a special farewell to germany's chancellor, angela merkel. ♪ the german military honoring angela merkelh a civilian ceremony. the chancellor is stepping down after 16 years in office, but the chancellor has not stopped working yet. today, she announced tight restrictions to try to break a winter wave of covid-19. unvaccinated people will be banned from leisure shops and everyone could be required to be vaccinated beginning in february. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken urging his russian counterpart to ease tensions over ukraine, morning there could be serious consequences. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching in the united states and to all of you are in the world, welcome. we begin with a farewell to a political giant, germany's outgoing chancellor, angela merkel, who officially hands over power next week. this evening, she was played out of office with a military ceremony in berlin. a parade of this kind is the highest honor germany's armed forces can bestow on a civilian. she was treated to a torch lit parade and music she picked herself. it was a marching band tradition o

this is from angela merkel.— from angela merkel. access to leisure and _ from angela merkel.to leisure and cultural centres - from angela merkel. access to | leisure and cultural centres will only be for vaccinated and recovered people. it will also be the requirement for a test. and this will also be extended to shops with an exception for essential shops. so, unvaccinated germans will be banned from shops and bars. to assess why, we need to look at two key statistics. 68% of germany's population are fully vaccinated. cases though have risen sharply. in the past 2a hours germany has recorded over 75,000 cases. a month ago, infections were half that. damian mcguinness is with us. is their support for this measure? in the mainstream, yes. we are seeing protests. with these measures mean is that anyone who has not had the vaccines from the leashes facilities. any cultural activity, any sports activity and they have to get a test to go to work and that is, some would say a big infringement of people and the vaccine, but the majority of people according to polls support these num

before that he was a minister of labor in the first angela merkel government.e has a track record, he has the physical strength, somebody who is living to be pragmatic. he has appointed as economic advisers somebody who used to work for goldman sachs and an economist with a business background. this combination of social justice and fiscal responsibility i think is what characterizes him. that would also characterize germany. i don't see that as in any way opposed to what any of the other green members of the government would be in favor of. the green party and many german states are eyeing government with the conservatives. they are in some ways economically true, if you look at some of the southern states, the green premier is probably in some ways to the right of the social democrats. i think we can say that their government is economically in the center. it is based on pragmatism. and i think that is the way we government. in some ways a continuation of medical, certainly in terms of the military. >> how do you see the government handling the issue of immig

amy: you mention palestine come angela.2019, you were very excited when the birmingham civil rights institute announced you were going to get the fred shuttlesworth human rights award. you come from birmingham and you were returning home and it was going to be this big celebration. so we ended up following you back to birmingham, but this was after the institute rescinded the award, reportedly due to your activism around palestine. this became a major brouhaha. in the end, thousands of people -- we cover this whole journey you took -- came out to the convention center to hear you speak, to show their support. the institute was disgraced. people resign from the board. ultimately, they reversed their decision and you did get the fred shuttlesworth award. it was an amazing series of months what happened. i was wondering if you could talk about that and advice you have for others who have come under attack for their support of palestine? >> well, yeah, amy, that was actually an incredible experience. i am so excited now about t

olaf scholz is an experienced negotiator just like angela merkel.e is seen to be an effective, pragmatic leader in times of crisis and in terms of foreign policy, he is expected to set a similar emphasis on the role of a strong european union, germany acting within it, and strong ties with u.s.. a strong transatlantic relationship. but on the other hand, it will be interesting to see in the next couple of days and weeks how low schulz will behave toward china that's olaf scholz wilby -- how olaf scholz will behave toward russia and china. they have announced they will not send double meta delegations to the olympics in beijing and olaf scholz has left open whether he will join this diplomatic boycott over china's human rights record. we will be -- it will be interesting to watch him to take the steps as chancellor. brent: we know the most pressing issue is the pandemic and its impact. what does he inherit from angela merkel? leonie: he inherits a pretty bad situation. germany has been hit by the fourth wave of the pandemic hard with a couple of hund

that is when angela merkel leaves.xt return to south africa, the current epicenter of this covid-19 variant. cases have nearly tripled in thredays. over 11,000 infections recorded over the past day. that was just over 4000 on wednesday. two weeks ago, it was 290. officials believe south africa is in the grips of a wave driven by omicron. >> it does look like there is a predominance of omicron throughout the country, and omicron has been identified to sequencing in at least five provinces. we think the other provinces are just not identifying it yet because we don't have specimens that have been suenced. ros: the focus in south africa is the most populated province. cases have been increasing by over 375% week on week. three quarters of them are omicron. however, we know that while infections are going up steeply, hospitalizations have only slightly increased. and it is only eight days that south africa reported this variant to the world health organization, so there is still much to learn about the variant. here is one

he's been talking to angela merkel about sin chronizing with the u.s. and allies.ale foreign minister the first time of the green party, she is also very, very high on transatlantic relations as well, max. >> fred, thank you. be interesting to see what merkel does next. >>> now, europe's health agencies are trying to battle rising covid cases ahead of the christmas holidays. the eu drug regulators says vaccines may be used and booster shots. it will produce good levels of antibodies against covid-19. meanwhile the euro chief is warning against vaccine mandates, saying they should be a last resort in dealing with the omicron variant. and france recorded one of its highest daily case counts, just over 59,000 new infections on tuesday. cnn's melissa bell following this story for us from paris. melissa. >> reporter: max, this was one of the largest rises we've seen in a long time. it comes in the wake of other large rises, 50,000 new cases a day over a 24-hour period we've seen several times in the last few days. a staggeringly fast rise and spread of what is mostly a

but they don't quite do it the same way as angela merkel.lly surprise everyone. when you look back a shows a couple of songs in the ceremony, when schroeder t shows i did it my way by frank sinatra which is a bit about his personality. angela merkel has chosen three very different songs, reflecting your own personality one and a 19th—century christian him. she grew up the daughter of a pastor. the second song was a very famous song a 1940s, �*50s actors and very famous singer in berlin. and the third song that really do people buy supplies by nina hagen who became big as a punk in the �*80s in berlin but actually grew up in east germany and they are produced a very famous pop song. it is that pop song, quite an ironic song a witty take and it's well known in former communist east germany that anger tonight angela merkel has chosen. that's got people talking because it reflects a bit about her own roots that until quite recently didn't really talk about. also shows again her sense of humour. because a song is all about a girlfriend telling of

how will hee different to angela merkel?> i think he will be very, if not to say totally different from anga merkel, because he is from character totally different. he is very aggressive, not only from the right, but has a very strong rhetoric. merkel was very moderate. she was smooth all the time and now, there will be a very op aggressive -- very aggressive opposition leader, which is not a bad thing. they are now the opposition and you have to be aggressive, you must be strong, and that's what frederick mertz is. phil: he is 66 years old, long been a significant figure in the party. are we looking at a new era for the cdu, or a return to the past? >> it's absolutely a new era, because it is now opposition time. that's different to the merkel era. we have 16 years of angela merkel, strong leadership for a long time, the last year, not as strong, b if she had been a candidate, she would have won another time and olaf scholz would not have been chancellor. that's another reason the era is another one. i don't think she will

the president later saying, "angela, she's all alone." >> trevor: you gotta feel for merkel.se trump won, she felt she had to stick around way longer than she wanted. no one could understand what that's like, except for melania. and that just goes to show how insane it was that trump got elected. like, if you get a job, and someone all the way in germany is like "o mein got, zis certainly changes my life plans," that is saying something about you. and what it says is trump is terrifying! but, in a way, also inspirational. i mean, he inspired merkel to run. he inspired biden to run. he inspired mike pence to run away from the trump supporters who were trying to hang him. "please don't. mother says we save that for my birthdays." but this is why germany and the rest of europe are a little freaked out about not having merkel around anymore. whatever the crisis was-- whether it was about refugees or the economy or a crisis of democracy-- she was the calm and stabilizing force that kept everything from falling apart. she's like the cardi b feature on any rap song. no matter how ba

frau dr angela merkel... after 16 years in office, angela merkel is no longer germany's leader.other. calm, fact—driven and seemingly unflappable... germany's new chancellor, 0laf scholz, is similar in style to angela merkel but unlike mrs merkel, he is not a conservative. for the first time in more than a decade and a half, germany is getting a left—wing chancellor. he says he will bring in a fairer society, a higher minimum wage, a lower voting age, and more rights for minorities. angela merkel has cleared out her desk in the chancellor's office, all ready for the new chancellor, 0laf scholz, to move in. but there is little time for him to celebrate. germany is facing huge challenges. most importantly among them, the pandemic. it is being described here as a national crisis. germany is seeing record high infection rates. restrictions mean that unvaccinated people are now excluded from most leisure activities. and they have to get a daily test to go to work or use public transport. next year germany could also introduce what politician said would never happen. a compulsory covi

cheryl: i want to bring in angela. let me bring in angela morabito into that.e's bringing up something that has been happening now for the last two, three years in particular, the crossroads of politics in the markets, angela. you're on the political side. if there's a seed change in washington that could be for us a market positive but what do you predict? >> i think the connection between politics and the economy is only going to get stronger. we live in a world now where literally everything is political, from where you shop to who you hang out with. we're more divided than ever and that's tremendously unfortunate. we're starting to see politics become more and more people's identity. that influences their behavior, not just as consumers but as investors so these things are going to become more connected, not less. it should give everyone cause for concern that politics is having this level of sway over the free market. cheryl: yeah. and jeff, you know what? the volatility story that we've seen, it's been playing out throughout 2021. a lot of that of course

lizzy, angela rainey hasjumped in and l angela rainey hasjumped in and described this as a slap in thee of the british public.— of the british public. yes, i think while a lot _ of the british public. yes, i think while a lot of— of the british public. yes, i think while a lot of of— of the british public. yes, i think while a lot of of the _ of the british public. yes, i think while a lot of of the reporting . of the british public. yes, i think while a lot of of the reporting onj while a lot of of the reporting on events_ while a lot of of the reporting on events that have taken place, you know, _ events that have taken place, you know, there are a number of allegations of supposedly rule breaking parties over the last year, a lot in_ breaking parties over the last year, a lot in the — breaking parties over the last year, a lot in the run—up to christmas, there _ a lot in the run—up to christmas, there are — a lot in the run—up to christmas, there are more than a dozen being potentially look that is part of an investigation into this. it is significant in the sense that i think— sign

the last day of angela merkel's 16 years in power.n china condemns the boycott of the beijing games describing it as a violation of the olympic spirit. ♪ >> a meeting between the u.s. president and his russian counterpart has ended with washington warning moscow of consequences if it invades ukraine. a two-hour virtual call between joe biden and vladimir putin has ended with no breakthrough. the talks follow a massive russian troop buildup at the ukrainian border. they are worried moscow will invade. kimberly begins our coverage. >> with a massive buildup of russian troops near you keynes shared border -- ukraine's shared border, u.s. intelligence indicated an invasion of ukraine can happen early next year. president biden met virtually with vladimir putin. the pair spoke for two hours. putin denies russia intends to invade crane, calling it fear mongering, but the u.s. president made it clear that if russia did, tough economic sanctions would follow. >> i will look you in the eye until you as president biden looks president putin in

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.ised that there will be much more continuity and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: life as an icon, as part of our 100 women series, we talk to the nigerian writer chimamanda ngozi adichie about feminism and grief. john lennon was shot at the entrance to the dakota building, in the centre of new york. there's been a crowd here standing in more or less silent vigil and the flowers have been piling up. the 14th ceasefire of this war ended at the walls of the old city of dubrovnik. this morning, witnesses said shells were landing every 20 seconds. people are celebrating the passing of a man they hold responsible for hundreds of d

there was a story about angela rayner — there was a story about angela rayner not being informed of theto reassert his authority, but he didn't need her consultation, but he didn't need her consultation, but he _ but he didn't need her consultation, but he didn't need her consultation, but he didn't really need her input or advice — but he didn't really need her input or advice on moving around the shadow— or advice on moving around the shadow cabinet, and i think this story— shadow cabinet, and i think this story is— shadow cabinet, and i think this story is an — shadow cabinet, and i think this story is an interesting one because jeremy— story is an interesting one because jeremy corbyn notably also looked into whether or not he could get rid of the _ into whether or not he could get rid of the position because tom watson was a _ of the position because tom watson was a bit _ of the position because tom watson was a bit of— of the position because tom watson was a bit of a thorn in his side toor _ was a bit of a thorn in his side too, it— was a bit of a thorn in his side too, it was—

he replaces angela merkel who held the post for 16 years. his works are minuscule, but his message is global. we meet the artist whose autism helped shape his craft. ♪ welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. there is encouraging news tonight on the fight against the new coronavirus strain. pfizer says three shotsf its vaccine can neutralize the omicron variant. that is according to early data which is not been published or peer-reviewed yet, but two doses of the vaccine may not be enough to stop omicron. it is shaping our understanding of what fully vaccinated means. reporter: a small study by pfizer biontech has suggested three doses of their covid vaccine produces sufficient antibodies to neutralize the omicron variant. with two doses likely to stop severe disease. it is not real world evidence, but it underlines the vital nature of boosting immunity. >> we are turbocharging the program again. we have almost 3000 centers, we have opened more vaccine centers that we have ever had. we are recruiting 42,000 extra volunteers

here is angela. when you are the leader of a _ here is angela.when you are the leader of a country in _ here is angela. when you are the | leader of a country in a pandemic, it's not— leader of a country in a pandemic, it's notiust — leader of a country in a pandemic, it's notjust wrong, it's leader of a country in a pandemic, it's not just wrong, it's absolutely dangerous— it's not just wrong, it's absolutely dangerous to do that and it is actively— dangerous to do that and it is actively undermining the public heaith— actively undermining the public health message and so, if rules are broken. _ health message and so, if rules are broken, than the prime minister is not above — broken, than the prime minister is not above them and he keeps being told this— not above them and he keeps being told this and he needs to learn that it is not— told this and he needs to learn that it is not acceptable and by doing this, _ it is not acceptable and by doing this, he — it is not acceptable and by doing this, he put public health messages at risi<~ _ this, h

this week in upfront special with angela angela davis. thank you so much for joining me on up front. the past couple of years have revealed to many americans and much of the rest of the world. what people of color have long known, the u. s. criminal legal system is racist and attempts at incremental reform have failed. you and others have called for the abolition of police. why? well, we've known for a very long time that the structure of racism. it's such that it invades virtually all of the existing institutions in society. and especially the penal institutions and law enforcement institutions . one cannot study the history of the police without also studying the history of racism. and so i would say that since the aftermath of slavery, a, people have been aware of the role that police play and producing and reproducing racism. and you know, but i think that over the years we focus largely on addressing specific cases. and we called for justice for specific individuals and we called for specific police offices to be brought to justice.

in the former communist east germany where angela merkel grew up. a rival party, the social democrats. where new chapter in german and european politics begins and a growing covid—19 crisis in the country. in kinshasa, the capital of the democratic republic of congo, taxis are a popular but dangerous way to get around — with as many as five kidnappings a week, and women particularly vulnerable. victoria rubadiri reports kinshasa, one of africa's mega—cities, is built on the banks of the congo river. it has an estimated population of 15 million people. everybody is on the move but the transport system cannot cope. unless you have your own set of wheels, the only way to get around is in one of these taxis. but after sunset you run the risk of getting kidnapped — and that's been happening here up to five times a week. translation: this route| is where they usually carry out their operations. sara was taken while on her way home from work. translation: someone came from the back of the car. - he grabbed me and said, don't move or you will die. not every

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.sed that there will be much more continuity and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. india's top military commander has died in a helicopter crash, in the southern state of tamil nadu. chief of defence staff general bipin rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed when their helicopter came down in hills near coonoor. one survivor is being treated for his injuries in hospital. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports. the general was killed in that helicopter crash in south india was on board with his wife and a number of defence officials. the general was the chief of the defence staff here in india, a very powerful role in the country, overseeing the ar

after angela merkel. germany's new chancellor has been sworn in. he leads a three-way coalition tasked with beating the next wave of infection. india's military chief and 12 others have been killed this wednesday in a helicopter crash. thank you very much for being with us. the u.k. prime minister, boris johnson, has apologized unreservedly, he said, to the british people over the downing street christmas party controversy. at the same time, johnson denied it ever took waste. the opposition accused the prime minister of lying to the public while he flouted covert rules. -- covid rules. >> i will regret those remarks for the rest of my life. that is have -- how the senior government aid referred to the infamous video. >> for those of you who endured intolerable loneliness and who struggled with your businesses, i'm sorry and this afternoon i tendered my resignation to the prime minister. >> prime minister johnson continues to deny knowledge of a party, despite the leaked video. mr. johnson spoke for the first time since the leak of the video at wedn

here, the military tattoo capping off 16 years of angela merkel�*s leadership.ds close to her chest, reflected on her time as chancellor. translation: it has been demanding and political. in human terms. but at the same time, they have often been fulfilling. the last two years of the pandemic in particular have shown, like a magnifying glass, the importance of trust in politics and science, as well as in social discourse. but also the fragility of that trust. she also stressed the importance of protecting democracy as she spoke in the courtyard of berlin's defence ministry. translation: it lives - on the balance of interests and mutual respect. it lives on solidarity and trust. and trust in the facts. and wherever scientific knowledge is denied and conspiracy theories and incitement to hatred are widespread, we must express contradiction. but there was something of an unexpected personal moment too, reflecting mrs merkel�*s good sense of humour, which came with one of the song choices from the pastor's daughter for the event. not the 18th century christian hymn.

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.uch more continuity and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. let's get some of the days of the stories now. instagram has called for a body to determine best practices to keep young people safe online. he was answering allegations that the app was harmful to children. a saudi man arrested in paris on tuesday on suspicion of involvement of the killing of jamaal khashoggi suspicion of involvement of the killing ofjamaal khashoggi has been released. prosecutors say it was a case of mistaken identity. donald trump �*s former chief of staff has filed a lawsuit against the congressional committee with contempt over his refusal to testify in the investigation into the january

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.y and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. in testimony to the us congress, the head of the social network instagram has been answering allegations the app is harmful to children. adam mosseri urged the creation of an industry body to determine best practices to keep young people safe online. a saudi man arrested at paris airport on tuesday on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the saudi arabian journalist, jamal khashog—ji, has been released. the paris prosecutor's office said that identity checks had established that an arrest warrant issued by turkey did not apply to the man. prosecutors in ghislaine m

ros: olaf scholz has been sworn in as chancellor, ending angela merkel's 16ears. ♪ it's been just two since we found out about the omicron variant of covid-19 and there were fears it would reduce vaccine protection. we have some decent news. a third dose of the pfizer by intact vaccine appears to's -- to successfully neutralize this variant. the third dose increases antibodies by a factor of 25 and could deliver a vaccine specifically for omicron by march. by intact developed -- biontech developed pfizer's vaccine. >> based on the level in these pandemic studies, we expect significant protection against any type of covid-19 variant by omicron in any of those who have received the third vaccine. ros: we also heard from joe biden on this. he welcomed pfizer's announcement. president biden: i have some good news this morning that the pfizer lab report came back saying the expectation is that the existing vaccines protect against omicron, but if you get the booster, you are really in good shape. so that's very encouraging news. that's the lab report. there's more studying going on, but th

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.ility in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. president biden will host what he's calling a 'summit for democracy on friday�* as part of an effort to confront what he sees as authoritarian forces led by china and russia. those countries of course, are not on the guest list. but taiwan — which beijing considers its own territory will be taking part. i'm joined now by shelley rigger, professor of political science at davidson college, north carolina it's great to have you on the programme. in the first instance, the fact that china has not been invited, but taiwan has been. beijing is been positioning them to rally forces against them. how fair is that? i rally forces against them. how fair is that? ~ , rally forces against them. how fair is t

angela: this one is a good one. fred: hemp.now legal to grow in all states, its extracts sold for medicinal use. angela:my decision to go into hemp was driven by economics. for cbd hemp, the average farmer makes about $50,000 per acre. fred: dawson's farm is now the home base of a 33-member cooperative of minority-owned farms across the u.s. >> this is the brain of the operation. fred: the co-op guides members growing hemp on how to monitor the crop so it meets licensing standards. for medicinal cannabis. angela: we use regenerative practices, but we also use technology, and we don't want people to get into farming to be poor. fred: business has been great, she says. but that raised a red flag at one local bank, which closed her accounts. angela: the bank said that they thought i could be trafficking. so the criminal image that's associated with hemp and black people is really difficult for me to overcome. that is the resin and the medicine. so, it's ever after. but we're still working on the "happily" part. fred: is it somethi

angela: there is no prospect of ukraine joining nato. other european countries are against it. joe biden's said it's not happening at the current time. it's a way of getting the west to accept the fact that russia does have a right to its influence. we are not going to do that in so many words. he wants to get the west to understand he sees ukraine joining the west as a threat, particularly having nato weapons and nato military trainers working with them. that's a concern. he realizes the prospect of joining nato would be very far off. guy: it's a bigger risk to prudent, happens in ukraine is a democracy that starts to develop ingrained traction. vladimir putin his made it clear that he feels the russian sphere of influence is an area which democracy doesn't work. if it can be shown to work in ukraine, it can be shown it to work in russia. angela: imagine if we don't know who's going to win. we need a successful economy. at the moment, the economy in ukraine is not in great shape. that would be a threat to the system. i think that is a m

this letter sent by angela rayner _ this? they are.re. this letter sent by angela rayner asking whether - this? they are. this letter sent by l angela rayner asking whether they knew about these reported gatherings first reported by the daily mirror in the countdown to christmas last year. and whether they are willing to refer them to the metropolitan police given the suggestion on the face of it that covid regulations may have been broken. at the heart of all of this is the simple thought that if something looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks, in all likelihood it is a dark and so on that same measure, that same logic, if you look at the event that took place on the 18th of december last yearfor place on the 18th of december last year for downing street staff, the prime minister himself wasn't at that particular gathering, we know it took place in the evening, there were drinks, nibbles, games and it finished after midnight. how is that not a party? therefore how can it possibly be within the regulations at the time in lond

but angela rayner remains concerned.lt times of the pandemic, put their own lives at risk. i was a care worker myself and i know how devastating you feel if you even went in with a cough and cold and you thought that you gave it to someone. so i know care workers were very diligent in wanting to keep people safe. not only that they now had dodgy ppe, that left workers without the protective equipment that they deserved and needed, which again, could have put lives at risk. well, that's pretty alarming, isn't it? i mean, we wear ppe because we want it to protect us from getting covid. of course, if you're a doctor or a nurse, on the front line, you're at particular risk if you're dealing with covid patients. and what you're telling me suggests to me that they weren't getting proper ppe. they weren't getting stuff that was, erm, able to protect them from covid, they thought they were, but they weren't. last year, we were told to stay at home to protect the nhs and front—line workers. but government had its part to play. ou

but angela rayner remains concerned.ficult times of the pandemic, put their own lives at risk. i was a care worker myself and i know how devastating you feel if you even went in with a cough and cold and you thought that you gave it to someone. so i know care workers were very diligent in wanting to keep people safe. not only that they now had dodgy ppe, that left workers without the protective equipment that they deserved and needed, which again, could have put lives at risk. well, that's pretty alarming, isn't it? i mean, we wear ppe because we want it to protect us from getting covid. of course, if you're a doctor or a nurse, on the front line, you're at particular risk if you're dealing with covid patients. and what you're telling me suggests to me that they weren't getting proper ppe. they weren't getting stuff that was, erm, able to protect them from covid, they thought they were, but they weren't. last year, we were told to stay at home to protect the nhs and front—line workers. but government had its part to play

labour's angela rayner has been critical of the government's procurement practices in general.of what the government were up to and, unfortunately, it's notjust a one—off occurrence, we�*ve seen that billions of pounds have been wasted on contracts that were not fulfilled and, also, that the ppe couldn't be used. as well as criticising what she sees as waste, angela raynor has attacked the government for setting up a system that prioritised some companies over others — the so—called vip channel. according to a cabinet office report, companies could get in the fast lane if they were referred by a reliable source — like a government minister, a senior official, or an mp. angela rayner says the system was a bad one because it was based on who referred a company, rather than its track record. it's disgusting that at a time of a global pandemic when we should have been scrutinising more, and the national audit office have said we should be scrutinising what contracts we get, the government were actually creating a vip fast—track lane. many companies who had huge amounts of experienc

the german chancellor angela merkel says vaccines may become compulsory from february.the new variant, omicron, have now been confirmed in 2a countries. here's our medical editor fergus walsh. red alert in germany. intensive care staff at this bavarian hospital lit the wards red to warn germans of the threat from covid at its worst wave of infections so far. the government has announced a ban on the unvaccinated entering bars, restaurants and non—essential shops. translation: this is - the situation we are confronted with and it's also cleared what we need to achieve first. those who have not been vaccinated yet need to do so. and they could go further, with plans for vaccination to be made mandatory as early as february next year. germany's wave is being driven by the delta variant but omicron is continuing to spread globally with cases confirmed in more countries, including india and france. here, omicron and any future variants will be combated with yet more boosters, year after year if needed. all these jabs will be so—called mrna vaccines from pfizer and moderna, b

this man was once angela merkel�*s foreign policy adviser.and change. there are many people who like to have this type of stability in germany. after 16 years, the merkel era is over. earlier, she wished mr scholz luck. he will need it. germany is experiencing its worst covid wave to date. the chancellor's first task — to develop, like his predecessor, a reputation for managing a crisis. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin. a new milestone has been reached in the construction of barcelona's famous basilica, la sagrada familia. just in time for christmas, a colossal 12—point star, with a width of more than seven metres has been illuminated, perched on top of the newly completed tower of the virgin mary. tanya dendrinos reports. an imposing icon of the barcelona skyline. and this, the newest piece of the sagrada familia puzzle. the completed tower of the virgin mary adorned with 800 windows. on its pinnacle, a 5.5 ton, 12—point star illuminated for the first time. below, a sea of onlookers thankful to witness history. translation: it is like. an openi

eastern with a virtual event with angela davis. noam chomsky, angela davis, arundhati roy and winona laduke with others and musical performances. visit democracynow.org for details. we want to thank the thousands of people who have helped us over these 25 years, what an honor it has been to work with all of you and how many years more we look forward to. with my colleagues juan gonzalez and nermeen shaikh we thank you all for being with us for these 25 years. i'm amy goodman.

scholz was in angela merkel's government.t was a coalition. he was a trusted adviser of hers. she in some ways undermined her own party by tacitly supporting him. he keeps praising her. what explains -- in germany it seems as though of all of the countries the center is holding. why? >> i'd say, first of all, it has to do with our electoral system that we're used to a multiparty coalition. it will be a first this time with three parties in that coalition, but germans are used to parties having to find compromises. so it's not a two-party system as you know from the u.s. though and britain, so it is inherently less controversial and less polarized. all in all, we are lucky i think that the far right -- mustn't forget the far right got into parliament straight after the refugee crisis and has remained in parliament ever since. if they had a more charismatic leader, i think there would be more polarization in germany. luckily they don't and may that last very long. >> speaking of charismatic leaders, i don't think anyone would a

mark: angela merkel, outgoing german chancellor, reflecting on her time in office. she leaves officially today. russia and the united states are on a collision course over a border conflict in ukraine. a special meeting in sweden between u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and russian foreign minister sergei lavrov, strong warning for russia to stay away from ukraine, blinken waing if russia decides to pursue conflict with ukraine, there will be serious consequences, adding that the best way to avoid a crisis is diplomacy. they reply coming from moscow, the kremlin spokesperson saying the probability of conflict remains high. let's hear from both lavrov and blinken. >> they still seek to escalate the situation along our borders, and nato refuses to work with us on easing tensions. we propose specific measures in this regard, and the military potential in eastern europe and close to russian borders is increasing. every day, we hear statements, vociferous statements with threats against russia, which, of course, reflects the oecd. >> ukraine is in no way a threat t

i'm with brian brenberg and angela today.an, your reaction to what you just heard in terms of where we are as we see inflation as the biggest threat right now, for the consumer? >> brad's very optimistic about what the situation will be going into next year. i think people are a little bit more cautious about their situation. you would like to believe that jay powell, you would like to believe that the president of the united states understands the inflation problem and will do something about it, but the fact is what we give the average american confidence that our policy leaders know they are doing? they have been wrong on this for months and months and their solution, maria, is to spend trillions more. we are going to talk about this, more than they are willing to admit, they aren't even willing to admit how much money they will spend. are you telling me that's the solution for subdued inflation next year? i will believe it when i see because i don't buy it now. maria: we will talk about this ahead of the two day fed meeti

angela merkel�*s choice of music for the choreographed event raised some eyebrows.picked by mrs merkel herself. asked about the song you forgot the colour film, mrs merkel said it harked back to her younger days in east germany. i'm delighted to be joined by kati marton, author of the chancellor: the remarkable 0dyssey of angela merkel. i think it's remarkable after 16 years in power, i don't know about you but i don't know enough about angela merkel, who she likes her who she is our how she relaxes, who she warms to on the international stage with him she's an intensely private person isn't she? she with him she's an intensely private person isn't she?— person isn't she? she is. and all those questions _ person isn't she? she is. and all those questions were _ person isn't she? she is. and all those questions were be - person isn't she? she is. and all. those questions were be answered person isn't she? she is. and all- those questions were be answered in my book. the chancellor i have to say i spent five years trying to decode her but she does not want you to know

angela merkel honored by her country's military.d them to live with the lightness of heart and be optimistic about the future. a punk anthem was played at her request. she officially steps down next week. russia's foreign minister has warned europe can be returning to what he called the nightmare of military confrontation. at a security conference in sweden, sergei lavrov expressed fears about u.s. plans to place intermediate ranged nuclear missiles in europe. the u.s. secretary of state warned russia would face serious consequences if it were to ensue confrontation with ukraine. the u.s. and mixing governments agreed to reinstate the trump era policy known as remain in mexico. it means would-be be asylum-seekers who cross the u.s. on the border will be sent back to mexico waiting for a ruling on their case. joe biden had suspended the program, calling it inhumane. however, a court order forced his administration to reinstate it. you are watching bbc world news america. still to come on tonight's program. tech and taxis as kidnappin