ah, ah ah ah ah, this is d w. news coming to you live for berlin. no joke, a bench is selected in the draw for the australian open tennis tournament, but he's still awaiting a decision from australia's immigration minister on whether his visa will be

revoked. the controversy over his cobit 19 status rumbles all also in the program. in india covered 19 cases rise by almost a quarter of a 1000000 in a single day. we hear what measures the deli governments taking to slow and new wave of the fast spreading only crawling variant. and a week of diplomacy aimed at easing tensions on russia's border with ukraine continues, but so far without progress, the w reports from ukraine's da boss region on living with the threat of a russian invasion. plus a german court prepares to return a verdict on a former syrian colonel accused of crimes against humanity. it's the 1st time state sanction torture in syria has been brought to trial. ah. hello and terry martin, thanks for joining serbian tennis star nova jacobin has been included in the drawl

for the 1st round of the australian open despite the uncertainty surrounding his visa status. australian media and government sources say it's likely that chalk of inches be so will be canceled. the men's tennis number one has admitted there were mistakes on his immigration forms. and that he met a journalist even though he had tested positive for cove. it. yes, trillion open begins on monday. during a press conference, a short while ago, australia's prime minister said he would not comment on jock of his visa. instead emphasized the importance of sticking to the government's cobit restrictions. what, what is it that all of these measures are designed to achieve? that was sit out very clearly in the national plan. that objective, in these fights of dealing with the pandemic is to minimize serious illness hospitalizations and families. and mine time, those baseline restrictions to support will stay pierce has been covering the

australian open for more than a decade and joins us now from melbourne. steve, jock of it has been drawn to play in the 1st round of the australian open. what does this tell us about his status? well, yes, it tells us the status is still very much. he's good to go. because until the federal government decides to re, can sol revoke his visit? if that's what he decides to do, then he is free to apply his visa completely stands. and in that regard, tennis has really had no option, but to include him in the draw. i mean 9 times champion. and unless the federal government makes a move, then he'll take say, he'll take his place on the coat and, and play that 1st round match against a bill i serve. interestingly enough, but it, it really tennis a study. i just had no choice but to put him in the draw until the federal government makes a decision one way or the other. we just heard from scott morrison, the no decision has been made yet, then he must play. well, every one is waiting,

of course for that decision from the australian government. steve, when will we find out what is interesting is now many indications where that it was going to come tonight. but we are hearing the never joking, which is lawyers are continuing to provide new material to the federal government. and i guess, you know, once bitten, twice shy. i mean, the defeat in the courts on monday in australia, i think really is a lot lasting long in the memory for the government. i think they want to make absolutely a 100 percent. sure that they pretty much have and i'm glad case if they are going to go ahead and cancel the space and i guess the material that arrives them all they have to be 100 percent certain. go through that. so there's no time. there's no time limit on this could happen next wednesday could happen over the weekend. it could happen friday afternoon. we, we just don't know. well, we'll keep an eye on it. thanks for helping us out there. steve. steve pierce, their journalists to tennis commentator in melbourne. india

is experiencing a rapid rise and covered 19 infections. as the over kron wave hits the country, new daily cases have surged to almost 250000. the highest number of infections since late made this, despite nearly 70 percent of all adults having received at least one dose of a vaccine. even though fewer patients with army crone infections are being hospitalized, this new wave has hit hospital staff hard with hundreds of hospital and other frontline workers palling ill. dubey reporters in delhi looked into what can be expected as india confronts the new variant. a new year, a massive new we've in india, after months of flu infection rates or with 19 keith numbers have shot up. the curt below the band, a mic has the country in its grip. the bother to what he read in delhi of those being tested is that $25.00 listened. experts see the actual figure in the capital

and the country is many times higher than that. more scientists now agree that omicron is driving this week, while many indians are anxious about the increase. other said things may be easier this time around, hardly of ours, we have to be careful. the 3rd wave is here, mother. i'm here at the hospital with my mother who's a patient. yeah, we have to take extra care here because it's quite crowded near the water. i disagree. so near my i've been hearing that this time the virus is spreading much faster than before. but our debt is as dangerous because people are recovering quickly at their hands. doctor got the giggly says the severity of symptoms and rate of hospitalization may be lowered on the chrome. but people still need to be very cautious. they'll die in ward be lung squared a lot, whereas in this one it is only related to the upper respiratory tract, and the symptoms are faster, quicker, and the recovery is weighed fast actually. but he warns that given the speed with which the widest is spreading, people are still lexus, especially older people,

and those with pre existing conditions. studies suggest that the pod we will peak sometime around january, end to february, beginning, and then we'll see a sharp decline. even though this way, we'd expect it to be short lived exports, see that it still has the potential to over been held cantrell structure. once it hits it's peak, public health officials are worried that the spread of a highly infectious weary and in a country of 1300000000 people would have serious consequences. if we left the wireless average way, possibly we'll see it lies fast. and then also the give us maybe the next 2 to 3 weeks, but it is in our interest to stretch the rear so that you're not looking to have a large number of people calling you. because that could be ready to start. if thoughts are being made to avoid the massive upheaval of the delta out, pre indian authorities have implemented weekend and night go fused to slow. the

spread people are hopeful is we've been be shorter and they will be spared the hot ship. so many went through less than a year ago. for more, we're joined now by lance loc pinto, a pulmonologist in mum by dr. printer. we heard in our report that the symptoms in this all micron wave are often less severe than with a delta variant. is that what you're seeing? hello terry, and thank you for inviting me to the show. that is exactly what most of those are seeing among our patients as well. so it's generally fever for a couple of days. a lot of body low back, take a sore throat and occasionally lose motions is what we're seeing for a couple of based. but the per long fever, the nor respiratory symptoms, the bad cough drop and oxygen that we frequently saw with. delta is not something that we are seeing the same or in a report. we also heard that doctors want to stretch the only cron waive so that

indian hospitals are not overwhelmed to do you think the government's measures such as local curfews will be enough to achieve that. so i think there's one thing that we've learned from the past 2 games is that is that over crowding leads to a lot of supers predator events and preventing will book outing is the number one priority. and i, and i think, you know, hopefully would be installation of some cookies over the weekend with prevention of people gathering in groups that as managers and limiting the bread in that way is going to help us to a great extent. however, i think equally important to push back the nation, a lot of individuals still haven't received this, they can do that. and i think that's important. but it cannot be stressed enough that we need to live in because we have as long as possible because an entire country falling in at the same time could lead to disastrous consequences even if a tiny fraction of them need hospitalization. are you confident talk to pinto?

that india is health care system will be able to cope with the expected search. i think the key this time around is going to be how we manage hospitalization. individuals need to be encouraged as much as possible to manage their lives at home . knowing that this is as limited for most individuals in the tends to be a country where a lot of health care is paid for out of pocket. so there's sometimes a lot of pressure to get hospitalized by patients even when they don't really want to hospitalized. as long as we can manage a lot of the in the us at home and reserve our beds for the tiny fraction which really needs to be laid. hopefully this time should be a lot better than last time around dr. printer. thank you very much for your insights. that was dr. palmer, pulmonologist lancelot pinto joining us from mon. bye. thank you. here's some other developments in the crowd of iris pandemic worldwide. the world

health organization says vaccine mandates should only be a last resort in the pandemic. and that they should be temporary. the w h o also says the risks should be communicated transparently. denmark plans begin easing some of the restrictions it impose due to a spike in the army. kron infections, including reopening cinemas and museums. thus, despite new infections, remaining near record levels, and a group of doctors in spain have criticized statements by the government about changing its approach to dealing with covey. 19 saying, it's too early and that the restrictions in place are still needed. germany has reported another single day record of new corona, virus infections, the national center for infectious diseases. they robert coffee institute, put the figure at more than $81400.00 in german chancellor. all of shots is calling for a vaccine mandate for all adults. that would be a key part of his government's plan to tackle coven 19. but he's facing pushback

from political opponents, who accuse him of stoking the social division? is no fun vtc or for the latest. let's bring in our chief political editor, mckayla kutner. we kill it. why is it taking so long for parliament? the bonus talked to decide on imposing a vaccine mandate because there are different opinions that basically go through every party and also through the governing coalition of tonsils left. so it's, that's why his government has left it up to each individual and p to exercise their constitutional right to only answer to their own conscience. but this is somewhat lengthened. the process with m. p. 's still one thing to consult with yet more ex, but on several proposals, most likely on the table that will be ranging from an all out mandatory vaccination to a more differentiated picture parliament. for now, i said at once another orientation a debate at the end of the month,

which of course will then draw out the process and anything that comes out of it is certain to come too late for this current on the cross way drawing a lot of criticism, not just for the far right, a f d that we saw that which is flat out against any mandatory vaccination saying that even the debate is stoking division within german society. something. so it's the chance the re, james, or you say that it's, that any vaccine mandate may come too late when or what are we talking about here in terms of a time table? when might we actually see a back st vaccine mandate in germany? well, we are likely to see at some action on the front where it relates to health workers . they may actually see this come into force by mid mart. but when we're talking about the general public can here, there are those different proposals, some calling for mandatory vaccinations from the age of 18,

some from the age of 50 upwards and more differentiated victor, there we are in the early stages and this is something that is being criticized also by the international medics association saying that policy making is simply too late to really tackle this. anything that comes into force there would then probably only relate to future waves. probably this autumn. so no overall mandatory vaccination coming any time soon. here in germany, the earliest probably april or may be kayla. thank you very much. the w g political editor, mckellar, cough no sketch up on some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. at least 8 people had been killed by a car bomb. in the somali capital mogadishu, so far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the al qaeda linked l sure. bob group has in the past, taken responsibility for similar types,

flooding and landslides have killed at least 24 in brazil's northeastern state of mina. jo rice. the region has been hit by extensive reigns for more than 2 months. at least 17000 people have been forced to leave their homes. britons, prince, andrew will face a civil case in the u. s. over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when she was 17. virginia drew prey is suing the prince, claiming he abused her in 20 in 2001 while the late finance here at geoffrey was trafficking. her the case could be heard in court. later this year, the german authorities say they've rescued $65.00 children from their abusers as part of a probe into a large scale sex abuse. network police in cologne, said the victims ranged from 3 months to 17 years of age. investigators have identified over $430.00 suspects since launching the investigation. 2 years ago.

russian diplomats are meeting with other delegates in the organization for security and cooperation in europe today as efforts continue to de escalate tensions over ukraine. talks between russian and nato officials ended on wednesday without a break through e. u foreign independence ministers are also gathering today in the french city abreast. to discuss the crisis for nearly 8 years now, ukrainian forces have been fighting a russian back to separatist insurgency in the east of the country. the conflict his claim some $14000.00 lives, with tens of thousands of russian troops now massing on the border. many in ukraine fear an eminent invasion, dw correspondent, nick conley traveled to the front line. city of done that sc and sent us this report just before the shooting starts. but you see the cats and dogs taking cover like

they can feel the comics here in front lines. the dynamic gunfire and shelling a part of everyday life and have been for the past 8 years for the straddles ukrainian soldiers and the few civilians left for the people living there. and over there, beyond that, there was no one just in the front line. most of those left the elderly and have nowhere else to go. rushing back to protest, only a few 100 meters away from these ukrainian positions close enough to watch each other, cooking, or chopping firewood. we were just a matter of minutes after the last exchange of fire, the ukrainian se, but sniper activity and drone attacks of spiked in recent weeks. as the world tries to 2nd guess plasma putin's troop build up when you cranes borders soldiers here understand that they would likely be the 1st by the brunt of an invasion. sears, due to the fact of course, we're following the news closely, but whatever happens our army isn't much better shape than in 20. 14 and russia

would face a lot more resistance. it's the civilians out there who are getting really nervous portion was according to stop on the shelf. you see that power line, our troops of 30 meters behind it. they managed to push that position forward a bit where you only knew more. when we 1st met katcha and her children 2017. the fighting's even close by the van front lines started. we're her gotten and didn't know the day. she tells us is a good day and shelling only machine gunfire. why don't i go and walks with the kids around the village and we hear machine gun fire in the distance. we just do our thing. we're not scan you bring catches. 3 children have grown up, learned nothing. the conflict now is all that war seems ever more likely. she's weeks away from giving birth to a guy. was she? most people couldn't imagine bringing up a family place like this called renewable priscilla betral west. this is my village . i know. i know west high just the bombing stopped. so how do i know what will

protect me if i can dropped into a date and time or surviving will be i will, is or could be, don't me? the doctor taking it out for years even catches now making plans to lead him back at the front lines. i also think sunday, if he thinks russia will get its way and keep ukraine out of western alliances. well, nato membership is not going to happen anytime soon. but i think in the envelope, take us a lot has changed in this country. and so if we, if the russians have done everything they could to convince us that they're not our brothers to make us turn our backs on them. and we should all be brought to morrow . and now at least, russia seems to be in no mood to try to win back ukrainian hearts and minds. well, as i mentioned earlier, eve for it and defense ministers are meeting in the french city abreast today to discuss the situation in ukraine. our brussels correspondent, marina strauss is there. marina, the e. you wants russian troops to pull back from ukraine's border. the kremlin wants

guarantees that nato will not expand eastwards to each leader see any room for compromise. a leader says made it very clear in the last couple of weeks that they won't back down on certain key pillars of european security structure. for example, the sovereignty of ukraine and not only ukraine, but also other pose soviet countries that russia kind of regards as it's back yards . that you has also threatened russia with massive sanctions, or with massive consequences if russia really are in like invades ukraine. but the problem is that you does not really speak with one voice when it comes to this sir, russia, ukraine issue, for example, where the baltic countries and poland that shall border with fashion. of course, they see the russian threat that they also could imagine boots in a crowd, which is not very likely to happen of from an e u side than we have france,

which has led us to reflect political rapprochement with russia. and then we have germany, which is heavily dependent on russian gas. and then there is another issue that is always important when it comes to the european union. it's in very important economic player, but it's not a very important military player. and that's something that e leaders here today, the u. defense and foreign ministers will disgust because it, sir, is the topic that especially france would like to change in the future. marina russia has been talking this week only with the u. s. a. nato watched the use role in trying to find a diplomatic solution through the crisis in your group. yeah, we've seen a number of high level diplomatic talks this week, including russia, of course, including the u. s. and also nato. but that you as an institution was not present and that has left many in the you,

your in brussels and also here breast at bit frustrated because this conflict between russia, ukraine is basically happening at the doorstep of the european unit. and alias wants to be involved in this process. of course, a 21 of your member states of most countries are member of nato, so they have a, a say, and they have a word here. and also nato, as secretary general, as the installed berg traveled to breast yesterday to talk with your defense ministers and brief them on the nato russia council. and he said that of course you leaders are playing an important role and that, oh, so the u. s. is talking to you to, to find a common line when it comes to russia. but still this leaves a bit of a bit of feeling and of not that they are not directly involved. marita, thank you very much. the w's, marina strauss there in breast a german court. today

we'll decide a landmark case involving a former syrian military officer accused of crimes against humanity. is the world's 1st trial concerning state torture in syria. these are pictures from the trial in 2020 identified in germany as an war or the defendant served as a colonel in the regime of mush on allison, the allegedly headed and tories secret service unit that was responsible for widespread torture and killings. a decade ago. he fled to germany where he was detained in 2019. germany is able to prosecute crimes that took place in syria due to the legal principle known as universal jurisdiction. victims of the assad regime are watching the trial closely. d w caught up with one woman who has a personal interest in today's outcome. luna, what fun could find the way to the court and cobblins with her eyes closed. she has missed a single day of the proceedings since this landmark case on syrian state torture

began in april 2020 man at mann. i haven't mahogany a word moments in this trial when i thought it was too much for me. but then i always thought it was noble, tentative if i were to say, i can't go to day or no one else would take my place on a phone with her, had a ham, another she what fur, who works under a cover name to protect herself was the only syrian journalist continuously reporting from cobblins, the trial of a high ranking official of the a sat regime as a world 1st. but for what, for, it's more than just a journalistic jop. this is a average to who me friday. this is very important to me. i think of it because i was also a political prisoner. i don't know how to apply and when the witnesses give their testimonies, try and when they tell their stories. okay, i also, hey, my story than that. in fact, right now, i'm also writing my story behind the scenes and that in all my negotiation. and

we're our allegedly headed to secret service unit responsible for torture and killings at i'll hattie prison and damascus. prosecutors have charged him with crimes against humanity, including $4000.00 counts of torture and dozens of murders. they are asking for life sentence. during the trial, what for re lift her own experience and i had heap and 2013 agents arrested her for researching the chemical weapons attack on eastern buttah by then on while are no longer worked at i cheap what fo, spend more than a year in prison suffering serious abuse. most of all, she was scared for her children. when she got out, she fled from syria with her family and moved to co blends. where and why are as being tried? but can the verdict really change anything for syrians like what fun?

him how come out on man thought the fight. they come on trials like this, have a learning effects the syrians are learning from it. and if similar trials are possible in syria in the future, and then syrians will gain the necessary experience. whatever the verdict, what fulfills cobblins is just the beginning, not only for justice in syria, but also for her. she plans to write a book about the trial. finally, one of the biggest voices of the 19 sixty's has fallen. silent. american singer ronnie spector has died of cancer at the age of 78. she shot to start him in the sixty's as leader of the wall. next, the group was perhaps best known for the classic b. my baby. ah,

you're watching the w news. just a reminder of the top story we're following for you this hour. nobody joke of eje has been confirmed in the drawl for the australian open tennis tournament despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding his visa status. australia's immigration minister is considering revoking the athletes visa over a false declaration he made about his covet 19 status. you are watching dw news up next. it's conflict sewn with tim sebastian. i'm terry margin. thanks for watching. ah ah, with

ah, with or into the conflict zone with sebastian uncomfort done this week. ethiopia civil war. now more than a year old and showing no sign of end

o sites are accused of unspeakable atrocity. that abraham is a minister for democratization, and he joins me from the capital a to. so this is a complete loan, b 8. the next one on d, w. a welcome to the dark side where everyone has their own truth. when you have that sort of inability to agree on basic docs, i think that you face a future with a country that is very, a struggle for truth in 45 minutes on d w o.

listen carefully. don't know how those 2 things you missed today. ah, feel the magic discover the world around you? ah, subscriber to d w documentary on youtube. uncomfort zone this week. ethiopia, a civil war. now more than a year old and showing no sign of envy, o sites are accused of unspeakable atrocity. that abraham is the minister for democratization for the joints.