Transcripts For BBCNEWS Outside Source 20201202

Opposition after it imposes prison they could all be used in one of the biggest logistical operations the country has seen. Sentences on three democracy activists. And the ski season has this will take a while before been cancelled in france and the everything changes. French authorities are trying to but we are hopeful that stop this is the beginning people from crossing the border into of the end of this very difficult year that weve had. Switzerland to continue their skiing adventures. A huge moment in the fight against covid 19. Britain has become the first country in the west to approve the use of a coronavirus vaccine. Uk regulators say the jab from pfizer and biontech is safe and that clears the way for a Mass Immunisation Programme to start next week. Lots of reaction to bring you. Heres the Prime Minister a little earlier. Im really lost in admiration for science and the ability of scientists to solve human problems in the way that they can. And this is not easy. Bear in mind, weve got a vaccine now for covid that really, really works. Theres no question that it works. But we havent got a vaccine for sars or mers or hiv. You know, this is a huge, huge, fantastic effort thats gone into this. The uks deputy chief medical officerjonathan van tam and sir simon stevens, chief executive of nhs england summed up the days achievements. It has now slowed down safely. It has now stopped in the station, and the doors have opened. That was the authorisation by the nhra. What we need now is for people to get on that train and travel safely to their destinations. Clinical trials showed that this vaccine is 95 effective when used in two doses. And as we heard there, in the uk the most vulnerable will receive it first. Heres the managing director of pfizer uk. Its an incredible moment for society and i really think this is now a turning point in the fight against this pandemic both here in the uk and across the globe. I couldnt be prouder right now. We are working to supply 800,000 doses this week to the nhs and were scaling up from there. Our intention is across the globe that this year, we will provide up to 50 million doses and through 2021, will provide 1. 3 billion doses around the world. More than 59,000 covid related deaths have been recorded in the uk. And while england hasjust finished its Second National lockdown it now begins a new range of restrictions that remain a long way from normal life. Which is the reaction of bbc radio 1 presenter greg james is one that a lot of people can relate to. Just to recap our top story, regulatora have approved just to recap our top story, regulators have approved of pfizer by untagged jab, saying its safe to be rolled out ah its 7 33 pm. Yeah yes va ci nation im feeling a little low key following on from greg. Well, the uk has pre ordered 40million doses of this vaccine. 10million will arrive by the end of the month. And this is the order in which people will get it. Nine groups are being prioritised. Top of this list are care homes and front line health and social care workers. Everyone will receive two doses 21 days apart. Only after those nine groups have been treated a second vaccination phase will begin. This is the chair of the committee that is deciding the priority list. This is phase one of the programme, in phase one, we hope that 90 99 of people who are at risk of dying from covid 19 will be included or covered. This Vaccination Programme is likely to be the biggest in the uks history. And the logistics are enormous. The vaccine will be administered via three main routes gps, hospitals and then temporary facilities in sports stadiums, car parks and shopping center. Also these nightingale hospitals which were designed to help with an overflow of patients at the height of the pandemic will also be used. Voluntees will also be crucial to the roll out. Around 30,000 are being recruited. Distribution is a key challenge too. The vaccine doses will be made in belgium. And it has to be transported from there in specially designed dry ice packs that can keep it at minus 70 degrees celsius. Heres pfizer uk again on these challenges. This is a really critical point. Once the vaccine actually reaches the site of deployments, the vaccine can be stored under refrigerated conditions, so between 2 8 degrees for up to five days, so thats a really important point. That will allow many populations across the uk to benefit from this vaccine. The Pfizer Biontech vaccine is the fastest ever to go from concept to reality. The whole process tookjust ten months. And the uk regulator that has given it the go ahead is the mhra. Drjune raine leads it. Separate teams have been working in parallel to deliver the most rigorous review of this vaccine. No corners have been cut. Our expert scientists and clinicians worked round the clock carefully, methodically, poring over tables and analysis and graphs on every single piece of data. Dr chris smith, a virologist based at cambridge university, and host of the naked scientists radio show. How will roll good to see you, chris. Thank you for your time. What are your feelings, what is your reaction to todays developments . Well, Boris Johnson said this is biological jujitsu at the downing street press conference. I think its a train for science. I think it shows what human endeavour when we all get together and Work Together can achieve. And its a wonderful Christmas Present which i think will be a huge shot in the arm not just which i think will be a huge shot in the arm notjust in stopping coronavirus but for boosting the nations morale at a time when we really need it. How do you see this vaccine being used alongside some of the other vaccines which were anticipating would be approved in the coming weeks and months . Well, its not a one horse race. And the possibility of having multiple options on the table puts us in a really strong position because it makes us resilient against supply and hold ups and supply. It makes us resilient against the fact that not all vaccines are going to suit eve ryo ne all vaccines are going to suit everyone optimally, and i suspect that over the coming days weeks and months, we are going to learn which vaccines work best in certain groups of people and at what doses. They merit be there for changes in which we deploy them and use them. So having multiple options that we can use makes us much more resilient and a lwa ys use makes us much more resilient and always a good thing. In terms of the messaging around this vaccine, what would you like the government to be saying to everyone about their prospects of taking it. The downing street the downing street press conference this afternoon, jonathan van and really emphasise the point that this is only going to work if people actually take it up. Therefore, i think its a legitimate concern among the government about uptake, because previous surveys in this country but also in america have suggested that there may be some vaccine hesitancy, people are sceptical and concerned because of the pace of development of these vaccines. Basically what normally ta kes te n vaccines. Basically what normally takes ten years has been achieved in ten months. People are therefore fewer fold that corners been cut. I think that was the point thatjune rain in the clip that you just played from the mhr a was to address. Corners havent been cut, theyve been able to streamline the process to really speed this through. So i think one of reassurance about safety is important, and the fact that this will only work if we all Work Together to get it into the people who need it and also people who are for those people who need it. Ultimately come as many people as possible to stop the fire circulating. If we do that as soon as possible, we can all get back to normal as soon as possible. Chris, you will be staying with us. Inc. You very much for the moment. This announcement that the uk had approved the vaccine before any other country rapidly become political and intertwined with brexit. Talking earlier, health secretrary matt hancock said. Another senior conservative Jacob Rees Mogg tweeted a similar message. But brexit isnt directly connected to whats happenend. The uk remains in a brexit transition period under which is follows most eu regulations and processes. Under eu rules, a vaccine must be authorised by the european medicines agency. However individual countries can use a procedure that lets them diverge from this in health emergencies. The head of the uk agency that took todays decision has told us. The one january being when the brexit transition period ends. So in fact any eu country could have used this same emergency law and fast tracked the process. Heres dr peter liese who is a member of the european parliament. Germany, my country, would also have the option. Its not a brexit issue. European law allows emergency authorisation, but germany is not doing it, like many other European Countries, because we think an approval with the European Medical Agency is more safe and also gives more liability to the company. So, i think its problematic because the risk is higher than after approval of the European Medical Agency and the liability for the company is not there when emergency authorisation is given. And bbc reality check has also looked at this. Its full assessment is online. It concludes. The fact that the uk is the first country in the world to approve this vaccine has got nothing directly to do with brexit. So that clears that up. Even the way the uk announced regulator approval has drawn some criticism the uks business secretary tweeted that the uk was first to sign a deal with Pfizer Biontech and is now the first to deploy it, but then added. Germanys ambassador to the uk, andreas michaelis, responded. Heres Damian Mcguiness on biontech, and the couple who founded it. The Company Biontech was only founded in 2008, it was founded by a german turkish couple, professor sahin who came to germany when he was four with his father who came to work and a german carfactory here. In a german car factory here. He later became a doctor, became a very famous cancer researcher. And was responsible for some quite round breaking technology. He then set up with his wife, who is also a researcher and scientist, also very renowned in herfield, the Company Biontech, only in 2008. Now, they originally were focusing on some quite cutting edge cancer research. They then segued at the beginning of this year to trying to find a vaccine using similar technology. Professor sahin says that as soon as he read about what was happening in china, in wuhan, right at the big about what was happening in china, in wuhan, right at the beginning of the pandemic, he read about it in the lancet, and he says that straightaway, he took all the resources of biontech , which are relatively small pharma start up to put it right into creating a vaccine. Now, of course, that this relatively Small Company has suddenly become world renowned. And this couple, the german turkish couple who founded the company are now among the 100 richest people in germany. While the uk will be the First Western country to roll out a vaccine, both china and russia have already been distributing their own vaccines before final trials have finished. And today Vladimir Putin ordered mass vaccinations in russia to Begin Next Week using sputnik vee vaccine. These are pictures of volunteers being given it after it was registered for use in august. Today russias Health Minister presented it to the Un General Assembly ahead of who approval. The vaccine has received a certificate on the 11th of august. Under emergency rules adopted during the covid 19 pandemic, it can be used to vaccinate the population. We are going to increase the production of the vaccine in russia and globally. It currently ranks among top candidate vaccine approaching the end of Clinical Trials at the start of mass production on the World Health Organisation list. Dr chris smith, a virologist based at cambridge university, and host of the naked scientists radio show. Chris, how do you assign assess how they are going about the distribution of their vaccines . Well, there was concern early on in this because they appeared to be just ploughing their way without too much heat or regard for the way that we normally do this internationally seeking the right approvals, taking the right trial processes and so on for many think its quite telling that when Vladimir Putin was asked the other day, have you have the vaccine, actually, it was replayed oii vaccine, actually, it was replayed on his behalf, they said no, he hasnt. 0ne on his behalf, they said no, he hasnt. One wonders why such a staunch advocate for the technology hasnt yet received the vaccine himself. We havent had a sexist soak next satisfactory answer yet. I think the fact that satisfactory answer yet. Other rival products have been through procedures and through large scale trials, thats more reassuring. So we know that we dont have to resort to things that might be slightly shaky ground in terms of regulation on technology. They will probably sort this out, but in the early days, people were very concerned about it for that reason. Chris, thank you very much for your help. We met pleasure. Pleasure. For your help. We met pleasure. Pleasure. Lets talk about covid 19 in a different way. France has announced its imposing random border checks to stop people going to ski in neighbouring switzerland. Already france has decided to shut its ski lifts until the new year to stop the spread of covid. Germany and italy are doing the same. But swiss slopes are already open and the concern is french skiers will simply nip across the border. Heres the french Prime Ministerjean castex being quizzed on it on bfmtv. That means if im a french person andi that means if im a french person and i want to ski and i get checked by the police then you will be tested and placed in a seven day quarantine, that clear . What happens to me . The conclusion we get from this, mr, is that you will not go to switzerland. The ski season at christmas and the new year is a vital part of the economy for many European Countries and theres anger at frances decision to shut its ski lifts. These images are from a resort of bourg d0isans workers and skiers are protesting the closure. And this is the town hall of chatel in france which has draped swiss flags from its windows in protest. Chatel is among a number of resorts which straddles the border. Its mayor says. Germany has been pushing for an agreement with eu countries to keep ski resorts closed until early january remember switzerland is not in the eu. And theres good reason to focus on them some of the early covid hotspots were at ski resorts some were thought to contribute to the initial spread of the virus across europe. The most notorious outbreak was at the austrian resort of ischgl visitors from 45 countries said they caught coronavirus. The austrian government is now facing possible compensation claims from thousands of people who allege it didnt act quickly enough. Both france and italy support the co ordinated approach. Last week, italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. But spain and austria are keen not to shut their slopes entirely. Austria has Just Announced that ski slopes will open for domestic use on 24th of december. Hotels a nd restau ra nts will stay closed though until the 7th of january. Its also announced a quarantine until tenth january for people coming from countries with more than 100 cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks this includes germany and italy. Lets speak to bethany bell who is with us in vienna. Bethany, given that these resorts were at the heart of the early days of the pandemic, what is the argument for taking the chance to keep them open . Well, if you have to look at the details of this. Austria has said that the ski slopes will be open, but hotels and restau ra nts slopes will be open, but hotels and restaurants will be closed until at least the 7th of january and also the quarantine rules compound that by making skiing holidays pretty much virtually impossible over the christmas holidays, because under the quarantine rules. A country with a high level of infection which is most of europe at the moment, you would have to quarantine for ten days here in austria. You could test your way out early if you test negative after five days, but if there are no hotels for you to stay and, if there are no restaurants, basically, with the austrians have said today is if you are a local and you live close enough to ski run for a day trip, then you can go skiing because its an activity that takes place outdoors, but there is no restau ra nts, place outdoors, but there is no restaurants, theres nowhere to stay, so basically, its locals only. Bethany, can you help me understand how important, what the contribution is of ski resorts to the broader economy in austria . Its hugely important for austria. Its really a very, very significant part of this countrys economy, and there had been a lot of pressure. A lot of them had put a lot of thought about putting ways of keeping distance, to make sure people wore masks on key to ski lifts, but the infection rates in austria and across so much of europe are just too high at the moment. The government says that they will make sure that these places stay shut until the second week of january, and they could open them then if the infection rates allow. Now, austria is just about to come out of a very Strict Lockdown on the 7th of december of people pretty much staying at home as much as possible and shops are going to reopen on the 7th of december. Children will start going back to school again, but restau ra nts going back to school again, but restaurants in the whole of the country are going to stay shut and the ski resorts crucially too. The hope is that if the country can keep infection rates down and not to have lots of people crossing borders number then they might be able to open things up injanuary. Bethany, thank you very much indeed. Joshua wong, one of hong kongs most prominent pro democracy activists, is beginning a 13 and a half month prison sentence connected to over last years Anti Government protests. These pictures show him being taken into jail alongside ivan lam hes in the brown jacket one of two others who was also convicted. All three are Young Hong Kongers in their 20s and played a major role in the democracy movement. Here they are at a Court Hearing earlier in the year alongside agnes chow. She was given ten months in jail. Joshua wong is in the middle here. They were all found guily of Unlawful Assembly for their role in the mass protests. The sentencing magistrate said. Joshua mack the neck the neck joshua wong gave an interview to the bbc in the run up to sentecing, and said hes been living under intense surveilance by the police. After National Security law is implemented, activists in hong kong, a normal daily life of being traced by unknown private car, day by day, and its hard to guarantee our personal safety, when will be the day that they extradite and physically kidnap you from hong kong to Mainland China . The uk foreign secretary dominic raab responded to the sentencing saying. Nathan law is a democracy activist who founded the Demosisto Party alongsidejoshua wong and agnes chow back in 2016. Hes currently in london having gone into exile earlier this year. Nathan, thank you very much for joining us. Did you agree with the decision by these three to plead guilty and expose themselves to a potential prison sentence . Well, of course, i believe they have a detailed with their lawyers and they plead guilty because of they think its in their best interest, because if they plead guilty, they could sentence cuts. The politicians decision. 0bviously, sentence cuts. The politicians decision. Obviously, its a strict sentencing. The government has been using the courts and judicial system to release protesters and send a strong signal that they are stifling the whole society. When you hear me reading that statement from the uk, do you have any hope that the uk and its western allies are able to exert any pressure on to beijing over the treatment of pro democracy activists . Well, of course, for the past few months, we could see that the pressure from the western democracy is actually piling up. We have been witnessing more and more strong statements and policies of, for example, chinese enterprise locally and also uplifting the treaty with hong kong etc, so i believe that in the future, that will be more responses from the uk and from the rest of European Countries and the us. Do you think its not necessary to assess how pro democracy activists in hong kong go about making about their point . Do they need to change tactics from what they tried last year . Well, weve all been trying to adopt the new political norms set by the National Security law will stop some have left like me and some stay on the ground, but carefully choosing words and actions. For now, i think it is crucial for us to continuously monitor the situation because there isa monitor the situation because there is a possibility thatjoshua, ivan, they are prosecuted under the National Security law, which the sentence could pile up and to be honest, we dont know when they will come out, if beijing chooses that route. And we only have a minute left, but when you are in touch with people in hong kong, do they say they intend to continue pushing for democracy, continue to criticise the authorities . Well, of course. I think the government tried to put these people in jail to think the government tried to put these people injail to set think the government tried to put these people in jail to set an example. But on the other hand, if you could see how tough and how persistent this trio are, that could really ignite the anger and the commitment of people and that could revitalise the movements, or at least make people to continuously campaignfor least make people to continuously campaign for these three people. So i believe that the movement will still go on and it will come back stronger in the future. Nathan, thank you very much indeed for speaking to outside source. We appreciate it. Thats nathan log giving his reaction to the jailing of three pro democracy activists in hong kong. Iwill see of three pro democracy activists in hong kong. I will see you of three pro democracy activists in hong kong. Iwill see you in of three pro democracy activists in hong kong. I will see you in a few minutes time. Hello there. Over the next few days, the weather is going to take on more of a wintry flavour. Now, today we had a band of card producing a little light rain now, today we had a band of cloud producing a little light rain or drizzle thats been moving through the midlands and should be clearing away from southeastern parts of england this evening. Following on from that, though, we got some showers as the airs got colder. A lot of showers, actually across western parts of scotland, and we are all going to feel cold over the next couple days or so. Wetter weather arriving, most of it will be rain, there will be sleet in there, snow is more likely over the hills, particularly in the north. That colder air has been sweeping its way down across the country, we develop an area of low pressure. Thats responsible for the wetter weather and the threat of some snow as well. That colder snowy weather is starting to arrive, actually, in the showers across Northern Ireland, but particularly in scotland to quite low levels. And its going to be icy as well for scotland and Northern Ireland. Here, were more likely to have a frost. Not quite as cold for england and wales. Cloud will be increasing later on in the night, and well see some wetter weather coming into wales and the southwest. A wet day here, i think, on thursday. That cloud and outbreaks of rain push through the midlands towards east anglia on the southeast. Towards east anglia and the southeast. Northern england, something a bit brighterfor a while, but a few wintry showers. The wintry showers in scotland and Northern Ireland should get pushed away, so its turning drier through the day with more sunshine. But its going to be cold here. Temperatures onlyjust a few degrees above freezing. The highest temperatures will be towards the south coast of england, where we have rain developing, of course. And we could see some heavy rain tomorrow night in the southeast of england. This weather system around the low pressure though could be more significant in scotland and bring some travel disruption. Snow falling early in the morning, quite widely in scotland, some heavierfalls over the hills. Tending to turn back to rain through the day. And near the center of the low, weve got this weather stuck in Northern England, the midlands and east anglia. Thats going to bring a bit of snow to the high ground and could bring some sleet to lower levels as well. Now, the details still could change, but at the moment, it looks drier across south wales and the southwest of england. Still a cold day everywhere and windy around coastal areas as well. Now, as we head into the weekend, things start to calm down a bit. Were still in the cold air, mind you, but it is gradually turning drier. Still some patchy, what is mostly rain, i think, on saturday, looks generally dry though on sunday. The winds are falling lighter as well, still chilly by day, and a risk of frost at night. Hello, im ros atkins, this is 0utside source. Britain becomes the first country in the west to approve a vaccine for coronavirus. We had been waiting and hoping for the day when the searchlights of science would pick out our invisible enemy and now their scientists have done it. The uk will start mass immunisation from next week with people in care homes first in line, for protection. The secretary general of the United Nations tells the bbc the world faces a moment of truth on Climate Change. Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back and is doing so with Gathering Force and fury. A former internet use one of the biggest tv stars of Sexual Harassment and cream meat, meat made ina harassment and cream meat, meat made in a laboratory for muscle cells have been approved for sale in singapore. We will speak to this ceo. 2020 is on track to be the third hottest year ever recorded according to a new report from the World Meterological Organisation. And today the secretary general of the United Nations has told the bbc that the planet is broken. He was speaking as part of a bbc special event on the environment heres some of what he had to say. The state of our planet is broken. Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back and is doing so with Gathering Force and fury. Biodiversity is collapsing, deserts are spreading, oceans are choking with Plastic Waste and in 30 years there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. And this is the secretary general on what needs to happen next. The greyling net zero correlation is sending a signal to finance l minister is and its time to put a pause on car again and enforce full subsidies, to stop building new coal power plants, to shift the burden from income to carbon and from taxpayers to polluters. To make climates related financial risk disclosure is mandatory and integrate the goal of carbon into all economic and fiscal deposit policies and decisions. Banks must outline their lending to the global net zero directive and managers must de carbonize their portfolios. Lets look at how 2020 fits into temperature patterns. This map shows the areas where theres the most difference between the long term average temperatures and today. As you can see, siberia in russia has seen particularly high increases. And those higher temperatures bring environmental consequences. Justin rowlatt explains. The effects can be devastating. With drought, flooding, and asked him whether becoming more common. This year we had seen wildfires across the world in australia, california, brazil, and even in siberia which recorded a sweltering 38 celsius, the highest average temperature north of the arctic circle. Experts say this would have been almost impossible without human caused Climate Change. The World Meterological Organisation says that warming is continuing to cause ice to melt in many parts of the world. That includes greenland, where around 152 billion tonnes of ice were lost in the year to august 2020. And in the arctic circle, the melting is affecting indigenous communities. This is megan dicker, an inuk from north labrador in canada. We use the ice to travel to our hunting grounds and to communities on the coast and we use that i spent most of the year for these reasons and the ice is thinner and harder to predict and we have predicted the art of ice conditions and its safety and the cause of Climate Change its harder to navigate. That melting leads to rising sea levels and on the other side of the world in the south pacific, thats having an impact too. Heres a climate campaigner from the soloman islands. By by 2014 its completely submerged underwater taking with it not only this important land and Marine Resources but also more importantly our culture and identity and our history and this is happening throughout the Solomon Islands and many of the items affected in that way as well. Among those calling for urgent action is the broadcaster sir david attenborough. Hes sat down with the uns Antonio Guterres to discuss the issues, and he pulled no punches on what he thinks about the future. Never before has it been necessary for all the nations of the world, big, small, north, south, developed, less developed, never before has it been so important that there should been so important that there should bea been so important that there should be a debating grounds where we can all talk and come to an agreement. The less we are likely the lost we are lost. But sir david and mr guterres both sounded hopeful that momentum for change is building. It is particularly impressive amongst younger people. After all it is their world, is that teenagers today who are really going to have today who are really going to have to face the consequences of what we do now. I must say i was extremely impressed by the movement of young people last year. Our generation to a large extent has failed. We are still on time to avoid the worst but it is there generation that is now telling us what to do and i must say even when i talk with my granddaughter who is very young i have a lot to learn with them. But for some, the criticism is that theres too much talk around this issue, when more action is needed. Greta thunberg tweeted if only words, pledges and setting distant hypothetical targets actually lowered our emissions then we wouldnt still be in this mess. The longer we pretend we can fix this without treating the crisis like a crisis, the more invaluable time well lose. Justin rowlatt, bbcs chief environment correspondent. I feel like we have talked about this a few times over the last couple of years but the language becomes more and more stark from the un, doesnt it . Yes, this is the most powerful exposition of the crisis that faces the world that i think ive ever heard from anyone in the un and it was also a very rousing call to action. What mr geter is listing if he wants to put faith in Climate Change right at the heart of the un mission and thats absolutely crucial. We do face and we had a chat before he said to me he thought this was the battle of his life tackling Climate Change and he also said as far as he is concerned this is a make or break year because of course we have the big Climate Conference in glasgow coming up in november next year so this is part of the beginning of the obituary trying to draw the world together get them to make these big commitments and be net zero correlation that he described. When they come here to britain, to glasgow in november 2021 the idea is they will bring their most ambitious commitments to cutting carbon and this is really part of an effort to whip them into place. I was quite surprised that the main text and then he called out the countries, then he called out the countries, the particular countries that he really does want to withdraw into the fold. He mentioned russia, india, indonesia, australia and brazil are also countries that have made net zero pages so that is unusualfor a made net zero pages so that is unusual for a un secretary general and they dont nobody want to single out and humiliate countries publicly so again that is a measure of how seriously he takes this and how much he regards this as the central objective of the United Nations. But isnt the point is that the point that Greta Thunberg makes that aid in that she says look how we have responded to coronavirus with an urgency that a crisis brings but we dont bring that same intensity to a response to Climate Change. We see it as response to Climate Change. We see itasa response to Climate Change. We see it as a long term challenge. Response to Climate Change. We see it as a long term challengem response to Climate Change. We see it as a longterm challenge. It is ina it as a longterm challenge. It is in a sense a long term challenge because so much more needs to be done to tackle the problem of Climate Change and i think theres another way to look at this time its really important that we have activists like greta holding our feet to the fire and sing at a World Community you guys need to do more but that another way of looking at that which is this year has seen the European Union commit to a net zero approach and we have seen china commit toa approach and we have seen china commit to a net zero pledge and we have seen america commits to a net zero pledge, japan, south korea, hundred and ten other countries all say they want to reduce Carbon Emissions to net zero around the middle of the century. That is a huge change. That alone is a coalition that encompasses two thirds of the world gdp. Something like that. We have never seen that before. So that is a positive thing andi before. So that is a positive thing and i think what its really important that we recognise the need for urgent action the should be applied in countries like china when they come forward and say they want and it is kind of commitments. I think in that sense there is hope for optimism. And there is cause for optimism i should say. That is a good note to finish on. We will build up to glasgow of course. Lets talk about president ial pardons. Donald trump only has a few weeks left as president and its common for outgoing president s to issue pardons before leaving office. Well this issue is already taking on various dimensions. These unsealed Court Papers Show that investigators have been looking into secret lobbying scheme possibly involving bribes and attempts to contact white house officials. You can see a lot of the details have been redacted but were told no individuals are named and no Government Official is being investigated. President trump referred to the investigation as fake news what is certainly true is that last week he pardoned his former National Security adviser michael flynn. Hed been convicted of lying to the fbi. Also the New York Times is reporting that President Trump has discussed pardons for his 3 eldest children and his personal lawyer rudy giuliani. Though none are accused of a crime let alone convicted of one. I should add pre emptive pardons are unusual but there is precedent. In 1974, president ford, whos in the left here, pre emptively pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon whos on the right that ended any possibility of prosecution following the watergate scandal that brought president nixon down. But what about the president himself . Well his supporters feel hes under pressure unfairly. This is fox news host sean hannity after hed suggested that president Electjoe Biden would never stop the witch hunt against President Trump. Certainly there is pressure though theres no evidence of it any thats what they want to do, i would tell trump part in yourself and part in yourfamily. Tell trump part in yourself and part in your family. These tell trump part in yourself and part in yourfamily. These people tell trump part in yourself and part in your family. These people are based on a funny dossier. Certainly there is pressure though theres no evidence of it any of it is coming from joe biden. Heres New York Times magazine back in november saying no ex president has ever been indicted before, but no president has ever left office with so much potential criminal liability. Anthony zurcher, dc. Why is there potential liability . In that New York Times article they mention Donald Trump Jr and in that New York Times article they mention donald trumer and his contacts with russian nationals and russian officials during the 2016 president ial campaign which was investigated by special counsel robert mother but no charges were brought against him. Jared kushner there are some questions about whether he was forthright on his security clearance application. He was given a security clearance a nyway was given a security clearance anyway but misrepresenting on documents and could be charged as a crime. As far as eric trump goes or ifi crime. As far as eric trump goes or if i could trump the questions about liability and criminal liability there. There is no specifics although trump businesses are under investigation for potential tax fraud and charities misrepresenting charities by new york state investigators. A party and would not cover state prosecutions. Thats only forfederal cover state prosecutions. Thats only for federal prosecutions. In terms of the parties that he may issue,is terms of the parties that he may issue, is there anything unusual about doing that . President s do tend to have a several pardons before the end of their term if you remember george w. Bush pardon Caspar Weinberger who had ties to the enron scandal and bill clinton pardoned a democratic donor but donald trump has been pardoning people who are directly or involved in controversies surrounding him and have been asked to testify and frequently have refused to testify in investigation of Donald Trumps on presidency. That does seem unusual to say the least and in fact Donald Trumps pardons have been unusual throughout the course of his presidency pardoning their sheriff from arizona and people like Susan B Anthony and for boxers and people who caused celebs and seven conservative right. There is a process for pardoning which donald trump has gone around that the constitution does give president s rather broad pardoning powers. There are no details in the constitution about what the president can and cannot do with a pardon at least in regards to federal pardons. We will talk about an extraordinary story and you will find out if you meet is the future of food but we will also talk about what the pictures are about which is a very high profile case involving allegations of Sexual Harassment in china. The decorations are up, the effect discounts are on and left town is listed. County durham is in the highest tier 3 level of restrictions but for retailers here and its a relief to be trading again. But for retailers here and its a relief to be trading againm but for retailers here and its a relief to be trading again. It was so difficult it was one of the busiest months of retail for trade self we really need to get december people out spending money. We have taken such a massive hit this year and some of the big a chance we dont have the financial spot that they get so we would lose a lot of our local independent businesses if people dont start come back. There is pent up demand. In birmingham they queued before dawn for primark and on oxford street, trade was brisk but its been a difficult week for retail. The collapse of the m ms and arcadia, the owner of brands like topshop and Dorothy Perkins has put 25,000 jobs at risk. The demise of these retail giants will leave a big hole here in Newcastle City Centre and on high streets across britain. Today, they went into administration with 1500 staff affected. But Shopping Centres are trying to sparkle. Tier 3 rules mean shops at the metro centre in gateshead can open and cafes can only do take away. I went to had a sandwich but when we got outside that was a bit difficult. They shop is so quiet. It used to be quite busy. There is a lot more in the shops i think that we can get online. Managers hope longer Opening Hours will boost sales and stories can trade you for hours a day. The uk has become the first country to approve a vaccine for coronavirus. 800,000 doses of pfizers jab will be rolled out starting next week. Singapore has given Regulatory Approvalfor the worlds first clean meat thats a phrase used to describe lab grown meat. In this case chicken grown using animal muscle cells. Heres some of the promotional material that comes with it the meat is made by the Californian Company east just and it will initially be used in nuggets. Its the first time that meat produced without the slaughter of an animal has been approved for sale by a regulatory authority. Mariko oi is in singapore. The company in the past has said that it may have to set it around 50 each. The cost has apparently come down quite a lot so the meat will likely be priced at a price of premium taken when it launches at a restau ra nt premium taken when it launches at a restaurant in singapore. From the governments point of view its approval is likely to attract the competitors to set up operations in the city. It could also prompt other countries to approve the product as well. Josh tetrick, ceo of eatjust, os its been about four years in research and development and two yea rs research and development and two years for the regulatory process and on thanksgiving we heard we got the go ahead so its more importantly a start for the food system. We can do a lot better than the thin doing so this is a door open and taking advantage of that. Tell us about the door you see opening. Why has this changed so much . The door i see opening is a door at and a lot of companies can walk through to eventually build a world where the majority of meats and you can see them and i consider them in all our families consume is not require killing a single animal or a single acre of ra i nforest killing a single animal or a single acre of rainforest and mitigates the rise of diseases and a taste like chicken and beef and even more cost effective. Thats why this is such a big deal. Its up to us now that we have got this history making approval to walk through. We have got to stand up and reduce cost and be open with consumers about why its meat from my chicken is better than a conventional approach and we think we can do that. He successfully made the case to one regulator. There are many regulators who are still looking at you meats and deciding what to do about it. What are the reservations and concerns you hear about this product. The biggest reservation is for thousands of years in order to eat a piece of chicken or beef you had to can bash to an animal and we have gotte n had to can bash to an animal and we have gotten lots of animals in tiny spaces and created an industrialised animal Production System with all theissues animal Production System with all the issues that come around with that. I think this is new and as we have seen in singapore when we can be up and about the process which is you get a cell from an animal you identify new trends to feed the sale and you scale it up in a cree manufacturing environment and if you look at that salmonella and fecal contamination is significantly better than a conventional need to production and if you look at sustainability. 90 less water, land, Carbon Emissions, these are the kinds of things he will talk to regulators about and what will happen in the us and western europe and elsewhere people are going to wa nt to and elsewhere people are going to want to follow singapores believe. Singapore should not be the only place that is creating the future on this planet. I am curious. This is chicken are you working on other meats as well . Have beef coming right after that. We had a beef line from northern care california and a species in japan from northern care california and a species injapan so we are excited to evolve at all next. In china, a court case with the potential to define the future of the Metoo Movement in china has begun. At its centre is this manjoo jun. Hes a major star on chinese tv. And hes accused of groping and forcibly kissing a young intern while she was working at the state broadcaster. That allegation dates back six years. And today his accuser jo szhiarr szhien was in court. As you can see, she was emotional as people turned up to support her. At the time of the alleged incident, she says she went to the police but they encouraged her not to file a complaint because of, in their words the positive impact mr zhu made on society. It took another four years, and the many stories about harvey weinstein, that she decided to act. She had this to say in the run up to the hearing. No matter whether we win or lose the case it has meaning. If we win it would be an inspiration. If we lose it allows the questions we raised at least to remain in history. Someone would have to give us an answer. He denies the allegations and is condescending for damage to his application and its very rare for cases like this to get this far in china and he said she hopes other woman may find the courage to complain if they have been harassed at work but chinese when they let also have seen this today. A plainclothes policeman outside the court went down the line of me to support their is telling them to put their banners away and threatening to confiscate them and the parties led away and some for internists who are covering the case. I understand the plaintiff, her nickname, she might not a childhood friend plus the story of sexual abuse survivor estate she made a post to detail the encounter of the action of the tv host in 2014 and the post went out 2018 and went viral on chinese internet. This is partially because Sexual Harassment is the big social taboo in china and this is the culture that usually beams were manned by the demand for sexual abuse so very rarely use the a survivor especially young women to tell others about their cases left alone to File Lawsuits and also another reason why this case has received so much attention is because of the defendant. The 50 year old tv host. He is the face of the national tv. To put this in contact context. The most popular show on chinese tv and this man has emceed based show not only once but 21 times and mixing the base of the National Broadcaster so he is very well known and that makes the case under even greater light. So its a huge story. I know there were new laws led reference to social harassment in china earlier this year. A baby help us understand how this ended up in court . Not until may date then law you mentioned was passed. The china have any specific Legal Definition of what constitutes Sexual Harassment and seeing as the new law was passed, we had seen a small increase of Sexual Harassment cases tried in chinese courts. So that certainly plays a part in this case and also the Public Interest and all the Media Attention might also be crucial in this case. Just briefly, what is the time frame on this case, how long would it take to pay out . Its unclear at this moment they try it lasts more than ten hours today and is being adjourned as we understand and the plaintiff has requested the defendants here the courts and we understand we may see more here in the coming days. Thank you very much for staying with me throughout the site if you were nuts with us at the beginning i read the story is that the uk is giving Regulatory Approval to the Pfizer Vaccine and found next week a Mass Communication programme will begin with people in care homes and people who work in the Health Sector and the social care sector being prioritised. Much more about that of course and all the stories on the bbc website and ill see you soon. Goodbye. Over the next few days the weather will take on more of a ring we favour and today we had a band of crowd producing light rain or drizzle moving through the midlands and should be clearing away from southeastern parts of england this evening. Following from that we had showers as the air got colder across less tha n showers as the air got colder across less than parts of scotland and he will feel cold over the next couple of days myself and lets lay arriving, most of it will be rain with seats and snow might likely of a hero particularly in the north. That cold air is being sleeping its way down across the country and we develop an area of low pressure and the effects of some snow as well. And the cold snowy weather starting to arrive in the showers but particularly in scotland to quite low levels and it will be icy as well for scotland and Northern Ireland here with more likely to have a frost not quite as cold for england and wales. Cloud will be increasing later in the night and wet weather coming into wales and the south place. Wet bay here. Crowded outbreaks of rain. Northern england something brighter for a while but if you enter a showers and scotla nd while but if you enter a showers and scotland and Northern Ireland to get pushed away turning dry through the day with my sunshine. It will be called here and temperature as a few degrees and we have got rain developing of course. We could see heavy rain tomorrow night in the southeast of england and its letter system around could be more significant in scotland and bringing some travel disruption. Snow falling earlier in the morning by being scotla nd earlier in the morning by being scotland and tending to turn back through the day and we have got this wet weather is stuck in Northern England and east anglia and it will bring snow to the high ground and can bring some seats to low levels as well. The details could change and steer a cold day everywhere and windy around coastal areas as well. As we head into their weekend things start to calm down a bit and we ask skin and the cold air and turning dryer. Mostly rain on saturday and generally dry on sunday and bring falling later as well. Take the baby 00 58 35,055 4294966103 13 29,430 and risk a frost at night