Russia soon were going to look at the potential for economic sanctions. Also in the show tech stocks took a tumble in the u. S. Dragging Global Markets down with them is it just a blip or a reality check. This is the business im rob whats in berlin its great to have you with us german politicians are turning up the pressure on north stream to some of them want the pipeline project which would deliver russian gas to germany and beyond to be stopped over the poisoning of prominent kremlin critic alexina valmy significant opposition from Eastern European countries and the United States has already seen work in the baltic sea frozen with a pipeline 90 percent complete. When this 480 kilometer long stretch of pipeline is finished it will transport gas from the controversial nord stream to pipelines terminus in northern germany to the south the oil gold pipeline will then carry fossil fuel energy on to countries including the Czech Republic and italy the pipeline operators are based in castle at germanys geographical center. The fact that north stream tos future is in doubt is going to have a knock on effect here but managers here dont want to talk about maybe scenarios where. Were building the live one which is effectively 2 lines next to each other the 1st line is already in operation and transporting gas the 2nd string will be finished at the end of this year we already have bookings for both strings and we remain confident the pipeline will be well used. Russian gas will flow south through pumping stations like this one for years the Czech Republic has been getting russian gas through the north stream one pipeline the Czech Company net for gas sins 80 percent of russian gas deliveries on to slovakia austria and italy for a fee its a lucrative business with high tax revenues so the czech government wants north stream to. In 20202123 the long Term Contracts we need for gas has from from the from the past work and saw for us as i said the beginning is important you know to keep the flow through the Czech Republic so we support that we support this year. This brings prague into opposition with neighboring poland and the Baltic States which are fiercely opposed to north stream to these countries are worried the Energy Sector is too dependent on russia in prague on the other hand the baltic sea pipeline is viewed pragmatically. The seems to be a silent country insists case. Its position is quite clear notice that even to put all the is economy could have been official for our country. Will the expensive north stream 2 systems on the baltic coast ever become operational the gas customers south of germany are the most concerned about the debate on whether to end the pipeline project. Lets speak to Energy Economist cloudier can fit on this thanks for joining us claudia could political pressure ever realistically stop north stream to. Well its becoming more and more likely that the pipeline might be completely stopped for the last few meters we have to say but 1st the americans did Everything Possible to stop the pipeline construction and now theyre serious geo political crowds calling calling also for sanctions against russia over us we see germany will probably have but little interest in stopping the pipeline now because it could also harm the German Companies so to me its more likely that other sanctions might be imposed but the discussion about stopping the construction of right now is good good and right but just does germany still need this pipeline i mean its energy needs are already being met and its causing an awful lot of political tension. Why we dont need this pipeline there is enough gas supply in germany but also in europe and that can be assured even without the 2nd string of this pipeline the pipeline is unnecessary its expensive and it contradicts the goals of the Energy Transition the climate protection and also the goals tools would diversify the natural gas supplies and the demand for natural gas will in the future decline to meet the paris climate lucian of the climate agreement and the existing infrastructure we have sufficient for the supply yeah you mentioned climate goals there it is almost a decade since they 1st started planning on stream 2 and priorities have changed when it comes to energy is this an opportunity for germany to rethink its approach. Absolutely to comply with the paris climate agreements we have to switch necessarily to Renewable Energies anyway and now we could speed up this process so we need a rapid realisation of the Energy Transition right now so the best answer to fossil energy wars as we see right now is the Energy Transition and the focus on Renewable Energies. Well chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the pipeline will go ahead but when that will happen we just dont seem to know yet Energy Economist cloudier kemper thanks a lot for joining us here on d w business thank you now the European Union says its not ruling out imposing sanctions on russia over the poisoning of alexina valmy the case is already having an Economic Impact in the country the value of the ruble plummeted after german doctors treated in a valley and concluded that hed been poisoned with norfolk chalk a further escalation could prompt Foreign Investors to pull out of russia the economic consequences of the poisoning of Opposition Leader alexina vonnie could be significant the rewards already plunged to its lowest level since the height of the corona virus pandemic in the spring. Despite that some russians are taking the threat of new western sanctions in stride. Right the government says that our economy is improving due to the sanctions and we are beginning to look like a developed country rather than a gas station so we are not afraid of any sanctions. So i think some sanctions will be imposed and the whole situation is quite tragic there will be a reaction that causes some issues we already have some problems with the Currency Exchange rate its quite worrisome. Because. The e. U. And the us have had sanctions targeting whole sectors of the russian economy in place since 2014 when russia annexed crimea for the sanctions could have a massive impact on the economy german investors withdrew more than a 1000000000 euros of Investment Capital in the 1st quarter of this year largely because of the political situation. Now time for a look at some of the other Global Business stories that are making the news german manufacturing orders have risen for the 3rd month in a row following a devastating decline during the coronavirus and the value of orders rose nearly 3 percent but that is slightly less than expected still rising orders are an important sign that germanys most Important Industries are getting back on track. The Trump Administration is canceling some of the 3000000000. 00 worth of contracts to buy ventilators ordered months ago the white house says the National Stockpile is already enough to react to the coronavirus pandemic as suppliers include dutch multinational philips. Facebook will ban new political ads on its platform just a week before the u. S. Elections in november as part of efforts to battle this information the site will also add a label to any posts that challenge Election ResultsMark Zuckerberg said the move will lower the likelihood of any last minute mirs going uncontested. And Global Markets followed new york down after tech shares delivered wall streets worst day since june apple stocks plunged 8 percent in a day of drops representing around 180000000000. 00 in total value shares in amazon facebook and tesla all took a beating. Along that story lets speak to our financial correspondent Chelsea Delaney joins us from frankfurt tech stocks have been rallying for months theyve been flying high to a new level. Whats happened. Well investors are looking out yesterday as were out and saying its about time tech stocks have been really surging over the past couple of months and thats Global Markets higher as well but these values have gotten increasingly disconnected from reality so if you look at some of these increases weve seen theyre just really mind blowing so the nasdaq which is full of tech stocks its been up about 70 percent since the march lows awful was that more than 100 percent was that the about 500 percent so even though these businesses have been doing relatively well even though many tech stocks stand to position or stand to benefit from the shift to Home Home Office and things like that these levels just were completely unsustainable so i think a lot of people say if this was a much needed correction for a market thats gotten overvalued yes you have seen and trading during the course of today the european stocks of at least remained steady was yesterday just a bit. It appears to be a blip as you mentioned european stocks have stabilized u. S. Stock futures are pointing up so it seems that we are seeing a bit of a recovery today but investors say that this really is a reminder about theres still a lot of risks for investors for the Global Economy for a while and we dont know how successful these vaccine trials are going to be theres been a lot of hope pinned on a vaccine being found very soon we really dont know if thats going to be the case so still a lot of volatility a lot of uncertainty ahead. So thanks a lot for keeping us on top of it Business Correspondent chelsea delineate in front. And finally some good news for cinemas the least makers of the new James Bond Film just put out a new trailer and say they are sticking to the november release date. No time to die stars daniel craig as double 07 the new trailer arrives as another blockbuster tenet which i havent seen tries to build on its strongest cinema release with openings in china and the us its a glimmer of hope for cinemas which globally could see a drop in revenue of 66 percent this year. Thats all from me and the Business Team in berlin if you want more for us by all means go to our website you know it d w dot com slash business you can also find us on facebook and twitter thanks a lot for joining us and tech at. Combating the coronal pandemic. Where does research stand. What are scientists learning. Background information and news. Our corona update. 19 special next on d w. 19 years ago the german chancellor on American Made a famous claim that when germany opened its borders to refugees 5 years later we take an indepth look at what happened there. What color. And the consequences to still facing today. Are topic on detail the union. That. Before you open that pack of chips numerous studies link obesity to a higher risk of serious illness from the new coronavirus you can double your chances of hospitalization and increase the risk of landing in intensive care by even more. Mexico preliminary data shows that the severity of covert increases by 44 percent in overweight people the person asked in an obviously that obesity can also be to Heart Disease and diabetes both of which also increase the risk of developing a severe case of covert 19. If you eat 5 crispy pigskin tacos then you have to push yourself to burn some fat. Its time to talk about your waistline could this crisis finally convince you to join that gym or start eating healthier fast food loving south africa is the 3rd fattest nation on earth and its complicating the nations fight against the virus doctors say overweight South Africans straining the health system. Cardiologist jeff king has been kept busy since 19. Each south africas shores. To worry way to killing arabs. But a way to live and work with your body mass index retard you. Only one way or the easy with over 20 percent of the population living with hiv there were initially worries that millions of immune compromised South Africans could cripple the countrys fight against hiv 19. But there are bigger problems because africa has been known to be the mc of hiv we were concerned that the immunity responses that patients head in a child be would result in a greater pandemic to it on the contrary we actually filed the exact opposite that the biggest factor that we have related to a debating code with infection was the city and south africa is the 3rd heaviest nation in the world 1st is america and 2nd to the u. K. Like many worldwide dr king had 19 was primarily a respiratory disease. Experts like these at the virtual 2020 European Society for Cardiology Congress have identified obesity as a major factor. Its very just missed it. As the viruses liberates around the globe and more is learned about its effects on the body they are realizing this comorbidity could mean the difference between life and death very few response to the actual obesity causes in the hearts as they call it best of complications and a diabetic complications of patients remaining overweight burst will eventually lead to further lung problems at least it is often nation which ultimately becomes the major limiting factor in terms of overall mortality. With high instances of diabetes hypertension and cardiovascular diseases among the general population due to obesity south africa is a particular risk for as long as there is no cure for covert 19. Meanwhile the overweight need to seek solutions. To this personally now do require that men didnt because i am overweight and. Think i need to be as good a word soledad encloses i get in fact im not. All and also feel like this is an opportunity for it is pretty embarrassing in here. And amid high rates of poverty and inequality affordable and populous state will foods in south africa are often high in fat and processed carbohydrates. White can actually be done to make the situation but it is to avoid processed foods to eat 3 meals a day and make sure that we cook our own meals at home and the other problem is a lack of physical activity and what we can do is to exercise it just most of that week. As much of a challenge that cave in 1000. 00 presents to Global Health it also offers an opportunity for many to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The World Health Organization refers to obesity as a global epidemic in itself since 975. 00 the numbers have nearly tripled in the United States almost a 3rd of the population is overweight in russia some European Countries and south africa more than 20 percent are considered obese canada south america and australia also make up the top 20 well a team from the university of North Carolina took 75. 00 studies from around the world including nearly 400000 patients it concluded being obese increases the risk of dying from coated by nearly 50 percent by pumpkin lead that study from the department of nutrition and joins us now what surprised you about the findings barry. Quero 2 things 1st the proportion being half the lives youre more than doubled of likelihood of being hospitalized with it if youre a person with obesity greece individuals are 113 percent more likely to be hospitalized and then the mortality statistics both of those were far beyond what anybody had expected in far higher than we see individual diseases like hypertension or diabetes and why is that whats the explanation. That when youre okeefe is not that south you have a large immune just paramedic so her immune system doesnt work as well and then on top of that many of the other metabolic changes just make it more likely that youll catch koeverden that youll get more severe covert because you dont have the antibodies to fight it. And then on top of that if youre obese which is about 25 percent of germans and more than 20 percent of every country in the world you find that you have sufficient illogical impairment your lung capacity is limited and we need to do special things just came hampstead and this virus attacks the lung system so just add to the problem and the reason for my calcium you mentioned a weaker immune system is that the reason why as some a warning a backstage vaccination may not be as effective in obese people exactly we know from 2 corona virus vaccine the flu vaccine and all the Experimental Work with the sars sexing that they dont work as well in fact the u. S. For the 1st time will have a booster vaccine for beef individuals and the elderly so that youll have a stronger flu vaccine for those who have who are obese. So what about all these people who have been shut up in their homes for so long some not even allowed to go outdoors to exercise out are we going to see an increase in obesity because of this pandemic yes were seeing that across the globe in all the countries and work were finding in activity combined with buying especially among the poor buying cheaper. Ready kedar ready to heat alc highly processed junk food buying more sugary beverages all are adding to the problem and were saying unhealthy eating increasing among low and middle income populations across the globe barry surely this would have to be a wake