this is d.w. news coming to you live from berlin polls open in britain and not the winds for the european parliamentary elections they're being called the most important in 4 decades with populists and the far right set to make big games also coming up britain's theresa may faces growing calls to resign and as lawmakers across the spectrum reject her plan for breaks it and a key ally steps down in protest. but counting is underway in india's marathon election early results showed clearly the prime minister narendra modi's p.g.p.

party all eyes are on whether it will be suitable secure an absolute majority in the country's part. and feed the family plans to expand the already troubled 2022 world cup in qatar the usual $32.00 teams instead of $48.00 will slug it out for soccer's most coveted trophy. hello i'm terry martin thanks for joining us butters in the u.k. and the netherlands have begun heading to the polls taking all 4 days of european parliamentary elections the 1st dutch polling stations open at midnight and there was no excuse for not voting ballot in amsterdam airport even gave travelers chance to cast their votes before jetting off. we'll have special coverage

for you coming up on sunday will that coverage special coverage will start here from germany and then continue around europe until then here's a reminder of what's at stake in this election now 400000000 voters in 28 countries will go to the polls between today and may 26th to decide who will represent them for the next 5 years at the european parliament the number of seats each country gets is roughly proportional to its population europe's most populous country germany with nearly 82000000 people will be electing 96 m. e p's all the smallest country in the e.u. multi will have 6 m. e p's represent its population of less than half a 1000000 now once elected the members of parliament join transnational groups with similar views at the moment there are 7 such groups representing the center rights socialist greens euro skeptics and others the n.e.p.

is vote on new laws and approve the e.u. budget they also help choose the president of the european commission the current president is this man john yoga the favorites to replace him are german conservative m.e.p. monthly viva and he's on your left there and dutch politician funds to months for the party of european socialists. well let's go straight over 2000 more voting is already underway amsterdam being one of 2 countries voting today as our correspondent is standing by for us max the netherlands is one is one of the 1st countries to vote in the european parliamentary elections how important is this election for dutch voters. well terry on one side the netherlands is a very pro e.u. country but on the other side people here don't seem to care very much about the e.u. elections and vote participation the netherlands is traditionally very low since

1989 the participation never exceeded 40 percent and same goes for campaign budgets of the individual parties and if you they are quite low as well if you walk the streets of amsterdam you don't see any bold words you don't see any posters up of parties rely largely on free publicity from t.v. interviews for example and the prime minister to himself said in an interview that he doesn't think the elections are that important now other party leaders haven't gone public with a message like that but they'll also try to save their money for national election campaigns which they deem more important so limited enthusiasm there in the dutch capital given that what role are dutch politicians likely to play in the next you parliament. that's difficult to say the netherlands is going to have 26 seats in the parliament in the european parliament and they are expecting to send up to send politicians from up to 10 parties to brussels for these 26 seats so the

political landscape is incredibly scattered and the whole political spectrum is covered from the far left to the far right you've got the the social democrats for example the party of. france to moments he's campaigning with a very pro e.u. agenda more e.u. integration a e u minimum wage. and a common army that's one that's part of the the program then on the far right you have the new forum for democracy which is a new party on the far right and they are expected to come out 1st in these elections i'm actually and they campaign on an anti islam message they want to referendum on the euro and they even call for a nixon but with a truly scattered political landscape one party coming out there strong here one party coming out 1st doesn't see a lot about the whole of the netherlands max thank you very much for that d.w. correspondent max sun there in amsterdam.

now over to the u.k. where british prime minister teresa mayes facing pressed calls to resign over her new breaks it plans her withdrawal agreement bill sets out the terms under which the u.k. would leave the european union but parliament has already rejected previous versions 3 times pressure is mounting on may after actually cut programs that minister andrea led some quit over the new deal saying it doesn't deliver it but britain's leader is rejecting calls to stand down. we need to see prick 6 through to the results of the referendum and deliver the change the british people so clearly demolish it i sincerely believe that most members of this house feel the same but for all our division and disagreement we believe in democracy that we want to make good on the promise we made to the british people when we all seem to decide on the future of all the more now let's bring in d.w.

correspondent barrett mass who's covering this in london barry good choice i'm a seems to be on a sinking ship how long can she survive as prime minister under these conditions. well terry it seems that it's maybe days rather than weeks or months who knows who's next in the cabinet there's a lot of speculation that other cabinet ministers are also going to tonic and sad that she'd be basically 11 in government by monday so anything can happen any moment and all of this kind of movement when the conservative party should really be fighting for this election for this european election where they're really doing extremely badly in the polls where the big parties are set to get a big beating the country is effectively fighting over who's going to be the next prime minister the conservative party is preoccupied with many other things but not with the european elections will britain's foreboding today whether they want to or

not is a rather strange situation and they're being expected to vote in parliamentary elections even though they voted to leave the e.u. 3 years ago are they able to muster or britain's people to muster any enthusiasm for this election under these conditions. where this election election is really all about frank said and set to be at the end barras meant for for the because he's the conservatives and also labor policy and as the politics who just don't get through with bricks and he didn't make it happen and people are just they have lost patience that they voted so long ago and still the situation is very unclear who is sajan is not just for us it's his brakes his party it's a new party basically a one man band that nigel for ours has set up to say we don't want this deal with the european union we don't need

a deal necessarily let's just get out and he makes it all about the incompetence of the politicians and westminster and makes him the savior of the country the man who can push the country forward i think to some of his rallies and let's listen that's have a look. what it was that. he's that wherever nigel farage goes he's welcome to start here in wales for example his next 2 recently has betrayed the country but he's unconditionally accepted all of preston's demands during the water on the coast a chance the bracks referendum and then i did not. do you know it's a document drafted by 1st year back on the air. with angela go looking over his shoulder for raj suggests britain doesn't need to do you trust the main thing is to leave the queue he doesn't mention that would probably cost jobs.

like you i'm afraid that there is no chance of brakes it being delivered with our current 2 party system and our current government would have to fight for it again but i believe we can do so i think the british referendum actually rather like the sort of a genie coming out of a bottle it's not going back. in the city of peterborough over a 1000 people come to check out the new party many of them used to vote for the conservatives the carbon modern charm or lawyers you see venus and i are nothing but corruption far as are concerned a treasonable people people are very angry and feel very hurt and upset that their vote is being ignored and to mock to see is being trampled all over the internet is that the party claims to have gained more than 100000 new members in just. a few neighborhoods they know they are doing over half of the wallow change u.k. can only dream of such numbers greater johnson is in the spotlight and path in

southwest england the political newcomer who has one main goal we have to stop or for our take over this country with all the lack of values and all the lies that. campaign or represents he's it's a one man show it's a vehicle to get him into downing street he's taken the got the country up the garden path and over the cliff the new remain party change you k. has a clear enemy niger for raja's bragg's a party but the n.t. brags that vote is splintered and that might be one reason why the pro europeans have not been able to trick nearly the same crowds as a brags of party who had it been bought 4 rows of chairs are enough to accommodate a crowd many of those who have come are disappointed by the establishment parties. this is an opportunity to see what a remaining party a new voice a fresh voice has to say to me and i was very impressed actually the passion with which they spoke on the passion your opinion and i believe changing for k.

a one of the only parties to really really support the people and to support them and the big parties are being punished in the elections and it looks like the populists will be the biggest winners. so yes the big parties are being punished the conservatives are just the fad or even 4th party in the latest polls in the brics a party is leading with a fatty percent so those are the latest polls and it really looks like they're going to say on the mood of the brits that many also really fed up with breaks it and i just want to go forward and they don't except that it's complicated to leave so it seems british politicians will be represented in the next parliament what role are they likely to play in that parliament. well

i guess they have to assume that they have to play a big role because at the moment we don't know what the future of the country is it could be one the outcome that that britain is going to revoke article 50 and everything stays the same and they have to play play the full road so they don't know you have to assume they have to prepare for for a full term it is unlikely that the next government whoever that's going to lead it is going to just revoke article 50 because we know that at the end of october there is a deadline and the u.k. is supposed to leave but if politicians decide that they don't want to leave without a deal then it would be one option just to stop the whole process and and think again so it is there as an option the other option is to crush out to just leave without any deal at the end of october which is the default position they get thank you very much miles there in london. now to another mammoth election vote

counting is underway in india early results show the hindu nationalist b j p party of prime minister narendra modi heading for victory the poll was widely viewed as a referendum on modi's leadership the party minister is seen as a popular but also divisive figure some are calling the election a contest for the soul of the country did finally the counting is underway at centers like this across the country hundreds of millions of votes are being tallied each one bringing indians closer to finding out who will lead them through the next 5 years it's the culmination of the largest ballot the world has ever seen . central to the process the electronic voting machines some $2300000.00 where an auction across the country they have sped up the counting immensely meaning results emerge within hours but opposition parties so they also

pose a risk after reports of some tampering they protested to the electoral commission demanding verification with paper voting records. either here or the election commission. that. are going to run for. international law observers say the election has been largely free and fair and the ruling party says the opposition claims a just a distraction they have already sensed it that this 1000 looks a by election is not going in their favor however much they do night it. the b j p c's only one possible winner in this election incumbent prime minister narendra modi his coalition met on tuesday to discuss its agenda for

a 2nd term modi campaigned hard to keep a commanding majority he won 2014 he's promised better incomes for farmers and more infrastructure spending but the opposition has highlighted slowing economic growth and increasing religious divisions modi's main rival is congress party leader rahul gandhi he wasn't expected to stage a major upset if neither of the main parties claims an outright majority smaller regional groupings could prove kingmaker tipping the balance of power in parliament . but he. joins us now from the indian capital delhi sagna the vote count is underway what can you tell us about the initial results. well you know the leads are increasingly clear prime minister narendra modi's part

of the party is really soldiering ahead across many constituencies and the opposition congress party is vote for me truly in many of these places so these kind of leads to believe the lead national democratic alliance i would say is really comfortably you know cruising to a commanding majority in parliament and really to a 2nd successive. and this is really in line with several exit polls that were released earlier this week that showed that predicted huge wins for the p.g.p. now these leaves also show that the b.g.p. is really doing well in several states and several hindi heartland states like roger simon mother but also crucially the state of the predation which is a bellwether state would send you know the maximum number of m.p.'s to parliament and the b. should be actually also seems to be making huge gains in states such as west bengal with pushing hard to make inroads so really all in all this really points to a kind of landslide victory for india's ruling party a son of the opposition party is of the might to account of paper ballots which

would be a huge undertaking given the hundreds of millions of votes in the selection how likely is that. well that's not likely to happen you know the election commission of india has already rejected demands by the opposition to kind of telling these people slips with the electronic voting machines before the votes are counted that's totally been rejected and of course the backdrop to this is several opposition parties this week complaining of water fraud off the emergence of videos and social media allegedly showing these machines being tampered with or being transported without without sufficient security but you know those demands of really been rejected by the election commission who say it's all above board and there are no irregularities in the process is really free and fair so on the thank you very much for the deal you saw your father in delhi. thank you. now some of the other stories making headlines around the world today call has

returned to the indonesian capital jakarta after deadly clashes between police and supporters of defeated presidential candidate. for both surged supporters to go home he also told them he would launch a legal challenge against president djoko dodos reelection. because president donald trump has walked out of a meeting with democrats refusing to work with them unless they drop all investigations into him senior democrats however say that trump's walkout was a premeditated premeditated stunt and increasing number of opposition lawmakers want impeachment proceedings launched against trump. and germany's biggest lender deutsche bank holds its annual general meeting today the board is set to face a grilling from investors and the share price of an all time low questions over the bank's strategy and leadership are expected to dominate the meeting.

politicians and other public figures are taking part in celebrations here in berlin today to mark the 70th anniversary of germany's constitution or basic law the constitution came into effect in may $949.00 after being drawn up under the supervision of the allies its aim was to ensure that after the years of nazi dictatorship and destruction of the war the new germany would be built on solid democratic foundations 40 years later when west and east were reunited the constitution was adopted in the new 3 unified germany. all this week we're looking at how the constitution is translated into reality every day by ordinary people today we focus on article 5 which guarantees freedom of expression we met activists sure one originally from iraq to find out how he uses sometimes provocatively is right. say what he wants in public for.

when it's high left my country because of freedom of expression so it was always and still is very important to me to be able to express my opinion. i meant had to flee his home in iraq because he wouldn't shut up in germany he's protected by the constitution. the arabic word and i'm a teacher is careful infidel the 20 year old is an atheist and he talks openly about his opinions on faith and other matters sometimes he wants to provoke here at a palestinian march in germany he's carrying a poster of 2 kissing men. i'm thinking there's pushing and shoving the police officer steps in to prevent violence.

he's not welcome. there. are many muslims it's a to boot. sometimes you have to be provocative and cross boundaries in order to change something in society and. i'm from a religious family there were certain rules about what could and couldn't do it was somehow clear to everyone that you couldn't be different and you couldn't think differently when the. one point i thought it had to be possible to say that you were no longer a believer without being punished. so. then i decided to do it for myself. so. it was 5 days after my 15th birthday when my father suddenly went to the police so he came back with 3 police

officers they beat me in front of my parents. then they locked me in a room for hours and they tortured me with cables and electric shocks. and i think. this is. a loss and that was the day i left iraq and we took this picture at night with a photographer with. at 1st i didn't want to tell my story in germany. to avoid more conflicts and so on. but at the same time i knew that if you express your opinion in europe the states will protect you. ahmed said muslims in germany abuse and threaten him when he openly expresses his opinions but here unlike in iraq he's protected by the police.

force a lot to be here and i won't let anyone here tell me how to live and what i'm allowed to do. that's human especially what i'm allowed to say. i am free. and. example of freedom of expression in germany which is enshrined in the german constitution celebrating its 70th anniversary today well we have some sports for you now and football's world governing body thief has abandoned plans to increase the number of teams at the next world cup in qatar chris harrington from data sports is here to tell us all about decision which is as much about politics as it is sport so chris what exactly did people want to do well ok as it stands 32 teams right now the plans were to expand it to 48 teams you know they conducted a feasibility study back in march to see if it was possible they concluded that

yeah qatar could do it but they would need a helping hand from their neighbors but that was shot down very quickly which will touch on in a minute before released this statement about the issue stating following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all of the relevant stakeholders it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal cannot be made now so this situation right now the goal is there is a blockade a few neighboring countries you a e saudi arabia bahrain in egypt cut ties with qatar back in 2017 you know if you say we can do it unless the blockade would be dropped clearly the level of football is not enough to motivate that change so it stands at 32 teams so if he seemed desperate to expand the number of teams in the turn it did they ask maybe they could post it alone with more teams right you know they did you know and just to point out of the subsequent world cup will host 48 teams my thought maybe we're

trying to do a beta test with the tar they ask the tar the organizing committee said yeah it will do an assessment and the conclusion was no good time. our very limited real estate you know no real infrastructure they're working around the clock to try to get that completed just those 32 teams so that was a tall order in itself just to put that out there. 222022 very controversial anyway is this going to take some of the heat off of qatar could even maybe possibly you know human rights issues concerning migrant workers have been hovering over qatar's heads they've denied those allegations they had to move the world cup from summer to the end of november to december that's outrage football traditionalists and complicated things domestically for european professional teams and you know all in all out of football inside qatar they won the world cup so they could be a threat in the cup they host chris harrington from data obvious for thank you so much ok. and just reminder the top story we're following for you here today our

polls have opened in elections to the european parliament voters in the u.k. and the netherlands begin testing their ballots today other e.u. countries will vote over the next 4 days results are due on sunday evening the far right and populist parties are expected to make a big day. you're watching d.w. news focus on europe coming up next thanks to what's. going to.

be a piece of video and its consequences. later called bombshell in vienna. austria as government is in chaos. we look at what role if any did the intelligence services play in this scandal. and how close are the right going to parkers to russia. next d.w. . goal.

and action packed life. to me. anything is possible as long as our coffee and his friends can drink are. these movies continuous double refugee camp. his life story may have grown to love. 27 years ago but there's no holding back his dreams. thank you for watching cinema stars may 27th on. the planet earth live the terms guide for journey to bring. i love berlin.

15 issues 50 stories and 50 very personal tips on berlin's very best feature. book now playing it for our hero max series starts may 25th on d w. hello and a warm welcome to focus on europe nice to have you with us they are recordings so explosive they've plunged austria's government into chaos the country's then vice chancellor caught on camera offering state contracts in exchange for campaign support. here in the villa and heinz.