same tough choices over 19 cases are at an all time high. but for many seeing their loved ones is worth the risk our deb noise lab because other this is not the best situation. i have had to evaluate whether to leave like last year, when i could not do this or to take only to risk. and i have taken a risk audi event number one more time though mattie volume halfway across the globe. australians of also facing christmas with irma chron cases here, have sold to new records, fueled by the variant residents doing their best to keep safe. we had our mom, we've done the rep, it ended in testing. so we're biggest things we can and sang as much as we like this and i think that's what he really can't do. but with i'm a grown already racing. santa claus around the world, many seems set for another unmarried christmas. i'm now joined by a correspondence on your phone, occur in paris,

and magdalena voiced paula can't in warsaw. magdalena we just heard 2 days ago, poland reporting its highest number of coven related deaths during what is now the 4th wave. what has been the response from the government? well, in front of the fort later, there have been some restrictions, for example, concerning the number of people in restaurants. but to be honest to this, have been really soft in comparison to other countries and data government is old time highlighting her today also did of either of the ruling party or injustice. seattle talk much is each gave an interview and he also highlighted that there doesn't make it does make any sense to, you know, put on new restrictions while the old ones are ignored or at least not taken seriously. and you know, even experts who give advice to the government as they are not being taken seriously by the government and the government doesn't hear what they say. so and

to be honest they, there has not been much being made ah, to make the situation better. and remember, there are a little bit more than the help of the people in poland truly vaccinated. so which means a lot are not and a lot have of course, very difficult. christmas time now here. and now. so no, unlike some european nations of france has, has not introduced any major new restriction. so what is the strategy for dealing with a new variant in france? will, france is actually facing a huge surge in our new corona, virus infections in a los a yesterday. it registered more than 90000 infections and just one day. but you're right that the government is really held off on any new restrictions that have been no locked ons or closures. christmas markets and shops have stayed open and they've been quite crowded in recent days during the festive season. but the government,

of course, is under pressure to react to these rising numbers. next week are present. macros. government is holding a special cabinet meeting mainly to discuss tightening restrictions on unvaccinated people who are estimated to be at about $6000000.00 in france. i expanding its vaccine booster program and it's in this morning the fridge. a health regulator said that most of those us could be administered as early as 3 months after the phone course of lexie. and this week, france also opened up vaccinations to children, each between the a $5.11. so i think france and strategy so far has really to be a to bet on expanded booster and vaccine coverage along with restrictions it to put in place audio and hope that this will be enough to tackle the new variant and make it more manageable databases. sonya phonic are reporting for us from paris and magdalena, verse palo, can't in warsaw. many thanks to both of you. well,

many hospitals in europe are once again being stretched to their limits and staff are more burned out than ever. nevertheless, they're trying to bring some warmth and joy to patients who are spending christmas and the wards did opinions. christine wonder visited at belgium's lynch central university hospital and has this report tis the season, but much of the jolly has gone. there are more masks than santa hats. a never year . another variant, a nether covered christmas. at this hospital in the belgian city of the age. vaccines mean it's better this time around, but they're not sure how long that will last. this time, last year this hospital was overwhelmed with cove at 19 patients. it got so bad. some of the i see you patients had to be air lifted to neighboring germany. the situation is under control for now,

but the straw here are bracing for our micron. this is the cold woodward and staff here are hoping for the best, but they are preparing for the worst and keeping a nervous eye on alma crohn infection numbers. we're hoping that hit one middle school because we know a 3rd a $3.00 have all the stuff we would need if it was very, very big and we will do our best health workers have had a grueling couple of years. the hospital psychologist says the uncertainty is making it difficult to cope as on the whole mack of bagley bethel birth late is i don't see that people, the nurses or doctors or are afraid to dig that they're more anxious that this might gone for ever as will they be that this are a petition just won't stop asked because in the end one very him chases the last a lot and it comes in race, eager, dog, suffolk, which is very exhausting. cancer,

it says, approved all the prison, tired as they are. nursing staff will, as they always do, try to lift the spirits of those in hospital this christmas. but that's particularly tricky with cove at patients. they're isolated and can't have visitors . but there will be a special surprise on christmas morning. we have some kids who are writing from cos every year since i'm here since years and years. so writing the, the cost for the phone and the morning of christmas we put the coffins and let me in and get it and casting a hello. i thing about you stop have created an oasis off. com and key here, but they know it probably won't last long. outside infections are spreading fast

in bangladesh at least 39 people are dead and 70 injured after a crowded ferry caught fire. the incident happened on a river near a jello county. some 250 kilometers south of the capital dot com. police say most of the victims were killed by the blaze. others drowned after jumping overboard trying to flee the flames. many passengers, including children, are still unaccounted for or for more on this story, we can speak to a bul column as on his special story editor at the dock. a tribune. thank you for being on the w. what more can you tell us about this tragic incident? low so for 40 bored years have been described on the free, mostly from inside the t v. and some other warranties are really good from the river. a couple of guys who had died in the hospital, but you know,

the number of days will arise. this corporation has been going on the fire service and the other one is they are conducting what i just came to the journalist we've covering the the, you know, try because he didn't come now look, he just told me that many more bodies are still trapped inside inside the cabin of the city and most of the bodies are badly charged. anything very difficult to recover. the board is from inside the fading it is indeed a heretic situation for many people also looking for their loved ones. now,

is there any indication of what caused the fire? you know, there, there are many kind of indication, but still the investigation is going on and it hasn't been the they don't don't mind from what, what exactly, all of higher. but we've talked to some folks who are, who told that the fire or does it from the engine room. and there were a lot of burials on the bill and it called because you know, if he's a long route and you leave you a good number of to indian. so and up the very what exploded and you know, substitute the currently, you know, into for you, you know, what all you need with fire. so,

so you said it is the traffic therefore, all of this, you know, we all of the, she's as will copy in the morning. we came to know about the, the can see did you know, you know, the most many relatives and finance? are you still looking for the you know, maybe it's lost, you lift them inside the very tragic for them. yeah, and very sad indeed. that was journalist. a bull come as a reporting from doc. we appreciate it. thank you. or south korean president, moon j in has pardoned his disgrace. predecessor park going hey, saying it was for the sake of national unity in 2017 park was sentence a 22 years in prison. over corruption charges shall be released from prison on the 31st of december as part of a mass pardon of more than $3000.00 prisoners. it was

a trial that shed light on ties between big business and politics in south korea. conservative president park gin, hey, was impeached in 2016 in the wake of a corruption scandal facing accusations of abusive power and taking bribes from companies such as samsung park was sentenced to 22 years in prison. but after serving less than 5 years, park successor is granting her pardon. the liberal government, led by president mangia in set at harped, her release would heal old wounds and bring harmony to south korea. after 2 difficult years of the pandemic, he bones having a ne, single, ugly tag the top offers hopes the pardons conserved to bring in a new era of unity and reconciliation that transcends different thoughts and

opposing views. yeah, ala had only protected him either. south korea has a history of pardoning officials convicted of corruption. the government cited the 69 year olds, deteriorating health in their decision to release her will. parks right to vote, will be reinstated, but she is bad from running for office again. here up to date. now on the w news, i'll be back at the top of the hour with some more headlines for you from me and the entire news team in berlin. thanks for the company. with, for do you like it? with do you want it?

okay, then buckle up, put the pedal to the metal and let's ride. mm read on d w. m, we've got some hot tips for your bucket list. ah romantic corner chat. hot spot for food and some great cultural memorials to boot d w, travel. all we go with ah, is europe's energy crisis shackled to its political crisis with russia, a spike in natural gas prices this week. and russia's frustrations over the certification of a new gas pipeline with germany. have both sides,

claiming the other is playing politics. we'll take a closer look also on the show. semiconductors are in short, supply around the world that has automakers rethinking their sourcing, especially as the new corona virus very and threatens more supply chain problems. clone welcome to the show. i'm seeing beardsley and berlin or supply chain issues have plague businesses for months. now, micro chips are among the items most desperately needed and among those hardest to find, especially for automakers. but even basic car models need at least 50 semiconductors . they control everything from gps to air conditioning even rear view mirrors, and not to mention safety and comfort features that you might find in more upscale cars. according to one estimate, 11000000 fewer cars were to be built in 2021. due to supply chain bottlenecks and that sums up to around $210000000000.00 in miss sales. now the vast majority of

semiconductors are made in asia. that makes the u. s. and europe strongly dependent upon imports to get those ships. and so now many automakers are exploring partnerships which it producers to make their own semiconductors. some experts, however say it's too little too late. they blame the industry for t shirts are short term planning and it's lack of investment. of more that i'm joined by reggie biswas, he's executive director and asia pacific chief economist at i h s. market where she could have you on the show. is it fair to say that these automakers were perhaps short sighted by not really securing their necessary supplies to somebody is an absolutely vital component. i think what we've seen during the pandemic is something quite exceptional. and it's broad out these supply chain vulnerabilities for older major makers that hadn't been there in that kind of form before. i mean, what we've seen is lost production in 2021 of millions of order units. and

that's meant that demand has been much greater than the ability to supply. so we're seeing a new kind of problem for the auto industry that they haven't seen in a similar way before. so i think they're reacting to that and of course it will take time and whether it's through their concept of building their own semiconductors plants, which is obviously a highly complicated area for them to move into. or another possibility which is being suggested by companies like intel, is that they will build factories specifically for the order industry to help alleviate some of those concerns about disruptions. and i think that a government level, we're also seeing a lot of action to try to reduce that vulnerability of supply chains, reduce the supply from asia in the us. for example, the u. s. government's pushing ahead with a chip act that's going to put in about $50000000000.00 us dollars to help ship

makers build more facilities in the u. s. and in the e. u. a very similar projects under way to try to boost the production of chips within the e u. m to about 20 percent of total requirements. so these kind of actions are signaling that both companies and governments are trying to reduce those supply chain vulnerabilities. and he won the league concern if i may interrupt them. so you just mentioned asia there. we've seen that china has just locked down an entire city. she on of 13000000 people. it's shown how seriously it's going to go against any sort of outbreak. china, of course, a major manufacturer for many, many companies. the supply problems are going to continue. is that fair to say? well, i think even leaving aside the situation and china, which obviously is very concerning and has a lot of potential implications for supply chains. if this were to spread more

widely, but even even leaving that aside, this backlog in areas like semiconductor supply is still going to continue in to 2022. even if the situation are dependent might, improves through the year. so i think we are looking at a 2022 with continuing problems and oh, with our sector. and if on top of all about the pandemic creates new waves and use plots are options. then clearly the risk is that you have a whole new set of disruptions to supply chains, not only for semiconductors, but potentially for many all areas of manufacturing that are critical for industry as well. so we are very much looking at those downside risks for the 2022 outlook if this o micron variant turns out to be a big disrupt her. all right, we'll have to leave it there. cheapest was with i just market. thank you very much . thank you. was speaking of supply crunches,

wholesale gas prices in europe briefly spike this week after a russian pipeline began reversing its supply to germany. russian president vladimir putin now says the move is not political, although it does can side with right coincide rather with rising tensions between moscow in the west. the europe was already facing a winter of high gas prices due to lower supplies. some now, few the tensions with russia are going to make things worse. guess from the jamar pipeline usually flows from here in siberia to germany. but flows had been falling since saturday. on tuesday, the gas stopped and began to flow back in the other direction. the more than 2000 kilometer long yamaha pipeline links, natural gas feels in siberia with poland and germany via bella rows. it's one of the major routes for russian gas to europe. some west and politicians and industry experts have accused russian president vladimir putin, of withholding deliveries to europe and met political tensions over ukraine and not

string to something that he denied during his annual news conference for the world to him. it would play them, they lie all the time. they mix everything up. gas from supplies, all are requesting gas volumes, under current contracts. and not only that, not, it's also increasing the volume. or are we me issue of the contract? spokespeople for our w. e and uni power, which among gas prompts, biggest gas by us and germany sat. the russian company was still meeting delivery obligations. but measurements show that gas volumes flowing through the m r pipeline have been reversed. some western politicians believe pooty wants to put pressure on not stream to it's another pipeline which is set to deliver gas from russia through the baltic sea, directly to germany. germany has not approved the pipeline yet. some experts believe the kremlin is deliberately reducing flows to drive up gas prices in europe, and speed up the approval process. experts warn that consumers in western europe

need to brace for even higher prices. more cold weather in europe over the coming months is going to drive up demand. and i'm joined now by his lawyer side. he's director of energy climate and resources at the raise your group. that's a political risk consultancy, and thanks for coming on the show. you know, russia says that it's meeting its obligations here at the same time, some in europe are crying foul. can you help us understand what is going on? it, thanks for letting me know. so one of the main problems is, of course, one size that we're meeting all the obligations. the other side is saying we're not having enough gas. so what's happening is gas is meeting probably it's minimum annual obligation, so they have long term contracts with customers in the u. and they are meeting that, but they're not sending any further gas. so if you want to have a receipt, more gas, because it's cold, for instance, or your customer who doesn't fully contract,

it's annual gas supply. then it's hard to get that guess because i'm really isn't sending more gas in. it absolutely has to the moment the question is, of course, whether the gas form isn't sending the gas because it can't or because it doesn't want to that we're not entirely sure sure of. we don't really know where the gas from is sending all the gas. it can with it is actually withholding that, and that is sort of the mystery here in europe programs, of course, the gas market is tight. we do need more gas and energy is coming from a markets around the world by shipping to europe, but it would be good if it came from pass from russia or so. europe says the pollutants playing politics here, put this as the same thing that the e u is playing politics with north stream to. is he not correct there? well, i mean, no 3 to and it's better says the not true 110 years ago. they are highly political projects. you are linking to major consumer producer blocks together with a physical pipeline infrastructure. it is political by nature and this politics

when it goes well, it's good, it's you, you are making a big producer of the consumer and it improves politics. but of course, when politics get sour, as they are now between russia and europe in the west, or general over ukraine, for instance, which of course, is the gas times it routed traditionally, it was then if things get complicated and that is the issue now. yes, both sides are playing po takes. however, the approval process that has been put on hold is a commercial one. and this is important to keep in mind. the approval process with a bonus next are going to, in germany, is that commercial process will stream to and gas from has to comply with the european market rules and in its current form, it doesn't. so that is a separate process. but then of course, there is politics, the german government, the americans, brussels. they have become skeptical about the political viability of this pipeline . not just its commercial liability. or i think last time with your age group. thank you very much. thank you. and let's go now to some of the other global

business stories making headlines. united airlines and delta have cancelled more than $200.00 christmas eve flights. they say the spread of the new oma tron variant is taking a toll on flight crews and ground personnel. the airlines are trying to reboot travelers as soon as possible. tick tock has surpassed google as the world's most popular website. that's according to cloud farrah tech from the tracks online activities. more than 1000000000 users sign onto scroll, tick, tock, monthly, mostly children and teenagers. tick tock was launched in 2016 by china's bite dance . intel has apologized for angering the chinese government after called on suppliers to avoid goods and services in the sheen john region. the united states, the european union and other countries, have accused china of a brutal crack down on the muslim league or minority and the use of force labor camps there. and finally tis the season when many indulged their sweet

tooth, especially chocolate. and especially here in germany, it turns out that germans eat an average of 9 kilos of chocolate per year. that's about 90 traditional sized chocolate bars and back puts the country squarely in 1st place globally for chocolate consumption. close 2nd, the swiss. a christmas is the main season for chocolate. germany's chocolate ears have sold 160000000 chocolate santa's this year loan. right, that's it for me. and the dw business team will be back in a little bit with more headlines. meantime fun is online, he to v dot com slash business team. beardsley, thanks for watching. ah

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touch. follow us with sometimes a seed is all you need to allow big ideas to grow. we're bringing environmental conservation to life with the learning pass like global ideas. we will show you how climate change and environmental conservation is taking shape around the world and how we can all make a difference. knowledge grows through sharing. download it now for free. with. this is did under news asia, i'm british manager. as 2021 comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of the biggest stories of the up. for me, none was bigger than seeing my own country india struggling to breathe in the us.

devastating bout with gilbert 19 spectacle ray people. i knew.