sister i am. going to. start trying to sell. a. car and. this is v.w. news live from berlin and a massive spike in corona virus infections in serbia followed by talk of a news lockdown now an explosion of violence and police on the retreat protesters say the president is using the pandemic that is. also coming up in china old wave of human rights lawyers were arrested 5 years ago now some are being released we

need one street lawyer who is getting its life back together so we can fight for rights again. plus a tourist destination turned into a flood ravaged wasteland in central japan flooding and landslides have chilled dozens to the same storm rita havoc on some western japan is now down to record amounts of rain. the as. i'm sumi so misconducts good to have you with us anti-government rallies have filled the streets of serbia's capital belgrade for a 2nd day and night protesters are angry over what they see as the government's mishandling of the corona virus pandemic critics say the sharp spike in cases is the fault of serbia's president who lifted an earlier lock down to allow for elections authorities are expected to reimpose a partial ban on gatherings today. pandemic

frustrations bubble over on the streets of belgrade chaos erupted as thousands of protesters battles with police and try to storm the parliament they're angry over the president's handling of the coronavirus. the main reason we are here is to support the protesters during these abnormal times when the country is falling apart. cases have spiked across the balkan country in recent weeks serbia recorded its highest coded 1000 death toll on tuesday it forced president alexander to take action announcing a weekend curfew for belgrade but protesters have pushed him to backtrack. because of what i considered it but the crisis team thinks there's still hope to slow the spread so we may introduce harsher measures but without introducing a curfew. that hasn't been enough to keep the peace as police and

demonstrators face off with flares fireworks and tear gas. demonstrators say they want to return to normal and for the president to resign. let's get some analysis on the story now we have with us is the southeast europe expert for the german institute for international and security affairs thank you for joining us how do you explain why we've seen such violence in serbia over the government's handling of the pandemic. the reason is not only that their mixed serbia is a deeply divided society in which the president mr which holds all power so this partly because of that but than me but they go much deeper this is a side to i think it's further up with the hubris of the president who will split

off like you get closer to shuttle basis for his rule actually she is something like the german president a good government and think prime minister should run the country she hold has all the reins of the power in his hands so it's a protest against 8 years of suppression of the freedom of the press of the freedom of the media and it's this in a way shows that the serbian society is at the brink of a much much the pretty violent than ever before but about the state of the pens and they can serve you i mean the number of coronavirus cases there has exploded recently why do you think that is well not a medical expert but one member of the team who of the government team who is handling the pandemic said this morning that the situation is extremely dangerous that slowly the authorities are losing control over the spread of the when they make and there are many people say that simply off the hook having one of the

strictest lockdown sing in europe the government decided to open up the society and just in time for elections and these elections reinstated mr richard so a lot of people think that this was premature and that the only purpose for this will still have to kent in full power we'll have to leave it there vision values from the german institute for international and security affairs thank you for sharing your insights with us today. let's check in now on some other stories making news around the world the aid group oxfam is warning that the number of people facing hunger and acute from shortages could soon top a 1000000000 people due to the coronavirus crisis that could cost as many as 12000 lives a day if governments fail to take action. the number of crimes committed by extreme right and left wing groups in germany continues to rise german authorities registered around 30000 incidents last year alone investigators say violent attacks

carried out by right wing groups targeting minorities continue to be one of germany's chief threats and italian authorities have seized a migrant rescue boat operated by the german and geo sea watch claiming it did not comply with safety rules last month the vessel was used to rescue more than 200 people stranded at sea in april illy banned migrant rescue ships from docking at its ports because of the pandemic. to china now where some of the 300 lawyers and activists arrested in a 2015 crackdown are being released they have pushed back against president xi jinping has moved to tighten restrictions on free speech but were arrested and a sentence for subversion of power which are now from one lawyer just out of prison who is rebuilding his life as well as his desire to support rights. a family reunited one term john the prominent human rights lawyer was released from prison 2

months ago he's one of more than 200 lawyers were detained in 2015 when china's government started an unprecedented crackdown on lawyers. machines are one of those realities that you feel when you lose something important and then you get it back i cannot find the right words for this feeling it feels like something exceptionally precious but there is also the fear that i might lose him again. how high those are special. one turn junk spent almost 5 years behind bars many things are new to him this app that recognizes the names of plants. the farmer a hole where you could now i've been released i feel drawn to nature. i often go out to enjoy it that's how i started paying attention to plants i want to know their names. during these years isn't whose name also took a toll on his wife. and it was our job to hold these people came to my house and

blocked the entrance. have an issue with you when i tried to open the door and then told me if you come out i will kill you. china's government was taking their revenge on the compelling on his behalf his son to enter and also witnessed the ugly scene as. you're 7 aware take my sword and fight against them. this is what i really want to do to others it's our. turn john was taken without warning after that his wife did not hear anything about him until his trial was announced more than 3 years later and didn't die i am very tense very nervous i could not sleep on december 26th of 20181 trend john was charged with state subversion a serious offense and chandra levy was hoping to get

a glimpse of him in court but again state security had gathered in front of homs. which is the words you don't want i'm nervous i've been in situations often but every time is different. this doctor were this is not about the rights of relatives this case is about state secrets here so we are going to load up on that right off my you look. now at the families trying to put these experiences behind them will take time for them to get back to a new movie life. well gone followers of after my release my son and i were very affectionate with each other at least on the surface but the estrangement just quite obvious. when i tell him something he opposes me he rebels this gives me a headache i feel embarrassed. i want to become closer to each other.

right now one too many has a lot of time to spend with this family of 4 italians have evolved as warriors license to use already planning to appeal and to sue the government for it's wrong . let's bring in sophie richardson now she's the china director for human rights watch so she thank you for joining us do we know what exactly china accuses lawyers like wanting to of doing to subvert power. it really ranges from bringing cases that local authorities don't like to publicly criticizing the authorities in the charges that that authorities use against these people range from the subversion of we're sedition all the way through to incredibly charges way picking quarrels and stirring up trouble also and i think it's very important to understand that none of that lawyers who have been

detained or guess part it has in fact done anything criminal well this is part of this wider crackdown 5 years ago on lawyers human rights activists what is what have we seen happen since that. she didn't think government has really set a new low with respect to independent civil society and a real hostility towards lawyers journalists environmental activists people who are providing local social services you know any sort of organizing capacity outside the state or outside the party is considered problematic and so you know even people who are you know engaged in behavior that's as simple as helping people get health care or you know challenge local corruption which is a goal that the national government says it share it is considered problematic and so we've seen dozens if not hundreds of people who are peaceful activists or

community organizers be prosecuted on very harsh charges and get very long sentences why what do you think beijing strategy is here well i think beijing doesn't like any kind of challenges at all it especially doesn't like any kind of you know organizing its network and so to the extent that some of the lawyers had worked together or had a common purpose across the country that was considered problematic. at the end of the day it's ultimately that the chinese government the communist party don't feel like they should be beholden to anyone and so when they're challenged particularly through the court system you know where in principle they're supposed to be some rules and they're meant to be held accountable they have a particularly neuralgic reaction to that and that was very much on display when the lawyers were detained in a coordinated round up all across the country that netted you know hundreds of people in what by chinese standards is

a very small community clearly very targeted effort to shut down this kind of legal activism. sophie richardson china director for human rights watch thank you very much for joining us thank you. dozens of people have been killed as landslides and floodwaters continue to rip their southwest to pan hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes rescuers are searching for survivors but japan's nuclear logical agency is warning heavy rains will continue to batter the region in the coming days. flooding and mudslides have devastated this region normally renowned for its hot springs and scenic mountain trails a popular tourist destination transformed into a wasteland local residents hotel workers and visitors or have been caught up in the aftermath of the massive downpours. the land just crumbled more than i ever

thought it could. be rocks were falling into the valley and the river also sounded different. you know. and i have never seen so much rain it just kept falling on and on. japan's weather agency has ordered the evacuation of nearly half a 1000000 people but moving into shelters is not compulsory and many a choosing to stay put perhaps because of fears over the coronavirus. emergency units are carrying out search and rescue missions in various areas we will continue to do our utmost for the disaster prioritizing people's lives. the authorities are warning that more widespread heavy rain is likely to fall in the next 3 days for the destruction under loss of life no karlee likely. and one more item for you officials in sri lanka believe that a pair of baby elephants feeding from the same mother in a national park could be

a rare set of twins the 2 are thought to be between $3.00 and $4.00 weeks old they were spotted northeast of the capital colombo rangers are now carrying out d.n.a. tests to confirm they are indeed twins if there was also a match it would be the 1st time wildlife officials in sri lanka have seen twins but their mother. thank you for watching due to the news this. combating the corona pandemic. where does research stand. what are scientists learning. background information and. our corona. covert 19 special next on d w. every day counts.