>> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, they disappeared. the squat of the formal republic of leroux's. -- belarus. we will hear from this man who says he was one of the killers. why is he talking now? can we believe what he says? also, protesters in the indian capital clash with police. condemning a new bill offering amnesty to religious minorities

from neighboring countries. and my helping people get back on their feet. we will take you to the clinic in guinea-bissau that has become a rare pecan of hope in one of the world's poorest places. the satellite that will explore planet eons our solar system and search for possible life in outer space. brent: to our viewers on pbs and around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with the story of death squads. squads which silenced voices in -- of dissent. in the former soviet republic of belarus, three politicians disappeared without a trace 20 years ago. belarus has been ruled by

president lukashenko for more than two decades. his tight grip on power enabled by his stance and his zero tolerance for dissent. the missing men include a former interior minister, this man right here, yuri garavshi. there was speculation that the president ordered his assassination. now, dw news has spoken with a man who says he was a member of the death squads. >> yuri garavshi is living in a central european country and seeking asylum there. he tells us about his time in a death squad and reveals details about a series of crimes. a number of opposition politicians disappeared two decades ago. it is still not known what happened to them.

yuri parked his car here and was never seen again. at that time, the former interior minister was a leading figure in the opposition. they wanted to prevent the country from december -- dissenting into dictatorship. lukashenko heat -- organized and one referendums to expand his powers and neutralize parliament. since then, lukashenko has ruled the country alone. belarus is considered the last dictatorship in europe. this is based on statements made inclusively to us by yuri garavski. 410 of ducted and shot him dead a fororest. garr roski tells us he was one of them.

20 years later he has a message for the family. >> i offer my sincncere condolences. i took part in the murder. i offer you my apologies. i can show you the burial site on a map. the rest is up to you and belarus's law enforcement system. >> the family is living in exile. his eldest daughter hears from us for the first time details of her father's affection and murder. he calls the informant a man without a -- she calls the informant a man without a conscious. >> it is not about him. it is about the entire system. one can't blame him. people are dependent on the system. they are forced to commit bloody

crimes in its name. >> evevery awesome, a visual is held in honor of the opposition politicians who disappeared. perhaps after t two decades, the truth about t the regime death squads is about to come to lot -- light. brent: that story produced by my colleague here, investigative reporter christian trippe. >> mr. garavski wrote an email. in that mail, he claimed to have important insights into these disappearances cases 20 years ago. four of us russian natives with a strong knowledge of the country.

brent: knowing the history just in belarus, you have to go in suspicious and doubtful. what did you do to verify his story and make sure he was telling you the truth? >> we checked his identity. we do some database research on that. then, we met him several times. we did long interviews working out minor contradictions in what he was telling us about these cases. we reworked it and resented final evidence to some experts in europe who are familiar with these cases. and then we decided to go public. brent: why do you think he is telling this story now? >> yuri told us that he wanted

to remove a stone from his soul. fair enough. the whole time we were working with him, we had the feeling that there might be more to his motivation. perhaps even someone, a person in belarus who might have told him to flee his country and then go public. this is mere speculation. we never could trace any facts we could have used. brent: we don't say where he is but we know that he is somewhere in western europe seeking asylum. these revelations, if they are true, what does that mean? where is this story going to lead us? >> the council of europe has already conducted an investigation years ago. in their 2004 report, they spoke of a conspiracy of high ranking belarus and -- belarus

officials. we have some information tonight . families of the victims are already putting pressure on the politicians. brent: what would be the broader lyrical applications for belarus? belarus is somewhat of a pariah anyway. can it get worse for the country? >> the country is pretty isolated. in the past two or three years, the president was working hard on working this chain and finding partisan europe again. this new evidence might all be in jeopardy. brent: we will see. christian, thank you for the fascinating story. for more on this story you can check out dw.com and are youtube channel that is dw documentary.

therere are some of the other stories that are making headlines. the architect of france's controversial pension reform has resigned over alleged conflicts of interest. the departure comes 12 days into nationwide strikes against his plans aimed to plug a deficit in the system. this is a blow to the president of france whom it -- remains locked. a ceremony in belgium to mark the 75th anniversary of the battle of the bulge. itit was one of world war ii's bloodiest episode in which u.s. forces defeated a german attempt to stop advancing allied armies in december 1944. there have been more violent protests in india over a citizenship law. the legislation provides a fast track to citizenship to refugees.

but it excludes muslims. rick's say that undermines the -- critics say that undermines the constitutional equality for everyone. the unrest has spread to other parts of the country. in the capital, police clash with students. >> riot police fire a volley of teargas. their target? student protesters. they are demanding that the government sent a new citizenship law. critics say the law discriminates against muslims by ononly granting indian citizizep to non-muslim refugees from neighboring countries. after trading rocs with the police, the dumbest writers surrender with their -- the demonstrators surrender.

>> it does cause damage. they throw stones on us. our only interest is to push them back. >> tensions were running high across india. buses were burned, disrupting public life. hundreds marched in opposition to the new law. some are valley retribution should the government ostracize muslims. >> we are ready to support the government. if they harass muzzles, it won't be tolerated. -- if they harass muslims, it won't be tolerated. >> hundreds are gathering at the university campus. >> the police came att us with

batons while we were protesting peacefully. the policee even attacked the ststudents w weree studying in the library. they were not involved in the protest. they threw teargas shells in the library. >> it does not respect our rights as citizens of this country. the police have attacked students brutally. >> authorities insist they responded appropriately to this demonstration. with the situation on a knife's edge, , their next m move will e clclosely watctched. brent: i am joined byy a journanalist. it is good to have you on the program. protesters are saying that this is a law which discriminates agagainst muslims. but india's prime minister says that the c citizenshship law, ia thousand percent correctct. where isis the truruth here?

what truth does the public believe? >> there are two versions of the truth. protesters in the rest of mainland india, these a are against the exclusion of muslims from the citizenship amendment act which has recently been passed. as far as the northeastern part of the country does, these people are protesting against any sort of migrants c cing into ththeir states. itit is a very diverse culture with a lot of strife, a lot of multicultural ethnic roots living there. they are afraid that there could be an influx of migrants with the passing of this bill. they are very friendly opposing that. they don't want any migrants at

all. both of these sets of protesters are protesting about different things. the muslims have not been included because the three countries that the citizenship amendment act talks about our all muslim country -- countries. his logic is that muslims cannot be refugees or prosecuted in a muslim state. that is the reason f for muslims beining excluded from the lisisf citizens who will be fast-track. brent: itt comes knowing that momodi has week opposition. he won with a strong mandate in the last election. he i is pushing this forwardrd saying h he is doing i it becaut is whahat the people want. >> that is absolutely right. ththis is one of the election manifestoes that modi had promised. he was not able to deliver until

now. the other promisesee made wasas the natnanal history of citizens -- national registry of citizens where illegal immigrant are being weeded out in a sense. this is the other problem -- promise he had made. the third promise that he had made was about the building of the controversial hinduism temple at a disputed site. all of thesese three controversl issues have come up at the same time. today, the prime minister also made a statement that the hindu temple would be built within four months which is disputed between the hindus and the muslims. clearly, the government with its vast sweweeping majority is sweeping throuough agendndas. this is not going d dn v very wl

with the m minoritieinin india brent: joining us tonight from shinai. thank you. the west african country of guinea-bissau is one of the poorest places on earth. the health system barely functions. that is why one clinic has become so important. largely funded by the red cross, it treats thousands of patients from across the region. lisa ellis reports. >> turning things around. these people are learning how to move again. they all suffered strokes. it is a clinic with a difference. it attracts patients not just from guinea-bissau but from across the region i offering a service that is unique in west africa.. >> wee provide freree treatmentr

everyone.. it is universal treatment for eveveryone who needs it even if ththey are vulnerablor very pooror. if they cannot contribute, they get it for free. >> the clinic closet o offer of treatment for free is unheard of in this reregion. it is especially foror guinea-bissau, one of the poorest countries in the world and a place w where most have no access to even basic health services. the standard of medical treatment across guiuinea-bissau is v very poor. it is made possible with financing from the international committee of the red cross. they also fund a prosthetics workshop and training its staff. the organization stepped in to help in 20122 when guineaea-bisu was going through h a. -- period of political turmoil. the center opened in the 1980's. at this time, most patients were

amputees who had been injured in the country's or of independent -- i independence. manyny of the wounds are patiene from landmines. patients are just as likely to have lost limbs through traffic accidents and, like this man, diabetes, a condition staff say isis increasing because of povey and bad diet. it >> it started with a wound. then, the wound became gangrenous. then the same thing happened to the other leg. >> whatever the cause of the disability, doctors say their goal is to help patients start moving again so that they can continue their lives. brent: industrial leaders are asking how can skilled workers

from abroad be brought more quickly into the german workforce? factories, hospital, i.t. firms, jeremy has too many vacancies. a new immigration law should make it easier to lure skilled labor from outside the european union by cutting red tape. brent:tim is visiting construction sites. employees are working flat out. the entrepreneur still has to reject inquiries because he lacks the workers he needs. the problem is getting worse. >> our staff level has been shrinking for years. >> representatives discuss ways to get rid of neuropathy -- bureaucracy.

new laws attract foreign skilled vocational workers including those from outside the eu and promises down easier fisa procedures and reduced -- easier visa procedures. the german trade sector is a alo anxious. >> almost half of all companies complained that they cannot fill new w vacancies. we lack to 50,000 -- 250,000 skilled workers. >> the goal is to bring 25,000 skilled workers from outside the eu to germany every year. the government said it will cut red type -- tape and speed up fisa -- visa processing. >> it is really vital that we come across as an open society.

because we are not the only country in the world looking for skilled workers. >> trade unions believe the problem is homegrown. many young people are not becoming roofers, painters, or nurses because the pay is too low. salaries of the trade are often not enough to raise a family. critics say that many of the best talents will still choose places like the u.s. and canada gardens overrules because taxes -- regardless of rules because taxes are lower. there is no way to alleviate -- shortage of skilled workers. brent: the countdown is on for the launch of a satellite that will research planets outside of our solar system. it is due to blast off from the european spaceport in south america on tuesday. the satellite is called cheops.

it might even detect signs of life in outer space. cheops >> cheops the -- designed to ask banta search for life. -- designed to expand the search for life. cheops will observe how these distant worlds pass in front of the stars they orbit. to make this possible, researchers had to scour the sky with other telescopes to select the stars to be targeted by the satellite. >> cheops is looking at one star at a time. we need to know that star has a planet. we need to know when this planet passes in front of the star. at that moment, we point cheops

there. >> the sidelight is set to measure the tiny fluctuations in brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of its star. a celestial body the size of our earth dims the light by 100 of a percent. cheops can measure this barely perceptible clicking -- flickering more accurately than before. >> from the decrease of light, you can differ how big the planet is. it hides a part of the surface. you can compute which fraction of the surface is being hidden. that gives us the size of the planet. all of this without going there. all of this w without seeing the planet. we just see the shadow. >> with this telescope, astronomers can determine another property of the planets, their mass. they want to combine this information with the data they obtainin from cheoeops a and dee

the density of distant worlds. this shows them whether a plan is made of rock or gas. whether the distantnt worlds hae an ocean or consist of ice. the satellite should also find out whether they have an atmosphere. this allows conclusions to be drawn as to how habitable these worlds are. super telescopes such as the extremely large telescope will then take a closer look at the exoplanets in the coming cade. they will look for traces of life in the atmospheres. and find out whether there are microbes and plants there. brent: down here on earth, the draw for the opening round of the champions league is taking place. things will be getting serious.

leipzig will square off with last year's finalist. >> byron unix -- bayern's tumultuous season is not going to get any easier. it will be a rematch in the 2012 final. after a slow start, bayern have turned the corner and they are strong form has given them a boost of confidence for the clash. >> we are fairly confident. i feel good about the draw. chelsea have players that can hurt us. >> dortmund have their eyes on an equally difficult task. the yellow wall will welcome back the former coach for the first time since he left dortmund in 2017. leipzig have fought their way to the top.

they have content -- potential for even more. >> we are also looking forward to improving further and that our football be even better. awfully, our results will get better too. -- hopefully our results will get better too. >> the champions league is as good a place as any to show off their development. even if leipzig are at their best, last seasons'finalist will be a stirring test in the knockout round. brent: a baseball bat used by babe ruth has been sold at an auction. he swung the bat to hit his 500 home runs back in 1929. it was bought in california by an unidentified buyer. a previous bet was sold for a record $1.3 million back in

2004. here is a reminder of the top story we are following for you. macron lay -- in an exclusive report, the killings took place 20 years ago when president lukashenko was consolidating his hold on power. you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back. stick around.

. don't miss it on december twenty eighth. and it is welcome to out live from paris see on fronts twenty four hi marco and these are the main world news headlines. the man behind the controversial pension reforms here in france has resigned over undeclared income. chuckled elev was didn't demise isn't a parcel to present macros french workers prepared to step up the general strike tomorrow. the evidence presidents out on monday postponed consultations to select a new prime minister this after a weekend of fun rest. protesteters threw stones and fireworks please sitit back with tear gas and water cannono. behind the scecenes on this the site looks set to be reappointed