anchor: this is "dw news" from berlin. a fearsome arsenal intended to wreak havoc at the european football championships. in ukraine, it says it has arrested a would-be terrorist on its border with poland. a french national is in custody and his weapons and explosives confiscated. we will take you to kiev and paris. also coming up, germany's president says he will not stand for a second term in a largely ceremonial role. we will look at his legacy and possible political wrangle to find a replacement. and turkey's president launches another attack on germany accusing german m.p.'s of

being terrorist sympathizers after they voted to recognizing the killing of armenians 100 years ago as a genocide. welcome to the program. we begin with an alleged plot to unleash a wave of terrorist attacks at the european football championships in just five days. sporting venues were targeted along with mosques and synagogues. the alleged aim, maximum mayhem and loss of life. ukrainian authorities say they have thwarted this plot, arrested a french right-wing extremist and confiscated an arsenal frightening in its destructive capacity. reporter: hidden camera footage of the suspect shows him packing a small bandwidth explosives.

ukraine's security services says it has been following the frenchman since december after he made contact with armed groups with the aim of buying weapons and explosives. special forces detained him at the border crossing with poland. >> ukraine's security service has managed to prevent a series of 15 terrorist attacks planned for the territory of france before and during the european soccer championships which start on june 10, 2016. reporter: the security service chief said the frenchman had amassed an arsenal including assault rifles, over 5000 rounds of ammunition, two grenade launchers, and 125 kilos of tnt. officials said the suspect wanted to protest his government's migration policy and the spread of islam. is intended targets included houses of worship and government

offices and france --in france. >> although it sounds strange, it is true. it is documented the targets were in muslim loss, a jewish synagogue, highway patrol posts, and many other places. as i said, 15 terrorist attacks were planned. reporter: initially, french authorities were skeptical saying the detained men was not known to law enforcement or intelligence. but later, french police said a raid on the suspect's home in france uncovered ingredients for homemade explosives. french are deploying security forces amid fears the soccer championships could be targeted by islamist groups. france has extended its state of emergency introduced after last november's terrorist attacks until the end of july. anchor: we have team coverage

tonight. crank is standing by in ukraine where this terrorism suspect was arrested. lisa is in paris ahead of the soccer kick off later this week. tell us more about this arrest in ukraine. who was the? does he have potential accomplices? >> there is obviously a terrorist threat concerning the europe cup in france. this monday after the chief of the security service has revealed this capture of this 25-year-old french man who was getting services from the french embassy, so far so good. what a strange we are knowing this was revealed only three days after the united nations criticized harshly ukraine and secret service in this

country for torturing inmates in prisons in eastern ukraine and government territories. there are other questions, like who was the second person on the video. the other question is also, why now? just shortly before the euro cup and why did the public and french authorities want to learn more about this early. anchor: we want to hear from some of the french authorities. earlier today, a journalist asked one of those authorities if they will be changing the size of the force due to the incident. here is what they had to say. >> i have tried to be very clear with you during this entire news conference, to be precise as well. you will understand on the operational plan, we cannot say everything. therefore, i prefer not to respond directly to your question now. anchor: the french authorities

not responding to this arrest at this time. why do you think they are being so tightlipped? >> traditionally, french authorities are rather tightlipped when it comes to ongoing investigations. they want to make sure such investigations can go ahead and go smoothly. but also, there seems to be some kind of difference in perception of this man, of what role he could have played in france. several investigations have been opened at different levels of the state. this investigation has not yet been handed over to the antiterrorism department of the state. for the time being, authorities are looking into charges related to trafficking and links to write ring -- right-wing extremist groups. authorities found several t-shirts with the logo of the right-wing extremist group. reporter: there are only a few days to go until euro 2016.

a lot of people are nervous. are you sensing concern on the part of the public and authorities? >> certainly. francois hollande, the president, yesterday said it is a clear threat of terrorist attack in france but we should not get panicky. there is a lot of concern in the country. the country is still under a state of emergency. a lot of policemen are deployed. you can see them every day in the street. there is a lot of discussion about the stands being set up to watch the games without going to the stadium. these will be highly protected. it will be difficult to protect everybody at any point in time because there will be so many crowds at so many different places in france. people are certainly concerned about that. reporter: frank and lisa, thank you. we turn to other news now. germany's figure head of state

is set to bow out of political office. the president says he will not seek a second term in 2017. the former east german pastor and human rights activist made a popular figure. but at 76, he says it is time to step aside. reporter: blue skies in berlin. the official residence of germany's president. today, he announced after much reflection he is not seeking to extend his term. >> today, i would like to inform you i have decided not to run for the office of german president for a second time. reporter: he says it was not an easy decision to make. he is now 76 years old. of the several personal reasons that helped tip the scales, one important factor was his health. >> i do not think i can

guarantee i will have the energy and vitality necessary for another five years in office. how an older person reacts to his or her health is a personal, individual matter. this is a decision i made for myself. reporter: he is a highly popular president. 75% of germans were in favor of him continuing for another five years. but he says a change of president is no cause for worry, but a commonplace occurrence in a democratic system. even the government wanted him to stay on. >> first of all, i would have welcomed a second term of office. but secondly, i respect the president's statement and would like to thank him for his work. >> everyone will be comparing notes for a few weeks. but then hopefully, also keep quiet for a while.

>> not much chance of that. reporter: on the heels of his announcement, people are already speculating wildly about who's a successor may be. but until the time comes for that vote, he will continue doing what he does best. reaching out to people and speaking inspiration only, such as at this event last week. even if he might have meant it differently then, he bids farewell. in march, a new number one will take his place and you can enjoy retirement. reporter: a severe test of german-turkish relations and income principle -- in comprehensible reaction to comments made this weekend by the turkish president. he accused german parliamentarians with turkish roots of being supporters of terrorism and demanding they undergo blood tests to see what kind of turks they are. the outburst came after germany's parliament approved a

declaration that they committed genocide against armenians. reporter: he was one of the turkish politicians that backed the armenian resolution. he did not imagine their votes would trigger this attack from the turkish president. >> their blood is impure. we know who they speak for. they are an extension of the terrorists in germany. >> i am very concerned. i have never experienced this kind of insult. the problem is there are people in turkey who might interpret his words as in order to act. many people in turkey have already died that way. reporter: even the mayor of ankara shared a social media post showing the lawmakers on what looks like a wanted poster. comments underneath included murder threats. >> my inbox is flooded with

e-mails, protest e-mails from islamists, nationalists, and fascist groups. but now they have taken on a new quality. i get e-mails telling me to take a vacation in buchenwald or they have posted a bounty on my head. this is a whole new game. reporter: she now has a personal security grown -- guard as to other lawmakers. >> i think it is important to keep a cool head. that we must make it clear we will not tolerate individuals being singled out and targeted. reporter: the response from germany's government has been muted. >> to associate individual members of parliament with terrorism is utterly incomprehensible to us.

reporter: members of the left party are demanding chancellor angela merkel take a stand on the matter. they say threats from ankara can no longer be dismissed. anchor: let's get a quick check of other stories making news around the world. a fire at one of sri lanka's main ammunition depots has killed at least one soldier. reports say the blaze triggered a series of explosions lasting five hours at the army camp near the capital. thousands were evacuated from their homes. an american journalist and his translator have been killed on assignment in afghanistan. national public radio photographer, pictured on the right, and his translator were traveling with an afghan army unit when their convoy came under fire. iraqi forces have discovered a mass grave near fallujah after the city was retaken from so-called islamic state.

military sources say the burial site containing the bodies of about 400 people, mainly soldiers but also civilians. most of the dead appear to have been shot in the head. there is growing concern about the fate of 50,000 civilians still in the city as the u.n. believes remaining militants are using them as human shields. police have shot and killed at least two people during a protest in kenya's western city. the area has been a focal point of weekly demonstrations against the country's electoral commission which local opposition says is corrupt and biased. protesters also rallied in the capital blocking roads and chanting slogans against the commission. the opposition led by the former prime minister once the electoral commission to resign ahead of next year's presidential election. you are watching "dw news."

we have to take a short one-minute break. we are back with business news. don't go away.

anchor: welcome back. nearly all of the votes are counted in peru's presidential runoff election. and the winner is anybody's guess. the latest figures we have shown him less than one percentage point ahead of her. she is defiantly refusing to concede defeat hoping a few votes from the remote andean regions will sway the outcome her way. reporter: with most of the votes counted, the race is still neck-and-neck. since counting began, he has kept a slight lead.

but votes from peruvians abroad could tip the balance. some want to avoid a second regime. her father, a former president, is serving a lengthy prison sentence for corruption and the massacre of alleged terrorists. >> i think many of us were afraid of victory for the other side. we would have repeated the failures of the past. but now, he can almost be seen as the new president. we are relieved. reporter: he has made up a lot of ground. the 77-year-old executive has pledged to fight corruption and boost the economy. but many voters feel head too -- he too has drawbacks. >> he is too old. he should go to the retirement home.

reporter: as both candidates are conservatives, peru is expected to drift to the right. votes from rural areas remain to be counted. official results are not expected for a few days yet. anchor: the soccer tournament is underway in the united states. on sunday, mexico faced off against uruguay. before kickoff, uruguay were dealt a shock. check this out. >> ♪ anchor: you might have noticed the players are looking confused. that is becaus anthem, the orgas mistakenly played that of chile. many fans were angry. this woman wrote it was beyond

disrespectful telling the organizers, you had one job and blew it. as this user pointed out, it could be worse. he is referring to this incident in 2012 when a spoof national anthem was played. that song was created by the british comedian most famous for his fictional character borat, who happens to be from kazakhstan. in the end, uruguay at 3-1 to mexico. it is still not clear whether it was the song that did them in. we are going to have some business news now. a potential brexit has the pound wobbly. reporter: it is likely to continue that way with the brexit referendum a matter of weeks to go. the british currency dropped to

three-week lows against the euro and dollar for rebounding. traders were reacting to polls, one of which showed brexit backers moving to the league for the first time in weeks. analysts predict the pound could fall sharply in the final run-up to the vote. let's cross over to our man on wall street standing by. good to see you. it seems janet yellen has been talking brexit as well. what does she have to say? >> she did talk about it, but it was a one-liner. let me quote. a you can go to exit the european union could have significant economic repercussions. janet yellen was not precise. by the way, supporters of the brexit do not want to listen to the establishment telling them what to do. remarks like those from janet

yellen or president obama a few weeks ago might be counterproductive. one thing is for sure. the financial community gets more nervous the closer june 23, the day of the vote, comes. reporter: everyone is waiting to see if that interest rate rise in the united states is just around the corner. did we get any clues from janet yellen today? >> the next meeting is next week, tuesday. i am not sure which teams will play the euro cap next week on wednesday. i believe we can watch football and do not have to be too concerned about the federal reserve, especially after the weak employment data from last friday. janet yellen did say those numbers came in disappointing so there will be no change in

monetary policy next week. july is still on the table. we will get more news from the labor markets by then. overall, janet yellen did sound quite upbeat overall on the u.s. economy. but an increase of interest rates next week is off the table. reporter: many thanks for that update. it is a top-level sporting acquisition. italy's iconic football club has been brought by the chinese appliance retailer. the company is a household name in china and secured a 69% stake in the traditional soccer club for around 200 -- 270 million euros. they hope it will net them success on the pitch and in the balance books. >> it is the first -- was the first soccer club to visit china 38 years ago. many chinese watched them play.

it seems one of them was the new owner of the soccer club. >> we have huge resources. this will help us to invest continuously so we will provide a strong foundation which will allow it to be brilliant again. >> it is china's biggest retailer by volume. last year, the company's turnover topped 22 billion euros. in europe, it unknown. that will change with her name on the t-shirts. they are aiming to make the brand a major player in europe. major means participating in major soccer events. >> we want to be in the champions league. it is important. 190 million of our fans in asia, more than 100 million in china. >> chinese investors also own a

british soccer club. rumor has it they want to buy milan's rival as well. reporter: to afghanistan which has one of the deepest reserves of gemstones that have been exported for generations. much of the profit goes to illegal armed groups. governments try to thwart this by banning the trade of the semiprecious stone. it seems that is doing more harm than good. reporter: a polisher hard at work. his craft dates back thousands of years. egyptian royalty once treasured jewelry made from the gem. trade in the semiprecious stone could be as high as $1 billion. it would be a boon for war-torn afghanistan. but the country's mining industry is corrupt and violent. early last year, the afghan national security council banned the extraction, a major problem for dealers.

>> i invested all my money in it. but since the government banned mining, my business has collapsed. no one will buy it. what should i do with the stones? the only solution is for foreigners to come and buy them. when foreigners buy them, our business will start again and the government will benefit as well. reporter: although it has hurt some, the government banned has not slowed the money flow to violent groups. corrupt officials have illegally extracted about $200 million worth since 2014. stephen carter is a researcher for the corruption watchdog group global witness. >> the situation at the moment is you have a real illustration there is competition among armed groups for resources. that creates the ideal conditions for an insurgency to flourish.

everyone has an interest in the government being a hollow shell. reporter: officials say much of the illegal stones are being smuggled through the province, home to some of afghanistan's most dangerous factions. reporter: that is it from the business desk. anchor: thank you. turkey has sunk and airbus passenger jet in the aegean sea. it may sound like the final scene of a disaster movie. but authorities are hoping the wreck will become an artificial reef and boost diving in the area. the area is heavily reliant on tourism. key groups of tourists, the russians, have dropped since relations between the countries soured. you are watching "dw news." that is all we have time for. before we go, we want to leave you with a tribute to the man they called simply "the world's

greatest." see you soon. >> ♪ i am in eagle i am a lion down in the jungle i am a marching men i am a helping hand i am a hero if anybody asks you who ari am stand up tall and say ♪

michelle: hello and welcome to "focus on europe," where we take you with us on a journey to see this continent through the eyes of the people who live here. i'm michelle henery. thanks for joining us. coming up on the program today -- a school in france gives its pupils a sense of identity. even after fleeing to germany, some refugees still face persecution. and in romania, making conservation cool in the danube delta. located in the southeast of europe, albania is a candidate for m