Pope francis for same sex civil unions sparks mixed reactions around the world observers are calling the pontiff the clearest language yet on gay rights and christianity. And could plastic trash become part of life underwater an animated movie with a fresh take on the problem of plastic pollution makes a splash at this years student oscar awards. Im Rebecca Ritters welcome to the program germanys Public Health body says the country could face an uncontrollable spread of corona virus infections the robert cock institute has recorded a new high for daily cases and warns that covert 19 death rates are set to rise or thora teams have issued new travel warnings and are urging people to stick to the rules in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus but stricter measures could be yet to come. Its the highest number of new covert 1000 infections the german Public Health institute has had to report during this pandemic more than 11000 new cases in one day. These maps show in red where theyve been 15 new infections per 100000 inhabitants over a 7 day period left is a map of germany 2 months ago now to the right its clear half of germany has changed color. And. So the situation is now very serious the number of infections is rising quickly in many places and we dont know where that number is headed but we can still slow the spread everyone can play their part were not powerless if we follow all of those rules if you dont you can drop to. 1. 5 mi to distance hand washing and compulsory masks in Public Places such as while out shopping those rules seem to work for germany the majority of people dont catch the virus that work or on public transport but in private setting such as a private parties or weddings. The virus spreads where people enjoy coming together and where they want to get to know each other there is more intense interaction in those settings you discuss things you laugh youre having a good time then the virus naturally has a much better chance of spreading if theres an infected person present. Where the infection rates accel orating fast some labs in germany like this one in ryan and platon it a warning that smaller facilities are already working at full capacity and wouldnt necessarily be able to cope with rising numbers. Theres also increasing concern that more areas in germany will have to implement restrictions again like kiran back to land in bavaria where even schools have closed down again to curb the spread. Well thats the situation here in germany how about elsewhere in europe lets begin in athens where infection numbers lower than elsewhere on the continent and kara salva is our correspondent there can you tell us why that is. Well the governments here took a very aggressive start from the stance from the start of the pandemic here and its effectively imposed a very strict sweeping draconian lockdown that just brought the country to a standstill and it really had no other choice because greece had just come out of a 10 year financial recession that had left the Health System here shattered so the government knew that it just could not face this this Health Crisis and use this 2 month lockdown to basically support the system to get the doctors it to get more i. C. U. Units in to get masks and suit to shield griese but what has happened though and thats how it managed to quash its its cut from the 1st time around but now were seeing a roaring comeback of the coronavirus since august weve seen it up by 7 fold in the last 3 months and that is creating a crisis yet the Prime Minister tonight is holding a nationwide. Address to inform greeks potentially of new. Rights so greece doing comparatively well but the family saying rises in cases there and thief thanks very much for that id like to go to poland now where our correspondent david quarters is standing by in warsaw libya poland has been reporting similar numbers to germany about the Health System there is having trouble can you tell us more about that. Yes indeed the Health Care System in poland is about to reach its limits yesterday for the 1st time poland had more than 10000 you called it 900 factions within a day or on my dolls and people are hospitalized this is a record high in poland according to the Health Ministry we still have around 6000 free bets in the country however theres rising reports of hospitals having problems earlier this week a company. Patient and Health Care Worker himself died after he was able to find a free bet. That the Prime Minister motto is more of yes he announced the property theres going to be a red zone for the whole country from saturday on meaning that theres going to be stricter restrictions that all of poland rise of poland struggling under the weight of the new infections there thank you and live in now from warsaw and across to london where were joined by the charlottesville some pill shall it like germany britains opted for a local response to the 2nd wave hows that working there. Yeah rebecca just to give you some context a lawman news out of the u. K. Yesterday we had the u. K. Has now recorded the hot i asked days take a case its a date now it has to be points out that a lot more testing is happening here but of course that is considered compared to the way the spring but that is with consenting many many people now as you say there is a regional approach to go wales for example thats just imposed 2 weeks what its putting firebreak essentially a national law down to trying to spread all the coronavirus youve got different measures in ireland and scotland but whats causing a real well here in the u. K. Is the difference between measures here in london for example to the measures several cities up north they are considerably tighter in the north of englands jews a disproportionate spread of the virus that the number of cases there and how youre seeing that play out is not only in parliament you had one opposition m. P. Yesterday quoting someone from the ruling party names in the house of the pond and i was up north last week people that very angry i mean how this is playing out feeling that london is and so using measures on them that in the north they say that they feel like they are being punished older while trust in Boris Johnsons government schooling as case is a right they want china to tell some house because from london thanks before that we were speaking to me a quarter and feet cassava in athens. Well heres a look at some of the other developments in the Global Pandemic island has gone into a 6 week lockdown its the 1st european country to order a 2nd lockdown nonessential businesses will close with bars and Restaurants Limited to take away Service Indonesia is reporting nearly 4 and a half 1000 new cases the country has the highest number of infections and coated 19 deaths in Southeast Asia astra zeneca and Oxford University say they have vaccine trial will continue despite the death of a volunteer in brazil regulators say there are no concerns about the safety of the prison in trial now a quick summary of some of the days other headlines vietnam is bracing for a storm southall to make land the country has already suffered weeks of severe flooding and landslides that have left more than 100 people dead and 20 others missing the red cross says hundreds of thousands of people there will need housing as well as income and food aid in the coming weeks. A russian soyuz sprite spacecraft carrying a u. S. Astronaut and to russian cosmonauts back from the International Space station has touched down safely in pakistan nasa astronaut Chris Cassidy spent a total of 378. 00 days in space the mission marks the last show jeweled russian flight carrying a u. S. Crew member. Concerns a growing that an oil tanker off the coast of venezuela could spill millions of gallons of oil into the Caribbean Sea and cause an environmental disaster new images show the rusting vessel tilting precariously the tanker has been stranded since generally january last year. To the u. S. Now where less with less than 2 weeks to go before the u. S. President ial election intelligence officials believe that iran and russia have interfered in the upcoming vote they accuse iran of being behind recent intimidating a miles targeting American Voters in multiple states they also allege that tehran and moscow time Voter Registration details with the goal of altering the vote democratic voters in at least 4 battleground states received emails that threatened we will come after you if the recipients didnt vote for president donald trump. Data sumi some of the is in washington she gave us more details about the f. B. I. s accusations groups from iran and russia got their hands on Voter Registration data they use that information the arraigning groups did to send these threatening emails as you mentioned and as you said in those emails that said vote for President Trump or else now these emails were actually signed by the group the proud boys this is the White Supremacist Group some of our viewers might remember that the president refused to denounce in the 1st televised debate and this is a group that does support the president but that was a false flag there is a lot of information we dont know at this point to tell you what that is thats crucial we dont know which groups were behind this we dont know if Voter Registration databases themselves were accessed because that would also be a really key here and we dont know what the intent was the f. B. I. Director said the intent was clearly to hurt President Trump but if you think about it if democrats were intimidated from going to the polls and perhaps didnt cast their ballots that certainly would hurt shoebite and so we are hoping for more information to be revealed in the coming days. To see me so misconduct speak to us from Washington Police violence and racism have become k. Campaign issues after a series of killings and the months of protests that ensued in minneapolis where Police Officers killed george floyd sparking protests across the globe people still trying to come to terms with what happened and many are asking if trust between police and citizens can ever be restored. Minneapolis may 23rd precinct building of the Minneapolis PoliceDepartment Said the blaze during protests against the death of george florida in police custody. The Burning Police station becomes a symbol for the protesters fury for their demands for an end of Police Racism and protect. 5 months later band and border guard and secured with cement barriers precinct 300. 00. Still a symbol now signifying the citys struggle to make the changes the protesters demand to the local Police Department and how police against them many apple is still. Dealing with the fallout and the controversy and the trauma so rounding george being killed by the Minneapolis Police department there is definitely a breakdown in terms of trust between our elected officials and their constituents as well as between their constituents and our Law EnforcementCommunity Volunteers from the a copy machine and prepare to patrol the neighborhood then the 9th ward of minneapolis where george floyd done christian and local and growing in number we just thank you for your blessing. As they walked the streets of the group recently recognized and supported by the city is filling the gap created by the collapse of trust between police and the black community with Police Patrols largely absent from this part of town they have taken on the task of proactively protecting the community from rising crime we want to have selective police and not give unity who live in our community who look like me and then thered be a better pace like how we can read talk to him and how we communicate to each other Minneapolis Police recognize the need for urgent and fundamental change says theyre pretty chief eric force he sees new recruiting strategies this critical for any Real Progress one of the best things you can you can have as a department thats as reflective of your community as you can get it especially people from the community and thats really what were pushing force stresses that from his point of view there are at least 3 of the Top Priorities for reform there needs to be deep in gauge went with the community secondly would be trainings with how we deescalate situations and lastly with what that requires all of this is. The personnel to do that but words are not enough says theyve been a local activist with a group called Community Speak and Police Brutality theres been talk of reform theres been some radical talk from the city council but there has been virtually no action whatsoever and were not seeing a lot of initiative for action from the city council the mayor the police chief the city council talk to football or seeing the Current System of policing but was hit by a sobering reality check. My advice to other cities who are facing the same challenge is to ensure that when you are going to divest from our your crew Police System that you really do have. A much longer in practice plan for instituting alternatives that have been tested and worked after hours of patrolling the neighborhoods be a godly men decide to go home theyll be back tomorrow night and tonight after that the changes they were pushing for you know is more of a generational change you know because we want to make it better for our children their children and this is this is this is like our starting block right here you know as were trying to pave the way for their. Well the European Parliament has named belaruss democratic opposition and civil activists as the winners of its top human rights award the sachar are freedom of prize recipients include exiled belarus in opposition leaders plan and chicken off sky mass protests attracting tens of thousands of rocks the country since the president ial election in the midst despite Police Threats to open fire the opposition accuses long time later Alexander Lukashenko of rigging the vote. More on this lets bring india Brussels Bureau chief alexander phenomenon in brussels alexandra the winner of the prestigious acro of prize is the batteries in Coordination Council is that a surprise. No not at all at least not in this 3 Major Political groups here in the part of the European Parliaments center right Europeans People Party the center left socialist and democrats liberal reign you you are all of them have supported this nomination i talked to a greek member of the European Parliament and he told me that he would like the. Q. Activists from poland to be nominated however he also told me that he understands that now this is the right time to give this prize to the democratic opposition in belarus why exactly do you think the European Parliament chose this movement for its prestigious award. Well i think that the European Parliament is sending a clear message that they poor people in belarus democratic opposition. In their fight for fundamental freedoms and basic human rights and that is water theres a price is about of course the European Union has not recognized the results of the president ial elections election in belarus they have asked for sanctions against individuals held responsible for the violence and electoral fraud and now also after adopting a resolution condemning condemning the violence in belarus the European Parliament is once again showing that they support the people of belarus could this crimes have any impact on the further development in melrose. Well i mean this is a very prestigious prize this is going to make headlines around the world its going to be heard in belarus so this is also strengthening that people the opposition in belarus fighting there or taking to the street to the streets however we also have to say that we shouldnt assume that this is going to impress. Who is Still Holding on to power there. Are out on a kind of phenomenon in brussels thank you very much. Pope francis has said he supports Civil Union Laws to protect the rights of same sex couples this breaks from the vaticans traditional position on the issue the pope made the comments in a new documentary about him titled francesco which premiered on wednesday at the rome Film Festival the film also tackles other cont