A week of on rest following a disputed election Prime Minister siders up rove says hell assume the presidency he was named Prime Minister on wednesday just days after supporters freed him from prison. Human rights watch says russian and syrian air strikes and syrias rebel held city of it lived last year may constitute crimes against humanity the Global Rights Group has released a report that looks into dozens of what it said were unlawful strikes on civilian targets over a period of 12 months it says the strikes were deliberate. This is w. News from berlin follow us on twitter and instagram d w news or visit our website heat up you doctor. On january 1st of next year the u. Case transition period for leaving the European Union will end how will both sides do business with each other after bread sit well that was supposed to be decided by today that all important u. K. E. U. Trade deal is nowhere close to being a done deal will there even be a deal british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson will reportedly measure the mood of european leaders this week and then hell decide yes or no to more negotiations to stay at the table or to get up and walk away i burned off in berlin this is the day. We want to the grievances but we want also to pretty delivered plain truth and must be a fair agreement from which both counts can benefit can put this group and the prospects for the other that that would be a new free and fair competition but we didnt choose briggss different britain didnt grow from it it will work the same thrill the same practice with things like civility on either side you have to think of this planet as richard their European Union as united we have a kid position we want a good deal but not at any cost. Also coming up as the 2nd wave of the coronavirus rolls over Europe Germany is tightening restrictions to slow the spread but. Shes not convinced that thats enough. To me father thats if youre off quite whether its me it is the exponential rise and when i stop it otherwise it would not end well kind of. To our viewers watching on p. B. S. In the United States and to all of you around the world welcome 2021 could very well begin with chaos confusion and no deal for both the u. K. And the European Union were going to have more on that in just a moment so we begin the day with an attempt to shield u. S. Voters and the president ial election from mis information a move against fake news that is controversial problematic and overdue facebook and twitter have prevented users from sharing a story published in the New York Post about hunter by the son of democratic president ial candidate and former u. S. Vice President Joe Biden the New York Post claims the story is based on emails from Hunter Bidens laptop but journalist outside of the post have called the. Its sources and its alleged claims into question so much so that the social media giants took the unusual step of intervening in the dissemination of user content facebook and twitter are using stricter moderation rules that we know but todays moves go further than ever before and they are drawing fire from republicans who claim that social Media Companies are biased against conservatives today u. S. President trump accused big tech of colluding with the Mainstream Media to help the Biden Campaign take a listen. It is badly or drug it and they were caught they got caught now theyre being protected by big fat and a big fat persists in coordination with the Mainstream Media we must at least strip them of this section 30 protect. We all believe in freedom of the press but dont forget big ted got something years ago that let them become big that they got total protection they dont get they dont get anything done to protect it all right social media and the us president ial election theres a lot to unpack with this story tonight to do that im joined by ethan porter hes assistant professor in the school of media and Public Affairs at George Washington university ethan its good to have you on the day let me ask you what would be or what would have been the reaction to facebook and twitter if they done nothing and just a well the post article to be shared and reach we did as much as people wanted. Well this is a situation with no easy answers had twitter and facebook allowed this false information to circulate unchecked through their networks they would have been accused in my mind rightfully so of spreading in advancing the spread of misinformation at a critical time instead what they did is they intervene and that intervention is open to question but there is no rule or old in which facebook or twitter is actions here were going to make an immune from criticism and we know that the c. E. O. Of twitter jack dorsey he was not happy with what happened he tweeted and you see i can read that our communication around our article on the New York Post was not great and blocking u. R. L. Sharing via tweet or direct messaging with 0 context as to why were blocking well that is a nick sceptical of what he said that twitter and facebook they they do have the 1st amendment on their side but they also have an extreme amount of power at the moment do you think they have too much power well i think leaders of large Media Companies have always had outsized power but so think of it this way if a if a case someone wrote into a newspaper today it wanted a letter to the editor to be published that spread scurrilous rumors about a candidate the editor of that newspaper would likely not publish that letter today social Media Companies are playing the role of editor of really large platforms and people are criticizing him for it but in some ways its not that different from what has happened in the past so what does that mean in terms of legislation do you think that Congress Needs to change the legislation that has basically exempted platforms from being responsible for the content that happens to be on the platform. I dont think a legislative response is the appropriate response here instead regulation needs to be focused on mandating companies such as twitter and facebook to compel users to see corrections to fake news thats the fix that needs to happen in some ways the controversy today is a byproduct of the fact that these companies for too long have been too lax about misinformation theyre now playing catch up and theyre sloppiness is coming under criticism and you dont see what has happened with the New York Post story you dont see it setting a troubling president. Its a worrisome precedent but i would argue that the decisions of companies proud of both companies prior to today were far more worrisome facebook in particular allowed misinformation to go unchecked on its platform for years and in many respects still its so this is a case of too little too late. Weve got less than 3 weeks to go until the election on t. V. And on social media there is a Public Information campaign under way and its supposed to be educating voters about misinformation i want to take a look at one of the clips. Deciding who to vote for is important they are People Organisation think governments trying to trip us up manipulate our vote or keep us from voting altogether watch out for phrases that frequently accompany political decision from a scene like make this gunfire or conspiratorial statements like the media wont cover this its your vote not the mirrors voting the paines one you democrats the depends on us. So even theres a clip there that people are seeing how effective do you think this type of campaign can be i mean we see the long lines of people waiting to cast their vote in early voting in some us states we know that interest in the election is very high what about knowledge and information that are needed to turn those citizens into responsible voters i love this campaign ive heard about this campaign and im a big fan of it i like the optimism that is behind it recent research makes clear News Literacy campaigns can Work Research also makes clear that attempts to educate the public can be effective whether or not this campaign will be effective i dont know but it certainly wouldnt surprise me were to be effective if enough people see it thats crucial. Hopefully if we wanted to be effective its being seen by lots of people across the country they you know you talk about information diet the news diet that americans have is part of the problem the fact that news and information are treated like a commodity in the United States you know you have the commercialization of t. V. News for example in the states were shown on p. B. S. Which is public t. V. But thats a very small part of the market if it were a broad part of the market do you think you would have more or better informed voters. Absolutely i think that public support for p. B. S. In this country for public broadcasting has been too small for too all. The better funded public broadcasting system would do wonders for the quality of the american publics political knowledge to some extent we would not have the problems that we have in this country if we were to adopt a approach to broadcasting as you do in germany ive heard that said many many times especially since the 2016 president ial election we we know as you said the social media was used to meddle in the 2016 election and here we are 4 years later i want you to consider social media consider the voters are they as prepared and as a quipped as they should be going into this election i do think that voters are better prepared i think weve all learned from our previous experiences research has shown that only a small fraction of social media users are actively sharing this information i think people have gotten better at distinguishing Factor Fiction social media the number of people who are sharing will still worrisome it is not overwhelmingly high alright even puerto joining us tonight from washington d. C. When we appreciate your time your insights and lets hope that the optimism is wins out thank you. It will. British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson says that hell lay out his approach to breaks it on friday now this after britains chief rights because she described demands made by the European Union it summit talks in brussels as disappointing and surprising the e. U. Issued a statement from those talks calling on britain to make the necessary moves to make an agreement possible brussels clearly believes that its up to london to make concessions to avoid a chaotic exit from the e. U. Free trade zone on january 1st next year. The bricks and saga continues after years of talks and the cut off date looming the most pressing question remaining is who will get up and leave the negotiating table 1st team e. U. 14 you can. Meanwhile at the e. U. Summit in brussels at a quarter of goldman leaves in pumpkins serves as a reminder this year is coming to an end and with it the transition period without a plan on the future relationship between the u. K. And the bloc patience is in short supply here the cyclone destroyed something but if the right terms cant be found at the end of these discussions were ready for a no deal for our future relations since the u. K. Left the e. U. January 31st there has been little progress on key issues such as trade and fishing rights with the parties still oceans apart obviously the issues of concern for concern remain a level Playing Field thats important for europe. The governance of a subsequent deal that will be arrived at between the United Kingdom and Europe Clearly fisheries which is very important to us in our land our coastal communities are protected in an overall deal. On breakthrough raises for a sensible and fair fisheries deal pressure is high on the German Council presidency a deal could save hundreds of thousands of jobs in an e. U. Economy hit hard by covert 90. 51. 00 in an upcoming course we want an agreement but not it any price and it has to be a fair deal that would benefit the both sides but all the effort is worth it and the of course will support chief negotiator Michel BarnierCommission President person of underline and commission on the c one thats really interested. But time for talks is running out for an agreement to come into force at the beginning of next year the deal would have to be done by the end of this month and concessions seem unlikely at this point when someone asked me so where are you able to give up or to give up. For the moment we dont have to give up anything because the solidarity is to principle that you know problems from your country can be other problems for another country and so the package should be really defending also the interest of the 27. 00 not just the flung or 2 countries and also not just of british interests it has been a decision from the u. K. And now we have to find a deal to get out of the situation. Walking away doesnt appear to be an option for now and so this saga goes on. The 2nd wave of the coronavirus pandemic is rolling across europe on wednesday germany recorded a massive increase in coronavirus cases with more than 6 and a half 1000 new infections over a 24 hour period thats the biggest since the pandemic began the figures were released just after just hours after german chancellor Angela Merkel met with the leaders of the countrys 16 federal states they agreed to tighten restrictions across the country to slow the spread of the. One seen as a role model for Europe Germany now feels the pandemic is getting out of hand that a country has fed every day to the west so far with cases rapidly rising im going to america has issued a stern warning. As Michel Martin does if you ask what worries me it is the exponential rise and well stop it otherwise it will not end well. We can see that all over the place and i dont need to look at germany here i only need to look in the neighboring countries thats appointed regional leaders have agreed to shut hospitality venue some 11 pm in areas today become virus hotspots a regulation already adopted by some cities like bellina in frankfurt contact restrictions will also be enforced in hotspots social gatherings will be limited to 10 people from a maximum of 2 households in a bid to curb the number of infections at the political level one bone of contention remains leaders cant agree on Domestic Travel rules that mean travelers from hotspots cannot stay in hotels without a recent negative test im calling this idea come a day she is still a contest to demand to stay busy someone to keep it up at any cost. States are skeptical because its related inefficient to prevent infections but in the end it causes a lot of agitation anger and disruption but some under street say its not more roads that are needed. Thats going to be fierce from day existing rules are not being followed and theyre not being enforced all too often you see people beat out of moscow on fesses and subways sure enough i believe the ruse should be better executive its a fine line when you see all the weddings a kind of course i understand but on the other hand its also a risk for others as well as these i think we all need to be reasonable for numbers like not if im. If the number of infections keep rising im going to america has warned that even tougher steps may be natives. Well now im joined by emily shoulder height she is a fellow with the institute of current World Affairs and shes a freelance journalist based here in berlin its good to have you on the program but just by chance we wanted to talk with you about the pandemic in germany and i find out that youre here in berlin and that youre in quarantine why is that. I am so i returned yesterday evening from vienna i was there for a couple weeks for work and the end has been since the middle of september again a risk area but im a country of germany so when i come back from a risk area and that means you have to be tested upon arrival or shortly after arrival you have to go into quarantine until you receive those results and thats where you found you know how and did everything go smoothly i mean were you were you surprised by how things went. It was it was an incredibly easy process i came in by trains arrived at berlin Central Station there are signs everywhere directing you to the tests locations i came in they asked for proof that i had just come from a risk area should my ticket and all in all between filling out paperwork waiting to be tested and then receiving the test they took i would say less than 20 minutes less than 20 minutes and then youre get the test results what within 5 days is the latest right. Yet they say 3 to 4 days so i was given all the information im eagerly awaiting that that result in the corona app and maybe it will come sooner but yes they said 3 to 4 days before i would hear ok let me ask you about the meeting that took place between the german chancellor and the leaders of the federal states wasnt really thrilled by the amount of agreements that i guess that she got from the regional leaders what she. She was not and you know thats something if you look back to the spring obviously these meetings were taking place on a weekly basis or so you know every time there were any sort of. Loosening of restrictions or deciding what to keep in place and what not to keep in place for a long time i think probably because this was so new there was much more agreement there was much more sort of. Moving out. Because. I would looks like we lost emily i think her phone ringing we lost the signal with her we certainly do apologize for that was it really showed high fives there speaking with us here in berlin. Hard poland is our great story it is expected to announce new restrictions after registering a record of nearly 9000 new cases in the last 24 hours the country managed to keep the number of infections low at the start of the pandemic but as a used alexander phenomena reports the government is now facing criticism for failing to prepare the country for a 2nd wave. And the foothills of the top from mountains at a popular Tourist Destination this winter however a pub ocean league has little hope of much business normally his familys guest house would Welcome School classes and all their organized tour groups but most of them have already cancelled youngish theres a she its about all of them but if we didnt on this place and just rented it would have already given up. No matter what. 100 percent of. The guest house practically generates no income but still costs money an issue of the ducky with tourist numbers slowly rising again over the summer pablo she legal was hoping for the situation to improve but now the region has been declared a red zone due to a surge in covering 1000. 00 cases and that means additional restrictions including Wearing Masks in public spaces and the ban on cultural events and pharmacy in the center of the compound of polands most popular Mountain Resort my general has been running it for 24 years so fuck your common sense even some of this has been going on for months now so people have slowly started getting used to it but the situation for us here is difficult. As a popular Tourist Destination we. Are more at risk during the 1st wave of the pandemic in the spring polands National Conservative government reacted quickly by imposing a lockdown and clothing that comes through its borders for foreign travelers but since then the 30s have been facing growing criticism for failing to prepare Polands Health system for a 2nd if we visit my agenda at home her husband originally from we all try in the u. K. Contracted the virus in the spring fortunately without symptoms he praises polands Quick Response to the pandemic but is worried about its hospitals the health system. Is basically enormously lacking in funding. So if its the country becomes overwhelmed then i think its going to be a problem because of the number of hospital beds and respirators the medical staff. Also wore it in addition to his regular job he. This weddings here in the mountains they have to be big but its almost impossible to plan a wedding he and his Business Partner say if the authorities make ad hoc decisions all the time. Should have set limits from the beginning what difference does it make if we have 50 or 100. 00 wedding guests in a group of 10 people who are in a small circle we know each other and we can react quickly if anything happens and we should say what we need is a Clear Strategy to combat that pandemic. Otherwise it will be increasingly difficult to convince people to comply with their restrictions. You know from the pandemic to Climate Change last month was the hottest september since records began 140 years ago its no surprise because temperatures in the last 44 septembers were higher than the september average for the entire 20th century well scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that rising temperatures are contributing to what were seeing disasters from forest fires to floods. From sunbathing on englands south coast to outdoor body building in berlin the september heat waves were a welcome surprise for many but the late summer sun brought devastation to a smile change the meaning of the global temperature humi to be changes and extreme extreme weather last month bigger and stronger hurricanes pounded the u. S. Gulf coast while wildfires burn through millions of kilometers of western states scientists are little doubt manmade Climate Change is exacerbating mottos. And so what were seeing right now actually you expect or a heat wave more frequent more intense and were racing on insurance as well on the general x. Areas that are trying to dry her and areas are where. Just this week up paula explore a return from the arctic with a years worth of Scientific Data and a stark warning that the ice is dying. And usually smelt planet earth is warming. And Scientists Say there is a good chance that 2020 will be one of the hottest years in history. You believe that it will the day is almost done but the conversation continues online of like this one twitter either at the news or you can follow me at brant goff t. V. And remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day well see you then everybody. To the point to the strong opinions clear positions International Perspective such. From my state of munich paris to prague corona virus infections are surging in europe with big cities at the front of the way its 10 new restrictions bringing the situation under control joining us on to the point. To the point. Ned such a common t w. Every 2 seconds a person is forced to flee their home. The consequences are disastrous. No were talking entry series displaced boil and ruined the venezuelan exodus people are starving who wants to survive it needs to leave how could a country formally so rich fall so far. In 45 minutes on d. W. Why did this person loses hope. There are many survivors. Mobs that can be done to. Make up your mind. To. Covet 19 is surging once again worldwide and here in europe urban centers are at the forefront of the waves from our say to munich paris to prague the continent cities are rushing to impose new rules ranging from prohibitions on parties and closure of bars to curfews and travel bags restrictions on public life still fall short of last springs lockdown for now as the world waits for a vaccine can the virus beast