1st for. hours headlines story the. deal with china removing barriers to investment comes after years of talks on the. resistance from washington. to the british government. to the current. restrictions case number spiral following the discovery of a highly contagious new strain. variant of being detected in the u.s. we chronicle a challenging year for the country worst hit by the pound. just

a few moments into a brand new day here in moscow new year's eve one year in spain i mean a new welcome to our to international. the e.u. china struck a london markdale after years of talks it opens up the chinese market to european investment while giving beijing an inroad to some strategic european projects picking up the story for a start to charlotte. this deal is almost been several is in the making between the e.u. and china and they've really pushed the boat out to get it done before the end of 2020 essentially it means that there is the opportunity for the e.u. for investment in certain industries this is companies within the e.u. to be able to invest in areas of china before it had barriers around them such as the financial sector and the health sector for china it means that there is this possibility of investing in renewable energy so this is something on the table for

each side in this and this deal has been described by many as being the most ambitious deal that china has ever struck with a nation country tomorrow's post covered world needs a strong e.u. china relationship to build forward better but this requires cooperation reciprocity and trust especially in our trade and investment relationship but this deal comes with a huge amount of criticism many have said that the e.u. is far too soft on china on issues such as labor rights and human rights in fact some e.u. countries said they were unhappy with the fact that the e.u. hasn't done enough to secure those issues these countries will countries such as the netherlands and belgium and the was also criticism from some e.u. parliament ariens who said you know essentially this didn't tackle issues such as hong kong and that of the weaker muslims in china e.u. china investment agreements we came to access to the documents and it's extremely

light and human rights and slavery as i feared the french declinations on putting an end to forced labor as a condition for a deal which just empty words hate from the land the european commission president well just as a brill you should raise recent human rights issues when you talk to see what they steal is also to likely to rub up the wrong way the new incoming. this isn't the united states joe biden just a few weeks ago the e.u. said he wanted to coordinate its interaction it's issues with china with the boy didn't a demonstration and yet just weeks before he takes office it's decided to push ahead with this deal some of those who have suggested that china was going soft on the e.u. in a way of perhaps ramping up those tensions the main deliverable from the jeans point of view was to drive a wedge in tranches line to coalitions and cross also piers to have complied it's

just mind boggling that the you would even consider rushing to a green investment pact with beijing weeks before biden takes office after claiming for several years that they wanted transatlantic cooperation on china while the e.u. has rejected that criticism saying that washington has done its own deals over trade and investment with china under the trumpet ministration so that's boy the boy but regardless of the geopolitics surrounding this deal what is clear is that under merkel wanted to get it done before the e.u. presidency transfers to another country next year and it seems for her because she believes that this gives the e.u. a more level playing field the gates china that trumps everything else. or some of the reaction we got to this was from the juice of gregory mahoney who is professor of politics at least china normal university he believes both your and china are trying to put ideology behind them and secure their economic interests.

it is something that really appears to indicate a major shift concessions that got this you know to what really came from the chinese side you know it's the postcode it reality where you know we all have to get things done deal with difficult times that are here and there to come and the need to step away from i think ideal ideology and ideological standards that are putting food on the table or products on people's shelves and i've seen a couple of negative comments from providing the incoming by the ministration where they say that it looking forward to talking to europe about about china's unfair competition practices but i don't think that's the ministration pushing europe over this in fact i think it may encourage by them to take a softer position towards the e.u. in particular i think brussels is probably calculating that as well so we might see the us actually competing with concessions of its own. to another headline stories

millions of people are crossing the enter a by to be placed under the current toughest level of covert restrictions tira for case numbers have soared since a new highly infectious strain of the virus was the tech that the country's health secretary perhaps predicting a national uproar has said there was no other choice. the new variant means that 3 quarters of the population are now going to be. 4 and almost all of the country into 3 and you and i know that 23 and 4 measures place a significant burden on people and especially on business is affected but i'm afraid it's absolutely necessary because of the number of cases that we've see so as of one minute past midnight here in the united kingdom all regions will be entering to fall that includes the north east of england northwest they will be joining the south east of england and in fact that takes a total of 3 quarters of the population will be in the type to set of restrictions

of course the rules in that area is to stay at home now experts are warning there that to 4 is not even going far enough and many say that what's needed is a full scale national lockdown to try and take control of this virus nothing on that though from westminster nor was there any talk of a to 5 of course we've heard some rumors circulating over the past few days that potentially there could even be a tear 5 coming out of all of this nothing on that either but this latest set of tide to set of restrictions as much to do with today being the 3rd day the 3rd consecutive day that we've seen the daily cases absolutely at a peak has not really basically means that the 2nd wave of 19 is much harsher and much worse than the 1st wave and of course we've just been seeing in the last few weeks these 2 strands of 191 seemingly even originating here in the u.k. one apparently have written a thing in south africa all of this so i was placing

a huge amount of pressure on the n.h.s. many say that the n.h.s. of ta it and frustrated but it's also coming being quite apparent in the hospitals within themselves we're seeing a shortage of styles but also a shortage of bed spaces as well gosh. control groups are having to make incredibly difficult decision to decide who gets an ambulance and what. she has numbers of people where you're from you and susan and they have nobody left to send while working behind the scenes is the medical and science professionals and some good news coming from them because the latest vaccination has just been approved in the united kingdom by the u.k.'s medicines regulator that's the oxford university astra zeneca vaccination being the 2nd one here in the united kingdom following of course the pfizer biotech vaccine just a few weeks ago so studies show so far that the full 2 doses provides around 62 to

90 percent efficacy the biotech there was much further ahead and much further advanced when it comes to the effectivity of it because after a top up that's around 95 percent even so the united kingdom has ordered $100000000.00 doses the 1st batch could be rolled out as soon as next week a huge improvement though on the biotech vaccination is that this latest one only needs to be stored in a room fridge temperature and normal fridge temperature as opposed to minus 70 degrees so this one is much more easily transported as with the 1st vaccination this one also is going to be abiding by a priority list at the top of the list of courses the over 80 is the elderly but also staff on the frontline as well much like the where the united kingdom 1st approved the bio on tech vaccination the e.u. said actually the u.k. is really rushing things through and the e.u. will be taking their time with things we need additional data about the quality of

the vaccine and after that the company has to formally apply but even with this vaccination it is really difficult to be quite positive here in the united kingdom of course britain has been dubbed plaguy the end after the last few weeks is easy to see why remember just a few months ago boris johnson promised the u.k. that. it would be no mallets by christmas and granny we've already done christmas and it couldn't be last just staying with this story relatives shelby awkward told us the latest surgeon infections couldn't have come at a more challenging time for hospitals in the united kingdom. disability challenging situation in. the us but. tremendous stress at this moment is much worse than what we were seeing in march you can dine in minute these are all of the crunch so. and it is a moment and ritual in these critical months and look to the work is going on we've

got to bend them in so putting the 2 together it's highly challenging it's very very. difficult to manage the situation. with the latest inhibition to be. constraints or any. situation in which you have to make a decision between life and. brody gayman fortunately and you have to be pragmatic because you have to still run us over this and of the population at large well then you covert strain is now spread from the u.k. to the u.s. it's been detected in colorado and this comes as the state of new york braces for a new surge in cases we have been talking about potential for spread during christmas. well as america struggles to deal with the effects of the pandemic are u.s. correspondent and has been looking back at an especially tough year for the city

dubbed the epicenter of the crisis when you work. they call it the big apple and in 2020 that apple got a giant one minute and that worm is known as ovid when a national emergency was 1st declared in the city back in march many panicked. stores soon had empty shelves. the hospital soon had capacity and emergency tents were set up in central park. there was a shortage of protective equipment like masks and hand sanitizer health care

workers took to the streets to protest they're told to you wouldn't ask only old boy. so if you want to talk about the row. it's part of that i mean if you send if you send over if you send to us it's really it's been tough it's been one of the hardest moments in my life it's been really challenging and we were burnt out we're we come in every day and are not getting support from our managers are you know our government is telling us we can wear a simple bandana we don't have many noted that in circumstances like this we had local officials blaming everyone but themselves we was the whole international health community we was the whole national shows of experts the w.h.o. d.n.i. to see these the then over the big soup of agencies we was are very we were you

were. the intelligence community with the brief videos of trucks used as temporary morgue to do to an overflow of dead bodies became a horrifying emblem of the era. new york city's hard island became a graveyard amid the overflow of dead bodies. one of the ugliest scandals involve nursing homes at the end of march andrew cuomo the new york state governor ordered coded patients to be sent to nursing homes for the elderly now this order was revised on the 11th of may but it was far too late the

death toll in new york's nursing homes was approximately 4800 people remember that the elderly are the most vulnerable such a poorly calculated move is pretty hard to forgive this thing is not going away sir 6300 people died in new york nursing homes that is the most in this country really needs to be able to challenge this wish to leave you would do it you're in a little bit of criticism of your very much like there was a glimmer of hope over the summer but then a 2nd wave came when it got cold the new lock downs have had a devastating effect on the economy restaurant owners and workers have taken to the streets.

the state was crashing and burning with the rising body count andrew cuomo took the opportunity to write a book about his personal achievements for the. city . 2021 doesn't look like it's bringing any relief either national health officials are warning us that january could be devastating without substantial mitigation the middle of january can be a really dark time for us some say that the lockdown was imposed too late others are saying that cuts in health care facilities and the closing of hospitals over the past decade have played a role regardless of why there's no question the 2020 will go down as one of the worst years in the history of new york city jail up and r.t. new york still ahead on the program another deadly day in yemen with more than 20

people day after a wave of explosions and gunfire we've got that story for you and more in 90 seconds and cutting. anyone else seems wrong. just don't. get to seem. to stay active. and engaged equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. some people would associate optimism with risky behavior they don't want to patrol they don't want to invite the state they don't want to invite this. they don't want to invite trouble that comes with optimistic saying throughout history optimists

have been punished it could be galileo it could be copernicus it could be einstein it could be all sorts of big steve jobs and they were punished for their optimism but now there is no punishment for optimism. international at least 20 people have been killed and scores injured in a wave of explosions and gunfire in the yemeni port city of the red cross has said one of itself is among the dead 3 others are with.

the 1st attack happened 8 in poor just after a plane carrying newly appointed yemeni government officials flew in from saudi arabia a local t.v. channel called the explosion comes when people were disembarking from the earth but it was followed up by gunfire and several smaller local reporters say to your reporter was hit by mortar drone strikes. were driven straight to the presidential palace where another explosion took place so far no group has claimed responsibility but officials are blaming. other possible. in terms of it was a cheeky because he. denied it and people. even though people have pointed fingers there's a possibility that it is also. isis isis was rolling back in yemen it was almost decimated a few years ago and their concentration seems now to be in the area and they would

love to create disruption and create power vacuums in those areas and. create the kind of turmoil that we continue to see in them and. well the latest tragedy in yemen comes right after the u.s. state department give the green light to a $290000000.00 almost deal with saudi arabia the state department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to the kingdom of saudi arabia of $39.00 small diameter bomb one munitions and related equipment for an estimated cost of $290000000.00. the trump administration approved the agreement months before the next president takes over the white house then it follows billions of dollars worth of weapons exports from the u.s. to saudi arabia in recent years it is happening despite repeated warnings over the spiraling civilian deaths in this bombing of yemen which has been ongoing since

march 25th. the saudi led coalition and the who fights in since march 25th seen are responsible for laws of war violations and human rights abuses the conflict has killed and injured thousands of civilians well there are several other horrid nations ceiling last minute deals with the outgoing u.s. administration q 8 is about to buy a tuck helicopter is worth $4000000000.00 and egypt is set to receive defense targeting gear worth around $170000000.00 michael maloof again thinks the flow of u.s. weapons to saudi could be short lived. this is part of trump's effort to keep the arabia. well armed and to try and to use its influence to offset iran so biden administration may actually put the kybosh on it biden himself as issues with saudi arabia and in addition ensues make the congress does

as well and the congress has 30 days in which to disapprove and this is the period in which that would happen so and it would come and the 30 day period would be out during the new biden administration should he be sworn in and that will be and he could biden could put a hold on it at that point. carol just want to bring you some news from syria terrorists have attacked a passenger bus and during killing at least 25 people obvious according to state media it happened near the iraqi border on a highway leading to palmira you might remember that was formerly in the slum mixed a stronghold in fact that you have a group it no longer occupies any significant territory in syria but they have reportedly been attempting to regroup in the desert any and all updates on that story we'll bring it to you. where riot police with students at

a top university in beirut protesters tried to storm the main campus. despite the. economic crisis situation fees are. also. tens of thousands of choice activists are ripping into cheers there as argentina's senate voted to legalize abortion deeply divisive in the catholic majority country people celebrated with decision by throwing. bombs that is the color of the pro choice. argentina thus becomes the 1st major lots of american state to make the move. on let's stay in the country because health workers there have received the 1st doses of russia sputnik we as a moscow bid vaccination campaign gets underway argentina is now the 3rd country

after russia and belarus to approve the shot president alberto for the smith western over the russian job decrying what he called a politically driven smear campaign he also said international trade wars over vaccines are holding back efforts to get the drugs to where they are most needed. there's a very vicious dispute going on very cruel dispute and it's shameful. how this and i think the 1st thing to bear in mind is that a trade war has been unleashed also says the whole world is eager for the vaccine there's a geo political dispute who will be the want to distribute the vaccine or sister channel or spanish has been reporting from outside a vaccination center in the capital when the stories. be remembered in argentina as the start of the biggest of x. nation ever carried out in the country has received 300000 doses of the focus is on monitoring the vaccination of medical workers and hospital staff caring

for people infected with coded 19 they were the 1st to receive the vaccine across medical centers they worked hard to tackle the virus but it's been difficult not least because some of even seeing colleagues lose their lives the delivery of the vaccines. this is a ray of hope for us it's like we've crossed the line of fire and are now moving forward against this damned virus we had a very difficult year there was a lot of fear this is a great hope for us and i'm eternally grateful on behalf of all of the nurses. i am satisfied i am very happy these are the emotions that come to my mind now i remember our colleagues who died because they worked in the health sector and happy because this should and. province more than 300000 people signed up for voluntary vaccination with the provincial governor who was the 1st to be vaccinated in the region detail the significance of this new step in the fight against that. it seems

to me today is the beginning of a new stage for us largest vaccination campaign in the history of the province of when osiris begin this morning and this is a vaccine that not only prevents disease. but also represents a real triumph of aleutian in the fight against the virus the campaign will involve around $7800.00 vaccination centers as a whole and distributing those. vaccinated will be supervised for possible side effects as well as to inform when a 2nd round of vaccines arrives more than 20000000 doses are expected to be delivered by february 11th major positive effect against the virus. just briefly a little bit more on this we heard from lots of memory care analyst francisco domingo as he thinks some countries are waging an information campaign against the russian black sea and he says of the effort to create a cold war fear deeply by the united states but also by some of the.

d.c.s. they deeply in russia and china the reason needs that they have to come to the conclusion that they suffered a massive egos the. then these countries china russia and a few others actually have demonstrated if you have a sense if you put people before profits if you actually cared about the population rather. than the results of you know the mostly good where if you were to compare we. all european countries the united kingdom but also the united states where you have something close to 2 feet then that's the reason why the 3 should come back unfortunately she's bored by it was the media age in 1942 i consider the forces around mackley and my reason we've created a mass the 1st we're going to be the country control this year where the jobs. are

lost for an hour from the newsroom for me in the studio but the programs keep on rolling here in our take out to show in moments that i'll be here again in just over 30 hope you'll join me then. an entire village in alaska has had to move if another country trying to wipe out an american town. we do everything in our power to protect the. want of a escaping climate change poses the same threat right now alaska does seem some of

the fastest coastal erosion in the world we lost about 30 feet. 35 feet of ground in just about 3 months while we were measuring. is fast and means the river is 35 closer than how big was 4 i think we're part of earth from. is your media a reflection of reality. in a world transformed. what will make you feel safe.

isolation for community. are you going the right way or are you being led. away. what is true what is faith. in a world corrupted you need to descend. to join us in the depths. or remain in the shallows. this is tell me. because silly. russian tommy is a real fan who lives in finland. his name is.