>> this is dw news from berlin. tonight, another try at a cease-fire in syria. another try at ending the killing. a truce went into effect after sundown today. with full backing of the u.s. and russia, the cease-fire is supposed to allow deliveries to hundreds of thousands of desperate civilians trapped in ravaged cities like aleppo. also coming up, examining hillary clinton's health. the presidential hopeful takes a rest from campaigning after revealing she has pneumonia.

republicans say she tried to cover up the illness. ♪[singing] >> and muslims from all over the world take part in the stoning of the devil ritual at the annual pilgrimage in saudi arabia. but why are iranians not making the journey? >> good to have you with us. in syria, a new cease-fire is now in effect. its architects, the u.s. and russia, say this is the best chance for peace since the syrian civil war began five years ago. never mind that it's still not clear if all opposition groups will even take part. and the regime of bashar

al-assad says it's on board but still sending mixed signals to the public. a public that's preparing to celebrate the muslim eid festival. >> just hours before the truce was due to begin, a powerful statement from syria's president, bashar al-assad. he made a symbolic visit, to a damascus suburb seized from rebels last month. assad pledged his forces would go on to take back the entire country. in coming here, we are sending out the message that the syrian state is determined to recover every area from the terrorists. we are establishing safety and security, rebuilding the infrastructure, rebuilding everything, whether the cost was humanitarian or material. reporter: syrian rebels are skeptical whether the forces will really abide by the cease-fire. images of fighting continue to emerge from the country, right

up to the beginning of the truce. there were reports of air strikes around homs and aleppo on monday. the international community is calling on all sides to lay down their weapons. >> there must be an end to this cat and mouse game, at the expense of civilians. it's not yet clear whether the cease-fire will take place and whether it will hold. but we at least have a halfway decent chance to actually get help to the people, syria. reporter: both sides have promised to allow humanitarian aid workers immediate and sustained access. relief will be allowed into all besieged areas with a second city, aleppo, named a priority. up to two million people are thought to be here. now they have some hope of a respite.

>> earlier we spoke to simon, a political analyst at lancaster university in northern england. we asked him for his views on president bashar al-assad's pledge to take all of syria. >> i think it's hardly surprising that bashar al-assad will say such things. if we listen to what he's been saying over the past five years, he's routinely said i will retake all of my country, i will unite syria and be its only ruler, which i think is quite disconcerting with regard to moving forward on a cease-fire, because it suggests he's got an ulterior motive. that, of course, will spin off and really impact upon the trust or shaping and perceptions of trust that other groups in syria may have. opposition groups will see this and think, well, he's clearly not committed to any type of cease-fire, so this is clearly just a trap. so, of course, these comments are incredibly dangerous and

pouring fuel on an already flourishing fire. so i think it's incredibly detrimental to what's actually going on for him to say such things. >> that was simon maybin, talking with us earlier from lancaster university. all right, now to the united states. how sick is she really? and how healthy should she really be? those questions are dogging democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton tonight. clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia on friday, but she chose not to reveal the news until a couple of days later. now she's cancelled campaign events for the next two days and order -- in order to rest. the former secretary of state fainted on sunday while getting into her car in new york city. >> the clinton hom in new york state isnd closeuard. it'shat the democratic presidential candidate is taking a break from the riggers of campaigning. the media are camped out, eager for any developments in what they've dubbed "hill's health

crisis." clinton's condition has become the subject of speculation all across the news and on the streets. >> well, if you don't care of the body, if you don't get the proper rest, that shows how much she is for the people, because she's been putting in so much work, trying to make the people understand what she wants to do with the country, you know. she got sick. >> i hope she doesn't use it as an excuse, but i don't think it should affect us too much. reporter: attention has focused on how clinton's campaign handled her diagnosis last week with pneumonia. critics say she should have come straight sooner. on fox news, a republican rival, donald trump, declared health an issue in the election campaign. the 70-year-old has long raised doubts about clinton's stamina, without publishing any real medical documents himself. >> i think it's an issue. in fact, this week i took a

physical. and i'll be releasing, when the numbers come in. hopefully they're gonna be good. i think they're gonna be good. i feel great. but when the numbers come in, i'll be releasing it, very specific numbers. reporter: clinton's team admits not reacting quickly enough on sunday, as these images of her near collapse when all over the media. they are promising to release more medical details. the issue comes at a difficult time for the democratic candidate. polls say trump has all but erased her lead. for now, clinton has little choice but to sit this one out. >> with me here in the studio is julius. he is a political consultant based in berlin now. but back in 2008, he was in the midst of a presidential campaign with barack obama. julius, you know how grueling this campaign process can be.

we're talking about two years nonstop. shuld we be -- should we be surprised that she fainted or that she was dehydrated or has pneumonia? >> as you said, this campaigning process is grueling. you get up in the morning way before most of us get up. you give a speech, make another speech, make fundraising calls. you ni fly over to another plac, give another speech. it is not surprising. i don't think there has been a presidential candidate ever that has not gotten sick, but this was caught on camera. this is something everyone has an opinion about and in a campaign that is not about the issues. this is something that donald trump is just sucking up. >> i mean, take me inside the campaign thinking right now. hillary clinton's diagnosis with pneumonia, there's the video of her there fainting. are they worried now about, you know, keeping damage control to

a minimum? >> the one thing is you've got to get her out on the campaign trail to raise money, to talk to voters, you know, to get the campaign moving again. >> why can't she just -- is it a bad thing if she says no for three days, i have to rest? >> absolutely not. look, monday, tuesday, fundraising events out west anyway, to rake in the money. that's perfectly fine. this is mostly about optics. this is a narrative that's been sort of pedaled by the republicans and the ultra-conservative media for quite some time now. the problem is that, again, this was caught on tape. people are seeing it. this is not a policy issue over immigration or taxes or something else. but this is an issue that everyone can sort of start yapping about and the republicans certainly are making this an issue, probably bigger than it actually is. >> donald trump has certainly been beating the "not healthy" drum for a while now. he obviously wants it to be

worse than maybe it is. so is this something that you think is going to stick, or are we going to be talking about something else completely different in a week? >> i think chances are we will be talking about something different in a week, but it also depends on how the clinton campaign is handling this. she's got to rest, get better, get back out on the trail. but there's also got to be some transparency. she's got to get out there and talk to a journalist. there's got to be some disclosure involved. >> what did you make of the fact that nearly 90 minutes after she almost faints, she's coming out with her sunglasses on, saying she's fine. what is the thinking there? it's almost surreal, isn't it? >> her campaign acknowledged that, that they didn't handle this properly. you don't collapse, almost collapse, in front of the s.u.v. and then come out and say it's a beautiful day in new york city, then go back out. again, this is a big fuss after

all. candidate can sort of take two days off from the campaign trail, especially, you know, if they're almost approaching 70. she, as secretary of state -- let me just make that one point -- as secretary of state, she almost traveled a million miles. the woman has proven that she is absolutely capable of, you know, serving this country, the united states, under a tremendous amount of pressure. this is a campaign that's still moving on for a long time. >> both of them candidates -- we're talking about someone who is 68, someone who is 70. they're not 25 years old. >> trump would be the t oldest president also to be sworn in. >> he also wants you to think he'll be the healthiest president. thank you very much. we'll be talking to you later on in the day as well. we're going to stick with politics. austria is also facing an election but one that has now been postponed from october until december. it's the latest hiccup as the country tries to choose a new president. the original vote was declared null and void because concerns about how postal ballots were counted.

now the rerun has become unstuck. reporter: it all came out when voters complained about ballots not sealing properly. only a few weeks before the presidential election, all postal ballots were declared invalid. austria even called on the criminal police to investigate the matter. >> if you just put your hand in to make room for the ballot paper, it could cause the glued sides to open. we found out that doesn't happen on the bottom, meaning different glues were used. the reason for this could be a production fault. reporter: these elects are already a rerun from an earlier vote, where austria also had

problems with the postal ballots. however, that time it wasn't the glue but counting irregularities that made the constitutional court scrap the results. in may, far right candidate lost to the greens candidate by only 32,000 votes. >> in life, you have to accept things that happen. i will use the coming weeks and months to convince the public that i am the right choice and we accept what has happened with humility and prudence. reporter: opinion polls see them neck in neck. that's why the green candidate is staying in campaign mode. >> in my opinion, it is a vote that will decide the direction that austria takes, whether austria remains a reliable partner in the european union or whether the country trusts itself to people who at every opportunity flirt with austria leaving the union.

reporter: the rerun of the rerun will probably be held in december, hopefully with better glue. >> here in germany, the trial of a suspected nazi war criminal has begun in berlin. the 95-year-old former auschwitz medic arrived at court in a wheelchair. he's charged with being an accessory to more than 3,000 murders. the charges focus on a one-month period in 1944 when 14 trains carrying prisoners, including the teenage diarist anne frank, arrived at the death camp, in poland. britain's former prime minister, david cameron, has announced he will resign his seat as a conservative member of parliament. mr. cameron campaigned for britain to stay in the european union, and stepped down as prime minister in june, when the country voted to leave. he says he doesn't want his continued presence in parliament to be a distraction to his

successor, theresa may. we're going to take a short break. when we come back, javier is going to be here with the it laest business -- the latest business news, up next.

>> welcome back here with dw news, live from berlin. our top stories. a new cease-fire drawn up by the u.s. and russia has come into effect in syria. it's being touted as the best chance for peace in five years. many of the warring factions have still not signed up. one of the last major rights of the symbolic stoning of the devil has begun. almost two million muslims have traveled to saudi arabia for the annual pilgrimage but iranians are not taking part.

tehran and read have been locked in a bitter dispute since hundreds of iranians died at last year's pilgrimage. reporter: thousands of muslims set off at dawn to take part in one of the most impressive rites. the annual stoning of the devil. from dawn till dusk, the faithful throw rocks at three pillars, said to represent the devil and his attempt to seduce the prophet abraham. there have been no sign of the problems that led to a stampede, leaving thousands dead last year. they have taken steps to prevent a repeat of the disaster, including introducing an electronic registration system. a major logistical challenge, given the estimated 1.8 million believers taking part in the pilgrimage.

but in iran, clerics say saudi arabia hasn't done enough. more than 400 iranians were killed in the mass panic and religious leaders were quick to cast blame. this year, iran banned its citizens from making the journey. >> regarding the disaster, the sowsaudi royal family are not suspects. instead, they are the number one criminals. reporter: hundreds of thousands of iranian faithful took part in an alternative event held in the holy city in iraq. however, the fight is more than a spat over safety. shiite iran questions sunni dominated saudi arabia's custodianship of islam's holiest sites and both are struggling

for influence in proxy wars in yemen and syria. but in mecca, pleas little sign of -- there's little sign of the political tension as thousands gather to worship in peace. >> it's time now for business news. javier is here. we hear all of the time about politicians who become lobbyists, particularly when their political career is over. there's a story here now in the european union, someone who was basically in charge of the european commission now going to go with saks? >> exactly. that's a problem. we can definitely say it sounds strange when you hear that, such a high level. and that is why the president of the european commission has launched an investigation into whether his predecessor has broken e.u. roles. he had joined sachs in july. he will no longer receive the

red carpet treatment he would usually be entitled to as former president. instead, he will be treated just like any other lobbyist. that means he will no longer have privileged access to the commission or its members. rosso was the commission present from 2004 to 10 2014. let's bring in our wall street correspondent in new york. the world keeps waiting to see whether the interest rate hike in the united states will come our way anytime soon. we know it's going to happen. we don't know when. seems like today we got a little bit of a hint. >> yes. the good news is that we will have a quiet period now. so at least for one week, until the next meeting next tuesday and wednesday, the feds are not allowed to talk anymore about possible rate increases. here on monday, we head to a voting member. she said, we don't really have

to rush for an interest rate increase. she does not really see any big moves when it comes to inflation. and basically she says the downside risks are higher than the upside risks. and the bets for an increase rate increase dropped to only about 11%. >> we'll see how that goes. now on to another story. the samsung galaxy note 7 phone is giving samsung a big headache. smartphones exploding. very bad news. is that good news for apple? i guess so. >> well, i mean, bad timing for samsung and good timing for apple. apple itself just presented the new iphone 7 last week. at first, we said it wasn't that great, especially when it comes to the wireless. there is a little bit of debate going on regarding that. the stock of apple in the two days after this event fell by about 5%.

now on monday, the apple stock is up by a good 2%. good timing for apple. >> as long as those iphones never explode. let's see what happens. thank you very much for the latest. ha ha! now, when you see a robot, i bet you still smile and admire where technology has taken us. that's because the robot hasn't taken away your job yet. but the truth is, robots and machines are increasingly replacing simple and complex tasks that humans do. meet this hotel staff. >> robots have become quite versatile. they can polish, clean and even dance. one-armed robots like these are quite handy. there are plans to put more of them into service. after all, they don't get tired or complain and back aches are not a concern. robotic arms can be used to carry luggage. carrying luggage is all about

physical strength. it's also a monotonous job. if we use a robotic arm, the personnel can play a more important role, which is to provide friendly service. this hotel in the taiwanese city has already put them to use. upon arrival, guests don't see any humans. machines have taken over. the robot grabs the luggage and lifts it up high. so far, customers really appreciate the robotic arm. and the customers around here are young people. so they like the robotic arm as well as the unmanned hole. the unmanned hotel. the hotel saves a lot on personnel costs. but the robot didn't say hello, nor was it ready for small talk. despite its lack of communication skills, it doesn't have to worry about job security. >> and speaking of job security, working conditions in south africa's mines have been under

fire in recent months. despite their hard work, many miners live in miserable conditions and can barely make ends meet. so they've started entering disused gold mines looking for a lucky fine. more than 50 of those illegal mine workers are currently being rescued. they got trapped after a fire and explosions broke out wednesday. the state illustrates the critical living conditions of south africa's mining industry. reporter: this man is one of a handful of illegal miners who managed to escape after being trapped in the oldest gold mine. but once out, the man who entered the abandoned mine to dig for nuggets tried to get away before being arrested. according to survivors, fights often break out between rival groups of armed miners down in the shafts. authorities know about the situation but they've done little to stop it.

>> people must not go there. when we put this red tape, we are indicating that this is dangerous. if you continue and do your own things, you must know you are going to face the law. reporter: but the main south african labor federation hopes the drastic situation in the mine will force the government to finally address the country's illegal mining problem. >> and we'll keep following that story for you. that's all from the desk. now it's back to you. >> new york is still talking about that stunning men's final in the u.s. open. world number one, novak djokovic, beaten by his friend and frequent practice partner, stan wawrinka. it's a third grand slam victory for the 31-year-old swiss. >> stan the man wawrinka, played the match of his life against friend and rival, novak djokovic. the world number one took the first set but struggled with his serve throughout the match. wawrinka stepped up on the big

stage and got stronger every set. cashing in when it counts most. >> as i said the other day, you have to accept it. you have almost joy to suffer, because i think this grand slam was the most painful physically and mentally grand slam that i ever played. reporter: djokovic lost his cool at moments during the match and even needed a medical time-out. yet the serbian gave wawrinka credit for capitalizing at crucial times. >> in matches like this, if you don't use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it. and that's what he did. so that's why i said he was more courageous, because he stepped in and played aggressive, where i was kind of more waiting for things to happen. and that's it.

reporter: the swiss shows up to play when trophies are at stake. the win extends wawrinka's streak to 11 straight in tournament finals. >> all right. after a short break, i'll be back to take you through the day. we're going to have more on hillary clinton, her health, and the political capital that donald trump could be after. we'll be back, in just a moment. ñ

michelle: hello and welcome to "focus on europe." it's described as the greatest crisis the european union has ever known. it's changing the eu's relationship with its neighbours and creating deep divisions from within. the refugee crisis. today we're bringing you a very special programme taking a look at europe one year after german chancellor angela merkel opened the way for refugees and migrants to reach a safe haven in europe. ♪ the summer of 2015.