this is news coming from a fresh dissent in hong kong police arrest dozens of pro-democracy activists and makers this week is the biggest operation yet under the territory tough new security. also coming up the pivotal senate races in georgia to democratic challengers looking to republican incumbents with control of congress at stake one democrat already says. germany extends its coronavirus

until the end of january. leaders also announced new tougher restrictions including limits in hard hit. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us authorities in hong kong have staged their biggest crackdown against the pro-democracy camp since beijing imposed controversial security legislation last year more than 50 leading opposition activists were arrested in the early morning police raids a government minister said they were detained for planning to quote paralyze and overthrow the city government among those arrested was. choked tang. which well let's go straight over to hong kong where our correspondent phebe kong

is standing by phebe 50 people arrested what more can you tell us about them and why they've been detained. this was. shocking like the city because like this is the. map and the most aggressive progress since the implementation off and that's no surprise that i mention it only a report. that we have got information from the police office as to be back with me. offices and also some. law is what i read that as a person all right how and say what it cost because they have paid it in. my way also i find all up with it and came back a lot like aiming to let that kind of weight has to come

across in the lab so council but the election was so so. so that i didn't like likely be all that nice but now. activist call it like the police officers like them like they some of them might ask to see. the whole of the bill and also the budget proposed by the government in order to like what they call paralyze the government as they. say call the phone call and say out station this is what they see as the 1st on the face power and. the back seat today we see it so why bring things back from back to add business to factor in all make to what i read. this has been going on since the imposition of the national security law you mention in july what impact is this crackdown having on hong kong. well. i suppose

that's a nice expect to be held later like that because the pandemic consensus that now we have almost all about the one so and high post office also says don't think there's breath waiting out no secret is all they make you pay for. the credit you know how life because hot conditions and of the texas undead affixed to it all that they may not be found out so all we're not sure whether they will be released or found out or not even if they had to participate in any kind of election in a few steps. one has said and out of them that the advocacy the activists i mean call it already like it or like heavily affected other tearing back encouraged by the national security and baseball and out of fact to the high people song like not if it dissipating and accident the same thing but i think out because i don't think

it's primary law yet but 600000. i don't think so in that primary and so we expect that x. and that is coming up by the police who put it like cemetery back. phebe thank you very much for bringing us up to date d.w. speedy calling there in hong kong. now to the u.s. where democrats are expressing optimism that they've taken control of the senate following 2 runoff elections to the chamber in the state of georgia the races have yet to be officially called but one democratic challenger rafael warner says he's headed for washington the other contest between republican david perdue and democrat john also remains neck and neck democrats need to win both races to control the senate and help president elect joe biden advance his legislative agenda. the eyes of the nation fixed on georgia as millions went to the polls

on election day after a long buildup and a record number of early ballots cast these voters finally had the chance to make their voices heard. i usually vote republican across the board but this time i went democratic. thought that they were more capable ok but it was no mistake what they did become normal. and tell us if you would share with us he voted republican. in just one well i think that they have the sharpest ideas for running the country in digital form we're not going out so it feels a little breezy but you. want to i want her bring your dealing with government health care i want everything their standing and i think it's time for not just georgia but american exchange. with control of the senate hanging in the balance candidates were still on the campaign trail on tuesday one last appeal to get out

the vote georgia voters have never had more power than you have today that's the reason the whole world is watching us in georgia that's the reason everybody needs to get out to the polls and make their voices heard but as the vote began to be tallied on election night results revealed a race that was still too close to call. our correspondent oversell it is in georgia state capital atlanta all of her just how close are these races. it is a very close race terry but you know once donald trump starts tweeting that some ballots turned mysteriously then you know the democrats are in the lead and that's exactly what's happening here right now one of the 2 democratic candidates raphael warnock delivered a speech a little while ago the races were not called yet but he sounded very confident in the other democratic race the other race between democratic candidate john also in

the republican incumbent david produced looks like a virtual tie right now but the polls outstanding are largely in those counties that are leading the democrat leaning democratic so the democrats are hoping that they could repeat their of big to reopen november. in a very. republican state any idea over when we can expect a conclusive results in these races this is the crucial question of course we might not know it tonight some counties have already said that they would continue counting tomorrow so it really depends then how high the leads in those counties will be how many votes will of course be left to be counted then in addition if it's not a clear and decisive result then on wednesday we will have to wait until all the absentee ballots are counted the military ballots of those who are abroad as well

and that might take until friday. these elections of course will determine the balance of power in washington that's why everyone's watching so closely tell us exactly what's at stake here. so technically it's about the majority and senate but of course there are some more to that this is really about the fate of the biden presidency joe biden wants to undo a many policies. in order to be able to do that troll over senate so if the democrats don't win those 2 runoff races here in georgia they will not have this majority and therefore the republicans will be able to obstruct them and that would make joe biden a weak president from the day he takes office thank you very much that was all over south it reporting from atlanta georgia. some other stories making headlines around the world today staying in the u.s.

prosecutors in wisconsin say they will not file criminal charges against the police officer who shot and seriously wounded a black man last august jacob blake was hit several times in the back as officers were trying to arrest him the shooting sparked days of unrest in the city. north korean leader kim jong un has opened his 1st ruling party congress in 5 years and admitted that his economic plan has failed him said his country faced huge challenges including the coronavirus pandemic but he promised new policies would achieve what he called a radical leap forward. that as well as new parliament has met for its 1st session with president nicolas maduro as party in almost complete control of the national assembly is united socialist party won more than 92 percent of seats a month ago after the opposition parties led by one goh i don't boycotted the elections they planned to maintain a parallel parliament. and pakistan's supreme court has ordered authorities to

rebuild a historic hindu temple that was burnt down by a mall last week the attack was widely condemned as an act of religious violence against the country's minority hindu population but already say they've arrested more than 100 people in connection with the attack. germany is extending its national coronavirus law down by 3 weeks in an effort to reduce stubbornly high infection and death rates chancellor angela merkel and reason only there's also agreed to tighten some restrictions including curbs on social contacts and limits on people's movements in the worst affected regions germany's latest official figures show over 21000 new infections and a 1000 deaths underscoring the situation situations urgency juman have been feeling the effect of tough a corona restriction since last year but the lockdown is about to get tighter still . we're going to extend the measures which we agreed in december until the

31st of january and in some areas we will have to introduce even tougher measures. shaphan. infection numbers have not dropped as sharply as hoped and there is a new fear of the faster spreading variant of the virus which could put massive strain on the health care system if it takes hold in germany. in some context there is really major concern about the virus mutation if it's true that mutated viruses tend to displace the existing strains of the more aggressive we could be facing difficult times ahead what's happened in great britain shows we must not underestimate this kind frontal shits and so the chancellor and state premiers have agreed an extended lockdown private meetings will be limited to the members of a household and only one other person where infections are high people will be told to stay within 15 kilometers of their home schools and many shops will remain

closed and people arriving from outside germany will need a corona test and have to spend at least 5 days in quarantine restricting movement infection hotspots could prevent a repeat of scenes like bees at the weekend when hundreds of people ignored police warnings and headed for ski slopes but so far it's not clear how all the new rules will be enforced. hopes for progress in rolling back the pandemic now rests on vaccination new vaccines are set to be approved but it's expected to be many months before enough people are immunized for now germans face a longer lock down and no plan about when it might be lifted. joining us now for more is marcus all direct he's director of the institute for public law at the university of cologne thanks for joining us this morning 1st of all professor what do you make of the government's move to restrict freedom of movement

within 15 kilometers of a person's home does that not raise legal questions about fundamental rights you know good morning and thanks for having me and of course the dust inhabitants of hot spots are not committed to travel more than 15 could kilometers from their place of residence unless they have a very good reasons such as go to work to the doctor all providing essential kale day trips are explicitly not considered a valid reason and there are currently about 70 districts nationwide where this value has been exceeded according to the whole but coffee institute so i expect a lot of lawsuits and in germany every citizen can take legal action against governmental decrease in to waste 1st she or he can appeal to special administrative costs and in addition she can file the constitutional complain and boast of very effective ways in comparison to many other nations ok so you expect

that to be challenge the restriction on freedom of movement but there's another newly announced restriction it allows households to meet only one further person in private what about that how can that possibly be enforced. yeah actually i don't see it cannot be enforced nobody really can control these regulations so that is why we need great acceptance in the population as a wise all these measures will be in vain the will not work and i expect the police only to come if for example neighbors actively inform the authorities but it's up to up to now it is still unclear whether or not these new title contact restrictions will be binding in private residences that is something we do not know right now. germany of course is a parliamentary democracy but these measures are being imposed without

parliamentary debate what do you make of that. and it's the national highest price so i completely understand that the administration wants to move forward and wants to move quick decisions that can be adapted to the current situation but we should should not forget that parliament is the heart of our democracy by questioning and chant enjoying the government parliament can help to refine and to to improve policies and the implementation of the parliamentary process itself lends digital mysie to the government's actions in proving that they have been thorough and he considered and debated that is why i want to explicitly emphasize that we need to strong our involvement of the german parliament and finally the question of immunization the vaccines are now being

delivered the rollout is kind of slow do you see any legal implications and fall there are any legal problems associated with that. of course because someone will have to decide who will get the vaccine 1st and who will get the vaccine at a later time moment in time so this is also another question where i think we need parliament parliament involvement because parliaments can use the live experience of their constituents so it's extremely important that the parliament has has the last without and makes the final decision and we should be very reluctant to give too much power to the administration in these was we got to these questions professor all correct thank you very much for talking with us today that was marcus over at director of the institute of public law at the university of cologne thank you.

millions of children are back in the classroom in kenya for the 1st time since last march when the government closed schools in response to the pandemic students in grades 48 and 12 returned in october so they could prepare for exams now all primary and high school students ever returned visited one school in nairobi on the 1st day back. kibera is one of the largest low income areas in nairobi here thousands of people live close together interacting on a daily basis social distancing is almost impossible now that schools have reopened pupils a waiting in line to get in. kenya as one of the last countries in east africa to fully reopen its schools according to the world health organization prolonged school closures post risks poor children from poor backgrounds like here in canberra for example higher rates of teen pregnancies born attrition and dropouts

some of the reasons why the kenyan government said it was time to finally fully reopen schools. janet ones yet is excited to finally bring her daughter virginia back to school yet she is very aware of the risk. didn't mention jane. when despite i had a child. not even. even a common cause. because the many many. about. after they arrive they have the temperature measured and abortion senate ties the hands that's the new normal as kibera primary school for girls $347.00 girls are expected in the next few days divided into classes of roughly 20 pupils a distance of one meter can be maintained but still there are challenges. to the wearing of their masks wolf which is no it is easy for them because they have to be

on their mass production they've already so inflamed their making that telling you we need to create. this school is well placed to deal with covert restrictions as it can provide the water space and masks to their pupils for free many other schools in kenya cannot it's possible because it belongs to shuffle an international organization that's funded mainly by private american donors teachers where try. and for health officials some classes even have to teachers parents feel that children are safer here than at home we have a toll and i would say we have a toll on the children of privilege that able to social dissent that able to. get medical treatment which is not common to everybody who lives out on the slum. despite the measures virginia is just happy to be back at school. you know.

they are reporting from nairobi well let's take a look at some of the other developments globally in the pandemic that china has denied entry to a team from the world health organization trying to investigate the origins of the virus and who on meanwhile chinese authorities have stepped up covert restrictions around the capital beijing following an increase in corona virus cases in a province and south korea is rolling out mass testing for 70000 prisoners and staff after a recent prison break in seoul and as medical facilities in the u.s. city of los angeles struggled to cope with the surge in cases ambulance workers have been told they should not transport patients to hospitals if their chances of survival or very low. so the arabia's crown prince has signed a deal to bring qatar back into a coalition of arab gulf allies taht hours later in the agreement ending 3 years of isolation from its neighbors a number of gulf states cut ties with qatar 3 years ago accusing it of supporting

terrorism and being too close to iran. the emir of qatar arrived in saudi arabia to be greeted by the kingdom's crime prince this moment settle an embrace violating coronavirus guidelines sending a strong signal today we turn a new page shake tamim bin hamad thought he had not attended a golf summit since the crisis began in 2017 now his country has been welcomed back into the fold. this shake was whisked through the saudi desert to the shimmering summit venue in the agent city of our own. leaders posed for photographs before sitting down to sign a declaration of solidarity and stability saudi arabia had already announced it was lifting its in boggo on qatar on tuesday riyadh said it was restoring full diplomatic ties that had to do more with these outfits helped us reach the

agreement of the statement that will be signed it is time it is where we go from arab and islamic solidarity and stability and strengthen the amicable relations between our countries in order to serve the interests of the people that. the declaration seeks to end a dispute which is isolated cut off for more than 3 years in june 2017 saudi arabia the united arab emirates egypt and bahrain cut diplomatic ties with qatar they accuse doha of supporting terrorist groups and of being too close to saudi arabia's iran. saudi arabia and its ally. blockaded access to qatar by land and sea leaving it almost completely cut off. doha said the embargo violated international law. the blockading countries issued 13 demands despite

qatar's vehement rejection of their allegations the list included closing time broadcast to al-jazeera and stand grading ties with iran fast forward to 2021 and no sign of major concessions from qatar so why the change of heart it's partly thanks to pressure from the outgoing u.s. administration. and pressure from the incoming one joe biden is expected to take a firm a stance toward saudi arabia and to reengage with iran. but while riyadh seeks to unify arab broncs the declaration contains only a general pledge of solidarity the united arab emirates a set of more work is needed while qatar is freed from the blockade full reconciliation is by no means certain now to the world of sports and a super fan who refuses to miss elting 51 year old kyoko ishikawa has been to every summer olympic games in the past 30 years and the tokyo resident is determined to

attend the ones scheduled to come to her hometown this year many japanese believe the event should not go ahead because of the pandemic but she is hoping to keep her record unbroken. kyoko ishikawa has done her summer games superfan attire every 4 years her traditional outfit and hace maki headband started out at the barcelona games in 1902 and along the way she's collected memorabilia at every game since the tokyo olympics were postponed until this year due to the pandemic and just last month tokyo organizers banned cheering in stadiums which means. he. will have to leave her whistle at home even with a muted atmosphere the tokyo games he oco believes could serve as a symbol of hope i think i did i mean. despite the difficulties i want

the tech and games to be a place where people around the world feel that the flame of hope was protected. come to you that humanity kept it alive for me not that i know of. plans to take part in the rescheduled torch relay she's also looking forward to adding to her collection of memorabilia the tokyo games are set to open in under 200 days. just reminder of the top stories we're following for you here today on d.w. news u.s. media are projecting that to georgia democrat rafael warnock has won a seat in the u.s. senate defeating republican incumbent kelly looks george's other senate race between democrat also often republican david produce still neck and neck. and authorities in hong kong arrested dozens of pro-democracy activists and former

lawmakers is the biggest crackdown in the chinese territory since a tough new security law was passed injured. you're watching t.v. news live from berlin coming up next we got a documentary for you on europe's toughest insurance rates i'm terry marsh thanks for. taking.

the toughest intolerance race. 1200 kilometers with a dog sled. in the far north of norway. and with practically no sleep. any more questions and off we go to fin marques lopez close up. next on t.w. . because india. protecting the seaside.

in such a port out the ingredients for a delicious curry urban farmers are preventing the real spices from hindu god. the desert as on my own possible a good book not a single drop of water is wasted and barren land quickly turns green. in 60 minutes t w. young moroccan emigrants. they know the police will stop the. they know that the road is not a solution. they know their flight could be fatal. but going back to using not an option. i'm on and gravity are stuck in the

spanish border area along side the other young people there waiting for a chance that will probably never come. shattered dreams starts january 18th on t.w. . every year the extreme north of norway hosts an epic 1200 kilometer ranks in which competitors fight their way in which you know i see wasteland as. places i like my birthday and. receive all wrapped in one.