[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> this is "dw news" live from berlin. tonight's, if i a new leader. gianni infantino is tossed to -- tasked to bring the organization out with new reforms. and president hassan rouhani cast his ballot as reformists hope to gain ground against

religious hard-liners and move them closer to the west. and a countdown to asus cessation of hostilities in syria has begun -- to a system nation o's of hostilities in syria has begun. good to have you with us. a new president, a new package of reforms, and hopefully a new era for fifa, the disgraced entity that touts itself as soccer's world governing body. gianni infantino will take the chair vacated by the scandal that plagued sepp blatter. his task will be to restore professional soccer. one zealous sportswriter described him as these substitute who came off the bench to score the winning goal

in a cup final. >> a deep draft for p5's new president. -- for fifa's the president. gianni infantino is the most powerful man in world football. gianni infantino: i want to work with all of you together, with all of you, in order to restore and rebuild a new era in fifa, a new era in football, with the ball in the center of the stage. reporter: the clock is ticking. the congress has passed a package of reforms that he has 60 days to implement. it strips power from the president and limits terms to 12 years. there will be new women members of the fee for counsel. he won the first round of voting , and the second round produced

a comfortable majority. >> it was a great sign of democracy and fifa, -- in fifa, and i want to be the president of all of you, of all 209 associations. reporter: tonight, he can celebrate his new post. and the challenge begins -- repairing fifa's tarnished reputation. brian: -- brent: to talk about what happened, i am joined by our correspondent from our sports desk. is this the right man at the right time to clean up fifa? reporter: of the four or five candidates, everyone had a black spots. gianni infantino is not alone in that.

some people might question his close ties, and there may be doubt, but he does have experience with administrative work. he does have a huge task ahead of him. at least in this respect, money speaks, and also he'd told a lot of these international member associations, i will double the amount i give to you. brent: the money part of the equation has not changed at fifa. that is one way to look at this eerie let's talk about these reforms. the reforms that were passed to today were much more important than the new president, i was told. let's talk about that. what is going to change and will it clean up fifa or build trust? >> the standard proposals are more female memberships, strict er integrity checks.

the question is, is all of this enough? in general terms these proposals are focused on the structural side -- the terms are very general. i think the question remains to be seen. a lot of change happening at the top. fifa is not just the headquarters in zurich. fifa has a lot more to read can you change the culture at fifa? the culture at the bottom of the pyramid? infantino said, i will promise so much money. who will track that money? otherwise it you will have another scenario like in the sepp blatter era where you have men in suits pocketing this money. brent: this is not different. it's really no different than what happened a year ago. can you tell me who voted for him? reporter: it is to show this

entire controversy with the transparent roots, and of the same time, taking photos to show these members, here is who i voted for -- but i think the entire election process needs to be reformed and i think public debates are also very important and we saw that with two major networks are tried to hold these debates fourth of that a lot of the candidates did not even want to be involved in the process. brent: thanks as always for talking with us. here's a look at other stories making headlines around the world. at least nine civilians are dead after militants from the islamist group i'll should bob -- al-shabaab detonated a car bomb in mogadishu. government troops every taken the building and killed the militants. in new chair -- in niger, the

president has taken the lead and the election but fell short of an outright victory. this forces a runoff against the opposition leader. he is currently in jail on baby trafficking charges. the former republican presidential candidate chris christie has thrown his support behind the front runner in the race, donald trump. the new jersey governor said his former rival have the best chance at beating democratic candidate hillary clinton in the november election. the endorsement is expected to give trump even more momentum as he heads into super tuesday. chris christie is the first major party figure to back the billionaire businessman. the polls were supposed to close more than five hours ago in iran's parliamentary elections, but officials say turnout was so strong, voting will continue for another hour at least.

these are the first parliamentary elections since international sanctions were lifted. reformist candidates are hoping to gain ground against religious hardliners who remain skeptical about closer ties with the west. reporter: the irani of people came out in force to vote. the election is their chance to decide members of parliament as well as the influential assembly of experts, which elects the supreme leader. conservatives and moderates are vying for power. in many places, turnout was so high, voting was extended well into the weekend. >> we hope they will respect and keep their promises now that we have spent a lot of time standing in the queue. >> we hope that they will do what they have promised. because of the high turnout, i am hoping the candidate i voted for will be elected.

reporter: moderate candidates closely allied with rouhani are hoping for a boost in the elections. it was under his administration that iran signed an agreement with the west. recent elections have highlighted the gap between religious officials and the young population of iran. many are under 30. >> in the past years, people did not come for voting. i'm really happy everyone came here and i hope that something changes. a lot of people are here. there is meaning behind this. reporter: still many moderates have been blocked from becoming candidate at all.

the guardian council can veto whose stance. they disqualified half of the 12,000 candidates who sought to run for not being loyal enough to the system. supreme leader ayatollah khomeini remains in tight control of the country and will subject any reformist plans to intense scrutiny. the first results are expected this weekend. the make up of the next parliament will show whether the arena people have -- the iranian people have voted for change. brent: one year ago, boris no capemstov was gunned down. there are five suspects in custody, awaiting trial for the murder. i report looks at the impact his death has had on people in russia.

>> a display of courage, a call for change. russians took to the streets the year ago led by the opposition leader boris nemstov. "freedom," they called, but freedom has remained elusive. a party colleague and friend of boris nemstov says he feels increasingly insecure on moscow's streets. >> anyone who dares to criticize president putin is taking a risk. that makes you want to fight for your country or leave, but if you stay and fight, you should not have to be afraid. reporter: boris nemstov paid a high price for staying in fighting. he was gunned down in the center

of moscow, right in front of the kremlin. a brazen killing that shocked the world and remains unsolved. we spoke to his daughter and asked who she thought was involved in the killing of her father. >> i personally believe -- had a role in this assassination, and i called for his interrogation on many, many occasions. but they refuse to question him and they challenged this refusal in court. the russian state provides a cover-up for him. reporter: today, fewer and fewer russians dare to raise their voice against the powerful. the wounds from the assist the ancient -- from the assassination are still too fresh. his party lost all elections it participated in. the opposition remains splintered.

>> everything i do is a moral obligation to nemstov. if we have stopped after his death, it would have been a betrayal. brent: last summer german chancellor angela merkel predicted the refugee crisis would forever change germany. and in the months since, she has been proven right in ways no one could have known. now germany's president has given his verdict. he has a ceremonial role as the nation's moral conscience, and he says even he is worried about the future of europe. >> german presidididt ur him doc -- joachim gauck is worried about europe. he is worried about the european union over disagreements on the question of migrants. >> the european union is weak. reporter: it is a weakness that

makes the solution to the refugee question seem impossible. he says that regional strategies such as closing off of borders cannot be the only solution. he is fighting for tough compromises for all parties involved. >> one possibility may be for european and regional solutions to complement one another. it may be the way to ring about a compromise -- bring about a compromise that may not seem satisfactory, but at least we would be sticking together. reporter: not only within europe, but also in the face of attacks on refugee shelters in germany, gauck is calling for more dialogue and seeing both sides of the argument. if you -- >> if you want to

protest, abide by the rules. i don't care if you shout at your mayors. but then listen to what they have to say. reporter: president gauck was unusually candid. brent: we will be right back after a short break.

brent: welcome back, you are with "dw news," live from berlin. our top story -- delegates at an extraordinary feat the meeting have elected gianni infantino as the next president of world soccer for governing body. his first order of business will be implementing a reform package passed earlier at the meeting. if all goes well, the guns in syria will fall silent a few hours from now for the first time in half a decade. the vast jordy of opposition

groups say they are willing to give peace -- the vast majority of opposition groups say they are willing to give peace a chance for the time being. that is if damascus behaves. the islamic state and the al nusra fronts have vowed to continue their campaigns in turkey will continue after kurdish rebels across the border. reporter: for now, the fighting continues. smoke still billows from piles of rubble in damascus and homes, but the countdown to the cease-fire has begun, and much now hangs on the agreement. -- damascus and homs. >> tomorrow i would like to see the agreement change the situation in syria. that it brings a moment of peace. the yrian people want to its. -- the syrian people want it. reporter: his russian

counterpart, sergei lavrov, was >> of course, no one can guarantee the success of the agreement 100%, but there are grounds for taking this forward and making it firm. reporter: with airstrikes continuing in syria, the turkish spokesman expressed his skepticism the cease-fire would work. >> so far, the syrian regime has used these negotiations, such as the talks in vienna and geneva, as the pretext to gain time. we hope this time the outcome will be different. but the worsening conditions on the ground to not help us to be hopeful. reporter: the temporary truce well include international forces, but international power's will be able to strike

extremist groups such as the islamic state and the all nusra front. after five years of fighting, this brings at least a little hope, but it remains to be seen what impact it will have on the conflict in syria. brent: some things are already lost forever. one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world is a unesco world heritage site or it would be if the syrian city of palmira were not under the control of the islamic state. the islamic state has destroyed and looted much of the site. reporter: when the world learned that islamist extremists had destroyed palmira, many feared that history would be lost. but they found a surprising piece of its heritage -- 40 drawings by the french

archaeologist and artist who visited palmira 230 years ago. >> all of these drawings have a black border, almost like a mourning ribbon. we have the idea they were sent to us from the past. reporter: a topographical model of palmira makes it easy to find out what went there -- what went where. it shows us changes over time. >> it shows us what monument they are standing in front of. what is documented is which out lander fits into which town. reporter: he is considered a master of archaeological drawing. this was cutting-edge to hundred 30 years ago. restoring the drawings in a short time requires considerable resources. the exhibition in its intimate

space is a sign of solidarity with the arab world. brent: all right, and now on my side, we have the latest business news. chancellor merkel has made it clear again here in germany how much the economy needs those refugees with high skills. reporter: very high skills in fact, brent. germany is under in norma's pressure. one million refugees arrived last year. german companies are in dire need of skilled workers. german chancellor angela merkel once to change that. reporter: at the center, refugees are being trained to become heating technicians. some lacked proof of qualifications. and many are waiting on a decision for asylum

applications. they face a number of the craddick hurdles. chancellor merkel promised the business community she would push for quick changes. >> i promise we will work closely with the federal labor agency and try to get rid of bureaucratic hurdles area did -- bureaucratic hurdles. we will try to get refugees to accept modifications and will not require written test immediately. reporter: more flexibility for refugees does not mean they will receive less pay. the chancellor says the living wage cannot be called into question. >> my three colleagues and i agree that we stand behind the chancellor. we are in support of europe and open borders that benefits the economy.

reporter: government and business leaders a great refugees should join the economy. only then can the integration succeed. >> the economy grew faster than expected. it expanded at 1%, and improvement of the previous estimates of .7%. consumer spending rose .5%. these numbers are closely watched by the u.s. federal reserve. the country's economic performance will determine how fast interest rates will rise this year. and it seems never-ending -- the negotiation between the eu and the u.s. over the transatlantic partnership free trade deal. the goal is to reach a final deal by the end of the year, but

there is a sense that it couldst bowed down. greenpeace protesters blocked the entrance to the u.n. headquarters in brussels. negotiators are about to tackle the issue of unrestricted access both sides of government contracts. germany rejects a global stimulus pack. top economies are meeting in shanghai for china's first meeting, with a response -- there is no consensus on who will do the task of the tackling. reporter: it is the first time china has hosted the g20. it was not expected there would be encouraging news. china is growing at its lowest rate in a quarter century and that is being felt around the world. >> concerted efforts have put

the world economy back on the track to recovery. however, the recovery process has been modest and uneven. this shows balanced growth. reporter: but the g20 cannot agree on how to achieve that. some say pouring more money into world economies is not been effective. however, others think there is room to maneuver. >> i think monetary policy has come to attend. there is more that can be done, but it will have to be designed in a very proper way to achieve the effects we need on economic growth. reporter: easier said than done. besides china, other emerging economies are under enormous pressure and so far no one has come up with a solution to halt the steady downward trend. >> and the winner is -- it's

time for the academy awards this sunday. it's not just about the oscars, but those little emeralds behind me revealing the names of the winners. and guess what? they are made in germany. they are produced in the heart of the bavarian outs. the family run business was selected as the official supplier for years ago. -- they are produced in the heart of the bavarian alps. these are the envelopes that can secure an actor a place in the hall of fame. we are not going to get those and bullets, i guess, brent? brent: maybe not this time. maybe next year. there's a reminder of the top story we are following 40. delegates at a fee for meeting in zurich have elected -- delegates at a fee for meeting in zurich have elected gianni infantino as the president of world soccer fro governing body.

his first task is to implement a reform package passed earlier at the meeting. and heavy turnout has forced an extension of voting in parliamentary elections in iran. reformist candidates are hoping to make gains after the dropping of western sanctions against tehran. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stay with us.

>> this program is brought to you in part by cie tours international. for over 80 years featuring all-inclusive tours and go as you please value vacations throughout ireland and britain. cietours.com. ♪ >> pat: hello and welcome. i'm pat o'reilly.