being criticized for being slow and chaotic german health minister defended his government's plan. is the vaccine delivery my own tech pfizer have always said they could only produce 50000000 doses worldwide by the end of 2020 that explains this initial shortage the 2nd issue is that those german states that are vaccinating are doing so mostly in nursing homes we have always said that this will take a little longer because of course the process there is more complicated new cases and deaths have remained high over the holiday period now medical experts report germany's critical care units are nearing capacity. chief political editor michel is following the latest for us. we're hearing media reports that the current lockdown measures might not just get extended they could get even tougher so what is going to be decided today. yes we already pretty much take it as a given that the current lockdown will at the very least be extended until the end

of january the other question is whether that will include more restrictions potentially also on freedom of movement in some heavily affected regions will ready seeing something like not a curfew that people can't leave the house without a very very significant reason during certain hours particularly in the night time in the heavily affected states of saxony and to remain here will also seeing regulations implemented actually for instance where people are not allowed to leave the radius of 15 kilometers around their homes that would be a new dimension of a lockdown here and many would germany never having seen anything the likes of big cities like london for instance where leaving the house was restricted to a certain time limit of the day so that could be a new phase here we're also hearing a lot of movement in talk behind the scenes those talks today were late in getting

underway and we've also just learned that there will be a meeting on the strategy to get more people vaccinated to upscale the production facilities that also due to be held tomorrow so a lot of criticism of how the government has been handling this so far and a lot of critical movement behind the scenes well as those talks are ongoing between chancellor merkel and regional leaders here in germany where do the disagreements lie right now. well there isn't a clear fault line between the states and mackel but one thing is for sure gone are the days where angela merkel felt that she simply couldn't knock heads together couldn't get all states to follow the guidance of scientists who had been calling for a much tighter lock down months ago and that was when some states simply weren't having it now the dynamic has completely changed germany is completely in the red if you look at them are way beyond that magic formula of 50 infections per

100000 people within the space of 7 days which is seen as manageable it now is somewhere between $77.00 and upwards of 200 and that is something clearly where the alarm bells are being heard very loudly and we do expect to see a much higher common denominator when it comes to what the baseline of action needed right now is alarm bells are ringing very loud because the infection rates are so high as you said where is the government strategy until now gone wrong. well that's the thing there was a certain element of disunity i think things something that was a strength in the past the german federal system which allows decision making had to take place locally regionally is now proving as something that is rather difficult what it comes to managing getting people vaccinated and particular age

group upwards of 80 who don't know whether they will receive a lesson in the post or whether they will have to sign up this varies recently and then of course is this over arching concern and a lot of criticism also within the government coalition from the social democrat party as saying that the conservative c.d.u. are going to map calls parties minister simply failed on getting enough doses of the vaccine the various vaccine secured for german use alone that going simply the european way wasn't enough and that's a debate that's only just getting underway our chief political editor michelle are monitoring the latest developments for us thank you. also talk about the impact of all of this on business in europe's largest economy we can speak now to carson just the chief economist at i n g germany carson thank you for joining us we have some numbers coming in today showing that retail figures have actually been very strong thanks to online sales

so what impact is this prolonged winter lockdown actually having on the german economy. it's just so hard to come up with numbers i think what we know is that. hotels restaurants travel cultures all this act as they have already been hate by the lock down by the been damaged throughout 2020 will also be hit the most this is this time around. when you look at manufacturing sector for example it has done quite well in the 4th quarter loss and at the start of the new year here it will really depend on whether schools will reopen are not because we have i think something like like 15000000 parents of of smaller students that if they have to stay at home again this will have an impact on growth so i think in some what you can tell right now is that it's going to be a very weak start to the year 2021 probably another contraction

a mile contraction of the economy but i think with spring time with the continuation of the rolling out of the vaccine we will also see then the german economy recovering starting 2nd quarter if you look at a comparison across europe in the early stages of a pandemic the german economy was doing better than other european countries is that still the case. really in on this one when you look at the lockdown measure that we have seen since november even with the tighter restrictions before christmas it is still somewhat lighter than in other countries compared with france for example compared with the u.k. announced last night to germany is still doing well or better germany is also benefiting a lot from this v. shaped recovery of the asian economies led by china so the german manufacturer sector is clearly benefiting a lot but we also know that this big bang of fiscal stimulus which had been in

throughout 2020 has not fully reached the economy yet so it we would need to see more fiscal stimulus this year or at least paying out of the already announced fiscal stimulus to really get germany out of the starting blocks faster than the rest and i see you mentioned looking ahead to the spring so how optimistic are you with that we will see a return towards economic normal normality in 2021. probably not normality but i think we have to look through this high frequency shorto noise of for where are their vaccinations where are there moments in nations the law will continue but i think i'm very positive that with this 2nd quarter we will see a reviving economy in europe in the u.k. in the u.s. and with a bit of luck and really a good vaccination strategy in the 2nd half of this year we could see for the 1st time in a long while really synchronized global recovery so yes as dark as the short term

outlook seems to be there is clearly light at the end of the tunnel and some positive news there trust in jesse chief economist at i know germany thank you for joining us. now people in england are under instructions to stay at home as their 3rd national lockdown takes effect prime minister boris johnson announced the emergency measures just yesterday as a country battles a fast spreading new coronavirus variant scotland wales and northern ireland are also bringing in strict lockdowns are desperate times call for desperate measures with boris johnson announcing england would move into its 3rd national lockdown similarly strict to the 1st one that began last march that means the government is once again instructing you to stay at home. you may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law such as too short for essentials to work if you absolutely cannot work from home to exercise to seek medical assistance such as getting

a test or to escape domestic abuse. with england experiencing a 50 percent jump in the number of patients in hospital with covert 900 since christmas day scientists hospitals teachers unions and opposition politicians have all called for decisive action and recent weeks. many parents support in the coming days because the schools the shot businesses will need support because they won't be able to operate that package needs to be put in place the soonest possible because compliance needs you know clear messaging but also support for people to make sure that they can comply. in wales where patients were among the 1st to receive the u.k.'s 2nd approved vaccine produced by astra zeneca tough lock down measures have been in place since the 20th of december. hours before johnson's announcement scotland's 1st minister nicolas sturgeon

imposed similar restrictions while northern ireland's executives are expected to follow suit. british hospitals now have more covert 19 patients than at the height of the pandemic in spring with resources low and stuff overwhelmed. then with a wash it's of my entire law. many more sick. so it is because i've already the whole issue of. things aren't expected to improve immediately in spring it took nearly 3 weeks after the introduction of the lockdown for hospitalizations to reach their peak. let's take a look now at some of the other developments in the pandemic a german company bio on tech is warning against delaying the 2nd shot of its cover 1000 vaccine beyond 3 weeks saying it has no data about effectiveness after that

point some countries have been postponing the 2nd shot in an attempt to inoculate more people indonesia will begin a nationwide vaccination program on january 30th presidential be dota will be given the 1st dose of the vaccine made by chinese from brazil is reporting at least 2 cases of the new more contagious corona virus variant one of them after contact with travelers from europe and mexico was granted approval to the astra zeneca oxford vaccine that makes it the 2nd vaccine to get the go ahead there. israel has approved the use of the moderna covert 19 vaccine becoming the 3rd in a country in the world to do so after the u.s. and canada israel's vaccination program has advanced more quickly than anywhere else in the world well over a 1000000 people have received the biotech shot around 15 percent of the population officials say they have secured 6000000 doses of the moderna vaccine and 1st deliveries are expected very soon. and let's go to jerusalem now we can speak to

journalists some isa whole sami good to see you what does this 2nd vaccine mean for israel as a pushes forward with its rollout. yeah well indeed they are here in israel because the campaign has been this so a successful israeli ministry of health has announced today that already 1000000 of sri 170 salo the israelis received the vaccine and just yesterday nearly 160 solvent israelis receive the vaccine so because the campaign has been so successful it is already a high demand and there was a ready a. concern that there would be a shortage and therefore. the deal that was struck with will deny is important though it might take some time they're talking about maybe another 2 weeks we will

get the 1st shipment but they'll be only a few tens of thousands so i think that israel will still be looking at pfizer to get more supply you mentioned the source of the significance of this semi just sitting there and you mentioned that you know 15000000 people essentially have 15 percent of the population around there has been vaccinated to this point why has that campaign been so successful in israel. yeah well 1st of all the prime minister and benjamin netanyahu. facing a elections on the 23rd of march has been if pushing and even his greatest critics here are giving giving credit to the prime minister but i would also say that we have a good public health system here in israel and especially the h.m.o.'s that are established we have 4 h m o's that are spread out throughout the country each and every a community each and every neighborhood has an h.m.o.

and they've been working very hard to give this vaccine in clothing on saturdays here are saturdays usually nothing operates and they've been getting vaccines and this has be considered to be quite a success and the government is now talking about issuing green passports after those who will get the 2nd vaccine and with these green passports now david to attend a cultural event sports events and they're talking about opening up towards a house over the upcoming holiday in april journalists any subtle speaking to us from jerusalem thank you very much for that update. let's get some other headlines now from around the world a chinese court has sentenced the former head of the state owned asset management company to death for taking bribes laos shown then was also convicted of bigamy the court said the sums involved were in the hundreds of millions of dollars china

executes more people than any other country. iran has rejected accusations that it seized a south korean tanker to pressure seoul to release billions of dollars money that was frozen as part of the u.s. sanctions over tehran's nuclear program iranian troops stormed a vessel in the persian gulf on monday claiming it was polluting the water. and the head of the far right group known as a proud voice has been arrested in washington police say enrique taddeo was involved in torching a black lives matter banner taken from a church during protests last month he was also charged with possessing illegal high capacity ammunition for firearms. the polls have opened in a critical special election in the u.s. state of georgia 2 seats are up for grabs in the senate the outcome will shape president elect biden's agenda democrats will soon hold the white house in the house of representatives but if republicans hold control of the senate they will block biden from pushing through many of his policies if you look at the balance of

power in the center right now republicans have 50 of the 100 seats democrats and 2 independent allies they have 48 of those seats democrats need to win both of the ga seats and vice president elect come away harris's vote breaks the tie in the senate effectively creating a majority of 51 well polls so the parties are neck and neck with the democrats enjoying a slight advantage final pitch to voters that could reshape politics in georgia and the nation head of tuesday's vote democrats raphael warnock and john also if we're confident of victory. georges but this is a bit to move us to the you know this is a. little too little. to read is coming for david blair do the both candidates also getting a late assist from the president elect joe biden's ability to implement his political agenda would be boosted by democratic victories here. the power the power

is learning in your hands unlike any time in my career one story one story can chart the course not just through the next 4 years for the next generation. democrats may also be hoping to capitalize on recent comments from donald trump on sunday audio emerged of the u.s. president pressuring the state's top election official to alter the state's presidential election results citing unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. no love lost i want to do is as i do is one of on. $11780.00 loves which is one more that we have. on the eve of the runoff georgia secretary of state dismissed trump's claims once again that. it's just been a big canard it's been

a red herring people trying to blame shifting find excuses why they didn't turn their people out to win as a republican i'm disappointed with those results are accurate. but trump isn't backing down the u.s. president flew to georgia to campaign for the state's republican senate candidates he once more refused to acknowledge his election defeat. i want to thank you very much oh georgia by the way there is no way we lost georgia this. was originally. his time in the white house may soon be ending but donald trump seemed to term and not to go quietly. a reporter stacey differences with us she's part of our u.s. elections team hi stacey thanks for joining us what impact has president trump and his popularity among republicans in particular have had on the structure race well so far in georgia donald trump's popularity has been eclipsed by his for. correct

and not in a good way he has tried to bully the secretary of state into finding 11000 votes for him and he has threatened to campaign against the governor in a year and a half these are 2 people who are part of his party but he's angry because they're not giving him what he wants and what he wants is a victory in georgia and so. republicans are trying to decide are going to have to decide really are they going to stick with trump because they are interested in getting being able to tap into his base or are they going to say look enough is enough we've had an election the election is over it's time to move on and now it's time to focus on these very key senate run offs and donald trump has been kind of a distraction with this with everything that he's been trying to say so but for the for the democrats he's going to boost their energize they are slightly amused some of them to hear him trying to strong arm the secretary of state so he might boost

support among democrats but then suppress the vote among republicans who are having doubts based of what he said that their vote will even count yourself key runoff races why are these 2 senate seats so crucial because they'll determine how successful joe biden is as president biden would be in charge of the white house but if he was also had the support of democrats and both chambers of congress if they had both control control of the house and the senate it be easier for him to achieve his agenda when it comes to cohabit health care the economy the environment and even when it comes to his cabinet picks because those aren't set in stone yet he has made nominations but he needs senate approval in order for that to happen so a lot depends on how these races go right so this really is about whether president elect biden can get through his agenda you know you mentioned this really has been a republican stronghold for some time georgia what makes democrats want at least

optimistic that they could win these 2 senate seats but i think it's hope and i think when you look at the election at the map the democrats were able to flip some red state some get from some red states to blue and so that heartening for them but also when you look at the candidates these are very important for them. john also was a protege of the late great civil rights icon john lewis. the reverend raphael warnock is very popular enjoys or he's an activist he's very well known and he's a minister at the church where dart dr martin luther king jr was also a minister so he has very strong ties to the community so there is hope among democrats that these 2 candidates can win both of these senate seats and then it would tie the senate and come to harris as vice president would cast the deciding vote making joe biden's life in the white house much easier stacie difference from

our u.s. elections jeanne thank you very much you're welcome. now big u.s. tech firms have had a little union representation over the years but that might be about to change more than $200.00 employees that google's parent company alphabet have set up a trade union for the u.s. and canada they're trying to give workers a collective voice. tech companies such as google have seen little demand for unions over the years will handle things ourselves seems to have been the motto but times change google has seen several protests recently including on the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace the newly founded about workers' union now wants to give such protests a structure. so what this announcement really how true is making we. were at the well you know rather than being

a bunch of individual i remember there was talk on the line. fair wages without exploitation or discrimination as well as a greater say in company affairs are the main goals however it remains a nice pursuit of the more than 130000 employees worldwide only around 225 have joined the new union but the example has been set efforts have also been made at amazon for some time now to an established employee organization. 12 women have joined the ranks of moscow's metro drivers after russia lifted controversial legislation that banned women from certain jobs ostensibly because of health reasons women began working for the subway system on new year's day previously women were employed as drivers for decades until the metro stop hiring them in the early 1980 s. the profession was listed among jobs with harmful or dangerous conditions the recent legal changes also allow women to work as long haul truckers tractor drivers

and boat skippers. coming up next on news asia targeted killings in afghanistan and hopes for peace as talks resume in doha. and china's best known entrepreneur in jack ma missing since october did his outspoken comments against regulations put him on a warpath facing. such an astute of you news asia coming up stadiums.

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