this is g.w. news wife from berlin tonight the murder trial that the world is watching and the verdict that the world is waiting for the lawyers delivered their closing arguments today to the jury that will soon decide is former minneapolis police officer gary show guilty or not guilty of murdering george pool also coming up tonight germany's green party makes its 1st ever bid for chancellor naming un alina bearable as their candidate to take the reins from i'm going to. lead her party to victory in

september's election and european soccer is in turmoil after 12 top clubs announced they're forming their own new super league kuwait this is it means suit to stop them plus. emotional homecomings inside a bubble new zealand and australia have created a quarantine free travel vault family and friends separated by the pandemic are finally being reunited. to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world well we begin tonight in the u.s. state of minnesota with the closing arguments in the trial of a former police officer charged with killing george forward today the prosecution and the defense wrapped up and now the jury will have to decide whether derek show

if it is guilty of 2nd degree murder people across the country are bracing for the verdict and the protests that are sure to follow if he is acquitted. guilty or not that is the question 12 men and women will debate behind closed doors the defendant their actual evan was fired from the minneapolis police department last year after floyd died in his custody video of the incident shows chauvelin holding floyd face down with his knee for more than 9 minutes. resulting protests against police brutality and racial injustice were some of the most intense and widespread in the united states in a generation prosecutors claim floyd's death was clearly homicide and several expert witnesses backed that up saying floyd was a stick seated by chauvin jones lawyer said drugs heart issues and other factors led to floyd's death there were multiple. multiple injuries he's all acting.

together and in tunisia. and taking away from a different part. of. the amount of believe he could get oxygen into his heart. george floyd's death rekindled a debate about police tactics across the u.s. rights activists say disproportionately impact black minority and poor communities a guilty verdict would be a rare instance of a police officer facing legal consequences for actions leading to unnecessary death or injury. i honestly believe that a conviction in shopian trial for the killing of george floor because set a precedence in america well we will find a pretty nice folks being held accountable in the prison for killing black people in america i can't bury in resting its case however the prosecution tried to

persuade the jury that this was not about condemning all police but holding show been responsible for his actions and only you. have the power. to convict the defendant of these crimes. and in so doing. and in some doing declare that this use of force was unreasonable. it was excessive it was grossly disproportionate it is not an excuse for the shocking abuse that you saw with your own eyes and you can believe your own eyes as the defense rested its case chauvin who had to climb to testify remove the medical mask that had been hiding his face throughout most of the trial. officers show them have no intent to purposefully use he did not purposefully use on lawful force. it's it's these are officers doing their job highly stressful situation protesters are

awaiting the verdict in minneapolis where over 3000 national guard have been sent in anticipation of unrest. and for more we want to go to w.'s stefan simons he's standing by for us at the courthouse in minneapolis he's been on this story from the very beginning good evening to you stefan so talk to me a little bit about what's going on where you are and then talk to me about the thrust of these closing arguments yeah ok so just before we get a line on on with you now it was a big press conference here with the reverend al sharpton represent this of the show and family and a bunch of their lawyers they have several lawyers and you know. world press is he a local press your national press is really a lot of interest from around the world of course and of course in the united states and what's going on here today because this is an and very very important

day this was closing argument day and now the next step is of course sending the jurors 12 jurors into deliberations they will be sequestered they will be isolated they have there will be having their hands on all the evidence which was presented during the trial all the transcript all of this but they are on their own and they have to make a decision guilty or not guilty and it takes only $11.00 juror to disagree with all the others on any count on any charge and then this is going to be a very very tricky outcome however today the prosecution again there was this proportionate violence or patella t. or action from derek shaw shelvin against george floyd and that cost and then support for the prosecution caused the death of. mr flight now the defense of course he says entirely different they say that mr sherman was a reasonable officer and that he acted in reason now reasonable officer

reacting in reasoned and reasonable doubt you see this all works together and the defense plays on this they want to make this connection there they did it now it's going to be after the after the jury becomes directions another advice from the from the judge from mr cahill they will go into the liberations and then we'll have to wait to be have any idea stefan of when we could get a verdict. yeah that would be guessing i wouldn't really be able to tell you firmly oh it's tomorrow it's done no there's no way of telling actually there is people who say like look the faster this is over the faster the jury comes to a conclusion all agree on the probably the better for the prosecution the longer it will take that should be that same people say that that should be an indicator for trouble in the jury pool meaning that there's disagreement that they need to really find a way to convince one or more jurors off the general thrust they go in with so that

would be beneficial for the defense again it could be tomorrow the day after that more it could take days and weeks even and we know that the world is waiting for this verdict because. the outcome could set off what we have to see is a powder keg i mean you're standing right in the middle of it aren't. i absolutely right they's no doubt this city here this state's i would think it's fair to say the entire united states and all the metropolitan areas in the united states l l a new york washington d.c. atlanta what have you they all on edge everybody is on and should tensions are high you don't see this when you see the fence here behind me and maybe the ok tional national guard soldier there on top of the hennepin county government center but all those security forces and safety authorities basically are prepared to for the worst and everybody is fearing the worst everywhere not just here all over the

united states nobody wants violence. because the verdict is not what people here expect people here expect a guilty verdict in anything but that is for them unacceptable all right. there on top of that powder keg there in minneapolis thank you. our let's take a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world russia's prison service says it is transferring the jailed opposition leader alexina vonnie to a medical facility of all these doctors say that he is on the brink of death 3 weeks into a hunger strike the united nations and the european union have warned of consequences if he dies in prison the kremlin says nivelle needs help should not interest the west the european union estimates that more than 100000 russian troops are amassed near ukraine's borders e.u. policy chief joseph burrell said there was a danger of a spark setting off

a confrontation but he announced there will be no additional sanctions against russia for the time being it is the end of the 6 decade long castro era cuba's communist party has chosen miguel diaz counted as its new leader and he replaces raul castro who succeeded his brother if you did this fights not being part of the dynasty you president the mill is not expected to move cuba away from a one party socialist system. germany's green party is staking its claim to lead europe's biggest economy for the 1st time ever the greens have named a candidate for chancellor her name on the line it bearable and she now aims to succeed on do america if the greens win september's elections opinion polls place them 2nd only by a small margin to merkel's conservatives. here's what bareback had to say when her candidacy was announced today. this is

a matter if i don't get him must make changes to create a fact country a country where daycare centers and schools are truly the best places to be in a country where can give us genuinely have the time and above all the resources to care for people so can my country in which the state functions digitally and so that citizens. a diverse and cosmopolitan country a value space and strong democracy after. we're going to speak with our political correspondent about today's developments in just a moment but 1st let's take a closer look at who. is and helen she has risen to the top post within germany's green party. she is the rising star of german politics and elaine a 40 years old leader of the german green party. the climate debate has served as a springboard for the greens triumph in recent years climate protection exit from

cold renewable energy there are the topics that bareback is fought for since the beginning of her career. once but i've been very we are less than 30 years to really make a change to base our way of life our prosperity on climate neutrality that is me task of our generation. was born in 1980 in northwestern germany and now lives in the east of the country near berlin she and her husband have 2 young children. their back has a degree in international law and spent several years abroad in the u.s. london in brussels she became politically active in the green party in 2008 focusing on foreign and security issues she soon became a member of parliament 1st at regional level then in 2013 she entered the belinda stock the german parliament at the age of only 32 she quickly earned respect for

her thoroughness and knowledge of detail since 2018 she has been the cold leader of the green party at the national level alongside robert habeck they have breathed new life into the party it's more popular than ever with an elaine of the outback germany would get a chancellor who speaks fluent english a useful tool in international diplomacy she wants to make europe an important global player you have and especially on foreign policy and security issues already the obama administration called in the past for europe to engage share more and i think your britney has to face this challenge. their book was. long seen as the number 2 behind robert ha back so her nomination as the green party candidate came as a surprise to many if the greens continue rising in the polls and alina they have could succeed angle americal after the september elections and germany would have its 2nd

female chancellor. and that would be history in the making let's take this story now to our political correspondent simon young he's following all of the day's developments going to use simon so what are the chances of. becoming the next german chancellor. yeah they're pretty good actually because the chances of party the greens doing well in the election in september are pretty good as you mention they've had very good poll numbers in recent months consistently well above 20 percent which makes them germany's 2nd largest political force spell in the conservatives so it may well be that after that election in september the greens are in the driving seat they will have a choice perhaps between joining a conservative led coalition it's unlikely that the greens would end up as the as the largest party believing that it's possible but they could either join with the conservatives or possibly themselves choose to lead

a center left coalition. and under those circumstances and alaina bad just 40 years of age would be the next german chancellor and i think between now and then what she's going to have to do is to make sure that she's better known she's she's not really held any high political office up to now. she's pretty much made her career inside the green party of course she's been in at the top of top of the greens for 3 years but i think she needs to sort of spread her appeal more widely to votes is between now and then if she's really going to become become chancellor as she hopes to do the greens tonight stand in stark contrast to uncle america's conservatives they are still struggling to choose their candidate we understand senior party members are meeting tonight to try to resolve this issue or are they going to be able to give us

a candidate by the end of the night. it's really unclear brain the c.d.u. leda. one of the team men battling it out to be. to be the candidate for chancellor he said he wants that decision in the next few hours we'll have to see if it comes. the other man the very conservative leader marcus has said it's a see the c.d.u. which is the larger party because there is a much more popular man in the polls so as you say it's a much more disorganized chaotic process which no one seems to know exactly when it might come to an end compared with the role of the smi the unveiling of the candidate that's happened today with the greens all right our political correspondent simon young with the latest tonight here in berlin so i mean as always thank you. and i will have more on the race to become the next german chancellor that's coming up next on the day. well

a massive wildfire in cape town south africa that started on sunday morning is still album control parts of the university of cape town have been destroyed and residents in parts of the city evacuated 4 firefighters have been hospitalized or corresponded adrian krege as. you can see the firemen you know walking behind me many of them have been walking for hours because the fire has been coming closer and closer you can see it down here fires been burning because of the wind spreading very fast and you look down here this is already where the buildings are so these are being evacuated at this point i'm worried because i've been with scatty the 1st time that somebody from the because it's going to find we're the safest spot symbol and just a little bit more you guys can you type what do you decide would you take would you leave it to you guys. today it's my 1st time so i could use today and i didn't need the rain we've got. a great line coming to us this is so scary

the fire started at the slopes off table mountain and according to initial investigations by the pockets already it was caused by homeless people and it turns out to be true it wouldn't be the 1st time that this was happening the amount of homeless people in cape town has tremendously increased over the past months because of the pandemic and some of them are living on the slopes of table mountain after was the fire moved here to the campus of the university of cape town the students way evacuated on time but several buildings where factors among them the library the university is one of the most prestigious ones not only in south africa but on the continent hence the library is also home to very real national collections we're not sure yet whether these special collections where affected because recently fire doors were installed and at this point it is not safe to go inside the building and have a look it was a dream. greece reporting there now to a massive shake up in european football 12 top clubs from spain italy and england

have announced the formation of a breakaway super league the new league will be independent of european football's governing body you wait but germany's top clubs by communicant brucia dortmund they say they will not be joining dortmund have released a statement saying they and byron reject the super league prefer instead to reform the existing champions league. the jewel in new wafers crown its biggest money spinner but the champions league is now under threat from a breakaway super league a league of europe's top clubs that had been discussed some i secretly for a while but the plans have never been as advanced as this billions of euros financially backed by the u.s. investment bank j.p. morgan if there is interest by these kind of mayors these financial institutions it means there is. a potential for a bright future you wait for the governing body of european football has reacted

with fury one top member says he thinks 3 of the 4 clubs in the champions league semifinals next week will be banned for their roles in the super league. yes promoter referred to chelsea manchester city and rio madrid saying the clubs must go and i expect that to happen friday then we have to find out how to finish this champions league tournament. us and the footballing world to stand united against these graceful self-serving proposals we have seen in the last 24 hours from a select few clubs in europe. outside of anfield stadium super league clubs liverpool's own fans showed their disdain for the super league which their heroes are now part of a sentiment shared by fans of super league clubs elsewhere in europe. the dignity of the european football is about its diversity and what we're seeing now is the concentration of of wealth power and the top of the game in the hands of

a few clubs u.f.o. won't want to give up on its cash cow the champions league without a fight but the super league is digging in and both sides are reportedly ready to launch legal action. and callahan in from the sports joins me here the big table this is this is a huge change what does it mean for soccer here in new york. the money the financials brant the money that sustains and grows soccer football here in europe will sort of go from that to that the lion's share sort of of the lion share will go to these clubs only just give some details as to how it's going to work 15 clubs 12 of them we know already 6 from england 3 from spain 3 from italy right now and 3 more will be added each season 5 clubs get in on merit and the legal be divided into 2 each season the top 3 will automatically make the playoffs and that's what determines a champion 15 founding members in total we'll have the lion's share of the lions

share as i suggested and they don't have to get in on merit it is very similar but let me do what we were talking about the n.f.l. in the us the n.b.a. and the u.s. basketball and american football they don't though have to worry about nurturing and sustaining you know young people as as they do in europe and bringing up boys girls from younger ages and bringing them into the system and that's what's you know germany's quite good about that is where this just in the americans they can pull from the universities which they did many times read so what does this mean for the future of the champions league and the europa league champions league becomes a sort of a 2nd tier league that europa league right now is the 2nd year to year tournaments they all have to come in by way of merit you have to play your way and they don't in the super league of course i guess as i said they don't but champions league will sort of be the 2nd tier so fewer sponsors fewer

a little bit less money coming their way because of quite a bit less money obviously coming their way as a result of not having the best clubs necessarily in that tournament and that will make a big big significant scenario for for clubs around the around all of europe not just in these in these in the non england and spain and italy. countries and yet you notice here who is not going to be a part of this right as the german football clubs that's right byron munich defending champions and in the bundesliga i'm sorry in the in the bundesliga as well as in the champions league. they were being courted certainly as was dark and being courted to try to get them into the super league but they sort of read the tea leaves i think and know we're very well that they're sustaining members the membership is most important in making decisions in germany and the money has to go down from the champions league for example has to go down and trickle its way down in paris things are manna we're not sure exactly what the guiding principle was as

to why they decided not to join the super league i'm sure they were courted as well but they have a single owner who is very wealthy and do well here but he also knows good public relations yeah it is it really is about the money more and more. call thank you ok are here and some of the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic turkey has recorded 341 deaths in the past 24 hours that's the highest single day death toll in the country the swedish climbing act of his gratitude bag has urged the international community to step up their game to fight vaccine inequity she condemned rich countries for snatching the bulk of vaccine supplies and more than half of all adults in the united states have now received at least one dose of a coded 19 vaccine. well as millions and millions of people around the world remain separated by travel restrictions people living in australia and new zealand

are now free to visit each other again the 2 countries have opened a quarantine free travel bubble and for the 1st time in more than a year airports have been the scenes to some very emotional. state the united's after more than a year apart families friends and grandparents meeting their not so new born grandchildren for the 1st time and relief as a travel bubble between australia and new zealand finally opens. for repairs and so long is going to have no time to say right back or come back i'd like to show it to run out this welcome home is testament to both country's efforts in fighting the pandemic they've managed to defeat the virus with strict border controls and quarantine requirements. it was really weird feeling to be allowed

to and numerous feels like a breaking the rules a little bit we haven't been to the 14 month thank goodness busying and messenger and stuff yes so interesting there announced it at 4 o'clock last she's a temperature for i've booked a ticket that's right away is really very on time and so much life is evidence and it it's so nice to see. these are the 1st steps towards what a struggle here and new zealand hope will become a gradual view with the rest of the world. that we assign like you really did it was just so wonderful to be up to i mean you know so this week the bells board is night. travel bubble had to be set backs for months after small i freaked and both countries and i everyone is hoping that the bubble will burst. if we hope that for everyone hard here's a reminder of the top story that we're following for you this hour the trial of the

white police officer accused of killing george floyd is wrapping up in the u.s. the prosecution and the defense have made their closing arguments the jury will be sequestered as they decide whether garrett should been committed homosassa george floyd a 46 year old black man died while being restrained during his arrest last may which sparked global protests. coming up after a short break i'll be back to take you through the day tonight the future of the job of german chancellor it's looking rather green at the moment we'll explain right after this.

their story their very own personal trauma. people of the chesterfield remember claims and they share

private footage with us that has never been seen before. back to chernobyl starts of april 20 meetings on g.w. . are you ready for some great news i'm christine winblad on the i m f t my geo with a brand new d.w. news africa the show that tackles the issues shaping the consulate now with more time to off on in-depth silcox all the time stuff the talk to you what's making the hittites and what's behind the way on the streets to give you enough reforms on the inside. w. news africa every friday on g.w. . in the us of climate change. the tax cuts made most of. them

still. claim what ideas do they have of their future. g.w. dot com megacities the melting. cutter. after 16 years as german chancellor angela merkel is stepping down in september who will be her successor it could be her underling that they're both co-leader of the green party and the greens are going from strength to strength in the polls thanks to her the same cannot be said about merkel's own party 2 conservative governors who want to be the candidate have spent the last week locking horns and ugly private public fight and the voters say they don't like what they're seen tonight choosing a chancellor candidate here in germany how to make the competition.