Guess there is no vacation from the pandemic germany is offering returning travelers free coronavirus tempting to guard against a 2nd wave of cocaine 1000. Plus china orders the closure of the u. S. Consulate in the southwestern city of chengdu the move comes after the u. S. Told the chinese to shut their consulate in houston. Im sumi so much going to thank you for joining us is them bills hagia sophia has opened for muslim friday prayers for the 1st time in more than 80 years that comes after a controversial decree from turkish president to want to turn the former museum back into a mosque or 2 on himself attended prayers today along with several 100 guests the building was originally a cathedral and it stood at the heart of istanbul for 1500 years. More. President everyone personally began friday prayers with a recitation from the koran this is the 1st time muslim friday prayers have been held in the highest sophia for 86 years just 2 weeks ago turkeys highest Administrative Court canceled the building status as a museum and then ordered it to be used as a mosque despite covert 19 thousands of believers began gathering outside the istanbul landmark last night to study for us its a symbol of islam or rather the ioseph he is symbolizes the victory of islam over christianity. Thanks to our revered president trichet type won and more importantly i think god we can finally pray here again. Critics say the transformation of pius a few takes the country one step further away from a secular turkey. And they say heir to one is using this to score points with conservative voters and distract from domestic political problems Harsh Criticism also came from many Church Figures among them pope francis and turkeys Orthodox Christian neighbor greece unesco is concerned whether the world Cultural Heritage status of the. Danger. Alice on the story now we have our religious Affairs Correspondent martin with us hi martin good to see you how do you see this. Or a political decision. You know its more with it is most certainly a political stunt i dont think that theres another word for it but its a political stunt that if theyre regularly. Aimed essentially rallying the religious base front of the and and of his party. You know it is an incredibly incredibly high gumble sort of the consequence of these geopolitically are enormous i mean not only because of the act itself which is essentially the reversion of. The studies of same sophia and obviously also the reversion of the meaning of. The building i mean in the context of turkey but also in terms of the position of turkey reversing what he says now and 80 year old 85 year old commitment to making its main religious iconic building into an expression of the secular of the secular in this position of the state discuss actually change. I think its important to say that most people that have actually been looking at these even you know less recently as 2 or 3 days ago i kept hearing very well placed people saying that he was simply not going to happen and that this was quite simply not going to happen so this should give you a sense of sort of how high how how high the stakes were but at the very same time i mean sort of what a sea change this is my can give us some of the religious context i mean why is the high guess afia so important not just in turkey but also abroad. I mean the use of a building that hes deeply connected to the future of the city 1st of constantinople and then under the autumn and rule. He stumbled and its it has this double life or triple life i mean 1st as a church it becomes life as a church it is to actually sort of one of the most important pieces of Orthodox Christian architecture it lasted for about a 1000 years and then for around 4900. 00 it was turned into us once it was shown into a mosque it remained a mosque until the fund a nation or the construction of the secular republic and the secular republic you know i thought to understand that this is such an iconic building at the very place where essentially east meaning meets west that it will be turned into an expression of the secular creations of the state and in this sense it is really i mean a new testing for all of this tying a nicu many kl building its a monument its been a monument to a. Its been a monument to the idea that there is no extra city to this building that its really part of unesco understand said you know human heritage its a patrimony cultural of humanity as religion in general beyond any particular the nomination is something that belongs to us human beings what were doing now says and doing it for his space its essential that this becomes once again the exclusive domain of islam even if people will be allowed to visit so people will be allowed to visit they can go in they can look at this that this is exclusive domain of islam are religious Affairs Correspondent martin cox thank you very much. Meanwhile president has vowed to crack down on web platforms and social Media Channels that he says are immoral now the Video Streaming Service netflix has announced it will halt production of a turkish series which was going to include a gay character that flex had been applying to film a local production but was told by turkeys state media regulator to cut the gay characters role now netflix decided to abandon the project entirely the platform has been required to hold a license to operate in turkey since late last year. Well critics say this represents a new level of censorship and intolerance in turkey and Jill Dougherty has been looking into this story for us hi jill thanks for joining us so is this a case of netflix complying with turkish authorities or resisting them well its canceling a production instead of censoring it but that in a way is a kind of selfcensorship and it shows that netflix is more interested in keeping its 1500000. 00 turkish customers instead of picking a fight with the government now netflix turkey is under the control of turkeys radio and Television Supreme council and the head of that body a few months ago warn netflix that he would not tolerate shows that are contrary to what he calls the countrys National Values now netflix had been in production of a show called if only a romantic drama and the screenwriter of that show said it was to contain a gay character a character described as gay but actually it wasnt going to be any physical intimacy portrayed nevertheless the screenwriter says that the regulators demanded the character be cut and in response netflix decided to abandon the production entirely now we spoke to istanbul based journalist keenan bezout shop and hes been following the turkish government and t l g b t censorship he says turkish groups are very disappointed they feel abandoned by netflix but theyre not surprised lets have a listen so well i think the great thing to do would be in to push back of this pressure from the turkish government and if possible to pull out in her street perhaps i also dont quite expect the country dont quite expect the corporations goal is to maximize its profits to put the ethical position 1st. So joe what do you think this means for netflix well in other countries netflix has a very diverse catalog as a whole category for gay scene shows like queer eye and ru pauls drag race and in fact turkey netflix and turkey doesnt actually play foreign made shows that have gay characters or gay seems but it seems like the regulators drew the line at the idea of a turkish character being portrayed in a local production but we really shouldnt be surprised because the cofounder of Netflix Reed Hastings has previously said that his company is an Entertainment Company and that hes not hes not in the business of speaking truth to power like journalists do and netflix has limited content in other countries in india it has agreed not to show films or t. V. Series that insult the national slagged or could outrage religions and just for balance lets also remember netflix is actually also limited content here in germany to the horror film not of the living dead is not available on netflix germany after a complaint from an office of used protection here so a reminder again that netflix is in business and will do what it can to stay in business the bottom line at the end all right Jill Dougherty our reporter bringing us the story thank you so much now people are arriving from abroad at germanys airports will be offered free coronavirus tests that decision by federal and state Health Ministers means that immediate testing will be available for those coming from corona hotspots people returning from vacations in countries not deemed as especially at risk from the disease will also be offered tests but at laboratories away from airports infection rates in germany were made low at the moment but there are fears that that could change as people return after the holiday season. Lets get more on the story with our Political Correspondent hans front hans what exactly has been decided here tell us more about this. Well until now if you return from what the German Authorities regard as a risk area and that includes 130. 00 countries around the world roughly including such places as turkey which is very popular as a holiday destination in germany or egypt or the United States in that case when you return from such an area you have to go into quarantine for 2 weeks this was something that was monitored by the local Health Authorities in your town in your hometown if you want to avoid that you can all take a test as you come into germany into airports in germany a voluntary test and if you if that test is negative you do not have to go into quarantine your horror Authorities Say that there has been a spike in the number of infections which is connected to the people returning from holiday so that is what the Health Minister said holiday makers who are returning are at risk of carrying the virus back into germany which until now has managed to control the outbreak right quite well thats why these tests are being imposed now as you just said these are voluntary test i mean why wont they be mandatory. There were some of the people participating in the conference at mit took this decision that was the Health Ministers of germanys 16 federal states some of them were pushing for these tests to be made mandatory but in fact that is no basis in law for this at the moment so the laws need to be changed for the tests to be made mandatory at the moment everyone is appealing to the sense of responsibility of holidaymakers returning to germany even those coming from areas that are not regarded in themselves as being risky if the holiday makers have a feeling that they have been involved in a situation that might have been risky such as going to a nightclub for instance then they are also asked to take a test with at the border directly coming into the country or within 2 or 3 days and at their home places where they can go to the Health Authorities or certain medical practices to have these tests done free of charge get these Political Correspondent hansbrough reporting thank you. Now to some other stories making headlines around the world face coverings have now become mandatory in shops and takeout food stores in england it also applies to other enclosed spaces like transport hubs and Shopping Centers masks are already compulsory and close Public Places in many other European Countries including here in germany. Goldman sachs has agreed to a nearly 4000000000. 00 settlement with malaysia over a Corruption Scandal prosecutors allege the Bank Arranged bond sales for the one and the Sovereign Wealth Fund that allowed former malaysian leader to steal billions the verdict in the 1st trial of the affair is expected in the coming days. As opposition backed president has joined protests against his countrys government despite Prime Minister firing 3 key ministers on thursday protesters returned to the streets they are calling for the entire government to resign accusing it of corruption and links to all the graphics. In thailand protesters have set fire to images of the countrys Prime Minister price channel and his deputy public opposition to pryor has been growing in recent months protesters want his government to step down saying it came to power after an unfair or alexion last year. China has ordered the United States to close one of its consulates the foreign minister has given u. S. Officials 72 hours to leave the consulate in the southwestern city of chengdu it comes after washington told beijing to shut its Diplomatic Mission in Houston Texas earlier this week well ations between the 2 countries are at their lowest in 40 years it was less a question of if china would retaliate but rather how and the answer is here the u. S. Has been told to close its conscience in changing to. Raising the stakes yet further and this diplomatic standoff. To me the Current Situation in china u. S. Relations is not what china wants and the u. S. Is completely responsible for all of this. All of this includes the u. S. Imposing sanctions on communist Party Officials and companies linked to the mass detention of weaker and ordering china to shut its mission in houston citing concerns about. The clear out is under way the president even full to the potential to cut diplomatic ties completely. As far as closing additional embassies its always possible that marks the biggest fall out since Richard Nixon renewed relations in the seventys when he extended the 100 friendship. All the more significant then that the u. S. Secretary of state would head to the former republican president a library to all but declare a new cold war with the c. C. P. The kind of engagement weve been pursuing is not brought the kind of change inside of china the president nixon had hoped to induce. The truth is that our policies and those of other free nations resurrected chinas failing economy only to see beijing bite the International Hands that were feeding it. We opened our arms to chinese citizens only to see the Chinese Communist party exploit our free and open society. Back in 2017 when donald trump and she jinping occasionally sparred over trade no theyre even farther apart it may be a long time before theyre rolling out the red carpet for each other again. Correspondent billing us standing by with more in beijing china ts why does china want this consulate in chengdu specifically closed down its a tit for tat move and the chinese have chosen a consulate that it that that is about the same importance to the american Diplomatic Mission as it used to was to the chinese it covers a big and important and populous region but it is not where most of the u. S. Is assets for example and operations of u. S. Companies are concentrated if if china had chosen to close a consulate in shanghai or one joe this might have been something some further escalation that would have been more equivalent to maybe San Francisco or new york on the chinese consulates so they choose a consulate in its operation is a bit similar it is but it has also a political pawn chandu is the consulate that is furthest in the west it is the consulates where the u. S. Have contact to achieve bet and to singe on 2 of the most sense sensitive. Problems in the in the u. S. China relations so there is also a political message attached to that how serious is this for relations between beijing and washington. Well this move was expected china had little choice but to do something in retaliation they have not choosing and anything that would be seen as a move that further as collates its pretty much a tit for tat as something that is reciprocal but this whole escalation around these consulates beginning with a closure in lucent is for sure an escalation that the u. S. China relationship is the worst in these 40 years since nixon. Established ties with with the peoples republic of china and it is obviously. Theres obviously room for a degradation off the relations we will have to see whats going to happen next but look were hearing from washington is does not look like we were going to see a betterment in any way of these relations in the near future china is probably trying to go to wait this out until the u. S. Elections and then have a new start over with either. To 2nd trump or with President Biden my to spending a reporting from beijing good to talk to you. German authorities have confirmed the release of helen mavis a german arch tour writer who was abducted by iraqi militants earlier this week in a statement to foreign minister heikal mosse expressed his relief he thanked the iraqi authorities for freeing mavis and said she was now in the care of the German Embassy in baghdad mavis was kidnapped by gunmen outside her office in the capital on monday the German National is a well known figure in baghdad where she runs an arts program for young iraqis shes also known as an outspoken critic of the government it remains unclear who was behind the kidnapping iraqi Authorities Say they are investigat