>> this is "dw news" live from berlin. tonight, a warning that turkish spying in germany is on the rise and could lead to violence. germany's domestic intelligence agency sounding the alarm as the country's foreign minister meets his turkish counterpart. this after weeks of bruising exchanges. will turkey and germany be able to make amends? also coming up, are cia hackers using europe as an office? wikileaks releases files showing a u.s. consulate in germany as a major hacking hub.

is this really new? we will ask a cyber security expert who served in the bush white house. and in no safety even in captivity. in france, the shocking killing of a rhinoceros at the zoo near paris. poachers went in for the urban kill just to take home a horn as bounty. brent: i'm brent goff. it is good to have you with us. it was friendly advice that sounded like a strong-armed ultimatum. germany must decide if turkey is a friend or not. that was the message from turkey's foreign minister at a meeting today here in berlin with his german counterpart. i've between the two countries have been strained severely since turkish political rallies

were blocked in several german cities. that has led to a war of words. the foreign ministers tried to patch things up today despite new reports of turkish spying here in germany. reporter: early morning in berlin hotel, the german foreign minister sigmar gabriel faced the task to smooth ruffled feathers with his turkish counterpart. the discussion was described as positive but tough. "we agree that neither side is interested in damaging german-turkish relations for the long-term, and that we can only overcome the current tensions if we engage in an objective and respectful dialogue with one another." instead of appearing together with gabriel, turkish foreign minister melvut cavusoglu

visited berlin's idb tourism convention and stated his position that turkey views germany's policies and media as hostile. "we have to decide whether we want to continue this way as friends or whether we will break apart. we want to continue as friends, but germany must decide what they want, and then we will take steps accordingly. reporter: one day earlier, the turkish foreign minister had held a rally at the turkish consulate in hamburg for an upcoming referendum in turkey that would expand presidential power. as for other campaigners, the original venue for the event pulled out at the last minute to even so, before cavusoglu departed, he made a gesture of conciliation. another meeting of the foreign ministers will take place in turkey. brent: we want to pull in our

political correspondent now on the story for us. good evening to you. the turkish foreign minister practically repeated his nazi comparison even after meeting with his german counterpart. the question has been posed, white is german chancellor angela merkel not taking a stronger stand here? reporter: welcome angela merkel knows that german-turkish relations are at a new low with the german journalists that is detained in turkey right now, with the rallies of turkish ministers that were canceled by several local german authorities in a germany, and also by those nazi comparisons that you mentioned just now. the foreign minister this morning and drew a very clear red line say that that is not possible, nazi comparisons, and angela merkel herself said that in the past couple days she has taken the stand that there

shouldn't be a general band of turkish officials coming to germany to campaign here. why do she not taking an even stronger stand, you are asking? why is she not forgetting those rallies altogether? well, she doesn't -- why she not forbidding those rallies altogether? well, she doesn't want to add more fuel to the diplomatic fire and wants to ease tensions a little bit. brent: the dutch government has banned rallies by turkish politicians. this was government as well. it looks that -- the swiss government as well. it looks that in germany's case turkey has the upper hand because angela merkel needs cooperation on of the right equation -- on the migration deal. is that the right equation? reporter: well, surely the deal is important for angela merkel and her government. we are six months away from national elections in germany and that refugee deal, so-called

refugee deal, certainly has helped to ease tensions in germany, domestic tensions over her refugee policy, so it has helped her a lot. and a migration deal is certainly one of the reasons she is holding back, but also, we shouldn't forget that germany and turkey have been strong partners in the past. turkey is a nato ally. german troops and reconnaissance aircraft are stationed on a military base in turkey in the fight against the islamic state. turkey is a very close ally. so for all of these reasons, the chancellor does not want to escalate the tensions further. on the other hand, we are seeing politicians from across the aisle here saying that angela merkel should take a strong stand and she should clearly state, look, turkish politicians, you are not welcome to campaign here in germany. brent: and all along we have the german domestic intelligence agency saying a couple things. on wednesday they said there has been a sharp rise in turkish

stymieing operations in germany, that the head of the -- turkish spying operations in germany, that the head of the intelligence agencies says we are seeing an increase in intelligence efforts by turkey in germany. so how serious is this, especially when we are talking about 2 nato partners? reporter: yeah, well, let me explain what kind of spying was meant here. it was meant more of a disinformation and basically propaganda campaign that turkey is doing in germany to reach 3 million people of turkish dissent that live here in germany. there are 1.4 million eligible voters in germany, turkish voters in germany, that could vote in a controversial referendum, and erdogan needs every single vote. that is why the politicians are coming to campaign here, and also why we are seeing an increasing disinformation campaign. and of course that is something

that shouldn't be done by a nato partner and the german government will most certainly react to very soon. brent: there was also another warning out today, the domestic intelligence agency expressing concern that turkish conflicts may be imported to germany. the agency had their -- the agency had there said that there is danger that these proxy fights will escalate because there is a high, hard-hitting potential for danger in both groups. as you said, there are millions, 3 million turks living in germany. is the country prepared to deal with that type of tension that could become almost combustible? reporter: the fear expressed fears that the tensions we are seeing in turkey over the referendum good mirror in germany and that has violent potential as well. turkish nationalists and kurds, for example, could get into

proxy wars. i'm sure institutions in germany are well prepared to deal with that if it was to come to that. when a domestic conflict of a foreign country is imported into germany, that is a very serious issue and that is what many politicians have been stressing here and that is also why this should -- should you allow these rallies or not in germany will most certainly be a matter of heated debate in the next days to come. brent: our correspondent for the story for us tonight in berlin. thank you very much. well, the german domestic intelligence agency said on wednesday that there had been a sharp rise in turkish spying operations in germany. the head of agency saying we are seeing a significant increase in intelligence efforts by turkey in germany. i think that was the wrong story. are we going -- where are we

going now? reporter: home to the largest u.s. consulate in the world. it is also a hub for u.s. intelligence services. it is here that a covert cia hacker unit is believed to be operating. this according to secret documents published by wikileaks. one of the suspected eavesdropping methods, turning tv's into listening devices. malware switches on a microphone, which intercepts all discussions in a room. "perhaps there is a policy that says no mobile phones are allowed into a meeting room, but then there is this big television mounted on the wall. beforehand, the tv will have been reprogrammed to make the eavesdropping possible." the wikileaks documents also reveal other approaches that could be used to spy on companies or governments, like in mobile phones or in a car's

electronic system. the espionage allegedly includes targets in europe, china, and the middle east. the u.s. state department has declined to comment. it is believed the cia's special unasut00 in tol. actly how many of them work in is unknown, or how many targets are being optimized . the german government -- compromise. the german government isn't saying much, only that the reports are being discussed in closed-door committee meetings. brent: earlier i spoke to a cyber security consultant who worked in the department of homeland security under u.s. president george w. bush. i asked him what he makes of the latest wikileaks leak. >> well, i don't think that anyone should be terribly surprised. the vulnerability in the samsung tv has been known since 2015,

and samsung warned about it six month ago. i would be shocked if the cia and, frankly, every other intelligence agency in the world , including the germans, russians, and the chinese, had a not taken notice of this vulnerability and attempted to exploit it. brent: would you say there is really anything new in these files that we have been able to read so far? >> well, certainly it is new in the sense that we have a better understanding of precisely how the cia operates. this was essentially a wiki, a development system for finding hacking. but the specifics of particular vulnerability's is not especially new, nor especially surprising, except to the general public, who tend to prefer to not really pay attention that much, i guess. brent: what about the role of wikileaks?

we know that u.s. officials are very critical of wikileaks and they see it as connected to the russian government. you have been critical of wikileaks as well. what is wikileaks doing here with this leak? >> well, i has been critical of wikileaks because they seem to me to be demonstrably biased. i'm waiting for wikileaks to have similar disclosures about the chinese or the russians or the iranians or any other authoritarian regimes. it is also not terribly coincidental that this release happened to just 24 hours after the cia began briefing the u.s. congress on what it had discovered about russian attempts to influence the american election. i think it seems likely to be an effort to try and change the topic and distract from that incident, and that to me demonstrates that wikileaks

at a minimum seems to have a program for, anti-west -- pro- russia, anti-west bias to its reporting. brent: in the united states, democrat congresswoman have staged a walkout to draw attention to gender discrimination against women. the initiative at the house of representatives in washington, d.c., was part of a global strike movement called "a day without a woman." good coincided with international women's day. the congresswomen wore red, the color of the strike movement, i carried placards calling for equal pay and defending the affordable health care act, which is being repealed by republicans. you are watching "dw news," live from berlin. still to come, turkey's image problem is hitting the country's tourism industry. how to win back those holiday

makers? it is a hard sell at the tourism fair in berlin. daniel will be up with that story could plus, more business news in about 60 seconds.

brent: welcome back. you are with "dw news," live from berlin. germany's foreign minister says both turkey and germany want bilateral relations to return to normal. sigmar gabriel met his turkish counterpart in berlin after recent escalating tensions between the two countries. germany's domestic intelligence agency says there has been a significant increase in turkish spying in germany. political instability in turkey has weighed heavily on the country's tourism industry. daniel is here with that story.

daniel it is a hot topic at the world's biggest tourism fair, which opened its doors to the public today. 10,000 exhibitors from 184 countries are trying to learn visitors to their destinations. organizers say tourism has not suffered as much fear -- as much as feared following terror attacks at top destinations, with one exception. you guessed it, turkey. turkey wants to remind germans of its many delights, but the outlook for tourism is and so sweet. whatever attacks, a failed -- terror attacks, a failed coup have taken their toll. last year turkey only hosted 25 million visitors, 10 million fewer than in 2015. germans into particular are staying away, although the country isn't drying up completely. "the number of inquiries have been growing significantly compared to last year. but it leveled off over the weekend because of the latest

political issues to do with turkey, and with the reports coming from there." among those issues, the arrest of a german-turkish journalist, turkish president erdogan's comparison to the nazis. many turks say these issues are being blown out of proportion. >> the propaganda about turkey in europe is not true. that is why we want especially the germans to come into our country to see the reality and to compare what they hear and what they will see. reporter: turkish tour operators hope the dispute with germany can be resolved quickly. tourism is one of the nation's main sources of income. but political relations between the two countries are at a low point, and tourists will stay away if they don't feel welcome.

daniel: and bookings to turkey are down almost 60% this year. itb officials told dw today, and while turkish tourism has taken a tumble, there is better news for another sunny destination. egypt is set to welcome almost as many visitors as it did in 2011. the industry has suffered following mass protests and a suspected plane bombing. but thanks to a $50 million investment in airport security and cheaper egyptian pound, tourists are starting to return. in talking about travel, the capital of africa's biggest economy, nigeria, is closed for business. the international airport is shutting for six weeks of repairs. flights will be rerouted to the much smaller airport. passengers will take transport flanked by armed guards on a dangerous three-hour journey to their final destination. those who depend on the capital's airport for business are outraged. dw reports from abuja.

reporter: fortunately, joseph has got a good sense of humor. he needs it. he has been working as a taxi driver at abuja airport for seven years, but as of thursday he will be temporarily unemployed. teasing his fellow drivers, he tells one to go and selke labs instead and his colleague says to become a battery charger. dark humor in the face of adversity. >> it is like a disaster, because our family depends on this business. so for six weeks without business, many don't know what else we do. but it is a disaster. reporter: despite the oil-rich countries down double revenues, abuja's airport authority ne-- neglected the runway for years to now it needs to be completely shut down for

repairs. passengers are being diverted to another airport for a three-hour journey by only one international airline will be flying into the alternative airport. even domestic air travel will become much more arduous. >> it is going to be pretty difficult for a lot of people that have a lot of businesses here in abuja, having to travel to lagos back and forth. it will be stressful for most people because i don't know how they will cope. >> it is in the best interest for passengers for safety reasons. i think it is a good idea, and even though a lot of passengers will experience inconveniences having to travel, but i think for safety reasons, it is good we had here to this strictly. reporter: nigerians are known for making the best out of a bad situation. some of which are airport shops

are boosting pre-closure sales by giving hefty discounts on merchandise. >> people buy a want. like discounts. -- they like discounts. we sold lots. reporter: but joseph had no chance to put money aside for the airport closure. he and his 800 colleagues are in or some very hard times, so he has parked his taxi at the airport for now and heads home on foot. daniel: i put it to our correspondent in the nigerian capital -- this is just the latest in a catalog of failures for the airline industry. reporter: indeed, it is basically a nightmare to use domestic flights in nigeria, 60% delay or just canceled. to be honest with you, it is the worst part of my job to fight within nigeria because you never know when you arrive, and nobody tells you how much delay you are having. there is always the announcement

that the flight is delayed for operational reasons for one hour but they might repeated all over again. i talked to somebody in the airport in abuja and he said he spent more than 24 hours in the airport waiting for his flight to finally start, and one of the worst airlines doing that is the biggest airline in the country. they are very famous for delaying their flights and having a very bad customer service. just a few weeks ago the government decided to take over the management because they piled up such huge amounts of debt, more than 400 million euros of debt. they were not able to purchase fuel anymore. because more delays, caused more customers to leave them. i have to take them tomorrow and i'm much or if the government measures worked out but i will see. wish me luck. daniel: turbulent times ahead for you as well. thank you very much for that. and that is it for your business update for now. i will hand you back over to brent, who has more news for us. brent: that's right.

thank you very much. at least 30 people have been killed and others wounded after gunmen dressed as medical staff stormed a large military hospital in kabul. the attackers were killed by afghan special forces. so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility for the attack. chinese warned that the u.s. and north korea are barreling towards a head on collision, and is calling on washington and pyongyang to restart talks. the call for calm follows north korea's launch of 4 ballistic missiles earlier this week, and the u.s. deployment of an antimissile system in south korea. poachers and brutally killed a rhinoceros -- have brutally killed a rhinoceros at a french wildlife park near paris just to steal its horn. zookeepers found the white rhino dead in and say closure with gunshots to the head. the killers are still at large. reporter: wever committed this crime made a violent entry into

the zoo's site entrance near the rhino enclosure. it was here that vince, a four-year-old white rhino who was recently found, was found with three shots to his head and one of his horns removed with a chainsaw. >> we are really very shocked because the white rhinoceros is a very important animal. vince was an animal we were very attached to. we've had him since 2015. a very beautiful young male who -- we had been taking care of. i think he was happy here. we are deeply shocked and distressed, as are many in the zoological community. reporter: now there are fears this could happen again. it is the first time that a

rhino in captivity has been killed for its horn. in africa, poachers kill hundreds of writers in the wild every year. their horns such enormous prices as contraband, up to 50,000 euros per kilo. >> in chinese and vietnamese traditional medicine, people think of rhino horn as a cure for cancer and the demand has increased wh the growth of a wealthy middle-class in both of those countries. reporter: detectives believe that the criminals may have been scared off right cctv cameras. otherwise, they might have killed 2 other rhinos as well, 37-year-old and five-year-old. brent: well, hindus across india are celebrating the annual holy festival which marks the end of winter and beginning of spring. on wednesday, thousands of pilgrims and visitors from across the country flocked to

the state of our province to seek blessings from the hindu deity krishna. it is also known as the festival of colors. revelers traditionally throw colored powder and water at each other. the celebrations are set to continue for the next five days. you are watching "dw news." i will be back after a short break to take you through the day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

the kingdom of cambodia, renowned for the iconic world heritage site the located on