right in washington followed by a diplomatic summit in moscow. ok well let's talk a little bit more about that mr garratt what is the incentive for the parties involved in this conflict to sit around the table and find a diplomatic solution because this is a decades long conflict well yes but fortunately we are hopefully approaching a tip big point in terms of conflict on the one hand in negotiations in order for everyone to become a winner. just as us up to 20 seconds left i mean is there anyone that can mediate a peaceful resolution a settlement of this conflict once and for all. yes there are mediators french russia and the united states the real challenge is not who will be the mediator of the challenges turkey no longer pushing on for bill drawn encouraging further us that would be tricky in many ways is the only obstacle richard viguerie

question we have to leave it there unfortunately the head of the regional asserted center of foreign policy think tank in yeah that armenia thank you. thank you. another victim of the global pandemic has been press freedom journalists have been harassed arrested for reporting on the spread of the virus while some governments have introduced the laws punishing those who share information that doesn't support the official government like muzzling the press can also endanger public health. behind the mosque of corona virus censorship spreads journalists around the world have come under attack for reporting on the pandemic it started in china where citizen journalists dared to deviate from the official narrative. images of overstretched hospitals in which hundreds of viruses right in front of me are china's criminal prosecutors are behind me i'm not afraid of death do you think i'm

afraid of you coming this party of china or possibly going well. chang she should wear disappeared in february and was only seen again by friends in september fung been another reporter remains missing he had released secret videos of coronavirus victims. she. reporters without borders has documented coronavirus coverage restrictions in nearly half of all u.n. member states those who are jailed are at risk of infection. al-jazeera journalist mohammad more near died in july from coronavirus after being arrested in egypt as the reporter. jailed for documenting corruption in saudi arabia the deliberate targeting of the press has worried the united nations human rights commission on across the world called 1000 is also being instrumentalist to limit people's right to speak to express opinion and to participate in making decisions that affect their lives in the russian federation china kosovo many other countries i note

reports of threats and intimidation against journalist brokers and civic activist but at the local level with the apparent aim of this courage and criticism of the author of this response is to call it 19. at a time when information can save lives press repression can fuel the pandemic. well as find out now how press freedom stared during the pandemic in latin america our correspondent oscar striker joins us now from caracas venezuela oscar venezuela's still experiencing a protest wracked it political crisis how has the country before during the pandemic have there been attempts to control information. well we have seen a rise in rust and detain journalists or confiscate it in quite the equipment especially towards the beginning of the pandemic but coronavirus have been as well as many problems were becoming worse here by the humanitarian crisis or

a gasoline shortage so long there have been journalists prosecuted for covering covert 90 we have also seen cases of journalists detained for covering the protest regarding these other issues what we have seen is that motherhood is regina's much more sensitive to his reports during this time however things have calmed down after the united nations accused nicolas maduro of committing crimes against humanity last month and began a deeper investigation into how the regime is acting and freedom of speech and of the press is one aspect into this human rights investigation and now oscar event as well as health care system was already in a very precarious situation before the pandemic has the public been able to get reliable information on the coronavirus. for most of the public the only news they receive is that from the government and the official information has been criticized by analysts and the opposition inside the opposition gathered a group of health experts and monster website to inform the public about prevention tips and up to the minute information however that web page has been blocked by the

government in fact during this pandemic the region has blocked over 70 internet outlets including new sites important regarding over 1000 information a recent investigation by journalism and society institute e.b.'s found that least 15 percent of earners women's lives and what they call news wastelands where there is little or no information available. in conclusion oscar talk to us a little bit about governments in south or central america have they use the pandemic to implement curbs on the press. well i think it is a global trend with controlling information that has different effects around the world toward the end of 2100 we have seen that social unrest what's what's threatening governments and it will leave you. alone again and also the u.s. so the pandemic has been used by some countries to implement still full control and that includes the press as well if there is a rise in authoritarianism like what we're experiencing in venice where that

regardless of ideology left right or center authoritarian governments all at the same and it translates to less freedom of the press and more persecution especially in correspondents in caracas venezuela thank you. let's bring up to speed that was some of the other stories making news around the world thousands of indigenous people have taken to the streets of colombia's capital bogota the protesters are demanding an end to the spiraling violence in their home regions in the south west of the country they also oppose the government's social and economic policy. around the $1000.00 prisoners have escaped from a prison in east of near democratic republic of congo after the compound was attacked by rebels local authorities claim islamised militant group at least one inmate died during the raid a similar number of prisoners fled to jail in an attack 3 years ago. representatives of the united nations the european union and denmark and germany

are holding a virtual ministerial meeting today to discuss the humanitarian crisis in africa as conflict torn so hell region and try to increase funding of the south is a vast area stretching from the atlantic coast of senegal across the continent to eritrea on the red sea well the region has been plagued by extreme poverty and drought and to harvest violence which erupted after a rebellion in northern mali in 2012 that violence as soon spread to the rest of the country and to neighboring kenya faso and the chair of the un says the region needs urgent humanitarian aid to prevent conditions from worsening even further. they had to flee leaving behind everything they own and like nearly 2000000 others in the saddle region sourdough gamu martek came to this refugee camp with their child now you. last year in august armed men came to our village and attacked us we

ran away you know. but it's not just the refugees who need to be fed according to the u.n. more than 13000000 people here depend on humanitarian aid yet in on monday. there is massive poverty the people suffer from the replications of climate change such as drought on top of that comes the security situation. violence reigns in the sile terrorist groups are active here and international forces including the german bundeswehr are in the region to combat it she brings stability is one of europe's main goals here one reason why hundreds of millions of euros are hope to be raised at the donor conference. on when millions of people are this poor the risk of exploitation is high from traffickers from arms dealers and from terrorists who then export the violence. you're not this is why

aid organizations say that rather than focusing on military operations the aim should be to support the population with more sustainable solutions. to help all how and the champions league group stage starts on tuesday night among the matches these are host of a section here is still alive secrets the tournament semifinals last season and despite losing their star striker in the summer they've started the current temping with a bang. he has every reason to smile at the moment you know inaugurals and it's like a secret top of the business league unbeaten and scoring goals like this. for years straight may star striker t.-mo van there after his move to chelsea seeing misplaced so far now goals manny's more than happy with the balance of his team. the young skin on the equipment and all the boys all get

along with each other really well and so to the coaching staff there's a good spirits among us and i hope the players notice that we all speak the same language and all have the same desire to win at the moment machine experian and grandma little is given on this matter. like 6 ran in last season's champions league was ended by paris sandman in the semifinals the french side along with bush action here in manchester united are in like 6 groups tricky but doable according to the man between the posts. flies. it is clear our group this season will be a little bit tougher than last season. but sui want to do as well as last season and get out of the group. the 1st step in doing that laying down a marker against bush actually here week his team in the group. you're watching it when he was coming up next and it will be news asia keep up stars beauteous huge

business for south korea but should it be exempt from military service. and rescue efforts gathers pace in vietnam as the floodwaters inundate community. the story is a whole lot more coming up with melissa chan indeed are you. watching the news from berlin thank you for spending part of the day with us.

would. kick off. dylan thomas. might sing wins against alabama in defense of their championship game . the longer at the bottom. some good scores a point against being in berlin breaking free from last.

week's. 16. hours to the drama competition rival marketing number. 5 at a time and childish. millionaires of spanish prime style spanish. this week. to go to. my 1st boss i was the sewing machine. where i come from women are bones by this ocean for even something as simple as learning how to write them by psychosis and. since i was a little girl i want to talk about spies i lost my home but it took me years to get there. finally they gave up and mentioned by me i'm bisexual but returned because

sewing machine sewing i suppose was more appropriate for girls than riding a bike and no i want to meet. him back home where bones by their duties and social norms and inform them of old dead basic rights my name is the about of people homes and a war zone to them. you're watching the news asia coming up today will the world's biggest cake pop star swap their fancy clothes for soldiers uniforms p.t.'s bases mandatory military service in south korea and fans are demanding an exemption. and the death toll mounts in vietnam as an luncheons rain submerged communities in central provinces.

it's back to business in delhi and that means factory smog will take a closer look. i'm melissa chan welcome to news asia thank you for joining us south korean boy band b t as has fans around the world and their stardom seen unstoppable excess. it might come to a sudden halt because of south korea's mandatory military service where they spend 18 months out of the spotlight training for potential war on the korean peninsula fans say they should be exempt while others say they need to do their duty frank smith reports. so 3 and boy band b.t.s. reigns supreme over billboard charts as their fans their army fun over their good

looks and slick moves but as they move through their twenties an ominous obligation approaches a minimum one and a half years mandatory military service required of every healthy south korean male between $18.28. the issue of mandatory military service for entertainers like b.t.s. is complicated by the fact that high achieving south korean athletes have seen their army obligations reduced after winning a gold medal in the 20th teenage and games soccer stars on whom in was required to do just 3 weeks of marine corps training completed earlier this year although we will also have to perform some extra community service. so 3 in boy band b.t.s. reigns supreme over billboard charts as their fans their army fawn over their good looks and slick moves but as they move through their twenties an ominous obligation

approaches a minimum one and a half years mandatory military service reality of pitch against a stain is doing public relations informing other countries about south korea they should be exempted from military service because they promote south korean culture there are many other men in south korea so why are they trying to take as which plays such an important role for the country. she spent 21 months in the army in warns of a declining population in the ongoing threat of north korea. we can only maintain national security when we have a strong military defense such preferential treatment increases the number of people entering the military. decrease the military will be shaken and it will be a threat to national security. i want to know what i'm about. south korea's

national assembly has tabled a bill that would offer certain artists the opportunity to delay the service for 2 years shane argues a clear policy is needed but a special deal for b.t.s. would be unfair. go into quite a lot but without coming out in the pool because b.t.s. works for entertainment company i don't think it's right for them to get exemptions while performing. on the b.t.s. doesn't generate interest in our country but i think giving preferential treatment to b.t.s. discriminates against other men than of them would die without having to. give a recent survey showed that most south korean support some type of deferral for a k. pop idols that contribute to south korea is international reputation a decision has to be made soon because for b.t.s. time is running out. joining us is frank smith out of seoul frank tell us more about this mandatory military service in south korea how long has it been

in place well they started mandatory military service here conscription back a 957 that's just screen years or 4 years after their korean war ended it was actually on a 948 law and it starts out with about 5 weeks of basic training or boot camp in recruits can either enter the army the marine corps the navy or the air force the terms of service the length of service berries a little bit if you enter the 'd navy or the air force you have to do a month or 2 longer. and presumably it's in place because of the threat from north korea what are those months of training like are some soldiers actually patrolling the border between north and south korea for example. well military service in south korea is generally considered in 2 different ways it's blurring and it's also stressful if you're deployed to the d.m.z.

the demilitarized zone it's the heavily most heavily fortified border in the world there are something like 700000 troops just on the other side of that border in terms of the borini end of things former president of south korea no one said serving military service was really kind of a waste of time and since then specially liberal administrations here in south korea have tried to find ways of reducing the terms of service and making it a little bit easier for conscripts to serve here at some incredible statement from a south korean politician is there how much public support is there from military service then and it sounds like from your report that enough people are comfortable with exemptions for example i'm thinking of mandatory military service in israel and how trying to get out of it is really not socially acceptable but it seems like

in south korea that's different. raul it's not that different if you're trying to get out of it the public is quite strongly against that type of thing what it is interested in at about the 60 percent level is providing exemptions for people that 'd are you know doing extraordinarily in the name of the country i give the example of the athlete son who men during the report there it's also extended to classical musicians and other types of artists but that environs only really a delay and there is also strong support for our turn of service here in south korea previously conscientious objectors were jailed there were once up to $500.00 conscientious objectors behind bars in south korea they've been released in recent years and now they're moving to an alternative service which you know is langar

than the mandatory 18 months of active military duty here frank very quick question what are the chances that south korea would move to a professional army and away from mandatory military service well i think we really have to look at the relationship between south korea and north korea north korea is still presents a military threat to south korea and there are periodic flare ups in the tension on the korean peninsula given that that continues we're not going to see you know a career professional army here in south korea until there is really a calming down of tension and knots better relations between north and south korea thanks matthew. for 2 weeks now vietnam has been dealing with heavy rains floods and landslides caused by a series of tropical storms and extreme weather is taking

a heavy toll with more than 100 people killed and at least 30 missing central provinces have been worst hit and there's no sign yet that conditions will ease the floods have compounded the suffering of people already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic and onslaught that simply won't let up vietnam has seen weeks of trench rain as excessive storms churned 3 southeast asia the rename downpours have triggered the country's worst flooding in years in central provinces the water level just keeps on climbing i mean i've never seen such a terrible flood before i'm scared and i don't know where to go if it gets worse. i'm up people are seeking safety on rooftops the floods have been indicted almost 200000 homes destroyed crops and killed livestock devastated communities now face shortages of food and clean water. i haven't eaten since yesterday the

floodwaters at roof level we have nothing no food no phone nothing. as the situation becomes increasingly desperate authorities are mobilizing all resources to prevent further loss of life. we've sent a dozen emergency teams to the most severely affected communities. one that will carry out the search and rescue mission to the best of our abilities. and that mission is a daunting one dozens of people remain missing and another tropical storm is expected to hit vietnam in the coming days. remember this past spring when so many of us went under lockdown and traffic cleared up which meant the pollution levels fell no place felt that so palpably then delhi but in the indian capital like other places things have quickly returned to their old ways. after months of absence people in india's capital are

feeling it again irritated eyes and throats that smells poor visibility smog has returned to delhi and also even for people. active people like me who are coming through and the noticing a change. it's getting harder to breathe that's after months of clearer healthier air because of the coronavirus lockdown with the traffic industry and most social life suddenly stopped the environment recovered and people breathed easier. that seems over now one might say it was only a matter of time smog in these parts has several causes there's the exhaust from all those engines and boilers. farmers burning off stubble on their fields after the harvest and the winds and rains of the monsoon are gone.

the lockdown is also a thing of the past india has now clocked over 7000000 coronavirus cases and people are realizing that pollution and the pandemic are forming a vicious circle. we have this double problem of pollution and coronavirus people were already scared of the corona virus and now secondly this pollution so what should we do. doctors say pollution and covert 19 are a dangerous combination the pollution and really damage when cause inflammation in the lungs and that sort of good or not is causing and both of them that cause inflammation. and they're more nuanced and get complicated for those facing the double threat of covert 19 and unhealthy air this may be an especially difficult when sure. that's it for today there is always

more on d. w. dot com for at slash asia we leave you now with pictures from thailand's protests people have hit the streets every day for almost a week thanks for watching and we'll see tomorrow. combating the corona pandemic. where does research stand. what are scientists learning. background information and. our corona update. 19 special next on d w. to go beyond this.

as we take on the world. we're all about the stories that matter to you. never to. be. made for mines. how dangerous is the air around us. every time we speak every time we laugh or seeing. we admits particles and once they're there they linger we know that this is a key way that corona virus can spread the scientists are still sussing how dangerous these doses of airborne virus can be and what we can do to avoid them.

opening a window is one way to keep their fresh but by keeping the air moving with systems like air conditioning or we decreasing the risk or merely spreading it. what do we need to do to breathe easily indoors. and this is the covert 19 special hello and welcome to the show i'm sitting in berlin open the window it's the one piece of advice we're all hearing now that's a bit more complicated in the winter doesn't work in all rooms and certainly doesn't work on airplanes they've used in industry says cabin air is sufficiently filtered and circulated to some experts say questions remain. for air travelers social distancing already starts to get difficult at the boarding gate and it gets even trickier on the plane spacing out just isn't possible unless you can afford to .