♪ anchor: this is "dw news" live from berlin. pledges and promises to help the millions of syrians trapped by a civil war. world leaders pledged billions at a conference in london. it will it be enough to help the legions of people who are displaced and going hungry? we will have reaction from london. also on the show, massive anti-terror raids across germany. police are investigating four people accused of planning an attack in berlin with training by islamic state. the u.n. panel is set to rule, wikileaks founder julian assange

is being detained in britain illegally. he's been avoiding arrest ever since 2012 in the ecuadorian embassy in the british capital. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] anchor: im brent goff. it's good to have you with us. 10 billion euros, a down payment on ending the misery of syria. today at a donor conference in london, world leaders made a pledge and a promise to use their check books to ease the suffering of millions of syrians, the casualties of a five year civil war. there is more than just one motive behind the money. for european nations, improving the humanitarian situation for syrians at home is key to slowing the influx of migrants leaving their homes for europe. our coverage starts where today's promises became public. reporter: the appeal could not

have been more emotional. the 17-year-old, a refugee from syria, asked conference attendees to help build a new future for her country. >> one day, when i am a journalist, there is a story. i want to write the story of how all the children come home to lift up their country. i hope the story begins with you today. thank you. reporter: a sentiment echoed by many conference attendees. >> looking at the announcements made today, it gives great hope that the future of syrian children will be safe and they will get the opportunity to go to school. reporter: the united states has announced it will provide 300 million dollars to help give educational opportunities to syrian children. but much of the pledged aid will be used for immediate humanitarian relief. food, water, and medicine are in short supply among syrians.

the u.n. estimates around 4 million people have fled the country already, and that is putting pressure on leaders in london to take action. >> today's conference has seen the largest amount of money ever raised in one day in response to humanitarian crisis, with well over $10 billion pledged. reporter: german lel -- germany alone has pledged billions of euros in aid. but german chancellor angela merkel says that's not enough. more has to be done. angela merkel: it is important that this conference sends a message to all syrians, not just the ones that are living in jordan, lebanon, and turkey, but also to people who are still living in syria, that we are doing everything we can to help them. merkel says the conference

should offer hope that someday young syrians will be able to see their homeland again. brent: for more on this, we are joined by our correspondent in london. she's been following the conference for us. you were at that session, you heard the german chancellor saying that this conference should offer hope. what is your take away from this conference? is there reason to be hopeful? reporter: the money raised was slightly short of what the u.n. hoped, which was 7 billion euros , just for this year. it is a considerable chunk of money, as david cameron has pointed out. the question will be, will this actually reach the refugees? will everything that was pledged today, will there be money flows? the germans have emphasized a few times at this conference that warm words are not enough, and if we remember last year, the amount of food for refugees had to be cut to half because of the money that had been promised

was not actually delivered great angela merkel said this money is already there, so i big chunk of money for 2016, so she has hope that the work can start immediately. of course, we will only find out when the money actually reaches the refugees in the region and in syria. brent: the big question remains, will the assad regime let the aid get to the people who need it. we know a big motivation behind these donations is to stem the influx of migrants coming to europe. how obvious, how overt was that express today at the conference? reporter: very explicitly by david cameron, the british prime minister, who said that the money is there also to prevent migrants coming, making the dangerous journey into europe. and even though angela merkel might not have put it that bluntly, it has been u.k. policy

all along to help the people in the region and not to have them come to the u.k. germans have had a different policy. but that is very much on critique and even angela merkel might not have said it so explicitly as davidam she wi hope that this money w improve the situation in the region, in the region, in syria, and the neighboring countries so people are not coming to germany, and that the refugee flow will be stemmed by giving people hope that they can have a future in the region, there is money for schools, also for employment for people, hope that there will be jobs created, in jordan, for example, when the eu has promised to have trade relations improve with jordan when these jobs actually -- if these jobs are -- if these jobs to come about. there is hope that this money will stay in the region. brent: a lot of hopes and a lot of promises to be kept as well.

thank you very much. german police are investigating four algerian nationals suspected of planning a terror attack in the heart of berlin. police conducted raids across the country, detaining at least three people. authorities say they have links to the self-proclaimed islamic state. >> raids in berlin and two other german states. the swoop was carefully coordinated by the federal agency for state protection and counterterrorism, and the federal criminal police in berlin. >> berlin's public prosecutor office and the police are investigating four algerian nationals under suspicion of planning a serious act. today we search the apartments of all four people. our goal is to secure and evaluate evidence to see if the suspicion from sub -- firms up or can be refuted. reporter: officers detained a

35-year-old algerian man. investigators in his home country had already issued a warrant for his arrest as a member of the soalled islamic state. the man is all jerian. -- algerian. he used aliases and only recently arrived in germany using a syrian alias. it is believed one of the other men may have been radicalized in syria. >> we have four suspects in these proceedings. we have intelligence that one of them was already in the battles own in syria, where it is probable that he had military training. that is especially worrying, that this is a person with training and experience committing violent acts. investigators are examining the suspect's computer and mobile phones to determine just how close berlin came to a terror attack. brent: germany's biggest

newspaper, "bild," is reporting that attackers planned to target alexanderplatz, in central berlin. our correspondent is standing by their. you see the very famous alexanderplatz. what is the mood there? do you get the sense that people are aware that they may have been a target of terror? reporter: we are standing here in the middle of alexanderplatz. this is a very important tourist destination. today i walked alexanderplatz and everything seemed to be business as usual. the shops were open. street vendors still here and there were plenty of tourists to be seen. i don't think they were very concerned about the possibility that there could be a terror attack right here in

alexanderplatz. brent: do we have any more details about the planned attack? we know the german daily "bild" newspaper say the attack was planned for alexanderplatz. do we have independent confirmation of that? reporter: "bild" said two of the suspects worked around alexanderplatz. their idea was to find information they could use for their alleged attack, but this was not confirmed by authorities in germany. they did not specifically name any place in berlin that could have been a target. i think they want to wait until they actually look at the computers, at the mobile phones that were found before coming to any conclusion, before actually knowing whether this place could have been a target. brent: it is the data that will be key here. you have been following closely the immigration debate here in germany. what could the alleged involvement of an algerian and

his arrest in a refugee shelter, what could all of that mean for immigrants here in germany? reporter: this will not help angela merkel, for sure. this will be an argument that will be used by those who are against angela merkel costs refugee policy, who are worried about what that influx of refugee means, who are worried about the integration of those refugees. he will be like an "i told you so," that the influx of refugees comes with more problems than benefits. they will use this in their favor to criticize angela merkel and her policy on refugees. brent: we will see you later on. thank you very much. reporter: i will be there. brent: here in germany it is carnival time, when many people put on their colorful costumes and take to the streets to party. this year in the city of cologne, the most common outfit

is a police uniform and security has been beefed up after a series of sexual assaults took place in the city on new year's eve. reporter: for many in cologne, carnival is their favorite brand of mary madness. but this time the atmosphere is less carefree than usual. that is clear from the huge police presence. the mass sexual assaults in the city just over a month ago have cast a long shadow over the festivities. >> it's always in the back of our minds, but we are not going out alone. we are being cautious and sticking together. >> i'm a bit scared, but security is tighter and we are keeping and i on our things. so far, so good. reporter: more than 3000 police are on the streets. there has never been this many during carnival. there is more video surveillance too. after new year's eve, the police

are keen to keep everything under control. there is concern about a possible terror attack, though authorities say there is no evidence to indicate that is likely. >> we shouldn't worry. there are lots of federal police here too. i don't think anything will go wrong. i think the police are making sure that the main train station is the safest ways to be -- place to be. >> carnival is supposed to be about forgetting your troubles. we should not let on we are afraid about anything. reporter: fewer people are taking part in the street parade this year, partly due to the rainy weather. but it is clear there is more uneasiness than in years past. still, plenty are determined to carry on their tradition. brent: let's bring you up to speed with some of the other stories making headlines around the world. a court in jerusalem as jailed two israelis for the 2014 murder of a palestinian teenager.

one received 21 years in prison, the other, life. the murder of the 16-year-old was one of a series of events that sparked the 2014 gaza war. he was burned to death in a forest outside jerusalem. the body of an italian student who went missing in egypt last week has been found showing signs of torture. officials say the man was discovered on a road in a cairo suburb with multiple stab wounds and cigarette burns. italy has called on egypt to launch a full investigation involving italian experts. spain has confirmed its first case of the zika virus. the health ministry says the pregnant woman recently returned from columbia. the south american country has 20,000 confirmed cases of the virus. the world health organization has declared a global emergency over the outbreak, which has

been linked to major birth defects. you are watching "dw news" live from berlin. still to come, the latest on the assange and theetween wikileaks british government. stick around. ♪

brent: welcome back. you are with "dw news," live from berlin. world leaders have pledged nearly 10 billion euros to help syrian refugees. there are concerns it won't be enough to ease the suffering of those displaced by the civil war. german police have carried out anti-terror raids across the country. authorities say they're investigating four men who have links to the so-called islamic state may have been planning a terror attack here in berlin. when day before a u.n. panel is expected to announce that julian

assange has been unfairly detained, the wiki leaks founder is still getting visitors at the ecuadorian embassy. vivian westwood was in london to see assange herself, showing off her british passport before going inside the embassy. the iconic fashion designer said she visits the wikileaks founder every month and hopes the u.n. decision will break up what she calls a national conspiracy. julian assange, to his supporters, is a campaigner for truth. to his critics, he is an irresponsible publicity seeker who has put lives at risk by leaking sensitive information into the public domain. reporter: australian born assange rose to prominence when he founded wikileaks, a platform for publishing confidential files. this made headlines around the world in april 2010. later that year, assange

infuriated the american government when a wikileaks released masses of u.s. secret military documents in the afghan and iraq wars. soon afterwards, swedish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him on allegations of sexual assault. the swedes wanted to question him on the claims that he raped one woman and sexually molested and coerced another. he says the encounters were consensual and the investigations are politically motivated. his continuing fear, that sweden would extradite him to the u.s., where he could be tried for releasing the american documents. he spent months under house arrest in the u.k. in 2012, days after his bid to reopen, he fled to the ecuadorian us embassy -- embassy seeking asylum. >> as wikileaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression, and the health of

all our societies. reporter: in the ecuadorian embassy he has stayed, more than three years holed up in the embassy's cramped quarters. around-the-clock police prevent him from escaping. his room is divided into an office and a living area. only one of the swedish accusations is still being investigated. the others were dropped after authorities ran out of time to press charges. his appeal to the u.n. panel was a final bid for clarity. brent: today, according to sweden's foreign ministry, the united nations panel has determined that his confinement in the ecuadorian embassy in london is unlawful. i want to pull in our correspondent, she is following the story in sweden's capital, stockholm. what are the first reactions from sweden to the u.n. panel's ruling? reporter: good evening. the swedish foreign ministry

said today they would [indiscernible] they will give their formal answer tomorrow. they also said, obviously the u.s. panel reach a different conclusion than swedish authorities. the experts are surprised about the u.n. panel's ruling. they say that julian assange walked into this embassy by his own will. the experts in sweden say this will not change anything here in sweden. brent: is sweden likely to drop the charges against assange? reporter: well, no. the prosecutor said today in a message from his vacation that he is not affected by the u.n. panel's ruling, and he won't change anything. he will continue working as he did before. brent: in stockholm, on the julian assange story for us tonight. thank you very much.

let's get to business news for you now, the latest on the man who introduced skyhigh drug prices in the united states. he's not a popular man. >> is definitely not, brent. he has been called the most hated man in the pharmaceuticals industry for sure. he was vilified last year when he raised prices of some specialized life-saving drugs by as much as 5000%. common pills that people were using for years ended up costing hundreds of dollars. today he was called on to testify before a u.s. congressional committee hearing on prescription drug prices, but he did not have much to say. reporter: he was part of a group of pharmaceuticals executives called to testify at the congressional hearing. congressman were furious about his behavior during the hearing. >> it's not funny. people are dying and they are getting sicker and sicker. you can look away if you like,

but i wish you could see the faces of people. reporter: shkreli could not be persuaded to answer any questions. >> what would you say to the single pregnant woman who might have aids, no income? she needs the drug to survive. >> i invoke my fifth amendment and respectfully decline to answer your question. >> do you think you've done anything wrong? >> on the advice of counsel, i invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question. reporter: but after shkreli left congress, he was much more voluble on social media. on twitter, he insulted the members of the congressional committee. hard to except that these embassy else represent the people in our government, read one sweet. shkreli's star seems to be

descending in any case. he has pleaded not guilty to the charges which are unrelated to the form of pricing scandal. he stepped down from turing and was fired from another pharmaceuticals company. brent: yesterday it was b.p., today its shell. the anglo dutch oil group has become the latest victim of falling oil prices with its worst drop in annual earnings in 13 years. profit came in at $3.8 billion last year, compared to $19 billion in 2014. shell says it is slashing 10,000 jobs but it is still about to complete a huge takeover. some shareholders are asking whether it is a wise move, considering shell's latest earnings. we have told you many times now that china is planning to shift the focus of its economy from industrial production to consumption and services.

but what this that shift look like, and what does it mean? demeans multinationals producing in china are losing money and setting their sights on a whole new continent. reporter: as always, there shift begins with an exercise drill. these workers at a shoe factory in southern china are about to receive some bad news. their boss tells them profits are down. some workers will be sacked. others will have their hours cut. china produces billions of shoes every year, more than any other country in the world. but the good times are over. >> fewer contracts, falling prices, competition is fierce, and we are barely making a profit. reporter: time for a crisis management meeting. while the footwear might not suggest it, the mood is serious.

the factory boss shares his vision for the future. this is what it looks like. same drill, same uniforms, same work, except this factory is in ethiopia. workers here earn 50 euros a month, 10 times less than their chinese counterparts. chinese manufacturers are increasingly eyeing up africa, where they can profit from cheap labor. the factory boss is doing quality control checks. he is annoyed to find that production targets are not being met. >> the culture is more westernized in ethiopia. china has its own unique way of life. for instance, we demand 100% obedience of our employees. here we have to explain and describe work procedures. reporter: but he's got no regrets about moving operations to africa, even if that means

slashing chinese jobs. >> when business is good, we hire people. when it slows down, we fire them. in private enterprise, profit is the one and only goal. reporter: and profit means expansion. the company has bought all of the surrounding land. he wants to build a giant production plant here. it will be shaped like a shoe. >> i'm very excited. i must achieve this and i will achieve it. it's a very valuable and meaningful project. reporter: dozens of chinese companies are now moving to africa. the trend will have a major impact on the global economy. >> unbelievable. back to you, brent. brent: a disturbing story there. time for a quick reminder of the top stories we're following for

you. world leaders have pledged nearly 10 billion euros to help syrian refugees, but there are concerns it won't enough to ease the suffering of those displaced by the civil war. german police have carried out anti-terror raids across the country. authorities say they are investigating four men who have links to the so-called islamic state and may have been planning a terror attack in berlin. you are watching "dw news," live from berlin.

this week on "wealthtrack," as the world economy slows will governments and companies be able to pay off their mountains of debt? michael buchanan of western asset management shows where his award winning team is avoiding financial avalanches and searching for hidden answers next on consuelo mack "wealthtrack." ♪ new york life along with the family of mutual funds offers investment and retirement solutions so you can help your clients keep good going. additional funding provided by -- loomis sales, investors seeking exceptional opportunities