>> u.s. president barack obama has landed in berlin.

he is in the german capital to talk with angela merkel. to commemorate the anniversary of his presidential forbear or john f. kennedy's a in west berlin. >> he has brought obama from the g8 summit in northern ireland come to the city with first lady michelle obama and and their two daughters. the highlight of the visit will be a speech in front of the brandenburg gate scheduled for wednesday afternoon. this is his first visit to berlin since his presidency began. he was here as presidential candidate obama back end 2008 and spoke in front front of 200,000 people. >> there is an all out security clampdown in the city to welcome him back. >> bulletproof glass, just one of the security measures in place for the speech at the brandenburg gate. this is for the close relationship between the u.s.

and germany. >> the brandenburg gate is a symbol of german unity and, for me, the reunification of germany has always been linked to the help we received from the united states. click 6000 guests have been invited to watch the u.s. president speak. everyone else will be limited to the live broadcast. his visit will include closed door talks. they are all eager to voice their concerns about washington's spy program which was recently revealed. the >> we cannot accept the national security agency taking liberty to work with multinational companies to spy on the entire world. >> it's disturbing to me, the german government, and above all the people of germany. it's important to address this issue. >> another will be the planned

free trade zone between the united states and the eu. some 8000 german and u.s. security forces have been drafted in and they will be on high alert for the 25 hours the american first family is spending in the german capital. >> i'm joined now by our political correspondent john barrick at the parliamentary studios here in berlin. what is expected from obama's visit to berlin? >> it was intended to be a highly symbolic visit at the brandenburg gate, a speech commemorating the visit 50 years ago from president kennedy, as mentioned. in recent days, it has been overshadowed by a storm of protest in germany about the revelations of spying on german citizens. it is something that mr. obama will have to address if he wants to talk about freedom at the brandenburg gate otherwise germans will be very unimpressed with his speech.

>> how would you say the relationship between the u.s. and germany has changed since his last visit five years ago? >> i think it has changed quite a bit. on the one hand, since the beginning of his presidency am a he declared himself to be the first u.s. president of the pacific and his attention has been very much in that direction and not towards europe. for germany and the other hand, germany has assumed, reluctantly, the role of economic and political leader in the european union. he's coming to a country that, i think, no longer looks to america for political inspiration. they feel much more self- confident. i think you will be expected to give explanation rather than inspiration. >> john barrick, thanks for your insight.

>> a big opportunity for him. barack obama's visit to berlin is just one of many by u.s. presidents to the city since world war ii. >> we have more on that later on in the show. clicks the g8 summit has wrapped up after two days of wide-ranging topics. syria emerged as the central topic and despite continued disagreement on how to achieve peace there are, world leaders have jointly backed a seven- point plan. clicks it was presented by the british prime minister and david cameron highlighting increasing aid and increased diplomatic rusher to begin peace talks. russia backed the ban but resident vladimir putin criticized plans to arm the fighters and they will continue to provide the assad regime with weapons. clicks g8 leaders standing shoulder to shoulder in a show of unity to end the summit.

the reality does not correspond to the display that the government has insisted they made meaningful progress. the most divisive issue is the syrian conflict and they struggled to find common ground. in the end, they agreed to provide over one billion euro to deal with the constant flow of refugees. germany is pitching in 200 million euros. clicks it's the biggest some we have ever paid for a single humanitarian operation which goes to show how grave the situation is. clicks the leaders reiterated previous calls for syrian peace talks to take place as soon as possible but the side state -- started step to the fate of president bashar al-assad. president vladimir putin warned the rest of them against arming the rebels. >> the bloodshed has to be

stopped. that is what we call for and it can only be achieved through diplomacy. >> talk on the global economy were less contentious. the g8 leaders say it is in better shape than last year but still needs growth. there is also agreement on working to put attacks havens out of business. they pledged more transparency to curtail tax evasion and avoidance worldwide. >> taxation is one of the big issues where the g-8 says they made progress today. >> tax evasion and avoidance were under discussion. invasion is illegal, avoidance is not, but sometimes the line between between them can be hard to draw. >> they are under fire for breaking the rules or pushing them to the limits. they want to make practices harder and tax havens from the caribbean to the heart of europe.

click the picturesque villages technically in austria, but the only road in his from germany. there have never been border controls here making it easy to hide german money in the neighboring country with lower tax rates. >> there are about 4 billion euro in three banks here. more than 99% of the money comes from germany, most of it probably undeclared. clicks tax evasion has long been a global program. there are 700 entities with their round tax laws and many do not share their data with other countries. that alone makes it ethical for authorities to track down tax dodgers. the european union loses over one trillion euro per year through tax evasion. an estimated 85 trillion euros are parked in tax havens around

the world. that enormous mountain of money is enough to buy all 500 million people in the eu a brand-new mercedes. with the bank secrecy and generous laws, city states like singapore and countless tropical islands have always drawn large depositors. clicks it's about knowing who owns which company. that's what we are talking about. it in germany, that is a matter of looking at a central company register to see who owns which firm. that has nothing to do with banking secrecy. it's knowing who owns which foundation or trust. clicks political pressure is mounting. reddish prime minister david cameron met with agencies and he wants to force them to exchange bank information.

clicks we are joined from christoph colbert from the business department. how far-reaching the you think this is to fight tax evasion? >> tax evasion and tax avoidance is an urgent issue. furthermore, having one single opinion of the g8 is quite a step forward. i guess they are right. the prime minister of great britain was pushing forward for public lists of who is actually owning shell companies and further corporate data. he could not really achieve that. if we look back one year ago, nobody would have thought this could have been on the agenda and now it is. it is quite a step forward, i would say. >> absolutely.

what's going to happen with the states that do not play ball? >> they're going to slow things down. whenever is changing or affecting their business model, which is hiding wealth, hiding financial assets for a small fee. we see the pressure rising on others like the bermuda islands or the cayman islands. we see pressure rising on countries like luxembourg and austria that have shown great movement in foreign money. at this pressure is keeping up, then now is the time to do something about tax legislation around the globe. >> today there were strong resistance to a bill allowing the u.s. to identify tax dodgers. what do you make of that? >> this deal would have allowed them to submit customer information along with millions of euros of fines to the united

states because united states citizens have used switzerland for tax evasion and now they are fearing if we do this deal with the united states that there'll be other countries demanding the same, customer information and money. if the dealer declined in the end, now it is in the second chamber of parliament. if the deal is not approved, then i would suspect that the pressure on switzerland will rise even more. if you look at the united states, they have been especially keen on getting information on foreign tax accounts of its citizens. >> christoph colbert, thank you so much for that. the afghan president, odd --amid karzai comes 12 years after the u.s. invasion. >> u.s. president barack obama has praised the move to engage with the taliban and officials have confirmed that they will also be taking part in the priest process. -- peace process.

there could be a withdrawal of nato forces joined for closer. >> is this expansion enough to contend with the challenges that they face? >> security checks like this one in kandahar help keep ordinary citizens safe from terrorist attacks. officers put their lives on the line checking car seats for hidden explosives. on police do catch the suicide bombers they can become the victims. afghan security forces still number 300 50,000, 1% of the population. >> i'm glad that we are taking over responsibility now. our police officers are sons of this nation and they will serve us better than foreigners. the foreigners always act in their own interests. >> the afghan troops are often poorly equipped and the pay is meager. there are fears that it will

prompt them to accept bribes from warlords. they painted a picture of optimism. president hamid karzai said they would meet with them in neutral ground and qatar. hours later, they officially opened eight atari office. -- a qatari office. >> we encourage them to engage positively and ensuring long- term peace and stability in the region. >> the lawless border region remains a base for militants. just a few kilometers from the ceremony, the danger they still pose was apparent. another suicide attack claiming the lives of three civilians. >> it's time for a short break now. we will return to our top story in berlin tonight as barack obama has arrived in town. >> we will check out the latest reaction from the business world with the market numbers and a whole lot more.

stay with us.

>> welcome back. we return to our top story focusing on barack obama's visit to berlin. he is here to meet with chancellor merkel and other leading german politicians and he has been granted the privilege of holding a major public speak at the symbolic random brigade. >> says angela merkel mentioned, germany and the have a special relationship dating back to the postwar era. much of that history played out right here in berlin. ♪ >> the german capital attracts visitors from around the world down the landmarks provide the perfect backdrop for visits.

a political symbolism is high on the agenda. photo ops underscore german- american ties. this special relationship began with the berlin airlift three years after the end of world war ii. the united states led efforts to fly in food and supplies biplane. berliners called the plain the candy bombers. the former enemy had become the city's savior. in 1960 one, communist east germany built the wall to halt the flood of defections. the united states sent in reinforcements, but there was no visit by the president, to the disappointment of berliners. two years later, john f. kennedy arrived in the divided city and before a massive crowd he uttered that famous german sentence -- >> ich bin ein berliner!

>> i am a berliner, words of solidarity that turned him into a folk hero. during the cold war, berlin became a symbolic outpost of communist eastern europe. in 1980 seven, then u.s. president ronald reagan made a direct appeal to the soviet leader. >> mr. gorbachev, open the gate. reagan's wish soon became a reality. two years later the wall fell. but the backing of the united states, the two germanys were reunited. berlin once again became the capital. though clinton was the first u.s. president who walks or brandenburg gate side-by-side with chancellor helmut kohl. he became read -- he came prepared for a message in germany. >> alles is moeglish. berlin ist frei. >> all as possible.

berlin is free. barack obama came in 2008, only a candidate at the time and was refused permission to speak at the brandenburg gate. he got the victory column. hundreds of thousands turned out to hear his message of change. after eight years of george w. bush, he represented a different america. he stressed berlin's a special place in history. >> this city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. [applause] >> now, barack obama is back in berlin, as president. this time, he will get his speech at the brandenburg date and the city waits again for its message from america. clicks onto business news now. deep cuts could be on the way for the second largest bank, commerce bank.

they are looking to cut 1/10 of their staff. >> sources say and they're looking to cut he 5000 jobs. there have been weeklong negotiations between management and workers. it is still partially stayed on after a bailout in 2009. german shares managed to lock in a very modest gains. dorothea holt sent us this from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> it seems to be cynical, but traders have been in favor of the huge layoffs. traders hope that commerce bank is able to curb the costs. the general mood is pretty good. the german dax closing slightly higher thanks to positive economic data. investor sentiment rose more than expected and traders and analysts are a little more optimstic for the german economy. adidas is also optimistic.

they're looking forward to the next world soccer championship promise of record sales. >> in frankfurt, where we will stay for the closing with today's number. the dax closing up just slightly. the euro stoxx 50 down the slightly. across the and wall street, the dow looking much better up .p%. $i.3403 euro dollar. >> police in turkey have rounded up thousands of people on the protest shaking the government of president urged to one. -- aired a onerdogan. >> they think a change in tactics is needed in the ongoing protest. >> demonstrators are trying a new form of road test, standing in silence. for hours at a time, they stand

without uttering a word. after three weeks of police repression, they're hoping their silent visuals can sidestep the official crackdown. >> we could not use twitter. many hash's were blocked. also, sharing something on facebook is dangerous. people are getting arrested because of this. >> he was the first standing manner. news of his protest quickly spread through social media inspiring many through turkey. the choreographer was arrested as he began his second day of protests. prime minister erdogan is maintaining his tough rhetoric. he again denounced them as terrorists and an artist. his handling of the crisis has drawn sharp criticism from the eu. the german foreign minister called for more dialogue.

>> it's important that the turkish government understand the need for a dialogue and situations like this. that has not happened in recent days. it's a regrettable situation and we are right to criticize it. >> with the hard-line stance of the turkish government inspiring these a silent protest, they are showing that without making a sound, they can still make their voices heard. >> brazil is another country where people are hitting the streets in anger. last night, 200,000 protesters marched through the biggest cities and they had a long list of complaints. a sluggish economy, high inflation, corruption, crime. >> on top of those problems, they feel the government is wasting money on soccer stadiums for the world cup. >> in the capital of brazil, demonstrations turning violent as they stormed the roof of the national congress. no major disturbances were reported in the economic hub of

são paulo. but it was a different story in rio de janeiro where they threw firebombs at the regional parliament. >> it's an outcry against the corruption messing up the country. >> we are protesting for our future. they've done nothing for the people and that has to change. >> what started as protests has become a nationwide wave of antigovernment sentiment. >> he says peaceful demonstrations are needed and that the violence raises questions.

questions over the cost of the sporting event is a high. it's money many brazilians say should have been spent on on health and education instead. >> a debate is underway in germany under education policy for students with disabilities. >> the united nations has cleared a goal of integrating students with disabilities into a general classroom setting. they have taken the steps to bring the german school systems in line. >> but they are encountering resistance from a source that might surprise you -- parents of disabled children. >> one of these is a special needs student. at this primary school, they learn together in mixed classes regardless of ability. the pilot project has garnered praise from parliament and educators alike. they believe a more inclusive system would better serve all school children.

>> individual instruction can work if you pay attention to each child's abilities. where can they improve? >> but the class has proved too much of a challenge it is why she is lobbying for local government to keep open the special needs schools. her son struggles in integrated classes. >> we knew he could not handle a lot of the work. he noticed they were faster and given different material. he asked why he was getting something else to do when they are already further. >> mattias is 17. he can do basic math, reading, writing. >> i played soccer on saturday with my friends. >> he receives intense instruction on science and language skills. there are two to three teachers with a toss of nine students.

>> we have children who cannot speak when they come to us to learn to express themselves after we work with them to build up their communicative abilities. i'm not sure that kind of instruction can be offered at different types of schools. >> on the pilot project school, supervisors know integrated learning provides challenges for students and teachers, but they are certain the benefits are worth the investment. >> more news for you at the top of the hour. keep it on dw. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ññuqñuuñññññx

hello, there. welcome to "newsline," it's wednesday, june 19th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. diplomats say they'll meet this week with representatives of the taliban. american-led forces have fought the insurgents in afghanistan for almost 12 years. now both sides say they're ready to sit down again to resume their push for peace. the taliban opened an office in the qatari capital, doha. representatives say they'll use it to look for peaceful pollutions to the situation back home. the two sides started negotiating in doha in 2010. but last year, they got into a disagreement over whether delegates of the