>> this is tw news, live from berlin, germany tries to head up the threat from omicron coronavirus variant. protesters vent their anger as the government introduces new restrictions on private events and public gatherings. it also calls on the unvaccinated to step up and get the job. -- jab. russia shuts down the leading human rights group. they dedicate themselves to

documenting russia's stalinist past. and looking back at the chaotic scenes at kabul airport following the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. we meet some of the desperate afghans who made it out as we remember those left behind. to our viewers on pbs and around the world, welcome to the program. with new year's eve fast approaching, the government is placing tiger limits on public and private celebrations. it is also urging those still unvaccinated to get the job -- jab. people protested across the

country. >> hundreds of people demand to pass. tensions run high in the eastern state of saxony on monday night. just one of many protests organized across the country against the government -- against the government coronavirus restrictions. it was a tense but peaceful protest. in the nearby town, police work attacked with fireworks as they attempted to break it authorized protest. in the capital, there is little understanding of the violence that has erected and for those who still refuse to get vaccinated. we all get every mandatory vaccine when we go on holiday. i think it is not necessary to take to the street and attacked police officers, to use violence you should do it peacefully. we on the same boat.

i don't know if it is the right way. almost a year to the day after the vaccination campaign started, the mayor visited a covid-19 intensive care unit. i can only say in a den -- say it again and again. any of these people are probably thinking if only i had done it. perhaps it would have prevented this from happening. there are opponents to vaccines and the measures but over half the population supports measures in place. but officials are bracing themselves for a new wave of infections with the more transmissible omicron variant. >> germany's constitutional

court has ordered parliament to immediately issue laws protecting people with disabilities in triage situations. this is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment. if hospitals are unable to cope with demand for intensive care. they expressed fears they would be denied treatment if the pandemic pushes hospitals to their limits. joining us for more is the professor. the former chair of the german ethics council and specializes in ethics of technical and scientific interference with human life. why do people with disabilitie feel they need to go tcourt to get a ruling on this? >> thank you for having me. there are concerns that because of their municipalities, there

may be a disadvantage in the case of a shortage of medical treatment. this is why they went to go through the constitutional court. the legislator will change the legal frame in order to protect these people. >> from an ethical point of view, how can doctors make a choice of who lives or who dies in the hospital? >> it is fr to say that this is one of the most challenging situations for doctors at all. because of the potential shortage of medical treatment.

they have to balance on the one hand -- to meet the legal requirements. on the other hand, they also have to meet ethical criteria as the prospect of surveillance -- survival but also the basic dignity of every human being. also, to keep the frame of the constitutional frame. this is so extremely difficult to manage.

>> thank you for joining us on dw. >> tried is expanding its coronavirus lockdowns with hundreds of thousands more people in the northern part of the province order to stay home. a spike in cases have seen the highest infection rates since the outbreak in wuhan nearly two years ago, the new measures come as beijing prepares to come thousands of overseas visitors for the winter early picks. >> it has been almost two years since china has seen the streets of major cities deserted. but once again, millions are back under lockdown. authorities wide into the restrictions across the province on tuesday as they grapple with the country's based outbreak since the initial months of the pandemic. china has pursued a zero-tolerance approach, rolling out mass testing enter conan

lockdowns for relatively small outbreaks. and despite administering almost 3 billion jobs, initial research shows the locally produced offers limited protection against the omicron variant. >> the strategy that the government is a limiting is zero covid. even if there are only a handful of cases, most of these have been sealed off. new variants of virus are more infectious. the beijing interlopers are set to start in just a month. with diplomatic boycotts over the announced, beijing will be eager to ensure that covid outbreaks don't further show the already frosty atmosphere. >> let's turn to some other stories making headlines. iran's foreigninister says

that this can be quickly agreed with new powers. one condition for tehran is it would be a lot to export crude oil as part of a new agreement. they rescued at least 48 people stranded by floodwaters. heavy rains hit the central regions of the country, affecting farming and damaging hundreds of homes. authority's believe 13 people have died. members of jordan's parliament have traded blows during a debate about gender equality and changes to the constitution. the punch up again went debbie's discussed guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens. no one was seriously injured. elon musk is facing a social media backlash in china after beijing said the space station nearly collided with this.

the station was forced to take evasive action twice. sparking heavy criticism of elon musk on this social media platform. in the latest blow to russian civil society, the supreme court has ordered the closing of memorial, the most respected human rights group. it depends the rights of prisoners in russia. the court agreed with the prosecution argument that the organization violated a law on foreign agents. they say the charges are politically motivated. >> russia's oldest and most important human rights organization now disbanded. supporters defied a protest bantu gather in front of memorial's headquarters. they said the decision was politically motivated. critics are being eliminated. so is the opposition. anyone who wants to lift the

mascot russia and look critically at its history is being eliminated. >> memorial was classified as a foreign agent. that meant the organization had to comply with various requirements. the court found it in violation of those rules. they must stop this in russia. for many, the reps at the historical contents of the country. it aims to make sure that the reign of terror in the soviet union under joseph stalin and the inhumanity of the gulags prison camp system is not forgotten. vladimir putin accused memorial of rehabilitating the reputations of nazi collaborators in world war ii. the organization denied all allegation at once to appeal --

allegations and wants to appeal. >> as the year draws to a close, you want to take a look at some of the lasting images of 2021. the united states's withdraw from afghanistan was as chaotic as it was sudden as international forces departed, dozens of locals tried to leave. hundreds got onto the runway at kabul airport, desperate to get out. some clung to the body of the aircraft. many fell to their death after the plane took off. the u.s. took some that should they could have the right to leave. others gambled on the humanity of the soldiers. >> he says he understands those shocking scenes of desperate afghan parents passing their children to american soldiers at coble airport.

marked for assassination by the islamic state due to his work on national conciliation, he was among those trying to get his family into the airport onto a plane to promised refuge in the netherlands. he was in hiding in late august when he was told in the middle of the night to go to the airport. he tried to gather his family from different locations where they had moved for their safety. his wife mr. the call. his brother brought the children who were staying with him but it was so dangerous at the airport that he initially sent them back. >> they saw the people work fighting. after 24 hours, he managed to make it onto a flight with four of his children. his wife and the others would be forced to really -- flee through pakistan. she treated the trip as a great adventure. which they all must do now, starting over in the netherlands.

gender advisor -- a gender advisor. she became an asylum seeker overnight despite what her dutch colleagues had promised. >> i remember last night we were with them like a family. there were talking to us. the next day, the taliban took control of kabul. when they showed up for work, they were alone. no warning. >> they just left us. it was a big shock. orders to come through to evacuate since hari and her immediate family. it took three tries and she says that she knew that flight was her only vote -- only hope for survival. >> every time we went back it was so disappointing. and i said -- i said if i stay

here i will die. quick she and her family are living in a refugee camp awaiting permanent housing and dutch passports. they both now that is difficult as this was, they are the lucky ones. they speak of their heartbreak at not having been able to help others escape. he says two of his former colleagues who were not evacuated despite his pleas have since been killed. >> it may seem remarkably -- remarkable but it was only this year that the first black woman was elected to germany's parliament. a lawyer from the city of kassel in western germany. after a racist terror attack, she nearly moved abroad but she try to stay and decided to bring about change. >> there is a lot to do and no time to lose. she has been working around-the-clock since the general election that secured

her a spot in germany's history books. she had been born -- involved in local politics for years. then a racist killing spree in her home state shook her to the core. i don't know why but the terror attack pushed me over the edge. i thought something has to change, i can't stand this any longer. >> 10 people were killed in the terror attack. none of them first and second-generation immigrants. overcome by the feeling that germany was no longer a safe place for her and her family, she considered leaving the country. >> but frankly it is hard to find a country that is free of racism. the next option was staying. and doing everything possible to fight against this criminal nation and racism. >> here in a rural area, a woman of color on the ballot is

analogy. but the lack of footsteps to follow was all the more encouragement for the 47-year-old. to her, it is very clear, you can't be what you can't see. >> when a third or a quarter of our school children have an immigration background, why are we not seeing that? in our teachers? as a schoolgirl, i want to see myself reflected in our teachers. >> as german society grows more and more diverse, institutions are only catching up very slowly. >> they have 736 members. 83 have roots in a different country. 26% of german citizens have an immigration background. in parliament, only around 11%. less than half of these mps are women and there had not been a single black voice among them.

from her small town constituency straight into the berlin center of power, after her election success, she still has to pinch herself. >> i still have not completely processed it. it is a tremendous honor. this is not just about may. it is a historic moment for all of us. for the entire black community. this is a huge deal. >> when asked why it took until 2021 to have a black woman find a seat, she does not hesitate. >> there is a structural racism in our country. and if we say it does not matter that i am black, we are ignoring the structural problems. that means we are not ready to acknowledge that as a black woman, i am presented with different circumstances and obstacles then a woman who is not black.

no matter how qualified i am. i hope to be able to focus more attention on the issue of equal opportunities. weeed to create awareness but also pushed for legislation. the new mp has many plans. but the biggest of them all is to serve to others as the role model she, herself never had. >> she is a member of parliament. thank you for joining us. tell us about your first couple of months in the german parliament. >> my life has been turned upside down. living a totally different life now. i was a lyer, i was unknown in the public.

now i am very well-known and i am recognizing that i have opportunities to change things and i am in a position where people listen to me and this happened in a couple of weeks and months. this is a huge change. >> a very quick change. why do you think there is such a small representation in the german parliament of people from an immigrant background considering that within germany, there is a much higher percentage of people with that immigrant background? >> i think we are just starting to talk about diversity in germany. when i imagine the feminist movement and people rights of women, how long that took and we

have still not reached our goals as women. then i can imagine it will need some time to talk about diversity, to reach the goals and to also have equal rights here. >> you said there is structural racism in germany. how deep do you feel this racism goes? >> really deep. the main problem is we don't talk about it. we talk a lot about the right extremes and about nazis but we don't talk about racism. it starts at a very young age en it comes to which schools students go to. there is this image of which students can go to the better schools. in the fourth grade, the teachers decide which school is better. without being aware of it. it is this image like children

from migrant families not being able to achieve much. you have to be able to send them to the easiest schools which means later on they will not be able to go to university. these are things. which neighborhood you live in, whic hom you get, it depends on whether you go to the better schools are the less good schools. all of these things influence your career and which field you work in. itoes on and on. we really have to start from the basics. >> many people in germany with an immigrant background often feel more strongly connected perhaps to the country of origin of say their parents or their grandparents. is it fair to say or do you feel that germany is failing to embrace people with a different background or a mixed background? >> definitely. it is also strange because they

are more tied to their home countries, the countries where their parents came from. a generation later or two generations later. although they don't know their countries, they feel more affected about these countries than their paren who might have fled these countries. it seems that they are looking for a home and since they could not find it in germany, they are looking for it somewhere else. and then maybe it is turkey even though they don't really speak turkish very well. we have to find a way to reach out to the peoe and also show them of course this is your country, you're parliament, you belong here. >> point of work to do. -- plenty of work to do. thank you.

this south african photographer is known for portraying sexual freedom and black queer culture. the museum here in berlin has dedicated and exhibit to the artist. it is a reflection on apartheid. >> proud, powerful, sometimes vulnerable or even royal. these are some of the faces of this woman whose work also confronts trauma. for almost 20 years, she has been documenting south africa upon lgbtq communities. discrimination against sexual minorities has been illegal in south africa since 1996. but in day-to-day life, case, let's be aunt and transgender people are still at risk. as well as non-binary people. >> i think you live with the

threat every day but i cannot stop doing what i am doing because it matters to me and it forms part of the south african history. >> hurries a mission in berlin shows survivors of anti-queer hate crimes. including so-called corrective rate. there are also images of love and care. the photos are a collaboration built on trust between the artist and the subject who gaze out at the viewer with confidence and dignity. for the series faces and phases, they follow the subject over many years. >> in that way, photography is a continuing journey in life of building visual histories with the community and so they also invite their friends and associates to be bold and

unafraid of the camera. >> this makes allusions to the effects of apartheid. others pay tribute to the artist's mother who worked 42 years as a servant to wait families in order to feed her eight children. she says these stories need telling. it is about time that we undo that racial erasure and take ownership of our voices and our black archives and also say we are proud of who we are as black people. >> confident and empowered. the haunting images celebrate clear beauty and dignity, making them visible to the world.

>> of it of tennis news ahead of the upcoming sterling open. -- australian open. the 2020 u.s. open winner is the latest victim to withdraw from the tournament, joining the likes of roger federer and serena williams. the 28-year-old austrian who was ranked third in the road has not played since june and has slipped to 15th in the rankings as a result. you are watching dw news. next is our science show. thank you for watching, take care, see you soon.

■úo o @8@8@8 >> new record number of covid-19

infections here in france.vid-19 200 and 71,000 over the past one hours. -- 271,000 over the past 21 hours. west judge appeared skeptical of a -- a u.s. judge appeared skeptical of releasing