berlin. ethiopia's troubled election. the opposition claims harassment as voters give their verdict on the prime minister's reform agenda, but not everyone in the country is allowed to cast a ballot. targeting belarus yet again. the european union expands sanctions on sectors of the economy to increase pressure on longtime leader alexander lukashenko. and how to silence a free press.

a leading voice of hong kong democracy may be no more in a matter of days as the government freezes the assets of the apple daily newspaper. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs and the united states at all of you around the world, welcome. we begin with the election in ethiopia. opposition officials say they have faced harassment the elections despite the prime minister's promises of a fair and peaceful vote polling places have extended their hours to accommodate the long lines. this election is a delayed election. voting was scheduled to take place last year before the pandemic arrived. the coronavirus is not the only obstacle standing between ethiopians and a truly nationwide vote.

>> it is election day in ethiopia but in the region, it is difficult to tell. people are in a humanitarian crisis that began last november. violence erupted between the local ruling party and the ethiopian government. >> the entire situation is dire with reports of denial of humanitarian accents in some localities in looting of aid supplies by some soldiers. >> the prime minister has been calling this ethiopia's first free election, but the claim is belied by who truly gets to vote. 1/5 of ethiopia as constituencies are absent. these constituencies are deemed too risky to hold elections.

they were met by poor infrastructure. >> it is time consuming. i have friends who gave up on voting because of the large queue. >> i was expecting more women to come vote but it did not happen. >> until today, the elections we have had, we did not see much hope. in villages neighboring, voters have phased long waits. -- have faced long waits. in this region, people are still struggling to get basic necessities like food and fuel. brent: for more, i am joined by adam from the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance in the hague. the prime minister was awarded a nobel peace prize two years ago but that was before the war broke out. how much is left of his image as a reformer and peacemaker?

>> i think you are right that the reputation has suffered, particularly at the international level. domestically, he still maintains a large following, a significant following. there is a lot of hope what he promised when he came to power could be realized. the war going on and the tragedies unfolding have damaged his reputation, but he still maintains a following in the country. brent: those promises he made when he was campaigning the first time, have those promises been kept? >> he has been in power for three years. he has started with pardons and reforms. perhaps one of the successful reforms were the reorganization of the national electoral word of ethiopia. thway they have handled

elections shows that has played a role. unfortunately, because of some of the problems he inherited in some of the miscalculations he made, there is conflict and there has been problems particularly in other regions. he has delivered on some of the promises. he still has a lot to prove. he hopes after the elections, he will get a renewed mandate to deliver. brent: you mentioned the way the election has been carried out. the prime minister has described this mode as the nation's first attempt at free and fair elections. to what extent is that true? >> it is certainly a fair and free election. the dilemma the government faced was whether to postpone elections because of the tragedy in tigre or hold them outside of tigre and organize the elections

in tigre when it is possible. the decision was to go ahead with the elections and there were better preparations in the -- unfortunately the boycott in the largest region means voters, almost more than a third of voters in the country, will not have human choices to make. -- will not have genuine choices to make. the elections are free and fair but they leave a lot to be desired. brent: if you have a third of the electorate not voting, what does that mean about the legitimacy of the results of the election? >> what i meant was not a third of the electorate will not vote. it is that because of the boycott, there is a large political sentiment that will not be represented in the country. you are right a fifth of the country will not vote including tigre. except tigre, the voters are

supposed to get the chances in september. if everything goes well, they should have representatives ready in october when the parliament is supposed to start. by the time the parliament will be reconstituted in october, more than 90% of the voters will have voted. the exclusion of tigre because of the conflict and the fact that the oppositn have boycotted means the elections will not be as competitive and free as they were supposed to be. it was i die lemma the government and the next -- it was a die lemma the government and the board had to decide. hopefully they will consider addressing the rest of the issues once the elections unfold. brent: joining us tonight from the hague. thank you. here is a look at some of the other stories making headlines. armenia's prime minister has won

another term in office. official rests show his party won some 54% of the vote despite widespread frustration with his handling of a war last year with azerbaijan. sweden's prime minister lost a no-confidence vote in parliament today. he has a week to resign or announce a snap election. the vote was triggered by a plan to ease rent controls. he is the first swedish prime minister to lose a confidence vote. spain's prime minister says his government will pardon nine the leaders of catalonia's failed 2016 independence bid. he said he hoped to ease tensions and kickstart negotiations with catalan authorities. the european union has approved new sanctions against belarus targeting more than 80 individuals and organizations. member states want to increase

pressure on alexander lukashenko after he forced a passenger plane to land to arrest a dissident journalist. state representatives met with belarusian opposition leaders before approving the latest measures. the e.u. is also planning a wide ranging sanctions that would target whole sectors of the belarusian economy. >> the message to the e.u. was clear. take courage and don't wait. the opposition leader had been invited to luxembourg. she is demanding decisive action against lukashenko and that is exactly what the e.u. is doing with economic sanctions. >> i think these are sanctions that will hurt. i hope it hurts so much this regime will come to its knees. >> that you is -- the e.u. is targeting the industry in belarus. imports of fertilizer will soon be banned.

the same applies to oil and oil productsrom belarus. negotiators also overcame opposition from austria. >> it really is a great achievement we have succeeded in the last few days in making sure everyone does their part to ensure these sanctions are now implemented. despite the fact that it also affects our own financial economy. >> e.u. leaders have expressed concern about retaliation and the possibility of belarus helping refugees enter the e.u. >> we have information the belarusian government is facilitating their arrival into minsk and they are being led to the lithuanian border. >> the you may have taken -- of the e.u. may have taken action today. brent: the brussels bureau chief

has been covering events from luxembourg. this is not the first time that e.u. has slapped sanctions on the belarusian economy. what is different this time around >> -- around? >> this is the first time the european union is ready to target multiple sectors of the belarusian economy. we are talking about key sectors of the economy that are considered main source of revenues for the lukashenko regime. in this way, the european union is showing they are determined to ramp up the pressure on lukashenko. this is coming at a price. we have to stress that when we take austria. austria's banks have deep ties to belarus. if they are not allowed to grant new loans to belarusian state companies as it is planned, this

is going to have an impact on their business as well. brent: we know the e.u. issued a sanctions against belarus soon after lukashenko forced the ryan air jet land in minsk. are these latest measures likely to be any more effective? >> it seems so because we are talking about key industries. that are providing lukashenko with hard currencies. of the ruse is not allowed anymore tech-support -- belarus is not allowed anymore to export petrochemicals to the e.u.. they're going to use -- to lose millions of euros if state companies in belarus are not allowed to borrow money on the european market. this is going to hurt their regime. those sanctions are in line with what the belarusian opposition had the demanding for quite a long time -- had been demanding

for quite a long time. e.u. thee.u. -- the e.u. is sending quite a strong signal. many experts assume those strong sanctions are probably going to increase belarus' dependence on russia and that is something the european union needs to address. brent: the russia factor is important. russia is backing president lukashenko. russia is dealing with its own set of e.u. sanctions. did they come up with a new plan to address pressure today? -- to address russia? >> i have not seen any new plan on russia. the foreign ministers agreed the new strategy about what we have heard so far is nothing new when the e.u. foreign policy chief says that the e.u. has to push back against him and rights violations in russia. -- against human rights

violations in russia. this is nothing new when he says that e.u. has to constrain russia's attempts. or when he says the e.u. has to engage with the russia. this is also common sense. i do not see any new russian plan. brent: the latest tonight from luxembourg. thank you. italian prime minister mario draghi met with german chancellor merkel today. they discussed cooperation regard -- in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. migration also on the agenda including the continued arrival of immigrants to italy and stalled efforts on how to deal with them. the trip marked mr. druggie's -- mr. mario draghi's first trip.

>> i think chancellor for her support of the launch of the next generation project. the italian government is aiming for what are called structural reforms. this means systemic reforms. it can help italy become more competitive, more just and also more sustainable. brent: mario druggie speaking. -- mario druggie in there. the country's ruling conservatives have formerly adopted their joint program for the campaign. presented the manifest in berlin today. the program promises tax relief and fiscal discipline. critics say it is not clear how the plans will be funded. germany's conservatives are

leading in public opinion polls. the vote will be the first in 16 years not to feature angela merkel. our political correspondent has been watching today's developments. good evening to you. what are the conservatives promising? >> i think two things. change but security. the leader talking about modernizing germany, modernizing germany's economy, learning the lessons from the pandemic and he also talked about unleashing the potential of german industry and he said the phrase we cannot do it, often heard in past years in germany. that is something you don't hear anymore. people have found new ways of doing things. that phrase have got to stay history.

germany has got to become a can-do nation is his idea. he is looking at dealing with the climate crisis. they are committing to that pledge of climate neutrality for germany by 2045. there is a lot in this about removing burdens, particularly taxation burdens from german businesses but also from german families. i would say it is not that swerve to the right some people feared coming after the centrism of angela merkel. it is appealing to the middle ground, this manifesto, and that will be important as the conservatives fight for heavy about going through to the election in september. brent: the election is three months away. germany is still dealing with the pandemic. we know summer is begetting. how attentive, how receptive are voters to any campaign promises at this stage?

>> there is evidence the voters are looking at the campaign. if you look at the opinion polls in recent weeks, you can notice that those polls -- they are often static in germany. in the last few weeks, the cdu and csu have gained about four or five percentage point support. the greens have lost a similar amount. possibly because of some sort of questionable statements and decisions made by the new chancellor candidate for the green party. they are attracting a lot of interest. she has shown possibly a little bit of experience. they were saying today the greens have plenty of ideas but no experience. that is coming against the background that the conservatives may well be in a

position to form a coalition with the greens after the national election. brent: angela merkel will be stepping down in september. germany has had a female chancellor for almost 16 years. the greens now have a female chancellor candidate. she is one of the top tenders in the opinion polls. what does this tell us about gender equity in the upper echelons of german politics? >> angela merkel is stepping down but i'm not sure she ever strongly embraced any role as a leader for female empowerment. i do not suppose that will mean too much for the female equity in germany at the top of politics. the fact that miracle is going. it is true the greens have a young female as their candidate. that there is into sharp relief the cdu and csu both led by men, arm and lash it would be the chancellor -- the candidate to

succeed angela merkel if the conservatives are the largest party. they put something in this manifesto saying they want to create fairer conditions, better conditions for women and particularly in politics. they have got to start in their own party. you have got people, very top conservatives. at lower echelons, it is still quite a male-dominated party in the csu and cdu ranks. brent: thank you very much, simon. it is a chapter of germany's second world war history that gets little attention. the fate of the 14 million germans who were forced to flee eastern europe as the soviet army advanced. after decades of controversy over how to tell their stories, a new museum in berlin is documenting their fate. >> a key taken in a rush with the hope to return one day. for every person forcibly

displaced, there is a story. often, a tragic one. these are the stories the new documentation center for displacement, expulsion and reconciliation in berlin wants to document. in focus, the fate of the 14 million germans who had to leave their homes after world war ii. a controversial issue. the opening of the museum follows a decades long dispute because of one big question. >> how can the displacement and expulsion of germans at the end and after the second will work be presented without leaving the slightest doubt this country is aware of its permanent responsibility for the german crimes of the second world war and the murder of european jews? >> particularly in poland, there were fears the germans would turn themselves into victims. the exhibition's solution,

context, context, context. on the one hand, the context of politically, ethnically and religiously motivated forced migrations primarily in 20th-century europe and also be on. on the other, the center contextualizes the fate of the 14 million germans as a consequence of the nazi policies of expansion and annihilation during world war ii. the intention is to not only look back. >> i believe these topics we are dealing with here affect all of humanity. it does not take much imagination to realize these issues will continue to be historically relevant worldewde. a relevance that emerges from the exhibition which highlights the crucial role of forced migration in europe's recent history but also how it still affects millions of people around the world today. brent: the printing press is one of hong kong's last pro-democracy newspapers could

stop rolling in days. the apple daily says this friday's addition is likely to be its last after authorities froze its assets under china's new national security law. >> these newspapers could be a thing of the past. not because of digitalization or rising competition but because the government wants to put a stop to the. that is what supporters of hong kong's pro-democracy newspaper apple daily are saying. last week, police raided the company's newsroom for the second time in under a year five senior executives were arrested after authorities accused them of publishing articles that violated china's sweeping national security law. the government also froze the paper's assets, leaving it unable to pay staff or conduct business. the owners say they have enough cash to last a few weeks but after that, their future and the future of free press in hong kong is uncertain. apple daily's ceo was arrested

during lester's raid. he was sentenced to 14 months in prison over his role in an antigovernment protest in 2019. despite china's intensifying crackdown on media critical of the mainland government, many hong kongers are lining up to show their support. >> i am here to buy a copy of apple daily because of what the police did. i have to support them in any case. i have paid their monthly subsiption fee but i think i will continue to buy newspaper to help them. i want to support freedom of speech because the journalists at apple daily have done nothing wrong. >> whether apple daily can afford to keep publishing is uncertain. it's future will be decided by

the company's board on friday. brent: football and at euro 2020, austria joined the netherlands after beating ukraine in bucharest. baumgartner of hoffenheim scored the winner after he was forced off after an injury. austria finished second. the netherlands were already sure of their place in the next round before they beat north macedonia in amsterdam. let's take a look at the final table. the netherlands top the group with three wins out of three. austria's win over ukraine sees them take second with ukraine sweating to see if they qualify as one of the best third-place decides. north macedonia could not win a single point but they leave with fond memories of their tournament debut. organizers of next month's tokyo olympics have announced up to

10,000 local spectators will be allowed inside the venues. overseas fans are banned and venues will be limited to 15% capacity. organizers insist the games can be held safely despite the pandemic. if japan's public health situation worsens, organizers say events might still go ahead without spectators. the games are due to start in just over a month on the 23rd of july. what do you do when you feel hungry in the middle of the night? hopefully not what one elephant in thailand did care -- thailand did. this elephant crashed through a woman's wall. the elephant who lives in the nearby national park appeared to be on the hunt for food. he used his trunk to rummage through drawers and to chew on plastic bags. apparently he is a repeat offender, having paid a visit to this kitchen before.

here is a reminder of our top story. opposition officials. complaint of harassment during elections. the vote was due to be held last year but was delayed due to the pandemic paired -- due to the pandemic. you are watching dw news from berlin. i will be back after a short rake to take you through the day. around -- iran's new president has one word for the u.s., no. plus the hottest summer. we will be right back. ♪

tñññvvvvvrrzozozozoñ?ñ

>> welcome to live from paris. world news and analysis from "france 24." these are the headlines. a suicide car bomb attacks french troops in central mali. wounding soldiers and civilians. we have analysis of the situation coming up. ethiopia holton election. the president calling it free and fair but no mention of the military situation i in itigray. the far right