berlin. tonight, polls are closing in israel's third general election in less than a year. is the third time a charm? turnout has been the highest in more than two decades. will that help break the deadlock between prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his challenger?

a new border crisis for europe with the blessing of the turkish president. turkey has allowed thousands to cross its territory. ininstead of an openn door, they are finding riot p police. europe's leaders say it'll stay that way. plus, mind your manners and mind the virus. germany's interior minister refuses to shake hands with chancellor angela merkel as the coronavirus spreads. ♪ brent: to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. polls have closed in israel in that country's third election in less than a year. it is another attempt to end a political stalemate.

prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been chasing reelection while facing criminal indictment. his centerleft opponent says he hopes israel a's will vote for change after 11 years of netanyahu. neither side previously won enough seats to form m a government, but it is hoped today's high voter turnout will make all the difference. all right. with me here is dw's middle east expert and live from jerusalem is our very own correspondent, tania kramer. she will have the first exit polls any minute. the turnout has been extremely high. how do you explain that? i think most people would say, three times is too much. >> we need to remember there was a great effort to bring people. they understood when it comes to

ideology, everything has been setting down what is going to win the election for them. it is going to be logistics. there was a great effort, which made everybody else follow suit. it is a reverse effect of fatigue. it could be that people want this to be decided. they wanted to be over. let's just get this done. that is the attitude. brent: let's go to tonya. people wanted to be over. i guess we will -- people want it to be over. i guess we are closer to being over. you have any numbers? >> we just -- the polling stations have closed. the main tv channels have published the first exit polls. we have channel 13, 37 seats. everything is counted in seats. blue and white of benny guns.

32, we are looking at the two main parties. blue and white, 33. pretty close exit polls this time around. a very high number. brent: how do you read those numbers? >> if you look at it, what isis important is to look at it now -- what it means in terms of coalition making. what does it mean for the right wing religious block? all of the exit polls suggest they would have 60 seats by now and only 54 for blue-and-white. that is a clear lead for netanyahu. we have gone up on the last election at least.

these are exit polls. now, the counting starts of the votes. this will be updated in the coming hours. brent: it is true these are the exit poll numbers, are you surprised we are seeing this party ahead? >> i think yes. many people have expected netanyahu for paying a price for dragging the country through a third election. we have seen much better campaigning. he was very determined. he is a veteran politician. the best there is in the field in israel. he has been hands-on taking sure this is going to work. if he has 60 -- it is enough to have 60 to block any other attempt for any other government. especially when we look at the other side of the opponent, already committed and in many

occasions, they will not use the arab party. 14, 15 seats. that is going to be impossible for his opponents to start any coalition. brent: how do you explain that with an yahoo!? him being able to do so well considering -- with netanyahu? him doing so well considering he is the first prime minister to facece any charges. how can voters say we are going to vote for him anyway? >> he has an amazing charisma. it is not just because of his personality but also for his mag following he was very smart in putting down opposition within his party. you see the biggest rivals -- we are talking about a party led by three former chief of the army staff. these are people not to be taken lightly. and yet, they seem to be like

really the midgets comparing to his charisma. we need to not forget there was great logistic effort. there was great campaign. this is a new party. this is a new political entity invented in the last year to oppose netanyahu. there is not the same determination, the same drive as we can see from an old party with a very clear message and ideology. brent: let me ask you, if neither netanyahu or the opponent succeeds in forming a governingisrael end up seeing ah election later this year? >> the chances are this could happen, but these results are very close. if the exit polls are going to be confirmed by the counting in

the coming hours -- the right wing religious block will only fall short of one seat. a looks like it could go for -- there was a lot of talk. 30% of israelis believed there would be no correlation and there might be a fourth election coming up. at the moment, this is quite a surprising result. we could see maybe a change again. this one seat, it is very close. brent: tania kramer in jerusasalem. here at the table, dw zone. the latest now as the vote counting has begun in israel. here are some of the other stories making heaeadlines aroud the world. amy klobuchar has announced she is ending her presidential bid.

she says she will endorse former vice president joe biden. it comes ahead of super tuesday as a total of 14 u.s. states hold their primaries. united nations envoy to libya is stepping down. he took up the post nearly three years ago. he says his resignation is due to health reasons and cannot continue with the stress at the job. japan is working closely with the u.s. and south korea after north korea fired missiles into its eastern sea. they traveled a distance of 200 50 kilometers. south korea says it is on guard for additional tests. now to those tensions at the border between europe and turkey and fears a new chapter of the migration crisis is worsening. it started when turkey confirmed it will not stop migrants in its territory from heading towards the borders with the european

union. thousands have been on the move towards greece. for some, the journey has already turned deadly. the greek coast guard announced the drowning of a child after a boat capsized. other migrants are facing strong pushback as they are trying to fit -- trying to reach europe i land and sea. >> repelled at sea. turkey released this footage of the coastal city of bob drum. it shows a greek coast guard pushing back a boat filled with migrants. it is one of the tactics the greek authorities are using. greece says it has stopped almost 10,000 attempted crossings over a 24 hour period. they fired tear gas to disperse the crowds gathering at the border fences. the migrants can hear the greek border authorities across the river telling them to go back. the borders are closed.

it is not a command that is likely to be obeyed. >> we will keep waiting here because we left our homes. those of us who had homes. if we have to go back, we will have to sleep in the streets. what can we do? we are stuck herere. we cannot t go back home. >> on sunday, some groups tried a hazardous route across the river with some success. greece accuses ankara of organizing a campaign to push people through their border. this migrant from cameroon waded across the river to reach greece. she was t taken by bus from istanbul to the turkish border.

>> many peoplple. president erdogan told us -- [indiscernible] >> greek police were waiting on the other said. german chancellor angela merkel criticized the turkish president for using the migrants as political ponds. -- political pawns >> >>. given the understanding and willingness to provide more support, it is totally unacceptable to deal with this at the expense of migrants. they have been encouraged to go to the border only to end up at a dead-end. and our policy and the policy of the e.u.-turkey deal is not aimed at conducting politics at

the migrants' expense. >> with migrants stuck in no man's land, the pressure is on for politicians to find a way out of the stalemate. brent: for more, i am joined by our correspondent in brussels. we know that greece has said this is not a greek problem. this is a european problem. what is the european union doing about this? >> the european border agency has confirmed it will launch a rapid border intervention because greece has asked for that. the e.u. interior minister's will meet on wednesday in brussels and discuss the situation. the e.u. foreign ministers will meet later this week. the president w won't travel to

the greek-turkish border tomorrow along with other e.u. top leaders to discuss with the greek government and to assess the situation. brent: we know greece has said it is temporarily suspending asylum applications. that goes against e.u. law. has there been a response from the year -- from the european union? >> there is an emergency clause in the european treaties and greece says this emergency clause allows them to do so. the president has the client to comment on that so far. she will discuss that tomorrow with the greek government. if we look at the e.u. asylum law, everyone has the right whenever he or she arrives here in europe to apply for asylum. that is guaranteed by the u.n. refugee convention. the you and refugee agency has --that you -- the u.n. effigy

agency has said there is no reason for greece to suspend asylum. brent: we know there is a fear of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis. our member states of the european union prepared to take in more migrants? >> it is very likely many e.u. member states will follow a hard-line approach when it comes to taking in migrants. we have been seeing that in the last couple of years. there is no reason to believe this will change dramatically. we have to look at what is happening on the greek islands. europe has promised to speed up the asylum application process. on european soil, is what some observers describe a living h ell for migrants. brent: what is your take on

that? is that true? >> the thing is that it is not surprising that turkey wants more support when it comes to sharing the borden when it comes -- the burden when it comes to migration. with the situation in idlib deteriorating, maybe there were of thousands of refugees from syria waiting at the door and wanting to come to turkey to seek refuge. we have to look at the issue. the issue is the e.u.-turkey deal. the deal was struck four years ago by the european union and turkey. the e.u. has known it has just bought time with the deal. it has not done much within the four years to solve the problem. we are seeing at migration crisis like in 2015 and that you has not prepared -- and the e.u. has not prepared for it. brent: thank you.

as the number of cases of coronavirus around the world continues to increase, the world health organization says we are, in uncharted territory. although the who maintains the outbreak can be contained. the total number of infections worldwide is 90,000. indonesia and several other countries reporting their first cases today. official is in italy -- officials in italy say the number of deaths has jumped from 34 to 52. the number of patients who have recovered from the virus worldwide stands at more than 45,000. >> with the global race to contain the global -- the coronavirus outbreak underway, handshaking for some is out of the question, even german chancellor angela merkel had her hand rejected by her interior minister. the virus has spread to 18 out

of 27 e.u. member states, causing the block center for disease prevention and control to take greater action. >> we have announced today the risk level has risen from moderate to high for people in the european union. the virus continues to spread. >> italy as the epicenter of the european fight against the outbreak with the continent's most cases and deaths. in rome, line for tourist hotspots are unusually short. >> it scares me, so i am wearing a attractive mast, but we will not stop living >>. ireland and indonesia among several other countries have reported the first cases on their soil with more than 50 deaths. i ran has the work -- iran has the world's highest toll outside of china. it is shaking the country's

already struggling economy. >> we have no choice but to be open. i have commitments and i have bank checks to clear. i know many others are in a similar situation. who is supposed to take care of our checks and debts if we stay home? >> as markets around the globe take a hit, some countries are more vulnerable than others. brent: schools in japan have been closed in controversial decision aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. prime minister shinzo abe announced the closings last week. 13 million students across the country are affected. japan has reported within than 200 cases of the virus. >> schools out for millions of japanese children. many parents are faced with a logistical nightmare. they need to make alternative

childcare arrangements while the schools are shut. >> i think companies need to be flexible in dealing with the situation. >> i really did not think the virus would infect so many people. it is good to close the schools, what a lot of parents work today so they have to take some time off. i feel sorry for them. >> prime minister shinzo abe said the drastic measure was necessary after a meeting with the country's coronavirus task force on thursday. >> there are many efforts being made to stop the spread d of infection amonong children in various regions. the next one or two weeks are crucial. >> the announcement took local government and health officials by surprise. they have been scrambling to come up with guidelines to

implement the closures. some publications have warned the risksks posed byy s shutting schohools also need to be consnsidered. a marriage waited, what about -- a mayor t tweeted, how will thty manage? society could collapse. but with opinion polls showing public dissatisfaction with the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, it appears the prime minister is betting on school closures as an effective strategy to bring new infections under control. brent: an agreement signed over the weekend by the united states and the taliban has paved the way for u.s. troops to withdraw from afghanistan. they would might the beginning of the end of nearly 20 years of american military involvement in afghanistan. the afghan government was not included in negotiations. the afghan governor has objected

to a proposed prisoner swap. >> taliban fighters no more. such weapon handodovers are nothing new in afghanistan, but there is a buzz in the air that afghans may finally see the day when the talk is no longer r of guns and bombs but of peace. >> after the peace deaeal with e u.s., afghans should m make peae too. >> but that possibility has already hit i its first s snag, prisonerers. the u.s.s.-taliban deal calls on the afghan government to exchange 5000 captives for 1000 held by ththe taliban. it is seen as a precondition for inter-afghan talks m meant to begin in oslo next week. but the afghan president has a different view. >> there is no commitment to

release 5000 prisoners. it could be included in the agenda of the inter-afghan talks but could not be a prerequisite for talks. >> a sign of the bumpy road ahead despite what many see as a breakthrough. the administration was not paray to thehese negotiations. u.s. hopes to end the longest war still hinge on the taliban and afghan government agreeing to sit down for talks. but distressed dies hard -- distrust dies hard. regional players like the pakistan, -- like pakistan, it sees as backers of the group. >> we will be observers and facilitators who will want to encourage the process to move

forward. >> many afghans welcomed the possibility y of peace b but ren skeptical it will happen anytime soon. >> people e still think and evei still thinkk the taliban are the same people whoo ruled thiss countr in 1990''s. but ii think that might have changed. if that has changed, it will be a big relief. >> the relativee quiet during te past w week's cease-fire could e a sign of what is to come or just another brief break from the bombs for a nation still fractured by war. brent: one wonders, what would shakespeare have written? under gray skies, the british wife carrying championship took place over the weekend. dreadful drizzling did not deter the couples who took the race as they do their nuptials, epps

dreamily seriously -- extremely seriously. >> a muddy field in southern england was the venue for the annual race. the british wife carrying championship may sound like a bit of fun, but these couples were desperate for glory. it does not have to be a wife. it can be a neighbor's wife or it can even just be your girlfriend. in the past, women have also been allowed to carry men. it is a test that propels you for life's travails. >> the weather today is terrible. it is rain. it is pain. really, it is a good introduction to marriage. >> the sport originated in finland. to make it tougher, couples are diced -- are doused with ice cold water along the route. some may see the sport as

political incorrect in modern times, the winners disagree. >> it has been a lifelong dream. >> it has been a lifelong dream for me. >> a barrel of beer was the prize alongside the chance to compete in the world championship in finland later this year. brent: that gives new meaning to the old term ball and chain. u.s. singer-songwriter taylor swift has been named last year's biggest selling global artist. ♪ brent: this is the second time taylor swift has received the accolade. she was first named biggest selling global artist in 2014. the 30-year-old d released her seventh album, lover, last year. swift is also a 10 time grammy

winner. good for her. here is a reminder of the top stories we are following. exit polls from israel's general election have indicated a lead for benjamin not yet -- benjamin netanyahu's party and allies. the blue-and-white party of b enny gantz is expected to pick up 32 or 33 seats. after a short right, i will be back to take you through the day. we will be right back. ♪

. watching g live from paris here in france twenty four i'm at ut a kim and these are the headlines. they can't sing is underway in israel's elections exit polls giving prime minister benjamin netanyahu the edge over his center left rival but he got. a syrian c childas died as thousands of migrants rushed ross acrososs the turkish greek border the border protection agency says it will deploy helps agrees to deal with the such. the grave the death toll from the coronavirus tops three thousand with david ninety thousand infected countries around the w world is stepping p the containment measures