as we know for the next few days. it is winter here you're watching the news i'm stephen beardsley is up next with g.w. business stick around he will be wrecked. what secrets lie behind swamps. discover new adventures in 360 degree. and explore fascinating world heritage sites cool t.w. world heritage 360 get the maps now. hi neal and i'm game did you know that 17 trillion land out of killed worldwide shit so that we can think of but it's not just the animals of all suffering it's

the environment we went on a journey to find ways out of the nutrition if you want to know how a weightlifter the priest and the huntress changed up as a thesis listen to our podcast on the green and. the food. germany extends its lockdown into march despite the appeals of business groups for an earlier reopening look at that decision and also reopening across the ponds in the us and the world supply of semiconductors is tightening and europe finds itself lacking in the race to secure access. well welcome to the show m c it's good to have you with us the german federal and state governments have agreed to extend their broad lockdown affecting retail rush ons and hotels into march citing

concerns over fast spreading variants chancellor angela merkel said she was satisfied by recent decline in cases but worried that new coronavirus trains could rapidly lead to a 3rd wave infections new plan pushes the end of the lock down from sunday march 7th business groups have pushed for early reopening warning of insolvencies. among the industries hardest hit by the closures are germany's beer brewers take a look this archive footage shows munich sao tobar fest in 2019 will the world's largest beer festival ever return to normal this year's october fest hasn't been cancelled but in 2020 it was shut down completely germans can't even drink beer in restaurants which can only offer take away the country's 1500 breweries are reporting a slump in sales small beer makers are struggling to survive. and . last year we had 40 percent less sales than in a comparable year

a business like ours can't survive without aid. brewery has 15 employees and normally produces 400000 liters of beer annually but that figure will probably remain out of reach this year the company is staying afloat with the help of government aid beers still being brewed in bottles but it can't sell its biggest profit maker draft beer for restaurants the brewery hopes the government will be a reliable partner and it has to be clear that once we open we can close after 2 weeks that's not possible it would break our necks. meanwhile the firm sells its bottled beer to customers who may be sitting alone at home both the brewery and peter lovers are hoping that drinking with friends will soon become the norm again . so that's what businesses here in germany are facing let's take

a look now at the us where case numbers are also falling and variants are also spreading quickly where businesses have a different outlook and for that we go over to quarter in new york hello new york city planning to open its indoor dining again on friday i believe and also mulling possibly reopening into events like the iter what is the discussion like over there . no well clearly i mean there's a lot of pressure in the united states and we do not have the same social safety nets that you're having in germany for instance i'm already just in a new york alone more than 1000 restaurants have closed i'm permanently so now as you might see in the back new yorkers get creative with outdoor dining what's in here for example in brooklyn but clearly the pressure has been pretty high to at least partly reopen in the us seems to put a lot more emphasis on safety measures being done by consumers and businesses

themselves that they're responsible for it is there evidence that that works over there well 1st of all the question is if it was really necessary to shut dresser and for example indoor dining out because we have heard from texas for instance and they're indoor dining is back since i'm a that they have not been a strong evidence that corona infections have been increasing at those places but overall i would say. that new yorkers in general are pretty disciplined and i'd guess that the measures will be working and then we shouldn't forget it's only a 25 percent capacity allowed for indoor dining starting friday will is there will consumers and diners be willing to show up basically i mean it's one thing to open but will they actually show up. now that is really the big question i've actually

been out to him earlier this week there was a friend in manhattan in one of those hot kind of the thing is so it was pretty crowded crowded at that place but if we talk about theaters for example so broadway might reopen in the spring but probably people would need to bring in negative cova testim so there are some limitations and we really have to wait and see how strong a business we're recovered all right corner with a view from new york thank you very much. let's take a look now at some of the other business stories making headlines federal reserve chairman jerome powell says the u.s. should be focusing on achieving full employment not worrying about federal debt levels during a panel discussion he said the american job market was a long way from total recovery paul also called on lawmakers and businesses to support workers. biotech has begun production of its corona vaccine coronavirus vaccine at a new facility in germany the factory in the city of marburg should help to meet

growing demand across the e.u. meanwhile astra zeneca has signed a deal with germany's idea. to build a vaccine production site in decibel in eastern germany. so you closer look now at the pension simic conductors are an increasingly critical part of modern products which is why they're in increasingly high demand asia in the u.s. lead the way in production or europe's relevance in the sector. and that selling alarm bells in european capitals. burning bright the global market for semiconductor chips has never been stronger that's why the world's tech heavyweights are on the hunt for production capacity and they've set their sights on europe where companies have access to a gigantic and growing market. just this week 2 firms have been bought up german semiconductor make it dialogue and silicon wafer manufacturers still tronic have been snapped up by japanese and taiwanese firms respectively meanwhile british

chip designer arm is subject to a takeover bid from nvidia in the us which is offering 33000000000 euros. but european authorities are watching these deals closely 18 e.u. member states declared the semiconductor industry strategically important back in december it's set to receive billions in subsidies from brussels to maintain europe's technological independence the world's chip makers are mainly concentrated in asia with a 70 percent market share the largest supplier t.s.m. c. is in taiwan american firms have roughly 20 percent of the global market and that leaves just a small slice for europe. european firms long underestimated the importance of microchips relying on their traditional engineering prowess but now things like cars are as electrical as they are mechanical it's time to catch up.

and staying in europe majorca was one of europe's main tourist and destinations but today the spanish island is suffering badly from the coronavirus pandemic such as the homeless or retirees who have been affected by the lockdown middle class families are at their wit's ends as well 21000 more than 10000000 tourists visited majorca last year a paltry 1400000. pun the day my orca in the winter pleasant temperatures and mediterranean beyond's but things have been different in the past months everywhere list city you see people lining up patiently in front of churches and aid organizations waiting for food handouts the island's once mighty tourism sector as collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic poverty is rising. but i think we're a family of 5 we don't get any support from the government and we have no income that we are. doing very badly in this situation there's less and less work.

bars and restaurants are closed due to high infection rates it's a catastrophe for people like that though. he's one of 25000 restaurant owners on the island he says the 1500 year old government aid for restaurants is a joke. a little bit i earn here is not enough for me or the employee as i would have to use savings that i don't even have and depend on help from my parents and my brother. restauranteurs like i'll bet you are afraid for their livelihood they're already writing off any profits from next easter people are angry and desperate on the ground there are protests regularly as unemployment reaches record levels some are calling for the regional government to resign they feel abandoned. by the

task meanwhile the authorities say infection rates are just too high and the situation in majorca his hospital is getting dire. intensive care units are running at capacity there's still no chance of easing lockdown restrictions the only hope is a successful vaccination campaign. need a massive vaccination program we want the central government to treat the balletic islands as well as they do other more he joins of spain we need vaccinations now. the famous playa de palma is unrecognisable bars and shops are shut the mood is hopeless and even the german visitors can feel the desperation to feel lots of people on the island have lost their jobs and that was their entire livelihood it's terrible this is the poverty here gets worse every day. he meant people

can't pay their bills. houses are being broken into it's an unpleasant situation as. the beautiful weather may still be here but my orchids won't be partying anytime soon. and finally after more than a century the pancake mix and syrup branded as an jim i'ma will be renamed pearl milling company the parent firm pepsi acknowledged that the original brand name was based on a racial stereotype the ant logo featured and logo rather featured an african-american woman named after a character 19th century myth minstrel shows the mammy image came under fire in a national debate over racism and racial inequality and united states. is a reminder of our top story this hour. the german federal and state governments have agreed to extend their broad lockdown affecting retail restaurants and hotels into march citing concerns over fast spreading variants the government is satisfied

by recent applied in cases but there are concerns new coronavirus strains could rapidly leads with 3rd wave of infections. right that's it for me in the business team here blood salt watch. and they're crammed into overcrowded sounds underneath you maintain dish and. cook it up in russia thousands of nevada supporters have been arrested so many of the jails in and around moscow not 1st thing at the scene monte years are providing aid to the jailed demonstrators because the prisons are comin and food is in short supply in some cases going to. be 60 minutes long w. w's crime fighters are back africa's most successful radio

drama series continues this season the stories focus on hate speech cholera prevention and sustainable charcoal production. all of a sow's are available online and of course you can share and discuss on africa's facebook page and other social media platforms. crime fighters to mindanao. why are people forced to hide in trucks. going to cut. there are many reasons. to claim there are many cancers. there are many stories.

make up your. made for minds. this is day to day news africa on the program today that humanitarian crisis in ethiopia you it may aid agencies have been granted access to break the g.'s in some parts of the to gripe region but thousands more people remain cut off and often need to be in desperate need of help. or seeking local seal between pings from the tree far cuckoos they have nothing else. to pass the nigerians yearning for a life in the u.s. their hopes have been reignited.