♪ host: this is "dw news," live from berlin. can two of the main players in this syria conflict bury differences? turkey says it will cooperate with russia in military matters, but these are two countries on opposing sides, can they really heal the rift? and guatemala, the shocking death of 36 girls in a fire at a children's home. abuse allegations putting the government under pressure to come up with answers. and the south korean presidents has been ousted from office. her supporters took to the streets and a demonstration

turned deadly. ♪ host: thank you for joining me. turkey and russia taken a step toward rebuilding the relationship. on a visit to moscow, the turkish presidents says they are cooperating with russia on the issue of syria. presidents putin said he was optimistic about a peace deal. they have both invested in syria and is far they have supported different sides in the conflict. reporter: the two leaders were all smiles as they met in the kremlin and the relations between turkey and moscow have become much friendlier as of late. >> we are glad are intergovernmental relations are being restored, rapidly. reporter: the normalize nation

of relations has come a long way since the 2015 downing of a russian fighter jets on the turkish and syrian border. erdogan's apologies helping toward the goal, so did putin's support for the turkish leader in the coup last year. up until now, the two countries have had different interests in the syrian conflict. russia was supporting the syrian president and the turks wanting him out. now turkey is fighting the beta but when organizing the peace talks -- fighting, but when organizing the peace talks they put those differences aside. today, putin said he was cautiously optimistic about a peace deal. [speaking russian] >> because russia and turkey have played an active role, we have managed to receive a cease-fire between troops and opposition, but also we are

starting direct talks between the fighting parties and the capital of kazakhstan. reporter: at their talks, the two leaders agreed on closer economic and energy cooperation. russia lifted sanctions imposed on turkey after the downing of the plane and erdogan expressed optimism that soon all the restrictions would go. sarah: i am joined in the studio with -- by a guest, his key focus on syria. thank you for being with us. after these talks, erdogan says turkey is cooperating with the russian military. what do we make of that? will it help make a peace deal? guest: i think they are referring to the limited corporation as far as turkey's desire to stop the kurdish militia in northern syria, to agree to a buffer is on between turkey that could stop the

landgrab by the militia, i do not think it goes beyond that. if it does, that means turkey is participating in the -- of sunnis. the target has been sunis in rebel areas and i am not sure turkey is that far cooperating with russia. sarah: and they back different sides in the conflict. guest: they did. i think erdogan has decided to drop the syrian sunis. he presented himself as a champion of them, during the revolt against the elite. then he decided his strategic interest is maybe to join russia as the more powerful figure, and a green with russia in stopping the kurdish expansion -- agreeing with russia and stop in the kurdish expansion. sarah: what about people who say this reconciliation is being driven by a common cause of

defining europe and the u.s.? guest: that is marginal. i mean, erdogan has had catchphrases and saying germany is going back to nazism, that is music to the ears of. -- putin. but there are bigger economic interests at stake, keep the russian market open and keeping me turkish market, the x soviet circuit -- turk states open for investment. : sarah: what about the change in government in the u.s., what can we expect from chumps administration? guest: under the previous administration, the sunnis rose up against one of the most oppressive rulers of the 21st century. they have had no hope. obama created his own version.

he said, these guys are tribes, they always fight and there is no use to intervene. donald trump has upped the rhetoric against them. the biggest geostrategic winner in this conflict in syria and the event and iraq has been iran. but so far it has been a verbal. he has not done anything on the ground. sarah: we will circle back to the talks between turkey and russia, is that it met gain for peace in syria at the end of the day? guest: it will be a gain for the russian version of peace, that could be imposing surrender on the sunnis that rose up against assad. by the way, they rose up against his father in the 1980's as well. so they want to make sure that this oppressive regime stays in syria. as far as they gain for peace,

in terms of the russian prospect, which is the surrender of the sunnis. host: so for the russian perspective on peace. sarah: thank you. >> you're welcome. thank you. sarah: turkish relations with germany have been strained after a dispute of appearances at political rallies in germany. the rallies were meant to get support for a turkish referendum that would grant erdogan more power. a new poll gauges the political mood in germany. reporter: a campaign rally by the turkish foreign minister on tuesday night in hamburg. he gave a dramatic speech, saying turkish citizens in germany are being suppressed. tensions between germany and turkey have escalated. the turkish politicians urge support on the referendum next week in their country. our poll shows 91% of germans oppose the turkish politicians

campaigning in turkey. only 6% are in favor. after the cancellation of appearances by turkish politicians in germany at several of the events, the turkish president said on sunday that germany was engaging in knotty practices -- nazi practices. the german government did not rule out appearances by the turkish politicians. but in our poll, 77% of germans say they do not want the country to allow campaigning by turkish politicians, only 19% disagree. overall, eligible voters are more critical of the german government than in the previous month. 44% say they are satisfied with the government, while a slight majority, 55%, say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. this year's federal election is already looming in germany.

it plays a big part in how favorably the top politicians and their work are viewed. martin scholz is losing ground. chancellor angela merkel is making gains, posting her best number sense 2015 when she launched her migration policy. 60% are not satisfied with her policies, while 52% see marshals his work in a positive -- martin scholz's work in a positive light. they will elect a new leader -- parliament in september. the largest parties are almost even, with the cds you slightly ahead. and the spd has 31%. little or no change among the other parties. but anything can still happen with the federal elections still six months away. sarah: ok.

facts and figures for you. now i am joined with michaela kuefner, the government saying they are not working on travel bans. but why is this a hot potato in germany? >> we have this latest poll which reaffirms what was a tangible move over the past couple of days that most germans by far would like to see the government take a tougher stance. we saw a social democrat foreign minister on wednesday talk to his turkish counterpart in a few much say, do not repeat this on german soil, and yet again on friday we saw the deputy prime minister in turkey talk of crimes against humanity on the german side. these are crimes of international -- rape, forcing children to be sold, so the rhetoric is out there and the german government must show strength, but at the same time we could the german chancellor not wanting to strain the

turkish and german relations, which are vital for her migration policy. and we saw a constitutional court's decision today not to take a case where somebody wanted to push the government to actually impose a ban on turkish politicians appearing here. the court is saying if the german government wanted to it could be and the appearances, but the german government says they stand for freedom of speech and we want to practice what we preach and that is why we see no movement. but it is a political hot potato. sarah: we will back up. we are talking about a referendum in turkey that would give erdogan more powers, so why is he keen to campaign in germany? >> there is a huge constituency here, 1.4 million turks, who often hold both citizenship from turkey and germany and like other populations that live abroad from their home country where their heart is, there are more conservatives and erdogan's

popular here, said he might get that vital support he needs for the constitutional referendum that would make him stronger. sarah: ok. making a ploy to the base in germany. michaela kuefner, thank you for shedding light on this issue. >> you are welcome. sarah: the first funeral for a victim of a fire in a children's home in guatemala took place today. 36 girls died in the blaze and it has opened the door to questions about abuse allegations at the shelter and it puts the government under pressure to come up with answers. [chanting] reporter: outrage in guatemala, it took the depths of more than -- deaths of more than 30 girls for allegations to be heard. they were supposed to be in a safe home. >> i am outraged. what they did is not fair. we are talking about human trafficking, about prostitution,

we are talking about sexual assault. we demand justice. reporter: protesters took their anchor to the president's palace. they were not happy with what he said. reporter: the president promised a thorough investigation into what happened. people will be held accountable, the courts will receive all support they need. i think the people are expecting that from us. reporter: reporters yelled questions, questions left unanswered. some families spend all day at the morgue. they are waiting for the news they did not want to receive. [crying] reporter: they now know some of the girls started the fire in protest of overcrowding and

abuse. families linger outside the morgue, the center of their grief. [singing] reporter: later, songs and light at the presidential palace, an attempt to hold the government and account. sarah: stradivarius, the name synonymous with the best sounding violence often valued -- often -- sounding violence -- voiolins. now one is set to return to the concert. [violent music -- violin music} sarah: a private concert will be held in new york. the player studied under the -- this almost 300-year-old violin survived its disappearance in

remarkably good shape. [violin music] sarah: we will take a short break. when we come back, daniel will have the day's financial headlines. stay with us. ♪ >

♪ sarah: you are watching "dw news." our top stores, the turkish president and his russian counterpart have been rebuilding ties after talks between the two leaders in moscow. now erdogan says turkey will cooperate with russia in military matters. they have been on opposing sides in the war in syria. and south korea's constitutional court has stripped the president of her presidency, making her the first democratic leader to be impeached in that country. it takes away our executive immunity from prosecution.

at least two people died in protest. reporter: celebrations continued into the night in favor of president park's removal from office. tens of thousands of south koreans occupied a square in front of the palace gate and the area became a party. ♪ reporter: however, not far away supporters of park scuffled with police. the fighting started earlier after the verdict was announced. supporters of the m.p.h. president -- impeached president clashed with police. two people reportedly died in the process. one was a man that fell from a police bus. also new the courthouse, opponents applauding the decision. reporter: i shouted for joy when i watched the broadcast of the

ruling. i am so excited. now the only thing left is the imprisonment of park. reporter: her impeachment means it she could be facing criminal charges over bribery, extortion and abuse of power. she has denied any wrongdoing, allegedly she was inclusion with a confidant to pressure companies to donate to foundations they controlled. the prime minister is the caretaker president until a new one is elected. it have to happen within the next two months. -- has to happen within the next two months. sarah: is protectionism on the rise? many countries want to block foreign investment. daniel has the story. daniel: the eu says the measures would be limited to strategic interests like defense and infrastructure. a draft seen is aimed at foreign investments, but the document

calls out one particular country that is hungry for acquisitions. china. reporter: the sale of a german robot builder to china left many in europe where it, politicians and business leaders demanding a stop to foreign countries buying expertise. now the eu is sounding the alarm, calling for specific areas to be off-limits to foreign buyers. the areas are defense, roads, ports and roadways, and a range of cutting-edge technologies, like i.t. companies. that is not all. even industries like steel could be affected, that is if the buyout was intended to close down the companies to reduce overcapacity. it is not clear if the proposal will be accepted, it must be approved by the european parliament and member states, as well as by all the eu commissioners, many of him oppose the protectionist-- whom

oppose the protectionist measures. daniel: why is the european union worried? the money coming from china was four times higher last year than in the other direction, as you can see. direct investment in the and europe only invested 7.7 billion in china. and the recent targets of beijing includes the german robotics firm you saw in the report and this one, dwarfing all other buyouts, a swiss seed maker on the doorstep for 43 billion euros, if it is approved this year. yet, the eu must walk a tightrope. beijing could be their biggest friend right now. donald trump is going cold on cooperation and russia's annexation of a neighbor, and theresa may leading the eu -- uk away from the eu. the chinese president is singing

a different tune. >> we must say no to protectionism. pursuing protectionism is like walking ones -- locking oneself in a dark room. while wind and rain are kept out, so are light and air. nobody will emerge as a winner in a trade war. daniel: it is all well and good, but business leaders say that china is protectionist. the vast the mystic subsidies mean that foreign firms cannot find a footing in china. and back to europe, it is official -- the eurozone economies are out of recession musso says the international monetary fund. even when it comes to greece and spain, there are reasons to be optimistic. reporter: the imf's latest figures shows the member countries have recovered from recession and the economic

growth is back on track. since 2013, more than 4.5 million new jobs have been created in the single currency bloc. not just in germany, spain, italy and even greece have seen jobs growth. the average unemployment is falling from the 12% to below 10% now. now that and other positive developments make it the fastest-growing economy among the giants of the industrialized world. in 2016, the eurozone gdp grew by 1.7%. that tops the u.s., where the economic growth stood at 1.6% last year. followed by canada and japan. the predominantly positive outlook could affect the election campaigns underway in several eurozone members. in which the right-wing populist movements have been gaining strength. daniel: we are guilty, bold flag

in owning up to -- vw admitting it broke u.s. pollution rules on over half a million diesel vehicles. in january, they agreed to pay a $4.3 billion penalty, a settlement reached with the u.s. justice department. the company said they installed software, but switched them off during normal driving. residents of washington dc are getting used to sharing the sidewalk with a fleet of food delivery robots. the service has used machine to bring food stores to consumers. the orders can be made online or with an app. an array of cameras allow the robot to navigate the route. they can read signs at pedestrian crossings and the robots can create a digital map, that even remembers trouble spots. check it out, a trouble free lunch right to you. daniel: i cannot wait for that

to come here. that is it for the business news, back over to sarah with some news from the art world. sarah: american artist bruce bickford is a master of clay animation. his miniature figures have been featured in music videos. he is 70 years old, but he is still creating miniature worlds. an exhibition covering five decades of his work is opening in germany. ♪ >> man with clay figure, captured together as they always are. bruce bickford has never spent long without clay in his hands. he just turned 70 and is as productive as ever. >> i am not very good at defining what i do. i just have to do it. [laughter] reporter: bruce bickford does not speak much about his work, but he is widely regarded as a legendary artist. he has been called a master of

animated films and a revolutionary of music videos. his work for frank zappa saw figures dancing across the screen. often whimsical and sometimes sinister, even gruesome. ♪ >> i feel positive about the world. it is just the dark stuff is everywhere. you cannot get away from it. reporter: he brings the dark stuff to life in his films, models and drawings -- they all have one thing in common, they are overflowing with detail. why? >> why not? it is more fun to have a busy seeing going on. reporter: he takes his time working with clay, forming it and modeling the most delicate

of features. some of his models are a few millimeters tall and many will make -- were made 30 or 40 years ago. all of them bear his fingerprints. >> you don't have to think about it. as soon as you feel the clay in your fingers, they automatically do what is needed. reporter: artist and clay in perfect harmony. ♪ sarah: from miniature sculptures to an ancient colossus, archaeologists have discovered a massive statue of the pharaoh ramses the great. it was dug up in the east of the city. ruins of a temple had been discovered earlier in the same area. the statue was lifted out of the pit with the help of heavy machinery. the pieces weighing seven tons will not be taken to a museum for restoration. and a reminder of our top story,

the turkish president erdogan and his russian counterpart president putin have been rebuilding ties. after talks in moscow, erdogan said turkey will cooperate with russia in military matters. the two countries have been on opposing sides in the war in syria. you are watching "dw news." i will be right back to take you through the day. stick around. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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