this is g.w. news live from berlin and from cathedral to mosque to museum now the iconic i.s.o. theo could become a muslim house of worship once again a turkish board clears the way for the is sample landmark to reconvert back to a mosque that decision comes to despite international objections. also coming up thousands of employees tens of millions of viewers now the biggest t.v. network in the philippines has silenced lawmakers have voted against renewing the broadcasters franchise which regularly clashed with president ford did you tell.

i'm sumi so much going to thank you for joining us turkey's highest administrative court has issued a ruling that paves the way for the government to convert istanbul's from the museum back into a mosque the willing and nelda $934.00 government decree that turned the unesco world heritage site and is that bull's most iconic landmark into a museum but turkish president rajapaksa one push to restore its status as a mosque he said that international pressure to keep it a museum was a violation of turkey's national sovereignty the russian orthodox church has called the move on acceptable. let's go to istanbul where did jones is standing by for us hi dorian tell us more about what's behind this decision.

well president heard one has been flirting with his idea ever since he came to power in the early 20 years ago but why now well the church economy is in deep trouble very very badly hit by the cove in 1000 epidemic and i think this move is seen as very much trying to try to change the conversation given the fact the polls indicate he's ruling a.k.p. is at record lows albeit it still the main party it is hemorrhaging votes out of alarming rate according to one supporters so this is very much seen as consolidating both his religious but his nationalist base as well and that's particularly important because in the last few months 2 new center right parties were merged which are seen as posing a major challenge to earth one going forward so this is very much rallying the base and changing the conversation well as we mentioned the highest the thea's one of istanbul's most iconic buildings let's take a look at the legacy of the you know world heritage site. empires have fallen religions have been replaced the city itself has changed names but the dome

of the higher sophia has restored it all built in the 6th century as a byzantine church it was for centuries the world's largest christian cathedral almost a millennium later it was converted into an islamic mosque during the autumn an empire but in the 1930 s. it was turned into a museum under the founder of the modern turkish republic ataturk a symbol of the new secular state inclusive of all religions. since then it has been a meeting point of many faiths but held by none a place where pope's and presidents have come to pay their respects and marvel at the architecture. the religion is a tool for president richard tayyip erdogan has overseen prayers in the museum and raised its status at local election rallies. i also feel he says over the divinity

as you know they converted the higher sophia from a mosque to a museum a while ago. now we hope to be able to call it a mosque again after the election. with. islamic groups have fought to pray at the highest the fia angering neighboring greece which says the building is part of its author docs christian history unesco has warned turkey its conversion to a mosque could violate the world cultural heritage convention. a flashpoint of religious and national struggle the highest the fear will remain an icon of istanbul. story and what does happen now to the highest the thea. well that's a big question on everyone's minds now the government do have the power to go for

with that we have case now it's unclear what the timetable will be president one is due to speak tonight where he expected to unveil his plans for the future of the i saw fear there are major obstacles ahead for the government it is unesco world heritage site unesco earlier today warned that they wanted any notification before the change to that building 5 will be something that will be calculated and also another key factor for them is what will happen to the magnificent mosaics of of the christ of the virgin mary by santai and kings which adorn the inside of the ice off here according to islamic doctrine you cannot pray in the presence of figurative representation so what will happen to those mosaics if they go ahead with their plan for the most. dorian jones reporting from istanbul thank you for that update let's check in now on some other stories making news around the world the dutch government is taking russia to the european court of human rights for its alleged role in the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17 over in eastern

ukraine 6 years ago the foreign minister said his country wants justice for the 298 victims killed when the plane was hit by a surface to air missile. the european union has has unveiled compromise proposals for its next 7 year budget e.u. council president sean michel presented the plans including a $750000000000.00 euro coronavirus recovery fund leaders will meet next week to decide whether aid should be distributed to member states as handouts or loans. voting is under way in singapore's general election prime minister lee hsien loong cast his vote following coronavirus safety protocols his long governing people's action party is expected to retain power. lawmakers in the philippines have rejected the renewal of a broadcast license for the country's top broadcaster a b s c via the media group employs 11000 people and has an audience of tens of

millions of people activists called the move a political vendetta by lawmakers on behalf of president go to tear to the network has challenge the president in the past and will now be off the air indefinitely. here is what an a.b.s. c.d.n. worker had to say after the vote. so far. if you could. get very recently broke down very very early on in the wrong or right or the right people whom running the market. and they're going to war and. there's even a burden he's a very narrow. very very walker if you drink right let's bring in correspondent ana santos in manila for more on the story hi ana good to see you why wasn't this license renewed. well quite simply this was the president settling an old score you only have to look at president the therapist past speeches to see how he has consistently and on several occasions very clearly stated that he will block

the renewal of the e.b.'s c.b. enfranchised under philippine law broadcasters and utilities are required legislates their franchise which can be of only approved by congress now he has threatened many times to block this franchise because he accused the network of not airing political ads that he had paid for joining his campaign so he alleged that the network had swindled swindled him out of some money now this is really very indicative or very characteristic of president that there are being very vindictive so today congress which is filled with terror to allies voted for the non renewal of the c.b.s. franchise and where does this leave the franchise and also taking a broader look here where does it leave journalism in the philippines. a.b.s.e band is the country's largest broadcaster so it has the widest reach it it's radio and

t.v. programs reach the most remote areas in the country so it is now cutting off millions of people from vital information at a time of a global pandemic like call that maintaining it is also cut them off from free entertainment which is also vital during this time of quarantine and on the issue of you know media freedom in the philippines you also have to look at. past actions of the deter the government even as early as last month the president sorry journalist maria ressa was convicted of cyber libel and she could face up to 6 years in prison so looking at the track record of this administration they have consistently cracked down on independent media that has been critical of its policies most pacifically the coverage of the brutal drug war so again this is another move on the crackdown on freedom of the press and on civil liberties and can a.v.'s fight the suspicion they have limited options right

now one of them will be to file for a motion for reconsideration or to file for a brand new franchise altogether either option will take a lot of time and it will also be very bleak considering that again the you know legislative franchises are approved by congress and congress is filled with the therapist allies so it's very bleak now for arabia c.b.s. they continue to broadcast on their cable network and also online but still this does not have the reach of t.v. and radio that is needed right now for information at the time of a pandemic. i was correspondent on a santo speaking to us earlier from manila now bosnia and herzegovina is marking 25 years since this weapon it's a genocide more than 8000 people mostly men were killed by serb forces in the massacre on saturday like on every july 11th relatives of the most recently

identified victims will gather in srebrenica for a funeral here in berlin d.w. spoke with 2 survivors of the massacre. to send off roses takes her back to a peaceful life in the hills of spread parineeti. until the age of 45. had a happy life but then yugoslavia fell apart serbian forces shelled the town and tried to stuff its residents out now i go to. the mornings where the worst every day is not even one am i had children in front of my house begging they wanted something to eat but we didn't have anything ourselves nothing. not yet. i between 93 and 95 the fighting between sub forces and bosnian militias intensified the serbs were trying to force the population out of their homes to

make the opponents surrender. in july 1005 general later convicted of war crimes and genocide and roots rubber meets the separation between life and death began. and so i've got them abroad used that when they put 2 tanks facing each other and people had to walk through then they started charging people old women and children on one side young women on the other fort and entertainment at night. the men were taken away even little boys from the age of 8 even 90 year olds. was carted so severely endeavor this did god you know study on a soup to watch that. an estimated 8000 men and boys were shot in the following days. lost his father and spread bernita he often imagines his final moments before he

got shot at the whole point did he feel hungry did he feel thirsty. if he was conscious did he think about us his family did anything give him strength we're going to crack. in 20053 manes of his father were dented fired in 3 different mass graves thanks to d.n.a. tests before the burial he insisted on seeing them and recognized his father skull . when you got arrested him when remains are found they are often already charred and decomposed on the previous and. about was all man. but that makes the teeth stand out more in contrast and i recognized my father smile. for my new father to see. yeah in july

95 women and children left represents are under the eyes of serbian forces. to slim ziad was amongst them but on her way out she would know something she will never be able to forget. assume put themselves through that whatever friends of mine try to scape but the soldiers caught them and drag them back to the street they wanted everyone to see what happens to those who try to escape they took them and then shot them right in front of me they were like family to me. throughout most of our not so many really we should family. just like demi clergy she lives with trauma to this day but still the smell of roses lives on and reminds her of her farm a peaceful you've inspired parineeta coming up next our covert 19 special as the coronavirus is new taking is it becoming more

dangerous chris colfer has that coming up in one minute and don't forget you can always go to our website.