this is t w news live from london and brussels signed off on the press a trade deal u.k. prime minister boris johnson thinks the agreement just hours after it gets the necessary signatures from e.u. leaders the accord seals the u.k.'s new relationship with the e.u. and goes into force on new year's day also on the program. argentina becomes the 1st major country in latin america to legalize abortion it's a landmark decision for pro-choice activists and comes despite strong opposition

from the catholic church. and the european union and china seal its business investment deal after 7 years of talks both sides hope to take advantage of new investment opportunity. and a grim new reality for germany officials report more than a 1000 cold 19 deaths on a single day the highest toll since the pandemic again. a 1000000 blue cross welcome to the program. it's been months even years in the making many doubted whether they would even ever be in agreement but british prime minister borsch onsen has signed off on the brics a trade deal between the european union and the united kingdom the e.u. as top officials put their signatures on the accord earlier in brussels it lays out

the terms of the new relationship between the e.u. and the u.k. and goes into force a new year's day. you could get the impression the british prime minister just wanted to sign it as quickly as possible. after putting his name to the more than $1000.00 pages of complicated legal language parse johnson seemed upbeat. thank you very much it was you know what i wanted runs down. the treaty that i just saw the end it is a new beginning i think the beginning of what will be a wonderful relationship between the u.k. and britain bought this in the. book with us today number 10 here it is for. me the question you ask yourself is if i was. yes. in this deal country. to get their heads around

a document like this members of parliament would usually require months but the british know our house pushed it through and just half a day $521.00 and only $73.00 voted against the deal which i fish really puts an end to years of break that negotiations were going to become a friendly neighbor the best friends an ally the e.u. good how are working hand in glove with ever our values and interests coincide while fulfilling those so really wish of the british people to live under their own little house but it comes at a price and pains from northern ireland and scotland voiced their concerns that the unity of the united kingdom was now under threat the opposition labor party agreed to the deal largely because they didn't have a choice a student is back to the no deal and not to implementing this deal would mean immediate tariffs and quotas with the e.u.

which will push up prices and drive businesses to the wall it will mean huge gaps in security fees. the leaders put their name to the deal really are on wednesday. he said flown by the royal air force to britain to be signed. but with many aspects of the deal not yet final the saga is not over yet. let's get more now from our correspondents bigger loss in london and terry shoals in brussels they are good 1st to you quite simply what happens now well now boris johnson has signed a deal it's an international treaty and it will be law will be in effect from the 1st of january like you've explained parallel this process. house of commons has already voted on it all on it it's going through the house of lords and then later on probably in the evening it will be presented to the queen so that's that's a pair of the process but the really remarkable thing is that all this has been

done in one day and many critics of the government already mocking that well it was supposed to be about giving back control to the u.k. parliament bods to only have a day or half a day for the house of commons for scrutiny a lot of m.p.'s in this debate have remarked that it's just fooling for sure what they want terry over to you in brussels the european commissioner council of signed off on the deal e.u. leaders gave their approval a few days ago but it's still being called a provisional application of the agreement why is that. that's right william and that's because as bear good explained had happened in london the european parliament said we're not doing that when it became clear that the agreement was going to be concluded only in the final days of the year the european parliament said that simply not enough time to give due process due scrutiny to the more than $1200.00 page agreement and they said we're only going to look at it in january and

it may only come up for a vote in march no one's really threatening to to nix the deal no one wants to go through all these months and months of negotiations again but the parliament is saying hey we have the right to look this over before we say it's ok i think what. lawmakers in london were complaining about is fair you know this is months and months in the making and why would you have only a couple of days to that to then say that that it's a good deal and that you will have sufficient oversight of it so yeah that's going to delay the final final approval of the brics a deal for a couple more months beer get we heard earlier boris johnson say brics if the deal is not be an but a beginning rather churchillian of him and the rather ominous people know the history of that quote it's referring to so what does this statement really mean in reality. well i mean this is the day that boris johnson obviously is celebrating himself as the man who accomplished something

that's historical and for him it's all about regaining so rinty and for him it's about you know being with this person who promised that he would be able to get an agreement with the e.u. that's basically paves the way for the future and that's i think what he's alluding to he is saying that this is a basis for the e.u. and the u.k. to to cooperate on what he's not saying is the trade offs and that's what critics are all remarking. the great city is have has not done historically and boris johnson and his government have not said yes this is an agreement that is good to move forward voids for example really hard breaks and that would be catastrophic catastrophic for the u.k. economy but still economically the u.k. will be worse off because this immediate trading partner there will be new barriers

and that these trade offs that have been made clear and obviously this is a day where boris johnson doesn't want to talk about the trade offs but he wants to talk about his accomplishment and this is what he means by that all right very good muslim london turtles and brussels as always thank you very much. the united kingdom was part of the european union for more than 40 years and as of january 1st 2021 it is fully on its own it will affect british and e.u. citizens living on both sides of the english channel t w has been talking to some of them today where with v.w. correspondent barbara they still to belong so mare france is busiest fishing port the fight over fishing rights was a lingering sticking point in the post trade deal negotiations. let's talk about fish because this is what rex it negotiators did during the last days of the talks in brussels they counted every fishtail around british waters because that

was what the big struggle was about the existence of fisherman both sides of the channel now we are today in woodlawn superman the french fishing port and with me is fisherman stuff lawmen good stuff you will probably be really relieved to see that there has been now a compromise and french fishermen will keep a certain amount of access to british waters so. it's a relief that there is an agreement because for us that means 70 percent of our catch. if you really would have had a hot no deal for exodus they say it would have lost 70 percent of a fisherman and the danger would have been that the majority of european business would then have come over into french waters which that at the moment with the deal we don't know the dividing lines yet we will have the right to fish we will find out after the 1st of january because the deal has not yet been translated into

french only this is did you during the last weeks. really afraid that there would not be an agreement and your existence would fall away. because. we were really afraid because this going. son 70 percent of our daily work and if there had been no deal our profession would have ended there would have been no future of jobs would be lost and now we have to figure out how we can keep working the lowering of the quota we'll have to manage but it will be a constraint on a pivot to these because as you know the channel is really narrow if you leave the house. in 30 minutes you are in british water so the area where we can fish is really very small and people call you to vote. do you think that after this once you get into british warders next week after the 1st of january you'll have problems and troubles was put the fishermen who think now everything belongs to us

and i don't think we have problems with the english fisherman i think they have problems with the own government because we are not responsible for the politics there are things go wrong because of threats that it's because european politicians aren't doing the right thing neither for the french nor for the british michelle and i think people the people more bitter towards british and european politicians the brits a fisherman like us and we have always worked together i think they're more disappointed with their government and really with us so this is by christopher really a word of consolation and consultation off the relationship between the 2 sides they are all fishermen they all are trying to make a living here and the governments need to find or a better compromise in the future so that they can all survive and that's all for us from here in blood through mare and the future of fisherman and we'll get back to you later. to have used barbara faisal there and he has much more on the new

e.u. u.k. trade relationship in our documentary more a better than suite where our correspondents talk about who they see as being brecht's its biggest winners and losers that's available now on our you tube channel t w news. you're watching the news still to come argentina votes to legalize abortion and a landmark bill that could have across latin america. now let's take a look at some other stories making headlines. syria is state news agency says 28 people have been killed in an attack on a bus the ambush occurred on a highway about 50 kilometers southwest of the city of. unconfirmed reports say the bus was carrying syrian army soldiers. 12 people remain unaccounted for after

a landslide struck the norwegian village of guardroom north of oslo authorities evacuated some 700 residents after the early morning disaster which left at least 10 people injured emergency services are searching for survivors and securing homes teetering on the edge of the crater left by the sly. bitcoin has surged to a new record high of almost $29000.00 the value of the crypto currency has quadrupled this year as investors hedge against us dollar weakness and risk of inflation. at least 22 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in an attack at aden international airport in yemen the blast went off just as members of a new unity government return from saudi arabia so far no group has claimed responsibility it was followed by another explosion near the presidential palace several hours later. it was meant to be a moment to celebrate. a newly formed government disembarking their

unity a symbol of their promise to end yemen's long civil war. instead chaos. new explosions shortly after the planes arrival brought to the airport a local security source says more time shells landed on the border pool. witnesses described hearing sporadic gunfire soon off so. how is later another explosion was reportedly the presidential palace. and that this was a cowardly terrorist attack. the government is an audition to stay and to exercise its duties and operations with the strong will of our people. the acts of terror will not stop us from doing our work. he was given to.

the ministers have all been reported safe after the attack they were returning from the saudi capital where they had been sworn in as part of a cabinet reshuffle that reshuffle so yemen's internationally recognized government and when southern separatists form a palace sharing cabinet their aim is to forge a joint front against iran backed the rebels who seized the country's capital and much of the nolt in 24 tane plunging the country into an ongoing civil war. while no one has claimed responsibility for the explosions that pullout blame has fallen on the v.c. his power in yemen is threatened by the new government alliance. argentina's senate has voted to legalize abortion and 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. but

nervous yet full of heart after decades of campaigning and setbacks these women anxiously await news from the argentinian senate. i have to 12 hours of debate lawmakers approve a bill that will legalize abortion in argentina up to the 14th week of pregnancy. we have as you know i'm 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. i can't believe it i swear it's crazy. it's a victory for the women's rights movement just 2 years has rejected a similar bill. until now only permitted in cases of right.

wrist meeting many women to seek out dangerous illegal terminations. president alberto fernandez had made reintroducing one of his campaign promises giving the pro-choice movement precious momentum in. the antiabortion campaign hopes that it 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. i thought the senate is celebrated their victory to stress that the us is far from over. more on this landmark vote i'm joined now by. she's the executive director of amnesty international argentina and embassador and she decides to the program so beyond what the law itself states tell us more about what this means more

broadly for women in argentina. well for sure i knew stopped these conflicts so there you see friends. right. and we aren't even. in the next couple of months oh it's mom and yes it's going to be people actually learn to slow this is actually in. the midst. of. to see the stones fall into the. north of the concert then search that aren't piece in the way to find out about these also slightly different stuff or something we're we go to the courts not that. i mean it's not but by the court i'm going 'd to spend our. human rights and that much. to the work that i say that i don't

want to sit here writes. on it's the late today he said. which we actually are he's the small there you have me and it's not. in the book of importance of the beat. you just see the smile on your face how big of a day this must be for you how did this legislation succeed despite such enormous opposition from powerful interests. i don't this is. the simple honest the witness the. incision and the concierge we have these for for years i would say misty in bright light 90 s now but that's all they. need to be to keep here

but it's a little slow up there why is it combines. the movements that the government. want. us all this started is that over manned fully. all the negotiation we we saw the political side. make the artist. i don't see or are hiding today he's not fost. from amnesty international argentina ambassador if he decides thank you very much for joining us thank you the european union has struck an investment deal with china after 7 years of talks the e.u. has hailed the accord as a major win for automakers and other european companies seeking to do business with beijing as it will give them greater access to chinese markets but critics accuse

brussels of ignoring human rights concerns and risking a rift with washington and let's get into some of those points with noah barkin an e.u. china relations analyst and visiting fellow at the german marshall fund know what why this deal at this time. well as you mentioned these negotiations have been going on for 7 years but they only really. over the past year and what we've seen is just in the past few weeks the chinese president xi jinping intervening to get this deal done making it's making concessions to european firms who want better market access in china and i think from the chinese perspective the main reason for doing this deal is really to send a message to washington that china and europe are united what china fears most is

a treasure of transatlantic front the amps against beijing and by doing this deal they certainly undermine that. there are several leaders who would say that the e.u. is not just an economic union but it's also a values union so how do the statements like that jibe with this deal does it up hold commitments to human rights. well e.u. officials say this is an investment agreement they're not going to change the way the chinese government operates that being said one of the key demands on the european side was that china sign up to. conventions international labor organization conventions on forced labor and we all know there's been extensive reporting over the past years about forced labor reeducation camps in the western

region of shin john. this this this was a real issue no china signed up to committed to continued and sustained effort towards ratification of these conventions but this is not the same assigning the conventions and that's why a lot of people are critical of this deal you mentioned earlier about driving a wedge between the u.s. and the e.u. what does this deal tell us about how the e.u. sees itself in that world between the u.s. and china. well let me you european capitals the e.u. institutions have been saying for years they don't want to have to choose between the united states and china. now clearly they they say that you know they have more value in common with the united states than they have with china the u.s. is a democracy china is a one party state. but you know the europeans by

signing this deal i think they have undermined the potential poor transatlantic cooperation. european diplomats have been complaining for years that donald trump won't cooperate with cooperate with them on china soon they'll have a president sitting in the white house who does want to cooperate them and this certainly will complicate that and i think it will so a bit of this trust in in washington about about europe's intentions europe maintains it's not a question of equidistance between china and the u.s. . but certainly this shows distrust. barkan from the german marshall fund thanks very much thanks germany has registered more than a 1000 coronavirus deaths in a single day for the 1st time since the pandemic began the country's public health agency says that's partly due to

a delay in reporting because of the christmas holidays but new cases have remained high throughout december especially among the elderly and it's feared the number of daily deaths could climb even higher in the coming weeks. the bully record bringing some criminal in germany more work than they can handle despite weeks of lockdown measures germany has registered its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the beginning of the pandemic. because its. numbers show how brutally is this virus still strikes that we're still very far away from any kind of normality . age and fans. considering the situation i don't see how we can return to how things were before the lockdown as hard as it is this also applies to new year's eve so this has to be the quietest new year's eve that germany can

remember and. they persist in 3 high caseload is putting enormous pressure on the health system compared to many other european countries germany experienced a relatively low number of deaths in the spring but december has been the deadliest month of the pandemic so far. schools restaurants and many shops will remain shut until at least january 10th the restrictions are likely to be extended by chancellor angela merkel and the state premiers next week. but there is hope on the horizon. we work through what we want to do our best to fight this pandemic and to eliminate it from the world. you know you already know these seniors are some of the 1st to benefit as germany gradually rolls out its vaccination campaign 60000 people in the country have received a jab so far but most of the population will have to wait months to be vaccinated

had large new year's celebrations prohibited and many cultural venues looking set to remain closed for a while yet outdoors. taking up a new place in people's lives helping to take the edge off of this winter's melancholy. that's all for now up next made in germany whistleblowers speaking truth to power they'll be more news at the top of the hour you can always follow us on twitter and instagram as you w. news and wave of cross thanks very much for watching.

to own. or not to own. one about assuring a color instead. of a change in thinking is changing the economy to create something new. or economics magazine radio in germany. next.

why did this person. there are. there is a lot that can be done. live make up your mind. young moroccan immigrants. think the police will stop the. solution and their flight could be fatal but going back is not an option.

it's money i'm on and on but they are stuck in the spanish border area clear they're waiting for a chance that will probably never. shattered dreams starts january 18th on t.w. . some are celebrated some are vilified and some are ignored for regardless of how they're received whistleblowers have helped inform our picture of the world often at great personal costs to themselves speaking truth to power that's our topic today on made now here's one prominent figure.