play. to the studio where you news live from berlin votes are being counted in thailand's first election since a military takeover millions of times cast ballots in a contest hitting the military backed party against allies of the country's populist old guard but there are fears the military has already stacked the political deck and its favor for live in bangkok for analysis also coming up. terrifying moments at sea and a cruise ship breaks down in dangerous waters off the norwegian coach will have an

update on the rescue efforts for hundred stuck onboard. and zimbabwe struggles to hold our sights lower. our of correspondents meets the people searching for answers about the fate of their loved ones took over a week after the huge storm struck. thank you for joining me. in thailand vote counting is now underway in the country's first general election since a military coup and twenty fourteen prime minister and former army chief. hopes to extend his hold on power as the country returns to civilian control polls taken before the vote suggests that the office. party was ahead but it would not win an outright majority the party has links to the ousted former prime minister taksin

shinawatra. let's bring in t w correspondent bustin hati he joins us from bangkok. exit polls indicate a victory of the opposition party where does that leave a country. well it depends on the call if they get enough seats to form a coalition to elect the prime minister and that seems rather unlikely at the moment. as you can see behind me the votes are being counted right now in these minutes and we expect preliminary results within the next few hours we have these exit polls now we have to be careful with that because we don't really know how reliable they are the electoral system is extremely complicated in thailand and so that all of these preliminary are not preliminary results but exit polls of course are subject to change but if they turn out to be true and if the party is the

strongest force in the new parliament but they don't have the majority to elect the next prime minister that would mean there could be a political gridlock because. the words being voted for right now is the lower house of parliament that has five hundred seats now what people don't get to vote for is the senate that has another two hundred fifty seats and those are appointed by the military and those two houses together need a simple majority to elect the next prime minister so that could leave the military with that simple majority to elect the next prime minister but it doesn't they don't have the majority in the lower house with which gets to pass legislation so so that means that they might be able to elect the prime minister but they might not be able to pass any legislation and then there's a political gridlock and then there's no telling what will happen there might be protests there might even be another coup they call times have made their voices heard they are longing for a change how likely are they to see that now given the possible outcome.

well again a lot will depend on what actually happens later tonight we won't get the official results until may but if if the current military dictator protonix if he becomes the next prime minister there's no reason why there should be he should but there should be any policies that he couldn't force that he hasn't already put into practice considering the fact that in the last five years he's had almost unlimited power to change things now he will be the prime minister and he'll be faced with with an opposition of some sort so it will become harder for him so there's no reason to see why he should be unable to why you should be able to to to make change happen when when he hasn't done that so far now if we do see that gridlock as i just laid out then as i said there's no real telling what's going to happen

there is this prospect of more street protests that we saw in thailand so often in the past and then there is also the prospect of another coup a daunting prospect actually then there might be change but it's not going to be positive very likely in the next few years presumably because. the situation in thailand thank you very much. a dramatic rescue mission is underway in southern norway crews have been racing to bring cruise ship passengers to safety after their boat was stranded in dangerous waters ship broke down on saturday with over a thousand passengers on board efforts are being made to tow the vessel to land but the ship stranding has already led to harrowing moments for passengers. passengers rushed to shield themselves from sliding furniture and falling ceiling panels as heaving waves tossed the cruise ship from side to side some said those waves had smashed chip windows and sent cold sea water gushing in.

elsewhere on board the mostly british and american travelers could do nothing but sit and wait for their turn to be airlifted to safety. amid winds of nearly ninety kilometers per hour and waves over eight meters high the viking sky sent out a mayday call early on saturday afternoon it had suffered engine failure and was beginning to drift towards the rocky shore fearing the ship would run aground the crew managed to anchor in the bay an area known since viking times is treacherously difficult to navigate. the cult and of course it will show you this is clearly a serious situation this is a cruise ship with one thousand three hundred passengers on board is stuck in one of the north and europe's worst stretches of water scattered with reefs so this is a serious situation as it will show him the authority has mobilized five

helicopters for the operation though some had to be diverted to help a second vessel nearby the freighter with a crew of nine also suffered engine failure delaying the crew ship airlift. rescue passengers have been brought to a reception center on land clearly this was not the kind of adventure they'd had in mind when they booked their cruise. we refresh. very frightening we we're on a helicopter with a sling to keep us together and it's quite scary the severe weather is preventing rescue workers from using smaller boats to take passengers ashore so authorities now aim to tow the cruise ship itself and the hundreds of passengers still aboard. a short while ago we got the latest on the rescue operation from knutson he's with the joint rescue coordination center for southern norway and we just saw in the report i asked him how the operation has been unfolding. well it's going call it

a blood money. to turn the ship. on its no having. a place called. which is on the western coast of norway. the captain. to stop the immigration for the time being. of the turn of the ship if you'd like to see how. the ship is. considered he will decide whether or not to continue with the operation the captain is of course. his decision will be. decision of the captain. the ship is moving with some engine. to talks at the front. one of the bikes of. the

situation is on the control of passengers on board a ship those remaining or according to the captain safe. we are to see how it develops for the next couple of hours. at the moment what's being done for the passengers who have been airlifted to land already. taken. to a rescue center. representatives from. the onus on the ship. police . to take you. forward. on the mainland. those who came in last night and your. people know. how to take the course when the ship is. however you could report to.

the crew of the reproaching group. through the bridge. for your crew but. whatever you do don't. thank you very much. now to some of the other stories making news around the world british prime minister to resign may is coming under fresh pressure over her handling of brick said british media say that may's own cabinet is plotting to oust her as soon as monday this after hundreds of thousands protested in london to demand a new referendum on leaving. members of australia and new zealand's indigenous communities have come together in sydney to show solidarity with the victims of last week's gun attacks on two mosques in christ church new zealand has announced it will hold a national remembrance service on march twenty ninth for the fifty people killed in the attacks and. the un says more than one hundred thirty people were

killed in an attack on a full on a village and central mali survivors accuse traditional doe goan hunters of carrying out the deadly raid and ogle sagal the massacre comes amid an increase in ethnic and jihad just violence in the region. the mozambican government says half a million people have been affected by the devastating cycle. more than six hundred people have been confirmed dead after the storm raged across mozambique zimbabwe and malawi the true death toll is believed to be much higher efforts are still underway to sr five years. our correspondent has been in zimbabwe taking a look at the aftermath of cycling there he sent us this report from some of the communities hardest hit by the storm and the severe flooding and cost. he once

bustling village reduced to a rocky field. was home to more than three hundred residents and government facilities when disaster struck on the night of march fifteenth residents were sleeping. very few of them survived those who do have recounted the horror they experienced in india. because i was asleep and suddenly woke up to the house destroyed but the house was full of water what was the first thing we thought was to rescue the kids then we realized our eldest child was already dead after that moment is when we all got swept away by the raging floods. that take this right here used to be a town that is now under rubble kim up from the mountains and swept through the city and now. a lot of people are believed to be under these stones and

residents tell me that more than three hundred people could be under this rubble a lot of people want closure of knowing whether they had relatives are still in this place or they were washed away by the river downstream the. relatives of the victims have been using whatever tools are at hand to sort through the rocks and rubble there hoping to recover their loved ones many still don't have final answers about the fate of their families what we're looking for right now is this closure if we know we our relatives are like it would be it will be somehow because right now we don't know we still have that feeling maybe they're separating the somewhat there. but recovering bodies can be extremely difficult and the emotional toll is a men's families with as many as ten members were swept away by the floods leaving few survivors. some of them discovered back to see the boards are now on leave if

you're in the region you know so we have peeling you begin as soon as the. third the we have some d.n.a. just a few hours at least then just you're being buried you know and they didn't fight there has been extensive damage to the country's infrastructure and there have even been geographical shifts rivers have formed in residential areas a further sign of how much time recovery is likely to take. a report by the w.'s privilege was one here and there. to sports now germany's national football team is in the midst of a changing of the guard on wednesday their first match of twenty nineteen and it in disappointment when their new look signed for one all in a friendly against serbia later on sunday they kick off their qualifying campaign for the next major tournament euro two thousand and twenty they face neighbors the netherlands and amsterdam last time the teams met there and october the netherlands

celebrated a three no victory now in germany youngsters have a chance to take swift programs. for watching t w news from berlin coming up next the second part of our two part documentary secrets of the stony exploits. in form. and language courses. or. anytime anywhere. wu a suitor.