victory or a defeat while the u.k.'s leadership celebrates a historic deal of. the european union's chief negotiator describes. a not so merry christmas countries in europe. people are placed under strict measures during the festive. want to waste their money u.s. senator claims the government has thrown away more than $50000000000.00 and worthless projects including jogging machines.

are everywhere tuning in from across the globe this hour welcome to moscow and to our to international my names you know me happy christmas our top story. after more than 4 years of wrangling the e.u. the united kingdom finally reached the brakes a trade deal it was agreed just days before the new year deadline however the mood in brussels on london was very different following the announcement. this is i believe a good deal for the whole of europe. for us for our friends and partners as well yes but genuine there is no winner and bracks it's a lose lose situation to separate especially in the world as it is today england the united kingdom has chosen to be solitary rather than stand together. all the nations that make up the british isles are divided on the outcome really scottish 1st minister nicola sturgeon sees britain has lost more than it's gained from the

brakes it stressing that scotland must now decide on its future as an independent european nation we've got the fears of scots another britons on the tube. fatigue because it's been going on so long it's happening now the balls rolling i think we should just finish it i think it makes it feel to be because it was last couple weeks so should be just so much hype and misinformation and media i hate breaks and i think it's a completely retrograde step i think that the feeling of being part of a multinational international. i word looking community i think has been thompson is fantastic i didn't support bret so i didn't pull pranks a i have really guides to not be part of you know petty boy it does make me nervous to think how am i going to get to visit the european cities and you know friends i have to live in spain and in france and other parts of europe it would have been a disaster if there had been no deal so very pleased but there is a to this is i suppose some people a big christmas present it's just i think a father's relief aid to them to see if the idea of a deal is

a good one. but i think the idea that it has to go through 49 different parliaments in europe is a bit crazy i think it's really. funny going on also these years but it sort of begs the question as to whether this arrangement is going to be better than the regime we have come before we left the european union well let's take a look at how the u.k. you will cooperate from january 1st there will be no tar of sun each other's goods no limit on trading new border checks something agreed on to while the u.k. has pulled out of the long running the rolls most student exchange scheme between universities politicians will return to westminster to vote on the deal on december the 30th. so barstools may have ended the year in a much needed but the last 12 months of being overshadowed by cole varied close borders economic woes substitute others been taking a look back on all of it for us. it was almost as if he wanted to become

a meme we have so much to look forward to in 2020 it's hard to pin down which one of 2020 stretches he meant the end this practice of negotiations food shortages coronavirus close borders economic collapse felt like. sending. sending a president who home grinch who stole christmas. yet i feel like christmas has been known and history he might be like remembered as the prime minister. best so was about a man who wanted to be remembered as the one who got brecht's it done 4 years of preparation for a course he believed in thompson was set up for trial and he even promised back in january that it was up and ready all but done we had ended a debate has run for 3 and a half years some would say 47 years i would even mention the name of the control the same except to say that it begins with billions receding the past behind us

well be rose from the past and a haunted chorus for 11 months that's how long it took to negotiate a deal a deal that has followed praxedis claimed could be resolved over a cup of tea 11 months the brink of no deal a nation of disappointed impatient angry people but boris still gave himself a pat on the back we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny we've taken back control of every jot and tittle of regulation in a way that is complete and unfettered who's going to tell him then that this celebration might be a party for one. it sounds like the british team have dropped the ball before the line no wonder they want a christmas eve announcement to hide the fisheries sell out today amidst all the debates and details of the trade deal one fundamental truth remains that at the time of global insecurity we're no longer part of one of history's greatest and

most noble projects bring nations together to build peace out of the ruins of war. this is a disastrous bragg's it for scottish farmer it's and like all other aspects of bracks it forced it and cortlandt against our will it wasn't just brussels that proved to be bogus on doing fresh from a caribbean holiday and still on a post-election high in the new year boris johnson didn't seem too concerned about a never heard of before virus his message was clear don't exaggerate when barry is going up. and when there is a risk that new diseases such as corona virus will trigger a panic while it was a pretty quick descent from fun to this.

but it's hard not to panic when the person who's supposed to be meeting you flip flops and utahns his way through a crisis to the point his own ministers don't know the rules so make it absolutely clear. distinction. let me i will absolutely get back to christmas would be cancelled actually christmas is off schools are reopening actually no they're not we're lifting the knocked out actually stay at home little wonder then that confusion on exhaust peroration grew on the confused because you know it's like things are very very quick and we don't get that much information about what's going on and then suddenly boom the new school down we don't know what to do so nobody can use and they say to you cannot who's devoted 48 hours so it's so confusing i don't even.

know my parents live. there with the kids so i am allowed to go to do but i don't know if i'm really about to be going. what you did was it a case of bad timing. was 2020 year you just couldn't sign no matter what or was it the man himself who failed to meet one thing's for sure for boris johnson it's being not ahead of the year but rather a year from how. well germany remains one of the country's worst affected by the pound and the state of saxony is one of the regions hardest hit with crime and toria struggling to cope here's father age from a video agency ripley.

germany as a whole was badly affected this year with many locked on restrictions put in place peter all over can take us through not how it's impacted the festive season in the country. across year of christmas festivities are subdued this year because of the coronavirus pandemic here and this gentleman marked it's usually the scene over one of the german capitals local bustling busy christmas markets not this year though like carnival in the spring time the markets of being counseled there being a loosening of covert restrictions to allow people to gather with loved ones over

christmas itself friedrich merits the man who will be gunning for chancellor angela merkel's job next year wasn't happy with covert restrictions having an impact on a family christmas personally i would see it's none of the government's business how i celebrate christmas with my family he's not alone germany has seen at times launched demonstrations against covert 1000 restrictions. while christmas is very different this year new year's may be totally on recognizable in germany being mocked without its traditional.

green policy politicians of launched a campaign against fireworks this year while thousands upon thousands usually throw in the approach to the brandenburg gate for the annual new year's eve bash this year 'd that is a victim of corona and the policy will be held with elder revel as shown on television there will be no giant posses a family reunions otherwise we could be threatened by another wave of infection in february there will be no party in berlin at the brandenburg gate either it will disappoint sold to be sure to virgin sea and medical so. this is going to be among no lamenting the lack of fireworks after new year's eve we evaluate only how many people come to us or brought to the rescue since during the night how old they are and why they need to be treated it clearly shows the dangers of fireworks it's a festive period with a difference but at least italian prime minister just epic calm take some

reassurances for people concerned about one particular elderly man traveling at christmas father christmas assured me he's already got an international travel certificate so he can travel everywhere and distribute gifts to all the world's children. quite the relief i'm sure you'll agree peter all over r.t. . didn't mind what peter was going through let's take a quick look at christmas celebrations in faeries other parts of the world despite those restrictions in france the. fire performed a christmas eve concert is the 1st event of its kind since the cathedral was ravaged by a huge fire last year hard hearts overalls replaced traditional gowns with reconstruction of the building still underway. and just to go back to germany for a moment to show you this a local priest organize the drive in christmas mass in the car park of a hardware store traditional church services have been suspended across the country

to try and slow this. jogging machines for lizards sentence i didn't think i'd be saying this year but that was just one of the strange projects the u.s. government has spent money on this year according to a report that states are worth 50 $1000000000.00 went the way of such initiatives dimitry pokes been doing this. 2020 has been a year to forget for many reasons but it's that time of year so let's reflect imagine you just blown $54000000000.00 in 12 months it is more important than ever for congress to find its fiscal backbone our debt puts at risk the long term solvency of major programs such as social security and why to pay for test use for covert tests that turn out to be soda bottles to see if hot tubbing a few times a week eases stress yeah those don't seem like good investments but u.s. senator rand paul has published

a whole list of all the things you can blow your hard earned money on and what washington apparently did spend it on like $1500000.00 to give a couple of reptiles some cardio researches spent a 1000000 and a half taxpayer dollars to get 6 lizards walk them on a treadmill what taking x. rays with 3 d. imaging technology and then figure out how their joints moved sure it's fascinating stuff maybe for some but come on $1500000.00 place your bets on how much it costs to spray drunk rats with. just a tidy sum of $4500000.00 in all seriousness here's exactly what the researchers did in layman's terms they spent 5 weeks giving rats intermittent access to alcohol to get them hooked then they put the rats in a cage and literally sprayed them with book can't urine a predator to simulate trauma then they tested with the males and females responded

differently why that's probably something you're wondering right now the answer research into p.t.s.d. and alcoholism among war veterans are barely someone has concluded that surviving a gruesome war is comparable to being sprayed with europe so we've gone from paying people to sit in hearts of trying to get adults to watch less t.v. and box all of this money wasted. and none of that was initially washington's this is $54000000000.00 of taxpayer money but look on the bright side at least we can sleep well now we know that a coke bottle is not a good substitute for a test tube. the way that the united states government has managed its finances throughout this entire thing is absolutely overall completely abysmal it's been nothing short of criminal what the united states government has done throughout this entire pandemic there were a few ok things but overall the bad outweighed the good by

a whole lot and it's really made the united states government out for exactly what it is which it is a corporate coup no one ever asked the question are you going to pay for it when it comes to giving money to the pentagon or giving money to weapons contractors or given money to the oil and gas industry no $1.00 ever asked how you're going to pay for it but they ask how are you going to pay for it when it comes to giving direct relief to people then all the sudden they're worried about their pocketbook. go ahead are to international the culture war is truly moved up a gear at this year in the societies battle over gender identity though it's among the stories after the break.

join me every thursday. and i'll be speaking to guest on the world of politics sport i'm sure i'll see you then.

minutes into the program your welcome back let's start with a developing story from the u.s. city of nashville 3 people have been injured in a huge car explosion on christmas morning the area has been shut down with investigation under way by multiple agencies including the f.b.i. local authorities believe the incident was intentional police say a house a response team were actually on their way to the scene to follow up all the reports of a suspicious vehicle when the car blew up it happened in a dollar an area around 6 30 in the morning nearby buildings being badly damaged with debris scattered across the road president trump's office the responders.

cross the atlantic from their london its surrounding areas are bracing for stricter covert measures this christmas weekend the southeast the thing that is to enter a so-called tear for adults affectively a lockdown. with a new strain of the virus spreading rapidly across the country the prime minister is refusing to rule out another national. we face very considerable new pressures particularly from the the new variant and the speed with which that's been that's been spreading. we believe that we're going to have to get through this tough period and much as i regret that i do think it is necessary for us to grip this virus knowledge to stop it running out of control in in january because we need to buy ourselves time to get the vaccine into as many arms of the

elderly and vulnerable as we can. london strict locked on was easy for a couple of minutes thursday night to a lot of people to sing christmas carols in their street a socially distanced approach to the traditional festivities will still and. of all follows on from london becoming the official covert 19 hot spot in the u.k. well nationwide over 600000 people recorded to have coronavirus in the week beginning december 12th around one in 85 people in england some estimates suggest almost half of the new infections are from the new more very human strain they once meant on heightened measures against the virus prompted a desperate rush to flee the capital before the holidays a new lockdown restrictions prevent high souls mixing indoors and all non-essential shops to be closed the british health secretary defended the locked out and saying

it's necessary to curb the spread of the new virus variant however the opposition is of the view responsibility for the spread lies squarely at the door of the government while these restrictions are now necessary. they would not inevitable the return of this virus on the return of prescriptions a doctor not to gold. they're a failure of government the british people have done everything asked of them but of approach the government has not lie spoke earlier to the senior clinical lecturer of exit medical school who told me the new surge in cases could have been avoided he believes with stricter measures we have been very slow and larks and not enforcing a public health measure with strictness unfortunately we have failed in controlling

it because we never enforced it as strictly as we should have our hospital admissions are almost at the peak meaning hospitals are also getting full and more worryingly in the more sensitive age group meaning the older age group our case numbers are also up and it is the older people who get severe disease and may die from this infection the narrative is we have a new age of the sars could lead to loris it may be more infectious however it may and it is a big capital letters many that it may be more infectious. you may have noticed 20 twentieth's or gender identity generate a huge wave of the scotian from liberation 'd to celebration plenty of confusion between poly has been looking at harlowe the year left more than a few people in a personal pronoun predicament but on this fertile ground for that culture was

to get royally. sarah papier teen there won't care. for their base. yeah i didn't know what base men either just dismissed the work arrows as why you need to eat is reveling in victimization no they're here to save people from things that they didn't even know they needed saving from like. gender through all the facts whether you're own or you are a massive racist yet all the based not just all right trump apologists looking for a fight no these are brave souls trying to express opinions that 5 years ago you and rand would have. been tea but now could get hot and you lived.

sold. so let's delve in and see who was on the front line of the culture wars in 2020 this is like being in the battle of the sexes is no longer finery and no one represents the crazy state of affairs better than the j.k. rowling is it weird that the inflicted harry potter on the walls is now live 5 to suggest saying that they're all women on their own then. yes that was cool to be counseled to saying that there is such a thing as. the trans rights people when not. well the bollywood film festival was in no mood to be rolling and so it just dumped

its gendered awards for best actor or and best actor a dozen not just mean less prizes for everyone why not bring in more prizes for more gender is a man like $32.00 of them the national charge of iceland went another way and depicted jesus with boobs in a dress to quote reflect society as it is today by which i assume they mean confusing. tripling down all the confusion with. the current director of the matrix series. she said that the matrix trilogy wasn't about saluting karate different colored pills or being plugged into play station you know apparently the whole thing was an allegory for the struggles of the transgender community i'm going to come out and i don't. you know that was the original intention and the world wasn't quite ready yet or part of the corporate world

wasn't ready and on a serious note i would just like to take this opportunity to congratulate the actor elliot a. the great. news stories are shaping up this christmas day 2020 join me at the top of the hour for all the updates today do hope to see you then as well. so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy. let it be an arms race is on all sides here in dramatic development only mostly i'm going to

resist i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk. and she sure moviemaker those it didn't just sit in judgment and i. don't mind the chest but commision on that was. the shining was all. the time you could look at the my face you know for a long today in that country not if they were established at the map. and you. know about the economy to have more than a last step is that. just going to be. the month to go no i mean that i'm still a grinder going back to the music on. the ground 0 that i'm going to use the term obama i don't know what i'm going to. look at what's going to become the long point

of going to my homeland going to come up thinking i came up each time she was hoping to go missing i was going to go maybe we have to get out what am i doing going to. be. greetings and sell you. as u.s. president donald trump's presidency barrels forward into its eventual loeb libyan on january 20th many have been speculating and just who will bestow the ever coveted presidential pardon on next after handing down pardons like candy to the legs of michael flynn roger stone could gerrard kirshner get one steven miller rudy giuliani even even steve banned then but through all the will he won't t.

who will be there has been one solid study cry for justice coming from the supporters of wiki leaks founder julian assange. currently wasting away and reported 23 hour lockdown of britain's notorious belmarsh prison a songe and his lawyers continue to fight against his extradition to the united states in london courts songe faces multiple indictments in the u.s. including the chilling charge of violating the espionage act which carries up to over 100 years in prison if convicted sons of supporters which include everyone from whistleblower an american hero edward snowden to famed journalist john pilger along with over $7600.00 others have signed a letter asking president donald trump to pardon the son and while no one will know until january 20th that these efforts to gain a pardon will be successful or all for naught one thing we do know for certain is that the u.s. government's prosecution of julian assan just looking more and more like persecution with every passing day minute now or especially in light of

a recently leaked audio recording brought to light by james o'keefe and project veritas of all places real clear politics reports that quote this recording of a 2011 phone call between julia songe and clinton state department attorney general cliff johnson highlights claims made by wiki leaks for years that a rogue a former 'd employee was responsible for leaking classified state department cables without the necessary redactions or other precautions wiki leaks normally employees . my friends this is julian assange jasc in the state department to help him mitigate the risks of releasing classified information without redaction this is julian assange is telling the state department to warn anyone who could be hurt from this action this is julian assange. being a good journalist the good journalist he always claimed he was and my friends finally this is the u.s. state department.