in the supreme court was almost an indictment of these attempts to sort of memorialize the saw that it's crimes. prosecutors argued that russians shouldn't pay attention to these are sort of that the, to these crimes, they shouldn't be, as they said, ashamed and they should sort of, ah, revel in this sort of there let the, the legacy of victory in world war 2. so i think this was the sort of a case that really struck at the heart of the sort of the, the rhetoric of much of the sort of the, the current russian political system around memo, memorializing stollins role in the 2nd world war and really trying to sort of gloss over a little bit these, the crimes that, that, that period was sort of was famous for as well. now memorial says it's been a target of the same repression. it's been trying to protect people from and that it, the move is politically motivated. as a right well, certainly many, many people have said that, you know, it's, it's, it's very difficult to sort of, to, to make a sweeping judgment. and certainly, i think memorials, allies are clear that this is about sort of overstepping the lines. the red lines

that of delineated by the kremlin, of course memorial was not just sort of famous for it's working in history. are you in more recent years, a sort of russia took its authoritarian ton memorial, was very acted in producing very sort of human rights orientated projects. sort of supporting our political prisoners. you know, people jailed at protests in russia or the, you know, there was any number of things on which memorial could have sort of a sufficiently irritated, influential security services all the kremlin, ah, sort of through its action. so i think it's, it's difficult to say precisely what this is motivated by, but there is certainly no shortage of potential causes. fought for irritation from the kremlin with moral now can i think, is a supreme court ruling, can it be appealed? well technically i suppose yes was a really can be taken to sort of the european court of human rights. it could be taken to the european justice system, but i mean the russian justice system has generally, although it is sort of nominally subscribed to things like the european human quote of human rights. it does not generally respect the verdicts. and so we may see this

case go on, but i think sort of nominally for memorial as a sort of a legal organization. this is very much the end of the road. it's possible the organization will find some way of surviving in future, but it will not be as a sort of a legally constituted civil organization as it has been in the past. right, phoenix, light journalist in moscow. thank you very much for your time. it's. let's get a round up now of some other headlines making news. syrian state media says israel has carried out an overnight is trying on the countries main port city of la takia . the raid cause significant material damage, according to an unnamed theory and military source. it's believed to be israel's 2nd attack on the port this month. a man has opened fire in the us state of colorado, killing 4 people authorities in the capital. denver said the suspect rampaged through at least 7 locations across the city. 3 others, including one police officer, were injured before the suspect was shot dead in exchange of fire with police.

when only 2 years into the pandemic, many countries are once again ramping up covenants restrictions. in response to the rapid spread of the new army crone variant. in the u. s. hospitals and health work as a bracing for an unexpected surge after the holiday season and across the atlantic lodge. parts of europe array imposing partial locked downs to curb record numbers of new cases. rounding off the year with another variant and another set of measures to fight back. countries across europe have tightened restrictions, dampening planned new year's eve celebrations as omicron spreads. france has announced a range of new measures including reducing the weight for booster jobs to 3 months . the government will also vote on a new bill to bar the unvaccinated from entry to places like restaurants and cinemas. news of old old re today,

we have adopted the following additional measures. yes. result which will apply from next monday for a period of 3 weeks. would you like to trust me both and it will be to slow down on a chronicle. large gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 2000 people indoors. on 5000 people, outlaws, national mac, she mom, annex l. u. across the channel cases, a soaring as oh, micron takes hold as the u. k dominant strain. new restrictions have caused confusion with northern ireland, scotland and wales tightening rolls, while in england authority said they would wait and reassess in the new year. are you finding this day one of new restrictions again here in northern arden? i am slightly bewildered. i don't understand them. i've come over from scotland. and so everything's different. in the us army. kron has caused chaos for airlines. with over 200000 daily infections nationwide,

crews shortages have grounded planes. but president joe biden said the vaccination dr. meant the u. s. was in a better position than in previous waves of infections. america had made progress. things are better, but we do know that with the rising cases, we still have tons of millions of vaccinated people. and we're seeing hospitalizations, right? it means our hospital someplace from they're going to get overrun. but in terms of equip both in terms of equipment and staff. on monday, new york city brought into effect a vaccine mandate for nearly all private sector workers. proof of vaccination is also needed for most indoor activities like eating in restaurants. strict measures that officials hope will keep the city fully open as the world crosses into the 3rd year of the pandemic. meanwhile, in germany,

the constitutional court has ordered parliament to immediately issue laws, protecting people with disabilities in pandemic related tre, are situations. trash is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment. for example, if hospitals are unable to cope with demand for intensive care beds, the case was filled, filed rather by a group of people with disabilities and pre existing conditions. they expressed fear that they would be denied treatment if the pandemic pushes hospitals to their limits. if more i'm joined by date, emily political correspondent, leon if on how much time leona break this down for us, what does this court ruling actually mean? while the court ruling above all means that german lawmakers have to do more to protect people with disabilities and pre existing conditions. so far, only german medical associations have issued guidelines on until years and they have named the probability of survival as the my main criterion for tree ash,

taking into account the patient's frailty and pre existing diseases. and what these 9 complainants have said is that a fear of air due to their statistically lower level of survival, they will always be last in the priority line when it comes to, you know, given, getting him access to an intensive care bad in the pandemic. am and so this is a very clear mandate for the german government to come up with clear guidelines am and to protect people with disabilities. right, and only only as of today, all germans dates have now tightened covenant and restrictions which largely affect the unvaccinated. i wanted to ask you about that, but 1st, let's have a quick look back at how the vaccination campaign here is going. even during their festive season, thousands of people are getting their job like at these vaccination center in berlin. at the moment, more than 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. and around 36 percent

of all germans have received a booster shot. the booster info, both of them from the the, the, the booster, jo booster. as of right now we are barely given any 1st shots in vaccination centers, up to 98 percent booster jobs. people who come here are already pro vaccine and have actively sought out a vaccination underwood room. people turning up here for a booster shot, believe it's the key to ending the pandemic. i think it's good more people who get vaccinated the better for all of that. that's why it also very important for me to be super important in that. i think it's very, very important to us. i'm a bit worried and that's why i'm here. that's been here and i got it because my job is important to me and i come into contact with a lot of people. the booster and my health are important to him, and he has introduced new social d sensing measures and restrictions,

and the so called to t rule only those vaccinated are recently recovered, may enter many venues and events under the 2 g plot through people also have to show a negative test result on top of that. thanks to these measures, germany has managed to have the number of infections, the 100000 inhabitants between the end of november and the end of december. and know you will also be here over the new year to vaccinate people, because we're in a really critical phase where in a situation where every day count see it and where it's better to be vaccinated today, rather than tomorrow. our 30 t's fear a new wave of infection due to the army crime variance, we not only hit the population hard, particularly the unvaccinated, but could also affect the running of critical infrastructure such as hospitals and other public services. we only do you think the tighter restrictions likely to push

people to get back to the night it well that surely is the hope and as we've seen in the report and the number of people who are getting vaccinated per day even during the festive season is really high as of today, almost 74 percent of the german population is vaccinated, but we also have to see that the majority of these are very high number of vaccinations as we see in the report are people who are getting their 3rd jap, so they're booster shot and the german government and the german vaccination campaign is not really reaching the people yet and who are about to get their 1st or 2nd doses. so we'll see how, what sort of the, the harsher restrictions and also, you know, the mac vaccine mandate for certain professions. what kind of impact that we'll have on the vaccination will? yeah, as you mentioned, know the, the number of vaccinations is rising, but point out that obviously the people who are getting boosted are already people have made the decision to be vaccinated and the unvaccinated in

a number of german cities are out on the straits, demonstrating against further restrictions, what is it that they want the government to do? well, i mean, we have to say that since the start of the pandemic, there's been a minority who has gone out onto the streets to protest and harsher harshly restrictions any restrictions at all. and this minority has gotten angrier and more aggressive in recent weeks. not only with these, you know, tied to restrictions, especially for the unvaccinated to a basically unable to partake in any sort of public life. in germany it's very, it's very difficult for them to take part in public life and, but also with the introduction with the introduction off vaccine mandate for certain professions. and these groups have come, you know, thousands of taken to the streets again, on monday to protest and, and as i said, they've become more aggressive. and police in several parts of germany have

reported attacks on police officers and journalists. so we do see sort of a radicalization off of these protests or i d, w political correspondent, the only one how much time. thanks very much. let's all the news for this. our doc film is next after a short break. stay tuned for that. we'll be back with more headlines at the top of the next hour, but will leave you with some images from china ahead of the beijing winter olympic games enjoy. ah ah. the green. you feel worried about the planet? on the old hosting the on the green fence, both cost and to me it's clear we means to trade. join me for

a deep dive into the green transformation for me, for you, for the plan with blue lou, i think i could alana o'connor. canadian m. o. t ah bonnie: it's the day before christmas. a festive day. the day santa claus fetches his reindeer. this is comet, his old companion to day santa will load toys by the thousands on to his sleigh.

the words of the children's letters from around the world resonate in his ears as his sleigh takes off through the night sky, towards the many children excitedly awaiting him. santa is used to traveling the world, visiting many countries where he is usually well received. but one night in december 1951 and the french city of dijon in front of salt, beneath cathedral and effigy, was burning of a mannequin representing him they were burning santa. but why? soon a photo of the scene appeared in french newspapers with the following explanation. it wasn't an attraction, but

a symbolic gesture for us christians christmas must remain the anniversary of the birth of our savior. jesus christ santo was being associated with ally and portrayed as a figure in opposition to jesus christ and christianity. this is the story of a conflict that goes back millennia of it. otherwise the santa claus is famous all over the world of all the basically he's conquered the entire planet here. for example, we have a brazilian santa from 19 o 7, a classic, but he's got the hood in front. i don't know why. here's a canadian santa, he's classic tube cookies and red. of course i'd audrey as for the african santa, i think he's great. he's made with glad talks packaging made to kill flies. this

one is perfect though, cuz i don't have the japanese one here, but the whole world worships santa claus. otherwise, ah, among the thousands of representations of santa claus, one stands out. the one of an early ancestor to plug ill settled, he builds a 1st ancestor of santa claus is found in mythology a 1000 years before christ. there was a god in the scandinavian countries in the nordic countries suit who was called bowden all. and this god odin day was very peculiar. good al, because gods are usually worship to play it. we give money to people who take care of the gods and to the priests for protection,

yet we give material things to get immaterial. things sits in and this god, the 1st of his kind did the opposite shed. he was the one who gave he did so he had a thrown in heaven with 2 wolves of what is that he had to ravens are which he sent down to earth to find out whether the children were good or not. and he would reward them at the time of the winter solstice between december 17th to december, 25th, and we'll set gabe sick. and then in rome, it started in the 5th century b. c. until the 4th century idea there was a goddess called strain ya, a very important goddess, whose name in french means gift. and at the time of the winter solstice, vale, she wouldn't bring gifts at the thought. it was in her name that the roman patricians that the people of the roman high society offered gifts to each other a toilet such as sweets or gold objects that he pulled it ah, among all of santa's ancestors, there's also

a particular roman god who is worshipped at the end of the year, when the sun goes down on the horizon and seems to disappear forever. i didn't d, me see the during the month of december there were very important celebrations in rome. saturnalia festivities, people gave feasts and parties in honor of the gods, saturn, the god of agriculture, levin, what he does have you, lima employee. he cheered felicia during this period of transition. people would celebrate chaos. they would challenge the natural order of things, a waste of in this particular mood. a king was elected the key of saturnalia. yet he litany this afternoon. the king of saturnalia is doomed to

disappear, yet to be reborn the next year. but in time such pagan writes would fade away as a new god rises. the god of the christians ah, 2000 years ago in palestine, a little baby was born, whom some followers came to regard as god. and over a period of time, they agreed that it would be a good idea to celebrate his birthday. in 354, a de the roman catholic church decided to place jesus christ's birthday on december 25th. during the pagan celebration of the winter solstice, the rebirth of the undefeated son. this was a very smart move by the christians, leading more pagan believers into their new faith. the child, in an animal stall,

attended by shepherds with angels in the background and mysterious visitors from the east bringing gifts. and these 3 astonishing gifts gold, frankincense and murderer are the basis of giving at christmas, ah, could. among the many generous figures associated with santa history, one is especially central the one of saint nicholas. ah, here we are in turkey and his home town, myra,

now called demarie. as you can see in the big square a statue of santo was erected in his native land. this statue connect santa claus to saint nicholas and in this church, a fresco recount the moments when nicholas his life. ringback turned into legend. since then, bishop nicholas has become the patron saint of a great many cities. when he died, all kinds of wonderful mythology sprang up around him so that he became in time the most important saint in heaven. next to the virgin mary's, he had the power of flight. he could magically fly. he also had the power to be in several different places. at the same time. he's the patron, saint of prisoners, sailors, butchers, children, and of the french province of la haine. it,

oh, oh, fall, falcon, france. every one knows the legend of the 3, his children that a wicked butcher owner, wicked, and cheap it, depending on the vision, wanted to cut into pieces and put in the soap barrel like pigs. and after 7 years, saint nicholas came in to the in all to butcher shop and resurrected the 3 children . oh, in 1087, a. d. faced with the invasion of turkey by the saracens, italian sailors took saint nicholas his coffin to the city, bari enshrining his remains in the main church. then a french crusader brought his relics to a small town in la hen named san nicolai depot. here every year on december 6th, his followers gather and sing to commemorate his birth. ah

in addition to resurrecting the 3 boys saint nicholas his life was marked by numerous acts of generosity. he became the patron of children and a bearer of gifts. but be warned. although saint nicholas brings gifts, he is also the one who punishes michigan the those are probably grew up in a suburb of luck. some will exist. who are? nope on that night as well. and east locker ta slippers in front of our bedroom

door freedom at dow when in the morning went look and sometimes we'd find a little stick, which meant man to serve the spanking. and no present ain facie by course, our father had a large, a stick. he's fine because if need be, who, hey, give you have a man. we usually received a little mozambique or something like that or the must. but the gift was small, some a pretty ah labor clash, a good, clear gen. thing on soccer. allah. hum. it's a cook of units ish martin. oh, some shane and him and flooded by the idea was denied. tell of him he's us yet or by an in i think a hi lay though. he though fear then years or if you're buying on spirit. good sigh . ah, jamal bed goes, you did my mom to pity? i remember when i was really little god, i caught my dad in the carriage or the neighbor changing clothes

a shot. and i thought that's all about the idea. i didn't understand 6 of the stuff because the big metaphysical problem, the children who had made the few who instant nicholas fit, kiffany gola. ah, we can think of saint nicholas as a kindly man bringing goodies, but he was also very stern. and in this, he was also useful to the parents of europe because he could carry a switch ah, with which to beat children al, who did not know their catechism, that were disobedient. and sometimes in this mission, he accompanied by a rather terrifying figure, was always black peach with him to talk with someone who was dressed all in black. it was $32.00 tall while he was a lumberjack doogie man takes for with him cracked. i don't book with daily gotten

them off. tunnel don't live for a long time. things well separated. your field of religion was the one of the baby jesus. on the eve december, the 24th. the field of sin, nicholas, who later became santa claus was on another date, made the things got complicated. he ah, ah, what we have in the 1500s is an astonishing religious revolution that we call the protestant reformation. ah, europeans were very much against christmas and the post and his in general because a central to the idea of post and his mom is to strip away all of the accretion. so

chip christianity god, over one half 1000 years into go back to the christianity as it was in the bible. and one of the things they agree on is that the cult of saints has become dangerous . that the saints are in, in peril of replacing god as the object of one's prayers. so they abolish the cult of saints and wisdom go saint nicholas. saint nicholas disappears as a christmas gift bringer in many parts of europe. by, by saint nicholas. at least they didn't burn you, but you will be back because as the elf se hiding a st doesn't make him disappear. so at that point, traditions that were taking place on december, the 6, the pushback are they will push back to christmas to the date when baby jesus was born in germany, in particular,

the figure of the baby jesus christ. kindle is the gym and say was invented in strasburg. the rules of the reform were applied, and $1570.00 a pastor spoke out against the practice of giving gifts to children on saint nicholas day. the saint nicholas market, which is held on december 6th, was renamed. the order was to call it the market of the child. jesus or crist, kendall mocked an alsatian, the figure of the baby. jesus is a wonderfully theologically correct, but it's a difficult social act to perform, to imitate the acts of saint nicholas saint nicholas was good, but he was also frightening. and it, nobody is going to be frightened by the baby jesus as saint nicholas can carry huge

sacks or baskets of goodies, a baby can't mm. and so we see in the 15 hundred's the development a change in the shape of the christ child. and the appearance of frightening helpers, european folk lore is full of beasts that appear at christmas. and you don't know whether they're going to kill you or give you a gift. ah, just a fee. there were fairies, lots of characters, for instance, you have before in italy. she was an old with a lovely fina deputy. gotta kill me. now that could be fina is portrayed as an old

woman who's a bit of a witch of school. she flew in the sky on a broom ban, only had a hood on her back, containing the presence with which she filled the size that children left near their windows. it might cost of reaching or looking at. if kids weren't good, be fun and knew it to me, and she would give them ashes co community, it kind of borne if looked at all for it. if they were good, she would then bring licorice interior, which looked like a soft coal born, but was made of black sugar. yeah, the lighting dazzle. kind of bony doors, chip, the blue kettles needle each country has its creature meant to frighten children. compos connect to hooper bought the peat, gaila smooth c ah. the protestant reformation and its religious precepts now prevail in

a large part of europe. in england, the winter figure referred to as father christmas, was even the object of a trial for some protestants, the new doctrines were not respectful enough of the strict teachings of the bible. these puritans decided to leave europe and settle in a new land where they would be allowed to live in accordance with their faith. these pilgrims 1st set foot on the american continent in $1620.00, and started new colonies. according to their faith, christmas was not worthy of celebration and was therefore abolished. it became a regular workday. any one celebrating christmas in the colony could be punished with a heavy fine any reference to the saints, including saint nicholas was forbidden. busy but other migrants coming here from

other countries brought with them their own religious faith and traditions. the situation in the cities at christmas and new years had become a social problem. it became dangerous to be out on the streets in boston, and philadelphia and new york gangs would take to the streets. they would bang on pots and pans and blue horns. they would jostle decent middle class folk. they would interrupt church services at a time when police forces were um, just in the beginning and, and could not deal with this. in 1800, the situation in new york city became dire. the city was flooded with new migrants . the puritans considering them barbarians, abandoned part of the city. in manhattan barricades were erected to protect law

abiding citizens from unruly gang organisations, such as the new york historical society were founded with the goal of creating a more respectable city. since america had no shared history and no shared culture, this new historical society was looking for a common identity. and surprisingly, it's members decided to turn to saint nicholas. john penn tarred was the founder of the new york historical society. he was a member of a masonic lodge, made up by descendants of dutch families. it was pen tart who rekindled the flame of the center cloth the dutch saint nicholas. he presented him as a grumpy bishop with a whip, standing behind a high masonic symbol. santa was now a freemason, john pinta tried to make santa claus. saint nicholas, the patron saint of new york. and so one thing spend todd was trying to do was to

get a tradition that wasn't english. there was another member of the new york historical society, and his name was washington irving, and he was a comical right to. he was a satirist and he found pins hard to say nicholas very, very funny. and so he wrote a spoof history of new york and in his parody history, saint nicholas santa claus keeps appearing and helping the settlers to build the houses, sort of appearing after the sky smoking a pipe or washington irvings spoof history of new york with a massive best seller, it was a huge, the huge, popular book in early america. and people loved the story. then they started telling them to that children as true. and for the 1st time, a new name appeared in a drawing. ah santa claus, a name and

a story destined for a bright future. the that was a 3rd member of the new york historical sa tickled climate kaufman who wrote a children's power him called on it towards the night before christmas. and it was very, very popular upon the st. grozis on a sleigh which is drawn by reindeer. and he comes down the chimney himself and comes out into the far place with the presence and wishes everybody a merry christmas it was the night before christmas when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a man inches sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer. as i drew in my head and was turning around down the chimney, saint nicholas came with about the stump of a pipe he held tighten his teeth and the smoke. it encircled his head like

a reef. he had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bolt full of jetty. he was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. ah farewell bishop saint nicholas. here comes an elf. later in the 19th century, there is a guy called i'm thomas nast, who has an illustrator, and he's the guy who really sets down the santa claus that we know in that we still see on christmas cause and the santa claus that children imagine of the jolly fat man with the bed and the pipe. ah ah.

and during the american civil war in the 18 sixty's, he drew a series of patriotic drawings for a mag seen that featured santa claus on the side of the union. ah. and the face she gave them was that of the kindly grandfather that had been suggested by twas the night before christmas. and whatever else santa claus wears around the world now and whatever country he's in, he will look like the face that thomas nast gave him an order aspect of santa claus . it's very much that he's a house breaker. he's an old man who sneaks into your house and he actually breaks that family bubble to some extent. ah,

it's very strange when you think about it. we tell our children that there is an old man who's broken into their bedroom and that they should be happy about. ah acoya mean when christmas would come? santa would always show up that only he would come in the evening around 6 o'clock after sonoran dinner. as he always made a lot of noise knocking on the wall, knocking on the door. good this amy, i your god like diet sick. the said de leon. he had a cane and he would shake like an old man wholly gather lucas b as it had santa claus would ask. are there any good children here that i gave up and we were very scared. oh. 2 2 that thou vod koya, hiding behind. now mother the lawyer

is let me santa claus would come and sit with us and ask if chad ain't good cuz i live down. gosh, got yellow guilty. and i would answer yes, i hadn't been good. no, i wasn't crying. go around, benuya ah, with the industrial revolution christmas and santa claus soon became associated with a profound change in the social order. the boers was opposed to lower class values . the communal traditions was so say to with christmas like we're sailing,

buying on people's doors, demanding alcohol wearing mosques this replaced by this inward looking family, as opposed to community your table as opposed to the streets your foss site, as opposed to the whole city. this new om inward looking. i'm celebration. yes, i'm why should you my me said you pulled heap will, will really being sent to the distance. and the bourgeois family became a very important part of society having grown rich in the sense of the working class that mark was described to martha addiction for the bush were family. christmas became one of the great annual gathering one during which people honored their own members if it showcased their social success and boosted their children's ambitions. ashad. oh it. hello, michelle plato. ah,

and away there's a shift from a religious celebration to a family celebration, whether it was in england and france or in the us. there wasn't a family reunion at christmas before that you owe them the protestant ban catholic religious songs and replaced them with new testament psalms . so when english writer charles dickens wrote a christmas carol, he describes a society that is divided between rich greedy misers and poor. but generous people . the christmas tale tells the story of how one of these misers becomes a better man. thanks to ghosts that visit him. they make him realize that charity and generosity can save him from doom. he has a detailed,

as how he was giving readings of his tale in boston, paris, and in london, of course of christ. and people would rush to see him in paris. people described a huge line in front of the british embassy in middle of winter acre, but people were in t is yet in boston. a wealthy businessman called fairbanks showed up and reading. after listening to the christmas story, read the also himself. so he decided to offer a turkey to each of his workers for christmas and gave them the day off to celebrate christmas. and when you are here though, happy, it wasn't a holiday at the time. didn't sit say, daniel, her, yes, one more legs claimed on a legal test as a deuced club concept in england is a very interesting one of the, a lot of when you get the bosses force their workers to save money during the year . so they could celebrate christmas with dignity and by.