i don't say they go. to use have the knowledge and i wish more like a god but i don't have a fire you see on my phone i don't see all on your own i had to was there anything that goes over there. there are still measures in place people have to use a health and scan the code to register at certain locations tourist sites have limited visitor numbers estimates put the number of tourists in china during this season that 550000000 people that would be 2 thirds of last year's figure. i think yes but i thought yesterday was that it was. just you know you know they were going to get. out of their. china's economy has returned to positive growth government spending on

infrastructure and construction has brought workers back into the city. but growth is still a lot slower than in previous years private consumption especially is lagging behind companies have cut wages and council bonuses for the employees in downtown beijing that traces of the past 6 months are still visible. businesses have been hit hard by this crisis many have little to no income from month and month and many shops and restaurants have to shut john experts have long warned of china's imbalance growth too much investment and today it will consumption corporate 19 has made these warnings ever more urgent. china has a history of ambitious projects the great wall of china the silk road and now its new silk road officially known as the road initiative it's the largest

infrastructure project ever seen the transport energy mining i.t. and communications projects spanned the globe and even reach into outer space the original so prob a same quaint according to today's standards but the fact is it paved the way to where we are now. a brief history of the silk road 6400 kilometers searing 50 degree celsius heat the bitter cold of 40 below across steps deserts and high mountains with the constant threat of armed bandits. the silk road a perilous challenge the bones of pack animals litter the wane as if in mourning. but the world's oldest and most important trade route was not a single road it was a vast network of many caravan routes. by the 2nd

century b.c.e. the silk road connected china to the roman empire. the term silk road was popularized in 1987 by german geographer fedayeen unfun. soup was highly sought after by roman women. but only the chinese knew how to produce the valuable textile. the 2 year long trip with up to $1000.00 bactrian camels was worth it. they didn't just carry silk but also spices lacquers 1st and porcelain. in return europe sent gold gem stones and glass. inventions too such as paper and black gunpowder were spread. and even with legends were transmitted buddhism arrived in china and japan by way of the silk road. cities along the silk road flourished and some are conned and

tashkent there was a ruling trade most merchants only travelled short distances then sold their wares to the next buyers this made the goods more expensive but diseases were also transmitted along the trade routes like the plague which killed a 3rd of europe's population in the 14th century. the demise of the silk road began mainly because it was replaced by new maritime brutes customs duties and bandits could be avoided and goods reached their destinations more quickly. and today china's new silk road is expected to cost a trillion euros but that gigantic infrastructure project is not about reviving the glories of days gone by it's purely a shrewd economic investment. and that brings us to the controversy this initiative is the centerpiece of presidencies foreign policy is

a clever way of locking in future markets for chinese goods and services but also a risky way of keeping countries on the drip of a financial lifeline the belton road loans of mainly gone to developing economies since the. several have applied for deaf relief however before taking things too far governments might want to consider china's human rights record and its green credentials. a gigantic construction site part of a highway said to run 170 kilometers across montenegro financed with the help of a 1000000000 euro loan from china this stretch of construction is along the charles river part of a unesco world heritage site some environmental activists say the decision to build here was a mistake there had been 18 alternatives to teach the specimen and why is the real great great question none of these is just considering that he says you know and some other than if it should be taken out of.

this river gorge is one of the deepest in europe the river basin is a biosphere reserve. the water that flows from the higher elevations is crystal clear. environmental activist natasha mitchell says it's one of the most ecologically important regions in montenegro. it's host for many speeches of the species like species. similar so. that 100 kilometers because it's. about 100 kilometers downstream is where the chinese financed highway will run directly across a tributary of the river. building on this terrain is complicated and expensive the activist believes that the valley route was chosen because it's the cheapest option

biologist studying the issues say that the construction project is destroying the habitat of various fish and plant species. up to $4000.00 construction workers from china have been working here during peak construction phases chinese companies are raking in the profits but paying precious little in tax plus all the construction materials and equipment imported from china are exempt from customs duties. which is environmental organization employs 15 people their work is supported by donations as well as some funding from the european union while we're filming a guard pops up and orders us to leave the area even though we're on a public road. chinese manager just said that we have to leave the place because we can take a weekend off they have reports of the construction because this is something that should be forbidden so the site the new highway will connect montenegro's the coast

to the north of the country. in the capital port greta the state where an agency money to put it's responsible for the construction work the director insists it's all in accordance with east standards. but we're on the right path because we want to develop north montenegro that helps the country and europe as a whole. the north of the country is underdeveloped compared to the south. the north has enormous potential in the areas of industry tourism and energy. months is an anti corruption watchdog that keeps a close eye on the montenegrin government day on melo votes is investigating the financial impact of the 1000000000 euro loan. it's a difficult task because the government is keeping the financial details under lock and key. says research shows that construction contracts to domestic firms are only

going to companies with close ties to the government he's also discovered that under the terms of the loan an arbitration court didn't china would have jurisdiction over any legal disputes and if montenegro can't repay the debt in time china would be able to make collateral claims. montenegro is a small country with a population of just over 600000 the average income is around $500.00 euros a month the chinese loan is worth almost one 5th of montenegro's g.d.p. . we asked monte puts director for his assessment. but there are always risks associated with any construction project. that's the government investigated these risks in full detail. so we can say that the project

won't be a problem for the month on a grim budget. and it's important to know that every cent of highway tolls will go into paying back the loan but we believe we'll be able to pay it back down to the last cent which i want to send. that we head to an area just south of the capital where another section of highway is under construction pitted against a 1000000000 euro project environmental activists like natasha which are very much underdogs but she's determined to speak out against the lack of transparency and rampant environmental destruction with the chinese investor and their culture actually it's more about just straightforward being and doing things without the 2 questions and of course the it also causes some questions and none understand it. for the time being this is still a highway to nowhere whether the new superhighway will ever reach neighboring

serbia is very much an open question. skepticism and concerns over china's place in the global economy could be higher but it's clear the chinese will be already playing a leading role. absolutely

it. took me. to. come. into the conflict zone with tim sebastian. a deep preacher blinded america is heading for its election my guest this week from washington is ken cuccinelli the acting number 2 is that the problems of homeland security which caused uproar all through the course of his agents used excessive force during recent protests in

portland oregon can his department keep the peace conflict. and 30 minutes to go 1st to the barricades in defense of cultural autonomy. good khaki pie the country's top arts university the far right government wants to impose a government of learning more to the school. cut the student protesters strongly opposes measures up to the culture war in congress not. focused on your book the economist paul t. w. . and you hear me now i guess we're going to need you and how the last 2 years gentlemen starts now we'll bring you i'm going to back off and give them a hard time for surprise yourself with what is possible police medical relief what a new start and want some. we talked to people who followed her along the way maurice and critics right join us the metals last stop.

the fight against the corona virus pandemic. where does science stand. what new findings have researchers and. information and background into. the corona up to. code 19 special. monday to friday on d w. frankfurt . international gateway to the best connection self road and rail. located in the heart of europe are connected to the whole world. experienced outstanding shopping and dining office and try our services. be our guest at

frankfurt airport city managed by from bought. the 30 daily news live from berlin pushing back against the pandemic governments across europe trying to turn back the tide of the grown up fire in germany a chance america has announced a tighter restrictions saying the rapid rise in new infections must be stopped or things won't end well. returns to any nationwide state of emergency as covert

patients push the health system to its limits is also introducing a nighttime curfew for people in paris and cities. thailand's government crackdown slashed gatherings as pro-democracy protests in the capital bangkok the group had earlier set up outside the prime minister's office. for the most unwelcome across europe the number of new coronavirus infections is surging and so of a number of new restrictions to stop that search german chancellor i'm going to america has outlined new measures agreed at a marathon meeting in berlin the aim is to slow the spread of the virus especially in urban hotspots. if the rapid rise in new cases is not stopped the situation and well the numbers for the past 24 hours

a just in and germany has posted another dramatic jump in new infections at over 6600 cases that's the highest daily tally since the pandemic began and underlines the seriousness off necker its message. i'm convinced that the actions we take and do not take in the coming days and weeks will be decisive in answering the question of how we will get from being make a pen to me. then. we are seeing a rise in the rate of infections a steep rise and there is a very high rate of infection in certain regions of germany. in 15 species and joining us for more on the coronavirus situation here in germany and europe is michele stockman from our news team michelle what sort of measures is germany looking at to contain the spike in new coronavirus cases well the measures that were announced late wednesday night aimed to help people limit the number of

contacts that they have so in cities in regions where the number of cases exceeds 35 per 100000 within 7 days been the messman number of people you're allowed to meet in a private setting is 15 now that's important because germans had a problem with the virus spreading to privacy operations like weddings and birthdays and things like that and also with that number if that threshold exceeded mask requirements will be stricter now let's say that a city or region becomes a hotspot meaning that the number of cases exceeds 50 per 100000 within a 7 day period that means that there will also be a curfew imposed on bars and restaurants at 11 pm now that's the case already in several cities across germany including here in the capital berlin there's been a curfew on bars and pubs since saturday now the situation here in germany is

pretty bad but in france just across the border it's looking even worse what more can you tell us about the situation there it's not good we're also seeing that they're reporting record numbers of new daily infections 3 days this week the new deal in facts and. exceeded 20000 new cases so president emanuel mccall has reimposed a public health emergency state of emergency and he earlier addressed the nation to talk about measures that are going to be imposed like curfews and he said that france isn't a worrying situation. we have not lost control we are in a situation which is worrying and which means we shouldn't remain inactive but we shouldn't panic donovan. we are really learning what it means to be a nation that we have slowly got used to being a society of free individuals we are a nation of citizens who stand side by side we cannot get through this if everyone

doesn't play their part so i'm saying very clearly the message i came to convey this evening i need every one of you we need each of us moves of this one isn't this old. ok so what he wants from everyone in france is that they limit their social contacts and so he's imposed a curfew across 9 cities that means from 1000 to 6 am you're not supposed to be outside your house you can't be going to a restaurant or going to your friend's house if you're on the street you have to have a good reason and that nighttime curfew will affect just around 20000000 people across france. so we talked about germany we talked about france what about the rest of europe there's also a worrying picture there we're seeing that in countries that had been hit hard by the virus but then beat it back over the summer they're now in their 2nd wave and then there are other countries who don't have such a worrying problem with the virus you know so far in the year are now seeing

a surge in cases and we're going to bring up a map to show you what that looks like. you can see that early on it was countries like italy spain france and britain that were the hardest hit eastern european was largely spared but watch as most of the map turns red summer cases have surged in all but a few countries norway finland and greece are still posting some of the lowest numbers of new infections by population on the continent. michel stockman thank you so much for reporting on the coronavirus situation in germany and europe you're welcome. let's turn now to some of the other stories making news around the world the vatican has opened its 1st known trial against clergy accused of sex abuse one priest is accused of molesting an altar boy in the vatican's youth seminary between 27 and 2012 another priest is accused of covering up the crimes the vatican investigates only after the victim went public 2070. in

a landmark ruling and greek cortez handed long prison sentences to the leaders of neo nazi group golden dawn the group's leader. and several other members were sentenced for running a criminal gang the former political party has been linked to a number of violent hate crimes. the european union has reportedly agreed to sanction 6 russian security officials over the poisoning of russian opposition leader alexina funny yes it freezes and travel bans to be implemented within days russia has threatened to hit back with a similar list. heavy rain and flooding has killed at least 15 people in southern india these images from the city. where police say $25.00 centimeters of rain fell in one day authorities have been using boats to evacuate residents from low lying parts of the city. in thailand the government has banned

public outer rings after protesters set up camp outside the prime minister's office and bangkok pro-democracy rallies have been gaining strength and recent weeks with calls for a constitutional reform the demonstrators are also demanding an overhaul of the monarchy a to boot topic in thailand where criticism of the king is punishable by law. they have come in their thousands once again calling for a prime minister prayuth chair not chair to resign the protesters vowed to remain until their demands were met. the next morning the government bach is arrested opposition leaders and removed demonstrators come dives in front of the prime minister's office is also banned gatherings of more than 5 people and the publication of news it deems a security threat. the anti-government rallies started in july apart from fresh elections and

a new constitution the opposition also wants to limit the powers of the king which has not gone down well with thai royalists. i think they were the supporters are right here because they love the country we love the country as well i'm not worried about violence because both sides are doing what they think is best for the country but still feels did break out between opponents and supporters of the monarchy. thailand's royal family is backed by the military and traditionally revered by the population but king my how what cheer along koren is less popular than his father who died in 2016 the king's motorcade met with chancellor 3 fingered salute unthinkable in earlier times the gesture has become a pro democracy symbol borrowed from the hunger games film series about a totalitarian regime. partially also of stifled public criticism of the monarchy

but the king has stirred dissent with his extravagant lifestyle and long holidays abroad jury in the pandemic. opposition leader a non number called the king on stage during the protests. and parking does not reside in thailand i'd like to ask directly what's so bad about living in thailand . he was later arrested with the anger boiling over the government is keen to put a lid on the protests any way it can. and i'm now joined by a professor at 29 palms the director at chulalongkorn university in bangkok professor of the protest stuff been ongoing for several months why has the government now declared a state of emergency. put this predates the codes and then you can see began in february this year when the future for policy with this also is a positive lot of young people. leading to protest movement this time and then we

had a toss of the it depended maybe i lucked out so as of now since june to restock it this time the protest movement has kind of stepped up has piled up in madison. much more much more daunting now i mean the ones who have to promise there are resigned and then to have a new constitution to reset thailand's democratic system and then to. reform of the monarchy so these are very very shot very unprecedented kind of the brands so the stakes are higher basically and wind it protests just got in yesterday they had some encounter with a royal part of the royal motorcade and that became the catalyst for the crackdown overnight and now we have it what is the. basically we're facing more repression a crackdown rather than before in session. you mention it then when i came just as high as it at the monarchy kings that traditionally red beret society so why

have the protesters turned against them want to key and how significant is it. i think the 1st is this is not really directly trying to get them on it yes i think that they want to see a monarchy in a different way that you know much more modern. more kind of a system of monarchy within the constitution with didn't. exist you have to remember you know that reigns the late king and he was very populated as all moral authority at times because he was on the throne of the 7 decades as a long time so all time that you can see we've come up on that range from 70 kids off one king under one. so that means the morning he's very popular back then now we have a new model and i think at the same time you also have new younger generations you also have a lot of messy politics over the last 2 decades so basically these young demographics

people who after 980 is seeing thailand not making a way at this you know future for themselves they seem to music who in 2014 which is run thailand today to the browns you know the tide pardon me the only indian you know even before call it was struggling and then we call it thailand with the worst attention in all of asia you know so there's a lot of mrs already been accumulating at the time is ripe for some kind of news in the form otherwise it will not move ahead that's why don't you go not happy but do you think the government crackdown will put an end to the protests. and the short term in the crackdown is very severe so you know i'm sure the leaders will be arrested and imprisoned and then. the severe restrictions on movement on gas and even someone so there will be a short term setback because of the protest movement because of the coercion and the legal persecution and their musical force but a lot of it unless these grievances are addressed somehow you know less time and

can move forward somehow not falling behind all regional peers and the rest of the world then we will have what you know that's basically the bottom line and if you have a system and it works well. i think a lot of young people be fined by that but they're not happy because china is running to get out we're not moving ahead they have no future. professor taking on hugs that iraqi many thanks. thank you. you're watching good news and here's a reminder of our top story at this hour german chancellor angela merkel has announced a new national restrictions that will limited social contacts and call the top spots as the country tries to tackle a riot. in coronavirus cases and francis says it's reinstating a public health state of emergency from stop today as numbers of new infections they have searched about 28000. times has sponsored gatherings of 5 or more

people after protesters set up camp outside the prime minister's office in bangkok the demonstrators are calling for constitutional reform and changes to the monarchy a touchy subject intolerant where its criticism of the king is out. you're watching news from berlin don't forget you can get all the latest news and information around the clock on our website that's w dot com you can also follow us on twitter or instagram at needs i merely found much time thanks for watching. combating the corona pandemic. where does research stand and. what are scientists learning. background information and. our corona. with 19 special next on d. w.

. i was here when i arrived here i slept with people in a room. it was hard i was for.