>> this is dw news live from berlin. the netherlands kicks off european parliament elections. populist and anti-corporation candidates were expected to surge in europe as traditional labour and conservative candidates struggle to excite their basis, but we will tell you about the dutch surprise. also coming up, narendra modi's interest nationalist party declares victory in india' elections. early results show him heading for an increased majority.

plus, as germany celebrates the 70th anniversary of its constitution, dw profiles the citizens who rely on it every day. we will meet and corporate iraqi who is relishing his constitutional right to freedom of speech. i'm sarah kelly. welcome to the program. polls have closed in the netherlands and britain after the first day of voting and mammoth elections for the european parliament which are set to last until sunday. populist parties are tipped to do well across the bloc. polls in the netherlands showed the right-wing populist quorum for democracy running neck and neck with the governing center-right party.

let's bring in our reporter monitoring these elections for us and what appears to be a big surprise. alexia, that's true. a leading social democrat in amsterdam said it is a bizarre comeback for the labour party which doubled the votes compared to the elections five years ago, and they came in first and they expected to be the fourth biggest party only. very disappointed, of course, the right-wing populists. they expected to be the big winners because they won in regional elections this year already, but they are only now in fourth place and will only send three instead of five deputies to strasburg, so a big surprise tonight and everybody is wondering why this happened. sarah: we have these initial indications coming out, but the

other nation that voted was the u.k., but we do not have it from then. why is that? >> the netherlands is accustomed to publish exit polls shortly after the polls have closed. they are done by posters and scientists -- pollsters and scientists and media outlets. the official results will only be published on sunday when all 28 member states have voted at 10:00 at night and also in germany, exit polls are published already at 6:00 at night, but the official results, they come in at night, but there are different customs in all 28 members states. in britain, for example, exit polls are not customary, so they just have polls from before the elections. sarah: the view from instagram.

thank you. as we've heard, the netherlands opened voting amidst a surge of support across continent for anti-eu and anti-immigration candidates. britain also going to the polls even as it tries to come to terms with the country's planned exit from europe. >> it is an election that the majority of britons did not want to have anything to do with, but it's also an opportunity for many to have their say on brexit. >> a lot of people, i think, will be fed up with voting for people. obviously, this should never have happened given what has happened over the last three years. >> they are going to water it down and offer another referendum. and the result will change. very angry. >> of brexit party leader is poised to capitalize on the sentiment. he hopes such voter frustration

will translate into votes for his party, and he is feeling pretty confident. >> if you want brexit, we've got to vote exit. we did it once. they ignored us, so we are going to tell them again, and this time, they will realize it is not just the votes we get today. it's what we want here in the general election that will cost them all their jobs, so they better listen or be unemployed. >> not only those in favor of a hard brexit are expected to win votes. both the greens and democrats are expected to gain support. the liberal -- the liberal democrat leader said a vote for his party was a vote to stop brexit. voters seem ready y to punish te two major parties for the current brexit crisis. >> are normally vote for labour -- i normally vote for labour,

but this time, a bit unsure. so i'm voting for the green. >> because i voted for brexit and i wanted it carried through. i think parliament made a bit of a hash of things, although there intentions are good, but i wanted some clarity. >> i voted for labour, i thought that was the best party to remain in the european union. even though there policies in a very clear, i thought it was best to avoid voting for a pro-brexit party. >> and wanted to be sure i sent a message to westminster that we should stay in the european union, that it's just nationalism and folly to leave. >> as for prime minister theresa may, this could be her last appearanance as the cocountry's leader. sarah: let's get a check of other stories making news around the world. calm has a chart -- returned to indonesian capital jakarta. the former general called on his

supporters to go home and announced that he would launch a legal challenge to the president's reelection. the man known as the american taliban has been released from prison in the united states. he was captured in afghanistan back in 2001 and pled guilty to supporting the islamic fundamentalist. he served 17 years of a 20-year sentence and has been released early due to good behavior. secretary of state mike pompeo describes the release as unexplainable and unconscionable. in rome, a man has made a dramatic escape from a fire by climbing out of a window and clinging to a ledge. he was forced to protect to the flames engulfing his building before firefighters rescued him and he walked away without any injuries. the author of the much loved children's book "the tiger who came to tea" has died. she was 95. she fled nazi germany with her

family and wrote about her experiences in her novel "when hitler's stole pink rabbit." narendra modi has promised to build what he calls an inclusive india after a landslide win in the country's election. his nationalist bjp is on course to increase its majority in parliament. if results are confirmed, it will be the first time in almost 50 years that an indian leader has returned to offffice with an increased d majority. modi paid tribute to the voters. >> i have always said that this election is not far -- fought by the majority. it is not fought by the hopefufuls. it is not foughght by politicia. this election is being fought by the people of this country. >> scenes of celebration across

india. people gathering to cheer narendra modi. incoming election results made it increasingly clear that the incumbent prime minister would remain in office. >> this has proved that we can win across all caste, all religion, all creed line. >> i am also supporting mr. modi because he has done so much for the country. if you go and see, there was no improvement. >> voting for the general election took place over six weeks. after reports of vote tampering, the opposition requested a recount. national observers say the election was largely free and

fair. modi fought hard to win the majority he won in 2014. despite his victory, challenges remain. critics have a accused himim of marginalizing muslims, and economic growth is stagnating. modi now has another five years to make good on his words. >> as we've seeeen, it seems lie a resounding win for the governing bjp. what was this election about? was it about the issues or was it about modi himself? >> the results do seem to indicate that this election and even the results have been about

prime minister modi. even while the election was goining on it was seen as a referendum on the prime minister. the criticism, the opposition may have raised any incumbent seat that they may have tried to capitalize on. all those e efforts failed. when you talk about the issues, this government was heavily criticized. it was also criticized for some failures within the economy, but now those criticisms seem to have stopped. one of the issues on whicich the bjp has done very well as national security. there was a standoff between india and pakistan earlier this year. the prime minister was seem to have takenen decisive action and this seems to have shored up his support quite in fat ugly. many votes were cast more so in favor of prime minister modi than for individual bjp candidates.

some issues may have been discussed, but overall, it seems a personality cult has developed around the prime minister and this mandate is stronger than the one in 20 14, definitely a resounding vote for the prime minister to come back for another five years. sarah: what are the main challenges facing him in the next five years? >> the challenges facing him are not very significant because this mandate actually supports the line of thought that with the government has done so far is not only good, it should go on further. of course, concerns have been raised about minorities, the economy, joblessness, as i just mentioned, but even in the victory speech the prime minister made, he criticized the use of the word secularism to cloak the opposition never do. it is not clear if he was criticizing secularism in itself which would be problematic and concerning, or if he was saying that the word secularism is

misused to peder to minorities. we will have to wait to see exactly how prime minister narendra modi decides to play out this decisive victory. there has been talk about inclusiveness. let's hope that sticks. sarah: we saw the opposition candndidate losing t the longtie family seat. is this the beginning of the end of the gandhi dynasty? >> this is not the first time that prediction has been made, but this defeat looks like aa decisive one and it might not be too far to say that this is the beginning of the end for the family especially as the indian national congress seems to refuse to let go of that called. just as there is the modi cult, there's the gandhi cult, the

gandhi dynasty that has been going on for decades. the opposition was barely able to improve their margins which raises serious questions on the leadership of the party president, and a lot of inspection would be required, but justst the fact that no anti-incumbent sentiment was raised actually questioning the validity of the congress which were expected to be key players in this election. >> thank you. deutsche bank shares are trading at their lowest price ever, so there was little to celebrate at today's annual shareholders meeting in frankfurt. after that the dire news that ongoing litigation against the bank and a failed merger with a german competitor and investor confidence at an all-time low. >> deutsche bank shareholders are unhappy. the share price has plunged into the cellar. it has been trading slightly above six euros $ $.40.

that is its lowest level in more than 45 years and shareholders are losing patience. >> a lot of things went t ong at deutsche bank in recent years. i hope they can get back into shape. >> the expectation is that something fundamental changes something up the core. >> i think mr. ark right now should take his seat and step down from his position. >> the supervisory board chairman and ceo are blamed by shareholders for the bank's disastrous performance in recent months. some large shareholder groups want to withhold giving official approval to the board. that would be a slap in the face. the ceo says that would be completely unjustified. >> we have brought deutsche bank that into the black. we have reached our goals.

we now have the fundamentals for a sustainably profitable b bank, but there's a lot of work to be done. the investment banking unit is in enormous and hardly makes a profit. deutsche bank faceces lawsui f r alleged money-laundering and interest manipulation. that costs money and hurts the bank's reputation. sarah: celebrations have kicked off to mark 70 years of germany's postwar constitution, known as the basic law. it comes into effect on this day under the supervision of the allies. now it is considered the foundation of german democracy. the main festivities took place in front of the brandenburg gate complete with cake and a whole lot of balloons. leading the celebrations was the

german president, noting that his countrymen know too little about this hugely important document. all this week, dw has been looking at how people translate the basic law into every day reality. this week, we focus on the guarantee of freedom of expression. we met with someone who is originally from iraq to see how he uses these rights to say what he wants and sometimes to provoke. >> i left my country because of freedom of expression. it was always and still is very important to me to be able to express my opinion. >> on the a --h -- ahmed had to flee his home in iraq because he would not shut up. in germany, he's protected by the constitution. the 20-year-old is an atheist and talk openly about his

opinions on eighth and other matters. sometimes he wants to provoke. here at a palestinian march in germany, he is carrying a poster of two kissing then -- men. there's pushing and shoving. a police officer steps in to prevent violence. he's not welcome. >> for many muslims, it is a taboo. sometimes you have to be provocative and cross boundaries in order to change something in society. >> i'm from a releligious famil. there were certain rules about what you could and could not do. it was somehow clele to everyone that you could not bee differen, and d you could not think didifferently.

at one point, i thought it had to be possible to say that you were no longerer a believer without being punished. then i decided to do it for myself. it was five days after my 15th birthday when my father suddenly went to the police. he camame back wit three police officers. they beat me in front of my parents. then they locked me in a room for hours. they tortured me with cables and in electric shocks. that was the day i left iraq. we took this picture at night wiwith a photographer. at fir, i i did not wawant to tl my story in g germany, to avoidd momore conflicts and so o on, bt

the same time, i knew that if you express your opinion in europe, the state will protect you. >> he said muslims in germany abuse and threatened him when he expresses his opinions, but here he is protected by police. > i have sacacrificed a lot e here, and i wiwill not let anyoe here tell me h how to live andnd what i'm allowed to do, and especially what i'm allowed to say. i am free. sarah: if you ever visited hong kong, you are likely to encounter mah-jongg, the city's favorite pastime, played on the streets and in gambling rooms,

which are often illegal. the game is so much part of the city identity that officials declared it part of hong kong's cultural heritage, but the game decline began almost as soon as governments made the announcement. today's youngsters for further cell phones and videoeo games, which is into mah-jongg time. >> and master craftsman at work. one of hong kong's last remaining mah-jongg carvers. he engraves every tile by hand, an anomaly in an era of mass-produced plastic. when you looook closely, you can see each handmade tilile is different. it's because i carve them one after another, completing them one by one instead of using g a mold. >> the 65-year-old has s spent decades honing his skills. his sets start at 350 euros, 10 times the price of machine made tiles. even so, he still struggles to

make a living. >> now there are only one or two stores in the area and business is poor. it's because the younger generation does not play much or that often. even if they do play, they play on their phones. >> but some young people still like it hands-on. here at hong kong's chinese university, members of the mah-jongg society meet every wednesday. the game has been played like this for more than a century. the engravings etched into asia's cultural bedrock. >> i think the handcarved mah-jongg tile is a form of art, something to appreciate and collect, almost too precious to play with. >> he wants to keep that tradition alive. he hosts workshops to share hiss passion for mah-jongngg carvin it is a steep learning curve for

these casual students. >> you have to pay close attention to how to exert your strength, how to make it presentable and perfect line. i even have to pay attention to my own posture. >> once you try hacking away at it with one of these, you can see the intense skill it takes just to make a few strokes and to get something so beautiful out of it. >> stroke by stroke, he's making sure that mah-jongngg stays in hong kong and wherever possible, stays handmade. >> fifa have abandoned plans to expand the next world cup tournament from 32 teams to 48. it would have required qatar to share hosting duties with other countries in the region, but political tension made that

impossible. >> adding 16 more teams to qatar's world cup was a bit too optimistic. the fifa president's idea of the expansionn will have to wait until 2026. they w wanted countrtries like e uae to h help host the t tourna, but an economic blockade in thee region against qatar showed no signs of being lifted. fever therefore released this statement. "following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances, such a proposal could not be made now." qatar was open to being the lone host for the potential 48-team cocontest but cocould not find n opoperating momodel t to s suste ididea. buildingngts world c cup infrastrucucture almost frfrom scratch has been and continues to be a tall order in itself, but construction for 32 teams seems to be on schedule.

>> we have now six more stadiums to go. by the end of this year, first quarter of next year, we will be laununing two stadiums as well. by 2021, all our stadiums will be ready. >> there was already controversy surrounding g the 2020 to qatar world cup, including allegations of human rigights abes against migrant workers, the heat in changing the date to a late november kickoff, but local fans are excitited. qar w won thehe 201019 asian cud gets to host a world cup on its own with any risks now reduced. >> staying with qatar, one of the organizers at the world cup has been placed under formal investigation in france. his been accused of corruption linked to thewarding ofof this year's world athleticscs championship to the qatariri cacapital, doha. the sports magnanate seen here n paris is also president of the

champion french football club and is on the organizing committee for his country's world cup in 2022. quick reminder now of the top stories we're following here at dwdw. voters in the netherlands offer a surprise in the first day of the european parliament voting. exit polls show that labour gained the most seats surpassing an upstart populist party. voting will continue across the worst -- the rest of the european union through sunday and the party of the indian prime minister has declared victory in the country's elections. results show the hindu nationalist bjp increasing their majority in parliament. don't forget, you can always get dw news on the go. just download our app from google play or the apple store. it will give you access to the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for breaking news. you can use it to send us news-relevant photos and videos

and watch this program on livestream. with that now, you are up to date on dw. thank you so much for watching. have a great day. ♪

athletics event capped off . thank you very much for being with us. the rent remote is hailing a historic mandates as predictions of say his party has won a landslide victory in india's election mode is set for another five year term. as prime minister after his opponent. the opposition congress party. gandhi. conceded defeat. just of his own party but also in his own constituency [inaudible] well. here is welcome to the big