anchor: this is dw news come up live from berlin. peace talks for syria, questionable within the country. the assad regime is it saying the elections are legitimate, but opponents have land of the vote as a sham. also coming up, greek police used tear gas on the idomeni border camp. they try to break through fences. and we take it to geneva, where young visionaries are showing off their possibly revolutionary ideas, and the exhibition of

inventions. ♪ i am brent, it is good to have you with us. the u.n.-backed peace talks in syria have resumed in geneva. many of the issues which put them on hold in february are still unresolved. it comes on the same day as heavily criticized parliamentary votes and. critics say that the president assad is using the election to strengthen his position at those peace talks. >> with more than half of the syrian population displaced, and the swathes of the country controlled by armed groups, a smiling president assad joined his wife.

they said he should not try to claw back legitimacy while a civil war rages on. damascus insists the election was constitutional. results will be posted on thursday. >> we were displaced from aleppo to damascus. we are looking for someone who can represent us in the people's assembly, and carry our voices to the officials in damascus. i am a fighter in the national defense. i cannot get my mother. we think some candidates are trustworthy, and we choose them. we wish them all up. >> voting took place only in government controlled areas, geographically, about a third of the country, shown in green. about 5 million assyrians have fled, and an estimated 70 million assyrians are still in the country. of those of 17 million, about

60% are in areas controlled by assad's troops. the election comes as a surge in violence threatens a partial cease-fire. it also took place on the same day as u.n.-backed peace talks in geneva. syria's opposition says the election undermines these negotiations. >> and some of those key players have spoken publicly, the main syrian opposition group met with stefan. he said he wanted to see a renewed pledge from all sides in withholding -- upholding syria's cease-fire. he called the president a disease and asked him to step down. they will arrive in geneva later this week. brent: our correspondent barbara basil is covering those talks in

geneva. here's what she had to say. barbara: the elections held at damascus are nothing but a disturbance. the talks are dismissing them as -- they are not internationally recognized, and will not be the thing that the rails this second round of the peace talks. however, there are other dangerous. the first, that the cease-fire will break down. the position groups here are saying that if assad does not stop fighting them, they will retreat from the negotiating table. it is quite clear that he is trying to regain territory around aleppo. it cannot go on in this way otherwise, they will not have further negotiations. the second sticking point, and the main sticking point, we have seen no movement so far during these talks, the future of assad . the position says, and would have held up internationally, that assad needs to go.

there can be no transition, no political transition, with him in power. they have not moved at all. the final decision about what will happen here is made in moscow. but, nobody knows whether president clinton -- putin will hold his hand over assad in the future. brent: the deal between the european union and turkey to help solve europe's migrant crisis is having little effect on the idomeni migrant camp on the border of greece and macedonia. police fired tear gas at a group of several dozen migrants trying to pull down part of a border fence on wednesday. thousands, hoping to reach northern europe, have been stuck in italy since february, when several countries along the belkin routes closed their borders.

the deal between the eu and turkey has faced significant criticism. conservatives say it puts europe's future into turkish hands. left-leaning parties say it ignores humanitarian turns. for now, the deal is holding, and slowing the flow of markets. >> their dreams of reaching northern europe shattered, the refugees are escorted by soldiers to turkey. they have held out on the island of lesbos four weeks. in strasburg, the agreement has drawn criticism across party lines. >> i think the eu-turkey deal is illegal because it violates european and international law. in addition, it poses moral questions about the signal we are saying, that it leaves the problem to others to deal with the refugees. >> skeptics say it gives turkey too much power. but the german chancellor says

there is a pragmatic solution. >> this is the first sensible, effective step eu and the members have taken to reduce the influx of refugees. >> spring in europe is turning into a season of discord. brent: after months of internal wrangling, the leaders of germany's governing coalition parties are meeting tonight to talk to the nation, that they have everything under control. the leaders of various groups will launch a variety of political reforms, including refugees and international security. there has been criticism of chancellor merkel's policies, and the policy has severely strained the governing coalition. our political correspondent is following the thoughts for us

tonight. she joins us from outside the chancellor's office. good evening to you. we have seen weeks of arguments among the coalition partners. i am wondering, what could be on the agenda tonight that is any different from what we have seen before? reporter: on the face of it, there is a list of about 50 points of bread and butter issues, and i am sure you don't want me to take you through that right now. the big issue is proving they can still act as a government, because all of the parties around the table here are hurting politically. they have lost support amongst other things, to the afd, the alternative to germany, the far right party on the rise here. the question is greater than ever, to prove that they can actually agree on something, and not just argue over the migration issues with the chancellor. brent: and the csu, that is the

bavarian conservative party, the sister party in the governing coalition, has suggested introducing a new islam law that would impose a certain controls on muslims in germany. what is that about? reporter: this is the csu, that threat this crisis has been torpedoing the chancellor on her open course here. it has back to down to a degree, and no longer will pursue most likely that threat of taking the chancellor to the constitutional church here in germany, which it did previously. now, a proposal for a law, to basically force muslims in germany to integrate more, to speak german, only have a german trade. this is a bluff, frankly. because this is not going to happen. it is just as unlikely as catholics being forced to no

longer have latin mass, or jews to no longer speak hebrew during their religious ceremonies. brent: very good point there. the big story this week, the german comedian bohmermann, in some political hot water with the turkish president for making some not so nice comments about the president on late-night television. will that be discussed there tonight? reporter: it is not on the agenda, but it is the political topic across grmany at the moment. whether, the german government will allow everyone to invoke this special law to foreign leaders. i have no doubt if not at the table, it will be discussed informally. of course, we will never find out, will be? brent: it would certainly be nice to be a fly there on the wall tonight, for sure. thank you very much. reporter: you're welcome. brent: as we have heard, turkeys

president has -- he prohibits insulting foreign heads of state, and has now hired a top law firm in munich to pursue charges against bohmermann. bohmermann made crude, -- crude comments against him on television. but he said he will not be appearing on his show, for the time being. >> satirist bohmermann on his television show, deeply insulted the turkish president. >> the president the house to punish the party involved. above all, he vows to prevent him from saying that in the

future. >> erdogan is taking advantage of law, saying it is illegal to insult a foreign head of state. however, chancellor merkel must give her permission for the prosecution to take place. that is something the nations legal experts are now discussing. there is now a reference to another german law. >> our fundamental values are spelled out in article five of the constitution, the freedom to express one's own opinion, in the freedom of sciences and the arts. these fundamental values are inalienable, because of all the political problems we have been discussing. >> will germany allow erdogan to press charges? >> it would also be strange if the german government helped him. while at the same time, everyone

wants freedom of opinion, and the artistic expression. that can only bring about misunderstanding. the german government must never allow itself to be coerced. >> and online initiative is also underway, with a petition to the german government. they don't want erdogan hurt feelings to have any impact on law in germany. many of our he signed the petition. brent: the united states have released footage of russian military planes flying dangerously close to a u.s. navy destroyer in the baltic sea. the commander of the uss donald cook said the unarmed russian planes appear to simulate an attack. into -- they deemed the actions unsafe and unprofessional. washington remains conserved --

concerned over the behavior, but it remains to be seen whether a formal protest will be made. south korea's ruling conservative party has lost its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in 16 years. 90% of the votes have now been counting, following parliamentary elections. according to south korea's national public or tester, president park geun-hye's party has failed to gain a majority. they are and neck with the largest opposition party. the president could now become a lame duck before she leaves office in 2018. south korea's economic problems dominated the election campaign. where one to take a short break. when we come back, we will have more news, plus helen will be here with business headlines will be on the agenda? anchor: some positive news from

the chinese economy, for once, after a nine-month. brent: that is what we like to hear, thank you very much. news coming up on the other side of a 62nd break. ♪

brent: welcome back everyone, you are with dw news, live from berlin. here are the top stories. parliamentary voting has begun, opposition groups in syria says the elections lack of legitimacy could damage the fragile cease-fire. also, the five year civil war resumed today in geneva. greek police have used tear gas against migrants in the idomeni border camp, after some tried to break through fences to cross into macedonia. helena is here now with

investment news. we have positive news for a change. helena: economists are advising for caution, not wood -- out of the woods yet. chinese exports broke a nine-month losing streak, sparking a global rally for equities. china has got investors excited, so let's look at the numbers. the boost in chinese exports beat the forecast, and brought hope for a turnaround. exports were up 11.5%, year on year, recovering from a slump in february. they sparked a rally in equity markets across asia. major industries in china surged three-month highs. the shanghai composite closed up nearly 1.5%, while hong kong's index surged more than 3%. the jump in chinese exports lit

a fire in tokyo, with a nikkei average closing on a 3% higher. those wanting for an export turnaround, reflects a seasonal distortion in the wake of the lunar new year holiday in february. the dramatic improvement is also a result of the unusually large contraction of exports in march of last year, which made comparable results look stronger. helena: let's get some more on that from wall street. can you tell us how our u.s. markets taking news of that chinese trade surprise? reporter: it helped wall street quite a bit. it is funny how the tide has turned. just on tuesday, we were talking about the latest forecast of the international monetary fund. on tuesday, they lower the global growth expectations because of weaker growth in china.

now, we saw the first increase in exports out of china and about nine months. that did helped wall street quite a bit. on top of that, we saw the earning reports from the biggest u.s. bank from j.p. morgan, those numbers came in better than expected. the biggest winner was a good 4% in the dow jones. helena: let's take a look at verizon, because a massive strike is underway after the company ailed to reach a labor agreement with workers there. can you tell us more about that? reporter: one expert was saying we have not seen a strike like that in the communications industry in about 60 years, with 36,000 east coast workers on strike. we have no clue how long this might be going on. it could take days, weeks, or even months. the workers are trying to prevent verizon from cutting the pension benefits, and to make it

easier to outsource work to non-union workers. we will see if that will be successful. verizon, by the way, has been -- has trained non-unionized workers to do the job so that there will be not too many disruptions for the customers of verizon. but the huge fight here, by the way, presidential hopeful bernie sanders joined the protests in brooklyn, so he tried to use it for his political ambitions. helena: thank you very much. federal appeals court in new york has given argentina the go-ahead to start making its payments after the country came up with a way how to pay its creditors after a decade of eight battle over bonds. they are in debt for $15

billion, they will pay out their holdout creditors first. that is triggered by the company -- countries default, more than $95 billion in debt, has stopped them from raising fresh capital in the past. staying in the u.s., and a controversial north carolina measure, flying in the face of those trying to protect the lgbt community from discrimination. it would make it illegal for transgender people to use bathrooms assigned to the gender they identify with. many have spoken against this, including celebrities and corporate -- giants of the corporate world. >> shame is what demonstrators in north carolina are calling of the law, limiting measures to protect lesbians, gays, and transgender people from

discrimination. it is now affecting north carolina's economy. they said they were freezing plans to create 250 new jobs in north carolina. deutsche bank has significant business in the united states. he said he would -- the governor said he would expand the law, restricting transgender bathroom access. within the last few weeks, resistance to the law has been growing. bruce springsteen canceled a weekend concert in north carolina to protest against the law. >> it will hurt them economically, that is the only thing they will understand. if you hurt them economically, they will do the right thing, morally. reporter: celebrities are taking a stand against discrimination. this week, canadian singer bryan adams refused to play in mississippi, after a law was passed that allows people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples.

helena: watching a movie with friends has always been a popular pastime. of course, the experience is even better if you catch the superheroes on the big screen. that seems to be paying off for the movie business, reporting its highest ever earnings, after sales revenues increased by more than 5%. >> stand. reporter: it is movies like "captain america's civil war," that draws biggest audiences. action, fantasy, and superhero films have set the world box offices alike. laughter, movies generated global revenues of over 33 billion euros. the u.s. and canada sold the most ticket sales. china has now taken a surprising second-place, with 6 billion

euros in taking, followed by britain. one reason for the healthy result, is the steadily growing number of cinemas. in china, there is a real boom in cinema construction. audiences saw 50% last year. but a blockbuster on its own is not enough to pull in the crowds. nowadays, people also insist on huge screens, comfy seats, and a broad range of tasty snacks and treats. helena: that is it for your business news for now. back to you, brent. brent: we have a really interesting sports story for you now. in basketball, the nba will bid farewell to one of its most iconic players on wednesday night. kobe bryant will take to the court one last time, when he faces the utah jazz. bryant played his entire 20 year career with the los angeles lakers, winning five nba championships.

the 37-year-old is third on the all-time scoring list, and also has two olympic gold medals under his belt. doesn't get much better than that? refrigerators, washing machines, telephones, they are all commonplace these days. but once, they were ground-breaking inventions. some were even revolutionary. new inventors are showing off their possibly revolutionary ideas at the exhibition of inventions taking place right now in geneva. reporter: it is an exercise bike, media player, and baby buggy. get ready to sweat, moms and dads. charging his battery takes vigorous activity, but a fresh breeze keeps things goal. there is an alarm to signal a wet diaper, and mobile phones get a recharge, too. this is designed by chinese students, hoping to get there big break.

>> it is self generated, so the baby stays warm through the ride. they can also enjoy videos and music, developing its intelligence. our product is fantastic. reporter: more than 750 inventors are showing their ideas at this exhibition of inventions. some are fanciful, some are practical. there is a world first mri machine for babies, a phone app for sleepwalkers to alert their partners, and a heart-shaped toilet brush. they want inventions that were, but also push beyond the status quo. >> we need quicker, faster communication systems. we need safety, a lot more medical solutions. we need environmental protection. reporter: some 50,000 visitors are expected in geneva for the fair. it will be many investors, among them. good news for the inventors, more than half the product here already have buyers. brent: all right, we are coming

on the bottom of the top stories. voting in parliamentary elections, in government-controlled areas of syria. opposition groups say the legitimacy could threaten the fragile cease-fire. also, aimed at ending the five-year civil war in syria resumed today in geneva. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stay tuned for that.

steves: the dramatic rock of cashel is one of ireland's most evocative sites. this was the seat of ancient irish kings for seven centuries. st. patrick baptized king aengus here in about 450 a.d.

in around 1100, an irish king gave cashel to the church, and it grew to become the ecclesiastical capital of all ireland. 800 years ago, this monastic community was just a chapel and a round tower standing high on this bluff. it looked out then, as it does today, over the plain of tipperary, called the golden vale because its rich soil makes it ireland's best farmland. on this historic rock, you stroll among these ruins in the footsteps of st. patrick, and wandering through my favorite celtic cross graveyard, i feel the soul of ireland.

this building was once used as a sound stage.