♪ >> this is dw live from berlin. a war of words. the turkish foreign minister says you must learn how to behave after the rallies in germany were banned. already strained relations take a nosedive. also coming up, a mass grave for children and babies in ireland. the site of a former home for unmarried mothers run by catholic nuns. and more blows for the french

president told hopeful. another conservative is doing better than he is. it is good to have you with us. tensions between turkey and germany are running high. turkey's foreign ministry says germany has to learn how to behave syria the cause of this tension, the cancellation of rallies in germany where ministers were due to address members of germany's turkish community intended to encourage turks in germany to vote for broad changes to the constitution in an upcoming referendum. and just to add to the sense of urgency, a bomb scare in one of the rally towns. >> in the end, friday's bomb threat proved to be a false

alarm. the political tensions between ankara and berlin will be harder to diffuse. turkey's foreign minister does not hide his anger. if you want to maintain relations with us, you have to learn how to behave. you can't act like this. we will respond in a range of ways and then you can think about the rest. this is our message to germany. following what certainly sounds like a threat, he spoke to foreign minister's on the phone described by the juran many foreign ministry as constructive and engaged ing. already he campaigned in germany to get citizens living here to vote yes in the upcoming constitution referendum that would give president erdogan more power.

turkey sees this as censorship. the president told a press conference that although he shared concerns of a recent development in turkey and rallies by politicians, the picture was more complex. there are legal reasons and factors that must make us evaluate very carefully what line of action is truly useful and what action would allow us to continue our dialogue with the government who always remains our ally. who we need in nato as a factor of stability in an unstable situation. the row marks a new low point in turkish-german relations, already strained by the arrest of a german journalist. both sides are talking, but the

question is whether they will find common ground. >> i have our political correspondent with me. he has been covering that story for us. let's start with the referendum. if you ask the german opposition, they say because the referendum is taking turkey toward a dictatorship. the german government has been much more careful when it talks about the referendum and about turkish politics because it does not want to be seen as meddling in another country's internal affairs. it is also important because germany is home to the largest turkish diaspora. of those 3 million, 1.4 million are eligible to vote in the upcoming referendum. when you look at how they react to anything happening in turkey, you have to do it in a

diplomatic situation and consider what these people think and what they believe. >> what do they think and believe? >> if we look at past opinion post, many of them are in favor of mr. erdogan. many of them are from rural areas, conservative, religious. it is understandable why turkish leaders want to come here and rally and get that support. that is not everyone, not all 3 million people of turkish origin support erdogan. some are critical of him. >> there's a lot at stake, 1.4 million votes perhaps in the referendum of people living here in germany. erdogan is accusing germany of aiding and harboring terror. the turkish foreign minister claims the government is working for no votes in the upcoming

referendum. is there evidence to support that? >> there isn't any evidence to support that. they don't want to be seen as interfering or giving opinions on what happens in other countries, a strategy they are following to keep the channels of communication open. the ministers of foreign affairs had a conversation and there is the possibility of the meeting the next few days as well. i think the relationship from a german standpoint is pragmatic. although they have differences, german officials understand they have to work together when it comes to nato or the migration crosses. >> it is always great to have you here. the when envoy for syria has sent the latest round of peace talks, producing a clear agenda. he has been mediating the talks in geneva between the syrian regime and opposition leaders

who are trying to negotiate an end to the six-year war. he said he would invite negotiators back for another round of talks later this month. the discussion seem to have produced more positive results. one opposition leaders said progress is moving toward a political transition, which some say must include the removal of bashar al-assad. a mass grave containing the remains of babies and young children has been found at a former catholic home for unmarried mothers in ireland. the institution closed 60 years ago, but hundreds of children are believed to have died there. investigators say the remains were buried in underground chambers and were of infants and small children under the age of three. >> there are no tombstones for the children buried here. their final resting place is in unmarked mass grave.

investigators believe nuns placed the bodies in underground chambers that were used to hold sewage. the findings are the culmination of an investigation, sparked by the research of local historians. she wanted to find out what happened to some 800 children who died at the home between 1925 and 1961. she found their death certificates and only one burial record. after analysis, the forgotten children's fate is clear, the infants' surviving relatives will be consulted for proper burials. >> these findings encourage us. it is important that we acknowledge that these are part of the extraordinarily difficult times they would have had to indoor. >> the site is one of many.

mass burials were common practice where thousands of women were sent to give birth in 20th century ireland. >> we are joined now by katherine, the historian mentioned in the report whose persistence led to this discovery. thank you for being with us. tell us how you came to suspect there were met -- mass graves on this property. >> just from local knowledge. i decided to find out how many did die in the home. i contacted the sisters who run the home. they had no information. they passed on the records. when i contacted them, they had no answer for me. i decided the marriages was the best place to go and i asked

them to compile a list of children who died. when they got back to me, they said, do you really want to know? i said i do indeed. she said there are hundreds. i could not believe it. at the end, there's actually 798 children who had died in the home and my next question was to find out, where were they buried? there was no burial record in the cemeteries. i even went to check the cemeteries after the women who came from far away. there was no record of their children being buried. the only possibilities was they were underground. there was a discovery in 1975 when they were building the housing estate. they were putting up building sites of houses. it was then they were discovered

in this corner, they found the bones, they said it was like a tank. i started researching the area and it was actually a sewage area because the workhouse was the mother and baby home. it was set in place where the old workhouse was. the underground system was there. all my research pointed to the fact those areas must have been in the underground cespedes. >> it is a tremendous discovery. how does it feel to have your suspicions indicated? >> i worked for years. i tried locally to get this

message out and to get this investigation in place. there wasn't interested locally. it was only when the media got hold of the story that it went worldwide and i really believe that the government had to act and to set up a commission to see what went down. today is a great day for all survivors to finally know that the state and the church are listening to them. >> they can begin that process of closure. there's your research indicate there could be other places like this? >> we know there are at least 14 other mother and baby homes listed in the inquiry. i know from others there are mass graves as well. at least they are listed. they are known.

this tomb is different. it was never stated there was a mass grave there. there is no headstone. nothing to indicate there was a graveyard there. that was my quest, to get it listed as a graveyard and to recognize the home children were buried here. >> it is a goalie overachieved. catherine corless, we congratulate you on your persistence. thanks for joining us. turning now to some other news, a polish member of the european parliament sparked outrage after he said women are "weaker, smaller, and less intelligent than men and should earn less." he made his remarks during the debate on the gender pay gap and was rebuked by a lawmaker. >> do you know how many women

are among the best chess players? no one. and of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent. that's all. >> [speaking spanish] [applause] >> you are watching dw news. still to come, all of the day's business headlines including germany's biggest construction company saying no to donald trump. they will not bid to build his planned wall along the

border with mexico. the very latest on that. plenty more financial headlines. don't go away.

♪ >> welcome back. you are watching dw news. turkey says germany should "learn to behave." this comes amid a row over canceled rallies in germany. the foreign ministers are to meet next week to try to calm tensions. friends at investigators found a mass grave for babies in ireland at the site of a formal home for unmarried mothers run by catholic nuns.

everything is still up for grabs in france's presidential election. for the first time an independent candidate has overtaken marine le pen. the simple gives another conservative a better chance. francois fillon's spokesman resigned as police investigate charges he fondled state money to his wife and children using fake jobs. the conservative candidate has denied any wrongdoing. it is shaping up to be an unpredictable election. we have lisa lewis in paris covering the event. it is great to have you. it is not just francois fillon facing problems. things are turning ugly for the far right's darling, marine le pen. tell us more. >> this is about the accusation

of the so-called fake job, accused of paying a person through european funds. you have to remember even if she is indicted, this doesn't mean she will have to withdraw her bed. the only case for her to be obliged is if she were convicted to a prison term. that is unlikely to happen because it would mean the court would have to come to final judgment two months ahead of the election. that is unlikely when you look at the system. will that have an impact on her standing in the polls? i don't think so. she has been doing well and supporters have been buying into her being the anti-system candidate. the candidate being attacked by

the system and that any case that has been brought against her is a political case and that is why they are accusing me. >> at the same time, fillon is slumping in the polls. his spokesperson step down. why won't he resign? >> it is not as easy as it seems. he has been saying since the affair, he has said there is no alternative to him as a candidate for the republican party and so far that seems to be the case in the sense nicholas sarkozy was supposed to a bid by the former prime minister who came second in the primary election for the republican party and who would be the natural candidate. the situation seems to be changing and people from the sarkozy camp are defecting.

nicholas sarkozy is sticking to fillon, supporting him. on the other hand, fillon has said he will not step down and the alternative candidate has said if i am the candidate for the party, fillon needs to anoint me. >> what does this mean for the liberal independent candidate? >> he has been rising in the polls and he seems to be somehow the alternative to these candidates that are embroiled in scandals. it is not clear if that will stay like that until the end because he is a candidate with the most shaky voters. one out of two voters are saying we haven't really made up our mind.

this election is conveying promises to stay exciting and extraordinary and surprising. >> all right, lisa, we will be checking back with you soon for more developments. for now, thanks for the latest. strong hints there might be a hike in u.s. interest rates around the corner. >> thank you very much. the federal reserve chief janet yellen says a hike would be appropriate. the next meeting is in two weeks and if jobs data and inflation remain on track, the hike is likely. her remarks in chicago following a report this week showing a spike in the preferred inflation index. for the first time it is approaching the target of 2%. the fed hiked its interest rate since only the second time since

the historic zero level during the financial crisis. it was the centerpiece of donald trump's campaign, to build a wall along the mexican border to keep out unwanted migrants. several hundred of the companies are betting for the project. one of the leaders, hochtief, wants nothing to do with it. >> we will soon begin the construction of a great while along our southern border. >> sounds good to republicans in congress and to many americans who support the agenda. but donald trump's project has hit roadblocks before any work has started. first there was the cost, up to $40 billion. so far, trump has only allocated $20 million. he wants mexico to pay for the wall, a request that has led to

the president to cancel a visit to washington in february. another question, who would build the wall? his business partner in florida was rumored to be in charge of construction work. he called the wall the most idiotic thing ever and wants nothing to do with it. neither does hochtief, the german construction firm which has worked on projects worldwide, including the americas. building the river bridge in north carolina in 2013 and finishing the express route around santiago to chile. at the annual meeting, hochtief seemed open for business. when asked if u.s. affiliates would bid for the border wall, hochtief's ceo said if it is advantageous for us and within our market niche, we will bid

for anything. the wall is controversial and hochtief seems to have had second thoughts. on friday the company said we would like to point out hochtief and its subsidiaries have no plans to apply for the construction of the wall. as for president trump, he says architects have until march 10 to send in proposals for prototypes. >> there are reports of general motors is close to a deal to sell its european division to france. the sale could be announced as early as monday after the board gave the go-ahead to buy the german-based company, adding to form a new european car champion. psa produces some models together and gm has been trying to sell it since 2009. the company has not made a profit since 1999.

chinese stocks reflected the unease investors feel about the economy. shares fell by the end of friday , ending a streak of weekly gains. the reason, the annual communist party meeting in beijing. analysts expect delegates will put reform before further stimulus measures. >> china need some success stories right now, 30 years ago the company started producing refrigerators and almost had to declare bankruptcy. today the company is suggesting to the weak growth in china and to higher import tariffs. the method is simple -- we are going to need a transition. that will deliver them to retailers. we must get rid of that system

and connect to the consumers. only in this way can we get customers to spend their money. when idea for economically difficult times, the government will announce that the economy will only grow by 6.5%. last year it was only 0.2% above that. that is not enough to employ hundreds of millions of workers and to stimulate the economy, like in the past. since 2008, the people's congress announced stimulus packages worth billions for new streets, bridges, energy, and got further into debt. >> do you think the government is starting to signal it will have its own limits on what can be spent on infrastructure on a year-to-year basis? and that essentially from sometime in 2018 we are going to

see a weaker growth path for this infrastructure spending. >> the debt is retu -- reaching threatening proportions. it has risen to 260%, according to experts. there is less playing room for mass expenditures anymore. not the best start for the people's congress. >> that is it. you are up to date. don't go away. sarah will have a day for you in just a few minutes. thanks for watching. ♪

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