sure so that we can get into but it's not just be animals little suffering it's the environment we mine on a journey to find ways out of the machine if you want to know how old one click to the priest i'm hopeful says changed as we think that will listen to our podcast on the green. in the early days of syria's civil war he was a secret police officer whose job arrest protestors against president bashar al assad and send them to an interrogation center a place where questioning and torture went hand in hand today a german court sentenced a yet i'll go to 4 years in prison the 1st syrian convicted of crimes against humanity tonight justice has been delivered was it too little too late i'm bring in berlin this is the day.

it's a message to offenders in syria and elsewhere you cannot use the fact that. it's a story that. this is. never. goofus you could proceed to think. for support. that would not. give him an excuse to impugn icons and it was a severe sentence and the defense will appeal. also coming up in a hearing is known for winning tonight golf superstar tiger woods is recovering he underwent major surgery last night after a high speed crash since his car rolling and left his leg broken. i just hope he's ok you know i hope he's not permanently hurt i hope he can play again i'm sure

that's what he's thinking right now. for to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome we begin the day with a longer reach of justice that feels much too short 10 years ago when the 1st protests erupted against syrian president bashar al assad a secret police officer named a yeah i'll go. he was told what to do and he did it arresting those who dared to defy the president and bringing them in for questioning knowing that they could very well be tortured we know now that many were or today here in germany a court sentenced. to 4 years in prison for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. left to syria and came to germany in 2018 seeking asylum and betting that his past and those who suffered because of it would never find him he lost

that bit of fast forward to today's sentencing which is also a landmark legal victory the 1st syrian official to be convicted for carrying out the crimes which continue to keep the assad regime alive can this one single conviction really bring the people of syria closer to the justice they deserve we have this report. justice a decade on prosecutors say at al garrett was a former member of syria's secret service who arrested anti-government protesters he took the demonstrators to a detention center where they were tortured a german court convicted algarve of being involved. is what's important is that we have a verdict that the assad government committed crimes against humanity in secret prisons this is the 1st such verdict weld wide and it sounds impossible to message that these crimes can be investigated in germany torchlight of god. al gharib fled

to germany and his crimes came to light when he applied for asylum the judges reduced his sentence to just over 4 years because he testified in another trial that still ongoing. torture victim was seem ok helped bring the case to court he says this is only the beginning of. this is this as to this is the 1st step the road to justice is long i'm one of the goals is to bring back al assad and his in a circle before a court and it's the shuttle a soft eyes for them get us so getting. the syrian government denies that it is prisoners the rules of universal jurisdiction allow german courts to try allegations of serious crimes in other countries effect or be accused or actually in germany foreign minister heiko mouse welcomed the verdict steve

species trials taking place outside syria are a glimmer of hope and a clear signal to the victims that justice must be done for them. to destroy it you know find. out garrett's lawyer says he plans to appeal the sentence. or more we're bringing in the middle east analyst daniel gary locke he is the editor in chief of zenith magazine he joins me tonight from here in berlin daniels' good to see you again we have spoken many times about the atrocities that have taken place since the war in syria began a decade ago this verdict against a former syrian official how important is. it is a political message of course for the 1st time this has been like publicly and in a courtroom discussed what happens in syria and of course it is important for victims for relatives of victims that this happens however as you also

reported accurately. that the person that has been accused and convicted like still like the there is still no appeal going on is a very small figure in the whole system and he's a defect and sold the political message that i see is on the one hand yes some sort of justice can be done in the jewish jurisdiction of another country like germany but on the other hand it also sends a message to those that remained loyal to the regime that. just is going after the defect has and not of course after those that are still in syria and that are also complicit but have no intention to leave. what has this court case revealed in terms of syrian officials committing murder and carrying out torture with impunity . well it it has revealed as other cases and other investigations have revealed

that of course a to systematic that is comes to no surprise for people that are dealing with syria for syrians for people that live in syria today of course that there's a systematic and i think even hiring king or high ranking officials wouldn't deny that that torture and mass atrocities happen in syria. so it's been documented and that is important it's been this this this this that it has been substantiated. but other than that i think yes the political implications are more relevant look for those that have been brought forward this case those that initiated it those that convinced the general attorney in germany to take on this case and take it to trial this is a victory because they are interested in moving forward international law and for those that want to promote international law and universal your strict jurisdiction this is an important trial and this is an important case you've said it since a message to those defectors and to those who are not going to defect will this

verdict though will it have anything more meaning other than symbolic meaning. look the german foreign minister said today it brings quote at least a little bit of justice to syrians. hopefully it does but i'm not so sure about this i think we should be very careful of course these are 2 different files one is the legal file and what is the political file that we don't want. full of to travolta the illusion that this case replaces some sort of a policy on syria yes justice is an important and. the legal cases i'm porton but still europe doesn't have a policy how to deal with the syrian regime doesn't have a policy how to deal with the humanitarian situation in syria and with the ongoing violence and so i think it is for that for for politicians and for the governments

of europe it's important to come up with some sort of a policy on syria and not to just take believe that such court cases might somehow surrogate or somehow replace a policy i don't i don't say that this is what they are doing but of course the strong media attention on these cases also produces problem may produce this illusion you know that's an interesting point and also we have to remember that germany has become home to hundreds of thousands of refugees from the war in syria what do you think that this verdict will mean to them. i've heard mixed messages i talked to talk a lot to syrians in syria and to syrians in the diaspora and to syrians in germany and abroad and of course there are those who believe that this is it is is some sort of a bit like these a symbolic victory for them because it shows that wherever you live they whatever under whatever country's jurisdiction you live here regularly if the law is in place as it is in germany you can be tried you can be punished for your crimes but

other than that i think there is very there's very little hope that justice is going to be done and that those responsible for mass atrocities are going to be held accountable the situation in syria the war but it hasn't been on the world's radar for quite some time now the plight of syrians of course has not improved i want you to take a listen to what the u.n. spokesman unions lekha said about this group back at the same high levels of need that we saw in 20162017. segments of the population that were previously lissa faked it had been pushed into the ranks of people requiring humanitarian aid and for those who already needed it the situation has gotten worse so then you know if we say bashar al assad has won the war in syria is the economic situation there is that a bigger threat to him then the rebel groups are. look i think the regime can

survive the situation as it's been surviving a lot of different difficult situations in the last 10 years or even before. i think the regime is probably to go in the last one to collapse to collapse under the economic plight and the dreadful humanitarian situation sanctions international sanctions are one element in it but they are not the only element in it and it's also important not to blame all the people humanitarian plight of syrians and now we're talking also about syrians and government held areas on international sanctions but they are if they play a role and i want to come back to what i said before i see absolutely no consistent or can he could hear and western syria policy that addresses these issues i see always a logic. according to which we see like our relationship with the regime and then we prioritize the relationship or the non relationship with the regime over the relationship with the syrian society but this is a difficult and i think also

a wrong policy because we need to prioritize syrian population and syrian society over our relation with the regime and like see then with based on this analysis how to politically deal with the regime and i see that the that the europeans at the moment are hoping that the new u.s. administration is going to come up with some sort of a plan on syria but i think that's not really on the priority list of the by now mr asian at the moment as we have heard today and also yesterday from his representatives and i think the europeans are not left off the hook they need to come up with a plan themselves even if they have to fear that this plan is not going to implemented a foiled but we need to have a european policy on syria and that's not what i see at the moment arrives of the europeans they have their homework to do that's for sure what about the situation inside syria how desperate is that they are it has been reported in that president bashar assad has suggested banning cooking shows on television so that people will

not be able to see the food that they don't pay off. you know this is and interesting of course anecdote but i think that the reality in government held syria let alone. provinces like it live which are not under government control but under insurgent control the situation is so dire that people that in certain parts of syria people suffer from malnutrition. and this is a situation that. people have had even in the most difficult times when people in damascus for example in other government held cities felt that the fall of the city is close that the church is a insurgents are going to take over the humanitarian situation in terms of economic . livelihood was not this bad and yes i think it illustrates very well the situation that many feet of syrians are in at the moment and the more dramatic

point is live at the i see that there is also petty crime and also violence which is not political which is not related to the rebellion to the insurgency but to everyday livelihood and in fighting for resources is happening and flaring up in syria and this is a situation that syrians haven't felt and haven't had it before you know as my producer was saying earlier tonight you can't eat bullets you can fight a war with bullets but you can't feed a people with bullets then you hear like editor in chief of zenith magazine tunes always it's good to talk with you and get your insights thank you. thank you and. in the 1st months of this pandemic germany was a role model in managing the virus as we enter the pandemic 2nd year germany is struggling to move forward the vaccination role well remains sluggish and while other countries approve rapid at home months ago germans still have to see a doctor to be tested and some officials say home testing could be

a big help in using for example the national walk till today germany's health minister was criticized yet again for his lackluster national testing stretch. people here in germany are longing for a return to the no malice he they knew a year ago before the pandemic began before the lockdowns health minister is under pressure to show the way forward but yes to reconcile the risk posed by the new variance with the freedom people want isn't and we are a country looking for a balance between the best possible protection from infections but also life and freedom and no malice as much as is possible nobody tests of itis widespread truck attesting will be at the heart of the government's reopening strategy soon germany is lagging behind neighbors like austria where they are already making frequent tests available for all. germany's vaccine will out as also i know

some federal states are reacting with a patchwork of strategies for vaccinations how and when to return to school even the reopening affair some. in parliament pointed to germany's federal structure as partly responsible for the problems. and i don't know how each of the 16 regions is going to allow the hairdressers to reopen. the twin responsibility of the federal and the regional governments for the pandemic response has proved complicated and the next hurdle is coming up next week when the state leaders and chancellor merkel have to agree on a further easing off lockdown measures we're now in white to bring in dr young dahlman he's a medical doctor and a member of the green party in the german parliament t.l.c. sits on parliament health committee and until november of last year when he entered parliament he played a leading role in the response of berlin's emergency and ambulance services to this

pandemic dr tom it's good to have you on the program i want to start if i can with the vaccination rolled out here in germany and compare it we've got 13 percent of americans that have already been back to needed less than 5 percent of germans have been vaccinated we get e-mails from viewers all around the world every day and they are stunned that germany is so far behind here how do you explain it. well we do have huge problems when it's come to our vaccination campaign and it is far too centralized and we have a very technical approach on how we yeah $12.00 souls and want to roll out our vaccination campaign over here in germany my power to you. criticize is that we are focusing on those vaccination centers and i are not able to bring new

vaccines like the vaccine from a stress anika more to drive the practices and to the primary through the sions like other countries like france is doing it now to bring it more easily to older people who are not able to come to a vaccine center for example yeah i don't talk about politics too much but you have to mention that you know we have a national election i'm coming up here in germany in september if the summer comes and goes and we have not reached 70 percent of the population being vaccinated what do you think that is going to mean for the country and his politics come election day. well mr sharon the health minister it's sunday huge pressure people are suffering we lost about 30000 lives within the last 3 months and people are demanding to get their life's bag here. and you know

from the position that champion we were in the 1st wave last year we really are behind now and i think it is not only about politics by that spell about serious crisis management people are now saying there must be measures which are more effective there must be some saying don to fight this and i make and when we look to our european neighbors we see that there are some good examples for example when it comes to do the testing and also a safe measurement when it comes for medical mosque for example just to do to the whole population and. within with within more strength strategies. at home rapid tests for covert 19 and you're talking about you know they have been approved and they should be available here in germany soon but again germany is at least a month behind other countries that are offering these at home is that is that also

the responsibility or the we put the blame with the the government here. well it's again it's too late and it's too diddle and when you look at those tests they are available all over europe now and what we all know that we have a debate going on now is that it's not only a very late point where we implement silis tests it's also that we didn't get the capacity self test we would need to have like. a yeah broad strategy and implements a list test in our daily life that would be a really necessary safety net to get our lives back and open up things and that's really what makes people angry you know earlier this week the u.k. prime minister boris johnson he announced a plan to gradually lift the lockdown in the england and to get rid of all social contact restrictions by the start of the summer i mean how does this impact play

any here in germany i mean it has to be impossible to ignore this ambitious british plan yeah i mean it's when people are talking about the situation in great britain it's 2 sayings say where on the one hand side they were really stretched and by the end of last year but now they are really really had when it comes to the implementation off the vaccination campaign and that's really a problem for germany we had quite steady state numbers within the last weeks and now looking at the last days as a medical doctor i'm very concerned because numbers are rising again and if we are not faster with vaccination and also the safety of others like medical mosque and also as well as rep attest we are really facing a huge 3rd wave which could even a cost more lives to be lost in our country dr young installment dr donna

we appreciate your time in your insights tonight thank you. well the mass testing plan for germany has already been rolled out in austria w.'s funny chart reports tonight from vienna where rapid antigen tests are freely available and even compulsory for students the opera house is one of vienna's landmarks but unfortunately for the own going down the locals are no longer coming here to enjoy a performance what they want is a rapid and teaching test and this is the example of the spruce over there which by the way used to be a traditional viennese food stand. i need to get tested to. thank you very much money to say this was very uncomfortable but very quick to

within minutes i will have my result this cost me sooty 9 euros but there are hundreds of pharmacy and were you can't get tested for free but there you will need to wait a bit longer for the result and there are a lot of people here who are willing to get tested to get the squeak and tests done in order to go to the hairdresser or to go to school because they're a school here in austria it's required twice a week to present such an antigen test a negative called the test result of course to be able to participate at school currently $1000000.00 tests are carried out each week in austria one of the highest rates in the world has the government and the government hoops to more acceptable because to get tested the sooner the economy will be able to get back and to reopen. golfing star tiger woods has undergone surgery for multiple leg injuries after a car accident in the u.s. city of los angeles yesterday it woods had to be pulled from his s.u.v.

. this is how tiger woods' car was found on tuesday morning after rolling over several times and everyone is hoping the best for the golfing great. tiger woods turned professional in 1996 into golf by storm considered the greatest golfer of his generation tiger spent more weeks ranked as the world's number one than anyone else and he's the only pro to win all 4 major and go fighters in a row from the u.s. open to the masters title in 2001 with 14 major championship titles tiger redefined the sport but a series of injuries and personal issues the railed his career. i was unfaithful i had affairs i cheated. woods made a comeback in 2019 and won the masters for the 5th time today aged 45

he needs to win 3 more majors to become joint leader only all time list. could this car accident bring his career to an end. tiger's undergone a long surgical procedure he is currently awake responsive and recovering in his hospital room says a statement from the tiger foundation. tigers fans are hoping for a speedy recovery. i just hope he's ok you know i hope he's not aren't we her i hope he can play again i'm sure that's what he's thinking right now. he's had some fabulous years and now he's just you know he has his slumps but he's had his surgeries too so yeah you just hate to see anything like that happen. you have a big impact on the community i really would you know the sport all together in 2017 woods was charged with driving under the influence emergency workers say there

was no evidence of driver impairment when woods was assessed at the scene on tuesday morning and no blood samples were drawn. over the days almost on the conversation continues online find us on twitter you can follow me of. member whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day see you then everybody.

she helps refugees however she can with clothes food and compassion oh yes i know who she did she isn't a kid worker in bosnia she is supporting migrants perseverance here in the freezing cold but yes mina herself along with many fellow volunteers is coming under pressure. some good sleep under a. in 90 minutes on d w. is

quite as simple as it seems. to understand the world better we need to take a closer look at. the experience knowledge tomorrow's edition. innocent home any porcelains cold blooded us right now in the uk right now climate change makes it very hard to store. faces much less the way photos one with. how much wealth can really get. we still have time to our. success. but subscribe for more news like this.

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this is. a landmark here in germany aimed at bringing justice to syria today a german court found a former syrian secret service agent guilty for his role in atrocities committed by the assad regime is it justice delivered too little too late also coming to progress in the fight against cope with 19 gonna becomes the 1st country to receive vaccines under the you win back plan to ensure low income nations get their fair share and a fine but like any in european history german customs officers seize

a record breaking 16 tons of cocaine worth several. it was hidden in tin cans. good to have you with us it is the 1st verdict of its kind anywhere in the. world never before has a member of syrian president bashar al assad's regime been convicted of atrocities outside of the country now a german court has found a former agent of assad's secret police guilty of being involved in crimes against humanity justice a decade on prosecutors say they add al garrett was a former member of syria's secret service who arrested anti-government protesters he took the demonstrators to a detention center where they were tortured

a german court convicted algarve of being involved this is what's important is that we have a verdict that the assad government committed crimes against humanity in secret prisons this is the 1st such verdict weald wide and it sends an implicit it's a message that if these crimes can be investigated in germany of god that. al gharib fled to germany and his crimes came to light when he applied for asylum the judges reduced his sentence to just over 4 years because he testified in another trial that still ongoing. torture victim was seem ok helped bring the case to court he says this is only the beginning of. this is this as to this is the 1st step the road to justice is long and one of the goals is to bring out assad and his in a circle before a court and it's the shuttle

a soft ones and get cries for them get assuming. the syrian government denies that it is prisoners the rules of universal jurisdiction allow german courts to try allegations of serious crimes in other countries ific timbs or the accused are actually in germany foreign minister heiko mass welcomed the verdict. steve steve's trials taking place outside syria are a glimmer of hope and a clear signal to the victims that justice must be done for them. described their funds. out carrots lawyer says he plans to appeal the sentence. or earlier i spoke with end of life sure a program coordinator for syria and the heinrich group foundation's beirut office i asked her if we can expect more trials like this one to take place in the future. i

absolutely believe that it's a 1st step i mean this is the you know the cases had been severed so we still have an ongoing case and copeland's. this was the 1st verdict that was spoken but it is not the end of the trial for another accused and i believe it's also an important step to fight against impunity and syria in front of european courts and to try to understand how universal jurisdiction can be utilized in order to bring some type of justice syrians of course this cannot solve the larger political questions we also need to work on that level still but i do believe that it's really important 1st step and it will be the 1st step and the process of many and of leisure there speaking with me earlier tonight another closely watched trial here in germany and another guilty verdict this time a notorious iraqi preacher believed to be so-called islamic states german leader

all the while law was accused of radicalizing and recruiting young people to fight for the terrorist group is now been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. after 3 years in the dark the verdict was handed down guilty of belonging to a foreign terrorist organization helping to plan subversive violent acts and financing terrorism. find out that the law was known as the leading authority in the fundamentalist salafist scene and he and the other defendants primed young men theologically and ideologically for missions for the islamic state they arranged contacts with smugglers planned travel routes and gave the men money to leave the country or to go for the order that i think. this is the mosque in hilda's heim where i was preached holy war he was also known as the preacher without a face for his online videos where he had his back to the camera. among those he

radicalized from the mosque where german twin brothers who blew themselves up in a suicide attack in iraq in 2015 and a teenager convicted of bombing a sikh temple in germany in 2016. he also had links to anas amery who mounted a deadly terrorist attack on a christmas market in berlin the same year. abu alaa was arrested in november 26th scene investigators had him under surveillance for a long time. the preacher chose to remain silent during the lengthy trial he was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison. 3 co-defendants were handed down sentences ranging from 4 to 8 years. our here's a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world distraught families in ecuador are waiting to find out whether their relatives were among the 79 inmates killed in prison riots the violence erupted in jails in 3 cities coordinated fights appear to have broken out as wyvil gains battled to get

control of the detention centers hungary has become the 1st country in the european union to use a coded 1000 vaccine developed in china some in hungary remain skeptical about the sign of farm vaccine and russia's sputnik the shot which is also available in hungary the government has been sharply critical of the slow rollout of vaccinations here in the european union. gonna has become the 1st country to receive vaccines from kovacs a global plan aimed at ensuring that lower income nations have fair access to 19 backseats the un backed program aims to deliver $2000000000.00 doses around the world this year. the arrival of the kovacs vaccines brings the wealth one step closer to a well white solution for a global pandemic. a plane carrying 600000 doses of the astra zeneca vaccine

developed in the u.k. and produced in india touched down in the command capital. today where the international airport in accra in ghana and this is really a historic moment today we are very happy to receive the present batch of most common 1000 vaccines through the call that the city. governments chaps will go to fire is hot spots and essential workers. demonizes month just need more vaccines many gun remain unsure that the inoculation is safe i don't have much information about vox this in terms of policy but i. guess i will listen about that i mean while i would want to get. people to see why not maybe if someone is decades before and i see that is good i

can take it now for me they can it for conduit of the 200000000 doses administered so far the vast majority have been in the developed world kovacs organizers say fair a vaccine distribution is in the interest of rich countries to. up until now there has not been a tremendous amount of vaccines in developing countries there have been some countries that have gotten small amounts of doses through bilateral deals and donations but there hasn't been a systematic coverage of vaccine doses and that is what we need to change we need to make sure that every single country gets doses because we are only safe if everyone is safe. keeping the spread of the virus in the developing world richie says the risk of new variants that can render the vaccines less effective in the race against time helping others helps everyone stay ahead of the pandemic. d.w.

correspondent isaac is on the story for us in rome we asked him about the government's role well planned there. what officials now hope to do is to stop vaccination from next week which is much too specifically now vaccination would take place in hotspots areas basis we have infection has been increasing order rates has been increasing over the last 2 months the hope is that passes will be vaccinated he especially health workers really just latest. lawmakers among this will give hope to others that is the need for them to take a vaccine to help contain the spread of the virus many people have a mixed feeling. education are started to assure that people know that a vaccine is safe for them to take to help gonna win the battle against the 1000 pound emmy was just over. there reporting from gone in the 1st months of the pandemic germany was a role model in managing the virus but

a year on germany is struggling the banks a nation remains sluggish and while other nations approved rapid home months ago germans still have to see a doctor when they get tested well that is now said to change with officials approving 3 different home testing kits still the health minister was on the defensive today facing criticism for moving too slowly. people here in germany are longing for a return to the normality they knew a year ago before the pandemic began before the lockdowns health minister is under pressure to show the way forward but he has to reconcile the risk posed by the new variance with a freedom people want isn't a country looking for a balance between the best possible protection from infections but also life and freedom and no malice as much as is possible nobody tenets of itis widespread truck attesting will be at the heart of the government's reopening strategy soon germany

is lagging behind neighbors like austria where they are already making frequent tests available for all. germany's vaccine will out it's also on go slow. some federal states are reacting with a patchwork of strategies for vaccinations how and when to return to school even the reopening affair some knowns in palam and pointed to germany's federal structure as partly responsible for the problems. and i don't know how each of the 16 regions is going to allow their head dresses to reopen the twin responsibility of the federal and the regional governments for the pandemic response has proved complicated and the next hurdle is coming up next week when the state leaders and chancellor merkel have to agree on a further easing off lockdown measures police in the german border city of hamburg

and seems to 16 tons of cocaine that is the most ever found in europe the drugs were hidden in metal canisters shipped from paraguayan in the same investigation 7 tons of cocaine were also seized in antwerp belgium police have arrested a 28 year old man suspected of importing the cocaine. these canisters imported from were supposed to contain putty filler but instead they're stuffed with 16 tons of cocaine it would have sold for as much as 3500000000 euros. we were very surprised by the amount after we opened the canister as we multiplied the number of canisters by 9 kilos and came up with this unimaginable amount of 16 tons. another 7 tons were intercepted in the belgian port city of and where the owner of an import company in the netherlands has been arrested to find his daughter largest amount of cocaine that has ever been seized in europe

politicians believe it's just the tip of the iceberg. billions can be made in the cocaine trade these illegal funds can easily flow into legitimate areas of the economy causing untold damage. organized crime only attracts the attention of politicians when people are lying dead on the streets or when there is campaigns against it normally it's under the radar and that makes it even more dangerous. experts are calling on politicians to hold a summit on drugs the security problem is huge and police and customs are poorly equipped to deal with it. our sports news german women international football in the netherlands they have beaten germany by a score of 21 in a friendly match jackie grin opened the scoring for the dutch on 60 minutes then just before half time more fry gone equalized for germany but danielle funded don't

netted the winner for the netherlands with an hour go. to watching the w. news janell's up next with business news ticker round she will be right back. what people have to say. to us. trying. to piece reporter every weekend on.