shit, light on the opaque world who's behind her benefits. and why are they a threat to whistle? oh, pete wolves starts january, 5th on d, w. ah, ah, ah, this is date of any news, live from berlin. the pandemic overshadows another holiday season. a surgeon, they all may con variant of the corona virus is disrupting christmas. travel airlines are facing a shortage of staff and that is leading to thousands of flight cancellations. also

coming up 3 decades and billions of dollars in the making. a powerful new telescope is said to blast off into space in a few hours time. scientists hope it will provide a view of the cosmo never stain before. and at his christmas eve mass, pope francis urges everyone to look beyond the lights and decorations. and remember the wolves, nadia's ah, i'm rebecca rich, welcome to the program. a surge in cove at 19 cases driven by the army con variant, has bain disrupting holiday travel plans all across the world. thousands of flights have been canceled globally because of the impact of the current of our some airline employees and on passengers. despite this, people are trying their best to maintain the christmas spirit. was the night before

christmas. but instead of the usual last minute, christmas rush, the streets here in london have fallen silent. the u. k broke their record of covert cases for the 3rd day in a row, recording about 122000 infections. numbers have climbed so high that some estimates predict one in 10 londoners have the infection the surgeon cases has dampened the christmas cheer and left many industries struggling with staff shortages as sick workers, a forced to isolate. it's a problem that has hit airlines particularly hard. some to 1000 flights around the world had to be cancelled on christmas eve, adding another layer of stress to people's already precarious holiday plans. we were really concerned last night when i saw on the news that they had can thought

a 100 white and i'm like, oh my god, we won't be able to get home. but luckily we kept checking the white fair to chicken, the whites that has got here and everything was fine. so we were really grateful for that. in spain, you don't have to be traveling far to face disruptions to everyday life. just stepping outside your front door. now means having to wear a mask the prime minister announced the decision after 2 consecutive records in daily cases. it's come as an unwelcome surprise to many wears when the more when we got off the train and i saw every one wearing their mask. i remembered that it was the 1st day of the mandates and i thought what a drag again with the mask. it's a bit suffocating, a bit claustrophobic. i'm not very happy before we go. no, nothing were gone. linda. gala. though it may not be the coven free christmas that so many had hoped for people

a doing their best to make sure some of the festive spirit remains. let's get more from peter in hong. he's a professor of medicine at the university of california in san francisco. professor, welcome back to d, deborah, it's nice to say all micron is turning out to be far more infectious or what is the knock on effect in terms of the sheer scale? can we expect that everyone across the world perhaps is going to come and contact and not just come in contact, but actually contract this virus in the coming weeks and months? well, that's what some people are thinking, rebecca, that it's so transmissible up to 4 times as much as filter that it would be hard to escape. but nevertheless, i think we could try to mitigate damage. i'm. we're most worried about unvaccinated folks. and folks with co morbid conditions, it's still going to result in a lot of hospitalizations, even though it's probably less ah, you know, severe to the general person as delta was. you mentioned vaccinate vaccine,

there been studies just released in the last few days show that back seems to be much less efficient than previous variance with one relatively large study in the u . k. suggesting even with a booster, you're only really protected for around 2 months. what do you say that, what does that mean for people? well, it all depends where i'll go. push is. if your goal posts is prevention of infection, then sure you can look at the vaccines that say, 2 doses, you know, 2030 percent a booster or probably doesn't give you much more, but a not for that long. but if you look at the outcome of serious disease, hospitalization, and death are the vaccines are really spectacular that and as an infectious disease doctor, if you told me at a choice between just preventing infection or serious disease, i'll choose serious disease at any time. absolutely. does that mean that we're

going to be having those to shots every couple of months? well, again, it comes back to what our goal in society is. so i can give you all the science and tell you that this vaccine or a booster might only last 10 weeks before it wins in efficacy against infection. but if we reevaluate and think that we were thinking mainly of hospital capacity and the ability of hospitals do, you know, take care of sick people, then maybe after, at some point we'd be able to accept that, you know, with 3 doses, maybe i will be good enough with prevention of people going to the ice, you are dying and we will accept the sentiment of disease in the in society. i'm so everyone certainly hope so professor, hater chang hung in san francisco. thanks very much for your time. merry christmas brokers, russia record. thank you. many of europe's hospitals are once again being stretched

to their limits and staff are more burnt out than ever. despite this, they're still trying to bring some joy to patient spending christmas on the wards. they w christine wanderer visited belgium's lear: central university hospital. tis the season, but much of the jolly has gone. there are more masks than santa hats. a never yet another variant, a nether cove at 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 airlifted to neighboring germany. the situation is under control for now, but the straw here are bracing for on the crime. this is the cold at ward and stuff here all hoping for the best. but they are preparing for the worst and keeping

a nervous eye on, on the cron infection numbers. we're hoping that it will be too strong because we know a soda 3 don't have all the stuff we would need if it was very, very big. and we will do our best health work has have had a grueling couple of years. the hospital psychologist say's the uncertainty is making it difficult to cope as a whole mask of faculty. but the latest, i don't see that people, the nurses or doctors are afraid to do because they're more anxious that this might gone forever. it could be that this or a petition just won't stop back because in the end one varying chase's the last and it comes in race it a dog which is very exhausting. cancer is assess it to julie, please all tie it 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 covert patients. they're isolated and can't have visitors, but they 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. let's turn on to some other stories making headlines this hour in bangladesh. at least 39 people have died after a crowded ferry caught fire in

a river near. hello kathy some 250 kilometers south of the capitol police side. most of the victims died in the fire, others drowned after jumping overboard to try to flee the front flames. beijing has denounced the law signed by us president joe biden banning imports from china's chin jang region over allegations of forced labor. the chinese foreign ministry says the bill quote violates international laws and interferes in china's internal affairs. a court in moscow has find google and met her, the parent company, a facebook over $100000000.00 for their repeated fight is to delete content that russia deems illegal. rational authorities have increased pressure on big tech companies in what critics claim is. an attempt to gain tie to control over the internet. scientist say there has never been anything like it. a revolutionary new telescope is set to blast off into space in

a few hours time. the james web telescope, named after a former head of nasa, is expected to bend back new clothes about the origins of the universe. the new i in the sky is the successor to the legendary hubble space telescope. it's 6 and a half meter mirror makes the hubble look tiny by comparison. the james webb, the biggest telescope ever sent into space, is made up of 18 segments plated with a raise, a thin gold coating. the instrument has to be folded up to fit into the rocket's nose cone. the telescope will scam the heavens using long wave infra red light. ah, astronomers will be able to look back towards the big bang,

nearly 14000000000 years ago. back to the origins of the universe and the formation of the 1st stars and galaxies, the new telescope could also prove decisive in the search for extra terrestrial life. it can prob, so called ex planet, nearly 5000 have already been discovered orbiting distance suns. the james web will monitor how ex are planets move in conjunction with the stars trans. it's like this mean it can take a virtual fingerprint at the atmosphere of these remote worlds and assess for the 1st time with it. they hold the building blocks of life. before the research can begin, there will be a delicate, a 2 week operation in which the telescope has to unfold itself. never before has a satellite been launched with so many moving parts and nothing can be allowed to

go wrong. ah, ah, it will be 6 months after the launch before the telescope is ready to gather its 1st scientific data. me, hudson says, has celebrated the annual christmas 8th massett and paid his basilica despite a sharp rise in clover cases. the traditional midnight mass was held at the earlier time of $730.00 p. m, and focused on the plight of workers and the world's pole. oh, the quiet echoes of a reduced crowd to the 2nd deer in a room and estimated 2000 people attended the pope's traditional christmas eve mass compared to only 200 last year. the 85 year old pontiff focused his message on

addressing global policy, saying that people who are indifferent to the world's poor offend god include saying you that in is the sign. a child, a baby lying in the dia, poverty of a manger hewn and had just a poor child, wrapped in swaddling clothes, with shepherds standing by one day past 30, i thought that his way god is in the little noisy. ah, francis also used his night. the dress to remind people that serving others is more important than spending a lifetime in pursuit of success. but the corona virus pandemic still cast a shadow over the surface. ah, just minutes before the mass began in italy announced another reco daily talley of new coven. 19 infections, because despite the shop rise in cases, the faithful outside would just happy to be celebrating. again. this is the 1st

time in the last 2 years that we've been able to gather both as a family and to attend mass because of that pandemic. so we're very excited and grateful. unlike last june, the pope will once again deliver his traditional irby at all the message from the balcony of saint peter's basilica on christmas day. ah! you're watching date. every news that take this hour, but don't go away. shift living in the digital age is up after a short break. we'll have more headlines for you at the top of the nice, but i was celebrating around the world merry christmas to you. i'm rebecca. it has in berlin and watching eco india. how can a country's economy grow in harmony with people and the environment when there are doers to look at the bigger picture? india.