this is deja vu news coming to you live from a secret meeting between a superpower and a pariah us president confirmed senior officials met north korean leader kim jong il on u.s. media say cia director mike compare travel to pyongyang what does this mean for peace on the korean peninsula. also coming up after days of delays a team of international chemical weapons inspectors is due to enter the syrian city of duma it's tasked with finding the truth behind a suspected posing gas attack eleven days ago. and the largest operation of its

kind ever carried out by germany's federal police early morning raid snet more than a hundred suspects on sex trafficking charges. plus for big no more films like this romantic comedy could soon hit the big screen inside saudi arabia the kingdom is said today to lift its spec age old ban on movie theater. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us. we begin in the u.s. where it's being reported that cia director mike pump aoe traveled to pyongyang and met north korean leader kim jong il and the secret meeting over easter was to lay the groundwork for the planned direct talks between us president donald trump and kim trump who is currently hosting japanese prime minister shinzo they had his

mar-a lago resort in florida said there had been talks at the highest level with north korea but he declined to call confirm which u.s. officials have had these talks. for more now let's cross over to reuters correspondent joss smith who's in seoul south korea and josh if it is indeed mike pompei of who has met with kim jong un how significant would this be. well it certainly is quite significant he would be the highest ranking american official to have ever met with kim jong un and it of course represents a major shift in tone from last year when both sides were issuing major threats towards each other this is perhaps the strongest sign yet that both trump and kim are serious about making some kind of meeting work between the two leaders in the coming months what does this development suggest that it that that meeting

between trump and the korean leader will indeed happen after all there's been so much speculation about. it does indeed there obviously after trump kind of stunningly excepted the invitation from kim there remain a lot of unanswered questions most of what we understood about the invitation from kim and proposals for a summit came through third parties like the south koreans now were no it seems clear that the united states and north korea are talking to each other at high levels directly and this does seem to indicate that they're quite serious about these talks and whether you know whether something can be worked out though remains to be seen as even trump. you know seem to be quite cautious about their expectations now the leaders of north korea and south korea are due to meet later this month what can we expect to come out of that need well what we

know of the agenda so far is that both the koreas will discuss the future of north korea's nuclear program this is been the major point of contention obviously for everyone but it's also been a condition for both the south koreans and the americans before they met with the north koreans said they would discuss the nuclear program each side will also likely discuss general into korean reconciliation ways that the two koreas can lower tensions this might include. opening more lines of communication conducting more cultural events and other things like that what won't be on the table. as south korean officials have said are issues like human rights that's unlikely to come up as well as any kind of joint economic efforts that might fall afoul of continued sanctions on north korea josh thanks so much for talking with us

reuters correspondent josh smith there in exile south korea. inspectors from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons or the o.p.c. w are due to begin their investigation today into an alleged poison gas attack in the syrian city of duma syria's un ambassador says duma has been visited by a u.n. age by united nations security team to make sure it is safe and opt for the inspectors they will focus on establishing whether a poison gas attack actually took place and if so what chemicals were used but there are fears that any evidence may have been compromised or for more let's bring in journalist stiffen wark from t.v. for sweden he was just in duma and joins us now from damascus what are people in dumas saying about the alleged chemical attack one of those that i talked to some said that they didn't know anything about it others didn't want to talk about it

those opinions. most of them that they thought the rebel side was also good although you have to mind that in syria you cannot express what you actually thinks because there is always a risk that it might get into trouble so i would put too much. weight on people's. now western powers are saying that evidence concerning the attack may have been tampered with by syrian or russian soldiers do you think that is a real possibility given what you have seen in duma. well we went we entered the building it was in a sea of morphine anyway that was the living and it's also survived and anybody could just walk in and out and do whatever they wanted to so the research risk that evidence has been destroyed or items made will go so what it is course it's much more difficult so so many days after the event. to find good samples

there's so much international scrutiny on this particular story what's the view in damascus the syrian regime itself where you are on this investigation is taking place by the o.p.c. did. they emphasize that they actually invite you to be able to see. this investigation although. they were not allowed to go there before it's a date because. so it is going to be interesting to see what they can actually slight there and what how much that that it didn't work with over the weekend there is another development going on now also this last night we saw and heard something of which is that the loss and may. that is consoled by rebels actually it's

i sees the smug state that is in this area and really we can see an artillery being fired at that direction. so the conflict in syria is very much ongoing stuff on board there from t.v. for sweden talking to us from damascus thank you so much. thank you. now and some of the stories making headlines around the world today french president hollande has warned that europe is fighting a civil war between liberal democracy and populist nationalism. made the remarks in a speech to the e.u. parliament calling for democratic renewal. the far right when french presidency last year. one person was killed and several were injured after an engine on a u.s. passenger plane exploded a southwest airlines flight was on route from new york to dallas when an engine cover broke loose and shattered a window passenger spoke of

a woman being partially sucked out of the broken window. in the united states for first lady barbara bush has died the ninety two year old had refused further medical treatment for recurrent health problems she was one of only two women in american history to bear the title of first lady and first mother. wife of one president mother to another barbara bush was a stoic silva has matriarch behind in the american political dynasty she rose to prominence in the one nine hundred eighty s. when her husband george h.w. bush became vice president and later won the oval office necklace she wore at his inauguration briefs on the into a fashion icon. just eight years after leaving the white house barbara bush watched as his son george w. moved in. i had trouble when i was married to the president and now to see

that same fellow that i used to drive around in little league car pools and i used to yell at to please pick up his room to see him as president is truly amazing the bushes hunt six children across seventy three years of marriage another son jeb became governor of florida. there never has so active in politics barbara bush raised millions of dollars for literacy programs president trump said one of her greatest achievements was recognizing the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection. police here in germany have detained more than one hundred people and arrested seven others after a large scale operation against suspected sex traffickers thousands of officers raided more than sixty sites across the country in the early hours of this morning the properties targeted were brothels and private apartments the operation centers on a sex trafficking ring set up to bring women and transsexuals from thailand to germany

. to be a political correspondent told us sparrow is covering this story for us this morning thomas what more can you tell us about the raids. well as you said terry they have been focusing on forced prostitution the focus area in germany has been the state of north dry in westphalia in the west and of the country although other states have also been affected by by these raids police did mention that around sixty locations had been raided and they're also looking for evidence not only the people involved but also evidence regarding this network and the police also describe it as you yourself said is the biggest such operation of its type involving between one thousand and one thousand five hundred officers and it also includes the g.s.t. nine as you said and it's particularly important to stress is because it is one of the elite units of germany's federal police and according to the one german

newspaper the fact that they were involved the g.s.t. nine was because they were expecting some sort of violent reaction from some of the places that they raided this morning ok. ration the biggest in the history of the german federal police are focusing on human trafficking and forced prostitution understand what else are police telling us about what they were doing and what they were trying to achieve or in particular they're focusing on forced prostitution regarding sex workers from from thailand they have been reactions from the police in particular on twitter stressing these elements that i mentioned highlighting that they're focusing on people smuggling on forced prostitution on exploitation and we've also had reaction from germany's interior minister calling this action unprecedented it is certainly terry a very big and a very important operation and one that will continue obviously throughout the day

with political reactions as well thanks so much traumas d.w. political correspondent thomas sparrow there. you are watching d.w. news still to come saudis usually have to sneak in a trip to the movie theater while they're outside the country that's about to change as the kingdom moves to lift its ban on cinema as. well seems europeans are reluctant to buy a new set of wheels and looks like it has been a drop in cost sales in march across europe and it's the first one since twenty fourteen that some economists wore it because they look at new competition this as an indicator of economic health the european comic his association said just on the one point eight million cars were sold in march that's a full of five point three percent compared to last year's surprisingly strong sales growth is at its lowest point since twenty's but it might not be a weakening economy that's responsible many buyers are holding off purchases

following the diesel gates and the industry's new focus on ema billet. can sail in britain well miles down sixteen percent a bit uncertainty about briggs it has been done and find this breaks it really the reasons that brits. really putting off. buying new cars well. well abraxas as a certainly one topic and they are but there are a couple of factors that have led to this dropping numbers and yes those are the worst numbers that we have seen in the last five years so brecht it is certainly an issue another part when you talk about the u.k. can be blamed on extreme weather and also an increase in vehicle taxes that choke effect last year and last through a spate of purchases last march also interesting the credit card company these that is also reporting that the consumer spending in britain has been declining in

february and march but certainly there is still lots of uncertainty how breakfast is going to affect the economy making customers also a bit reluctant for a big investment in that car is certainly for many a very big investment interesting also that the sales numbers are volkswagen have been dropping here in germany but at the same time going up in the united states it seems that customers despite think these are gate scandal are giving the company a little bit more trust again. coming respond to these new figures yes investors they don't like this news that all the german automobile industry is one of the most important ones here for that country shares of dima are the worst performers this morning at the blue chip index that certainly also because of those sales numbers but also related to an analyst commentary saying that diamond has odd it's a little bit in the plus this morning corp and frankfurt thank you. new u.s. sanctions against russia are off the table at least that's what president trump's

economic advisor larry kudlow said tuesday but be that as it may russia's involvement in the syria conflict has led to all sorts of political condemnation including economic measures a first round of sanctions imposed earlier this month against russia over its support for syrian president bashar al assad calls shares in some of the country's biggest companies to drop this year's russia's blue chip index r.t.s. in early april you get the picture the russian ruble also took a hit and those came on top of sanctions already in place over russia's annexation of the crimean peninsula and those are already hitting not only russian blue chips but also some companies that weren't even targeted by. the u.s. sanctions announced on april sixth effect fourteen russian businesses and seven oligarchs among them oleg thierry pascoe who's been accused of interfering in the twenty sixteen u.s. election his company roussel is the world's second largest producer of aluminum

within a week of the announcement its stock fell by forty percent. but in that's not a one off market capitalization for many companies is falling even those not affected by the sanctions because nerves are jittery moscow's stock market is under pressure american corporations have to sell their shares in russian companies by may seventh any business can't helping another bypass the sanctions is in danger of being sink and itself. if the summer with the investors are feeling unsettled and that instability is poison no one knows how things will progress with russia is for he. the sanctions have also had russia's urns industry the u.s. has blacklisted rosso border an export which has a monopoly on the country's weapons exports tens of thousands of jobs depend on the sector and russian prime minister dmitry medvedev is promising to help affected

companies but that will have a negative impact on state coffers russia is already contemplating countermeasures for example a halt on titanium exports to the us that would hit boeing especially hard russian supplies cover a third of the plane makers needs when it comes to the essential metal and delivery of russian engines for america's and tyreese rocket system could also be put on hold the last few major common projects the countries are involved in could soon grind to a halt experts are sounding the alarm on a commission of i.c.m. with sensitivity as is so often the case with russia kremlin politics are damaging our own economy more than foreign powers counter sanctions will just deepen our crisis and make worse what's already bad no one is delivering key technologies anymore but we need them desperately and can't just replace them we don't have the specialists or good training facilities and we're missing international cooperation

. russia's lower house the duma had planned to pass counter sanctions this week but then unexpectedly backpedaled a decision has now been slated for the middle of may. of that. kind of a stock films now and the pictures you're seeing right here are scenes from the twenty sixteen movie. moroc rocca. it's been described as saudi arabia's first ever romantic comedy and only the second feature length film ever shot there that earned rave reviews around the world but in its home country the film has never been shown on the big screen that's because cinemas have been banned in saudi arabia for decades and keeping the kingdom's strict religious people.

well all that could be about to change indeed change is coming to saudi arabia with the first cinema in thirty five years set to open in the capital riyadh rumor has it that the superhero movie black panther will be shown at the premiere of more on the story i'm now joined by the man who you just saw in that short film clip there is one of the saudi arabia's most prominent actors producers and comedians he's in vienna at the moment and joins us from their high his show. riyadh finally gets a new cinema is that going to do the trick for a city of five million people how long you going to have to stand in line to get a ticket on a good morning yeah this is the first step of many of. the newer. and of course part of the time and it's been several publications. opening hundred. twenty thirty even so i mean you know i really think that if.

we're heading in the right direction and you're a comedian you've been making fun of saudi arabia's religious rules for years let me show our audience just a short clip of one of your videos that went by rule you rewrite a famous bob marley song to address the driving ban on women in your country let's listen. no dr so. the driving ban is now being lifted from june on will see saudi women driving cars and other reforms are being implemented there as well from outside the country looks like saudi arabia is opening up does it look that way to people

inside the country yeah absolutely i mean and it's still funny because when we think that women are going to be driving we're so used to it not being an option you know we're still like john and let it all sink in but beyond that maybe other things haven't been getting as much publicity but we have a huge entertainment a leg lots of it and we just had our second comic-con in just. and these are things that i grew up never seeing i cannot help but you notice all these changes because there are real tangible changes to. getting back to that new cinema in. we heard rumors that it might actually open with the black panther we think it's really going to happen what film would you like to see on the big screen there. yeah it's going to happen i mean it's been published a million times over and and i think of and i don't doubt it

a bit late but did it but i'm really excited i think in local cinema. like because for me going to the u.a.e. are better and i'm and i think you know i think aaron there are people you know a neighboring country watching american movies and not so. far fetched idea did you think of people watching. in local theater houses that really. make that i want is the local cinema ok well we hope to see more of that to be one of saudi arabia's most prominent actors producers and comedians thanks for talking with us and you. munich are on track for the trouble after battering labor crews in six two in the german football cup semifinal on tuesday night despite the impressive scoreline the bundesliga champs needed to focus there to keep their focus against labor coups in the hosts have been on a hot streak of late and have

a fearsome attack. fire and came out with all guns blazing thomas miller's shot saved by band leno but then how do you martinez hit the target and what you know in the thirty minutes. six minutes later funky bellies cross found robert living dusty in maybe two minutes. but they because i'm struck back a free kick from you liam bronson and captain love's been doing made it to one in the sixteenth minute. in the second half by an dominated tiago with a great passion termas miller said thank you very much the same one and against the hapless me because in defense tiago added a fourth with just over an hour ago. ryan's attack was unstoppable. making it five one less than five minutes later. they are barely had a real high catcher of a free kick but it was too late for laver guzman and then completed his hat trick

six to the final score i. know the discovery that could help us tackle one of the biggest problems facing our planet today plastic pollution you can see it right here in this video filmed. by free diver julio wheeler scientists in britain and the u.s. are now saying that they've been a plastic eating enzyme and they actually made the discovery waxed. to well just choking on mountains of plastic waste. one of the most popular plastics peaty used to make drinks bottles and synthetic fiber. it takes hundreds of years to degrade naturally. but now scientists stumbled onto a need to and design hungry for p.t.

it's produced by bacteria discoveries and. james amazing something that can eat plastic would normally take four hundred years to degrade the bacteria are starting to eat this in a matter of days we've done is called a that and same from the bacteria in grown up in the lab i know we can actually digest p.t. within days much quicker in the environment research as fast found an enzyme that had naturally evolved to slowly digest plastic and a japanese dump two years ago. scientists called it pea tastes. professor mcgeehan and his team set out to investigate the crystal structure of. when they tweaked it they realized they'd accidentally created a fall more powerful new version. we are can actually see what it is and capable of doing in terms of the breaking down of the plastic

itself it's amazing this is a microscopic view of the enzyme eating away at a piece of plastic researches hope it can one day be used on an industrial scale the discovery is already a major step forward in dealing with the plastic bottles littering the world's land and oceans. you're watching g.w. news coming to you live from and we have more for you at the top of the next hour of course we'll find all our stories online at c.w. dot com thanks watch. cuts. are going.

to. cut. tremendous news coming. to see it come into. the media in germany always has its finger on the homes. of the markets the major. problem is supposed to. be. made in germany. italy and. we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a big mistake and it was my mistake. facebook on the day. it was

a one off occurrence. just what is the company with the personal data billions of useless. insiders explaining the facebook systems is not transparent to us. in forty five minutes hello from. earth a home for saving global o.g.'s tell stories of creative people and no vegas. projects around the world ideas to protect the climate and boost green energy solutions by global ideas mean by a new series of global three thousand on t.w. and online. we make up over a week watches over africa that hundred twenty five we are the civil service or. do you want to shape the continent's future to. be part of enjoying africa youngsters of testing share their stories their dreams and their challenges. to

seventy seven percent to platform africa charge. yes it's a fun and old one but it still works what it was a bad did it was the height of technology but it's not a patch on the smartphones we have now things move quickly the latest generation of mobile an airport technology five g. eight is just around the corner.