that's the good news the live from the lead she has made history now the 1st woman to become eve commission president sets her sights on europe's future. it's necessary that we act have to take bold action. ursula found alive tells d.w. what's at the top of her agenda as she takes all takes over the top job. also coming up a rare congressional rebuke the u.s. house of representatives a vote to denounce president donald trump for racist comments to form minority

congresswoman on twitter again trump denies he's a racist and u.s. senator slammed facebook's plans to introduce its own cryptocurrency lawmakers call the company delusional and say that it can't be trusted after scandals over privacy and data protection. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program members of the european parliament have made history by electing the 1st woman to as commission president germany's outgoing defense minister are still a founder ally and one lawmaker is backing to take the role she's promised a quote united and a strong europe saying that she would work constructively and pragmatically in order to achieve it she will succeed in the top job after being voted in by a narrow majority. uncertainty until the very last minute.

the members of the european parliament here in strasbourg knew with the vote on the next commission president was going to be close but not even the candidate herself was off on the line would have thought it was going to be that close vote the votes in favor $383.00. things are on the line secured the majority by just 9 books a week results at the end still enough to celebrate. my message so all of you is let us work together constructively because the endevor is a united a strong euro. the former german defense minister spent the last 2 weeks building a majority trying to convince the political groups in the european parliament to support her bid should this be her final address to parliament which some called

the speech of her lifetime seem to have tilt of the scale in her favor for having the backing of her conservative p.p.p. group she could afford moving towards the left and resonating with other groups on issues such as climates. this is the greatest responsibility and opportunity of our times. i want europe to become the 1st climate neutral continent in the world by 2050. on the night has vowed to fight for a greener fairer and more to the base. but to be in line on a problem and so fragmented building majorities around any of these issues is likely to prove difficult. of bringing d.w. political correspondent excuse me our brussels bureau chief max hoffman who has the view from strasburg bear so that's what will the founder line bring bring to the role and to what will her main challenge as. well as she said in her

speech by the way that the way she started her speech yesterday she is a woman and she's the 1st woman to have that position by the way also the 1st german to have that position so that's already a big change in a big deal obviously also for germany but that's not the only thing the most visible thing will probably be that she promised a gender balanced commission she said in her speech if the commissioners that the different member states sent to brussels don't add up to 50 percent male and 50 percent female then she will do something about that so expect your new commission at the end of the year to have a very different look from the one we have now as for the topics she intends to to work on and the way she feels i got the opportunity to talk to her yesterday right after the election here's the interview was enough on the line is with us today and i have a very simple question to start out the interview how are you feeling. relieved and

happy because it was a tough ride over 13 days now i had to. formulate the guidelines the political guidelines and to convince the parliamentarians this was not a lot of time and i made it and i'm happy right now does the majority bother you that it was only 9 votes ahead majorities majority and 2 weeks ago i didn't have at all a majority of course i understand that because the parliamentarian said we want to know more of you we want to know what your program is we want to know the details in the topics we're dealing with so it was a tough time a very intense of the most intensive in my political career i've ever had but now i'm happy and you happy with the speech you delivered the feedback you got. yes because it showed my conviction and it's worth to fight for this europe and it's best to tell the story of our europe united and strong how i see it for the future

and so this was a important moment you made a lot of promises today you do realize it'll be very tough to keep all of those right but it's right it's not promises it's politics and policy we want to bring forward if we're talking about the climate neutral continent in 2050 it's necessary that we act we have to take bold action who achieve those goals and we needed for our planet and for life so these all these topics are extremely important and we have to be ambitious and what would you say of all those topics you talked about which is your absolute top priority i think top priority is. the climate neutrality 2050 with a goal for 2030 and digitalization those are the 2 biggest concerns all opportunities. we have to tackle you're going to work with a divided parliament words harder than ever to get

a majority and also you could say with a divided council because you have a rift between eastern europe and the other european countries for example on migration how will you handle this i think we absolutely have to overcome the division of east and west between east and west i know that people in the eastern countries central european countries often think they are not accepted as they should be and as i've been working as a defense minister very much in those countries i have a lot of friends and they trust me so i know how to work together that we can improve the relationship and there is a division between north and south it has to do with questions of competitiveness and flexibility and we have to solve that too why that because europe has to be. united that many many big questions we have to tackle and europe has to play a role and we only can do that when the united do you doing over the summer. i'll

spend it in process of getting my government that the commission is on board and to work on my work program but i have to made on. in october was enough on the president elect of the european commission thank you very much for talking to us. going to be a busy summer for us all max so tell us because you highlighted it there in your interview with our front ally and won the majority by a very narrow margin and you spoken with many m.p.'s what's the reaction been to that. a lot of things happened here sarah on tuesday that were hard to anticipate 1st of all it seems that a significant number of pieces of her own party the european people's party so the conservatives did not vote for. in fact we heard that many of them were very angry with that speech because it was a tough on the line was left leaning in that speech clearly trying to convince the

social democrats and maybe even some of the greens to vote for her on the other hand it appears at least that's what those i mean peas are saying that the polish law and justice party that peace party also gave their votes tools enough on the line which is ironic in a sense because they're even farther to the right then the p.p. and all this added up to this very slim majority in many parliamentarians here are saying this is not a very good start it'll be difficult to have majorities in the future for legislation that will be initiated by. but then of course you also have those that echo what she said in that interview a majority is a majority indeed it is but you know we have to talk about the fact. also max that many of her fellow germans especially the social democrat the greens did not vote for her what were their objections. the greens decided very

early on that they would not vote for. actually they released their press communique just like 90 minutes after they had talked to her last week in brussels and some of them seem to regret that a little bit after hearing the speech on tuesday that as you know was very much oriented towards climate protection and i have a from firsthand that some of the greens not necessarily the german ones did vote for. and now the social democrats the german social democrats that is a story you know we've never heard anything of the like because they are in a coalition with the party of you have especially one e.p. catarina barly hugh was the minister of justice in germany she sat next to. him in that coalition back in berlin and still they didn't vote for her it seems like they put themselves into

a corner because they were mad that she wasn't. one of the lead candidates she wasn't on the campaign trail and it seems that there is this general feeling with the german social democrats that in the end i'm going to medical always wins and that's all fine and stuff mark thank you. well speaking of that our slip on the line will step down from her role as germany's defense minister on wednesday and she'll be succeeded by an a gret parent power the head of chancellor angela merkel's conservative party of our took over from merkel as the head of the christian democrats at the end of last year and is widely seen as angle america's progress. committee. so let's get more on this now we are joined here in the studio by our chief political correspondent melinda crane and we have to mention melinda. really you know this is kind of a big decision for her right

a surprise for you absolutely a surprise for all of political berlin because just about 2 weeks ago she said she absolutely did not want to take over any ministry post that she would be concentrating on her work as head of the party that was her absolute priority and now suddenly this announcement really coming out of the blue yesterday evening where everybody thought that probably the person who would take over the defense ministry would be on the current health minister his name had been in the running for some days so an enormous surprise and not without its risks this ministry is a minefield and there are many many different aspects of the work there that could to trip up someone who doesn't have a lot of experience and she has never held a federal ministry post we're seeing some very strong criticism from the opposition here in germany today saying that in fact this is an affront to the fair to the

army because she does lack experience on the other hand her predecessor who is now going to be the commission president or as a lawyer from the line also backed experience in the defense area so if she succeeds this is very important for her to raise her profile she. taken some missteps in the past few months and that's probably why she decided to take on this post but as i said it is also fraught with risk what are the challenges specifically within this ministry and where do you see those mines laying in the field well as you know as we've been reporting for months if not years now there are enormous problems with hardware ranging from weapons systems to planes a number of planes having been grounded because of various deficiencies so she needs to essentially get her hardware and materiel both updated and to make sure that it's being properly maintained that's one the bonus for also

faces a very real shortage of recruits there's a lot of competition particularly in crucial areas like digitalisation and the bluntest fair needs to be modernized in that area so that's another one a 3rd area very important budgeting procurement germany has committed to to increase its contributions to nato as you know this is a very very important topic for the for the american president donald trump right now it is not on track to meet its targets so again that will be a very thorny area a lot of challenges that she will be facing going forward certainly a lot on her plate as chief political correspondent linda gray thank you. well today happens to be angle america's birthday she is turning $65.00 as germany's 1st female chancellor she's calmly steered the country through political turbulent times and this is become her trademark this aura of calmness only

recently it cracked by several bouts of trembling up public events but merkel insists she's doing well. at 65 angela merkel's hand gesture still symbolizes the political stability she stands for her rock solid political performance over almost one and a half decades as german chancellor has seen recent health scares attract all the more attention a series of very public episodes of trembling spark global speculation while germans mostly see this as a private matter the fact that simply using a chair was merkel's answer to solve the issue was widely seen as just the latest display of her legendary pragmatism. a trait that has earned her great respect as she led germany and her own conservative c.d.u. party into a more modern and less certain era. at the age of 51 and the americal became

germany's 1st female chancellor during this 1st term the financial crisis struck merkel boldly promised germans their savings were safe no matter what that became a key moment of leadership. she would continue to show that kind of nerve throughout several more years of the euro crisis. merkel is unafraid of profound change her policy u. turn on atomic energy following the fukushima nuclear disaster 2011 put germany's entire energy concept into reverse gear a costly change of heart. but macko has always been careful to listen closely to public opinion she never herself supported same sex marriage but when public support became overwhelming she opened the way for a vote in parliament to the horror of some conservatives in her own party. but it was merkel's decision to go it alone and let almost 1000000 migrants into

germany largely unchecked in 2015 that became the turning point of the chance to ship. critics blame her handling. the migration crisis for the rise of the far right if tea party. backed was partial withdrawal from politics by handing over her party's leadership to clarify this her last term as chancellor as her way of trying to control her gradual exit from the political stage. the fact that was a left underlined has become commission president is a welcome european triumph. and you can see more about america's defining legacy as germany is leader in the documentary anglo-american all eternal chancellor is playing today here on news. a quick check now some other stories making news around the world to sudan where protesters and ruling generals have signed a political document part of a power sharing deal paving the way for

a civilian government this is been one of the key demands of demonstrators since the president omar al bashir was deposed to the april a 2nd constitutional document is likely to be signed with ending its. scientists in canada say that they have observed record temperatures in the world's northernmost settlement a high of just over 20 degrees celsius was measured on sunday and monday and alert a military facility near the north pole the average july high there is just 7 degrees. a man wearing a hat and a rather large wig has fark suspicions of police force close airport in spain the man who arrived on a flight from colombia was asked to remove the way revealing how the king will cocaine lead to his head he was then swiftly arrested. and the united states house of representatives has passed a motion condemning president donald trump for making racist comments it follows

a series of tweets in which trump said that 4 democratic lawmakers should quote go back to their countries although all are u.s. citizens and 3 were born there all 235 democrats voted to condemn trump although the move has no legal weight. it was a symbolic vote and one easily approved by the democrat held house of representatives but for republicans and one independent also supported the motion to condemn donald trump for making xenophobic statements. we condemn the hurtful enough ins of comments that demean immigrants and people of color these comments from the white house i disgraced and disgusting and it's comments are racist how shameful to hear him continue to defend those offensive words words that we have all heard him repeat not only about our members but about countless others we are america america is

a nation of immigrants we are not going anywhere america is our home and many of us will still be standing here long after the occupant over office leaves earlier this week trump released a series of tweets attacking progressive female democratic politicians saying they should go back to their countries his unnamed but understood targets for outspoken nonwhites lawmakers all u.s. citizens. and trump is standing by his comments. it's up to them with their. thinking lead they can say that they should lower country and they should work for the good of our country senior republicans are supporting their leader. will the president not to rush to the right all races and i think the tone of all of this is not good for the country following the verge of condemnation texas democrat al green introduced articles of impeachment against

trump saying the president was unfit for office another symbolic move on likely to succeed. there watching t w news live from berlin still to come it has been 50 years since america's giant leaps to the moon they will look back at this defining moment in history. the 1st u.s. lawmakers have facebook over its plans to create a digital currency the social networks proposals for libra have drawn skepticism and alarm from financial leaders around the world members of the senate banking committee raised doubts that the tech company was ready to introduce its own money based on past missteps over privacy and data breach. david marcus head of facebook's lever a subsidiary kelly faced a panel of senators who weren't prepared to have punches. facebook is dangerous.

after all the times facebook has abused the public's trust and you know that if you really think people should trust facebook with their hard earned money trust this primordial and we've made mistakes in the past and we have been working and are continuing to work really hard to get better central banks worldwide have raised concerns that lever could become a rival to sovereign currencies david marcus out and out tonight that was facebook saying and promised the senate banking committee that the cryptocurrency would not be in anyone's digital wallet until global regulators was satisfied we will take the time to get this right we expect the review of libra to be among the most extensive ever we are fully committed to working with regulators here and around the world and let me be clear and unambiguous facebook will not offer the libor a digital currency until we have fully addressed regulators concerned and received

for approvals. marcus's appearance before the committee came a day after u.s. treasury secretary steve menuhin said his department had very serious concerns libra could be used by criminals it's clear u.s. authorities are giving their homegrown web giants plans a closer look. it has been 50 years since the launch of the apollo 11 and the 1st manned mission to the moon 3 astronauts embarking on that journey but only 2 of them neil armstrong and buzz aldrin got to actually walk on the moon but at a special anniversary event in the state of florida the 3rd astronaut michael collins says he is satisfied with his role in history. before the one small step came one giant plussed it happened at launch pad 30 nine-a at the kennedy space center in florida 50 years later one of the 3 astronauts on the apollo 11 mission returned to where it started and we crew felt

the weight of the world on our shoulders or we knew that everyone would be looking at us friend or foe and we wanted to do the best we possibly could put our best foot forward and that required a great deal of work on our part michael collins stayed on board the columbia come on more jewel while neil armstrong and buzz aldrin walked on the moon he says he didn't mind being the one who stayed behind. i was very happy to be were wasn't to see this this complicated mission unfold future astronauts should set their sights higher i don't want to go back to the moon i want to go direct to mars i. i 5000 many rockets went off in huntsville alabama to mock the 50th anniversary a small bloss but

a world record attempt nonetheless. planted neil armstrong's original space suit went on display in washington with moon dust still intact. but it was the mood so to put on the best show posho lunar eclipse visible from some parts of the world. a reminder of its ensuring power to attract our attention . a quick reminder now the top stories that we're following for you here on the death of news arcelor founder lyon has said that she will fight for a strong and united europe as the next president of the european commission funder line is from germany and is the 1st woman to lead the commission. the u.s. house of representatives has passed a motion rebuking president trump for making racist comments it follows a series of tweets in which trump told 4 democratic lawmakers to go back to their

countries trump has denied that those tweets were racist. and that you can always get the w. news on the go just download our app from google play or from the apple store which will give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for breaking news you can use the app to send us photos and videos and to watch this program on life stream. still to come on d w more on facebook's digital currency libra on business with monica jones where she will be asking an expert about whether we can trust facebook when it comes to our money. i'll be back at the top of the hour with more news thank you so much for watching have a great day. because

the toppling of the president after i answer triggered a civil war. i don't know the banana this united fruit company. history of a us corporation that determined the face of central america that unbeknown to us and republics after i think 45 minutes. there's

no. doubt my my just another good day nothing would change you know the banks pay you mind and so was the language of the banks. speaking the truth. matters g.w. made for mines. the world population is increasing the climate is changing it's getting warmer and there are going to be more and more places where you cannot grow traditional problems we have to fix that some the way to do that is to use the modern kinetic modification methods to make a better crop it is a who looks safer than anything we've done by traditional genetic modification you take one gene you know exactly what it is you put it into another plant and we could map exactly where it is grown i think we will be able to provide enough food

for people by 2050 if we can make crops to who grow under 70 arid conditions this will achieve a much greater stability in the food so flawed that we have at the moment. facebook wants to launch a new digital currency lawmakers on both sides of the atlantic sounds the alarm we talk to one of germany's top economists to find out what the fuss is all about. also coming up if you plan on buying a lamborghini make sure it's the real saying.