Poland of its e. U. Voting rights also coming up a big boost for President Trump as the usa backs his tax reform but a procedural error means the house of representatives has to vote on it one more time. And life in the shadows of the front line we have an exclusive report from a village in Eastern Ukraine thats been cut off leaving residents with no way out. Also coming up whos the rebels taking aim at a Saudi Royal Palace saudi forces say they have intercepted the Ballistic Missile launch from inside yemen and theyre pointing the figure at iran as the source of the rebels increased firepower. Im brian thomas great to have you with us will the European Commission today to. Trigger the socalled Nuclear Option of article seven and impose sanctions on poland a move brussels has never taken against a member state now the e. U. Says polands traditional reforms put cts under political control a violation of european norms but poland saying while the moves are needed to combat corruption if the e. U. Doesnt pose sanctions they could include the unprecedented step of suspending polands Voting Rights and cutting off its u. S. Europe has mechanisms to deal with cases of delinquency and that means more than just idle threats and reprimands. Should an e. U. Country go against the principles of democracy then europe has no choice but to nail its colors to the mast. Article several camera triggered by the year pin commission only in the case of a persistent and serious breach of the rule of law its the most radical form of sanctions within the European Union and has not been applied so far. Every you country must uphold basic values including freedom Human Dignity and the rule of law breaches can incur real punishment but imposing sanctions is no simple process. Every Single Member state passed the death the approval of the European Commission within the material the Member States in order to trigger i took a step to thankful for can be tough they can in cleared the suspension of Voting Rights. Video of even one e. U. Countries against imposing sanctions in article seven amounts to nothing more than empty posturing. Empty posturing for more lets bring in our brussels correspondent terry whats it looking like will we see brussels imposing sanctions against poland well i dont think the commission would certainly agree that this is empty posturing since it is the strongest tool in its arsenal but that doesnt mean were ever going to get to the point where poland actually sees it sees its Voting Rights suspended because its such a long road what we expect to happen today is for the commission to trigger article seven and that simply means that of the twenty two other twenty two e. U. Governments must vote to open a monitoring period now during that period poland could reverse course but even if it gets to the end even if nothing changes and it does come to a vote on suspending polands Voting Rights hungary has already promised it will block that and there may be others in the end so it doesnt look likely that that this final most severe sanction will ever take place but they didnt even having this debate constantly makes poland pay a price well whats polands position can it continue its standoff with the e. U. Its been remarkably resilient on this path so far rejecting every Commission Proposal to to change the political control is putting over is judiciary pull and basically says this is not your business let us do our reforms as we see fit keep out but that doesnt mean that that in the end poland wont have to change course if as we as we discussed sanctions come to pass there are also other measures e. U. Governments can take and are discussing taking including cutting off funds ok what are the broader implications of all of this for european unity at a time when brussels confronting real challenges like. I think that the biggest price to pay would be polands because it is it is direly dependent on funds theres some two hundred thirty billion euros at stake over the next five years and as far as european unity it could go the path of brecks it of course after the e. U. Was broken hearted but in the end it served to unite the e. U. Countries and it will be interesting to hear the advice of the british Prime Minister to resume a whos visiting poland tomorrow what she would tell her polish counterpart about possibly taking this path and finding more divisions between poland and the European Union teri schultz bring us up to date from brussels thank you very much for that or for now for a look at some of the other stories making the news today austrias new chancellor has assured leaders that his Government Supports the bloc in brussels a boss in court said austria remained pro european up despite a euro skeptic party joining government courts as conservatives formed a coalition with the far right Freedom Party this week European Commissions john clarke younger told courts that the austrian government would be judged by its deeds the Political Parties and spains catalonia region have held their final rallies ahead of thursdays election Prime Minister marianna campaigned on behalf of the pro Union Popular party while the ousted separatist leader Carlos Bustamante spoke to Pro Independence supporters via video link from brussels the snap poll was called after colonias parliament was disbanded by madrid the following in independence bit. A bus crash on mexicos yucatan peninsula has killed at least twelve people and injured many more the State Government says the dead included turse who are travelling from a us cruise ship to the resort town of wall to see an archaeological site. Also in mexico a reporter has been shot dead in the Southern State of vera cruz Authorities Say you maro perez was killed in front of dozens of parents and children at his sons School Christmas party pers wrote regularly about security and Drug Trafficking hes the twelfth journalist to be killed in mexico this year while tensions are flaring up once again in Eastern Ukraine along lad five hundred kilometers separation line the mining ukrainian troops on one side and you russian backed separatists on the other now the past week alone has seen three Ukraine Training soldiers killed at least eight civilians seriously wounded just days before this latest escalation our correspondent nick calio visited the region and he went to visit people on the front line heres his exclusive report that takes us to the small village of so long. A single port told wrote is all that connects the village of job to the outside world the ridge that overshadows the village is already deep in separatist held territory here the front line begins where peoples gardens and. Job because one hundred forty mostly elderly residents are dependent on outside help since public transport broke down the nearest supermarket is several hours walk away its only thanks to this volunteer lead in geo that International Aid is able to reach those who need it most. So of the group the weaker the village is cut off people here have no way of getting out the people here are just about surviving mostly thanks to what they can grow in their gardens. The. Twenty seven year old catcher takes us to her house on the far edge of the village. The three children left in java all the other families have long since left a single mother to relies on help from my parents and n. G. O. S her youngest son is just eighteen months old of begin. For the last two weeks theyve been shooting every single day without a break i used to be scared but now you just get used to it after a while when the conflict broke out the family used to take cover in an outside cellar since that was hit they hide inside. So that the summer this is the best protected room the one least likely to get hit on that side we are protected by the house i was born and from that side we barely get anything coming at us and if there is then there are trees touch wood this house has never had a direct hit so far. One of the separatists only seventy meters away there on the next street. Bridge in the distance locals tell us so this is a voltage point for separatists nighters. Shows us where a direct hit brought down the roof of the cellar she used to hide in yes if i had somewhere to go that was really mine id leave but just to be tolerated i dont want that ive tried that twice already. Beyond catches house only ruins remain and the front line trenches most of them buried deep enough to stand up in safely. We mean to ukrainian soldiers on guard duty theyre also father and son most of life. Theres plenty of shooting mostly at night its a bit quieter during the day but it happens. Its december and darkness falls early and with the shooting starts its time to leave. Just a few kilometers down the road is the checkpoint one of only a handful of places where civilians can cross between government and separatist held territory. Up to ten thousand people make this journey every day. My father die and ive just been to his funeral. Here i went from my pension i live in the whole of. My pension its really badly organized particularly on the separatist side. But even the checkpoints aunt entirely safe in recent months this crossing alone has come under attack three times. Its a three hour wait out in the cold for these people here queuing to cross the circle separation line that divides Ukrainian Government troops from progress and separatists its now been almost three years since the front moved in this region cutting off the just behind me from its suburbs on the ukrainian held side. These checkpoints were set up as a temporary stop gap but with political efforts to resolve the conflict going nowhere in a hurry theyve long since become a permanent fixture of life here in Eastern Ukraine. This is still to come on the show rocket fire into the saudi seat of power Missile Launch so. If a new escalation in the war in yemen. And the collateral of Collateral Damage of kenyas political crisis can a divided country find a way forward after a divisive election before more lives are lost. And in the german cop show all go hope to keep up their good form against cologne the home side had most of the chance to stay tuned to see if they found the national. Moloch is here now and its looking very close for the us tax reform bill actually being signed into law before christmas and is not easy going brian back to step by step i mean now the u. S. Senate has passed the republicans one and a half trillion dollar tax overhaul moving the bill closer to president Donna Tetreault his desk and mocking his first major legislative victory for now the house of representatives will have to take a revote on the bill thats after passing the oval hole on tuesday but procedural violations motw that first vote the second vote is due later today President Trump said that he wants to sign the bill into law before christmas with further amendment the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. The senate vote was always going to be the close one but in the end the republican majority stuck together to pass the bill along party lines republicans were already celebrating after the measure cleared the house for the first time with a comfortable margin of twenty four votes the revote is unlikely to change the outcome although the heirs behind it give more ammunition to opponents its a perfect microcosm of the hasty and reckless process that produced this legislation if my republican friends think these are the only mistakes that will be found in their bill they are sorely mistaken many more will almost certainly be on earth. The legislation provides steep tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy and more modest cuts for middle class and low income families it will slash the Corporate Tax rate from thirty five to twenty one percent prior to the vote White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders defended the reform. This is a tax package that prioritized helping the middle class certainly does that this is something that we wanted to benefit all americans and thats been the focus all along and so thats what weve continued to push for thats been the president s priority earlier more than a dozen people were arrested for blocking the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange protesters held signs and chanted slogans against the bill this bill is class warfare on the part of the rich its all about the donors to the Republican Party we have to defend our people all of our people President Donald Trump insists the cuts will not drive up the deficit saying they will attract more investment and lead to robust Economic Growth that he claims will create new jobs bolster wages and fill public coffers. All right lets find out what investors here in europe make of that latest development in the United States and standing by outside the frankfurt Stock Exchange is my colleague. I know there is this old saying by the room sell the news weve seen global stocks so in anticipation of that bill now that its almost cut and dried what kind of reaction can we look forward to. Well theres no really big reaction here on the market side if you look at asian shares they did slightly lower but that could also have like Regional News reasons but here in europe the open is more or less flattish a little bit to the upside so its not necessarily selling the news but its actually the euphoria is already priced in thats what economists and analysts are you know so no saying that the anticipation of the tax cuts in but it could do to the economy is priced in the accurately markets have rallied so much u. S. Shares close to record highs here it looks quite the same in europe so essentially its priced and now people look also on the other side of the metal the bond markets are seeing a little bit of a yield spike because of course higher that also means that potentially more inflation and of course were still waiting for that second vote from the house of representatives and the day is still young so briefly just another topic i mean a court in luxembourg is to decide today on whether it is a taxi company or a tech company what is the significance well the significance is huge for you because if its a route to be a Transportation Service then its a very tough regulation or a scheme in europe perhaps thats also good news for because then they at least know how to cope with the different regulations currently there is huge all over the place in europe and the companies saying that they are prepared to work with authorities and also to. Face stiffer regulation so in in a way its an interesting day for and its not though anticipated that they will be rude as a straightforward Transportation Company it might be some sort of a mixture coming out of lax and back with that back to you right certainly something to keep an eye on and it of us in frankfurt thank you so much. Well returning to the u. S. And of course as were waiting for the u. S. House to revote on that tax reform bill a quick look at the impact that could have on Foreign Companies because the reform is in syria of course a domestic issue but the u. S. Is the worlds biggest economy and such a substantial change to its tax policies will certainly Impact Global markets coupled with looming changes to americas new trade policies the tax scheme contains risks for Foreign Companies trade between the e. U. And the us is booming but will it continue to do so much of Donald Trumps trade plans remain unclear for example early versions of the republican tax bill included a twenty percent excise tax on companies purchases from foreign subsidiaries that was aimed at discouraging american firms from producing abroad but it would also have hurt to german car makers with plants in the u. S. That import their components from germany. Now theres another threat of higher g. T. S. On imports that frightens us because theyre unpredictable and dont comply with World Trade Organization roles so nobody knows what effect theyll have. There are now concerns trumps reform could trigger a global race to the a Corporate Taxes the e. U. Average is around twenty two percent slightly higher than in the us after this legislation takes effect in many countries rates a much higher including germany where its around thirty percent that could lead to german investment being diverted to the u. S. It is one thing trump is certainly successful at stimulating the American Economy and if he pushes through massive tax cuts in the u. S. That will lead to German Companies investing that to store. Them as a result their profits and jobs could shift to the u. S. As well America First trumps favorite slogan is getting a boost from the tax reform package. To brian though and the conflict in yemen thats right marco saudi arabia says it has intercepted a ballistic rocket that was fired by yemens whos the rebel group toured riyadh now this is the second time in two months the rebel rocket has targeted the saudi capital saudi arabia and its allies have pointed to around as the source of the rebels increased firepower tehran is strongly denying that. This footage provided by the with the military is said to show rebels launching a missile on tuesday from an unidentified location in yemen. The latest missile fired by the who these toward riyadh was again intercepted by Saudi Air Defenses before hitting the capital. With the rebels said the missile had been aimed at the Saudi Royal Palace where a meeting of saudi leaders was taking place. Their leader boasted that after a thousand a days of fighting Yemeni Missiles posed a growing threat to the saudis power base. At the United Nations saudi ally washington sounded alarm the u. S. Was quick to point being present or right and which backs the shiite who these states thankfully the missile was intercepted before it could hit its intended target but the very fact of this attack is a flashing red siren for this council it bears all the hallmarks of previous attacks using iranian provided weapons it is only a matter of time before one of these missiles hits the target but washington is unlikely to persuade the Security Council to take action against iran and terence ally russia which has beat up our has called for dialogue with instead of threats on the record if we dont know where turning to kenya now where Political Uncertainty has left that country deeply divided the Opposition Leader. Is refusing to recognize incumbent president two who are kenyatta his victory in october Election Rerun now kenyatta won ninety eight percent of the vote but critics called the election a farce they say only thirty nine percent of voters actually went to the polls after the opposition boycotted the vote so far more than sixty people have been killed in post election violence some of them just children the w. s cousin along though reports from nairobi. Its a mothers worst nightmare. For elizabeth bearing her last born and only son is a reality shes yet to come to terms with. That in. The nine year olds death has many in kenya wondering who will be next the Kenya NationalHuman Rights Commission puts the number of those killed during this political crisis at sixty four but other human rights organizations put this number at well over one hundred in fact the opposition suggested at least two hundred thirty people have been killed among them at least ten of them a children this includes just tender skin and you know im heartbroken was my child didnt know the difference between the two Political Parties so whats worse is that it happened as the president was being inaugurated. Hurts. Kenya was thrown into political crisis in august when Opposition Leader raila odinga challenge president who can yet his election victory the Supreme Court agreed in a nod can you at his election fresh elections were held in october. But this time the opposition boycotted the poll a majority of constituencies recorded voter turnout of less than twenty five percent five counties did not vote to talk kenyatta second when was contested yet again but this time the Supreme Court dismissed the case it upheld king at his reelection for a second and final term on his Inauguration Day president hu hu kenyatta declared the political season to be over but here in machakos an opposition stronghold the political season is far from over. Yung joc frame within this funeral is turned into a mini political rally. Talk of secession is rife kenyans are determined. That there will be no democracy. In this republic of kenya those who are trying to introduce the. Brisas and management of a country would be left alone and the rest of kenyans will separate themselves and do the things the way as opposed to be done but others disagree about splitting the country with three states coming from what we call kenya problem with problems will still be there because human beings will still be there it is the same some human beings will go to that other places and others will be left in that other places so even if people secede they will succeed with their problems so what we need to do is actually not to divide kenya along tribal lines or even provinces or whatever kind of division which is going to be done what we need to do is actually see from bad politics tribalism and selfishness that is what ails us as a country president who kenyatta has dismissed calls for dialogue while Opposition Leader raul insists kenya must hold another election one that is credible and verifiable with both sides digging in their heels kenyans hope that two thousand and eighteen will bring a solution to the current political crisis. Football now in the bonus league or maybe honors midseason break but the german cup is offering football fans a festive treat this week last night saw a strong face off against cologne it turned out to be a tight affair now though it been the hero and shockers late to two george frankfurt in the bond as they go at the weekend and the defender was again in the action against cologne heading over in the first half corners were going to prove useful to shout the old game another one in the Second Period lead to another good chance this time a t in the stats it was denied by an excellent save from team zero zero on. Despite cologne offering little threat shout to fans were it wouldnt be their night but their fears were raised on sixty three minutes when yet another corner was met superbly by max meyer the midfielder is an outside fit for germanys world cup squad and head is light that will do his case no harm. The final whistle was greeted with jumps of delight from coach dominica desk oh shell could know the cup is that best chance of a trophy this term one minute finished with meyer the hero this time. Lets take a look now at the rest of tuesdays german cup results there were success for minds against a dark or third tier power born will be in januarys draw for the quarter finals in february after beating second division. Also went through but only after extra time. This is the interview news live from berlin im brian thomas for the entire news team thanks so much for being with us. Playing company aims to consolidate. Thousand of them in. The Company Plans to close it in the east german city. Last even though the. Phone entities say theyre dumbfounded to. Meet in germany next d. W. December nineteenth two thousand and sixteen twelve people were killed in a terrorist attack on a Christmas Market came berlin why couldnt the police stop the islamist perpetrator mistakes miscalculations and missed opportunities our reports analyzes the authorities failure since the attack how terrorism came to. Close up in forty five minutes on d w. Is going to. Tell my managers to not go today nothing would change you know the banks pay fines and so was the language of a bank. Speaking the truth global news that matters g. W. Made for mines and if. You look after me speak your language stuck up. For content in dari pashto and. Prospects for returning our web special to refute the journalists like germany and the prospects for those returning home. Join the discussion on t w dot com and on facebook. Prospects for returning. D. W. May for mine