well it's into tells us as a situation is not true as you mentioned it is the 1st time that there's over 5000 recorded in a single day it is more than 22 it has a new infections now to head after a rather constituted she's monitoring the pandemic here in germany state of these could be due to divine love to do lay in reporting those infections over the festive period it is good to distribute a sign. i don't know if fearing the beginning of the 3rd way for early january after to say steve perry is just as there has been to say yes this is. to mean that we won't be returning to normal anytime soon. everyone looking for something to hang on to as we move into the new year is there any room for hope in the near future. welfare president post i've talked about the light at the end of the tunnel when referring to the rollout

of to vaccines so this could be done why it's the only thing is that we don't know how long these still ease and the panda anything far from being over there still is some tough months ahead to adapt and there is a process continuing process from people who have done to prove their handing of the pad a new guide to government are from anti factors that being said 2 thirds after and to good vaccinated and has missed say she was hopeful that the vaccine would be made available to the general public by me 2021 when i did i mean political correspondent thanks very much for that. britain has become the 1st country in the world to authorize the coronavirus vaccine developed by astra zeneca and oxford university it's the 2nd vaccine to receive emergency authorization from the u.k. authorities after the biotech pfizer jab trial data suggests the latest vaccine is less effective but easier to store and transport authorities say they plan to start

rolling it out within days britain is struggling with a surge in virus cases that are threatening to overwhelm hospitals i'm not joined by john campbell he's an independent health analyst and educator and joins us from collin the north of england dr campbell thanks for joining us this pandemic is hitting your country and so many others very hard at this time how important is this new vaccine it really is but this new vaccine is the best news we've had in the pandemic it is going to change the situation entirely now in the united kingdom we're going to start a mass rollout of this vaccine from the 4th of january we're going to be vaccinating a 1000000 people a week from that point and that's certainly going to build up as the logistics and infrastructure develops and as well as that what we're going to do is we're going to give one dose of this vaccine and then wait for 3 months before we give the 2nd dose so that means an awful lot of people are going to start to get

a fairly good level been unity straightaway without waiting for the 2nd dose and of course it also means we can vaccinate many more people so it really is going to change the situation in the united kingdom and in time in europe. but this this that same is new on oxford astra zeneca vaccine is the 2nd but it was already saved in trials that it's not as effective as the bio on take size of one is it good enough. it certainly is good enough anything over 50 percent is going to be efficacious but we had the manager and director of pfizer making a press announcement just a few days ago saying the efficacy of this would just be as good as the pfizer in the middle of oxy no we don't have the scientific data or not yet but it's looking very promising and the key seems to be in the gap between the 2 doses so giving a longer gap between the 1st in the 2nd dose seems to increase the efficacy so low we have efficacy figures of like 62 percent 70 percent up to 90 percent depending on the dosing regime what he says is we've found the right formula and we should be

up there with the others so we are expecting high levels of efficacy so yes it is good enough and we believe this vaccine is safe as well that certainly sounds promising john cavil independent health analyst thank you. well let's take a look at some other stories making headlines this hour the post breaks a trade deal reached between the european union and the united kingdom has been formally ratified by the e.u.'s top officials in brussels a 1200 page agreement has now landed in london have british prime minister barak johnson to sign. at least 5 people are reported dead and dozens more injured after a huge explosion at yemen's aden airport the blast happened shortly after a plane carrying the new nie formed a unity government touchdown on its return from saudi arabia now one of the government delegation is thought to be among the dead. a chinese court has sentenced 10 hong kong activists to up to 3 years in prison on charges of illegally

crossing the border the group were arrested by the chinese coast guard in august allegedly on route to the democratic island of taiwan 2 miners who were also detained are being returned to hong kong. the european union has criticized china over that case but that hasn't stopped it from pushing ahead with close of business ties with beijing leaders have just been holding a video conference with chinese president xi jinping that's expected to give the green light to a major new investment treaty the deal is being hailed by the e.u. as a major win for automakers and other european companies seeking to do business with china but critics have accused europe of ignoring human rights concerns and risking a rift with washington i'm joined now by the chair of europe the european parliament's delegation on china beauty cool for mr vertical for you've been very highly critical of this deal why is that. well

whenever somebody who's negotiated a deal tell soon that this has been the best deal ever the best deal in history you should be highly suspicious and indeed the european commission is putting lipstick on a pig here because this deal even though it has some advantages for european business is highly deficient in other. strategically important dimensions notably there has been no success in the negotiations with regard to the protection of labor rights of the chinese neighbor arced in particle or of the commission has just folded on insisting as the european parliament demanded that china should ratify book or conventions of the international labor organization to prevent force neighbor or to guarantee chinese

labor as union rights. or at what about we have relations with the us and in the us the incoming biden administration appealed to the issue to hold off until they could consult on this but the european seem to have ignored that what does that mean for relations with the next us president. well that's very unfortunate i should say because i mean we've been clamoring for for years now that there is a president sitting in the white house that ignores allies that the spices its partners that would rather behave like a strong man. and go go things alone and now this seems to be a new opening for strong transatlantic relations with an incoming biden administration led by a veteran leader who respects and values

a partnerships why would the e.u. rush to finalize a deal just before that happens i understand why the chinese put pressure on finalizing the deal because they are very much afraid that the e.u. and the us would come together again and put up more efficient opposition to some of the injust practices that china represents but why would we give a hand to the chinese showing the middle finger to joe biden i think that's a strategic mistake very strong let's invade hine hard because the chair of the european parliament delegation on china thanks very much for your time and thank you. odds and tina's senate has voted to legalize abortion in a landmark bill that could have repercussions across latin america argentina is the

largest country in the region to make abortion legal but the catholic church plays a dominant role there and the issue has polarized society. nervous yet full of hope after decades of campaigning and setbacks these women anxiously await news from the argentinean senate. after 12 hours of debate lawmakers approve a bill that will legalize abortion in argentina up to the 14th week of pregnancy. we haven't seen a very excited it is a historic day there's nothing more to say it is a right and we're going for more this is just begun. there must go much too excited i can't believe it i swear it's crazy. but. it's a victory for the women's rights movement just 2 years after lawmakers rejected

a similar bill. until now abortions were only permitted in cases of rape or when the mother's health was at risk leading many women to seek out dangerous illegal terminations. that president alberto fernandez had made reintroducing them or one of his campaign promises gifting the pro-choice movement precious momentum. that this is the 9th time a bill to legalize abortion was presented in congress over the past 15 years so it's an issue that's been on the agenda for many many years and that in the most recent years since 2018 i would say has taken a lot of attention the anti-abortion campaign hopes that argentina would keep restrictions on abortion like most of its neighbors. the continent has some of the most restrictive laws in the world the catholic church remains highly influential and opposed to move. francis who is from taina urged against passing the bill

saying that every doubt cost is a child of god you. outside the senate activists celebrated their victory but stressed but the fought the woman's rights is far from over. you know watching day to the news a reminder of the top story we're following for you germany has passed 1000 cova deaths in a single 24 hour period for the 1st time since the pandemic began the country's health minister has warned that the widespread presence of the virus meant any return to normal life is still a long way. from mining you can always get data over the news only goes just download our app from google play all from the app store that'll give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for any breaking news and if you're part of a news story you can also use the date of the new app to send us photos and videos

of what's happening where you are. at save your update this hour coming up next on days of these business after a short break stay stay with us for that i'll be back with more headlines at the top of the hour i'm rebecca written in time and thanks very much for watching. our super hero. my mission is clear. and really explore germany. take. everything out there's a lot going on in. germany trident. yes to tribute to.

every journey begins with the 1st step and every language with the 1st word published in the. ricotta is in germany to learn german why not come with him it's simple online on your mobile and free to shop for d w z e learning course nikos free german meetings. it's a deal of an years in the making and today could be the day the e.u. and china and islands a breakthrough for their massive investment pact we go to brussels to find out more about the deal and its implications for europe also coming up thinking of switching crops for something more profitable chinese farmers are branching out to make a bigger buck and it's all legal. and it took a deadly explosion in the port of beirut to reveal the poisonous liquid stored to

them now a german company helps clearing out the chemicals. welcome to do business i want to johnsonville good to have you with us it will take months to be finalized and fully ratified but the new e.u. china deal which is expected to be signed today is certainly a landmark deal it will remove barriers to e.u. investments in china for a key sector but critics say it's rushed and it reduces europe's leverage on dealing with china. after 7 years of wrangling the e.u. is set to ink an investment agreement with beijing that it insists will guarantee a level playing field for european companies operating in china blocks top trading partner. the investment agreement a passion project of german chancellor angela merkel is framed as a victory of financial rallies politic over political concerns especially china's human rights record but critics say the deal is rushed and weakens the e.u.'s

political power beijing recently imposed hefty tariffs on australian goods after camera made political criticisms despite the 2 countries having a free trade deal i think there's been a very clear lesson this year and i was really intrigued by china are economic concerns china costs and i think they are better the longer the world to unite and our common and unified position on dealing with china and response study economics really i think has missed an opportunity to work was its allies year to get a better longer term deal with china. members like france were worried about shinji youngers being used as forced labor in response china has reportedly agreed to step up efforts to meet the international labor organizations rules. also there are fears the deal could alienate us president elect joe biden who's expressed concern about the e.u.'s overtures to china so soon before he takes office my plans for

what comes next and for more let's bring in now is a recent felon from the center for russia europe asia studies in brussels good to have you with us so so many hiccups we just learned about in this report. in the final stretch certainly china's handling of the hugo amount already again in focus its failure to comply with existing treaties like the one with australia so from an eva speak to why this rush now. that's a great question it is 7 years in the making and we saw last year with one used visit to brussels in december he said we are developing economy it will be very difficult to make this agreement so in one year we've seen that statement stretch all the way to the finish line which will be today why is this happening now while angela merkel has made this her signature goal to get this push through during her e.u. rotating presidency which concludes tomorrow so this is her final chance to get this through and as you noted in your program that there are the optics on it or

a really bad because we've seen a year with a physician uncovered 19. tensions in the south china sea troubles on the indian border you noted problems with australia not china keeping their agreements and it almost feels like a reward to beijing for their bad behavior last week we saw a german and that's or to the un was leaving and the chinese said good riddance so it doesn't seem that there is anything that china can do that will upset anyone this deal seems so important that nothing seems to sideline it why why is it so important i mean what are those huge perks that make all of that worthwhile. i think there's a lot of smoke here when we finally see the real deal we might be far more disappointed than we were with sexually been promised china has everything they want in europe europe is open for investment but the europeans have been the demand or they've been asking for more market access in china and clearly after covering

$1000.00 post economic landscape it would be that people are worried about growth so the 3 major issues they want are. equal playing a level playing field let stopping for signal to transfer and also this idea of investment guarantees but that's not what the europeans got they didn't get the investment guarantees that they wanted it is called the comprehensive agreement on investment and that's one of the key ask that the europeans do get the other issue that was made clear by the european parliament was that they would block this because of the forced labor issues in regard to sion jug and weekers and the language is so we can the agreement it's very easy for anyone to for beijing to get out of it because the international labor organization china has agreed to kind of work towards this goal but there are no snap backs there are no ways to enforce any of these mechanisms to raise a felon there from the center for russia europe asia studies in the brussels thank

you so much for sharing your insights with us thank you. well european stocks edged higher today after britain approved takeover in 1000 vaccine developer astra zeneca and oxford university shares in. 1.3 percent after jumping straight points faded a percent and in anticipation of the news most markets though in the region are subdued to do to thin volumes in a holiday shortened week the german dax trading flat after reaching record highs early as. other kind of this used to be a bad rap as an illegal or it used to have a bad reputation as an illegal narcotic recently though its reputation has been revived and a growing number of countries are legalizing the drug for recreation or medicinal use the same goes for china where cannabis derived products are becoming popular

while the state is granting licenses to farm us of the crop joe chung lung lives in a village in china's south western union province is among the 1st crop of the country's new cannabis farmers. i planted 20 had tears in the 1st year but we gradually expanded today i plant 40 had parents of cannabis it brings in a lot more money than other crops. farmers shows business is entirely legal as long as he uses the seeds he receives from the government which contain very little of the psychoactive substances t.h.c. and he may only sell to a licensed company michael one has invested in this type of business he is one of china's cannabis pioneers. people still can see their canopies this i'm a truck industry so you know the my family and those legal in here and they promise

some priest to not get involved with chuck business. michael huang's business is fully supervised by narcotics regulators he supplies the seeds to the farmers and buys their crops then he extracts the khanabad dial from the plants we had for his factory but while we're on our way the pony sent him a message he's not allowed to bring foreigners to his factory so far china and our governments do you want to want this in the tree to grow slowly and don't get too much attention from around the world i think. that is the one. there is a police station right at the entrance of his factory. the officers monitor how much raw material has factory receives and how much can a big dial extract leaves. extracting can of a dial is the trickiest step in the production chain a small amount of t.h.c. build up the police have installed cameras in the plant to ensure that the t.h.c.

is destroyed. i will regulate your body understand that i'm the stand the function of canopies and we also want to support the industry so at you until we get this simple why shorey procedure i mean why we have a really good relationship. michael who mainly produces for export but chinese consumers are starting to discover canada dial products one she cosmetics is one of the firms entering the market they produce skin creams lotions and facial masks which contain the anti inflammatory and soothing and creating it. you probably remember those images a major explosion in beirut harbor last summer that destroyed large parts of the city at least 190 people died more than 6 and a half 1000 were injured sadly it was a disaster waiting to happen corrupt officials have allowed highly poisonous

liquids to be stored in rust to contain us at the harbor for decades while now the chemicals are said to be removed and that with the help of a german company. but there's a dangerous surprise in every container some of them have been stored at beirut harbor for up to 20 years there's no paperwork and no one knows who they belong to let alone what's inside the contents are jumping out now forming noxious puddles the german company can't be left is now working to clean up the harbors toxic legacy. list very very important for us that we have an overview of all and to make test of the different kind of substances because it's not completely labeled everything so if you mix some things in it could be that with a blast you. saw ferkin hydrochloric acid acetone and now banned pesticide methyl bromide are just some of the chemicals they found here the bay bridge port authority wants to get rid of the containers as quickly as possible but it's not

easy. to structurally they cannot sustain the lot inside the containers and the containers falling apart we cannot leave that we cannot transport them. all in all there are 52 toxic containers here. in a cordon dot area of the port the dangerous liquids are pumped into special tanks which are then shipped to germany for recycling. it's a costly process which the lebanese port can't afford but in association of lebanese and german businessmen brokered a deal. we tried to squeeze through mark simone. to. $3000000.00 euro subsidies which is was born $6000000.00 this was the lowest we could do.

systems of mr bus. casey who is the president of the. board. he said look. for a door 1000000. copy lift is paying the initial cost itself while the port authority tries to secure a grant from the european union to stump up the remaining $1600000.00 but to rid the poor and dangerous and destructive chemicals that's a price worth paying. now with the new year's eve approaching pandemic weary folks are treating themselves to a bit of luxury to celebrate anyone for white caviar perhaps austrian fish farmers are expecting big sales of precious whites caviar from the rare bean all sturgeon retail manes strong even though many restaurants are shot each fish yields just 600

grams and roe are worth $8000.00 euros that's 3 times the price of black caviar caviar is the world's most expensive food worldwide yield is just 450. and it's a business update here on the w. this hour for me in the team thanks for watching stay healthy. be our fighters want to start families to become farmers or engineers every one of us a planet where you should. the children who have already been there. and those that will follow are part of a new. they could be the future. granting opportunities global news that matters d. w. made for mines. story so that people world over information

provide. the means they want to express d.w. on facebook and twitter and up to date in touch. this is. coming up today a special edition on the political storms that profited. seen through the ares of the people caught up in them beginning in hong kong where for some residents emigrating was a way out of the political chaos in the city last week and i wrote this account of life inside china i was reeducation camps for inmates tales of torture and beatings for ethnic muslim minorities imprisoned there also coming up. goals for reform of the type of monarchy grow louder.