traces the remains of their existence. because the. church 11th on d. w. . class. face is date of the news live from the new zealand crosses the threshold into the new year i and a country largely free of covert 9 st celebrations to welcome 2021 kickoff with a bang and its biggest city plans but elsewhere around the world coronavirus restrictions are set to dampen the party spirits also coming up. on the eve of

a year that will see her leave also german chancellor angela merkel calls for patience and insurance in tackling the pandemic a crisis she describes as a once in a century challenge. and the post breaks a trade deal is signed into u.k. law britain and the european union seals their drawn out to vote just allies before the u.k. costs all possible centuries of ties with the continent. i'm rebecca welcome to the program it's been a year defined by coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns and people around the world i'm old i'm ready to show 2020 the door he zealand has just welcomes the new year with a light show and spot. words display for the country successfully keeping close at

19 inspections downall sardines their days public celebrations the green light is a very different picture in many other countries though that are still in the grip of coronavirus restrictions the bans on fireworks and social gatherings the crowds might be gone people are finding other ways to mark the occasion. praying for good fortune the shamans in peru made offerings for a healthy 2021 of the ritual is an annual tradition one that is the for to kill are important this year. ok. back times square in new york city preparations are under way for another important tradition for more than a century people have flocked to the city that never sleeps on new year's eve this year will be quite different times square will be closed to the public as the

countdown to 2021 goes virtual. you know you will see less people here in times square we're going to have more hope than ever because we cannot wait for 2021 the light is at the end of the tunnel and we are we are filled with autumn. celebrations will also be subdued across the atlantic in germany after the government banned the sale of fireworks even though existing stockpiles can still be lit some are looking forward to the prospect of a quieter new year's eve. but that's not too soon you fire lighting firecrackers i never liked them so i'm not very sad about it doesn't understand it's understandable that you can sit down together and have a drink frankly i'm not opposed to it british it's better that way but those are now. famous concert halls used to playing to sold out crowds will be performing

without audiences this new year's eve. the show will go on virtually as people look forward to a fresh start. german chancellor angela merkel has called on germans to help bait the pandemic by sticking to the rules in the wakes and months ahead in what is likely to be her final new year's address merkel said that germany faced hard times that there was hope in sight now that vaccinations have started. after a year dominated by one issue it came as no surprise that the main theme of chancellor angela merkel's traditional new year's address was the pandemic. dicko navios panda me of the coronavirus pandemic was and is a once in a century political social and economic challenge serious and has to it's a historic crisis that has demanded a great deal of all of us and too much of some of us if i start i know that mustering this a story effort has required tremendous trust and patience on your part and

continues to do so. though the pandemic and its effect on german society dominated the speech it was also a message of hope with medical pain tribute to the german scientists who developed the biotech pfizer vaccine already in use in several countries and after 15 years as chancellor to the end of her political career beckoning merkel ended on a personal note noyon were not there will be federal general elections in one month and i will not be running for re-election falls is not a slow day i'm likely speaking to you on new years as federal chancellor for the last time. is thinking i don't think i'm exaggerating when i say that never in the past 15 years have we all experienced such a difficult year for in or near and never have we greeted the new year is so much hope it's despite all of our concerns and some skepticism also venture in and so

you and your families have my very best wishes for good health confidence and blessings on the new year 2021 months. joining me to talk more about michael's new address and her legacy is data chief political editor. hi thanks for coming in so this was probably one of michael's last new year's address we expect after 15 years in office what was your take on this this year over what we expected to be the last because unless coalition talks continue into a next year this will be her last one and i take away that she's trying to be very stateswoman like again she is actually she says she's speaking on a personal note but then she's sounding rather reserved again like the angela merkel we know she said new motional standards throughout this year of crisis in the pandemic when she spoke of how it was breaking her heart to see sops clothes and everything so i think compared to what we've seen this year it's

a very reserved machall something those speeches have been really emotional. surprising to see they were gripping and she really did set a new emotional stand that this year and so compared to what we've seen this year this is forward looking this is trying to show empathy that she feels for those people who've lost loved ones in the covered 19 crisis and although she says it's not only covert pretty much the speech was only covert only mentioning in passing those big overarching issues like climate change like the position of europe in the world so that was clearly missing particularly with that trade deal between the e.u. and china less than 24 hours old clearly she decided that that was something she didn't want to press upon as they are very inward looking right now yeah when she said it's been the most difficult year of her chancellors if in fact how satisfied are germans with her dealing of the pandemic they are very satisfied angela merkel

is doing what she does best which is crisis management and while she set out into this. year which also in the in the 2nd half. presidency we expected her to build her legacy which would have been much more of an uphill struggle with the public than actually fighting a crisis which she's proved in the past when we took a look at the financial crisis we thought we'd be talking about the migration chants come this time around and now we're talking about the woman who's seen as a champion in fighting covered $900.00 pandemic of course behind against the backdrop here and many of those numbers soaring right now so it is a more intense crisis than it was less than a year ago but always being that warning vote voice and always remaining transparent with the public that yes mistakes would be made and she didn't have the overall and possibly dealing of the pandemic likely to be her legacy i think so i

think her legacy will be a lot more than just the top to heading migration. yes also the european leader the one who dealt with china but over a crisis managed the world has probably not seen a kind before. thank you very much. let's take a look at some other international stories now hong kong media tycoon and democracy advocate jimmy lie has been ordered back to jail after the city's highest court sided with a request to deny him bail why it was granted bail by a lower court last week things one of the highest profile figures charged under a new security law imposed by beijing in june. at least 22 people have been killed and dozens wounded in an attack at aden international airport in yemen the blast went off as members of a new unity government returned from saudi arabia was followed by another explosion

near the presidential palace several hours later. at the stroke of midnight central european time tonight the united kingdom will leave the a use customs union and single market bringing to a final end its membership of the european union the u.k. will then trade goods with the 27 members of the bloc under a new treaty agreed last week with brussels british prime minister barak johnson signed the treaty and it's now part of british born when the u.k. finally completes its transition it will draw the cut down on almost 5 decades of membership of the e.u. . let's have a look now at how some of the changes that come into force when britain exits the a new customs union and single market british and e.u. citizens will have to apply for a visa if they want to work in each other's terra treat leaves that for longer than 90 days britain will lose its automatic access to the single market meeting they'll be no non-tariff barriers such as customs forms and checks however the u.k.

will retain tariffs and quota free access to the e.u. northern ireland remains part of the a use a single market and customs union so goods and animals entering there from the rest of the u.k. will be subject to checks and paperwork. when peele is associate fellow with a europe program at chatham house and he joins us now from london mr pim thank you i up people in britain happy with the deal that they have and that they have finally departing the e.u. today. to questions they are not particularly happy with the deal that they've got. i think there was an opinion poll just over the last couple of days that showed that only 17 percent of the population actually thought it was a good deal against 21 it was a bad deal 31 percent who didn't know one way or the other on the other hand they did want to get it through parliament they just want to shove this whole thing it's

been incredibly divisive and i think everybody is just fed up with listening to the debate. to it perhaps but what kind of relationship is the u.k. going to have with the e.u. in the feet to boris johnson same's adam it will be a close one. yes but boris johnson also talks about regulatory competition which is just what the e.u. doesn't want to hear ok i either that the british may deregulate have liked it regulation so that we get maybe what would be regarded as unfair competition. not a factor as of service industries so i think it's going to be quite difficult this is been a pretty poisonous negotiating period boris johnson's government is stacked full of people who have been extremely critical of the european union 3 years so i don't think it will be easy to patch things up quickly one of the big criticisms of the

deal is that it says almost nothing about trade in services why when the vast majority of britain's trade with the e.u. easing services. well this was a decision by the british government and i think it was partly a tactical decision they didn't want to do a deal that might have to be put to all the national parliaments of the e.u. they wanted to keep it very specifically a trade focused deal and i thought because neil focused on trade in goods the moment it became a bigger wider deal then you could have got all the national parliaments in the e.u. at trying to have their say so it was tacked to go but it's left the city of london for example completely without a clear. way forward how are they going to relate to the europe in the future when just briefly mr pitt breaks it has led to a growing independence movement in scotland how can send our people in britain about that. i think very concerned it is

a very clear majority at the moment in scotland if there were another referendum that would vote for independence scotland voted very clearly to remain in the e.u. and they're fed up particularly with boris johnson for not taking their interests into account and at the same time you've got a very interesting situation in northern ireland where there's going to be checks between northern ireland and britain on trade but not between northern ireland and the south of land so they're going to be closer to the south of ireland and we could see much more pressure for. building up right clint hill from chatham house thank you very much. and you're up to date here on the news i'm rebecca rate is let me say it's been an absolute pleasure to have your company on this program and all our other programs this year but before we go we've got some pictures we want to show you how many is festival in scotland where a stunning drum display lit up the skies. and now.

young moroccan emigrants. may know the police will stop up. the road is a solution. to their flight could be fatal. but. not an option shattered dreams starts january 18th on t.w. .

south america home to true veterans of the road we join them on a voyage of discovery from the state of co us in brazil to south apollo and the state of sun to cut out the knot and finally to the small city of minnesota it's in northeastern argentina. to. follow. if you can. do the work. of. these trucks maybe museum items back in germany but are still valiantly role. going back 3 years on the roads of brazil there was. nothing nothing nothing on. our journey begins in the brazilian state of call us at a truck stop that's packed with old timers this one looks

a little worse for wear head is definitely on the rusty side. of it maybe you. will be in the but i want my way from bellaire. i want to try and load up some watermelons here and bring them to sao paulo. and see always go the same way but if i get the prophecy i've been taking the same route for 38 years from sao paolo to bellingham and from just how powerful it would be one when i get back to sao paolo i'll have a 970 kilometer journey hi i'm a thoughtful and i want the fish on my truck is still going after 6000000 kilometers on the clock although i have had to replace the engine a few times i spend more time caring for it with than for my family. that.

will not be that they've been all my life is spent in the truck. i did go to school but i dropped out to fulfill my childhood dream which has now become a nightmare. life but if you love roses you have to live with the thorns to write. not a bad. so what are those thorns for. roberto if it ever does some size is no 64 years old. his truck has helped him take care of 3 wives and 10 children he says with pride. this is el sights a popular truckers. diner in the area. roberto lovingly calls his truck i'm not allowed the yellow one it's 40 years old. don't drink your money else's husband was a truck driver too. that's him here with the 1113. there are

a load of them still on the roads of brazil 131315132013 the 1st from mercedes brazil good vehicles from the roof of the family it's diesel not blood that runs through the veins of these men even their families get the bag . and yes cut me open and you'll find diesel. truck driving is in our blood hoping. drivers can get a meal at el cells for 15 day ice the equivalent of 3 euros 50 party and affordable fair. amount of food and if i have the money to get a new truck it will be another mercedes you're not going to move through. the diner is located by the truck stop near shoutin polish

a small town about 1200 kilometers north of south palo. from here it's just a few minutes drive to the offices of a fruit wholesaler. the company purchases entire harvests from farmers and then sells the property of set markets in the cities. roberto is hoping to get a delivery to sao paulo because it's close to where he lives. have faith in the lord with all your heart reads the company sign. roberto joins other drivers sitting outside. they're all waiting to be assigned

a delivery. of the little. certainly not looking a little that way it can take hours if not longer it was. sometimes it's 2 or 3 days depending on demand it at long last a company representative emerges and has deliveries to assign to come. out for $150.00 a day ice for turn of properties without money you'd be broke by the time you got to sell palo but that's all she has to offer. right love of. her father laid out it's all about supply and demand when there are fewer trucks available the price rises when there are a lot like now the price goes down market patience is a virtue in brazil and specially for truck drivers it's the only offer they receive all afternoon. and now you're working maybe

a workout tomorrow god willing is that. going to. the middle class it is an easy. plan to cut costs and amount of data. et al says steiner the truckers can recharge their own batteries while also feeling old. home sick coming. to. the battle has been on the road for 12 days and today is his beloved wife's birthday. love the 2 he sends her happy return stole the truth. oh yeah gigi. the long term goal of all going tomorrow i'll probably be able to

load a delivery and be in sao paulo on sunday. just . love. love. love love. love the next morning there are even more trucks lined up outside the wholesaler. the cost of the competition and speculation among buyers is paid by the driver's. place. of india known to the ford trucks drive off without a buyer for the watermelons. they load up and set off but they don't know where they will ultimately be unloading. what the host sailor fruit talk now does is try

to find a buyer who. you know they then send a fax for the driver to print out at a gas station. that's the sales license which the driver needs to be allowed into the market now you know. the beer doubles to my d.q. but i don't set out until i know where i'm headed to avoid stress on the road and it is a bit of us who are left with any law. losses of the day it's our time that's being spaniards and money for food there's no point getting the union involved they might resolve your current problem but then you're blacklisted and you won't get any more jobs from anyone to go back to game which might explain why religious mantras are rare source of comfort also seen on the trucks themselves thanks i'll deal 2nd say if i get on the road today we'll see what about the way thanks

thad midday roberto decides to set off just by not having a precise destination for his delivery 1st he has to have his truck wait while empty to ensure the weight of his load can be verified when delivered at the other and thank god then he continues to the plantations to pick up 15 tons of watermelon thank. you as. the state of going ice is dominated by big landowners especially cattle breeders. they control the farming sector while also holding political posts in brasilia the connections they enjoy in the capital enable them to constantly expand their land assets they then lease their fields to local farmers. the farmers sell their produce to the

wholesalers thank. you. thank god i. was. allowed to play. live. love. love. them enough but this is the best part of the journey when the trucks loaded up and we can finally get going.

whatever the youngins can do so can the. 15 tons of watermelon on board headed for the state of south. it's a 1200 kilometer journey from here which will take him 3 days. over shuffle all goods transported in brazil are delivered by truck often along very poor roads roberto has his own motto adorning his precious truck for the sake of life is worth living. going to. god is a video game. boy isn't.

about we should. be as he thought of the bible. but actually you must. believe me though if you make. me and. a year after that film was shot german car maker mercedes-benz opened a factory on farmland just 20 kilometers outside sao paulo the factory would make diesel trucks and later buses to. almost half of the trucks and buses on the roads of the country were built by mercedes benz told brazil but despite the company's high profile our film crew were not allowed inside the factory gates here in sao

bernardo dot com paul. but a privately run museum in the town does open its doors specially for this man and no surprise for 80 year old quality engineer the scented dungeon little who used to work at mercedes dope are still on. this in the mail this one's from my time at the company borders it has the heart of mercedes. although the body was made by nicola or 3 d.s. you call. it that's how i feel nostalgic. it. went so i really miss that time. i mentioned the workers used to call the company by my mercedes. i want my mind there so it's. in my time there were 15000 people working there there were 3 co-operative stores

for the workforce you could buy everything you needed for one month even clothes and housework appliances and at the end of the month it would be taken off of your wages afforded by me but it was way cheaper than regular stores because the company bought it and. that's. the part i mean you also had excellent medical care provided in-house for staff and their families i mean it's this i'm a company also. had a football pitch for staff and a club where we could have dances to celebrate the fest joining us if we were there all the time on friday we go home but on saturday we'll be back again. in santa fe suffield. mom a mercedes is now a distant memory. facing a serious economic crisis demand on the truck market has slumped a mercedes benz brazil has already seen redundancies and severance packages perhaps it's no coincidence that the management are not keen on a foreign t.v.

crew taking a look around. it's day to roberto's trip to south a little bit. but my baby is. as follows i'm going to. love it it is a bad. plan to have to. roll the ball to get. you to be old trucker songs help to keep his spirits up while he's on the road. bad. behavior. last. love. but i.

love the loud bang bang bang bang bang. bang bang bang. bang. but. it was above. board. who would you fancy something new and better in life. but given the chance to swap i'm not sure my heart would be enough. so the only thing we've been partners for so many years and my trots never made me unhappy. was it meet my expectations it's a really sound truck. bill got there it's perfectly happy when i drive slowly. but when i step on it because i have a deadline to meet also no problem with the above that god gave us

a car i can't help it i like it. i feel comfortable with it even when i'm asleep she didn't think it would make it. let. us. get to sleep. every cent account says roberto you have to watch your budget to end up with any money in your pocket that means only getting gas where he can get a discount aletha a diesel here costs 770 cents. to put the mobile. 3 rate isolator but i get a discount we will be on my feet facing the. phone to me at the.

top. of. the money that we have to cover highway toll charges and everything else ourselves the companies don't pay a cent. as long as the drivers are on the road the wholesalers and distribution companies continue to play the market and the drivers. ruperto goes to ask if the fan. has arrived for him. he's expecting one his delivery order from the company for talk. and then of course i still don't know where i'll be taking the watermelons these are the forms of the strong love of self. the only information he does have is the approximate direction he's heading with his 1513 model truck and its 15 time load of melons.

to. it if it. passes his journey takes him through the state of maine us samurais past an indian sugarcane fields. the lights on the horizon are not a city they belong to the enormous sugar refinery is. another tiring day at the wheel comes to an end. it's friday and bankers short and patrons is looking forward to the weekend he's checking the weather. where in the state of pa and

in the southwest of brazil and. john lives here on a farm belonging to his mother alone together with his wife letitia. and and his mini mercedes and their city leo 681 please tell me you think the. young. you can go to these abuses of meat. thank you. i see there. is $23.00 jordan is $24.00 the couple are sprucing up a small framed truck for their sunday excursion steve. jordan bought it secondhand and restored it himself. for me see. that i've always been crazy about mercedes. when i was

16 i made a paper model of this truck which i still have today. it's an old love. the top line is taken from my father's 1st truck childhood memories. that it was really difficult to find the original parts for the restoration. but i spent 2 years searching for the white protective hub cap for example. in the 1970 s. and eighty's people thought that chrome elements would bring good luck and more jobs. this number plate holder was already made like that by mercedes. it's an original part that i found and restored. and let me see i got married in december during the summer in brazil. there were 3

of us in our truck. with. me planned every little detail. i had my dress on with slits down the side to make it easier to get in and out. and you made a little truck. yes it's. we were so happy that day. many of the people in that region are the descendants of european settlers and economic refugees families who have now been here for 5 generations. coming in the most of the city my forefathers come from tree here in germany they started to farm the fields here back then the brazilian government gave away land to immigrants since in. the.

immigrants who settled all the way down to floaty are no police on the coast of santa catarina state they also included many italians such as the forefathers apollo luis. there's a little film playing in my head when i look at this vehicle my father used to drive it i learned how to drive while i sat on his lap. when i was 14 i started helping him at the wheel although i didn't have a license. polo is now building contractor and a collector of vintage mercedes benz models. well the areas today covered with tower blocks used to be dense forest land. back then we were given permission to cut down trees. while. we would load up a truck like this with timber 4 times a day and then take it to hospital and chop some floor not us for heating fuel.

has tracked down veteran mercedes models all over the country he's now restored 8. give. us. a good. to. see. his most recent acquisition is this 312. he was already 10 years old when i was born i was born in 67 and the truck in 57. trucks like this helped to build the roads in brazil by transporting materials. this was the 1st mercedes model the engine brakes tires and axles are all original parts. take it for

a drive 1st to see if you like it says his mechanic. the starter the clutch they're all from 1957. they're here they do a lot. you think you know there's no secret to these engine was with a pair of pliers and some wire you'll never have a breakdown like this one. i'll start it up and i'll see you to be obviously. cynthia. thanks to all those veterans are not exhibition items they're used for their original purpose thanks. they're in good shape and because they're

more than 15 years old i don't have to pay any road tax and the maintenance costs are really low to. use the flat face as we call the $320.00 want all the time insurance for a new one would be too expensive plus there's no place a new model can get to get this baby care out of the my god. i. love. that little. bill song thing to buy sound when i knock on the tires tells me whether they have enough air in them to get the blood to also the bashaw color below there might be a puncture from a nail somewhere with. infantile this lucky

a tire like this currently costs $800.00 re ice which is too much. like it so after a while i swap the front tires to the rear and then get them retreaded. is to save us a key that only costs $550.00 s. . to the fun of it for me and i'd love to give it a general overhaul but earning so little and having to pay for all those things while on the road means you have to choose. either get the truck restored or feed your family so. i'm constantly having to postpone it and in the meantime the rust is getting worse to my oh oh. 0000000000000000000. oh oh oh. it's sunday and roberto is around a 100 kilometers away from some follow up and doesn't last but

the. law above you oh. oh you mean a. lot of. casual mailbox and these guys were most posed to go with these melons you got to. sound pollen the sprawling metropolis that never sleeps the main wholesalers market is located in the downtown area it's late by the time roberto arrives and he still has no delivery order but he heads down to the market nonetheless. the woman at the gate wants to know what goods he has on board having no delivery

order means roberto will have to leave his truck by the entrance to the car park. it will be safe there she assures him. oh roberto is now just 50 kilometers from home but he's worried that parking his truck unload there would put them at risk of being stolen. night and day trucks roll up here from all over brazil $100000.00 a day in total. was. many of the drivers have been waiting several days to unload their deliveries not a good sign for roberto much. their patient man but sometimes

the truck drivers get fed up especially when they see their fruit beginning to rot sometimes reports roberto.