place. this is v.w. news live from berlin the chancellor angela merkel says wednesday was a bad day for democracy in germany merkel reacts to a shock vote in the state of turin but the far right a.f.p. helped a mainstream party gain control of a state government that vote has sparked widespread outrage and the chancellor is calling the vote on forgivable she says it must be reversed but also coming up. senior german politicians appealed for wiki leaks founder julian assange should be released from jail in britain he is due in court in connection with an extradition

request by the u.s. the u.n. repertoire in torture tells you that he that rape allegations against a soundtrack are questionable plus this is usually a bustling commercial street but so souvenir shops mark shops tourists who visit to beijing usually come to spend time here today i'm the only one. the ghost town that is beijing normally busy streets and metro trains are deserted as the city fights the coronavirus. i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us here in germany a regional election as set off what's being called a political earthquake for the 1st time 2 mainstream parties have worked with a far right alternative for germany or a.s.d. until now other parties have refuse. to cooperate with the far right and the

development in the eastern state of turin jia has sparked widespread protests one of the parties cooperating with the a.s.d. is chancellor angela merkel's conservatives and the tremors are being felt thousands of kilometers away in south africa where the chancellor is on an official visit of the situation back home was the 1st topic that merkel addressed when she spoke to the media there. but this is an extraordinary election result which undermines the long held values of both the c.d.u. and myself namely that we do not except majorities achieved with help from the a.f.p. . that has always been clear. this is an inexcusable situation and a result that must be reversed immediately. the c.d.u. will not participate in any government formed with the newly elected state to

president. i mean this. this is a bad day for democracy one which breaks with the long held beliefs and traditions of the sea do you think we will now do everything we can to make clear that this is in no way in line with what our party represents and has done throughout history. this will be our focus over the coming days. to come up with. our chief political editor michel accuser has been following all the latest developments on the story for c joins us for more hi michelle and you've been listening in to this press conference so with the german chancellor what else did she say about this huge political controversy that's been taking place in germany. well it was rather remarkable it was like the old days when she was indeed still the leader of the c.d.u.

party her conservative party here and she no longer is a great come cowboy has taken over that role and yet she's then south africa seeing herself in a sense forced to comment on what she described as a bad day for democracy a breach with the values of the c.d.u. and something that needs to be reversed what happened well essentially in the ring you know which is the stronghold of the far right party the tail is wagging the dog politically after the leader of a party that barely scraped the 5 percent hurdle into that regional parliament managed to become a new state premier against all odds knowingly with the help of the far right if tea party and the conservative c.d.u. and this former f.t.p. interior minister puts himself. boehm has an air of volume of that's what everybody's getting so worked up about here in germany to many it feels like those

dark days when the fascists and the leader of the far a 50 in theory can be legally called a fascist were helped by the conservative the mainstream conservatives in german society helping essentially out of it get to power that's the magnitude of it how it's felt here in germany right now and that's why the chancellor herself feels she needs to say that this needs to be reversed more than just a call on her original party to fix this michelle that we heard her say that she the situation is unforgivable that it needs to be undone essentially this controversy did break yesterday why did it take so long to hear from the chancellor . well she was safe already on a plane to south africa she actually did have a call with her party to an it couldn't come combo and also the leaders of a coalition part of the social democrats who are having a bit of

a field day on this they are known as the in stable partner in this so-called grand coalition i would expect that intense consultation it will take place and pressure will be put on there can't be much more pressure than this on the conservative c.d.u. but also on the free democrats to make this just a flash in the pan and something that is reversed rather than something that becomes part of german political history the jury so out on that we have heard thomas kenniff say he is looking to actually form a government so what does happen next what do german parties do to undo this as chancellor merkel has called for. well the parties here in berlin can't really do that terribly much except try and put pressure on the regional party leadership because germany is a federal state ironically the setup is that to prevent exactly something like this happening the other way around if you had an extremist party gaining power at the

central level they would not be able to exercise pressure to tell regional parties what to do now this is a reverse situation and i would expect us kemo to consider very carefully his next step because at the end of the day he doesn't have a majority that he can really form a government with in the state of the renia and the far right a 50 is celebrating this as a victory at least a moral victory over the conservative block particularly younger mackerels c.d.u. alexander going on to the chief whip in parliament a leading figure and a former c.d.u. politician has declared the aim of the far right if he's to force the c.d.u. to cooperate with them to have no other option well this is pretty much what happened through the back door in the rain here and unless the c.d.u. and the free democrats can demonstrate that this was a political accident they will have

a lot to explain to the mainstream conservative electorate here and me it is a hugely significant political development as you're saying misha it had there been protests on the street here in berlin and it doesn't bode well for chancellor merkel's conservatives i mean what does this mean for the governing coalition. well let me just take it one step back i mean what the conservative c.d.u. now actually has an open rift you have a party leader able to control her own m.p.'s or to at least persuade them not to go into what is void is seen as a political trap by the far right if tea party so what has been kind of internal debate underneath the carpet is now out in the open that's damaging for anika they've come combo as conservative leader it's once again destabilizes the so-called ground coalition i'm going to mackerels government i have huge doubts that this would really have the political energy to bring that coalition down but

we have indeed some very interesting days ahead of us our chief political editor michelle or confer with the very latest thank you so much now senior german politicians are launching an appeal to have wiki leaks founder julian assange released from jail in britain former foreign ministers of my cardio is among more than 130 public figures who say they want the u.k. to follow the advice of the un special rapporteur on torture to release a song on medical grounds the founder of wiki leaks which publishes news leaks and a classified material is in a high security british prison awaiting extradition to the u.s. on spying charges he had previously evaded capture by taking diplomatic refuge. the 1st few months that julian assange spent in the ecuadorian embassy in london it was all defiant and optimistic gestures. 7 years later he would emerge as a broken man when british police tracked the wiki leaks founder out of the

diplomatic mission in 2019 he looked confused and was almost unrecognizable by u.n. experts on torture said a son showed symptoms of psychological torture. some fear this torture may still be happening today so how did we get here and why. julian assange to grow fuge in the ecuadorian embassy and 2012 after sweden asked the u.k. to extradite the wiki leaks founder to answer allegations of rape in that country. sanchez always denied those allegations saying they were pretense to have them eventually extradited to the united states where he is wanted on espionage charges . as we can you expand on the threat so does the freedom of expression and the hope of all our society. his supporters share this view

they say the swedish rape allegations were fabricated and an excuse to punish sanch for the leaking of hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents and for exposing possible war crimes. one high profile leak was a video obtained from the u.s. military which wiki leaks says shows he was soldiers opening fire on people in baghdad and killing several civilians and 2 journalists. a son just now in a maximum security prison in the u.k. and continues to fight against his extradition to the united states if he loses his fight and is convicted in the u.s. the wiki leaks founder faces up to 175 years in jail the rape case and sweden has since been dropped. and we're joined now by neil's mel series the united nations special rapper toure on torture who invested gaited this case mr ellsworth

thank you so much for joining us here on i want to start by asking you about the rape allegations against julian assange because you've been very critical of this case we just heard there that the allegations that the charges have been dropped are these assault allegations false where they fabricated life to the. first into this case it was a very looked into look into this because i can resume pressure like everybody else who probably. guilty there is a nurses by her rapist and so i was very reluctant to get into the schools just as lawyers convinced me to look at just a few key pieces of evidence and destroy it as soon as you scratched the surface of the public narrative slightly it becomes a very contradictory and you can see there is internal correspondence between police officers in the dictionary to the statements of you know which victims of

regency lives lived in and the woman who was supposedly raped sends a text message to the friends out of the police interrogation seeing i don't want to look it was a subtle anything i just wanted to do with the test what the police wants to get their hands on here so that we will use pieces of evidence that that's the adult match with the public narrative of the swedes and also the way the proceedings have been conducted. are riddled with graves due process violations we should all not an interest of getting justice here you said yourself that you know that julian assange has lawyers approached you asking for you to look at this case you were a big un special rapporteur on torture was julian assange tortured. well that was the other reason i was reluctant to get into this because i didn't 1st see the link to my mandate but then it immediately became clear to me that there's actually 3

aspects that are important your 1st distress sounds disclosed and revealing information evidence for systematic torture to us and its allies and none of these crimes have been prosecuted so clearly that's a violation of the convention against torture and thus already given might not it and secondly i visited him together was to medical experts who specialize in examining torture victims and both of them came to the conclusion that he showed typical signs for psychological torture so again this falls within my not to if the u.k. government is would like to investigate those to provide address will be done now thirdly he is threatened with extradition to the united states and we all know security defendants in the united states if convicted are likely to be held in supermax conditions under the so-called same special measures which worldwide are considered to be in violation of the provision of treatment you've been very

critical of a lot of the players in this case have the democratic governments of sweden u.k. the us also ecuador who are all involved here how they intentionally manipulated justice. this is my conclusion yes i was a bit reluctant to come out in the public with this statement because i thought no one will believe me but i have the pieces of evidence and put the questions to vs 4 states that i asked them to explain how their conduct is complaint with human rights law and none of them were able or even willing to respond to you and to engage in an aisle which certainly is not of the sun right a stark warning there from neal's mouth so united nations special properties or on torture thank you so much for joining us on day to day. let's get around to some other stories making news around the world 3 people were killed and dozens injured when a plane skidded off the runway at istanbul 2nd biggest airport the boeing 737 caught

fire and split into 3 pieces after landing in bad weather the flight was operated by the turkish low cost carrier pegasus italian authorities say 2 people were killed when a high speed train derailed several others suffered serious injuries an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the durham and which happened around 50 kilometers south of milan. israeli police say they are investigating a car ramming in jerusalem as a terrorist attack 14 pedestrians mostly soldiers were injured when the car sped into them police say the driver fled the scene in the vehicle the incident came as 2 palestinians were killed in clashes with israeli forces and the u.s. senate has acquitted president donald trump of both charges of impeachment the senate which is dominated by the president's fellow republicans voted to clear him on charges of abuse and on obstruction of congress the result ends a bid by the democrats to oust trump from office. the world health organization is

calling for almost 700000000 dollars to help fight the coronavirus it says that money is needed to help countries that don't have systems in place to combat the virus meanwhile the death toll is approaching 600 and more than 28000 people have been infected china's capital beijing is not at the center of the outbreak but correspondent but he is building a found its streets and squares deserted as the government attempts to bring the disease under control. a rare sight in the dry winters of beijing the gate to the forbidden city covered in snow a few people have come out to take in the spectacle but getting inside is out of the question just like almost all public facilities beijing's most famous historic site remains closed thank you dude it's good that the government took these measures we support them we depreciate even struck to measure is your. business activity has largely come to a halt across much of the capital this is usually

a bustling commercial street lots of souvenir shops not shops tourists who visit beijing usually come to spend time here today i'm the only one. every day human interaction has become suspicious this shop asked its customers to stay outside and communicate their needs from the outside. some pharmacies take the same approach everyone is wearing. because the younger it's a national emergency we stand together or we're not standing together should not be taken literally residential complexes keep strangers out in this compound visitors have to register with their id the guards look for the place of birth who are only people can't get any even if they live here they'll be quarantined. people from who by a province where the virus originated are to be isolated in this hotel discrimination

against them is now rampant. at the entrance to the subway system a mandatory temperature check. at the same site as everywhere in the city lots of space. trains are running as usual it's the passengers who are like. this circle i think some of beijing's most patients shopping area as the railway station is. hard road. to. beijing has reported less than $300.00 cases so far but fear here has spread much faster than the virus ever could. you're watching news still to come on our show the man who was spartacus we look back on the life and movies of hollywood legend kirk douglas who has died at the age of 103.

but 1st it is a practice that usually causes lifelong physical and psychological damage female genital mutilation ask the united nations has set today february 6th as an annual day to draw attention to the problem which is more widespread than you might think now is carried out in communities around the world but it is particularly prevalent in these regions here in africa the arab world and also in asia and it is thought that up to 200000000 women and girls have undergone some form of female genital mutilation especially in 3 particular countries egypt ethiopia and also indonesia have the most cases by far in fact in egypt 87 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 are thought to be affected but the problem is not limited to those countries here in the european union sought around a 600000000 women and girls live with the consequences of female judgment genital

mutilation many survivors live in germany where the issue tends to be taboo say that you met a woman who was cut despite being a campaigner against a f c m. it was an ambush back in the hospital after the birth of her daughter showed up to mourn him was circumcised by her midwife without knowing it. i want what is a possible i follow that's not a something wrong or something. and just. he. cut everything she was able to. show dia was a long time activist against female genital mutilation or f t m in her home country sudan she stunned that such a thing could happen to her of all people. in many african and asian countries

uncircumcised women are still ostracized. but in germany too the number of girls at risk of circumcision has been growing for years while in 2017 there were about 13000 girls living with the threat of f g m in 2019 that number rose to almost 18000. in most cases their families travel to their countries of origin during the summer holidays to have their door to circumcise their. should dia has lived in germany since 2015 although f.d.m. as a criminal offense here she has nonetheless found facebook groups and chats where women planned the circumcision off their daughters and sudan only recently a mother in one of these groups asked for tips on some of the women.

their lives. and so many other world leaders are here at the desert flower center in berlin dr camilla tones and an interpreter advise circumcised women about their options including surgery trans believes that teachers have a duty to recognize ahead of time if a girl is in danger. as a visitor models we think it's very important not to stigmatize the girls just because you think she might be from a country where if she has practiced. maybe she has problems or she's already been cut but i feel very strongly that we should discuss this with them 1st and ask if this could be an issue. in current dia things germany should make clear to families that after them as a crime and they might even endanger their right to stay if. i things up. a few years ago should i had an operation at

the desert flower center since then she has recovered confidence in her body fat sad news from hollywood now the legendary oscar winning actor kirk douglas has died at the age of 103 he's considered one of the last movie legends of hollywood's golden era he was famous both on screen and off his son the actor michael douglas announced his death saying his life was well lived and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations. he was one of hollywood's greats and treated accordingly kirk douglas korean spent several decades and it was prolific with more than 90 credits to his name. in a statement announcing his death his son and fellow oscar winning actor michael douglas said to many my father was a legend but to me he was simply dad. born in 116 kirk

douglas made his name in hollywood's golden age of movie making he was one of the biggest box office stars of the 19 fifties and sixties possibly he was most famous for his role in the 960 s. classic spartacus he was nominated for 3 oscars eventually winning the honorary award in 1964 is more than 50 years in filmmaking much mammie to march today that's no chance at all. in 2001 douglas was honored at germany's biggest film festival the berlin island receiving a golden bear was again for his lifetime achievement was accepting the award he charmed the crowd by saying more than just a few words in german was. his. is. spent a lot of time in front of cameras and crowds and his legacy is not going to fade

anytime soon. come on. now their city waited for it for half a century super bowl champions the kansas city chiefs have celebrated their big win with an even bigger party crowds a loyal fans turned out to congratulate the players as they paraded through the streets they eventually ended up at a massive rally where everybody was led and dance by the teen's mascot casein while the chiefs won their 1st super bowl title in 50 years on sunday by beating the san francisco 49. all right let's get a reminder now of our top story here on d w there is outrage and shock in germany after for the 1st time a mainstream party joined up with the far right to gain control of the state government chancellor angela merkel has said the deal is unforgivable and must be reversed. coming up next

a murder journalist and political corruption in slovakia that's on our show focus on europe with peter craven that's coming up in just a few minutes right here in the w. state of.

to brothers in slovakia caught between corruption and chain. money and caution of a businessman accused of hiring a hitman. even on a car shot a cafe owner fighting for democracy. 2 brothers who couldn't be more different and their torn country focused on europe. next on don't.

enter the conflict zone here in london it's still all about rex rex it breaks it to break up of crux of what we all should full was making our own decisions and steering the right ship we want to stay friends with our british neighbors stressed city's residents best good company so special this week we'll look back good some of the key arguments to give shake this all for the going great bricks it debate conflict zone. in 60 minutes found d.w. . were systematically robbed by the nazis. and after the war there were no signs of compensation. jewish art collectors are counted and announced so i'm on her 3rd right. and steal all these hard words just to get more money it was true lemonade everything connected to church culture today researchers are searching for the

missing works of art. it's challenging for the experts. and painful for the descendants. to someone who did art in the 3rd reich starts feb 10th on t w. o n a very warm welcome indeed to focus on europe with me peter correct then and we begin in slovakia a country where tensions are running high the head of upcoming parliamentary elections and a country still traumatized by the 2000 inmates.