from around the world. groups every week on g.w. . this is news coming to you live from berlin on this international women's day we look at the fight for equality in pakistan there the simple act of riding a bicycle is challenging norms in one of the world's most repressive countries for women and girls also in the program five years after the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight m h three seventy we meet the son of one of the passengers like

many other family members he is refusing to give up the search for answers in one of the world's greatest aviation mystery. islamic states last stand in syria u.s. backed forces are on a mission to stop any remaining honest fighters from fleeing their besieged on clay bog who's into neighboring iraq. and the blue whales retiring from show business for a life of leisure thanks to conservation projects working to free marine mammals from aquariums around the world. hello i'm terry martin welcome to the program people around the world are taking part in protests and rallies to mark international women's day here in berlin it's an official pup. like holiday for the very first time

a big march is planned for later today this was the scene in madrid last night where several hundred women gathered to ring in the day organizers of scheduled rallies across the country to demand equal rights and an end to sex discrimination or less rights has emerged as a divisive issue in spain ahead of a national election next month. women fighting for equal for greater equality can take many different forms our next report takes us to karate in pakistan one of the most repressive countries for women and girls there the simple act of riding a bicycle is one way there are challenging norms. getting to grips with the flies. every sunday morning very much joins her friends at her local cycling club for the eleven this is the door to the new and sometimes daunting expedience that's up

a little bit and this really i track this bike along with my feet then i slowly learned how to control it i love the fact i can right now. i wish i could cycle every day with my friends as it makes me feel really good. it's quite rare to see the men on bicycles in pakistan as many. as they have to straddle. but these attitudes. don't know how society doesn't feel right about girls cycling out in the streets it doesn't usually happen here but it's common of rule. it doesn't feel right but it's ok they're only riding around locally. what can we say to those parents who allow their daughters to run by schools. which are. none of. them and

socializing in public is still viewed as a threat to public morality it is to come to d.s. noms that a group of them and sent to believe. they're also organized by. a member now under no. one but it was dark matter how rast and some boys even tried to kick us off our bikes and it was tough but we won't stop our cycle and it's our mission to empower these girls and introduce them to sports which is also very important. the girls live here in not only a poor and conservative neighborhood of karachi but one that has been marred by avoidance for decades things are better now although the streets are still dangerous in some parts especially for women so the sight of them exercising in public has caused quite a stir. but don't do use are slowly changing damage speeding's were reluctant to allow her to join the cycling club at first but soon changed

their mind. telling my family and my in-laws both said that it's not a good thing and i should just stop her it's a problem in our society that if a girl goes out in public for anything say for work or even cycling people talk bad about her but my husband and i think differently so what if she's a girl she should go out and also progress. moment was. when the cycling club began they had this started we do need. now do you know we're thirty members and all are determined to keep peddling their video words of fear and more equal future in pakistan. or for more on this topic we're joined by first on a bari she's a pakistani feminist and human rights activist and she joins us from islamabad for sana thanks for talking with us this morning first of all international women's day is drawing attention to the challenges that women face around the world what are

the main challenges confronting women in pakistan. i think the first and foremost and incent by piece that i mean is that in the north. as independent human being you know women as seen in relation to others somebodies wife and mother and sister are. so very good men in their own right as any dependant human being and therefore i think this issue of not going to be recognition there also means that this edition why example in between making corby's. that it is said. in the public sphere of private sphere and i think that it was human in fact to stand on through it wanted to be that ignites as a new thing to to be given rights for projects like the bike club for girls that we saw in our report there will project and kharaj a stop sign that something is changing in pakistan yes something is changing and

that particularly younger women are trying to clean their species although the space we had back in sixty's and seventy's for example when i was growing up in the solution i was bicycling but i think. that it was already late edition. but people are really doing it and i think that this will now train up pretty good a solution is on the rise and women space is shrinking betty but i think particularly the young famine used in women you know looking women they are gaining this piece in the i pushing the boundaries marches are taking place today all over the world to honor women and demand that their rights be respected are people marching in pakistan to. yes i think i feel that this year or even that you know preparation or into those commitments days mark is much more we're at

because i think he's going to do this in the biggest. minute all soul coming together like men as at the march why example initiated by women and tried to pull him to be it has been organize inclusion. in the neck looks like n.g.o.s and others you know but in the internet world i think it is being i mean eyes on most important because it is in pakistan so yes i think you see i see the descent evolution of commemoration agreements international date is going to be a much bigger scheme it might be could never be all about the penalty. on a bar a pakistani feminist and human rights activist thank you very much. now some other stories making headlines around the world today the former chairman of donald trump's twenty sixteen presidential campaign paul metaphor has been sentenced to nearly four years in jail for tax and bankroll. he was also ordered to

pay fines of more than twenty four million dollars and the f.b.i. investigation revealed that amount of hidden foreign income from working for ukrainian politicians aligned with russia. in venezuela numerous cities have been hit by major power outage use blackouts are becoming more frequent in the country where critics of the government say under-investment has left the power grid unable to function earlier in the capital caracas there were chaotic scenes as commuters fought to get on buses after the city's metro system shut down. and canadian prime minister justin trudeau has admitted making mistakes in the handling of a growing political crisis but he insists nothing illegal took place he blamed the scandal on a breakdown of trust and communication with former justice minister jody wilson raybold she's accused him of pressuring her to help a major construction firm avoid

a criminal trial. now it remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries the disappearance of the malaysian airlines flight m h three seventy exactly five years ago the plane was on its way from kuala lumpur in malaysia to beijing in china when it suddenly disappeared from air traffic controllers radar screens above the gulf of thailand two hundred thirty nine people were on board that plane efforts to find the wreckage came to an end last year but many friends and relatives of the passengers continue to demand answers. john has entered his mother's beijing apartment just once since her disappearance that was when he brought his photos and everything that reminded him of her to look away inside he couldn't bear to look at them. when we know what happened i'll be able to go in and unpack all these things and that's when i'll finally be able to

say goodbye to his mother was on a holiday in malaysia and scheduled to fly back on m h three seven zero a flight that disappeared without trace his own life has been a mess in stan he suffers severe depression and spends hours and hours trying to find an explanation of what happened after the plane left malaysian airspace it diverted from the planned flight route and a sharp turn east radar data shows that it continued eastwards until contact was lost near pinon in the end m n c investigators believe that it continued its flight southward before crashing in the indian ocean somewhere west of australia after dropping of the raiders the plane continued its light for seven hours where the passengers were still alive during that time and what happened to them remains unknown. there was what it was like trying not to think about that particular

question but i can't bear it as soon as i think about it my head starts taking over so i try to avoid it but without. the wreckage has never been found in the search has been called off john has traveled to malaysia several times to dumont on says. now he's on his way to kuala lumpur again when you take part in fifteen members event he wants the malaysian government to take up the search again. and to go on very nervous every time i board a plane or i'm nervous especially when i'm on my way to malaysia we're going to go . every year in march friends and relatives of the disappeared me to remember them

and to demand answers. to all the search technology is ten times faster today than five years ago with this progress and without determination to m h three seventy it doesn't have to remain a mystery forever. jungers spotted the minister of transport in malaysia's new government he hopes it will be more open to the demands of the victims' relatives and the ministers seems to listen to that he says he's open to new proposals from maritime search operators. if they can't resist getting. the education itself so that you know what it is the stuff that's it or what you know is innocent your heart or i feel a lot better than when i arrived i was afraid it would be like the other times that i'd leave without any result but this time there is some progress i'm happy. wife ok. we hope seems no closer to the day when he would be able

to prove inside his mother's. spelling and who filed that report joins us now from beijing material you've spoken to the relatives of people who were onboard flight m h three seventy how big is their hope that they will ultimately find out what happened to their loved ones. while they are not ready to give up that hope they argue that technology has advanced a lot in the last five years there are now companies that use underwater drones to do these searches and they can search a lot bigger. areas in a shorter time so they think that they can find the wreckage although the area where the wreckage might be is really big and it might take some years that's what

they also reckon but the search for the missing plane materials what was called off last may what are the chances that the search mission will resume at some point. yet there have been some signals recently very recently last sunday there was this remembrance event and it was there that the minister of transport said that if these proposals by these companies that their relatives are talking about makes sense they would be willing to take up the search malaysia has a new government and the new government is is willing to be more open more transparent more. oriented towards its citizens than the old one it wants to show it cares and this is probably one of the signals they are sending that they are willing to take the concerns of the relatives more seriously it's a signal until now it's not action yet but there is hope. a lot of effort has been

put into finding the wreckage and there are many theories about the fate of m h three seventy what we know for sure about what happened very little we know the route the supposed route we know that very well the first two hours what happened there is rated data about that and then there's satellite data that shows that it's been in the air for another seven hours we have no idea what happened on board there are three sea theories kidnapping could be one possibility or an extended suicide by the pilot or one of the pilots like we've seen with the german wings flight in france some time ago or there might be a technical damage what kind of technical damage which one of these scenarios is the most probable is very hard to say and that is probably what the relatives were the biggest fear of the relatives that they might never know what happened to their beloved ones and this is this this is

a huge psychological pressure and this is why they are pressuring pressuring to continue this search but yes thank you so much to his material spelling out there in beijing. you're watching news still to come tumbling stock markets across day investors are in sell off selling is being fueled by shockingly weak chinese exports exports fell more than twenty percent last month as a consequence of the u.s. china trade dispute will go live to the frankfurt stock exchange for the fall of. the first to syria where scores of suspected islamic state fighters have escaped from the last pocket of territory held by the group hundreds have been leaving a tiny stretch of land controlled by as close to iraq where the army is on alert to stop them from crossing. just two kilometers away is the last town still controlled by us ebrahim sabri watches the siege of bugaboos from missed checkpoint the iraqi

major hears the constant drone of u.s. fighter jets it's easy to see the signs of destruction about a thousand jihadi as are believed to be holding out on the syrian side in caves and tunnels beneath the destroyed houses and buildings and. i know they have no will left to fight. they have no chance against the kurdish use of us are under siege. according to the information we have they have hardly any food left and are now starting. to make. their mission is to seal off the border to buy goods three hundred soldiers and special forces patrolling a kilometer long stretch. barricades and razor wire against the self-proclaimed holy warriors none of whom will be allowed to break away into iraq those who try risk their lives. when we recently observed

a group of twenty five i.a.s. fighters getting close to the border we called for u.s. fighter jets. to killed all of. them. but experts believe hundreds of other jihadi s. are thought to have fled to iraq and are now hiding out somewhere in the no man's land of the western desert where they can hardly be detected. they are believed to have two hundred million dollars with them reserves from when i still controlled a third of iraq and syria devastation hatred and mistrust remain even as the end of fighting grows near. dickie thanks also to the american airstrikes it should only be a few more days. the terror militias last fighters are trapped encircled and under constant watch but it's a bittersweet victory. many of my friends

and comrades lost their lives in the fight against i guess i pray they are now in heaven they are heroes. without their blood and their lives i never would have achieved victory. with. but will this be a final victory iraqis now remain vigilant after years of war and terror abraham hopes iraq has learned its lesson. now to asia where shares fell sharply today after stocking only week export data from china the government in beijing reported that exports in february tumbled more than twenty percent from a year earlier that's well below forecasts and investors see the figure as a major sign of a global economic slowdown analysts however culture that the timing of the lunar new year holiday makes an interpretation difficult but the scale of the miss was alarming in tokyo the nikkei index lost more than two percent in hong kong the main

index the saying fell one point nine percent. or some analysis let's bring in our financial market correspondent in frankfurt only bartz only shocking numbers coming out of china there is that economic powerhouse losing steam. surprisingly so you mentioned the scale of it was surprising that it's going down it's not that much of a surprise that trend can be basically observed around the world whether it was in china previously or in europe or in the united states but the downturn now is gaining tempo the speed at which the economy is losing pace that is alarming mario draghi of the european central bank basically issued a very somber warning yesterday and the e.c.b. changed its monetary policy to be even looser for the end of the here and

it's a it's a it's a result of the trade tensions talking to someone here this morning getting his reaction on this one of the traders here said you know the tariffs are making themselves felt which are already in place but also all the uncertainty that that's unleashing people are not investing and then you don't buy exports for example from china. what if anything really do these numbers mean for those signs of american trade talks that are going on do they put donald trump in a stronger bargaining position. i don't know yeah they do because he sees the pressure that the chinese are under they really need to get their temple back because they have political pressures from their population china needs growth in order to the communist party needs growth in order to keep the population under control and to keep the whole thing going but at the same time it also gives china chip on the bargaining table because at the same time the trade surplus went

traumatically down in february compared to january and so he can say donald trump look we're going in the right direction why are you refusing to deal with us. saying frankfurt thanks so much. bell beluga whales are one of the most intelligent tense social marine mammals so for instance ration it's a travesty that many of them are kept in captivity performing tricks and aquariums around the world now a project has been launched that aims to change that with the help of a jumbo jet for the jumbo mammals meet little white and little gray. two female blue whales. they've been in captivity for a decade now and this is their daily routine. performing tricks to shanghai aquarium. but now their lives are about to change.

this jumbo jet is being dreaded to take them to the other side of the world whales on a plane suspended in mats in a container in the hold with a team of fence specialists. travel some ten thousand kilometers. the goal is a brighter future for a little white in the grave but that the larger prize if you like this we're going to provide a blueprint a template for other species and other locations all around the world to offer whales and dolphins a brighter future. that future is here the island of jaime just off the south coast of iceland a secluded cove is being turned into the world's first sanctuary for belugas with just a net shutting them off from the open ocean they'll have near natural conditions. the project is the brainchild of a conservation group working with the entertainment for which now of the shanghai

aquarium. there's a body of evidence now that shows that we can't really care for these incredibly complex social intelligent animals in an aquarium environment and merlin entertainments believe they shouldn't be on the show for public entertainment as well so it's much better to provide these to these two amazing animals with a much more natural how to live in a world wide between three and four hundred palookas live in captivity organizers hope some of them might leave concrete details behind and make their way to iceland joining little gray and little white. the europe europa league round of sixteen kicked off on thursday the one remaining german team. faced in

a match that ended scoreless the italian side had the chance to take the lead after a penalty in the twenty second minute but frankfurt goalkeeper. pushed the resulting penalty shot save could make a big difference when the two teams play there to. next week in. city is being investigated by europe's governing body for football for possible violations of fair play rules the possible violations relate to allegations that man city officials. the source of revenue from sponsorship deals if the allegations are proven to be true manchester city could be the big money champions league tournaments. and just a reminder the top story we're following for you people around the world are taking part in rallies like here in india to mark international women's day indian women's

groups have launched an eleven point plan to improve safety education health care. in. years after the disappearance of malaysia airlines flight m h three seventy of the missing passengers are pushing. china's foreign ministry to. a two year low. in january of twenty seventeen. i'm going.

to. cause. more intrigue on the international talk show for journalists to discuss the topic of the week it's not international women's day we're taking

a close look at women in power and asking our plays a better politicians and what impact is the next generation of young female politicians likely to have to join us on quadriga scialfa. quadriga next on d w. i think fighting for the case to be taken seriously in the world. here's what's come out. women. more spacious co-writing the female superhero much to our benefit to how much as women are celebrating international where. instead why there's such a big deal there's in-fighting mccarron creasing really dangerous nima. elbagir married from on. her first day of school in the jungle.

her first. band doris grant a moment arrives. join the ranks on her journey back to freedom. in our interactive documentary. to bring in ten returns home on d w dot com. about a very warm welcome indeed to quadriga coming to you from the heart of bird lane and this week to mark international women's day the focus is on women in power take anglo-american germany's chancellor for over thirteen years and for many the most powerful woman in the world women are also on the advance in many other countries

in the u.s. they're calling for a different kind of politics on the street sounded congress women are also for instance making their presence.