now. the at. the at. the c.w. news a lie from our lead a reckoning over racial injustice in the united states the former police officer accused of killing george floyd goes on trial footage of jared chauvet kneeling on floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes sparked protests around the world he says that he is not guilty he could be facing up to 40 years in jail. also coming up millions of dollars worth of goods ready to move again the container ship blocking the suez canal is finally out of the way. and mexico overtakes brazil with the world's 2nd

highest profit 19 death toll doctors say battling the crisis is like fighting on board. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program the trial of a former police officer accused of killing george floyd in the u.s. city of minneapolis last year has begun derrick chauvin denies murder and manslaughter charges but if convicted could face up to 40 years in jail as the trial opens jurors heard witnesses describe the harrowing final moments of floyd's life and was shown the video that ignited a global movement against police brutality and rex's. this video is why the 1st witness emergency dispatcher jenna scary called police on former officer and others

under his command. fired. my instinct for telling me. something. i don't know what but something. george floyd was pinched for so long the scary initially thought the surveillance camera perched across the street had frozen jurors heard a recording of her call for help something out of the back of the. man. the prosecution also played witness video for nearly 10 minutes and it flew back children to get off of him and he begged for his mother the jury also heard witnesses plead for mercy on his behalf. as though the rules laws. they were all. floored. when well good. police charged with killing unarmed black people are really

convicted civil rights activists say chosen is not on trial alone that this case is about fairness and black humanity in the united states. we are here to see the case of a man they had used to me. to lynch a man and then brain the man would emerge. during opening arguments prosecutors insisted jovan used excessive force and will prove it with key witnesses including the minneapolis police chief children's defense team put the blame on flew away you're insisting that bore health and drugs led to his death they urged jurors take nor calls for social justice. evidence that you will see this case during this trial it is i agree with counsel for the state it is nothing

more than that there is no political or social cost in this court or civil rights activists say this case is about justice for george fluid but they also hope it will lead to equal protection for an on black americans who encounter police and we are joined now by william lou kroft william walk us through the significance of this trial not only for americans but also beyond its huge i mean the george floyd death sparks the worst widespread most widespread protests are around the u.s. with that the united states in decades it went all the way around the world including here in germany which has its own police brutality and police policing issues to deal with so it's clearly struck a nerve with civil rights activists especially communities of color in the united states all around the world and in the u.s. as you heard in that report that the u.s. does not have a good track record of prosecuting and checking police abuse and of the resulting

deaths that have come of that especially against people of color especially young males thinking most infamously of the rodney king case in the early 1990 s. when white police officers pulled over rodney king a black man in los angeles pulled him out of his car and beat him almost to death and they were all that often there's a history of that so people who are watching very closely to the result of this trial. and what can we expect in the next days. the prosecution really wants to focus on this video that is for them the key piece of evidence and the only evidence they need the worst the defense wants to play down the video and point to what they say is $50000.00 other pieces of evidence and also possibly get shoving himself to testify whether that would support his case or not there of course pushing this drug and health issue which even if they can prove drugs and poor health you know existed they would still have to prove that that would have

led to his death and that day and of course the prosecution wants to bring expert witnesses to the stand to prove that the cause of death wasn't anything but homicide and if they can do that if you very difficult for the jury not to convict on the video that was released and we mentioned this earlier i mean this really shocked the world when it went around well just tell us you know has anything changed regarding police violence and racism in the united states since then. the last year seen an unprecedented attention to these kinds of issues and although the protests have since died down that anger that justifiable anger that desire for justice in transparency and reform is still very much they are especially among civil rights activists there has been a number of pieces of legislation both at the national level in washington and state levels to try to address some of these like banning chokeholds what like also using the need these kinds of maneuvers to subdue suspects and also no knock

warrants when heavily armed police often late at night when people are sleeping break into people's homes often for nonviolent reasons for example drug drug charges drug warrants startling people and this often leads to deaths for both police and civilians inside and the most important thing is that these kinds of heavily militarized over reactions from the police disproportionately impact communities of color minorities more so than white communities and these are the kinds of reforms that civil rights activists and legislature legislators across the country are trying to address after decades and decades of these kinds of patterns that we've that we've seen today we have a part of thank you. now trade is flowing through the suez canal again and in years have finally managed to free the huge container ship to locking the vital waterway tugboats pulled the vessel off of a sand bank allowing it to refloat it halted traffic in both directions for nearly

a week 10 percent of global trade passed through the canal and egypt every day. just look at it go. after bringing one of the world's most important waterways to a standstill the 400 meter long ship is moving along at 1.5 knots a salvage team did an excellent job you know we were in a real critical situation when it was touching on both banks and there was real risk of cracking in the center of the ship but the game entirely changed once they got that stern free and were able to pivot it. pivot back parallel to the canal. pressure on rescue workers had been mounting as the maritime traffic jam grew to over $400.00 ships suppliers had to decide whether to wait indefinitely or sail an additional 7000 kilometers around the african continent for now they can breathe a sigh of relief but questions remain. well i just think this program goes to show

is the fragility graps of the global supply chain i mean this is a very significant marathon all saree one of a major canals in the world you know great in this one jobs and lives in ships. and so i think any blockage that has to be you know really really challenging. the ever given technical managers said initial reports ruled out any mechanical or engine failure as a cause of the accident but human or other technical errors could still be uncovered in the investigation to follow. and let's take a look at some other stories making headlines around the world more than a dozen people fleeing violence in myanmar have received medical treatment across the border in thailand it comes as activists say that thailand is sending back thousands of people fleeing the un lark thailand has tonight the reports and says

that it has no policy of turning away refugees. chinese leaders have approved a sweeping overhaul of hong kong electoral system elective seats in parliament have been slashed and the number of directly appointed seats increase china has been tightly descript on the territory since anti-government unrest began in recent years. brazilian president i had also not all has carried out a large cabinet reshuffle amid a slide in his popularity over his handling of the pandemic the foreign minister is among the ministers leading the government he has been widely criticised for damaging brazil's international ties and aggravating the pandemic by alienating vaccine suppliers. mexico has overtaken brazil as the country with the world's 2nd highest kovan 1000 death toll after the united states new government data show close 230-0000 coburn 1958 it deaths that's over 60 percent more than

previously thought. doctors say battling the crisis is like fighting a war. the scale of the suffering caused by this pandemic it's almost too immense for the human mind to grasp hundreds have died in this mean this apology alone on the edge of mexico city each death a personal tragedy today pedre capece family mourning him. he was everything for me he was my partner. my support. me so did. produce a few tests and people left to die a time that's why experts say mexico's virus death toll is far higher than earlier government figures survive a severe adric is points to another factor. people's irresponsible behavior. we have to be conscientious and take care of ourselves because if we don't look

after ourselves this virus won't go away we don't know when it will and now you're . another survivor mexico's president and dr mann well louis obrador. as he's widely known was diagnosed with the virus in january he compared the fix it had on him to a heart came tearing through his body now he's recovered and he's optimistic his government can heal mexico are too. sick and wave is receding and we don't want to see another rise we want to see it disappear but the president's own officials have warned mexican doctors to prepare for another wave after the ace to break. already the physicians are exhausted from the 2nd day compared to being at war the hope now that these people would ride the 3rd wave to thanks to vaccinations and the sheer number of mexicans who have already survived

the virus. officials in ecuador have rescued nearly $200.00 baby turtles the endangered animals were being smuggled from the islands to the mainland traffickers were planning to sell them on the black market a police officer is to be charged with wildlife crimes. lucky to be alive propped in plastic and stuffed into this suitcase the fate of these maybe turtles could have been very different. instead they're staying put in their native galapagos islands where else artie's are investigating the attempted smuggling. thought given by people who do so much harm to society the environment and to the ecosystem we'll apply the full weight of the law and ecuador's main environmental

body will be ready to collaborate with prosecutors and other authorities. with the turtles were found at one of the galapagos islands of maine departure points on route 2 to ecuador's largest city. each can sell for more than 4000 euros on the black market a lucrative trade but with a profoundly negative environmental impact. the trafficking of animal species is the 4th largest illicit trade in the world that generates millions of dollars in the case of species from the galapagos islands they are really sought after in the asian markets. the discovery of the turtles although a small victory is just one man in a constant battle to protect these precious scientists while. coming up next on t.v. news the documentary season syrians excuse me doc film looks at the forward of years

of children and the importance of learning at an early age there's of course always more on the website to get out of college you can also follow us on social media i'm sorry kelly interland thanks for watching take care. of. people have to say matters to us. and to their stories. reporter every weekend on d w.