>> hello and welcome. this is "dw news" live from berlin. with just hours to go until the opening ceremony, the rio olympics are still being weighed down by the russian doping scandal. the torch completes the last leg of its long journey and the ioc is forced to back down on banning russian competitors with previous doping convictions. more on that in just a second from our correspondent in rio. u.s. president barack obama gets into a spat with the russians over syria. he says he does not trust them. they say the u.s. is arrogant and does not treat russia as an

equal partner. and gays and lesbians under fire in uganda. organizing anything like this is risky in a nation where homosexuality is illegal. police have raided a gay pride event in the capital. my name is christopher springer. thanks for joining us. the opening ceremony of the rio olympics they be just hours away, but the doping scandal is chasing it right up to the starting line. you may remember the international olympic committee failed to impose a blanket than on the russian competitors, despite evidence of state-sponsored doping in the country -- failed to impose a blanket ban. >> too many brazilians, there are more important things to

worry about than eight-sponsored russian doping, but to the athletes inside this hotel and the nearby olympic village, it is the issue of greatest concern. it's still not clear how many athletes from the russian team will be allowed to compete and in which sports. >> after the cas decision, there is still room for some change. there's the possibility even more russian athletes will be allowed to compete. it is still not clear how many athletes will be allowed to compete at this late moment. there's no precedent or this in modern olympics. >> this russian swimmer won her court of arbitration appeal and said she planned to make the next light to rio. >> i'm exhausted. they've been toying with the decision until the last day. i have little strength, but a lot of anger. the ioc has faced harsh criticism over its decision not to push for a blanket ban on russia, but the track and field foundation has successfully enforced.

>> we have been weighing all the arguments and have taken our decision with a very good conscience. >> at least 70% of the russian olympic team will now be taking part in rio with numbers likely to climb in the first days of competition. christopher: let's go to rio now. all of her moody is covering the olympics for us. this sports tribunal saying that banning athletes for previous doping sanctions -- they are saying that is unenforceable, unjust. how much a is on the face of the ioc at the moment -- how much egg is on the face of the ioc at the moment? oliver: a hell of a lot. it got to be honest, mostly because everybody knew this was unenforceable. i remember checking the news agency and watching the announcement and immediately

thinking it is legally unsound, to say the least. seeing a lot of commentators say exactly the same thing. you could ask if we all knew that, why did the ioc not yet been on top of that, it's unfair. punishing someone for something they have already been punished for is completely archaic. that's not the way you run an organization or anything these days. christopher: how does this kind of thing happen? does the ioc not have legal advisers? did they not foresee this reaction? oliver: the only thing i can imagine as they did not actually consult lawyers. i think any lawyer would have told them that what they are trying to do is called double jeopardy, and it's not allowed. the court of arbitration already made a ruling on double jeopardy within sport and said the ioc or any other sports federation is not allowed to do it. i cannot imagine how the ioc could have gone to legal representation and then been told that this would have been

ok, that they would have been able to get away with this. it is beyond me, to be quite honest with you. in terms of the reaction, so far, we have heard very little since the court of arbitration for sport decision came in. to be honest, they probably want to forget the whole thing ever happened. christopher: however, these will be olympics, as many other olympics for them, where there will be quite a large number of athletes who are either using or have used performance-enhancing drugs. is that right? oliver: have used in the past, certainly, but that is not restricted to russian athletes. take for example the american sprinter who is considered to have a very good chance of winning the 100-meter sprint. he has had a doping ban. that was a long time ago, but the ioc never differentiated in terms of recent and further back

in time. we will see athletes who have doped in the past. in terms of athletes who are doping now, you would have to think so, considering the revelations that have come out recently, first through media, first through media investigations, saying there is a russian -- state-sponsored russian doping in place, and second, from the mclaren report that was more widely released a few weeks ago, which seemed to confirm that actually exist. it does seem as though there will be doping athletes competing at this olympic games, and i think the ioc has been completely weak on this entire issue, and they really should have taken more leadership. christopher: thanks for that. all of her moody reporting for us from rio. the olympic games are always a costly affair, and we have more on the exact numbers involved. >> did you know that no games

has come in under budget since 1960? cost is always a matter of controversy with the olympics no matter where they're held. although the rio games have come in around 50% over budget, it has been less costly so far than other recent olympics, but the question still remains -- when it comes to economic games, does brazil stand to win or lose? >> rio de janeiro seven years ago. many cheering here were hoping for more work and a better future. 120,000 temporary jobs were created. after all, rio needed roads, stadiums, and a new metro line. it still happened didn't harbor was in desperate need of an upgrade, and the city whitney dozens of new hotels. -- the city would need dozens of new hotels. >> rio de janeiro would not be where it is today without the

olympic games. history will talk about rio de janeiro before the olympic games and a much better rio de janeiro after the olympic games. >> the country has modestly poured both money and concrete into new construction projects, trying to avoid the spiraling costs of previous olympic dames. until now, the gold medal for cost went to the winter olympics in sochi two years ago at $22 billion. silver into the 2012 summer games in london at $15 billion. rio doesn't even make it to the podium at $4.6 billion. but the olympics have still pushed the city to its limits. rio de janeiro had to declare a state of financial emergency. it was only able to continue hosting the games after the federal government issued a

special loan. 2/3 of brazilians doubt the investment will pay off. they say they are paying for these new buildings out of their own pockets. >> people here that have a government that is broke, people who do not have access to quality schools, that missed three months because the workers were on strike because the government could not pay their salaries -- they will have a very different memory of these events. >> american sports economist research suggests countries derive practically no profit from the olympics. he says the long-term benefits proclaimed by the international olympic committee like increased tourism, more trade, and investment are only noticed decades later, if at all. christopher: we will have more on the business of sports later when we look at a chinese buyout . christopher: russia has hit back at u.s. criticism of its actions

in syria, accusing washington of lacking trust in moscow and ailing to behave as a true partner. russia's deputy foreign minister saying that his country's policy in syria was in his words logical, coherent, and set goals that were shared by most other members of the international community. thursday, president obama said russia risked casting itself is what he called an irresponsible actor on the world stage. speaking at the pentagon, the u.s. president repeatedly underscored his frustration over the ongoing syrian crisis. president obama: i am pretty confident that a big chunk of my gray hair comes out of my syria meetings. >> obama said the international alliance had made clear gains in the fight against islamic state in syria and iraq. he pointed out the militant group had lost significant territory in both countries, but recently, it has been another military alliance making the

biggest gains in syria. russia has been carrying out countless airstrikes, efficiently targeting terrorist groups and helping the assad regime to reclaim ground, including the city of aleppo. syrian government forces have surrounded rebel held districts for weeks now, p diddly demanding that they surrender. thousands have been trapped in the besieged city with dwindling food and supplies. obama accuses them of blocking humanitarian aid deliveries. president obama: i'm not confident we can trust the russians and vladimir putin, which is why we have to test if we can get an actual cessation of hostilities betting an end to the kinds of aerial bombing and civilian death and destruction we have seen carried out why the assad regime. >> obama added that the u.s. was still prepared to work with russia, but recent negotiations between washington and moscow have failed to provide a

breakthrough, something the u.s. president will surely want before he leaves the white house early next year. christopher: let's get more background on this story from our washington correspondent. president obama with pretty harsh words for pressure over the last couple of days. why is he lashing out at russia now? richard: the background is americans have in trying to bring together a deal with the russians in recent weeks to try and work together against one of the extremist groups that is active in the syrian civil war, one called the out must right front. the secretary of state and his russian counterpart ostensibly came up with the outlines of such a deal last month, but since that time, what we just heard about in a report, the syrian regime, which is supported by the russians, has intensified this siege on the very important city of aleppo,

with more than 200,000 civilians reportedly stuck in one district of aleppo. i think what you have here now is frustration about that, saying on the one hand, how can we work together with russians against this one enemy while the russians are making the situation even worse on the ground for this group of civilians tackle having said all of that, it is really nothing new for obama to criticize the russians on their policies. the american line has always been they do not see the russians as having a truly constructive mission there. christopher: u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been speaking on the phone with his russian counterpart. do we know what they talked about? richard: we do not know an awful lot about the phone call beyond the fact that they do it's big about the situation in syria and

about the olympics, but i think it is a reminder that there are multiple levels to the diplomacy going on. you heard barack obama being very public and critical yesterday, but the lavrov-kerry channel is one of the healthier channels between the u.s. and moscow. that channel remains very active. christopher: german media say the perpetrators of two recent terror attacks in germany were in contact with conspirators in saudi arabia. police have reportedly found chat logs on the men's phones, which lead to an identified partners in saudi arabia. in mid july, a teenage afghan refugee armed with an ax severely injured several people on a train. less than a week later, a failed asylum seeker from syria detonated a bomb at a festival, killing himself and injuring 15 people. you are watching "dw news." still to come, gays and lesbians

have long been under fire in uganda. organizing something like this is risky in a country where homosexuality is illegal. some have organized a gay pride event. stay with us if you can.

christopher: welcome back. our top story at the moment -- the olympic torch is touring rio on the last leg of its long journey ahead of the opening ceremony, which gets under way in just a few hours. soccer legend payday -- soccer legend pele says he will not be able to attend the opening ceremony due to ill health. we will take you to uganda now where police broke up a gay pride event in the capital last night, arresting at least 15 people. a drag show was under way when police showed up.

gays and lesbians have long faced discrimination in uganda, which is one of many countries in africa where homosexuality is illegal. >> this is a party as the police burst in. a drag show to crowned ms. uganda pride 2016. panic broke out with -- when police appeared armed with machine guns. one man jumped out the fourth floor of a building to try to escape. police confiscated cameras and mobile phones and arrested a number of people. >> when police stormed the event, i could hear them say homosexuality is illegal in uganda, reminding everyone that this was an illegal event, which merited an arrest. so that brought a little panic. that brought a little fear among all those who attended.

many of them even to come for this function have thought more than twice to actually show up for it. >> date ugandans have in living a fear -- living in fear for a long time. 2011 saw an activist beaten in his home. shortly before, a newspaper had published his photo and called for him to be killed. in 2013, the president signed into law a new, tougher punishments for gay people, including life in prison in some cases. >> that you can fail to be attracted to all these beautiful women here, and you are attracted by mn -- by a man, that's a very serious matter. >> the laws have been overturned on a technicality, but homosexuality remains illegal and hated by many. christopher: time to check in now on the business news with

daniel winter. wall street, i believe, reacting to the latest job data in the u.s.? daniel: that's right. it is difficult to know what is going on in investors' minds, but we will give it a go. nonfarm jobs exceeding expectations. some economists say job gains will embolden the federal reserve to hike rates later this year, though analysts suggest that is unlikely before december. the fed raised its benchmark rate from a record low in december last year. since then, the central bank has held that rate steady in the face of economic uncertainty. now we have all of the analysis on that from new york. what kind of jobs are these? are these quality jobs? >> yes, and that is the good

news. we did see a lot of high-quality jobs that got created in the past months. that also reflects the growth of wages here in the united states. pretty much in every sector, jobs got created, but the oil industry. maybe in construction, some people would have seemed a bit more jobs get created, but overall, really well jobs that we saw in the financial industry and other service sectors. overall, really pretty promising report here for the weekend. daniel: good news elsewhere does not always translate to good news on wall street, but it seems this time investors have reacted positively. >> they certainly did. every once in a while, good economic news makes it more likely the fed might increase rates, and we sometimes see pressure, but that was not the

case with this report. a few days ago, we had rather weak growth rates here in the united states. there was some concern that the u.s. economy is not doing that good, but with this job report, those concerns disappeared, and even it became a bit more likely that the federal reserve might increase rates by december. we saw a new rates on the s&p 500 and the nasdaq composite. after a couple of rather weak days, we had a strong finish. >> thanks for that analysis. chinese investors could be about to score a major acquisition in the world of football. former italian premier silvio berlusconi has approved a contract to sell his football team to a group of chinese investors.

the deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. people familiar with the negotiations say the chinese consortium's offer values the club at up to 750 million euros. let's bring in our business correspondent and our resident football fan. the end of the berlusconi area. he has seen the team to success, or at least his money has. how will the deal change things. >> there will be new leadership, probably less flamboyant than mr. berlusconi has been, and there will be fresh money. that is very important. the consortium promising to put 350 million euros into the club in the coming years. that is necessary. after all, it has been five years since the team has won the national league, and they only finished seventh last season.

christopher: football fans are used to seeing these kind of foreign buyouts. justine of foreign buyouts. just to the weeks ago, a chinese consortium bought up most of interim island. -- football fans are used to seeing these kind of foreign buyouts. just two weeks ago, a chinese consortium bought up a team. >> they were looking for more commercial exposure in europe, i believe. the consortium buying milan has yet to show any soccer affiliation so far. it includes a state-backed investment fund, so i think we are looking at more of a financial investment here. after all, we see a lot of chinese capital buying up prominent names in europe and also outside football. >> why are chinese consortiums, chinese investors buying up european clubs? >> it is a bright stage to

present yourself. there is a lot of money to be earned, and furthermore, the chinese president is a huge soccer fan. he wants china to host the world cup one day. on that note, chinese are not only by in european clubs but also european players. a very good striker of my favorite team just transferred to china at the prime of his career, 25 years of age, to a league that is barely known, but if your salary triples, it may be worth it. >> thank you very much for your analysis on that. the number of refugees arriving in germany has fallen in recent months, but those still arriving do occasionally encounter hostility. our reporter has been to northeastern germany. >> this was supposed to be a new start for young refugees fleeing war at home. apartment blocks in the

northeastern german city. >> in recent weeks, there have been repeated incidents of abusive behavior and minor scuffles between people who already live here and refugees. when a group of german youth wanted to store in this community center, the city decided to get the refugees away from here. >> how did it come to this? authorities moving refugees away from those who would attack them rather than stopping them. we ask the district representative. >> it is a very difficult decision for a committed antifascist like me, to have my hand forced like this by an angry mob. but i am equally responsible for the protection and well-being of the young refugees who have been entrusted to the city. it would do no good if i stand on my principles at their expense, so the decision was made solely to protect these youths.

the city has also decided not to establish a refugee home here. it is too dangerous for those seeking protection. that is the view of the regional authorities and the police. >> our view as an organization is that the city has failed to live up to its duty. it cannot be that a small group of people who want to stop refugees from living in this district can gain the upper hand and dictate where in the city refugees can live and where they cannot. but many of the local residents applaud the decision. now it is quiet again. it was different before. the police were here all the time. it has been quiet again since it was closed. >> during a visit, germany's foreign minister warned against shrugging off responsibility.

>> we need to be true to our duties, our responsibility is to provide humaneccommodation to those who have come to us. every german state, the cities, and the communities must do their share. yet, some areas are obviously failing to do that. in the face of threaten violence, authorities have allowed locals who want to keep refugees away to win the day. christopher: after a short break, i will be back with the day, so do stay with us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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. [music] [music] [music] [music] hello and welcome i'm patricia oreilly and i'm delighted you