live from berlin. germany's chancellor walks a fine line during a controversial visit to beijing. olaf scholz asks china to use its influence with russia to end the war in ukraine. the chancellor also looks to expand economic cooperation with germany's biggest trading partner. also on the show -- russian officials urge civilians to leave the city of hearts on. an indicator that moscow's military might soon leave the

right bank. ukrainian forces prepared to retake the occupied region. twitter's new boss, billionaire elon musk, begins slashing jobs in a bid to make the platform more profitable. and in a world of german football, we talk more about developing cinderella story in the bundesliga. with a little club making big noise in the race for the title. ♪ to our viewers watching on pbs, in the united states, and to all of you around the world, but to have you with us. -- good to have you with us. german chancellor olaf scholz has asked china to use its influence on pressure to stop the war in ukraine. the chancellor made the request during a controversial one day trip to beijing where he met both chinese president xi jinping and the premier.

olaf scholz has faced criticism at home for the trip due to his stance on the war and his goal of fostering economic ties with beijing. reporter: an unusual reception in unusual times. because of china's strict zero covid policy, german chancellor olaf scholz had to get tested before leaving the plane. no handshake, no welcoming gesture. during their talks, both leaders set far apart from each other, a symbolic nod to the divergence of the political positions. olaf scholz said he wanted to discuss strengthening economic ties, but also address differences. xi proposed tipping over the differences, urging for what he calls a more pragmatic course. after meeting with the premier, olaf scholz said -- >> i told president she that it is important for china to use its influence on russia. it is about being in line with the principles of the united nations charter, which we have

all agreed upon. reporter: china so far has not distance itself from russia, and even benefits from the western sanctions on moscow. he took on the role of peacemaker. the two sides hope this crisis can be ended as soon as possible. the situation can be eased. and it really cannot be escalated. our starting point is to promote peace talks. reporter: china's human rights record was on the agenda in this far as a lipshultz that he address the situation of the suppressed uighur minority. >> a highly controversial visit. earlier i spoke with teresa fallon from the center for europe asia studies and asked her about her assessment of the chancellor's trip to beijing. >> i think that both domestically and germany, there is a huge debate about this. internationally, as well, because it seems it was the

first leader to meeti jinping after the chese communist party congress and that led to an unprecedented third term by xi jinping. it almost seems like rejoicing in all of this. the fact that russia and china, there is a convergence, a strategic convergence between the two of them, we saw this with the february 4 no limits agreement signed by for the -- signed before the olympics. the fact that germany decided to just go, it really upset other members of the eu. especially france. we saw president macron canceled a meeting with olaf scholz. unclear why it was nceled. but many rumors in brussels was that it was because of this anger that he was just going on a gmany first approach versus kind of a whole eu approach wards china. ere are many different levels

of anxiety about this meing and scholz seemed to hit all his marks. even within his coalition, th greens are unhappy about his position in china, and lastly the signing of t homburg record deal with many -- which many see as a strategic issue. because china went fm 04s investment to over 10% now. homburg decid to do 25%, just below. >> it is quite a tight rope act. his coalition as you already pointed out, and germany's allies would like to see him take a more assertive stance in relations with beijing. how can he find a balance? it seems that he has not hit it quite yet. >> well, i think what is really clear, he tried to make iteem like it is a piece meeting but he brought a huge group of businessmen with him. -- business leaders with him. i should add, even the business

community within germany is divided on this. the bdi was against this. it shows even the business community within germany is not on the same page in regards to china. there's kind of an elite capture of the tp companies that have already invested in china, like siemens and bas, they have huge costs in china. so they need to almost lobby scholz to go and promote their interests. they are doing that because they already have investments in china. the sme's, the small enterprises are leaving, many german companies have decided to leave. it's very hard to repatriate profits. the communist party members are to be part of the board. it's getting harder to move data. so i think that this is kind of an unwieldy time. especially since the u.s. and china have very high tensions

right now. and also lot of saber rattling in regards to the taiw strait. the timing is quite strange. he will be traveli to the g20. there are discussions president biden might meet xi jinping on the sidelines. so have questned y he me a special one-day visit to beijing at this time ther than maybe a meeting on the sidelines the g20. nevertheless, he's the chancellor of germany and he made a very -- for him it was his choice, but i think we see a deeply divided your money this topic. and let's keep in mind he really gave china a lot of faith. because china is seen pretty much as a pariah right now. so by doing this, he really helped china. weust remember that we saw them getting their former president obama tests on the plane before they even left the plane, that xi jinping's policies are ao a frustration for many business lears.

this is criping to not only china's economy but other economies as well. >> teresa fallon, thank you so much for your insights. >> thank you. >> g7 foreign ministers have pledged to keep supporting ukraine through the coming winter. speaking at the conclusion of the meeting in munster, the german foreign minister also criticized iran's crackdown on protest and urged action on the climate crisis. russia's invasion of ukraine remain the top of the agenda. -- remained top of the agenda. >> every single day is one day too many. every single day means a brutal attack on innocent people in ukraine. and it means suffering, death, and destruction. >> russian president vladimir putin has urged civilians to leave the city of kherson.

in the face of ukraine and advances. the latest indication the russian military may be planning to withdraw from the occupied ukrainian city. moscow has been ferrying people out of the area on the western side of the river -- the dnieper river, the right bank, for days now. reporter: it may not look like it, but this river could soon be on the front line. here, russian soldiers are assisting residents from the occupied ukrainian city of kherson. crossing from the right bank of the dnieper river to the left. according to troops here, around 1200 vehicles and 5000 civilians are being transported every day. and it is suggested that they may be about to do the same. a signal perhaps that moscow is ready to give up ground in this war. >> i think potentiallythe russian army is ready for another active goodwill regarding the left bank of the river.

just in the area of the city of kherson. reporter: but for this, they will still have to takeosses. due to the response of our armed forces. reporter: in moscow, no official word yet on the withdrawal of troops to the left bank. instead, president putin seemed to be enjoying festivities. to mark russia's unit day, a national holiday to celebrate a popular uprising against polish and lithuanian forces in 1612. this year, the focus was also on the annexation of ukrainian territories, with some young volunteers in the audience, where putin explains why they have been told to leave kherson. >> those living in kherson should be removed from the zone. where the most dangerous military actions are taking place. the civilian population should not suffer from shelling, from the offensives,

counteroffensive's, or any other action connected to the ongoing military operations. reporter: liberating kherson city would be a major victory for kyiv. the ukrainian soldiers, preparing for the winter, no they may be told to ad that way soon. but there's a feeling that any offensive will be complicated. and they will need more supplies and weapons if any assault is to succeed. >> let's get you up to speed now on some more of today's top stories. the former u.s. president, donald trump, says he might run again in the 2024 presidential race but stopped short of enhancing his candidacy -- announcing his candidacy. he was rallying support for republican candidates ahead of next week's midterm elections. he remains a party's de facto leader. protesters and riot police have clashed in the northern iranian city. amateur footage shows crowds charging the police forcing them to retreat and regroup.

nationwide, antigovernment protests erupted in iran following the death of a young woman in police custody several weeks ago. yet another climate change protest involving arts and food. italian activists threw pea soup over a vincent van gogh painting in rome. security intervenes immediately and removed the protesters. as in the case of previous protests, the artwork was covered by glass and remains undamaged. if it were up to finland and sweden, they would have both joined the nato defense alliance some time ago. but the replications are currently stalled. turkey is one of only two member states that is not yet ratified -- has not yet ratified their accession. stoltenberg is hoping to change that with a three day trip to turkey which began on friday. reporter: the nato secretary-general appears to be running out of patience, with turkey's blockade on finland and sweden's membership of the alliance. >> it is time to welcome finland

and sweden as full members of nato. their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer. reporter: the turkish president, e -- erdogan, has been to soft on the pkk. swedish devotion to freedom of speech and its traditionally liberal asylum laws have long urged the turkish president. >> we have been a very important revenue for kurds who have been prosecuted in turkey. -- persecuted in turkey. you have st of a whole range in sweden. and turkey is unhappy with this situation. reporter: an agreement the three governments signed at the summit in madrid convinced erdogan to allow the nordic countries to open the accession process and

exchange for pledges to improve counterterrorism cooperation and to crackdown on supporters of the pkk. but all 30 allies must also ratify the membership. that is where erdogan has frozen the process. stoltenberg argues until governments have delivered on the madrid memorandum. >> finland and sweden are implementing their own legislation. on fighting terrorism, and cooperation with turkiye. removing restrictions on arms exports to turkiye. >> what the foreign minister says his government is not satisfied yet. >> it is not enough to lift our arms on embargo -- our arms embargo. reporter: earlier this wk, the finnish prime minister hoped for a breakthrough. >> i think it would be very important that this would happen, preferably sooner than later. reporter: but despite the new

pressure from stoltenberg, it is widely suspected or plans to drag out the process through his campaign to be reelected next june. it may actually be a political shakeup in sweden that provides new impetus for a resolution. swedish voters ousted their social democratic led government last month and put conservative parties in power. making the far right anti-immigration swede democrats the second largest party in parliament. that could help newest -- the new swedish from minister promised more changes to come when he visits next week. >> twitter employees are suing the company in a class-action lawsuit over mass layoffs expected to be carried out on friday. the company recently acquired by the world's richest man, elon musk, told employees they would be notified of terminations via email. twitter offices are closed for the day and badge access has been removed. there has been no official announcements specifying the number of layoffs. u.s. media reports say half of

twitter's workforce is being let go. earlier i spoke to our correspondent, following the story for us in washington. i asked how elon musk is planning to keep twitter running without large parts of his staff. >> that is a very good question, especially since we know that he is looking to cut around 307,000 twitter staff. roughly half of the whole staff of twitter. he is seeking to slash costs. but this is not really a surprise, since major advertisers have been threatening to completely withdraw from the platform, like for example, volkswagen, who has recommended its brand deposit paid advertising on twitter and you will further notice general motors and general mills. musk will have to see what he makes out of twitter with half of its staff and less profits. we also know a bit more about the departments he has been

cutting off. the company's communications team in india has been laid off as well. as a team that was researching and pushing for algorithmic transparency and building ethical tooling and methods. this might give us a hint of how musk is planning to keep twitter running, with half of his staff and probably less profits. >> musk has now been in charge at twitter for only a week. how have users been responding to his takeover so far? >> so many things on social media, the reactions are quite opposite. on the one hand, we have seen the ones who are cheering him up and saying this is going to be freedom of speech on twitter, no more canceled messages anymore on the platform. then you also have the ones that are actually leaving the platform. many of them former twitter employees, joining alternative social media networks.

musk plans to charge eight dollars for the sign on twitter. triggering a wave of negative reactions, precisely among famous users, like stephen king or singer toni braxton or also congresswoman aoc. quite a polarized set of reactions on twitter since then. >> are we any clearer about where musk wants to take twitter ? >> not really. musk has been talking now for months about the importance of twitter. describing it as the public town square of the world and saying he will restore freedom of speech. the big question is of course and rains, what does mr. musk understand as freedom of speech? reinstating banned accounts, musk has said is not going to

reinstate suspended accounts like the account of over president trump because this is going to be clear and a long process. so even if we don't know that many details about where musk wants to take twitter, we do know that for example he is not planning to reinstate former president trump's account before the midterms. >> thanks for that. pakistan's military has hit back at allegations from the premier that it was involved in a shooting at his protest march. the military said his statements were baseless and the responsible and called on the government to initiate legal action against the former prime minister. his protest march was interrupted when a gunman opened fire on his campaign convoy, wounding him and killing one of his supporters. reporter: they are angry, shocked and politically charged. their leader has survived an

apparent assassination attempt. he was leading a protest march to the capital, islamabad, when he was shot. he addressed the public. accusing the phi minister -- prime minister and senior officers on an attempt on his life. >> three people planned to kill me. the prime minister, the interior minister, and a major general. >> the government denies the allegations and blames his party further lack of security -- for the lack of security. >> we would demand he review his security. reporter: supporters are demanding an early election. >> we beg you to take care of him, save him, catch the people

who carried out this attack on him. after all, what is he asking for? all he is asking for is free and fair elections. reporter: but the state says it is following the democratic process and fighting back hard. he was ousted to a no-confidence vote in april of this year. since then, he has been able to mobilize massive crowds. he says he was removed from office through a -- involving a military establishment, is political opponents, and the u.s. the allegations have not been proven. ♪ >> if you are following the bundesliga, you may have noticed something strange happening. dominating the top spot in the table for six weeks in a row now . now possible title contenders. but it is something they'd rather not talk about. reporter: anything is possible if you are berlin.

that includes scoring a goal in the last minute of a match to grab the full three points, as seen here last sunday. the players are quick to brush it off. >> it is far away. we just have to look from game to game. we are in good form. we have to keep going like this. the title is not something we think about. reporter: perhaps they are trying to keep it real, they know exactly what they are good at and that is where they go, like playing on home turf where they have yet to lose a game this time. -- this term. they have shown they can keep up with the big guys. but that will not be the full story. the defense is another factor. they have only conceded nine goals in 12 games. the fewest in the league. even less than munich. in an attack, they have the

surprise of the season, becker exceeding all expectations, with six goals and three assists so far. then again, you should not be surprised at all, because the coach is known for making players better. mr. fisher, it is the fisher affect. even he dismissed any title talk. >> it is a great feeling. we let the fans celebrate. they are allowed to sing. but for us, it's just a snapshot in time. it's great, but we have won nothing. reporter: some might argue that six straight matches on top of the bundesliga table is more than that, and perhaps an indicator of what is to come. >> joining me now for more on the incredible race of the top of the men's bundesliga table is anthony howard from dw sports. how refreshing is it to see someone at the top that is not

fired? >> this is very refreshing. this is been years in the making. munich have won 10 bundesliga titles in a row. along comes union berlin, like an oasis in the desert of storytelling about football if you like. it is really refreshing. it is not frankfurt. it is union berlin. they only came to the league in 2019. it is right that they stayed. it's really great to push towards european places. but to lead the league as a -is a fairytale -- is a fairytale. union berlin legitimately a very tough story. >> given that this is a world cup here, a very odd one at that, could that play in their favor? >> most definitely.

it is about the size of the break. we talked about this before we came on here. the bundesliga pauses for 60 days. -- for 68 days. they've got more players spread around the other 31 teams. they are going to be busy while the union squad will be resting. but they don't dress like you and me with a beer under a tree. they are going to try and -- it is about a balance between physical preparation of the development teams and conditioning teams. how to keep them fresh and interested. while taking advantage of not playing, union berlin could play that to their advantage, but the more i think about it, 68 days without playing a competitive bundesliga match might work in the opposite favor. >> do you think they can actually win the title and may? >> -- in may? >> in 2016, i would've said no,

but this fairytale is alive. average german fan -- every german fan would be living happily ever after. >> let's take a look at other headlines. to write pk has announced his retirement from football. he is one of barcelona's most successful players of all time, having won 9 titles and 3 champion's legs. he will play his final game on th-- for the club on saturday. the brooklyn nets have suspended their point guard, kyrie irving,, for at least five matches after he failed to deny he holds antisemitic believes. he has been accused of sharing anti-semitic material on his social media account earlier this week. he has yet to apologize. think i swiatek off breezed into her first wta semi finals with a

comfortable straight set victory over caroline garcia. the grand slam winner won both of her matches to reach the latter stages. a reminder of the top stories we are following for you today -- germany's chancellor pressed china on its support for russia and ukraine during talks in beijing friday with chinese leader xi jinping and the premier. scholz also addressed a controversy over human rights issues but told china he wants a deeper economic relationship. stay with us. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." hope to see you then. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit icap.org]

ço

that there has been a drop in revenue since the acquisition because activists are pressuring advertisers to leave the site.

for more on this we are joined by shannon mcgregor, an assistant professor at the hussman school of journalism and media at the university of north carolina, chapel hill. thank you for being with us. how does twitter go forward with just half of its current workforce and what exactly does that mean for efforts to police misinformation on the site? >> i think that they go forward poorly. we already saw trouble before this, especially after elon musk acquired the site. so, we will see -- on the site. anchor: i guess we could argue that what is helpful for journalists. i have to admit i spend time on twitter. all of this is happening days before the midterm elections in the u.s.

how do you foresee twitter changing under elon musk's leadership? >> i mean, quickly to your point about journalism, we have seen it be so important in journalism. one of the people fired was the director of public policy for the u.s. and canada. this is, like you said, just days before the midterm elections. i think if there is not a course correction, what we see changing is potentially this very central role that twitter has played in politics and journalism, not just in the u.s. but in many countries. i there that is likely to further hurt twitter's chances of keeping advertisers on because that is exactly the type of audience that advertisers are trying to reach. anchor: you mentioned advertisers. twitter has seen a drop in revenue since the acquisition because activists are pressuring advertisers. he tweeted, "extremely messed

up. they are trying to destroy free speech in america." how do you explain what has been happening with advertisers in recent days? >> it does not have anything to do with freedom of speech, because none of this is about freedom of speech. it has to do with, if you are an advertiser on twitter, like on other media, you do not nt your advertisement to be the kind of content that you find distasteful or your audience might find distasteful. with everything up in the air with what is going on with content moderation and with elon musk's vision for it to be a free speech zone, advertisers are rightfully being cautious about going forward. >> what about this plan to charge users to verify their accounts, how do you react? i did have a verified account. i have not really tried. but this is something that people are reacting negatively to. >> yeah, the verification process has gone through many different phases.

first, they had to choose you, then there was an application process, now it is back to a black box on how it happens. you might have to pay for it. it means we cannot trust anymore, like we do now, that check mark means something. if it is just available to anyone who can purchase it is all it means is you have the funds. it does not mean you are deemed to be a public figure or your identity has been checked by the platform itself. anchor: should we expect to see donald trump back on the site? >> i am not really sure. i think if he did that, it would alienate further many advertisers and really put the thrum on --thumb on the scale of the midterms, because the story about twitter, even more so, become more about twitter and also donald trump. so, i think from a business perspective it does not make much sense to do so, especially

right now, but it remains to be seen. there are no guardrails around elon musk's leadership right now, given the fact that there is no board, no oversight. anchor: this is the question, too, what are his motives? he is the richest person in the world. he does not need the money. he is making comments about freedom of speech. but what is in this for elon musk? >> i think it is a combination of his own ego and being upset about the way that the site was being run, not being around the way he thought it should be. and his inability to let his joke go. his initial idea was a joke, to buy twitter. he does not need the money. when the site continues to death spiral, if there is not a correction, will he lose interest as we lose interest in him and the site? that is the open question. anchor: do you think people will migrate to other sites? is that you're feeling in your

personal circle of friends and colleagues? >> i mean, we have seen many people do it already, from journalists to academics. in this space, going to other platforms, people are not necessarily tied to a particular platform. we have seen people move from instagram to snapchat, the tiktok, quite easily. it is about the people they are, the power of the collective. and that is what has made twitter so important. but i think we do see people leaving. just like any other platform, if there is little or no content moderation, if it is hateful and there is other speech allowed on the platform, that is not a space most people want to be in. anchor: it is hard to see if that improves if they are half of the staff, especially those people in important roles. >> yeah, as i said, content moderation has always been a challenge, but with everyone from policy directors to engineers being fired, i think

that everyone should be rightly concerned about how the quality of the community and speech on the platform is going to look like in the coming days. anchor: shayna mcgregor, assistant professor at the school of journalism and media at the university of north carolina, chapel hill. thank you for your insight. well, next to iran, where two people were killed this friday in clashes between security forces and demonstrators near the capital, was the latest in a way of violence as protesters marched for the 40th day since the shooting death of a young woman. we have the story. reporter: with each day that passes, iran's protests are only getting more violent. [yelling] reporter: on thursday, security forces opened fire on crowds, marking the 40th day of mourning

for a woman who was shot dead while protesting. state media says demonstrators killed were militia men. these acts of defiance against the regime are multiplying. at the end of the protest, this police station was set on fire. in a northern city, protesters forced officers to retreat. in this clip on tuesday, a dozen police hit a man on a street with batons. the man is run over by an officer driving a motorbike. and another fire a shotgun at him in close range. since the beginning of the protests, nearly 300 people have been killed and 14,000 arrested, according to human rights groups. but that is not enough to quell the resistance. >> this demand for a modern democratic state is a profound

demand of iranian society. the people who are on the streets are not in the millions, although they are supported by the majority of society. reporter: while thousands have been taking to the streets to show their anger, many more have been amplifying their calls on social media. these videos of young iranians have gone viral. anchor: well, olaf scholz made a visit to beijing this friday to meet with president xi. the german chancellor was in china to strengthen economic ties, underlined by the fact he traveled with german executives. at the same time, he urged china to stand up for the international order and put pressure on russia to immediately stop its war against ukraine. now the latest from our correspondent in berlin. reporter: germany has china as its main trading partner, and the difficulty of germany at

this time is really all related to the invasion of ukraine, whereby it's lost his chief energy supply. from russia, the gas pipelines. and it has also decided to increase defense spending, so it needs money. where does it get money? trading. germany is europe's export powerhouse, so it needs that relationship. it is a fine line that olaf scholz is walking when he went to china. i think he was careful to talk about the war in ukraine, to say he had china's ear when it came to not using tactical nuclear weapons in the war, but that is sort of a given. he was echoing words from the american president in that regard. not really necessarily a move forward for the western view on the situation. and the problem for the german chancellor is that in europe he is seen as putting germany ink

the head of the interest of the european union. anchor: that was nick spicer reporting. a far right lawmaker here has been suspended for 15 days without papermaking what was considered a racist comment to a black colleague. the newly elected member of the far right national rally denies he was racist when he yelled, go back to africa. we explain the controversy. reporter: a scene of chaos in the national assembly, forcing the lower house to halt proceedings. just minutes before, the session was in progress as normal. but than a remarkable thought to be racist was shouted out as an mp was asking a question about migrants stranded on a ship in the mediterranean.

[yelling] it triggered an outcry from fellow party members. they chant for the mp from the far right national rally to leave. but what exactly was said? according to the party, he shouted go back to africa. they say the remark was a racist attack on the mp. >> when we talk about people who are darker, or who have a darker complexion, each time you refer to our skin color we are told to go to africa. reporter: the accusations have been denied by the mp, who says he was referring to the boat to go back to africa. >> i was not talking about the mp, i was talking about the boats. let's be clear, the party is trying to distort my words. reporter: after the suspension of parliament, the french prime minister gave her reaction.

>> racism has no place in our democracy. reporter: he's now banned from parliament terry for 15 days. his pay will also be cut. anchor: three boats remain off the coast of italy waiting for permission to dock. they have been there for more than a week, hoping for the green light from rome. here is the story. reporter: over 1000 migrants on threseparate ships, stuck in the mediterranean with nowhere to dock. it has been a stalemate for over a week now, and those on board are growing increasingly desperate as food runs low. >> we have so many people. we have about 600 people, women, young people and children. we do not have a place to sleep. we are sleeping on the floor.

it is very cold at morning and at night. the situation is becoming daily more difficult. reporter: the ngo run ships have requested the dog in italy and -- dock in italy and malta, to no avail. >>e already sent requests from two -- the italian authority. to reporter: france and germany are calling on italy, but the new right wing prime minister in italy has said the flag bearers of the ships should take care of the migrants. there are three vessels currently stranded in the mediterranean. one has 179 migrants on board and bears the german flag. the next is a norwegian vessel with 572 people on the ship. the last, the ocean viking, is also norwegian wood 234 migrants on board. but nownorway is also claiming it has no responsibility for

those on board the charity boats. with the weather about to take a turn for the worse, a solutn needs to be found sooner rather than later. anchor: well, donald trump is expected to announce another run for the white house soon after the midterm elections, which are on tuesday. the new york times reporting that the announcement could happen as soon as november 14. observers say that he is planning to run, in part, to shield himself from criminal investigations, including his attempts to overturn the 2020 race. the current president has a lot at stake in the midterms. we explain. reporter: u.s. president joe biden's campaign agenda is certainly jampacked. his former foe, donald trump, also busy in the midterm election season. with only four days until the polls open, they are making their final push to sway voters.

president biden visited california and new mexico on thursday. the next few days will see him in illinois to support congressional democrats in hotly contested races before finally visiting pennsylvania, where the democrats are hoping to get key senate seats. he will leave no stone unturned. on thursday, he emphasized how critical the midterms are. president joe biden: we have simply five days to go until the most important election in our lifetime. it is not hyperbole, it will shape with the next two generations look like. reporter: he has not held back in attacking republicans during his election tour. donald trump is once again in the firing line. the former president is also joining the war of words. he still holds sway on the republican party. speaking at a rally in iowa, he

hinted once again at another presidential bid. >> this is the year we are going to take back the house, the senate, we will take back america, and in 2024, most importantly, we are going to take back our magnificent white house, right? reporter: polls predict republicans are likely to take over the house of representatives on tuesday, while the race in the senate is too close to call. anchor: china will reportedly make substantial changes to its zero covid policy in the coming months, according to an official in china. in the meantime, the measures continue taking a human toll and a financial one on the world's second largest economy. reporter: it is known as the place where dreams come true,

but in zero covid china it is a nightmare that people trying to wake up from. shanghai's disney resort went into lockdown after one covid case was reported. everybody trapd until they could show a negative test result. >> i am disappointed. we had to wait inside for a long time. we wanted to get to shannon's and for halloween because there were supposed to be fireworks. report: today, no fireworks, no celebrations or no parade. >> i did not see anything and i had to wait until 10:00 to leave. reporter: china's zero covid policy is pushing people to extremes. these videos show foxconn workers escaping factory outbreak. the facility employs about 300,000 people and makes about 70% of the world's iphones. in a bid to avoid being caught on public transport, most traveled by foot to return to their home towns. a desperate attempt to flee the

poor conditions they would've had to under -- endure under isolation. foxconn has said it would not impact production in november. but some sources have said it could result in and loss of 30% of output. under the rigid covid policies, cities are given the power to act swiftly to quell outbreaks. this includes anything from full-scale lockdowns to regular testing and travel restrictions. many were hoping that the president here we drop the legislation before the end of the year. as authorities face growing frustration and anger. at the recent 20th communist party congress, president xi made clear it was unlikely to happen anytime soon. anchor: that is it for now. stay tuned for more world news coming up here on france 24.

reporter: today is a special day south of cairo. they are finally given access to drinking water. a father of five, he is glad to leave behind the risk of unsafe water. it comes from underground streams. it's unsanitary and it is not safe. there's sand in it and it is bad for children and people. reporter: there's little option to drink the untreated water. unicef gave him a loan of $130, which he has to pay back within two years. from now on he will be able to drink safe water and drink it legally. >> the fines can be up to 5000

egyptian pounds. i'm poor, i would not even be able to pay 4000. reporter: the waters of the nile are a symbol of prosperity since ancient times, but they are no longer enough to support the needs of a growing population. even more so since ethiopia built a dam upstream. using it to regulate the river's flow. 98% of the country's inhabitants are directly dependent on the river. 500 kilometers to the north, the first child lands of the nile delta, the breadbasket of egypt. it has used the nile to irrigate the fields here. >> you can see the water comes from here, leaves over there. reporter: mohammed grows rice and needs to flood his land. since agriculture accounts for 98% of the consumption of water, the government has imposed

stricter controls on the use of resources. >> we have three or four days of water, and than two or three dry days. during the three days of water, the field is completely flooded. and on the dry days, there is a little bit of water. it's still available. it is not a problem. reporter: but the system of rotation does not suit everyone. to the north, where the land is less rich, this family has been growing jute for generations. it is also a crop that needs water, and he is at the back of the queue. i want to irrigate. >> he wants to irrigate. everybody wants a turn. >> but how do we do it? >> we try to work one after the other. but sometimes the priority is given to rice, which is a priority crop for the state. >> jut is also onee of the

priority crops, but yields are not the same so the rice comes first. reporter: for more than 10 years, rising sea levels have led to higher salt content, which is degrading the land. he's losing heart. >> i was born here, but if there is nothing left where shall i go? i'm going to have to give it all up and leave. it is over. i will have to take my chances elsewhere. reporter: to help the farmers, the egyptian government, with international assistance, has made investments in water treatment facilities. this plante is the biggest of its kind in africa and in the middle east. every day, it treats the water used by 12 million people, more than half the population of cairo. >> we use this water for

agriculture, instead of using large amounts of drinking water we provide the farmers with treated water. at the moment, we produced 2.5 million cubic meters a day. and by 2026 and, we hope to reach 3.5 million. reporter: in a country where social inequality is on the rise, more and more seaside resorts are popping up. right along the mediterranean, the entire coastline to the west of alexandria has been concreted over, but the nile does not reach this far, so they need water from the sea. this entrepreneur has installed 20 or so small desalination units along the coast. this provides drinking to about 700 homes. >> it is very convenient because it is -- it's plug and play, and

you get your water. we are using deep wells. we cannot assure that we can solve the problem but we are doing away with part of the problem. reporter: with dwindling water supplies, egypt will have to explore new ways of protecting this vital resource. the population could reach 160 million people by 2050, meaning demand will only increase in the coming years. >> two years after his victory, will joe biden retain his majority in congress or will the republican party be able to stop him? and old donald trump get his followers elected in office? our specialists and a studio guests find out the results of these crucial midterm elections. watch our u.s. midterm election coverage on france 24 and france

24.com. >> join us for the france 24 debate, the crossroads, both between -- doing rival interests and your feedback. only on france 24 and france 24.com.

♪ ♪ ♪

pppxxxx■]■t■]■o

11/04/22 11/04/22 [captioning made possible by democracy w!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> won a huge vote of confidence. amy: benjamin netanyahu is set to return as israel's prime minister, this time with help from a far-right party led by a lawmaker who supports the ethnic cleansing of palestinians and