brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. in kenya, the polls are closed and votes are being counted in the presidential election rerun. president kenyatta wants citizens to give him another term, but the reelection has been marred by classes and a lower turnout, with the opposition calling for a boycott on the turnout. >> families are currently dealing with though the worst -- with the worst drug crisis in american history. brent: president trump the

clearing a health emergency over addiction to opioids. and confusion in catalonia. the region's leader rules out snap elections that could have staved off rule from madrid. a day before spanish lawmakers will decide on the unprecedented move. we will take you to barcelona for the latest. >> we are really grateful -- for everybody who supported us legally. brent: an emotional reunion, the german human rights organizer peter steudtner is free on bail from a turkish prison. he and other activists are on trial for terror related charges, seen as being politically motivated. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff.

it is good to have a with us. we begin tonight in kenya, where a vote counting is underway after a disputed rerun of a contested presidential election. the opposition has urged voters to boycott the election. as a result, turnout was low, even in areas considered strongholds of partisan -- president kenyatta. polling was pushed back in four counties where the violence broke out. at least three people are dead and dozens wounded. correspondent: police with water cannons versus opposition supporters armed with stones. they were boycotting the elections in the capital nairobi. polling stations in many areas filled to open because of security concerns. several deaths and many injuries marred the proceedings. the president of kenya cast his vote in an upbeat mood. his to believe party's victory

in august was canceled because of irregularities, leaving the country in its worst political crisis in a decade. >> we are happy and all we are asking his kenyans turn out. we are requesting them humbly that they should turn out in large numbers and cast their vote, make their decision, choose their leader. and for our country to move on. correspondent: the opposition leader odinga, seen here, urged his supporters to boycott the proceedings. many went further than that, intimidating election volunteers and voters to keep them away from polling stations. [yelling] >> we are all supporters. that is why we are resisting any jubilee member to vote here.

we want only our supporters to be here alone. we support odinga as the president of kenya. correspondent: violence also in the city of kusumi. casualties taken to the hospital. the governor is a supporter of odinga. >> supporters have a right to vote. those who are voting, they are thinking and other places. those have refused to vote have been killed and shot. correspondent: all eyes now on saturday's remaining polling. president kenyatta's probable victory with a low turnout in the rerun is unlikely to end the violence. brent: in spain, it has been a day of twists and turns, that after the separatist leader of catalonia said he will not call

snap elections that might have diffused tensions with the spanish government over catalan independence. carles puigdemont said it is now up to the regional parliament to decide whether or not to hold elections. the spanish government plans to strip carles puigdemont of his powers and impose direct rule later this week. thousands of pro-separatist supporters waited outside the regional government headquarters today hoping that , carles puigdemont would declare independence today. the leader did just that. at the beginning of the month he had declared a referendum but he , immediately suspended its implementation. charlotte chelsom-pill joins us from barcelona. good evening. we are not getting a snap election, we are not getting a declaration of independence, the ball seems to be back in the central government's court in madrid tonight doesn't it?

, charlotte: it certainly does appear that way. that is because we know tomorrow that the senate in madrid is planning on voting whether to impose article 155, that would impose direct rule on catalonia. it would mean removing those in the regional government from power. it would also mean taking control over its finances and police force as well. we have known for some time that that was likely to happen tomorrow. and all indications point to the fact that they will vote in favor, first of all because mariano rajoy's party is pushing for this. it does have a majority in the senate. secondly we have heard from him , tonight, in a tweet, that he wants to quote "rescue catalonia." so it seems all eyes will be on madrid tomorrow. brent: we know that he wants to rescue catalonia, implying he wants to rescue it from its

president, mr. puigdemont. he did not carles puigdemont did , not give the announcement people were expecting today, so how do people in catalonia feel now? charlotte: i think it is fair to say that both of those who were in favor of independence and those that were against it actually have something in common today, both are walking away from the developments today feeling probably slightly disappointed. pro-independence supporters had really expected carles puigdemont to declare independence today. there were thousands of people on the streets in the square behind me saying they wanted that. the mood was really bitter among the people who were standing behind me. some were even chanting "traitor" referring to carles puigdemont. real anger. on the other side, those against independence may have been hoping he would call regional elections today, the hope being it would de-escalate what is

becoming an increasingly tense situation here. brent: an increasingly tense situation and it leads us then to tomorrow and the weekend. the central government says it is prepared, it is ready to impose direct rule. will it and will it be peaceful? charlotte: that certainly looks highly likely. whether or not it will be peaceful is anybody's guess at this point. there were some rumors that some of the very pro-independence factions in the catalan government would try to prevent it from happening, though there were even reports on social media that they were giving people tips on how to stop some of the practical elements of direct rule being imposed, sort of guarding government buildings for example, to make sure that madrid cannot take charge. we have already seen some violence on the streets of barcelona, that was october 1, the day of the referendum, which essentially kicked off this entire crisis, the day that it

was proclaimed by the catalan government that the people voted in favor of independence. then on the streets we saw the police here really trying to prevent the referendum from taking place. and really violent scenes. so there is hope it will not the center that, but -- to send into that, but the potential is very real. brent: our correspondent charlotte pill on the story tonight. thank you very much. here are other stories making headlines. u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has renewed calls for the syrian president to step down. his comment came after a meeting in geneva with the u.n. syrian envoy. the envoy said the peace talks would resume at the end of november. new security measures applied to all passengers flying into the u.s. have come into effect. the enhanced screening will affect about 2000 flights a day and could include interviews and questionnaires.

the measures replace an earlier ruling banning laptops on flights from several muslim countries. venezuela's former speaker of the national assembly, and the democratic opposition, have been awarded the european union's prize for human rights. the human -- the parliament said they wanted to award the current politicians and students fighting for freedom in the face of the country's repressive government. the german national peter steudtner and several other activists have been released on bail after spending months in a turkish prison. they were arrested and jailed on terror charges. his case is one of many diplomatic flashpoints between turkey and germany. his release could signal a fall in relations. correspondent: wednesday night for peter a nightmare has ended , after more than 100 is behind

bars. the human rights worker for amnesty international is once again a free man after his release from prison. his comments on what happened made his ordeal clear. peter: i am really grateful and i can say, we are really grateful -- for everybody who supported us legally, diplomatically, and with solidarity. and we know what is going on, but we do it together. correspondent: his case and those of other german citizens arrested by turkey, have severely strained relations between the two countries. in berlin, there is palpable relief over his release from prison. cem ozdemir: good morning. we were very pleased when the news came yesterday that peter was to be free. he was wrongly imprisoned in

turkey for three months. but now is the time to bear in mind that there are still german citizens being unlawfully held in prison in turkey. wolfgang kubicki: this is sensational and we should encourage turkey to take more of these steps to release the other prisoners, especially the journalists, where the accusations were made up out of thin air. correspondent: former german chancellor gerdard schroder played a decisive role in his release. media reports say that chancellor merkel knew about his mediation efforts. this was confirmed by his social democratic party colleague, the foreign minister gabriel. one german citizen may have survived a hard time in a turkish prison, but others are still behind bars and are waiting to see what german this week, the chancellor met with the wife of an imprisoned journalists a clear show of , solidarity with the german

government and those being held illegally in german prisons. >> we will delve deeper into this subject with our correspondent. what stands out in that report is the role that the former german chancellor played in securing the release of peter steudtner. tell us more about that. correspondent: what we know so far, and it is being confirmed by the foreman minister -- foreign minister, is thatgerdard schroder went to turkey just about a week after the german elections, so within the last month. where he actually spoke to the president. but people are asking, what price was the release of peter steudtner? we do not know the details of the deal and it is something that will be of interest, obviously, in the coming weeks. what is also interesting is to say how this develops for

gerdard schroder. not everybody will be happy he is involved in this work for the government. he is receiving a paycheck currently from vladimir putin now that he is on the board of an oil company there. >> he is a complex figure in all of this, but happy days for the family of peter steudtner. but it begs the question, why peter steudtner and why not a very prominent person in jail and other german citizens? why has he not been able to secure their release? >> from the information we have had confirmed so far, peter steudtner actually asked forgerdard schroder and others to be released. it is something we will have to say, whether that is really the case or part of the deal that turkey is yet to fulfill. it is something we will see in the coming weeks. of course, peter steudtner's release yesterday, it is why no

means an automatic indication that all the other german nationals in turkey will also be released. >> i have 30 seconds left, what does this say about bilateral relations between berlin and turkey? >> may have a long way to go. the foreign minister has said it is a moment for eased tensions, but of course there is a long way to go and many more issues to be resolved. >> thank you so much. brent: and that talk was recorded a little bit earlier with my colleague. and going to the united states, the u.s. president has declared opioid drug addiction a national public health crisis. opioid drugs have become the main cause of death among americans under the age of 50. more than 90 people die every day in the u.s. from opioid overdoses. the development is staggering.

in 2015, the death toll was more than 23,000, that is a fourfold increase since basically the end of the last century, 1999. most people start with pain relief pills prescribed by their doctor, these are the biggest killers by overdose. those who can no longer afford the pills, turn to cheaper drugs like heroin and that no -- fet anyl. and death rates were primarily seen in the eastern parts of the united states, primarily for states, new hampshire, ohio, west virginia and kentucky. president trump addressed the severity of the crisis in a white house speech earlier today. this is part of what he had to say. president trump: as you all know from personal experience, families, communities and citizens are currently dealing with the worst drug crisis in

american history, and even if you really think about it, world history. drug overdoses are now the leading cause of unintentional death in the united states by far. more people are dying from drug overdoses today than from gun homicide and motor vehicles combined. brent: that was the u.s. president donald trump. i am joined by a doctor now, a clinical psychologist at stanford university. he specializes in the treatment of substance use disorders. it is good to have you on the show. for our viewers around the world, this may actually be the first time many people have even heard about opioids. tell us about them and why are they so addictive and dangerous? guest: opioids are very addictive medications. this has been long known by the medical community.

prior to the 1980's, many physicians did not prescribe them because of their addictive potential. and they are similar in chemical structure to other substances, like heroin. [no audio] -- treat pain more aggressively. and combined with factors in our health care system, it has really produced an epidemic. brent: it is an epidemic. you have 90 americans dying every day on average from some type of opioid abuse or overdose. how does that happen? is it so bad in the u.s. that physicians are willing to prescribe these risky drugs to

people, knowing that the chances are fairly high that they could become addicted? are the doctors actually where the problem begins? guest: well, i am not sure where it begins, but i think certainly overprescribing of medications by doctors, recently even the focus has been on dental professions, professionals prescribing medications. i think it plays an important factor in this problem. but it really is kind of the combination of all of these forces leading to the epidemic. i think most important that addiction treatment in america is hard to access. we do not have a universal coverage for addiction treatment, it is not funded well, and when it is done it is not done well. so there are numbers out there showing about one in 10 americans with a disorder gets treatment that actually works.

that type of treatment is, the things that i do with therapy, and even self-help communities, but medication assistant treatment is necessary in this population, and that includes medications like methadone. these are overlooked. brent: what is your take on what the u.s. president said today when he declared this public health emergency? i also heard the u.s. attorney general, mr. sessions, saying today -- it sounded like something we would've heard with nancy reagan in the 1980's, just say no. that does not work, does it? guest: no. i'm not really sure about the policy, i do not think it will solve our problems. i think about some of my patients who talk about their addiction to opioids and they liken it to not drinking water for days. you would do a lot against your

moral code if you are suffering in that way. so i think we have to see people with addictions in that manner. as for donald trump's comments, it sounded like he was declaring a public health emergency, instead of a national emergency. that distinction is important, because the public health emergency allows tens of thousands to be accessed, where as a national emergency would allow millions. it is simply not enough funding for this scope of the problem. brent: ok. unfortunately, we are out of time. dr. matthew kendra, fascinating discussion. we appreciate your insights. thank you. >> of course. brent: you are watching dw news. still to come, a royal farewell. those in thailand pay their respects to their late king.

thousands turn out for the lavish cremation ceremony, which comes after a year of mourning for the long reigning monarch. that story coming up in a moment. ok, the stock exchange in germany is said to be in new hands after a fairly dramatic turn of events. >> that is right. a ceo has announced he is stepping down after a rather dramatic turn of events. he is the ceo of the company that operates the frankfurt stock exchange and he came under fire when he purchased shares in his own company shortly before announcing it was looking at merging with the london stock exchange. the news sent the shares surging. the merge never happened, but now he is being investigated. the company has denied the chief executive did anything wrong. earlier we asked our correspondent in frankfurt how

the ceo explained his departure. correspondent: there is of course an official wording where he is saying, i really want to make sure that the company gets out of this that headline, and -- bad headline come and now they can focus on the business. but probably in the end he did not have any other choice. he was under pressure. also, we had the courts in frankfurt saying this week they do not agree on this settlement, that he wanted to arrange by paying all of these euros. and another 10 million euros. basically, he had the option to say i will resign by the end of the year. otherwise he would not have gotten a new contract, because it was over in march 2018. helena: time to check with wall street, our financial correspondent is with us in new

york. jens, the third-quarter earnings keep coming in. twitter might turn a profit. but it is not all good news, is it: jens: well, twitter actually announced that for the past three years they overstated some of the numbers for the months for user growth. but on wall street people are not interested in the past, they are looking at the future. so it did not play a big role. a contrary -- by country, the stock gained about 18.5%. and what wall street is focusing on is it for the first time since twitter with public four years ago in this current quarter they might report a profit. they tried to achieve it with personalizing the feeds much more, without the rhythms, and artificial intelligence and it seems to direct the users.

users now at about 300 million. helena: who else has been reporting? jens: overall, the numbers we got on thursday where better than expected. we had ford coming out with numbers, the second-biggest car company in the u.s., and they have achieved with prices, giving them a profit boost of 16%. it traded to the upside. talking about yesterday and tomorrow, after hours we got numbers from amazon and from google's alphabet, both companies beating analyst expectations easily. both seeing a big boost in the initial after our reaction. -- hour reaction. alphabet surpassing their -- of

shares. it could be a good sign for friday. helena: thank you for that. back over to brent for some extraordinary scenes from bangkok. brent: thank you. thailand staged a lavish ceremony to say goodbye to their former king. his body was cremated on thursday as part of five days of official funeral proceedings. the beloved monarch died last year after seven decades on the throne. thousands of ordinary citizens as well as dignitaries, traveled to bangkok to witness the royal sendoff. correspondent: the end of a long year of sorrow. hundreds of thousands of citizens lined the streets in bangkok to witness the third day of the five-day funeral and cremation ceremony. ♪ correspondent: the king was a father figure to many people.

>> i want to stay here in this area, even after the cremation, because i want to hold every piece of the ceremony in my memory. everything i say and every feeling as much as possible -- see and every feeling as much as possible. correspondent: 95% of the current population was born during the late king's rain -- reign. dignitaries from 42 countries arrived in bangkok to pay respects to the king and the royal family. brent: we will be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

identify the looming financial crisis on wealth track in 2007 before it happens. he says there are different risks building up now. what are they? that's next on "consuelo mack wealthtrack." >> you can help your client keep good going. >> additional funding provided by thornburgh investment management. active management, flexible