♪ >> this is dw news. e.u. regulators approve another vaccine the novavax jab -- raises hope they can win over skeptics. deliveries to europe could start within weeks also on the program, tigray forces announce a withdraw from across ethiopia. as they retreat, the people are still suffering. we visit a village caught in the conflict.

chile elects a former student protester as president. prompting massive street celebrations. >> welcome to the program. the european union's regulator has approved a new coronavirus vaccine. manufactured by biotech company novavax is the fifth shot to be cleared for use in the e.u. by people 18 and over. trial data show the novavax shot had no serious side effects. the drug uses the more traditional protein-based technology and requires two doses three weeks apart and has been shown to be highly affected against -- highly effective against all the variants, but it is not known how it will hold up against omicron.

we will see if we can learn more from william schaffner, a professor upper medicine medicine adventure bill university in -- at vanderbilt university in nashville. novavax has been cleared for use by the ema. what does it bring to the table? william: it bring simply another manufacturer. that is excellent. the more vaccine we have available, the more we can use around the world to stem this pandemic. and as your lead in said, it is made in a more conventional, traditional technology, and there may be many people out there who will more readily accept a conventional vaccine than this modern mrna. one last thing, it is refrigerator stable, which will mean it can be widely distributed to doctor's offices and clinics and even to remote locations.

that is a very nice advantage. phil: right. and, a small number -- we have seen a small number, this is terrible for small people involved, people dying from side effects. what is being said about side effects of this technology and this novavax? lliam: well, this is a technology that well known, and it is thought to be actually very very safe. serious adverse reactions are very uncommon. and we'll see as the rollout continues and surveillance for side effects goes on, just we are having in the european union with the other vaccines. but we anticipate this should be a widely accepted vaccine. phil: right. so we have the world health organization and the ema giving their approval to this. do we expect to see any roadblocks around the world? or is this just a matter of

different jurisdictions just getting on board with it? william: i think it is more the latter. different jurisdictions will each have to make their own relationship with the company, establish their own contracts but sure think it is wonderful thate have yetnoth major manufacturer with a solid vaccine available for us to use. phil: so omicron is on everyone's minds. people will wonder, is this new thing, is it too new to know how it will fare again omion? william: that is the piece of information we are looking to find out. data from the loratory, obviously we do not have anything the field there because this vaccine h not been dely used in the population. but we are looking for better laboratory information abo how well ts new vcine, this novavax vaccine, might well work against omicron. an important point. phil: the christmas holidays are just a few days away.

people are going to be moving around countries, around the world, getting together with families. what is your advice to them as omicron careers its head -- rears its head? william: if you are moving around, get vaccinated. even if you are staying home, get vaccinated and you may get a test before you get on that plane probably if you are traveling internationally. and then also before everyone gathers. it is not a bad idea, that morning to get a test. if everyone is negative then they can relax. phil: thank you so much. we wish you well over the holiday thank you for joining us. william scheffler fr vanderbilt university. william: all the best. phil: deliveries of the novavax vaccine are expected to begin within weeks, as europe battles a surge driven by the omicron leary. when it comes to -- the omicron variant. the netherlands has close

nonessential shops and public places until at least mid january. it is a big blow for businesses hoping for christmas boost. dw correspondent christine -- reports from amsterdam. christine: christmas is already over at this local market in amsterdam. so, this was supposed. to be a christmas market people spending the day here buying all sorts of treats, etc., but as you can see, within hours everything is being taken down. one gentleman, he is right behind me, he would not be on camera but he is raging. he spent the last two weeks preparing for this, and basically the celebrations are over before they have even begun. after the holidays were canceled last year, this christmas was supposed to be different, but the new restrictions which mean no shopping or restaurant dining are the surprise gift nobody wanted. and even the outdoor national

favorite pastime has been put on ice. >> yeah, the restrictions make it impossible to operate the rink. last year we closed. so for this year we finally had an opportunity to open up again and to make the losses of last year, to make it more profitable hopefully. >> we do not have much to look forward to. because we cannot really go ice skating anywhere. >> it is not just the locals. the city's visitors are also losing out on amsterdam's must-see and do favorites. >> we are here from florida. and we were going to go to the van gogh museum. we were going to the anne frank house. it is all we have to improvise and walk around and look at everything. >> the dutch government said the measures were unavoidable as covid-19 infections soar among

the population. the new variant omicron, which was first reported here three weeks ago, is expected to be the dominant variance before the end of this year. a big outlook -- a bleak outlook but some are trying to keep the festive cheer. >> it is dark at the moment in holland and what i am trying to do is cheer people a little bit up and wish them a merry christmas and make some love. ♪ [singing] ♪ ho ho! phil: germany is also preparing to introduce measures, though there is unlikely to be a christmas lockdown. our political correspondent simon young can tell us more welcome. what new restrictions are on the table? simon: yeah, phil, what the political leaders are talking about are new restrictions for everybody. but not until after christmas as you say. but it would include both those

who are vaccinated and those who have recovered from covid. so, from the 28th of december they are saying the restrictions on private gatherings not more than 10 fully vaccinated people gathering together. and if anyone is not vaccinated, then it will be just people from one household allowed to come together. and the real fear is that the gatherings over the holiday season, combined with omicron, which is just starting its advance in germany, could be a real problem. so they want to reduce public events, concerts and so on, as well. currently you can have 50 people coming together indoors and 200 outdoors. i will expect they will want to try to reduce those numbers. for christmas itself, they are bit more relaxed because i think people don't tend to have too many contacts outside the home. they are appealing to people to reduce contacts as much as

possible. nightclubs and discos will be closed as well. they were looking forward to a pretty quiet new year. phil: right. there were protests in several cities over the weekend over measures that are already in place. so, if the german public -- is the german public likely to be on board with stricter measures? >> of course, there is a lot of lot opposition against the measures -- a lot of loud opposition against the measures. for everybody. christmas is an important time of year for families to come together. having said that, you get the recent polling from a couple weeks ago, that suggested that well over half of germans thought that the previous government at least was being a bit slow to introduce tougher measures when they were needed. that suggest people might support it if they can really see the benefits. and we can listen to some opinions of people we spoke to in berlin earlier on today. >> no, i do not fear another lockdown, actually. i think they would be better to

limit the contacts. but i think the german politics will make a decision about that. >> i would be devastated but of course i would just do what i would have to do, stay at home. >> could be cool because it is cold and i could stay home and at home is my bed and i can learn from home. it's nice. >> it is fine with me. and -- the last lockdown, all the regulations, didn't disturb us much. simon: so, that suggest that people might be willing to support tougher measures, particularly if it means they can avoid a sweeping lockdown. and i think it is really important for some people if it means that schools can remain open, open up again after the holidays in january. and the government has said that that is a key priority for them. phil: thank you for that. our political correspondent simon young.

we will take a quick look at other developments in the pandemic. starting in israel, which has banned traveled to the united states, germany and eight countries because of the spread of omicron. the measures come into force at midnight on tuesday. the world economic forum, the annual gathering in the swiss mountain resort of davos, has been postponed until summer and the south african president has returned to work after testing positive for the virus and completing a week of isolation. as the conflict in ethiopia, the tigrayan people's liberation front announces it will be withdrawing. the head of the forces claimed the move was a step towards peace. ethiopia has been fighting a civil war for more than a year. forces from tigray have been battling government troops in eritrea.

both sides are accused of committing atrocities. meanwhile tens of thousands of civilians have died and millions hav lost their homese. access to journalism has been limited bar correspondent is embedded with local authorities. she filed this report on the people caught in the crossfire. >> this is all that is left of his house. it was demolished by artillery or fire when the tigrayan forces and the army clashed in the area. >> this is where the table was. it's all broken now. look at it. it was a nice house. it was beautiful. >> she hid in a forest for nine days while rebels occupied her village on the way to the capital. >> we feared for our lives. we did not know if they were going to kill us. we had children with us. we was scared. i was with my neighbors.

at night it was very cold. >> the conflict has not spar civilians. d this village residents say people were kille by rebels. >> in thisass grave we buried four people. they were not soldiers. they were unarmed civilians. the people burd them. we collected the bodies after they left, and there were some bodies which how eunice had started to eat -- hyenas have started to eat. >> hundreds of thousands have fled this violence. she says it lacks everything in this camp. >> there's nothing to eat. we have children and there are no clothes. people left their homes without their belongings. we are being told it is safe to go back to what -- but what do we have to go back to? they burned down our houses. >> it is not just people's homes. public infrastructure has also been destroyed. this hospital was heavily l

ooted. >> we had antibiotics here and now we have nothing. around here we had medicine to treat hypertension and mental health issues. the hospital was a referral center for 8 million people. >> all this waste material, they just threw it there. this is trash but among it there are medicines that we could have used. >> people already have difficulty accessing food. the war has made that worse. the u saysn armed men and local communities looted i warehouses and the government accuses tigray forcess of destroying -- >> the the crops that had not been harvested and those that had not been collected yet. >> the conflict has affected

everything. these people are the ones we can see. in the neighboring tigray region a grave humanitarian crisis is also enfolding but no one is allowed to go there and report on it. phil: a report from our correspondent. where they announce a withdrawal of tigrayan forces with hopes of a possible cease fire with government forces. some of the other stories making headlines around the world. in the philippines, the death toll from typhoon rye has reason to 375 with dozen still missing. the military has been called in to help as entire communities were leveled and many were left without electricity's -- electricity water or fruit. hundreds of thousands have been displaced. russia has ordered two german diplomats to leave the country. last week germany expelled two russian diplomats after a court

ruled that moscow's had ordered chechen exile in berlin. germany says the latest expulsions were further strained by lateral -- strained bilateral relations. germany's new chancellor olaf scholz is in italy for his first meeting with mario draghi. they announced a plan aimed at coordinating government policy and a defense and green technology. mr. scholz repeatedly praised his host countries vaccination program and response to the pandemic. now chile has selected the leftist former student protest leader de brito boric as its new present -- gabriel boric. in a highly divisive campaign. he rose to prominence during long-running mass protests against corruption and inequality. he is promising a generational shift in chilean politics. >> a historic and jubilant victory. with 25-year-old gabriel

boric, chile now has his youngest president. he was helped to -- to vault the barricade to take to the stage and recognize the people that have put him in power. the left wing former student leader had tapped into their anger at the country's economic model and the inequality it has brought to where -- to win 56% percent of the vote. >> i guarantee that i will be a president that cares for democracy and does not risk it, who seeks unity and attends to the needs of the people daily. i will firmly fighting cancer privileges of a few, and i will work every day for the quality of the chilean family. his promises range from protecting the environment to tackling chile's private pension system. and his followers -- are full of hope. >> whoo-hoo!

>> [speaking spanish] >> there is no precedent in the history of chile. it is truly emotional. we've made so much progress. now we will move forward with social rights, continue to advance and fight against the far right. >> with a high voter turnout boric squarely beat the far right candidate but cast was dignified in his defeat. >> [speaking spanish] >> the first thing i want to do is congratulate boric. he deserves all of our respect. he won fairly, and we hope that he will lead a good government. and with our legitimate differences, we want to help our nation. >> the night belonged to boric, who heralds a new political dawn for chile. >> let's get more on this from benjamin -- he joins us from san

diego, chile, where he has been following the story for us. welcome. what is chile going to look like under president boric? >> good afternoon. well, what he promised also during the campaign is to really look and try to tackle the inequality, even though chile is not -- but there is a huge difference between a huge part of the population and a small part of the population that has a lot of money. 1% of the population has, owns t he 25% of the country's wealth according to the united nations. to tackle inequality, he wants to look and reform the health system, the pension system and also looking into the education system. while at the same time strengthening women's rights and also including the indigenous population. so what this constitutional convention that is drafting a new constitution is also trying to do right now. phil: plenty of expensive promises that he is making now.

the welfare system, health system. he is talking about increasing their tax on fuel to get the country greener. how much of this can he actually deliver? >> that's right. and that is a big difference. that is what the outgoing president told him. there is aifference between being a candidate and being the president. if you want to do promises, you have to see if you will be able to deliver. and it wille hard for gabriel boric, he does not have a clear majority in parliament so he needs to find agreements not only within his, the left-wing parties but across the political spectrum. also with the right wing parties also, the opposition of the new government. so it is of course also the pandemic is playing huge role. we have to see how the markets will react today, and the market -- in san diego and also to see how business, how -- in san diego. how international companies will react. some are scared to see if you

will make big changes. but as many people say, there will be, he will be judged by what he can do and by the promises that he can fulfill and not wh he has been promising over the past months during this election campaign. phil: and this is where very polarizing campaign. it promised to be a net. it was not so much in the end -- neck and neck. it wasn't so much in the end. we heard the right wing candidate being gracious in excepting the result. how polarized does this now leave the country? >> well, in the far right candidate kast congratulated boric. he met the outgoing president. so we will see that society will now look, what will happen and course leave behind this very polarizing and very harsh almost talks this election -- toxic election campaign. phil: thank you for that. from san diego -- santiago, chile.

the pandemic is taking a toll on terrorism around the world, bethlehem is the birthplace of jesus, it is usually festive this time a year but with israel having closed its borders to most foreigners and bethlehem being in the occupied west bank, residents are getting ready for a muted holiday season. >> christmas in bethlehem. the palestinian town, the birthplace of jesus. the tree is once again the center of attention. there are fewer restrictions than last year but life is not the same as before the pandemic. >> i love bethlehem. i love coming here. it is the first,, no, actually the second time i have been during the holidays. last year with corona it was impossible. i said this year i would come with my friend. >> it's great to be here. i'm quite surprised there are so many decorations because i did not expect much. >> once again this year,

visitors from abroad will find it difficult to visit the occupied west bank. israel has closed its borders to foreigners, with few exceptions. for at least four weeks because of omicron. most visitors will be arab is raley's and local palestinians. >> the situation is not so good. we have bad news about these new variant of covid-19, but despite this bad news, we hope that next christmas it will be possible for the pilgrims to come here to bethlehem and to celebrate together. >> the church of the nativity has been welcoming visitors for centuries. the building has been completely renovated over the past decade. the leaking roof fixed and precious mosaics brought to light from under centuries of plaster.

christmas is usually the busiest time, but it's qui--- quiet now. even here in the grana where the silver star marks the supposed birthplace of jesus -- in the g rotto. all the same rehearsals for the traditional parade are in full swing. palestinian scout troops like this one from the lutheran church will open their festivities on december 24th in festive scout uniforms. ♪ >> we are looking forward for christmas. it is not -- marked last year due to the corona outbreak. this year, we have been training hard. the members have been practicing almost daily now to march and partake in christmas. we are hoping that things will go on as planned. >> this second pandemic christmas, many and bethlehem see it as more important than ever to spread the message of

peace and goodwill to all. phil: in europe, weather forecasters are not offering much hope of a white christmas. but temperatures are still cold. an invigorating winter swim. in switzerland thousands took part in the traditional pre-christmas dip in waters of 7 degrees celsius and 44 degrees fahrenheit. >> ahh! >> baby, it's cold outside but for some in geneva that means it is time to swim. the brave beared -- their skin in this year's christmas cup after last year's event was canceled. 3000 signed up for a chance at glory and frozen toes. >> [speaking french] >> this is the biggest winter swimming event in the world. it is a phenomenon of getting together and releasing your joy. the cold water takes us away from all of our problems. >> the challenge begins with a

splash from a bucket. while it may'look suggested, helps the swimmers bodies prepare for the coming shock. once they take the plunge, the swimmers have to swim 100 meters. for others the award is a feeling of relief. >> it is horrible for the first 10 seconds but afterward you feel really good. >> why are you doing this? >> because we are having fun. >> for the smile afterwards. >> exactly, for the smile afterwards. >> maybe that explains the record attendance. permission once again to do something out of the ordinary. ♪

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♪ >> all french children of five and up can be vaccinated against covid-19. french health officials announced the changes and say it is a new tool against the contain just variant. could french and bri