this is d.w. news live from berlin taking a stand at the international court of justice mean mars aung san suu kyi she says there is no proof that her country's military carried out genocide against her hang on muslims prosecutors are seeking to prove her wrong. also coming up they're calling it a ban on the moment the new president of the european commission is presenting her a landmark plan to fight climate change but not everyone is playing along. and they've been training for more than a year now for women from congress are preparing to embark on the journey of

a lifetime as they take part in the world's toughest growing race. i'm serious i was going to thank you for joining us me and mara civilian leader aung san suu kyi has told the un stop court that there was no proof of genocidal intent behind her country's military campaign against muslims testimony on tuesday alleged stunningly barbaric acts against their will in your population including children and babies speaking at the international court of justice in the hague the nobel peace laureate said it could not be ruled out that disproportionate force was used by me in my arms armed forces but she denied that any crimes committed felt under the international definition of genocide more than 700000 brave go phlegmy in mar to neighboring bangladesh to escape what has been described as an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes and killings let's hear what she had to say

. these been mind this complex situation and the challenge to sovereignty and security in our country when you are assessing the intent of those who attempted to deal with the rebellion surely under the circumstances genocide or intent cannot be the only hypothesis. well our correspondent in the hague max and us summed up the defense that she presented in court also and since she had the same message that she had time and time over again she denies the accusations and she says there was no genocidal intent at no point in the last few years she refused referenced the 2017 uprising against rohingya militants and said that the state her government carried out a simple anti terror operation against them and she also said that at some point this could have been excessive but this is me and mars responsibility to deal with and not the responsibility of an international court and she also said quote

unquote that no stone would be left unturned in order to bring those to justice who have committed possible war crimes and she also said that the mass exodus of roughly 700000 rangle muslims to bangladesh is tragic and that myanmar could have done more in the past to help diversity in this country. back sounder there reporting from the hague a little bit earlier let's find out more now about the alleged atrocities that took place in rakhine state and look at how the hearing at the hague is being seen by displaced. more than 700300 ms lewinsky led me on mar when the military launched a crackdown in rocking state in august 27th escaping what's been described as an ethnic cleansing campaign most of the refugees now live in crowded camps in bangladesh. tortured mothers and daughters they burned our houses they also raped me and i am grateful to god that myanmar is

facing trial for the. young mars' actions against the great cause region around the world no court has examined the evidence until 9 . 000000 where were. the international court at the hague and some cities decision to come here to defend her government has shocked her critics and galvanized her supporters we stand for her and we are on her site and she stands for us she stands for the whole ball moshe's them for every religion every people of. every ethnicity of oh not only reason we are like a slave we are slaves of the market so we are that's why you saw i came here to support i am in rwanda i support what peoples because we are many is suffering

since long time man mars government and its military leaders continue to deny accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide just 3 cases have been recognized under international law since world war 2 whatever the outcome in the hague this week there will be record cautions for myanmar its image tarnished on the world stage could affect its future prospects. and we can speak now to david griffiths he's the head of the secretary general's office at amnesty international in london david thanks for joining us here on d w i want to ask you about aung san suu cheese defense in front of the international court of justice she said earlier there was no proof of genocidal attack intent against our hand what do you make of that. well i think he has. today yet again had a spectacular fall from grace should have been she should be standing shoulder to shoulder with the victim and yet she's chosen to stand on the side of the military

defending the keys the horrendous atrocities again. and defend the day has been extremely thin and she once again fails knowledge the range of my name she's failed to acknowledge the severity and the scale of the atrocities against them and the level of denialism is but dangerous and delusional. what do you think about these proceedings david what are the consequences for me and mark. well let's be clear the net is beginning to tighten and this is not the only mechanism. that could provide justice and should provide justice for the rogue injured people who've been holding a brutalized this has to be the beginning not the end. of this case itself could bring about some important measures to protect the 600000 injured who

are still risk of atrocities from the me and my own military in rakhine state is a living and apartheid regime that that's the 1st and immediate consequence potentially of this case but it could and should also. stage in the u.n. security council into further action you know this needs to be taken up by the international criminal court by the by the security council states need to impose universal law and involve targeted sanctions against those in the military who are responsible for these atrocities that that dies in the beginning to tyson and this case is a really important part of that. you mention what's at stake for the rohingya here david they have said that they are seeking justice but what kind of actual justice could they get from this case. well as i said this is a this is one space age and need to be multiple they're going to have been you know

should be left unturned by the international community. justice and that both. being directly targeted and those who are at risk of further prosecution in rakhine state so this needs to be. the conscience of the world to persecute every possible avenue to bring those responsible to justice . david griffiths head of the secretary general's office at amnesty international in london joining us there thank you very much. and we'll have more coverage on the story coming up right after the show on t.v. news asia let's check in now at some other stories making headlines around the world saudi arabian oil giant aramco has become the world's largest listed company after making its debut on the country's stock exchange the state owned energy companies $25000000000.00 initial public offering is the biggest ever in history

saudi arabia is privatizing assets as a step towards reducing its reliance on oil at least 6 people including one police officer were killed in an hour's long gun battle in the u.s. state of new jersey the officer was shot dead near a cemetery and 2 suspects then fled to a supermarket 3 people and the 2 suspected gunmen were killed in the gunfight inside the supermarket. and the south pacific islands of veal have voted overwhelmingly to break away from pop on new guinea the vote paves the way for it to become the world's newest nation more than 98 percent of voters backed independence. time magazine in the u.s. has named its person of the year for 2019 and the honor goes to teenage climate activist gratitude berg that announcement came just hours after 2 in berg addressed the un climate conference taking place in madrid the 16 year old from sweden has emerged as a leading advocate for immediate action to address the global climate crisis let's

listen to some of what to mark had to say as she spoke earlier in madrid we no longer have time to leave out the science. fair about in here i have been constantly talking about all reputable climbing carbon budgets over and over again . but since that is still being ignored i will just keep repeating it. while the new president of the european commission was the last underline has vowed to put the climate at the heart of her presidency as she's been presenting her promise to a green deal in brussels the plan will commit the e.u. to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 did catherine march and spoke to one climate policy analyst and has this report on some of the potential obstacles. more treaties throughout europe and more sequestering of c o 2 that will be the 1st step that europe wants much more. it will need

radical restructuring we need enormous investments in the energy sector we need to transform our mobility sector we need to transform our food system and we need to ensure that our euros are being spent to make the sectors future proof along with flying shipping as one of the worst climate killers engines on the high seas run on crude oil when it gets burned even more pollution is created than with diesel but so far ships have been allowed to sail without c o 2 certificates now the e.u. wants to change this in the future shipping will also be included in the emissions trade a challenge for all member states the biggest challenge i do see is with them ambition of member states all of the e.u. member states are subsidizing fossil fuel projects in various different ways we have a long history of giving exemptions for diesel kerosene for aviation these should

be the low hanging fruits that if we really are serious about sticks transmission we remove harmful subsidies but that costs money in order to pay for the so-called green deal the e.u. wants to redistribute funds less for farming and infrastructure more for environmental protection this is already controversial poland hungary and the czech republic economically underdeveloped states have been blocking this plan. we discussed about the e.u. budget monies not being put into modernizing the budget at least there were as the current proposal stands this is not a budget for the future who we have a goal that 25 percent of the e.u. budget would be spent on climate action what is done with the rest 75 percent if that is being spent on harmful practices for climate we don't achieve our goal the e.u. is a climate leader who is on the fundamental and has set

a fast pace whether other member states want to follow perhaps ultimately the question of financing. let's talk more now about the green deal our correspondent joins us from brussels and louise osborne from environment is in madrid at the un's climate conference good to see you both cared let's start with you there in brussels the e.u. commission president was left on the line is called the still very ambitious is it . if you let listen to members of the green party in the european parliament they like what they see yes they say it could be more ambitious in some parts of but at least they say it is way more ambitious than what an individual member states have put forward so far including germany so from their perspective a collection of very good ideas but it'll all depend to what extent they now can be put into action right louise you are at the climate conference there in madrid how

much support is there for the contents of this deal. so germany has said that it's supportive spend your show it's the environment minister spoke this morning and said she was happy with the new deal and that is set a good signal other reactions have been a little bit more mixed so there were environmental organizations for example who have said that it's just not ambitious enough and that carbon neutrality should be met by 2040 not 2050 others are saying it's transformative because of the social and economic measures that it takes i spoke to a delegate earlier today from tanga she said that action is definitely better than inaction and she hopes that this will also mean that other big investors follow suit ok so some mixed voices there in madrid garrick let's come back to you in brussels because we've heard a number of ports that there are various obstacles not least that some countries aren't really in favor of this deal so will there be enough support to actually push it through. looks to me it was a lot on the line today in

a press conference said ahead of this meeting go with the parliament that nobody should left behind and this will be really key for the success of her plans she knows very well that there is those member states in the east where the energy mix they have is really dependent on fossil fuels now the strategy here of what i can see is twofold on the one hand she'll talk about compensation so she has mentioned 100000000000 euros that will be sent to those states that really needs the money to reform the energy sector and secondly and that's quite interesting as she phrases this this whole plan does this whole new deal as not just something that is supposed to meet climates targets that have been agreed on conferences but that is something that is supposed to create jobs and boost innovation and thereby generate new money and make it in the in the sense make it more attractive to all member

states in the european union to come on board all right so she says this is a very ambitious plan louise is there a sense that this sets the bar now for how the international community will have to move forward on climate policy. well i think there is some sense that that's the case i mean ever since the paris agreement was made in 2050 that's been a little bit of stagnation i mean countries have been coming together to try to put the rulebook together to implement the paris deal but not much else has happened and i think that people now see that the e.u. could be a front runner and taking this for it and they're hoping that this will mean that other countries will will follow behind this is going to be something where you know you can step forward and be a leader now all right our correspondent covering this story for us scared madison brussels louise born in madrid thank you both. now in the u.k. there's just one day to go to what's being called the most important election in

a generation and politicians are making a final push for votes the election is likely to decide the fate of bragg's it the u.k.'s attempt to leave the european union the conservative party of prime minister boris johnson has been leading the polls for a while but a recent survey shows the race is tightening the conservatives seem to be on course to win 339 seats in the 650 seat parliament against 231 for the labor party but pollsters say other outcomes are possible including a hung parliament or a landslide victory for johnson let's take a closer look now at the conservatives election campaign. johnson i think he will do it think he's a man why history and people have seen through boris johnson i think really most of us foreign minister love him or hate him almost everyone has an opinion on britain's incumbent prime minister the man himself is on a charm offensive visiting every region in england and wales including opposition labor heartlands that voted to leave the european union like the northern town of

grimsby where he taught a fish market he's cast himself as the man to get bricks it done appealing to leave voters no matter what question comes up he how miss home the same message. would as a country he make investments now and to get that done we can you must have a poll of next year he's focusing on those issues he's focusing on that agenda is driving this country not wasting time again for another year. and pointless wrangling. despite repeated scandals and defeats in parliament boris johnson's party is still ahead in the polls and that's even though the conservatives are bitterly divided. earlier this year johnson $321.00 and peace out of his own parliamentary group for not toeing the party line among them winston churchill's grandson. the former chief public prosecutor.

and the former finance minister and johnson's own brother resigned along with several other veteran tory m.p.'s it's populists it's telling the public was. this . they think that the public wants to hear it's over simplifying the issue but the prime minister is undeterred he says he'll pass his frex a deal in january and strike a free trade deal with the e.u. by late 2020 which observers believe is impossible get a brick. that's his money and he's sticking to it thursday british voters get to decide in what could be britain's most important election in decades. you're watching news still to come on our show after your training for women from home for care for the world's toughest rowing race a 5000 kilometer journey across the atlantic we join them on trade.

but 1st the french government has given details of the proposed pension reforms that have led to widespread strikes of the last week prime minister it was phillipe announced that a universal pension system would overwrite the 42 public sector pension plans that currently exist he said the reform was also necessary to avoid a multi-billion year of deficit in the pension system by 2025 the proposed reforms have sparked a nationwide strike and protests thousands of union activists marched through french cities searing their pensions which shrink under the reforms. and let's go right to our correspondent lisa lewis she is in paris she's been following the prime minister's state's statements for us hi lisa what are the major points of this reform. well as you said one major point is that these 42 different regimes will be brought into one single regime and this new system

will kick in for those who enter the labor market in 2022 for the rest of them and those who are born after 1975 in 2025 the government has also said that they would put in place a minimum pension of $1000.00 euros and they will not increase the official retirement age which is that 62 year at the moment but they will put in place a so-called pivotal age 64 that means that you can retire before 64 but if you do so then you are likely to lose part of your pension and that's one thing that the prime minister mention very briefly there hasn't been really the center of the discussion but that will have a major impact on future pension of on the future pensions actually and that is that under the old system your pension was calculated according to your 25 best years the 25 best years in your career from now on it will be based on the 42 years you have worked for so that that will is likely to lower the pension for many people here in france lisa how do you think the protests and strike movement will

react to these reforms. well that really depends on how the different unions react one union is crucial to this c f t t which is the more moderate union they have so far been supporting the government in its effort to reform the system there for and say we need to reform this but there was a red line and that is the pension age of the c.f. to t. was against the fact to put in place that so-called pivotal age of $64.00 under which she wouldn't go on likely to get a full pension now the government has crossed this red line and it remains to be seen of the c.s.t. will still support the government if it doesn't it's likely to escalate even more with more demonstrations and strikes lying ahead at least if the french government is pushing forward and the protesters are not backing down what is the way ahead now. well that's very difficult to say you know christmas is lying ahead businesses are already suffering from this major blockade in the country many

people are struggling to get to work it's really causing a lot of mayhem here it's a standoff between between the unions and the government we'll see if there were less and less people turning out for the strikes or if at one point in france there's always this one point which is really difficult to define but from one point on if the strike goes on the government kind of seems to think that they have lost and if they get to that point then they will have to abandon the reform of the that's the last thing that came out of the car the president wants to do because he really says this reform is crucial for him his image as a reformer and his chances to be reelected in 2022 deity is lisa lewis reporting for us from paris thank you lisa now it is known as the toughest a rowing race in the world and 4 women from hamburg are to be the 1st german women's team to compete in it the atlantic challenge will see them attempt

a 5000 kilometer journey across the atlantic from level mehta and the canary islands to antigua the hamburg 4 have been training for a year and they set off on thursday morning. lean forward pose let go in fort polk let. this movement will dominate the lives of these 4 women 5050 days starting tomorrow. the 1st german team to take part in the world hardest rowing race the task of whisky atlantic challenge that means 2 hours rowing to alice sleeping always alternating 24 hours a day. she always says also miss india i think i also want to get to know me a little bit better and from a different pond a few just doing something crazy at an up to 150 i think. british row a charlie pitcher has custom built the team boat for the specific challenge. 3 of the crew on hand for

a 1st look. at. the boat will be their home and life raft for the coming weeks during the 4800 kilometer long rice it has to protect them from waves of up to 10 meters high school in heat as high as 40 degrees alone in the ocean. for the past year the 4 have been trained on land and in water under the guidance of christiane dyker former rowing world champion his message is clear. vent about it and become a part of the sea as cheesy as it sounds but i don't think it's possible in any other way as we sit here right now we can imagine the strain they're going to face . in order to build as much strength and harmony as possible the crew maximize their time together on the water no matter the conditions. there are 2 safety boats supporting the teams as they cross the ocean the crews are also supported 247

by 2 land based duty office's a briefing is also crucial for the team who walk through every step that will keep them alive and afloat for the next 50 days planned for when they're going to get there are risks this is a risk of bad weather and capsize. the head injury and illness but it's the personal dynamic that's a really most important and potentially dangerous thing in any way it's one year of training has now been completed the last critical task to pack provisions everything is precisely rationed now comes the hard part. and good luck to that she just coming up next on news asia near mars on sorts of projects charges genocide against rocking the muslims all hear how for defense measures up. plus the sacred ice ridges of japan's lakes see what could this frozen phenomenon. knelt away into history the phone. most of china's those stories and more coming right up

on g.w. news asia that's in just a few minutes time they took. him into a. humorous

around the world during a shopping frenzy. online sales are blaming a lot of the christmas. retailers. around our culture the fall the same is most of the future for church you claim it. made in germany 60 minutes the phone.

i'm secure that the i work that hard and in the end this army you're not allowed to stay here and more we mustn't do that. are you familiar with this. with the smugglers were liars and. what's your story ready ready. i'm a woman i was and women especially are victims of violence to take part and send us your story we are trying always to understand this new culture. or you are not a visitor nothing yet you want to become a citizen. in 4 migrants your platform for reliable information. was the speech of his life perhaps his best certainly his most difficult chancellor had not cooled addresses the people of east germany shortly after the

fall of the world. the crown of commerce for german unity journalist peter lim borg was at the scene. 30 years later he looks back on the time of dresden. starts december 19th m t w. you're watching d.w. news asia coming up yet mars leader rejects genocide charges at the hague uncensored she says the accusations are incomplete and misleading when it comes to the military's crackdown on her hinge on muslims look at the reaction from human rights watch. and sticking with me and mark me take a closer look at a system of segregation that some compare to apartheid happening across struck on state. plus priests have kept track of them for centuries now the sacred.