had a record high. what is being done to slow the spread of the virus? well, there's new measures that has, that have been announced in friends to limit social interaction to maintain dis, dancing between people working from home will become mandatory at least 3 days a week. and full when possible, wherever dot can be implemented, it's no longer an option. as was the case before indoor events will also be limited to 2000 people. this concerns a sports advanced cultural events, but there will not be any cancellation of political meetings, which is quite significant. as you know, that france is giving up for its presidential election next april. people will also be forbidden to stand inside restaurants, bars and cafes with many professionals asking simply how is that measure even feasible and how they will be able to check a check on every client. and france is also studying the use of mandatory f, f, p to mosse. it is not the case right now. and plans on introducing to to g 2,

g plus through doug could begin mid, mid january. so things looking quite dramatic. they're here in germany, things at least appear to be better off, but we just heard that your health minister, lauterbach said he doesn't really believe the numbers we're seeing, that could be 2 to 3 times as high as the official data. what is behind this under reporting? well, there's simply not enough personnel, dorinda festive season to test people and above all to communicate the results to the authorities. there is a staff shortage in the her system here in germany, and it shows now tell me when we talk about testing these officials, already a warning that a collapse of their health care infrastructure in the coming weeks could very well happen. even the number of infections among medical personnel also increases exponentially as we fear might be the case in the coming days in the coming weeks. so given that and let's, let's go with what lauterbach is saying that these numbers are probably higher,

they're likely to go even higher in the coming weeks. what does this mean for the potential of a lockdown here in germany? well, before this new wave of infections before army current officials from the former government had promised there would be no new log down at always c dot or at a local state scale. they are confused, being implemented, and more restrictions imposed in the worst affected districts in particular to people who are vaccinated. that's a quarter after german populations to them vaccinated. so yes, a wants to government, we have use all other possibilities. a 3, g to 2 g, which means a recovered of vaccinated or even the one g, which would be a mandatory vaccine. well then experts see a lockdown as something that should be on the cards. and it's something that a neighboring countries, such as a austria ordinance, have already implemented earlier this month, a lot more still to go as we go into the new year than your child's. thanks very much. and let's now take

a look at some other developments in the pandemic. cuba plans to give booster shots to its entire population in january in a bid to prevent severe illness from the owner. con varian. british prime minister boris johnson, says 90 percent of patients that end up in intensive care have not received booster shots. germany's international development minister says the country plans to donate 75000000 more doses of grown a virus vaccine to poor countries. next year. and a round up of other headlights south africa is holding vigils following the death of anti apartheid hero. archbishop desmond to 2 on sunday morning, let flowers at saint george's cathedral in cape town. as the bells rang out into whose honor they will sound for 10 minutes each day until the nobel peace laurie, it's funeral at the cathedral. on january, the 1st indonesian authorities are allowing a vote with $120.00 or injured muslims on board to dock and its waters comes after

8 organizations called for them to be rescued. the country's security ministry previously said would push the vessel back to international waters. the overcrowded boat has a damaged engine and has been drifting for days off indonesia, oregon coast day after russian authorities ordered the closure of rushes. most prominent rights group. memorial international court is shut down. the sister organization, the human rights center. the group has campaign for the rights of political prisoners in russia. among others, the european court of human rights has urged russia to suspend the decision. one of hong kong last independent news outlet says it's folding after being rated, having it assets 1st. on kong police search, the offices of stand news earlier to day arresting 7 and removing evidence to the latest blow to the chinese territories. shrinking free press. ah, 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 police was seen entering the websites had quarters, 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, bold member at stuns news. oh, see i got my deputy assignment direct to ronson. john was questioned, but not arrested. over him. he released this footage of police, turning up at his home by the authorities can be heard demanding,

he stopped filming. i saw, i know why. speaking early this year, his prophetic words have knobby 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 new story will have some criminal results. you may be charged, you may be anymore that your freedom, whatever. so it's not easy to say that i'm more afraid of the situation. the rate on stand news is the latest move in a spate of crackdowns and beijing's opaque national security law. this address for me is said to detect a national security cron under the national security law in june. hong kong lodge is pro democracy paper. the apple daily was also rated and forced to close. it's

founded july, was recently sentenced to 13 months in jail, but withstand news gone. and mal journalist detained the grip on hung comes free press. gross ever tighter was get more in the situation there from someone who knows it well that steve vines, he's a journalist and broadcaster who lived in work in hong kong for more than 3 decades . and he joined us now from london. thanks for joining us. and let's start with your experience there what. what role did stand news play in the media landscape? well, stun news. i played a very important role in chinese language outlet. and it was one of the 2 remaining independent news outlets within the form of my circulation. as so in that sense, it provided a very big source of information to

a lot of the hong kong population, the conventional media, newspapers, and stations, et cetera have now largely under control of the government directly or indirectly. so it's only online outlets that still perform some kind of independent function. there's 2 main ones in the chinese language, and one in the english language stand yours is possibly the most famous of those 3 . so with it's closure, what does that mean for people there who try to get free access to media? how do they go about getting it now? well, that's a very reasonable questions to say. there are a couple of other independent media organizations still standing. the question that everybody has been asking today, actually they've been asking that along with them today is how long they will survive. oh, that's because hong kong still hasn't been in that. unlike mainland china,

a lot of the information people in hong kong is informally through what groups through a social media. and then are indeed an online media outlets which have not been close them either because they operate from overseas or that too small for the authorities to have targeted at this stage. so there is actually access to more information than there is on the chinese mainland. but that area of freedom of expression is being close literally by the day. so a little bit of hope you seem to be expressing their so much has happened in hong kong over the last many months. do you see any going back? now the mainland authorities are exerting or can exert so much influence over the territory. well, i mean, who knows, the fact of the matter is that after any of these actions and that have been

very consistent number of actions rolling black, the front is of freedom of expression. people say, well, surely, surely, they can't find the new top it. surely that's enough. but it seems that the authorities in bay gene control room this, the local thought is really do that. so your thought is breaking seem to have an insatiable appetite for control of dissemination, those information. and if they want to do what many people suspect they want to do, which is to create a situation in hong kong, which is the same as the main, where you have a highly controlled into that you have no free press whatsoever. outside state control media. there is in fact space for more action to be taken in hong kong. all right, steve, i forgot to leave it there, but thank you for painting us. that picture now turn into sports,

american professional football is mourning. the loss of john mat in the hall of fame coach was a legend in the sport. and one of its most exuberant voices which occur madden one . the super bowl. as a coach with the oakland raiders in 1977, then became one of america's best known tv sports announcers. the 3rd act of his career was attaching his name to one of the best selling sports video games of all time. madden nfl and german soccer giant, byron munich say they're cooperating with a probe into the clubs, alleged violations of minimum wage laws. and this, according to german media reports that several current and former byron bosses are under investigation over the payment of coaches in the club academy. former coaches say they worked more than the number of hours allowed under their part time contracts without an increase in pay. watching news, let's give you

a reminder of the top story we're following for you. that's the only cron barian of the crone of virus is fast becoming the dominant strain in europe. france, the united kingdom, italy and portugal have all announced a record number of new cases. why should you w news? we got this ms. news with rob watts up next after a short break. so don't go anywhere. i'm laying bluecross, we'll have more few later. thanks for watching. through a every day for us and for our planet.

global ideas is on its way to bring you more conservation. how do we make cities greener? how can we protect animals and their habitats? what to do with all our waste? we can make a difference by choosing reforestation over deforestation recycling over disposable smarten solutions over steam set in our ways, or is truly unique. and we know that, that uniqueness is what allows us to live and survive. google ideas, the environmental series in global $3000.00 on d, w, and online ah, the big switch off begins, germany is set to shut down 3 of its nuclear power plants by the end of this year. is it aims for a total phase out by the end of 20?

$22.00 will look at what it means. figuring the germans are looking elsewhere for their new year. pyrotechnics, as authorities again banned the sale of fireworks summer. even crossing ford is to get 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 blocked off nuclear power plant. one of the most controversial in germany will be decommissioned at the end of the year for a pastor in protest, co founder hans cont vanna, it's a day of mixed feelings. su, of the cities mean the 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. that's about on 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 it will be 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 and 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. not to understand what the nuclear phase out means for germany. let's just take a look at the country's energy mix. so in 2020, it was renewable energy sources,

like wind, solar, biomass, and hydro. that hurt increased to provide 43.8 percent of germany's energy. coal is the 2nd most important source with ignite and hard coast applying almost a quarter of the electricity. here the german government is actually, i mean, to close all of its coal plants by 2038 as it reduces carbon emissions. gas fired power stations provided 16 point, one percent of germany's electricity in 2020. and then comes nuclear power plants which generated 11.3 percent. that is obviously about change with all germany is react is due to be switched off by the end of 2022. so 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 co critic say that doing it too soon could lead to blackouts,

especially when it's dark and there's no wind blowing. they suggest keeping nuclear power plants running as a stable source of energy. will i be speaking to michael schneider, who is lead author of the world nuclear industry status report and an opponent of nuclear power? i asked him if, given europe's current energy shortage. this was the worst possible time to be switching off nuclear energy sources. well, you know, i mean, 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 bo 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. and 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 over 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 2 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 coal. it differently from what was said earlier. so to bring it further closer to a now a, originally it 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 thermometer dropped below is 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 plants 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, france 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 in france, uses a nuclear power is a geo political 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're not changing the the situation firms are, are 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 only 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 the bank. but the 201920 took over 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. we are putting down 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 are not allowed to buy fire crackers, but we are allowed to set them off. up 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 rostock, 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 highly valued german customers have helped safe

does it? that's been nice. hemmings in estimates that this year german customers account for 65 percent of the shops turn over. so it looks like, even though the brandenburg gate party is strictly no spectators like clubs will be closed and all indoor venues will be off limits to the on vexed germans will still be able to make some noise to welcome in the new that's all for a man, that is the same here in berlin from o from as you had to our website d dot com slash business. you can also find is only doing use youtube channel and facebook with v w is on trial for what could be the biggest fraud in the history of german industry. for years,

volkswagen deceived both customers and authorities by manipulating emissions data. who knew what about the diesel scandal and when the w and diesel gate winter corn and the engineers in the 45 minutes on d. w. happiness is for every one human penises are very different from primates. penises, we have a totally ridiculous romanticized view of nature. a there and david and this is climate change, regulate sex, who happiness in 3 books. you'll get smarter for pre d w books on youtube. with this as did up in years asia coming up to date, a special edition, looking back of the ongoing challenges of democracy across asia. why democracy is more than just a fancy word and why citizens should be bodied when governments act with impunity

against them would be given me in my whether cool aust took a democrat.