>> this is your world news on dw . brian thomas. welcome to the program. these are our top stories. >> korean and russian leaders meet in moscow. brian: another black citizen shot dead by police in the u.s. the officer has been charged with murder. >> and the biggest oil deal in a decade. a mega merger. brian: welcome to the program. russian president vladimir putin

has offered greece increased -- he stopped short of extending direct financial aid to the country. >> alexi sippers -- there was speculation that tsipras might seek aid from russia for a bargaining chip with creditors. >> the greek prime minister alexis sippers and vladimir putin did not let it dampen the moodtsip. said athens has ther right to look to moscow foras stronger economic ties. before getting down to business, they visited the tomb of the unknown soldier. on his wish list, low gas prices and deferral of outstanding debts. despite the budding friendship, greece and russia are both under economic strain.

moscow is feeling the pinch of eu sanctions, something both countries opposed. putin clarified their plans. >> i want to assure you that we are not going to use any kind of situations within the european union in order to bit by bit resolve the issue of improving relations with the european block as a whole. >> this could meet loans for greece in exchange for economic cooperation. vladimir putin is keen on shoring up bilateral trade which is fallen 40%. they also discussed extending the turkish pipeline project into greece, a move that could turn athens into a major european energy hog. -- energy hug. tsipras said it is eager european problem that needs it european solution.

>> i can say that today is an important day for russian and greek relations. >> as the new friendship is forged, it's unclear what it means for greece and the eu. tsipras said this trip to russia won't be his last. brian: what do the talks hold for both greece and the eu and russia as well? our correspondents, marcus let's start with you. you were following the talks today. what kind of economic cooperation what is he prepared to give the greeks? marcus: we heard it before in your report, russia's economy is not ready to give any financial aid to greece, but they obviously have talked about cooperation in the gas sector.

you mentioned that before, they could cooperate in the turkish project to build a pipeline system bypassing ukraine to deliver russian gas to the european union. basically it they talked about lifting a ban by russia against food from the european union putting it very clear that they won't give any exception to what country of the european union that is to say greece. but he left the door open for further talks on thursday with prime minister dmitry medvedev. that would not mean there cannot be some kind of cooperation forming a russian greek entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. brian: thursday will tell us more about that conversation. calling for an end to sanctions and must not be going down very

well in brussels. could we see them rolled back at some point? barbara: two months from now, that's a long time for greece these days. it might all be a question of timing, in fact. tsipras said if he really wants concrete, real money, he has to get it from his eu partners. if he now manages to get the pending bailout money in april, then the next step would be negotiations for a much bigger aid package in the summer and that would be coming out in june. at the same time as the eu summit, they will talk about the next step on the russian sanctions. that means it is a question whether tsipras is then ready to pull the plug on his european connections or whether he wants more a run the eurozone. brian: marcus, back to you in moscow.

putin denies he wants to weaken the eu, but it has not given strength to the kremlin's diplomatic position. marcus: that is absolutely right, and moscow is already selling this visit as a little success in putting down some discord within the european union. of course i suppose everybody is realistic and of here in moscow not to expect greece to veto any existing offer on the sanctions against russia. but it might spur a wave of opposition to further sanctions imposed against russia over the crisis and war in ukraine. brian: the war in ukraine being an important factor in this. barbara, the big payment is due on thursday. is there concern in brussels that greece might crack under the strain?

barbara: they have the money for the payment to the imf tomorrow. they have come up with half the money they're going to need for the t-bills on financial markets next week, but huge sums, multibillion payments come up in june, july, and august, and that money is definitely not there. so they will have to renegotiate, but there is a school of thought that athens might play a completely different endgame, that they are actually on their way out of the eurozone and they are ready to take a crash course and leave the euro. that is something that eu leaders have not been dealing with in official matter so far. brian: barbara thanks very much, and marcus in moscow, thanks to you as well. >> we had to the u.s. now where another deadly police encounter is rekindling the debate over excessive force and race.

a police officer has been charged with the murder of an african-american man in the u.s. state of south carolina. brian: the apparently unarmed black man was fatally shot by white police officer. the officer said he feared his life and acted out of self-defense but video filmed on a cell phone suggest a very different story. >> our next report contains that video, and a warning incidents are difficult to watch. >> a video made by bystander that seems to leave little room for doubt. eight times michael slager shoots the unarmed walter scott. then he goes over in handcuffs him. he pick something up, takes it back in places it next to the event. -- next to the victim. slager is now in custody

charged with murder. he said the victim had taken his stun gun from him and was attempting to use it against him, so it was self-defense. >> we can't get my brother back and my family is in deep mourning for that. but through the process, justice has been served and i don't think that all police officers are bad cops, but there are some bad ones out there. i don't want to see anyone get shot down the way my brother was shot. >> another part of the story the video seems to disprove is that he and another officer tried to resuscitate scott. in the video, nobody attempts to revive him. the father of four died at the scene.

police officer michael slateger faces up to 40 years in prison if he is convicted. >> today i made an executive decision and have notified my counsel we have already ordered this morning an additional 150 body cameras so that every officer that is on the street will have a body camera. >> the incident in north charleston has further inflame the controversy about how white police officer street black people. here in los angeles and in several other u.s. cities people took to the street. while a random video has provided important evidence in north charleston, in ferguson, missouri, investigators are no new or defining out how a black teenager died at the hands of a white police officer eight months after the incident took place.

>> were joined by the senior vice president of the center for american progress, a liberal think tank and lobby group. after the shooting in ferguson missouri, now this disturbing shooting caught on video. why has policing in america gone so very wrong? >> i think what these incidents bring home is that we need a criminal justice system in the united states that both reduces crime make sure that people who are innocent don't get locked up when they don't need to be, and does so in a way that doesn't consume enormous resources and prevent people from reintegrating into society. in a lot of ways, incidents like this remind us that were not getting the results we deserve and the failures of the criminal justice system so often fall disproportionately on communities of color. >> we are hearing that body cameras might be a state -- might be a step in the right direction.

do you think that is a good solution to the problem, or a step toward finding one? >> i think it's one of a number of steps to consider. i think the quick outcome in this case, in terms of the arrest and what looks like to be the prosecution of the police officer involved has a lot to do with back that it was caught on video. unfortunately, too often these kind of incidents are not caught on video, so technology as part of the answer, but there's a whole bunch of things that need to happen, including trying to make sure in these cases that the person who is investigating and prosecuting the case is not from exactly the same jurisdiction of the police department involved. but there are a number of reforms that we need to make. >> when we take a larger view here, how do you see this problem? is it indicative of the racial divide in america or more a problem of how the police few the communities and the people they are actually serving?

>> by and large, the great majority of law enforcement officers and police officers are courageous, well-meaning people but incidents like this make clear that there is a systemic problem and i don't think there's any way to take race out of it. so it's both a problem of what the rules are in the criminal justice system in policing profit you should, how we operate our jails and prisons in the united states, and there are deep issues of race and racial injustice involved here. i think this will need a sustained commitment step-by-step, to make this better and come out with a systemhat is stronger and that protects the rights of all americans. brian: thank you very much for your insights. staying in the united states, a jury in massachusetts has found the boston marathon bomber, dzhokhar tsarnaev, guilty on all 30 counts, including 17 counts

at make him eligible for the death penalty. >> the first phase was to determine guilt and the other two determine punishment. three people were killed and more than 260 injured when tsarnaev and his older brother tamerlan set off on set the finish line back in april 2013. tamerlan was later killed in the shootout. strike action by french air traffic controllers has caused widespread flight disruption in france. brian: officials say up to two thirds of medium haul flights were canceled. international flights will be going ahead, but others could be badly affected. the strike is scheduled to last two days. we are going to a short break. formula one racing when we come bac. >> a megamerger in the oil sector. don't go anywhere.

brian: ace for being with us. a man who's being called the world's most celebrated museum director is stepping down to leave -- two lead a new advisory board. >> he was backed by none other than the german chancellor for that very position. gregor's main task will be to make german culture and history accessible to a broad international audience. >> he will be developing an overall interdisciplinary concept for the four of which will present collections from berlin's national museums. >> the humble for him is under construction in more ways than one. it's still not clear exactly what the building will house. a rolled cultural center is the current description. neil macgregor is the man

charged with putting flash on that idea. the museum director is quite a catch for the project. germany's culture minister is obviously proud. >> my hope is that we will have a coherent concept for the center, bringing together all the individual strands to create a single, overarching institution that really lives up to the name. >> macgregor is known for his interest in german history and culture. under his leadership, the british museum launched a major exhibition entitled germany memories of a nation. he's also known for innovative approaches. the culture minister hopes his arrival will energize the forum. >> he has always been interested in and in assessing about germany and its cultural scene. i'm proud and grateful that neil macgregor will be giving us the benefit of his great expertise here. >> since it's inception, the

humboldt forum has been dogged by public skepticism. after much controversy, it was decided before him would be housed in a reconstruction of the royal palace. it's due to open in 2019. >> this is being called a major cultural coup for germany, neil macgregor stepping down from the prestigious british museum to lead the cultural forum here in berlin. we are joined by our culture editor. e is considered a museum guru for the planet, the best man in the world for the job. why do you think he is the best pick for berlin? >> we have to be careful with these titles. perhaps if it's true for someone , it is certainly for neil macgregor. he is a great mind, just on a international level he is venerated in britain.

he is an incredible expert in art history. he brought the british museum which was a venerable institution 20 years ago to the forefront of museums worldwide. it's the second most visited museum in the world after the louvre. also he is a great communicator. he does podcast for radio, he does tv series. he writes incredibly best-selling books. he is kind of all multi-targeting genius. >> a stellar track record, evidently. so he has something to back him up. is he the right person for this job? he is not a german. is he the right person? >> it's going to be a difficult job.

the museum is scheduled to open in 2019, and no one knows exactly what it's going to be. it's going to be a world museum but what is it? no one has really delivered a reasonable concept for the time being. if there is someone, maybe he will be the person. he has two years now to develop the concept and to bring in some interesting stuff, and put -- we had international visitors to the museums in germany. we have international collections. >> this is something he has indicated already he would like to change, bring german culture to a wider international audience. >> that is exactly what is needed now. there is an incredible competition between museums worldwide. berlin has to keep up the pace. so i think a person like neil macgregor is exactly a person

who brings that signal that berlin is up to the job, to really open up a world museum in 2019. >> were looking forward to seeing everything it will contain. thanks very much for that. brian: police in london are hunting for a gang of jewel thieves after an audacious easter holiday heist. >> investigators say heavy cutting equipment was used to break into the vault. scotland yard has not placed a value on the goods stolen in the robbery, but local jewelers say that the eaves likely made away with a seven-figure hall. brian: to western mexico where gunmen have ambushed a police convoy and killed 15 officers, five others injured. >> the latest in a series of attacks thought to have been carried out by drug cartel.

in retaliation for the killing of the cartel's boss last month. tens of thousands of mexicans have died in drug-related violence in the past decade. time to catch you up on the business headlines. starting with the biggest oil deal in a decade. petroleum giant shell announced a major acquisitions limited --. >> shell says it will pay about 64 billion euros in a mix of cash and shares for the deal. it gives shell a greater share in gas markets and expiration. >> greenpeace activists scaled a shell oil rig on its way to the arctic. they want to stop the energy giant from drilling in the region. to keep up profits shell has to more fields or tab into more in -- more energy sources. it has plans to acquire a

british exploration firm. >> what's interesting about the deal is that bp is not an oil firm, it is a gas producer. clearly shell is making a bet on a cleaner fuel, by making a bet that gas will become an increasingly important you'll in the future, rather than oil. >> the merger will help shell secure its place as a market leader in the field. based on sales volume, shell is already the biggest oil and gas company in the world. last year, shells revenue reached almost 438 billion euros. china's state-controlled sign a pact took in around 430 billion euros. and 30 enforce -- third and fourth place bp in third place. 64 billion euros in cash and shares, valuing each share with

a hefty premium on top to lock out other bidders. >> the massive deal is all anybody to talk about on the financial markets. >> oil was a major topic of discussion among traders is wednesday, and not only because of the megamerger of shale and pg. the oil price made her jump to the downside after news came in that oil inventories in the united states have soared. saudi arabia's output of crude oil has risen to a record high. the saudi's are afraid that iran might become a new large competitor in the oil market after the lifting of sanctions against iran due to the iran nuclear deal. >> let's get a check of the markets midweek trading action.

factory orders in germany fell for the second consecutive month in february. the dax dropped .75%. u.s. stocks 50 fell more than .5%. trading is still underway across the atlantic, on currency markets. >> time for some sports news. a new face is set to appear in this month formula for series, a stepping stone to formula one. >> he is 16 years old, the son of the legendary former formula one champion, following in his father's footsteps. >> could this man carry on the family's racing dynasty? he's the son of a seven-time world champion. media interest is huge for the 16 year old as he moves toward a professional racing career, but

he won't be giving any interviews quite yet. >> he's got so much to learn now on the racetrack that he will just have to postpone dealing with the media. and a kindly ask you to practice restraint. >> the drivers in formula for a drive machines with 160 horsepower to reach speeds of more than 200 kilometers per hour. last year he finished second in both the world and european championships. it's the stepping stone to the world of formula one. and eight for rory star already has him on his radar screen. >> it's a huge step for everyone who moves up to formula racing and it's really not easy. he also has that extra legacy to live up to. quite so now 25 is the number to look out for if you are a big schumacher fan.

>> the confederation of african football has selected gabon to host the african cup of nations. >> the host will faced off against three teams including defending champions ivory coast. it will be the second time they staged tournament. more on these and other stories at our website, www.dw.de. for now though, that by. -- goodbye.

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