on the front lines that ends on me says as we gain control of the strategic city. obviously tanya, in the white and state, the area size of the capital hall to him has been besieged by the owners of the fighters. killed more than 200 people from various villages in a 3 day as sold. yeah, i mean, he says it's also open the road to obeyed, which is a transit route for the flow of trade to major cities around the country. and these 7 people have been killed in size and some residents have been evacuated. following more than a week of heavy rain in botswana, floods hit the village of the floor plan and the village suburb of the capital capital authorities have temporarily shut schools unblocked roads. disaster management officials suggest that inadequate drainage and urban areas may have contributed to the flooding and the worst hit. low lying areas. catholics around the world are praying for the recovery of pope francis. the vatican has won the h e a to a positive remains and a critical condition in jamaica hospital is undergoing

a blood transfusion. and these receiving treatment for pneumonia in both lungs. both frances as also showed signs of alley kidney failure bonnet. smith reports from the vatican city on sunday evening, the vatican spokesman says that the holy father, pope francis remains in a critical condition where they say he's not presented any further respect or 3 crises. he's that means it's not having more problems breathing and it remains on oxygen therapy. and i say that the holy father continues to be vigilant and well orientated that he took part in a much earlier today in the hospital with those around him who are involved in his treatment. this is an elderly man is 88 years old and he has had over the last couple of years, a series of health crises linked to the fact that he's missing parts of one of his lungs that was removed when he was a young child. but his, despite that those around him say stuck to a very, very hectic work schedule. he stopped to say that he has tied himself out. and he's

dr. describing as often as in the pope himself is admitted that he's a very difficult patient. the hospitals, doctors also say that they will continue treating him in the hospital, rob, letting him come down to the palm, is here in the vasic. and because bad, or at least they know in the hospital, he will be treated. he will work. whereas if they let him come back down here, he might try and stop working again. rhonda and rest. bernard smith, i'll just say around at the vatican the listening post is next time ro matheson stay with the . the

shaker model was for translation and international understanding is inviting nominations for its 11th edition starting january the fast and ending march the 31st 2025. for more information. please visit the awards official website at w w. w dot h t a dot q a the number of countries offended by the trump administrations, pronouncements keeps growing. add germany to the list. the issue there is election interference gets effect on the far right. it's a similar story in ukraine,

so let's keep that in move faster is not going to potentially left for media outlets are in shock over what trump is saying about the war. while news channels in moscow are celebrate christmas eve from the women side. and i'm a slip issue and populism, salvador himself, kelly government gets re elected and journalist partner the germans vote in a national election this sunday, february 23rd one in which their political system is being put to the test. the polls have a far right party alternative for germany or a f d sitting in 2nd place. once considered a per riah organization to and apologised for the countries nazi past. the a f d is now at around 20 percent of the vote. germany's mainstream parties have long shunned the a f d through the building of a so called firewall. refusing to include the party in the coalition building. that

is so central to politics there. this is where the trump administration comes in a case of outside interference. we us, vice president j. d. vance has taken a at that firewall saying the time is come to take it down. and you on mosque has been boosting the a f d on x and backing it in a german newspaper. at the heart of this debate, the question does engage with extremist views risk legitimize income, and is if german voters don't have enough to think about. there's another international player in the next russia, it's contribution consists of this information to take barely 2 months after taking power. the trump administration has turned its motor software rand, planting the seeds of chaos in a democracy, into an american export. i'm going to cuss pizza president hood, i'm an auntie over p show, david pops mid foster gnostics, autism id,

the vice president j. d. vance went to germany one week before a national election there and scolded its leaders for a reckoning, a political fire wash between their parties and the far right alternative for germany and refusing to consider sharing power with the a f d. he said that in the country where the world war 2 holocaust got it started and vance refused to meet with the german chancellor. hold off shots instead, he got together behind closed doors with the f. these lead alice via the bible, has described. germany's memorialize ation of the holocaust as a guilt. com and recently re branded the architect of janice, spin oklahoman onto onto the site is cut off. it's not enough. it's not a link of all the shopping it in the meantime. you was ok. g vance was representing the new face of us diplomacy, interfering in the politics of america's biggest,

most important european, our mission to find something to despise them, getting cheating. so the idea of the 2nd from administration is to, to run into a room, throw a couple of stink bombs showed in yellow. this place is a mass. and then while everyone is still wondering what's happening, yoga and counts and actually smashes all the windows and says, okay, we are in control of this place. it's unheard of. it's a city unheard of for us, vice president at to, into fit into them and elections. this, this whole time to make an impression on voters in town. there's no other way of explaining that to us, vice president would call for a breakdown of the firewall towards the rights just of a week ahead of elections in europe's biggest countries. when is the rise of

populism? it is not unique to germany, even the country's history, however, the risk of it repeating so low as the implications are scary. are there been in other democracies like to walk about? office is open up the german word for their political firewall is brand modeling. politicians built it in the aftermath of world war 2, to guard against any possible resurgence of the far right. you know, multi party system rules by coalitions refusing to share power with the a f d effectively isolates the party politically. but that firewall is now being put to the cap by the a f d and it's new packers in washing including donald trump's skin house as all provocative e longmarsh. musk has waited into the german media space, writing a pro, a f d r pad for the newspaper, dfcs. then the platforms,

alice vitamins interviewing her on an x. and people really need to get behind their feet. and otherwise, things are going to get very, very much worse and germany. yes, because what practice in germany's firewall predict this, some trump administration, the main shift was in 2015 when uncle america doing the big refugee crisis and you're all set, okay. we need to open the borders references from syria, where actually too much of a burden for neighboring countries hungry all 3 and others. with that created the basis for the new off the very enzyme. the gratian party, with very races, attitudes and also some of them. and types of medic bronk mower is a matter for to define red lines minus that's parties or politicians do not want to cross. if now a party is questioning the history of this country by

turning the hollow cost experience and taking a relative. it stands on everything that let's do this, then this might be perfectly ok in countries with a different history. but in germany, this is a line that a lot of people that feel that shouldn't be crossed. got to what became quite said that we're jumping to installation fees as it's natural pop is not just in so many but also in europe, which is shifting to the right. these right wing populous policies that explains why not just eat on mosque, but also us vice president 80 vans to the political weight behind the fall, right? if the policy and john any that can safely be called direct election interference because it cools on them and to vote for a particular policy. there's another angle to this story with implications that stretch across the european union. g d,

advanced accused comments are working at the european commission of having too much power, saying they can shut down social media during times of civil unrest over what they deem to be hateful content. the e. u has been far more willing to regulate the technology sector than the usaa and silicon valley has been lobbying hard against legislation the past in 2022. the digital services, or the say, which requires tech platforms to stop the spread of a legal or dangerous content. the dsa is the use firewall against the dangers of big tech. no american administration would approve of it and certainly not one with a tech pro, apparently sharing a white house of workspace with donald trump. the european union are currently investigating. to what extent the digital service act is ignored

by the big media platforms from silicon valley or even manipulating the algorithm to widen what's viable is posting or what they are is doing. so there might be a law sued from the european commission against platforms like meta or eggs use it. but the bottom line of that speech is these are a big companies alone. and if you step on anyone's toes and mosque in particular, we will give you a hard time. the vans before he came to europe had already made very clear that us defense commitment towards are in partners is conditional upon non regulation of the disease. so we'll see it here. your opinion already has regulation in place. and the big question now is whether this you,

as administration will seek to be successful at time to start that regulation from going ahead. as for germany, voters there also have to whether political interference blowing in from the east in the form of a russian. this information, an operation known as doppelganger 1st detected in germany in 2020 to its work re surface last month. drop o gang, or clones, well known german mainstream, new sites by duplicating their look layout in style, and spreading it on social platforms like whatsapp and telegraph. the us and russia bring different agendas to german, ranging from influence in politics, there to the stabilizing the government. but in both cases of outside interference, the beneficiary happens to be the same party, the a, f d. so where russian outlets just may make

traditionally established big news, solid let's like dish feeder or the side and others and past their own content to it. so therefore for many readers, it looks like a traditional news paper just covering our sharing and opinions you already share as someone who believes and maybe a party like the day. and all of a sudden you get confirmed bias covered and falsely by, by one of the major news outlets. what is happening with social media tends the algorithms selection mechanism. is that the opinion forms for people and not the people forming opinions for flux. some boys tie the fake news for us with stylized narratives that doesn't necessarily need to be wrong. but if someone starts looking into something painful, like this form of terrorist attacks of crimes,

then you will get more and more information about it. and the general sentiment becomes germany isn't safe anymore, even if it's the 26 tell you a different story. it's been a rough week for ukraine and presidents. a lot of me, there's a lensky call at the trump a fact. it was on full display as the us made clear where it stands on what donald trump calls a war that ukraine started with russia. i mean, obviously robbie has been tracking the story. donald trump has never made any secret of his frustration. the rule, the united states has had to play in supporting you cleans waterford. i will have the horrible war between russia and ukraine, settled and be his willingness to engage with vladimir putin in russia. i'll be dealing with president bowden, largely on the phone this past week. amounted to way politically, train rec for you came in mid february,

tom caught on the phone with put him and zalinski individually. within days us and russian officials met in the saudi capital. we had to discuss how to end the board . ukraine was not invited. then came an unprecedented exchange of unto prologic barbs between trump zalinski he refuses of elections is low and the real ukrainian paused in a box of which are designed for much in letters in english. and when i that i read the receipt, as long as you aware of some distance from which you know and post it dictated with that elections. so let's keep better move faster. he's not going to have a country left. you claim has been under martial law since the war began to usable elections, said you for at least 2024 did not happen. do i think spotty to safety concerns? why falls shows that ends key is not nearly as unpopular as trumps as he is. the board has eroded ukrainian goodwill for the president. you premium media outlets which would be enticing, controlled for 3 years now, are in

a state of shock bars for broken. one carpet sam extras that their last and the whole system was trying to lift the civic. but what are the options of what was ser? nowhere else in russia user enters, could not contain themselves to 1st create to be smart and you as a motion that means tight and then the slip. you ship the 5 hooks over this past. we've also had unity in government scrambling, one way or another. the war appears to be heading for the confusion and given what you can has to news in the way of territories control, the outcome is unlikely to go down well and kids. thanks me. are you ever go this month's el salvador held an election night, but boot kelly and his party knew web us. they asked one, a landslide victory, $54.00 of the 60 congressional seats, cementing bouquets, grip on power. in his 6 years in office, the country has seen a dramatic dropping gang violence and homicides. thanks to some on compromising policies and mass arrest. but that has come at

a price. constitutional rights have been suspended under an extended state of emergency, and journalists now face harassment, surveillance and censorship. despite concerns over a creeping form of authoritarianism, who kelly remains wildly popular among salvatore and bolstered by his savvy social media presence and a growing alliance with the american? far right the let's me post electric screen for now with producer really i got better on the e book, kelly salvatore and brand of populism and its effect on press freedom the the day. so, but during journalist victoria but who knows life and ronald started with an open the door, it was the police from the customer. as we were walking down the steps of my house, one of the officers handcuffed me and said, you're under arrest under the provisions of the state of emergency. i was 1st taken to us, but on somebody on a chair, there were 230 of us in

a space fit for 7080 people max, which was down to basic survival. their muscle, the one that they'd give us a single glass of water for the whole day. we drink cough in the morning and a half in the afternoon. we began falling and we'd get fungal infection. skin source boils fever was then moved to a maximum security prison, a circle where we slept on the floor. the guards would punish us, call us rats, or worse. they said we were going to die, their k, i don't us or deal lasted almost a year. by the time he was released, the circumstances of his arrest were no clear. he received no official release letter and the police, such as a sion against him, remained unchanged. collaborating with kings, also known as on the yes. yeah, that's the my look, my arrest was due to me being a journalist. there's no doubt about that. i hosted the tv show where we talk about

the communities needs, lack of employment prospect challenges with education and access to public health resources. wonderful, helpful to them. so that the whole so we love either in this, in blue like the ceiling is a problem. i can live with the government didn't like these kinds of programs. we'd also discuss the state of emergency and the innocent people being taken away to prison. the state of emergency didn't just put a stop to the guns. it was to neutralize us the independent press that along with the president, but the, and that is type of that has a commissioner for human rights and freedom of speech. and this was my, he denies, but a homeless case had anything to do with his profession. and the way from casually was taking me in to pay at least up photo shoes based on the impulse almost. i mean, this is not a case about a journalist and he's statements or opinions. this man was never a political journalist, you know, even if he was the fact that he is a journalist, does not accept him from having meddled with gangs when someone is placed under

arrest. this order is carried out by state prosecutors who have evidence of incontestable facts. in reality, the evidence being used against salvadorans is anything but incontestable. prison in the state of emergency was declared in 2022. it's somebody who has had the highest rate of incarceration in the world, out of a population of roughly 6500000 people. more than 80000 or currently behind bars. menu are held without evidence of integrating conditions with no contact with the outside world. journalists, especially community reporters who shine a light on social issues, have been subject to the kind is iron, fist, or mental due to the sweeping crack. dunham games has also led to the restriction of constitutional rights and press freedom. in 2024 alone. the journalist association on each side of the recorded 467 attacks. these include arbitrary

detentions, intimidation, phone tapping, and seizing of equipment, noise so located. it's not just the fact we're under constant attack from the government. we also have no mechanism to protect our rights because here the supreme court, the constitutional chamber and the legislative assembly o answer to a kelly of journalists are faced with legal proceedings and appealed to the supreme court. for instance, we know what their response is going to be. they're going to turn their backs on us . we're left on our faces. the bank deals in this situation has dark and substantially since 2022 old platforms of access to public information have been shut down. journalists are operating in a boy because the government's propaganda machine hasn't gulf television, radio and social media. those journalists who are committed to holding the powerful to account through their work are like someone constantly swimming upstream

inability. i said look, especially in the galaxies us, the repressed as an obstacle to the absolute takeover of salvatore. in our minds a like man. this looks at about angels. no, i mean that is fiction and there are no restrictions whatsoever in terms of freedom with price. so quite the country entirety in the 20 years, i have worked for the government, the better side of our own that. so there wasn't a single generally so look like what has been arrested. not for a single smashed up camera or a news item that has been taken down from social media consecutive hours, which galleries commissioner guzman distortions are not true. that isn't surprising . they're part of the penny strategy of controlling the narrative inside and outside of the sound. re branding the small, impoverished country into one of the safest countries in the world. how? by using a media and p. r a parade us to whitewash controversial policies and a brutal track down on crime. and it's working. okay. his approval reading is 91

percent of these kind of videos of itself. are those big this prison the terrorism confinement center or c con? should the media machine, our sleep and set to what beat music they became an instance sensation. you ask the girl for funding? i don't know for that. i mean when that kind of film the noise and sent to the company, not meaningful. is that all these more such videos reinforce tennis brand keys? would many critics calling millennial code? we use a digital the fluids as times of reverence strong. then it says that they help with a need their strategy is effective because in addition to telling people we fixed are most pressing problems. it's succeeded in sewing new fears among the public. unless now you book and i gets another 5 years gangs will be back out on the street . yes. isn't it presented as i most one of them, but i feel like one of them will go on the story or in the video this morning. i didn't, i didn't that he left them elaine, they're going to go look but not looks at the groups that are at least they're

carefully curated messaging and propaganda helps them. so whatever empty constitutional decisions they take, very effective to collect, took the fight against criminal and security, and made it cool. and the issue was delicate, as the safety of citizens has turned in to show bits that the general effect that's the lowest one show. it was old just to show a very different prison. i'd like a video showing is alco presence, where many people have died where i almost died. actually interviewing inmates, asking what they've gone through. but they won't do that. they make videos that are acceptable for an international audiences. i meant that i go to these to an audience in which donald trump has a front row seat. the us president made sure to remind ok left that when he sent his secretary of state microtubule on a visit this month, no typically needed much reminding he was closing up to the american rights far before trump was re elected. even trump cutting a for an a to

a place to look at his advantage. since some of those american dollars helped keep independent media outlets critical of the governance in business. and what color is offering trump a quick pro, cool. in the former sequence, he's willing to make room at his mega prison for american criminals. so he and trump can be tough on crime together. but at the end, that will kind of right now, president kelley has better access and moist way than ever with washington. which is promoting the suppression of civil rights along with the persecution of journalists and human rights advocates. in spite of this and the current funding crisis in the media sector, we have seen a new crop of very brave journalist for shining a light on the merchant corrupt ways in which this government is using its power, i think will be out of most back of standard for their normal, but they won't keep us quiet. journalists have commitments. not the government is

mayor's ministers or bankers of this country. but with those we need our reporting the most. if i or colleague dies, someone else will take out place. if they shut down the channel to, they will just do it from someone's living room with a phone tomorrow, but we will carry on reports. and finally, back to germany with most new stories like this week's elections, the media of their produce pretty robust journalism. tough questions get asked. power is how to account, which is why the coverage of israel's war on gaza stands out the way it has. german news outlets dare not criticize israel for its work crimes against the palestinians . and they seem to have no issue with the crackdowns on anti zionist protesters. and free speech francesca out benet se is the un special wrapper tour on the occupied palestinian territories. and she can speak to those crackdowns you shop for the control receive that past year. makes absolutely no

sense whatsoever. it makes me pretty scared for aware tournament nice. this past week album days, i was invited to speak and berlin, a new one event was forced to change menus due to pressure from politicians and police to other talks that universities were cancelled for security reasons. francesca albany is a nose, but historical context here, german guilt over the world war 2 whole the cost. but germany is also 2nd only to the us in arms exports to israel. so what's the role in this genocide ranges from complicity to enabling and it's media outlets have completely caved in to the political pressures of play. to the point where the germans are more likely to get the real story by scrolling through their phones rather than turning on their televisions

the the, there's no limit to how far dream continue to study in your own adventure. now counter arrange.

the conservative for it takes much the claims victory in germany's general election, where live it is headquarters in berlin. this our, the about this and this is 0 live from dell. i'm also coming up, your brains, president of the landscape, says he's willing to step down in exchange for nato membership is real deprives times to be occupied westbank for the 1st time in 20 years, saying it will not allow palestinians to return plus tens of thousands of people that attend the public funeral for her as well as lately the house on the savannah as his radio strikes cape southern 11th.