what does the latest research say? information and context with the corona virus update. the coding scheme, special monday to friday on d, w. ah, this is d, w. news live from berlin. another independent voice in hong kong is silenced. the website stand, news says it's closing down after being rated earlier today. police made arrests in confiscated documents and other assets. also coming out covered cases,

hit new records across europe. france reports one of the world's highest. one day tallies since the start of the pandemic. this as regions from europe to australia face a sudden surge of the army con very and the west u. s. in the grip of winter days of heavy snow fall and record breaking cold or disrupting life, even in the normally balmy, southern california. ah, a micheal ok welcome to the program. one of the hong kong last independent news outlets says it's folding after being rated and having its assets frozen hong kong police search the offices of stan news earlier to day arresting 7 and removing evidence. it's the latest blow to the chinese territories shrinking free.

oh, it's becoming a familiar sight on the streets of hong kong. after several staff members from the pro democracy media outlet stunned news were arrested. over $200.00 police was seen entering the websites headquarters saying in a statement they were authorized to search and sees relevant journalistic materials . both the current and former editors of the publication were among those detained as well as the pop star. turn democracy activist. denise, whoa, an ex board member at stuns news. oh, see i got no deputy assignment direct to ronson. john was questioned, but not arrested. over when he released this footage of police turning up at his

home, why by the authorities can be heard demanding. he stopped filming, i thought, i know i'm speaking early this year. his prophetic words have now been realised in what many c as a further erosion of the free press in hong kong. i think that the situation and a message is clear to from the government that making reports and doing uncovering story will have some criminal law results. you may be charged that you may be lima, that your freedom, whatever. so it's not easy to say that i'm not afraid of the situation. the rate on stand news is the latest move in a space of crackdowns and beijing, the opaque national security law. in june, hong kong largest pro democracy paper, the apple daily was also rated upon and forced to close. it's founded jimmy ly was

recently sentenced to 13 months in jail. with stunned news gone, and more journalists detained. it seems press freedom in hong kong, may finally be over. for more on this. so let's bring in. phoebe kong in hong kong of phoebe does the closure of stand news. come as a surprise at this point. well on just hours after the arrest on the management and also on the editor in chief of staff news, stanos, mute, news, media. the non profit making news organization has announced that it was shut down immediately and also to dismiss all his employees are immediately i'm so that happened just are hours after a police arrest and are in is a farewell statement issued on the a social media platforms had sat, it will also remove his rap site and is social media outperforms and accounts from

online. so we are expecting that the news materials and the reports that we've seen on before that they will soon be gone, like by the time that they remove all the websites, al vasta news. and also the statement. they sat that they, i express gratitude to his readers, that on the 7 year old non profit making news organizations out and it's separated . hong kong are under the independence. editorial principal and stripes to save. got haul coms, core values, including democracy, freedom or human rights, or rule of law and justice. and it is time to say goodbye to his readers. so phoebe, did anyone see this coming? oh well this is a quite a indeed is a huge blow to the general estate industry because our stanos is a leading pro democracy media. so fall, they fall line the closure of apple. 80 santos

e. r is indeed one of the biggest many a platform that like is very popular among the po, democracy support as n e is like, own a here it's read a base. but on the other hand, that was a saw of $61.00, meet in hong kong dollars, s as frozen by the national police, depart national security department of the police force that it is kind of expected amount of service and challenges that this is, this is that the filaments are dependent that we're expecting on that and they will no longer be able to operate without the fonts that they can make yourself. in today's press, conference to police declared their actions, and that is the arrest of journalists and the seizure of items from their offices were based on evidence. what more can you tell us? oh well the evidence that the police mentioned are basically some reports are written by our reporters and also our commentaries that contributed by blockers and

commentators. so on those are those beliefs they didn't leased out. all of the articles are involved in this case, but they did give some examples involving, or some reports, a commentaries relating to the 2019. and he got her into a test that they think is our seditious, our publications doubt. a war inside hatred against the government and or did you still story our system or the police force that could are like, oh, conspired to all lay a publish our so called seditious publications. so, or maybe we'll have to wait for more details when the case is brought to court, or like exactly what kind of evidence and what kind of articles are they, are police are accusing the defendants. but basically they authority is saying that these kind of these are middle workers are making use of their are our mid positions. and our duty is to pursue political purposes and endanger national security. and they were continued to invest the case the case that day and not

ruling out that maybe there are more people are from the industry and the news organization will be arrested in the future. that's a phoebe kong in hong kong again many thanks. phoebe. let's get a round up now of some the other headlines at this hour more than a 100 towns and cities in brazil's northeastern state of bias state have declared a state of emergency due to massive flooding. weeks of heavy rain has killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds more meteorologist say it's the most rain by year has received in over 32 years. authorities and chilly have declared an emergency in the southern region of santiago. as forest fires spread tens of thousands of hectares of forest and farmlands have been destroyed. chilly has recorded nearly 50 fours fire so far this year. dozens of them still ongoing. members of jordan's parliament have traded blows during a debate about gender equality and changes to the constitution. the altercation

began when deputies discussed adding the female noun to amendments that guaranteed equal rights for all citizens. no one were seriously injured. eliza made france has announced a record number of new corona virus infections. authorities counted just under 880000 new cases in 24 hours. it's the highest the country has seen and is one of the highest totals of any nation in the pandemic. the government has already announced new measures aimed at slowing down the spread. those include limiting the size of gatherings of people and mandatory wearing of mass out doors. rising case numbers are also a problem for australia. a country that so far managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic. on wednesday, australia reported a record 16500 new in factories over 24 hour period. most of those in the state of

new south wales health officials, there or warning this sudden outbreak is overwhelming testing facilities. roger maynard is a journalist in sydney, in the state of new south wales. he has more on what's driving this rise in infections. well, the slate is crisis is the result of a perfect storm of factors was at the center. the caseload here new south was a song to sent me a record high. the total number of cases reported today was 11200 and the state and was almost double yesterday's. figure out much the blame is being leveled at state governments for the hazard approach to dealing with kobe and a little mixed messaging that led to enormous cues here to drive through testing stations in sidney, where cars are being banged up to kilometers. and people have to wait for hours to be seen afterwards of many of had to wait for 3 or 4 days for the results to come with the danger of the virus spreading. florida. in the meantime,

now of the problem has been caused by the christmas holiday period and p. c. r testing stations, and labs being understaffed. the other factor was being the demand from holidaymakers who back to obtain a, a p. c on tests for permission to enter queensland, which has only added to the pressure on testing facilities. italy is allowing a ship carrying almost $560.00 migrants to dock in sicily. the vessel own by the aid group doctors without borders has been waiting for week for permission to head for port. the german ship, the see, watch 3 is also waiting for safe harbor. it's carrying $440.00 rescued migrants. see, watch 3 picked up, the migrants from a number of shipwrecked vessels in international waters off the coast of libya. some have already been evacuated for medical reasons. the crew size help is still needed. we have very vulnerable people on board small children who creating

a different medical care over in recent days. hundreds of people have sat out in boats to reach europe via g and c. dozens are dead or missing. after a number of shipwrecks, 16 people including a baby drowned of the island of paris, survivors report starting out from turkey in an attempt to reach italy. they say they wanted to avoid greek territory because a fears, greek border guards would force them back. the direct result of all this with the sharp increasing the border violence applied long across the greek border . so migrants are taking a chance on a longer and more dangerous route. it to the hundreds have arrived on the italian mainland since christmas on the now in quarantine. morgan the little song for many

of them have hug medical treatment because they would be hydrated and hadn't eaten full 6 or 7 days saga. good place at the jordan or other cru. see what's 3 is also hoping the permission to hedge when a child in port will come soon. and we don't often report this. sure weather in the western united states as wrought days are record cold and heavy snowfall to several states in the region. winter storm warnings extend from seattle and the pacific northwest down to the mexican border. forecasters expect the wintry conditions to continue. oh, this is a snow research fuel station, but at the moment, research isn't possible here. the power generator is out in december, around 5 meters of snow fell in california, sierra nevada, mountains. and you record even southern california has turned into a winter wonderland. with freezing temperatures, a rare occurrence or he came out here to enjoy some snow. it's actually their 1st

time being in the snow. the onset of winter in the western united states has not only brought lots of snow, but also record cold in many places. like here in seattle, which saw the coldest temperature on record earlier this week. for many drivers, the snow mainly causes major problems. roads are closed, cars and trucks are stuck. oh, go ahead, jump after jack logistics dentist. how much is this gonna cost him for vivian? our warm animal, the massive amount of snow in the sierra nevada, is actually a blessing for california. the accumulated snow in the mountains will provide water and spring and summer for the fields in the plains, which have been suffering from severe drought. but the record snow fall in the western u. s. is just one extreme. the southern and eastern parts of the country are currently experiencing mild and even summer like weather,

with the record breaking temperatures here too. oh, you're watching d. w. news huge, a reminder of the top story we're following for you. hong kong, independent news outlet, standnew says it's closing after its officers were rated and assets frozen. police arrested 7 people and confiscated evidence. is the latest blow to the free press in hong kong. business news with rob watts is up next after the break. i'm mike local in berlin for me in the entire news team here. thanks so much for watching this tooth with ah, ah, what secrets lie behind these walls? discover new adventures in 360 degrees. and explore fascinating

world heritage sites. d. w world heritage 360. get the out. now. imagine how many portion of lunch are thrown out in the world. climate change very often stores. this is my plan, the way from just one week. how much work can really get we still have time to work. i'm going on with what 5th? ah, the big switch off begins germany is set to shut down 3 of its nuclear power plants by the end of the year. is it ames for a total phase out by the end of 20? $22.00 will look at what it means for europe. as labels supply chain problems drive

more and more hall is out of the industry. spain is calling on it's women, drivers to keep on truckin and germans are looking elsewhere for that new year. pyrotechnics is authorities again found in the sale of iowa summer, even crossing borders to get them with the state of your business on robots in berlin. welcome to the program. germany is saying a good bye to nuclear power reactors, representing almost half the country's nuclear capacity. ought you to be shut down? by the end of this year, the remainder we switched off during the course of 2022. it could be seen as the worst possible time to do it with your battling and energy crisis. but the big switch off is being met with glee from anti atomic activists. ah, these protestors are making their voices heard and have been doing so for decades outside a nuclear power plant in northern germany for over 35 years now. activists have

been meeting up once a month to call for the reactor to be shut down. today is the 425th meeting and the final time that they'll be here breathing the elements. that's because the brock to off nuclear power plant, one of the most controversial in germany, will be decommissioned at the end of the year for a pastor and protest. co founder hans cont vanna, it's a day of mixed feelings. su heavy cities means a sense of relief that the nuclear power plant is, find the history of what we never imagined back then that we'd have to hold out for so long as the 2011 fukushima nuclear disaster prompted germany to declare a nuclear phase out by the end of 2022, but many countries continue to rely on nuclear power. this promotional film made by the french nuclear industry depicts it as clean and above all climate friendly. a

line of argument also favored by the countries president. yet donal no subject to achieve our objectives, in particular carbon neutrality by 2050 that we will for the 1st time in decades relaunched the construction of nuclear reactors in our country and on the copy. that's why greenhouse gas emissions are lower than those from fossil fuels. but compared to wind or solar power, nuclear energy production is far more expensive. it's really clear those countries around the world that a most intensely committed to civil nuclear power. ah, either countries with nuclear weapons or countries really de monster bay kane, on nuclear weapons. the reactor will be shut down, but the radioactive waste will remain in storage there for decades to come. there's still no permanent disposal site anywhere in the world, which is why the activists plan to continue their fight. also understand what the

nuclear phase out means for germany. let's just take a look at the countries energy makes. so in 2020 renewable energy sources like wind, solar bio mass and hydro had increased to make up 43.8 percent of germany's power. but coal is actually the 2nd most important source, lig night, and hard coal supply, almost a quarter japanese electricity. the german government is though aiming to close all of its coal plants by 2038, as it reduces carbon emissions. next up, gas fired power stations provide 16 point one percent of germany's electricity in 2020. then we come to nuclear power plants which generated 11.3 percent. but that is obviously about to change with all of germany's reactors due to be switched off by the end of 2022. now the world is watching germany's energy transition as it aims to switch off sources currently providing almost 40 percent of its electricity . that's nuclear and coal. critics say that soon if that it could be too soon to

and could even leads to blackouts, especially when it's dark. and there are no wind blowing, no winds blowing, and there's no sun. they suggest that keeping nuclear power plants running as a stable source of energy is the best thing to do. well, let's discuss this a little bit further with michael schneider, who is lead author of the world nuclear industry status report and an opponent of nuclear power. thank you very much for taking the time to join us on deed of your business. what do you say to that suggestion that this is with europe suffering and energy crunch the worst possible time to be turning off energy sources? well, you know, i mean the, the german nuclear pays out has been in the making for a long time. it's decades that the german society has been discussing the issue by the way that the term like in

a given that which now has been integrated into the, the english language like energy transition dates from 980. and you know, as soon as 1986, when the channel bow a disaster started happen to took place. there were in germany had actually published in germany, there were 20 nuclear phase out scenarios published. so there's a long exercise of thinking and designing this, this nuclear phase out. so what is happening now is, is just the consequence of these latest decisions that are now 10 years old. so there was a long period of preparation for that. and let's face it, it's, it's been a phenomenal investment security. you can, you know, imagine you can invest into other electricity generating technologies, knowing that 4000 megawatts will switch off by the end of the year. that's

a phenomenal investment security that doesn't exist the same way in other countries . that's something we need to back. i may talk about when, when we, when we talk about the switch off of the nuclear power, is the environmental impact on the fact that germany's renewable sources aren't quite ready to make up for what's going to be lacking from the the nuclear switch off is this actually a bad move for the environment given the nuclear, given that germany will be using coal to make up that loss. no that's, that's the miss. and that's what the problem, you know, the, the, the reduction in nuclear out bit output of the past 10 years has been compensated for twice over by the increase in renewable energy sources. so it's, it's a myth that actually, that has less lead to more coal. no,

it's actually well in the coming years highway it says exempt to this, it will mean there is more coal and leg night being burnt to make up for the loss of nuclear power over the next few years. because wind and sun are not ready to fill that gap one, no, it's actually not true. i mean there is a very clear pathway now in order to double up the speed of implementation of renewable energy sources. and in fact, the new coalition has a target for 2032 to phase out a coal. it differently from what was said earlier. so to bring it further closer to a now a originally was 2038 and have 520-3080 percent of renewables in the electricity mix. so in fact, what we have in europe is that especially france is, is worried about the nuclear phase out because germany and belgium,

the 2 nuclear phase, or countries have actually saved the french grid in the last week when the terminal dropped below, it was below 0 so which we actually have a quite unique situation where nuclear friends is depending on the nuclear phase, our countries in order to stabilize its grid. we do have this unusual situation that we in europe where we have germany in one hand facing out and france. if anything wanting that to be more nuclear power plant across europe, why do we have that enormous difference? well, you see in france there has been always the, the, a mis of lag on us young. you know, that, that france can only be as powerful. and as radiating in the world with nuclear weapons and with nuclear power and, and frankly,

friends has always used the nuclear technology, whether on the military side, on the civil side as geopolitical tool. so don't forget, there is now a presidential election coming up for francis taking over the presidency in the european union at 1st of january. so there's alliance buildings. so again, once again, france uses a nuclear power as a geopolitical tool. so but on the other hand, don't forget that the new nuclear power plants that the president has been talking about. we're talking of a grid connection between 204-2050. so which is sort of a bit late for the environment and it's a bit late for, you know, changing the, the situation or the generating sources. or thank you very much for your time, michael snyder. i do appreciate you giving us so much of it. that's michael

schneider from the world nuclear industry status report on databases as take a look at some of the other global business stories making use more details. it emerged av chinese. right hailing giant dds plans to d list from new york and re list on the hong kong stock exchange. reuters is quoting 2 sources, same company plans to use a mechanism that allow it to list without raising capital or issuing new stock listing by introduction, as it known would allow holders of its u. s. chairs to gradually transfer them. now usually fireworks make new year's eve in germany, a noisy and colorful a fab. this year for the 2nd year in a row german authorities battling the army. con corona virus. parents have decided to ban the sale of them. however, some determined germans are getting around the restrictions by crossing international borders. ah, he is. even berlin typically goes off with a bang, but the $21920.00 to curve. it was different in

a suburban street in the midst of crowds of revelers. and huge explosion from a home made bomb, hundreds of thousands of euros of damage. scores of people injured for berlin's authorities. it was the cracker that broke the camel's back. then, with the onset of the pandemic, authorities feared the usual stream of wounded would overwhelm hospitals, already groaning under the load of covered cases. and national ban was put in place . but germans just want to have fun via plus and get as event despite everything we want to celebrate the new year. last year it couldn't happen. therefore, we are happy that it's possible this year in germany, we're not allowed to buy fire crackers, but we are allowed to set them off and then decide. so many germans are making a pilgrimage across the border into denmark to buy their fireworks. ha humble. they

come from hamburg, hanover blame, and rust stock, dusseldorf, purveyors of pyrotechnics had been worried about their economic plight. as denmark prepares for a more subdued and new year's celebration than usual. but now, business is booming. your muscle remain the business same here in berlin for more from as you had to our website, d dot com slash business, you can also find is only between use youtube channel and facebook with ah, their importance to the economy is huge, but getting hold of them is often a dirty business. critical commodities make us mobile, make our smartphones smart. how can today's global hunger for lithium cobalt

and more the satisfied made in germany on w. lou, what people have to say matters to us for me. that's why we listen to their stories reporter every weekend on d. w. with, with what the batteries, smartphones and even cosmetics have in common.