berlin. death on europe's doorstep. the body of another asylum seeker is found on the belarus poland border. this is the latest tragedy amid rising numbers of migrants from the middle east coming to the you via belarus. eu leaders have been meeting today trying to figure out how they can stop the influx. india hits a major covid-19 milestone. one billion vaccinations. with most people still not fully

vaccinated, the upcoming festival season in the country is causing concern. rival demonstrations in sudan. supporters of a civilian government are worried the military will abort the transition to democracy. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with the worsening situation at the border between belarus and the european union. polish media are reporting police have found the body of a syrian man in a river dividing poland and belarus. if confirmed, he would be the seventh person today near the border in recent weeks. dozens of people have crossed from belarus into the european union through poland, less the way neah, latvia and more than

4000 have made as far as germany in recent weeks. russell's has accused belarus of luring people to the border with the promise of easy access to the european union. for more on this, i am joined by georgia. she is a senior adviser on he military and diplomacy for the international federation of the red cross. she was at the border today between poland and belarus. it is good to have you on the program. tell us more about what is happening at the border. >> everybody will agree that we are in front of a humanitarian crisis a tragedy that is unfolding in front of our eyes with hundreds of people crowded between the borders between the two countries, poland and belarus. people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. they lack everything.

water, food, workloads. the temperature here dropping sharply and we are afraid that if the situation continues, the death toll will rise in the coming weeks. our main concern he is the fact that humanitarian actors do not have access to the state of emergency zones. that means assistance cannot reach those people in need. brent: why is that? why can't humanitarian groups like the red cross, are you unable to reach people at the border? >> exactly. we are unable to do that without the approval of the government. as you probably know, all red cross and national societies, the international federation of the red cross, in order to deploy staff on the ground and

implement activities should have the approval of the national authorities of the country. still here, we are in dialogue with national authorities. brent: and you have asked the polish government for access. has war sold told you know? -- has warsaw told you know? >> yes. we don't have access. brt: what reason? have they given you a reason why they are denying you access? >> it is not only us. the red cross, humanitarian staff and volunteers that ar denied access. it is all humanitarian actors that are denied access to this zone. from my side, but i can say is a we are in dialogue with the polish government and we are

expecting and optimistic that the coming days we will reach some positive results. brent: when you do get an answer, come back. we would like to have you on the show again. the senior advisor for the international federation of the red cross. thank you. the crisis at the border between the european union and belarus is high on the agenda at a summit taking place today. leaders are discussing how to put pressure on belarus to stop encouraging mostly middle eastern and afghan asylum-seekers from entering that you -- the e.u. via olivers. brussels has already imposed sanctions on top belarus officials. the european commission president made brussels position clear today on this border standoff.

>> what we are observing at or border with fellow roots, we consider this as a hybrid attack by belarus. no one's life should be put at risk for political reasons. and therefore, i am confident that the council will give a very strong and united answer to this behavior in belarus that must stop. brent: earlier, i spoke with our brussels bureau chief. she is also covering the e.u. summit for us. we asked her whether or more economic sanctions will put more pressure on belarus. >> it is not as easy as imposing economic sanctions because as we saw in the past, lukashenko does not seem to be impressed by anything the european union has done so far. the e.u. officials are worried he is using migrants as a weapon against the european union to

punish, to take revenge on the e.u. by imposing sanctions in the past. they are working on a new forced package of economic sanctions, of sanctions against the regime in minsk because they say we need to punish lukashenko. he needs to change his behavior. brent: that was our brussels bureau chief reporting. first, they agreed to talk. now they are talking about what they have agreed to. negotiations have begun between the three parties hoping to form germany's new government. the social democrats, the greens and the free democrats say they could have a deal in place within weeks. >> 300 negotiators from three parties. 22 working group and one end goal. a coalition for german it is what representatives from the social democrats, the greens and free democrats discussed.

>> it is all a complex task. working groups need to finish by november 10. we will demand a lot from the working groups. a lot of commitment and presence because we are very ambitious. a coalition agreement by the end of november and the goal we just agreed. >> the three parties still face hurdles. on security, the draft paper mentions modernizing the german army but the social democrats and the greens have not endorsed germany's nato goal of earmarking 2% of its budget on defense. on climate, the greens are set to win their demand to bring forward germany's exit from coal from 2038 to 2030. with no clear roadmap for how to a clear -- how to achieve that goal. the free democrats and their

leader have already expressed a strong interest in getting the finance ministry something that was not welcomed by the greens or the spd. all of this is on the tables of negotiators in the different working groups. set to launch talks next wednesday. brent: here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. a russian journalist has been congratulated by russian president vladimir putin for receiving the nobel peace prize. he received the award last week for his investigative journalism . it is a kremlin critical publication. he dedicated the award to six people on his staff who were killed while working for the paper. a 25 euros man has been charged with the merger debt -- the murder of a u.k. conservative lawmaker. prosecutors say they will argued that he had religious and ideological motivations when he stabbed the lawmaker near london.

he was killed while meeting constituents inside a church. turkeys president has into it he might expelled the ambassadors of 10 countries including the u.s., germany and france. that is following their call for the release of osmond kabbalah. he has been in prison without a conviction since 2017. a gas explosion at a restaurant in northeastern china has reportedly killed three people and iured morthan 30 others. more than 100 firefighters were sent to the scene. authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion. india has administered one billion covid-19 vaccine doses. about three quarters of adults have now had at least one shot. hundreds of millions of indians especially younger people are still unvaccinated. with many major festivals

scheduled in the country in the coming weeks, there is concern about a new spread of the virus. >> the drums are out after a long time as indians celebrate the one billionth covid-19 jab in the country. >> it is milestone and a few months ago it did not seem as though we might reac that when vaccination rates were flagging. it is important to note at lea 75% of thedult population has some level of prottion. >> in the capital, the prime minister congratulated the nation. the who has also loaded the country and said everyone deserves credit for making t vaccination drive a success. >> the extraordinary feet in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire

health and frontline workforce and the people themselves. >> a few months back, hospitals were overwhelmed by the deadly second wave. infections and deaths raged through the cities and villages alike. the fast vaccination drive has helped many people return to at least some semblance of a normal life. >> corona had fully shaken us up both financially and mentally. there were only problems and more problems. sitting at home, i went through depressi and finances were down as well. slowly things are getting back to norl. there is a huge difference thanks to the vaccines. >> it will take another billion doses to fully vaccinate every indian. but the countries younger people are still banned from the vaccination drive. hundreds of millions under the age of 18 have not had a single shot. with the start of another festive season, they will be

among the most vulnerable if another wave strikes. brent: on thursday, the u.k. recorded within 50,000 new covid-19 cases. that is the highest level the country has seen in months. medical experts are calling on the u.k. government to restore social distancing but london so far is refusing to do that. relying instead on booster shots to protect the most vulnerable. >> this is how the u.k. wants to get through the winter. a third covid-19 shot for 30 million vulnerable people. but many vaccination centers have closed and the vaccination program is sluggish. a 76-year-old died while waiting for his booster shot. his son blames the slow pace. >> he was litally going out shopping, going into s hospital checkups. and he caught covid. 11 days later, he died. i think a booster might have saved his life. >> case numbers are the highest

in europe but a vaccination rate above 67% has kept down severe infections and death. after living all restrictions in england, the government strategy seemed to be working but the tide is turning. the u.k. registered 223 deaths on tuesday. nearly a thousand people were hospitalized. >> we have relatively low social distancing measures compared to much of europe. the other big thing as -- thing is immunizations, immunity from previous infections are almost certainly beginning to wane. >> the protection offered by the astrazeneca vaccine, the most widely used in the u.k. appears to decline significantly over time. but boosters are urgently needed for other vaccines too. the u.k. national health service says it is time to act. they are calling for the government to trigger its plan b

paired a set of measures including editorial mask wearing, vaccination passes and certain settings and recommending people work from home. >> it is a very simple choice. we accept the overwhelming evidence from all parts of the health service into what we can now to reduce the risk in a way that does not disrupt our day-to-day life odo we somehow cross our fingers and hope a miracle will happen and then stumble as we have done before, stumble into crisis. >> the government is rejecting calls for fresh restrictions. at a news conference, the health minister says he expects up to 100,000 cases a day in the coming weeks, which means more severe infections and deaths are likely inevitable. he appealed to the public for voluntary support. >> if we want to secure these freedoms for the long term, the best thing we can do is come forward once again when that

moment,'s. there are many more things we can all do to help contain the spread of this virus. like meeting outdoors where it is possible and if you can only meet indoors, letting in fresh air. wearing a face covering in close spaces. >> when asked by ministers and a packed parliament were not wearing mask, the health minister considered good point and said lawmakers should set an example. winter is coming in health care workers are already feeling the pressure. another concerning new variant is making its rounds. and of the coming weeks, it may be decisive for the unity kingdom. brent: rival demonstrations across sudan today. tensions are rising on fears the transition to democracy will not happen. thousands of people marched to reject military rule. the group supporting the military have also been on the streets. doubts are real the military

will renege on a power-sharing agreement that followed the removal of a long ruler in 29 teen. -- in 2019. >> demonstrators in the capital rallying to support democracy. in a rejection of military rule, their banners read civilian role as the people's choice. -- civilian rule is the people's choice. >> i am protesting because i want the military to hand over power to the civilians. their time is over. we have been given -- they have been given their chance. we want a civilian rule. support for sudan's transitional government is fracturing. many back i continued move to civilian rule. but oths now want to return to military rule.

this antigovernment citizen led by islamist promilitary supporters have been going on for days. they are demanding the dissolution of the transitional government. >> we are sitting here until the prime minister finds us a solution. either he leaves or his cabinet leaves. we are staying. just like we removed 30 years of rule, we will remove two years of ruptured >> the military has shared power with civilian since it ousted an authoritarian president in 2019. the generals say they are committed to transitioning to democratic elections by the end of 2023. as well as supporting a civilian cabinet led by prime minister abdullah homduck. he has led the cabinet since 2019. so far, the protests on both sides have remained largely

peaceful. but fears are rising of a deepening divide in the country. brent: we want to go now to the managing partner at insight strategy partners. that is a think tank in the country. we are looking at rival mass rallies. in terms of numbers and public support, are these two relatively equal groups? >> not at all. the protesrs we saw on the 16th of october, which was on saturday, were much smaller. thgroups wermuch more mogenous some of tm were paid to be there or otherwise incentivized to be there to prop up the islamist groups that wt to have a return to military le. today's protestsawany

people. on the streets, you could not see from one end to the other without seeing people. there were several videos circulating that show the extent to which people were out in force. this makes total sense. we were only two years into the transition. despite the challenges the civilian government has had people -- has had, people are aware -- to stifle whatever progress has been made. brt: they look relatively peaceful. how concerned are you that the threat of confrontation can become more than just a threat? >> there was a lot of concern beforeim. the october 16 protesters are

still there. not ve many but they are camped out. they were and in terms of their energy. so were the protesters of today. today's protesters follow -- peaceful demonstrations toward civilian role. in the 2018, 20 19 protest, we saw violent pushback from the military. what we are seein today is much smaller version. people have been injured due to teargas canisters and the light, which is a much smaller number compared to th crowds. this indicates to some extent the military is getting the hint that there place so far has been

orchestrating divisions and have largely failed. the question is what now for the military? this is what democracy looks like. it has put them -- brent: joining us tonight with the latest. we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. football news. the battle over plans to hold the world cup two years. the battle rages on. today, the germany boss was a no-show at a meeting of national coaches. that is being seen as a sign of thief's proposal to switch to every two years is losing momentum. one said it could endanger fee funds unity. >> it is one of the most iconic trophies in all sport. whether the men's and the women's world cups will be lifted every two years is badly

splitting the game. world governing body fifa has held a week of important meetings on the topic. an invitation to thursday's online seminar for national coaches was declined by the germany boss. european football powers such as germany are against the idea because they believe there is already too much football. some national associations could consider quitting fifa. >> worst case, i think this could divide the football family and there will be a break with fifa. >> the fifa president has been drumming up support around the world. a vote on the issue in december know appears to have morphed into more consultations. after the international olympic committee also criticized the plans as rushed. >> we have received some

legitimate criticism. we have received a lot of enthusiastic comments as well. when you're in the middle of all of that, it is a bit like when there is a riot going on. you have to come down -- to calm down. helping you to bring reason to the people. >> if we do see celebrations like these every two years in the future, there is a big risk several nations will have boycotted the tournaments. brent: in germany, the frankfurt book fair is underway. it runs until sunday. the world's biggest publishing event is casting a spotlight on canada. not just its french and english-speaking authors but also indigenous literature as well. authors from canada's first nations are using the book fair is a chance to share their stories. >> the pacific ocean to the

left, the atlantic to the right and to the north, the arctic ocean. in between, a breathtaking landscape filled with forests, lakes and melons. despite the breathtaking scenery, canada's history is dark. when europeans settled, they drove out the indigenous peoples. their descendants are fighting for recognition and their own history. an author and journalist lives in quebec and is a member of the community. his ancestors were semi nomads and hunters in eastern canada. his novel tells their story. >> there are two solitude's. the francophones, the anglophones and we are the few who say there is a sit -- a third solitude, indigenous people. our stories are nowhere. if we don't write them, who will?

his greatest >> dashes late his novel was -- his latest novel was released in german. the writer comes from the far north. like so many young indigenous people, she was educated in what was called a residential school run by the catholic church. for decades, indigenous children were abused and even killed. in her award-winning novel, she writes about her difficult childhood in the 70's. the story includes drugs and violence but also some tenders scenes with ido but that -- with autobiographical moments. she rescued herself from a downward spiral by rediscovering the ancient art of that sinking. -- throat singing. she became famous the world over.

indigenous authors presenting themselves at the frankfurt book fair more confidently than ever before. brent: if you sometimes think time is passing by quickly and you feel like a dinosaur, big john will make you feel younger than ever. he is the largest triceratops to ever be found. his fossils have reached the age of 66 million years old his skeleton sold in paris. you are watching dw news. i will be back to take you through the day. stick around. we will be right back. ♪

qqqqqqqc

>> it is 10:00 p.m. here in the french capital. here are our headlines. fears and divisions within the eu to deepe, of brussels legal supremacy the focus of a summit the started. not always prevail over polish love we will hear more from the meeting in brussels. in sudan, huge crowds have marched in several parts of the capital and other cities, to reject military rule. the military shared power with civilians in a traditional authority since president bashir