it's part of a broader picture of a crackdown on journalists with china had $47.00 journalists in jail this year which is one less than last year which puts the very near the top of the or at the top of the number of journalists in jail so it's part of a broader picture of china keeping a very very tight control on the media particularly in relation to stories about the pandemic so given the. security given that china now has the virus largely under control why have the authorities gone after these people when in some ways it seems counterproductive because they have done such a good job and actually maintaining keeping the pandemic under control and they had a tough lockdown but it was very popular in china and people are happy now that they can operate and normally i think what what we're seeing here is very much a power play that it's a reminder that china is very keen to keep a lid on the media freedoms and it's also the time of year around christmas for some reason that you see

a lot of legal activity in china we also have because then they know that the west is not going to be really watching as closely you know so you have people like the the hong kong used to try to escape to taiwan who were arrested they're going on trial 10 of them are going on trial today in shenzhen as well so it's part of a broader picture i think of of china showing particularly now as it's coming out of the pandemic and there's a new president coming in in the u.s. the china is showing its strength that it couldn't thank you for that for well take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines a saudi course has sentence prominent women's rights activists. flew to 5 years and 8 months in prison according to local media was have flu has been held since $28.00 taken along with other activists become painful women to be allowed to drive but part of a sentence is suspended meaning she could be released in february. european union member states are provisionally approved the post breaks its trade deal with the

united kingdom allowing tariff free trade with britain to continue when it leaves a single market in the new year the deal still needs to be ratified by the european parliament parliament which is expected to happen in february. u.s. president donald trump a signed into law $2.00 trillion dollars worth of pandemic relief and other public spending after a delay of nearly a week his decision restores unemployment benefits to millions and the verticality government shutdown the president had previously threatened to block the bill. for a coordinated mass vaccination drive against covering 1000 has begun across the e.u. thousands of people have not received the bomb tech pfizer vaccine medical staff and nursing home workers and the elderly have been receiving the jobs member states are being forced to prioritize who gets inoculated 1st because of limited supplies of the vaccine shortages sparked debate within germany and their growing calls for

the government to step in and ensure quicker production of the vaccine german health minister young bands are speeding up the production is extremely complicated but in the coming with the coming weeks he expects to see increased capacity. and i have to say i'm amazed vaccine production is one of the most complicated and most challenging fields in the pharmaceutical industry nevertheless within the next 3 to 4 weeks we could have the means to ramp up production at will and stop producing extra vaccine doses elsewhere in germany or your. the air quality index of the world's most polluted cities bishkek is top of the list the couple of kurdistan has a population of around a 1000000 and for many years the winter months i've seen the city choked with smog as people used coal to heat their homes since cold is cheap changing to a less polluting fuel won't be easy especially now the coronavirus pandemic is battering the country's economy

a militia reports. coal is selling like hotcakes in the freezing cold winter temperatures in the city of bishkek average at minus 6 degrees celsius call is an essential good because homes on the outskirts aren't connected to the city's central heating network. by a lot of these bags sometimes 20 at once as you can see there are private houses all around here and they all hit with coal. that. made headlines several times in december for being the number one most polluted city in international air quality ratings but people here say the smog is a problem every year in the winter. just. like this when you leave the city the sky is clear but. i think this is because of the negligence of the government no one is monitoring the situation and the smog as

a direct consequence of that. is. i think it's just fog it's definitely because of the winter do you really think it's pollution were the words that as a given in your. lies in a valley and smog covers it like a lid is authorities admit they don't know the exact source of the pollution the country's prime minister recently said this mainly coal powered heating plant could be behind up to 20 percent of the emissions he ordered the government to look into switching to gas. for now though air quality. sensors in the city show the air is hazardous to people's health the concentration of cancerous particles is several times higher than the norm here in the center you can sometimes even smell the smog it smells burnt and city authorities say that the air quality is so bad that people should actually be wearing masks like this one. but environmental activists feel

authorities are all talk and no action they're protesting against the city's latest planning document they say new buildings are blocking the wind unlocking the smog inside the city. the plan is only in the interest of the construction lobby the building companies and big all a dark you can use though you go to the other countries they would have declared an emergency situation by now but here they just pretend nothing's happening. but for now local environmental inspectors are stuck in forcing existing norms today they're checking the quality of the coal used to heat the boiler at this local school even many government institutions are still heated with coal. but the new regular people will keep eating with coal because it's the most cost effective we can't ban the use of coal in the winter people have to live they have to cook. once everyone has access to

a gas connection and to an affordable electricity supply there simply won't be small here anymore. but kyrgyzstan's gas provider raised prices this year and the coronavirus has hit the country's cash strapped economy hard so for now the move away from coal and from this layer of smaug fields far off . all global health emergency has thrown many sporting events of course including the biggest of them all this year's summer olympics was phoned to 2021 older nurses insist the tokyo games will go ahead next year but not everyone shares that confidence. the limp it brings up back in tokyo a sign of hope that the 2020 games will likely take place despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. we want everyone to feel that the tour you are going picks will happen next year. the excitement leading up to the games was on last

when the pandemic hit breaking news the 2020 olympic games will be postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic the olympics and speed the fun talk you're getting in. a decision that was long overdue with many athletes had already said they wouldn't attend but he international olympic committee and its president seem to lack that clear response at times they came across as clueless. we don't have a blueprint we have no experts to refer to. the athletes initially remained pragmatic they trained inside their living rooms but a year without any competition pushed them to the limit both financially and mentally. the organizers remained confident i.o.c. president thomas spock. claimed to have a set of covert 1000 countermeasures at his disposal he sent

a message of hope to the athletes directly from the olympic village in tokyo you will never ever forget these moments in the only big religion in all of your life. but there is a catch. they're what they want to be considerate to the athletes you don't want the village to get crowded and the games are done you want the athletes to leave as soon as possible like this. given to games will look very different from previous ones it will be hygiene measures in place and perhaps a limited number and no spectators at all. the uncertainty is a huge blow even for the locals 13000000000 euros have been spent on the game so far 2000000000 alone on the postponement many locals are starting to question if it makes sense to hold the games at all and. a large number have already returned their tickets to $1000.00 has brought

a new level of uncertainty one that will decide if the games will come to pass at all. during germany's 1st lockdown in spring for young sisters from decided to make the most of the situation by developing a board which has become a bestseller well started off as a quirky idea to kill as quickly turned into a flourishing family business. a common pastime under lockdown but this is a special game adapted to special times. the school we developed the coronavirus game while at home under lockdown we heard in the media and saw a nearby supermarkets how everyone was panic buying that really shocked us so to come to grips with the whole situation we invented a board game. the players compete to buy all the groceries on

the shopping list for an elderly neighbor hurdles include encountering the virus which sends you into porn teen or finding that hoarders have already snapped up all the soap and toilet paper. the basic principle is solidarity. sisters incorporated various elements they were seeing on the news about the pandemic of the in the we heard about the balcony concerts in italy and turned that into a playing card to. london. when their father saw what they came up with he hired an artist to design the cards board and the bucks. so not before because the game has been so popular it's been quite a challenge for our family based operation like packing and posting 500 games within a very short period from. the demand from all over germany has been massive goes on

storage lung disease and cattle was. thanks to the sisters' ingenuity families stuck at home during germany's 2nd lockdown now have a new fun way to make time fly. all right that's it you're up to date i'll have more world news at the top of the hour business news with monica jones is next time the day. young immigrants. know the police will stop.

they know that the road is not a solution. to their flight. but going back is not an option. i'm on and are stuck in the spanish border area. sorry the young people the reason for. it will probably never come. shattered dreams starts january 18th on t.w. . is joe biden getting in the way often china investment deal after years of negotiations a deal look didn't but now talks have stalled we go to singapore from all of the coming up italy launches a lottery with a difference to fight tax evasion. but up to date of your business i want to get

johnson berlin good to have you with us and was starting with the christmas trade deal between the e.u. and britain of course fishing was the final sticking point because it carries a lot of political weight and regaining control over the u.k. waters was a big part of the leave campaign but it's worth remembering that fishing is actually just a tiny part of the overall economy accounting for around north point 12 percent of g.d.p. that is it unlike britain's financial services sector which at $126000000000.00 pounds accounts for 10 percent of g.d.p. but financial services is not part of the trade deal which means the city of london will lose access to the european market come january the 1st brussels wants to hinge market access on how far britain diverges from e.u. standards british finance minister rashid su not meanwhile tried to reassure

financial players in the city of london that a deal is on the cards. this deal also provides reassurance because there's a stable regulatory crops or framework mentioned in the deal which i think will give people that reassurance that we were reigning close down a lot with our european partners when it comes to things like equivalence decisions for example so i think that will give people rich surance. well for more let's bring in our financial market correspondent andrea was in the frankfurt and going by germany's dax today there seems to be some reassurance after all as. it seems saw us want to definitely there is some reassurance at least you won't be seeing the key also that we could have seen had it not been for the free trade agreement but you mentioned that the financial services that are there are not part of the deal and there's a specific reason for that because the 2 sides are really finding it difficult to

bridge the differences that they have as far as the financial services concerned or what have the demands are very difficult to meet from either side and that's a reason why they're not part of the current deal at this point of time even earlier they were being dealt separately not part of the negotiations that led to the free trade agreement they were part of a separate. process process that was to do with the equivalent system which actually ensures that the rules which are governing the british banks who are doing business in europe are similar to those in the e.u. they were given the long talks it took in order to reach the agreement that we have right now that still needs to be ratified. what's what's in store for us when it comes to financial services i mean how important is it for the u.k. and for the e.u. to actually reach a deal. well there is a lot at stake for both sides. shouldn't confuse it it's only a u.k.

shoe and not an e.u. issue there are a lot many financial institutions who are actually working in london they're making use of the talent available in london and also the size and scale there but there is more at stake for the for the u.k. companies. e.u. is clearly the biggest financial services market for them and that's the reason why they stand to lose a lot and boss over even the city of london which could lose much more than what it has already lost into the thousands of jobs that have already moved and also it could lose more if the e.u. decides that look the rules governing the british banks are not equivalent to those governing the e.u. balance all right so there's still a lot to talk about there. but very very briefly the dax reached a record high today you should breaks it. that's part of it definitely because it happened over the weekend and this was the 1st time when the

traders got an opportunity to trade on that it's a major belief you go to keep in mind because we were looking at a lot of chaotic scenes at the border and we didn't know what we didn't have clarity of how to make trades which companies are going to get data which are not going to get tatted now there is some clarity on that and that's the reason why that's one of the reason and the other is of course the u.s. president. signing that stimulus package that was important the markets were actually no worse u.s. with recovery was losing steam and that could have been disastrous. thank you. now the talks between the european union and china on a major investment deal appears to have stalled in the final stretch chinaware that insists that they're still going as planned and i want to go to singapore for more but 1st a look at what's at stake. the search for an e.u. china investment agreement has been 7 years in the making it would guarantee

a level playing field for european companies operating in china a pact would likewise safeguard chinese companies access to european markets germany was confident of a deal by year end but then barriers began to emerge china denied a report it was raising additional demands in the sensitive area of nuclear energy . as far as i know you negotiations are currently proceeding smoothly the so-called news that china proposed to invest in e.u. nuclear power plants which cause a deadlock in the china e.u. investment talks fake news. the e.u. is china's 2nd largest trading partner with bilateral trade amounting to $650000000000.00 china's human rights record is complication the talks are been reports france was refusing to support the pact if china didn't agree to stop forced labor on the modern term and have mostly muslim weaker is inching jiang the pact could also strain relations between europe and the u.s.

advisers to president elect joe biden of called on the e.u. to hit the brakes on the deal until after the new administration takes office and put forward the car let's bring in the andreea hang in singapore now under this does seem to be so many obstacles all of a sudden does this in china deal still have a chance at all. well monica if they can into $35.00 rounds of negotiations on the 7 what's a $36.00 with jokes aside the deal is almost completely necessary given especially the reality of breaks it now and also not forgetting the coronavirus which probably paid a big role in pushing that year and declined even further but he has some good news china is looking to extend those talks those discussions and this is a good sign. rissa got the human rights met may not be a make or break a big enough make or break issue as many make it seem at least not for it to weaken

a deal that's already come so close to the finish line biden's influence also on the other hand is also not a strong effect as many think particularly to china that's a very big important thing to note and while biden has reached out to brussels and if europe will take the chance all the time to have that talk. just a cap is all you know even european observers themselves seeing the light at the end of the tunnel they're even admitting that while the deal is far from it is still a deal and it is a huge accomplishment all right but i mean we've just heard also that the lateral a trade already amounts to $650000000000.00 what additional benefit would this investment agreement actually house. well i think it gives china a chance to revisit some of those terms with the remaining 2726 member states given that treaty is now out of the picture now my doubt it will is that it has no right to sister invest oh but in the united. must have got my message of the year and if

the euro and green bay if i was the model and well k.b. the way for european business is to invest in by an angel services telecommunications equals even and others like those that are gradually being opened up full foreign investment particularly in china and then the benefit especially for china as the strong intellectual property protection european companies and that's a very big stake in the for china especially across not just europe but the u.s. as well and it's going to be a nice step for china to rectify this. hang there in singapore and guess what it's still 27 member states without britain but autos ok thank you very much. and here's one lottery that's definitely worth a gamble italy is launching a lottery with a difference on the 1st of january it's called the till receipt a lottery for which you don't have to buy a ticket all you have to do is show

a proof of purchase and you stand to win 5000000 euros but what's the idea fighting tech's invasion laurenson reports from children out of the region hard on by medicare from korea clinton loves this show full of delicacies from to brings people into region. italians like using cash 15 percent of people don't even have a bank card and shopkeepers often don't give 2 receipts no trace no tax but that's changing i don't know numbers that are for here the taliban state has devised this out so if we pay with a credit card that is linked to the out we can get a refund of 10 percent and soon there's going to be a lot or a sort of raffle our receipts will be extracted and i'm lucky or if anyone is stuck i can win the some different prizes. 6000000 people have already

downloaded the app that italian experts hope will help regular runs a shadow economy that is huge. like the vision in the early as a very large scale it is estimated in about $110.00 billions of new world per year which is. more or less the entire public health care expenditure in one year there are several studies in the show that the markets left transaction and you are . less sure the economy. many shopkeepers will end up paying more taxes but some are in favor nevertheless i have again i don't know if they were printed i don't know if more people are using cards now the government is pushing them to go cashless. month or may not on time unless caution the till means a lower risk of being robbed because some may notice the ring. and if someone wins

a lot to ring with a receipt from host to she wins the prize to. that we all know the gold not just how about a gold in a hamburger a restaurant in the colombian capital bogota is off. a juicy $24.00 karat gold topped burger up for a whopping 211000 pieces that's 50 euros each sunday which contains double beef patties bacon on and cheese and 5 pieces of edible gold leaves imported from the u.s. the owner hopes to bring new cool inner experiences to colombians unable to travel due to the coronavirus. and that's your business update from in the team thanks for watching.

is a master of the art of confrontation this is wrong for a 1st combat mean you're going to see ya exploiting the undisputed champion of tough political talks to try to frighten people who so far everybody understands if it's absolutely true the conflict zone and join to sebastian as he hosts the

powerful to account this is a big failure whichever way you like to spin the conflict zone. kofi. what secrets lie behind. discover new adventures in 360 degree. and explore fascinating world heritage sites. world heritage 360 get the map now. this is the doctor. today our yacht in special edition on the covert 19 pandemic a pandemic that's impacted each.