what does the latest research say good information and context with the corona virus updated that code. it seems special monday to friday on d. w. ah, ah ah, this is the w news coming to live from berlin. the number of code 19 cases in the u . k. reaches are record high passing 100000 in a single day. for the 1st time, the new studies suggest the only chron virus variant is less severe than the delta . also coming up for russian president vladimir putin,

his hosting his annual news conference. we hear what some ordinary people think of their long term leader and ah, in spain the prize money is flowing in the countries traditional l. gordo, christmas lottery. ah. hello, i'm terry martin. good to have you with us. new studies from the u. k. suggest the new corona virus, mary, and all me crohn may be milder than the deltas aversion. but scientists say their findings must be treated with caution as hospitals could still be overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases. the news comes as the u. k. records 100000 new daily cases of covered 19 for the 1st time. there's no christmas rush in london this year

. the number of shoppers and tourists down dramatically on even a few weeks ago on microns rapids spread an a record number of infections. keeping many people at home. britons newspapers summing up the mood but the u. case health minister gave weary britons a glimmer of hope by announcing the purchase of millions more antiviral pills to combat omicron alongside the booster program. these sup, pharmaceutical defenses, you taken together are a huge new way to defend ourselves against cove it. there's no need for any further restrictions before christmas. we will certainly keep the situation under review. but across the u. k. conditions very while england has reduced the number of days, people with covert have to isolate from 10 down to 7 wales scotland. a northern ireland are introducing restrictions after christmas. what they do agree on is that

vaccine boosters and reducing contacts are the best ways to reduce pressure on a health care system stretched to the brink. days. so we know there's lots of cases in the community that actually people are not getting say thank but there are still people being admitted to hospital and they are still getting very unwell data having to mania. and and that price decimal for us to be looking after that. i think the much better now that we have more caitlin most alpha, another holiday season overshadowed by the coven, 19 pandemic. another new year on the horizon filled with uncertainty more let's bring in dw correspondence charlotte chelsea pill in london, charlotte pre christmas coretta bowers curbs, with cases passing a 100024 hours. how is prime minister boris johnson handling this? that was right, confirmed cases pausing a $100000.00 for the 1st time since the pandemic began. that's a 59 percent increase in confirmed cases. week on week now the public key had been

warned that they would see a tidal wave on the, on the cross variance that does appear to be transpiring now, prime minister boris jones. and unlike the leaders of the devote nations moving on and why i was in scotland has ruled out more restrictions. at this stage he said no more restrictions are going to come in over the christmas period or other places on thing that they will bring in more rooms off to christmas. not don't set england apart from the rest of the u. k. he says the needs to be more data on severity of the oma from variance for more restrictions or introduce the u. k. relying instead very, very heavily on its face to program. it aims to offer all adults a booster uh by the end of the year, very, very tight deadline, but it does seem to be rolling them out very quickly. always the 1000000 bases were given out on tuesday. so that does seem to be a huge increase on previously,

and it's that, that the u. k. government really pending its hopes on so the government is doing all it can, at least that's what it says. but this 100000 cases in one day that must be a shock to the people there. what does this search mean for folks in the u. k, with many of them gathering for christmas? i think one of the really big concerns is emergency services as so many things stop shortages, shortages at the moment, people isolating because they have the on the chrome bearing, you're seeing that we had it in the report that in hospitals and just how tired a hospital walk is docs is nice, is all so long into this pandemic now now face with this additional tie, the wave of cases you're seeing, businesses have very, very badly affected. although i said there are no new restrictions on hospitality. for example, people are taking their own choices and deciding that they want to mimic contacts and they run up to christmas. businesses have very,

very badly affected. and then of course families around the country and eat around the world, deciding how they want to gather over the christmas period. the public, hey being advised to exercise caution in who they meet in order to, to protect the family. so a lot of difficult decisions happening in charlotte, thanks so much. that was our corresponded charlotte chelsea pillar in london, russian president vladimir putin is holding his annual press conference day with up to 500 domestic and international journalists expected to attend. the event comes against the backdrop of weeks of international concern of a russia's troop build up on its border with ukraine. d w's, emily, sherwin reports from moscow. lucian good review. vladimir putin has been thinking about his future. last year he oversaw a vote on constitutional changes that allow him to run for another 2 charms as president of russia. he could stay in power until 2036. recently he addressed the

issue again. sugar said to make one of those disney, when it comes to my plans, according to the constitution, i have the right to run against the immune. i haven't made the decision yet whether i will or not. but the very fact that i have this writing stabilizes as domestic political situation in russia more than me. she had thorough, i'll know, just to be with you to do it really to screw. but the kremlin may have a problem. putin's approval ratings have been falling for several years now. a survey by the independent pollster le vada center shows. they're currently at just over 60 per cent, comparatively high for such a long serving president. but a near record low for putin. normal pressure. people are living in poverty. there is a political crackdown going on here. that is the off the charts. never even here, not everyone is sick of prudent whether you have seen what she was not everyone needs stability. mm. it was a lot of me of who team has been with us for a long time, but it's a little so that's why people vote for him. mccarrow. she children's

a good guy. i'm grateful to him. had that him. yeah, no good to my mode up with him for a long time now, but he's just made enemies of all countries are sure. yeah. in 2014, the annexation of crimea from ukraine sparked western sanctions. but it also gave vladimir putin image a reboot. he presented himself as a patria offender of russia's interests on the world stage. his approval ratings went up to a whopping 80 percent. now, tensions between russia and ukraine are on the rise again. these satellite images allegedly show russian troops stationed near the border to ukraine. u. s. officials put their number at around 70000. but experts say this time around, an escalation won't help putin's popularity was more honest. no, it was, it's putin has exhausted the potential of using his image as a key geopolitical player in order to push up his popularity with in russia. a nice

shirt bama booster, talking about how we have returned to russia. his previous greatness is fine. lloyd village, but people are more concerned about what's in their refrigerators. g was wrong with many local support. putin because they think it would be worse without him sport or it's not a question of hope for a better future. it's about preserving what they have made years them will shibel to share those lines, plenty to still use with tension soaring over ukraine. the whole world is watching the kremlin next moves. but vladimir putin may have to change strategy if he wants to keep the attention of russians at home to joining us now from the russian capital is our moscow bureau chief, re, re, re shut up. you're a president, proteins press conference is about to get underway. you are there. what can we expect? well, to read this annual test confidence additionally, consists of 2 large blocks, the domestic and foreign policy block. i think that the,

the domestic issues may predominate today. krona virus is high on the agenda and russia just like in our, the conscious in the build. the presence of the only crone variant has been confirmed. he and russia as well. so putin will definitely encourage people, he and russia to get vaccinated. vaccination rates are quite low in this country, evansville. russia was one of the 1st countries to make is vaccines available to the whole population a few days ago, which in spokesman, pest cove colt, opponents of immunization, dangerous fools. at the same time, russia is far, is a so far, isn't introducing and in you tough measures, it seems unlikely that there will be an you locked down. also might see the russian president announcing a couple of new years gifts in the form of additional payments for businesses. there are certain sections of a population ah, when it comes to foreign policy issues. i think we can clearly expect putin to focus on the ukraine conflict into nato expansion, which moscow wants to prevent at all costs and be put in cost rushes red line. right. you talked about red lines there. many people are very concerned about

massive tensions between russia and nato. some say that russia is preparing to invade ukraine. uria having already taken crimea is present, putting really going to address these concerns. and if so, how i think booting is highly likely to repeat what he already sat on russian television and in various interviews. terry, russia isn't going to start a war. russia doesn't intend to attack ukraine. he sat the fiesta over. the western politicians are fantasies that have nothing to do with reality. or the other hand, russian officials have been saying that the russian fios are justified and that from moscow's point of view, nato troops are dangerously close to russian. rushes bowed us as the argument that the kremlin keeps making is that the, the russians are with the air troops build up on the ukranian border are on their own territory. and so they are within their rights are they argue that the american native shapes in the black sea, on the other hand,

are in foreign waters and to close to do the crimea peninsula. so putin has made his red lines over nature's eastern expansion. clear several times into ill certainly mentioned them again today. all right. what are these annual press conferences really about your is the president really being subjected to public scrutiny here or is it more of a carefully orchestrated p r exercise? well look, i think as the real target of the russian president is not asked for in journalist, today's question and answer shall, is, 1st of all aimed at the domestic audience at putin's voters. because according to surveys by the independent lamar dissent, as the rating of letting me putin in november, was just to 32 percent. this is the, the minimums since april 2014, when russia annexed to the korean peninsula. so, put in neat, small popularity. he needs it in particular because he may wants to run for president in 2024. which in recently attract media attention when he sat in an interview that he doesn't exclude the possibility of running for president again. so that would mean that putin will be in office for even longer. you're

a thank you so much the w as your, your shutter in moscow. now with pandemic restrictions dampening christmas celebrations for the 2nd year in a row, people in spain are taking heart and a 200 year old tradition. the l gordo lottery, the top prize of 4000000 euros is paid out to anyone with this year's top winning number, but there are many other smaller prizes to with an overall payout of almost 2 and a half 1000000000 euros. no. 2 2 what did they think me kinda what in the yard. oh wow. 086148. this year's winning number. and go to the as the top prize is known, was sung by 2 people from madrid. sunny left once a school, as tradition dictates across the city, the celebrations quickly got under way of madrid's

a torture train station. spain's busiest rail hub. the majority of the winning tickets were sold by these lottery center o. e went over. it's a very widely distributed number. i'm pretty sure people from all over spain of florida. here i think it's everywhere about the lucito into you from the region of kentoria on the north coast. and on the lucy, on the south, all the way to the canary islands, off the african coast, and order those spark celebrations by the lucky winners. and what is a fee like to win one of the many they prizes? i don't know what the my haven't processed it yet. i was in the mountains with the dogs and i came here because i received a call. my wife didn't believe it. she began to scream, turned the t v on, looked to the number and checked that it was correct. we're just not used to winning anything with that one, but i'm gonna share it. and i'm really happy. and how many people have won a prize?

well, that's almost impossible to know because of the complexity of the dual. but a total of 2400000000 euros was given away in prizes both big and small. in the centuries and world's richest christmas lottery drove this year. i mean, you are watching dw news from berlin. we've got a documentary coming up for you. next. of course, you get all the latest news and information a time you want on our website. that's d w dot com. i'm terry martin for me and all of us here at the w. thanks for watching. ah. the landscape, a reflection of a turbulent history. the cities, a mosaic of different people and languages. e ron's mountains reveal unparalleled beauty.