wes in the coronavirus pandemic president trump wants to fast track america's return to normal every day he tries to bypass the science and the doctors but the 10s of thousands who have died well they get in the way chancellor angela merkel she fears that her country is moving too fast rushing out of restrictions forgetting the science forgetting the doctors tonight the hazardous haste of germany and the virus that refuses to get out of the way i'm burnt off in berlin this is the day. to me it seems rushing yards if not to say to us. then to stop gambling away what has been achieved and risk a set that. we are not leaving in the final phase of this endemic but still in the beginning. you think we have one time and this is being used to boost the morale of

health care system. also coming up for the 1st time ever members of the syrian regime face charges of crimes against humanity the trial begins this week here in germany. i want the culprits to be brought to justice from the accomplices all the way up to assad these people are responsible for stealing our children's blood. to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and all around the world welcome we begin the day with americal and donald trump on opposite ends of the pandemic every afternoon in the press briefing room of the white house u.s. president trump presents the latest developments in the battle to stop the virus although 'd the u.s. has more cases and more viral related deaths than any other country although dogs.

still complain of not having enough tests the president's message remains it's time to go back to work to reopen america now on this side of the atlantic a different message altogether today the german chancellor once again voiced her growing worry on monday the country began lifting restrictions stores and shops are now open and since monday the number of new coronavirus cases has increased every day miracle appealed to the public not to neglect social distancing not to forget the discipline that has kept the death rate relatively low compared to italy spain and the united states our coverage starts tonight here in berlin. across germany more people of venturing out a week after the 16 german states agreed to relax certain restrictions on movement some shops are slowly reopening albeit with restrictions. facemasks and now

obligatory on public transport as well as in stores in some states but easing restrictions runs the risk of complacency addressing the bundestag on thursday german chancellor angela merkel warned that the country is far from over. i fully support the decisions taken by both the federal and state governments on wednesday last week but i'm concerned about the implementation of those decisions since then to me it seems rash in karts. me to it seems rash in parts if not to say too rash. let us not gamble away what has been achieved and risk a setback. while ruling out the idea of joint debt in the form of corona farms machall said that germany is ready to make significantly higher contributions to the e.u. budget. all of our national efforts can only succeed if we are also successful in europe you've often heard me say in this house that in the long run germany could

only flourish if europe is also in good shape. and of. european solidarity in health policy has so far been germany's focus more than 200 patients from france italy and the netherlands are being cared for in german intensive care units but with the true economic impact of current virus still unknown pressure is growing on europe's economic powerhouse to loosen its purse strings. arliss pull in our chief political correspondent melinda crane she's on the story for us here in berlin tonight's good evening to you melinda there's a lot to talk about here donald trump he is criticized for promising his nation that normality will return quickly and merkel as we heard today she says that this virus will make life hard for a long time and she's afraid of a deadly setback here isn't she. absolutely and she is right

to worry as she put it today we are only at the beginning of this crisis and essentially what she was trying to do is get germans her parents across on hall and she did me ologists logistics here in this country say she's absolutely right to do so and most a small fraction of the german population has so far been exposed to the virus the virus remains a true danger to all those who are not yet and there is if there are you real risk that if the rates of infection start heading upwards again that the health care services although they in fact have managed very well still fog could become overburdened and that's why you heard her in that sound bite saying let's not gamble away what we have achieved so basically trying to keep people on track here and absolutely doing it with her characteristic mixture of on the one

hand gentle chiding not always so gentle she actually referred earlier this week to orgies of relaxations every other restriction i have way too far so chiding on the one hand and empathy on the other today she said i know that these restrictions are in many ways absolutely there to go to democracy but the fact is they are essential and let's not forget she speaks as a scientist as well as a product that's trying to make the difference when the leader of the country is a scientist that's for sure the chancellor addressed the economic cost of the pandemic today as well melinda not not just for germany but for all of the european union is her solution more german checkbook solidarity. well let's say 1st of all there is also solidarity now in another form in the beginning of this crisis many nations appear to simply be battening down the

hatches but in the last couple of weeks germany has taken it over 200 other european countries patients for treatment of severe cove it and is also putting the bill through that of around 20000000 euros that however is only a drop in the bucket compared to what is going to be needed for european union recovery overall and that's why her pledge today this morning in a speech to parliament but also then later in a video conference with other e.u. leaders her pledge that germany is going to put more money on the table is meaningful because they're now saying that as much as a trillion euros will be needed in this recovery fund in order to ensure a recovery that benefits all of the hardest hit countries in the european south so i think germany is plenty now to ante up basically until now it's the biggest net

contributor to the e.u. and it only contributes only one percent of its g.d.p. it's now talking about significantly more and that is important and what about corona bonds they they remain out of the question for germany but italy and spain they want to start sharing the debt load and over europe there is this divide does it remain an existential threat to the entire european project. not getting enough firepower for a really efficient and comprehensive european recovery fund would absolutely imperil europe and european union we are already seeing rising frustration in italy for example at perceived lack of solidarity from northern countries and by the way on opposition to corona jerm has by no means alone exact the opposition has very much been carried forward by the netherlands be that as it

may i think the chancellor found a way to day to some degree to get out of the corner she had been backed into as a naysayer on this question of mutual izing debt although the the leaders today in their summit did not come up with a clear path forward she did spell out germany's willingness to make a bigger contribution to the e.u. budget that could then be used by the commission in part also as backing for it to go out and borrow money so i think we're beginning to see the outlines of the possible solution i think she managed to define germany as part of the solution rather than part of the problem today and our chief political correspondent linda gray in on the story for us tonight with analysis here in berlin melinda thank you . europe and the pandemics economic costs european union leaders have moved closer to approving

a joint recovery fund the money would be earmarked for businesses that have taken a hit in the shutdown now the $27.00 e.u. leaders met in a video conference call today diplomatic sources say that they agreed to ask the european commission to work out the details of the recovery fun this is the 4th time that the leaders have met since the virus outbreak began in italy. chris french president. is not shying away from the most controversial aspect of any european recovery project he says the wealthy members of the e.u. must accept that they will have to transfer aid and money to those countries in need you know phone for that it will take transfers real budgetary economic transfers to the regions that are most affected to the industrial sectors most affected. it is this condition that will give us the right until straight economic response and at the same time support the unity of our euro region the european

single market. all right stephen beard is here now from our business desk steve let's talk about this meeting today and what the european leaders agreed to exactly maybe better i should say where are they still divided. well 1st of sort of what they did agreed to i think melinda cover that pretty well a recovery fund in principle and that that would be going through the e.u. budget so it would not be some external commissioning through a external mechanism what they did agree to is what that fund actually looks like they kicked that to the european commission which is in effect the executive body of the e.u. and they said give us a definition by may 6th and that leads to 2 questions how big is this going to be and then how is it going to be dispersed how is it going to be paid out and there in lies a lot of the disagreement to come southern nations would like to see more grants that is money that does not have to be repaid a lot of the more so called frugal nations in the north the netherlands germany

finland among others they are a little bit more skeptical about that they see that as a path towards possible misuse of those funds in terms of the size of the funds linda said one trillion also 1.5 trillion being bandied about so be considerable and we've been talking all week about corona bonds and well as you as well or is that idea now dead. it's been clear for a few days that it wasn't going anywhere right so the finance ministers of the euro zone these $1000.00 nations that have the euro currency they met and it was pretty much agreed that that wasn't going to happen and that stood up in this meeting let's understand though that krone bonds is really a stand in for tighter fiscal coordination in the euro zone it's on one side of it which is a very extreme side but what it means essentially is are these nations going to move closer and closer together whether that means a common budget whether that means. a common. budget office are these kinds of things or are they going to remain a loose confederation that ultimately try and fend for themselves but occasionally

set up structures to help one another such as the bailout fund which italy does not want because it does not want all the conditions that come with it and so this is just what they've done here suggest that they do want to move closer together actually what type of impact is this going to have then on the e.u. budget are we talking about a massive increase yeah absolutely i mean i think as we heard there one percent is what germany contributes right now of its g.d.p. that more 150000000000 euro is what the e.u. budget was in 2001000 it's really not much when you look at nations they've always wanted it that way so again if the e.u. budget is going up that really suggests more of this fiscal or nation in some sort of way and also keep in mind if we talk about chronic bonds and mutual i's debt if we are raising bonds on the back of the e.u. budget is that not a form of mutual eyes dead as well so this question has not gone away it's just potentially taken another form is that right maybe just describe it a different way but the outcome is going to be the same steve is always thank you if. it is not

only entrepreneurism politicians who are thinking of the post pandemic error today germany's bundesliga soccer clubs convened and agreed that they are prepared to restart the season on may 9th with no spectators in the stadiums but the decision is not there as the german government has the final say if berlin approves the kick off the bonus leader would be the 1st major european football league to return to the pitch since the virus outbreak started. the german football league wants to restart the bundesliga season with games behind closed doors and they have a powerful motive broadcasters have agreed to pay out around 300000000 euros in t.v. money if the season resumes. you know we could hope for thanks to the agreement the 36 1st and 2nd division clubs will be assured the money they need

until june the 30th. it would be a lifeline for cash strapped clubs like cologne. i just wanted to give yourself to. it was important news today a lot of clubs have money problems and making partial payments now and payments in full when play resumes would send an important message. games without spectators may be the only way to stem the financial damage during the coronavirus pandemic. season doesn't resume only stops again such mechanisms would ensure the money is repaid. that would threaten the survival of a number of clubs and it would jeopardize the livelihood of around 56000 people who work in german professional football. well it is the 1st trial of its kind in the world the 2 suspected syrian

intelligence officers are set to face justice here in germany this week now they're charged with crimes against humanity including torture and sexual assault prosecutors are using universal jurisdiction laws to try the 2 suspects year the defendants entered germany as asylum seekers along with thousands of other syrians u.w. reports now on the hope of one mother that this can bring justice for her son and a warning to our viewers some of you may find the images in this report disturbing . mario lives in a berlin suburb it seems it to like but this syrian woman is part of a europe wide hunt to catch criminal secret service agents from her country like many others mariam son i hum was systematically tortured the young medical student had spoken up for human rights and called for president bashar assad to step down now 8 years after his death his mother is seeking justice. i want the culprits to

be brought to justice from the accomplices all the way up to assad these people are responsible for spilling our children's blood could kill me that. more than 26000 pictures of torture victims were smuggled out of war torn syria by a courageous former police photographer his code name caesar the photos could help convict torturers and murderers. human rights lawyer mas and doubt we survived torture in syria now living in germany he's pressing charges against his former tormentors including anwar as a former senior member of the syrian secret service and mark karr is charged with crimes against humanity murder and rape. this is a stone it will be a thought this is the 1st time there is a split the vote or judge and we have picked a suspect and we size. the state of florida we don't

have it and see if you. bill wiley is investigating syrian tortures he used to hunt war criminals as he went prosecutor and worked on cases from the former yugoslavia and the rwandan genocide he knows that without a peep or trail it's difficult to bring culprits to justice. that's why the state documents smuggled out of syria are so valuable. what you have in this room. terrell's generated by the security intelligence structures of shared the military structures of syria and the party or political structures of syria at the top level and the governorate levels of craft they also shed light on suspected torturers such as anwar are widely believed at least a dozen former senior agents remain undetected in europe. hopes that not only the

killers of her son will be brought to justice but also others living in hiding for her the hunt has just begun. well for more now let's full involved going bergner he's a spokesman for human rights watch for fun it's good to have you on the program the men who are standing trial here in germany they could go to prison for the rest of their lives if that happens would we be able to say that justice has truly been sir . i think we think it's a very important step to what's just is afforded the torture which take place to take place in syria i mean it's important for the people the victims of torture it's important for the relatives of the disappeared it's very important to have this trial but the people who are still now is sitting in prison and were tortured them in these are thousands of people who are still in prison but it was a sense

a signal to the to the changes. that justice would not go unpunished and so it's an important step to what's just is at but it's only a step in each continued this route which is a very long roach yeah and these these men on trial they represent really just the tip of the iceberg when we talk about crimes against humanity committed by the syrian regime right. of course i mean there are people on the top of the government i mean us that. the president but then others the chief of detectives there is but if you look at one case. a few of one men who has tried to include limits and i mean he was responsible for 4000 cases of torture he was responsible for 58 killings so he was the head of an investigative unit in the

chance janet intelligence directorate and so these are not very thin not a small fishes i mean he was very responsible for crimes against humanity and that's the reason by him sitting on trial of course this does not mean that this should go unpunished but in this case shows that even people in the middle level of the intelligence service of the regime in syria are responsible for very very serious crimes and we know that the 2 men on trial you know allegedly used migration and asylum laws here in europe to try to disappear and to escape do you think this trial will it be a warning to other criminals who want to use asylum to escape justice will it be a warning to them that they should think twice before they try to use asylum. in this race it is 2 people that effect it from the from the regime from the

intelligence service and then they travel to germany and applied for asylum but luckily in germany we have the universe of trisection coach as soon as the countries as well in the european countries of the netherlands sweden france and by that we have all kinds you need to go against these people who are trying to get asylum in countries like germany but then. are responsible as of 4 stooges friends and so they need to be prosecuted in the country where they are and so it sends a signal know that when people come to germany or to other european countries and in their responsible for human rights violations they would be prosecuted but there that's quite a signal to send to. britain are joining us tonight with human rights watch wolf and we appreciate your time and your insights tonight thank you thank you.

the muslim fasting month of ramadan begins this friday a ramadan unlike any in shimon history against a background of unprecedented restrictions to combat the coronavirus practicing muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk during ramadan and gather with family to break the fast in the evening group prayers in mosques are also part of ramadan but well that's impossible due to social distancing rules and that has left muslims around the world feeling somber over this year's ramadan. been known but to me is what i pray that god makes it easy for us especially for people like me who are less fortunate this ramadan will be different because unlike in the past i won't get the food to break my fast i won't get any help it's also going to be hard together with others to pray. our hearts and thoughts and prayers

go to the people that have been laid off because of discovered 1000 pandemic and hopefully in december maybe even if we have to think we would be able to help those in need and try to bring the community together even if we are still a social distancing i hope is going to be easy for us you know is good enough i just know it's hard for the money and everything but i hope it's everything's going to be ok. i would usually going out with my friends or going through their houses and maybe go out to some restaurant to have a party because that's really exciting everyone's free during that time after they're done with their exams but unfortunately this won't happen but i'm happy that i would be spending more time with my family and closer during this according to you which is very nice and if they make that usually before ramadan everyone is preparing their special ramadan goods that the shops deliver their special

decorations and all the supplies for ramadan. but there's nothing like that and no one is in the streets the streets are empty the due to the curfew the whole city is completely empty. on. passover easter it just shows that this pandemic truly is global and affects all of us all the day is almost done but the conversation continues online we are hash tag the day you'll find us on twitter in the news or you can follow me brant go off t.v. and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day we'll see that everybody.

enter the conflict zone with teams of ask him. this week come to examine the back on the man like millions of people around the globe this social distancing has been my guess to speak from a composite national spokesperson of our entire president sean dunn bombing of the b.b.c. to stop the spread of the disease. complex so fast difficult.

how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when we'll all miss him and her just 3 of the topics covered and a weekly radio prog show is called spectrum if you would like to get information on the clone of virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at d.f.w. dot com forum slash science. like oh oh. vogue. mug gorgeous was sued for the russians sold. out their plans to. run so many different walks of life. some are pumping. oddly trying to get all of that comes straight from the heart

and it's for a cd or even when there's no more delicious the mush to enjoy come. from their 1st glimpse of the logs on to their final resting place the russians are g.w. documentary. the president has put out in very transparent in the information he provided so you know winning the trust i've been in this was germany for paired with anyone for kerry was china prepared this week comfort zone is back live there and like many millions of people around the world we too on social distancing while we won't be able to interview people face to face we can still record via the internet and try to bring you the best most of the quality. so according to current.