas and residency rights after 90 days across the channel and u.k. students will be cut off from the e.u.'s university exchange program erasmus. the european commission president turn to shakespeare to express her mixed emotions i only feel quite satisfaction and frankly speaking in relief. i know this is a difficulty for some. and to a lot of friends in the united kingdom i want to say 3rd team is such sweet sorrow

. the $27.00 e.u. governments and the u.k. parliament must now sign off on the deal by december 31st the end of the year should also close out a difficult divorce. we can cross over to brussels correspondent max sand hi there max good to see you both sides are sitting this as a success but other any real winners here yeah kristie let me let me start by by by saying that this is most likely the 1st trade deal in history that hasn't made the trade relations better but effectively worse now what you got was access to the e.u.'s internal market with 0 quotas 0 terrorist but under strict rules this is going to avoid chaos at the end of the year and cushion the fallout of brics and so this could be seen as a win for both sides in a way of course in the 1st place this wouldn't have been strictly necessary now

this is a very this is a very complex deal this is what we're looking at 2000 pages of legal text and so we really haven't started understanding all of the details yet of this deal what it entails but there is going to be what the one thing is for sure we just heard the example with officials with the e.u. fisheries with the u.k. fishers there's going to be a lot of disappointment and winners and losers on many levels right and the houses being sold then max in brussels and in london. right so you can imagine 4 and a half years after this referendum was called in and actually done after years of negotiations major setbacks dozens and dozens of missed deadlines everybody is going to really try to come out of this as a winner now prime minister johnson yesterday tweeted a jubilant picture of himself with 2 thumbs up he also said in the press conference we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny one of the key promises of of bricks is one of his promises that he that he also made there when he took over

from theresa may now he's not going to be able to deliver on everything he promised but he's for sure going to make it look like that was enough on the line at the press conference yesterday we saw her relieved smiling one thing that she said was i think it's very important it's time to leave brags that behind our future is is made in europe max where do things go from here. so the end of the year is near so there's not to be enough time to properly scrutinize this deal to properly ratify this deal now the u.k. parliament as we heard is going to come together at the end of the year and most likely vote on this get this report on either side it's a little bit more complicated now the e.u. member states are going to come together today in form of their representatives here in brussels at the embassadors and they are most likely going to adopt the provisionary agreement and agreement that could come into place with immediate effect on january 1st and cushion the the fall out of of rexx it

and then but this for this to be properly done the e.u. europe european parliament would have to come into play probably not this year but next year and they would have to have a look and vote on this deal to get it properly done and yeah seal it right that's next and reporting in brussels thank you. and now let's take a look at some of the stories making news around the world syria's state news agency has reported an israeli missile attack on the province of hama the rockets apparently targeted syrian military positions and syrian air defenses attempted to repel the attack israel has carried out over 30 airstrikes across syria this year. austria has reopened its ski lifts for christmas winter sports are underway at $400.00 cations despite the imminent strage of a 3rd national lockdown the government argues that as an outdoor sport skiing is safe under strict conditions fountain restraints however remain closed. and the 1st

case of the new corona virus variant spreading rapidly in the united kingdom has now been identified here in germany the infected person flew into frank fish airport from london 5 days ago and fell ill at home in southwest germany. and staying in journey of the president. has delivered a message of hope in his annual christmas day address to the german public emphasizing the challenges brought on by the pandemic but also how it's brought germans together let's take a listen to what presidents time i had to say the. rest. and vincent israel's of visits a group from from under them leave him. out playing the chords on top. the most snow of. keener on consult

their eyes in the fire. on fearless under the media the pundit me in the fall let's leave the mentions in the dust. must be on the anomalous leven. under those who have these dark views and. then be off on and off and. that was president affront. in his christmas address to the nation. now it's not often that nuns are in trouble with the bill but german prosecution threatening one variant by the subpoena with jail for sheltering migrants a case to test the sentries all tradition off church asylum mother made child say as her religion requires her to help those in need even if it puts it in conflict with the government she's being recognized for her if it's with

a prestigious german peace prize. mother makes is on her way to morning prayers for the past 9 years she's been in charge of the. burial for the past few months the german justice system has been watching she faces a fine of 2500 euros or imprisonment. i'm calm because i'm not aware of committing any act deserving imprisonment if. the public prosecutor's office responded to torch of i was questions prosecutors accuse me of illegally stowing away asylum seekers and helping them avoid deportation the accusations are unusual in most cases german authorities tolerate church of silence some 500 people are currently under church protection it's not clear why prosecutors have singled out mother mash did. i don't think what i've done is so remarkable for me it's natural that when i have the chance to help someone in distress i help them

regardless of whether i'll be praised or not. to apply for. financially the abby can just about make ends meet. money from organic farming and producing church candles the nuns have in the past taken in 30 refugees to protect them from deportation mother met keeps in touch with all of them. came from eritrea. and she came from sudan came to germany and wanted to stay here she received a letter stating that she was going to be deported to get the aid worker asked us to give us church asylum we took her in because in addition to this she was pregnant. both mother and child are doing well in the end they were able to stay in germany many refugees have experienced terrible things women were raped men were beat some went back voluntarily as soon as the situation in their home country

got better for example this man from iraq. he stayed with us for 6 months he was our 1st church asylum seeker he came to us totally desperate and homeless once we took a man he was very committed he helped wherever he was needed we also like to join us in church even though he's muslim for example he spent almost all of christmas eve with us here in the church helping to set up the chairs for the concert. the idyllic monastery has many supporters even christians in the usa and australia all believe in. the vatican the bishops conference and the protestant pastor in the neighboring village as well. people must understand that we as part of our religion must at least try to follow an ideal that we have to choose paths that are different from the others if we want to keep our credibility. mother

and her sisters refused to be intimidated and for that they've been awarded the getting in peace prize for 20. now pope francis has celebrated the traditional christmas eve mass from st pieces the city in the vatican this is service start a 2 hour was earlier than usual to comply with its nice 10 pm lockdown curfew the congregation was also much smaller due to social distancing rules. carole's echo through the near empty service made sumber by the coronavirus pandemic. then a 100 people attended the christmas eve service compared to the usual 10000. attendees were masks apart from the small choir and the pope himself

a message from pope francis urged people to help those in need this christmas. god came among us in poverty and need to tell us that in serving the purpose we will show our love for him. despite the pandemic residents in the italian capital are hopeful. its strange. feels like a war scenario in which something bad is about happen. and the same time there is an air of hope through this change so i think that is what we all want after this difficult year. the. hope for the future the next. to celebrate christmas all the governor. chris christie will see more changes when the pope gives his traditional derby at rb blessing from inside st peter's rather than from the balcony overlooking the square

and events to retrack tens of thousands of people. and you have to date up next my colleague chris. well though with business news taking a closer look at what that breaks that agreement means for both economies on both sides i'll see you next hour about. in the art of climate change. africa's most of. what's in store. for the future. e.w. dot com the 2nd major cities to the call to get inside. the counter. and you know here's here's we're going to do you and how to last year's german sauce and i want to bring you i'm going to makeover as you've never heard.