brent: this is dw news live from berlin. a brutal debate tonight in the netherlands ahead of a national election too close to call. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, faced off against his main opponent, the anti-immigration candidate, geert wilders. we will ask who came out on top. also on the show, scotland's power play. the minister says she wants another referendum on scottish independence as the british government moves the u.k. one step closer to brexit.

a generation being devastated in syria. the unprecedented suffering of children in the civil war. also coming up, the challenge to find new antibiotics. scientists search beneath the seas as they hunt for drugs to defeat the superbug. i'm brent goff. good to have you with us. with two days to go before the dutch general election, all eyes were locked onto a live tv debate tonight. the prime minister faced off against the far right populist candidates. rutte's center-right people's

party leaves the polls, but the party of freedom is in line to be the second-biggest and he may find himself in the position to dictate terms over the formation of a new government. the pair exchanged barbs over the netherlands ongoing diplomatic spat with turkey. here is what they had to say in the debate. >> we have a problem with integration. we know the turks deliver an 80% contribution and 80% feel closely related to turkey. what happened that evening on saturday is totally unacceptable. it only happened because of the protestant ministers expulsion. there were elections last year and the turks and netherlands were allowed to take part. 69% voted in support of erdogan. we want to go to our

correspondent who joins us from rotterdam. he was playing -- he was paying close attention to tonight's debate. who came out as the winner tonight? >> it's hard to tell. we seem to completely candidates onstage tonight. wilderness has a more -- wilders has a different approach and rutte came across as more factual. i think one of the strongest moments for rutte was when he said writing on twitter is not like running the government. obviously referring to his opponent's most famous means of communication with his voters and also referred to the fact that he cannot stand by his obligations and his responsibility when he was supporting a minority government and eventually gave up the

support. that pushed the country into chaos and led to new elections, so he basically said you are not a credible politician. you are not reliable. one of the strongest moments in return was when he was able to speak about his most famous topics of migration. for instance, throwing out all turks and the current row between the turkey -- between turkey and the netherlands. he had no idea how to respond and fulfill these slogans, so it did not come across well with the people i've spoken to. brent: that is the question -- how much of an influence will this tv debate have on undecided voters? can we expect any shift in momentum?

guest: there are 40% of voters that have not decided right now at this point, but the momentum of change happened already a couple of days ago. the wilders party had a comfortable lead in january and slowly lost support. he was almost invisible during the campaign and that did not pay off well for them. now the pages have turned and the prime minister is leading by 2%. but at a press conference earlier today, you could feel how much ease under pressure. you can see there's a lot at stake for him right now. brent: our correspondent in rotterdam. thank you very much. at the heart of this tension is the upcoming turkish referendum

on handing more powers to president recep tayyip erdogan. our correspondent has been in istanbul to look at all sides of the debate and find out if the diplomatic rows with european countries will have any effect on the vote. reporter: every day on the asian side of istanbul, students set up a protest and in opposition to the introduction of a presidential system. she fears loss of more democratic rights in her country. in schools and universities, we are not allowed to express opinions as often as we are used to. maybe we will not be allowed to freely organize anymore. as a woman, i don't know what to expect. this is an opposition stronghold but the arm of the state is long and oppositionist have to look over their shoulders.

police earlier this month took down the stand. >> the police pushed me into a shop and manhandled me. when people tried to protest, they fired pistols into the air. a few hundred meters away, the ruling party cost sign means yes to the presidential system. people here won't speak on camera. the president's supporters point to the recent moves by turkish ministers in the netherlands. when they try to engage in conversation, someone turns the music up loud. there is little room for discussion with the ruli party. although the opposition sees itself as heavily disadvantaged, pollsters believe the decision is far from clear.

campaigners are concentrating on the roughly 30% of the electorate that is undecided or rarely votes. 70% of people polled think the changes to the constitution will be approved, but the no vote stands a50%. it will be a tight contest. but they also say it could swing the vote by 2%. >> those opposing a presidential system long thought they had the upper hand, but the row between turkey and europe is -- is effectively cooperating with the enemies of turkey and islam with four weeks to go until the referendum, things are likely to become even tougher for turkey's opposition. brent: the british lower house

has approved a bill allowing prime minister theresa may to start the process of brexit. lawmakers rejected to changes to the draft legislation proposed by the house of lords. they had wanted to guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the u.k. and give parliament a vote on any brexit agreement. critics argue this would have tied their hands ahead of negotiations with the european union. let's pull in our correspondent who is on the story for us tonight in london. we've got u.k. lawmakers voted. does this mean the u.k. is about to begin brexit? can you hear me? it is brent in berlin? i'm afraid we are having some --

looks like we're having some sound problems. we apologize for that and we will try to get back to her later on. in the battle to retake basel -- mosul, iraqi forces have advanced deeper into the city. plumes of smoke obscured the skyline on monday as islamic state reportedly used mortar and sniper fire to hold off iraqi troops. thousands of civilians have been called in the exchange with 600,000 to be trapped in the area. cutting of major supply routes to the group's de facto capital. the suffering of children in syria possible civil war has reached unprecedented levels. the u.n. children agency, unicef , says more than 600 miners were killed in the conflict last year

, a significant jump from the year before. children are increasingly being used as soldiers or being forced to work to help their families survive. >> syria possible war has left its mark on the most vulnerable. for the children here, violence and death are part of everyday life and with them, psychological drama. >> none of the warring parties have improved their battle tactics in order to protect children. children's rights have been extremely violated and that is going on for six years now. >> unicef says more people died in the syrian war last year than any previous year. there were 20% more for talent these than in 25th teen. children were said to the front line and some were used as suicide bombers. even those who managed to escape

the fighting are far from say. to survive, some were forced to work or marry them off. child labor is increasing. in two thirds of syrian families, they worked very hard to earn money so their families can survive. until peace comes to syria, children continue to face and uncertain future. brent: we want to go back to the story of the lower house of parliament in britain voting to go ahead with brexit. our correspondent is in london now. we have lawmakers voting. they have said yes. does this mean the u.k. is about to start brexit? guest: it really does mean the u.k. is going to start brexit and theresa may has her favored timetable. there are still some things to

take the house of lords has to give it back to the commons without their amendments. this seems to be happening. there were sounds from the house of lords that they don't think they're going to change the minds of the house of commons, so that would be the last hurdle. then theresa may can trigger brexit. she wants to do it by the end of march. brent: critics of the british government say eu nationals are being used as a bargaining chip in these negotiations. how much truth is there in that? guest: this is how eu nationals themselves are feeling. there was a small protest outside the houses of parliament tonight and people are arguing if the government really does want to protect the rights of citizens, why not actually guarantee it? people are anxious and going to their mps and don't know what to do.

many people are applying for british citizenship because they don't know what the future will hold for them. the fact there is no formal guarantee does indeed worry quite a lot of eu citizens in the u.k. brent: i want to ask about the development attached to brexit and that is nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland saying brexit justifies a second independence referendum for scotland. what is going to happen there? guest: it really shows that the country is in turmoil. this is a thing that people for brexit does not want to give up and looks like they are going to sever the ties with europe and the scots want to sever the ties with the rest of the u.k., so you might have at the end, a very dis-united united kingdom.

brent: thank you very much. we're going to take a break and when we come back, we have all the business news. we will be right back.

brent: welcome back. you are with the w news live from berlin. in the dutch election, prime minister mark rutte has faced off against his main opponent in a feisty tv debate. opinion polls indicate wednesday's election is on a knife edge and wilders could get into government. the world health organization's morning drug resistant superbugs oppose a fundamental threat to humanity. scientists are in a race against

time to develop new antibiotics as existing ones become increasingly ineffective. the hunt for new treatments is taking researchers to some of the most remote laces on our planet. on land and underwater. reporter: the arctic circle -- one of the most remote places on earth. here, scientists from all over the world are trying to solve one of our most pressing problems -- bacterial resistance to antibiotics. on this trip, the team collected samples from water on the sea bed including lifeforms like sponges. the work is part of a large project called pharma sea. the divers are defending to areas where little research has been done before. they hope to discover microorganisms that can develop

other novel drugs. >> let's with driver -- with the divers. bash let's see what they divers brought for us. sponges are very interesting for the bacteria. reporter: back in the lab, the microorganisms are grown and tested to find out whether they can kill bacteria. >> there's the problem that many bacteria have become resistant to every antibiotic known to man , so we need new antibiotics. reporter: antibiotic resistance is on the rise because the drugs are overused. if researchers failed to develop new antibiotics, around 10 million people could die every year from untreatable infections. the international research team has no time to lose. brent: business news now and

helen is with us. is the end of cheap money nine? helen: certainly decision-making time for central banks and lots of meetings of central banks regarding monetary policy from britain to japan. all eyes will be on the fed on tuesday and wednesday. the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007, the central bank slashed its rates with the first increase at the end of 2015. janet yellen could announce other small bump in rates, only the third in 10 years. for more on this, let's go to our man on wall street. wall street i'm sure anticipated the decision, so how is that affecting markets? guest: that's are pretty much at

100% that we will see the third increase in interest rates by 25 basis points. there's still some question that remains open. how will the wording be from the federal reserve? will they avoid using the term gradual increase in the fed funds rate? that could lead to more aggressive steps in the near future but overall, we have seen it for a couple of trading days now that the market is moving slightly, so not a lot of impulse here. helen: it can -- it looks to be merger monday. the biggest takeover of an israeli tech company. tell us about that. guest: it is a massive deal. 15.3 and billion dollars intel

is putting on the table. both have agreed to the terms. on the other side, intel stock dropping a good 2% with intel being the biggest loser on the dow jones industrial average on monday. if you look at the track record from intel, there's always been that successful betting on technology and would also take some time before we see a mass market for driverless cars that is going to take a wild. intel says they see themselves as data company, so it's not just about driverless cars, it's about all of the data that you get. mixed reactions on wall street on this multibillion-dollar deal.

helen: thank you. the energy group is in talks to supply super fast charging stations all over europe. manufacturers including bmw, volkswagen, ford and daimler are building a network of 400 next iteration stations that would reduce the charging time of electric cars from hours to just minutes. they've supposedly been in talks for months. iceland is saying goodbye to capital controls on individuals, firms and pension funds. the government put them in place following the financial crisis. the stock market was all out and the currency crashed. as of tomorrow, iceland returns to international financial

markets. reporter: tuesday is said to be a big day for icelanders wanting to take money out of the country. the post crisis economy has sufficiently recovered to merit ending all restrictions on capital outflows. >> as of tuesday, we will amend current rules so capital controls we have known in recent years will be lifted on individuals, businesses and pension funds. this is a great milestone and economic milestone undertaken since we were hit with the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. >> iceland had been gradually easing capital controls for years but it am -- it marks their countries full return to international markets. the restrictions hit icelandic

businesses with activities overseas and foreign investment in the country, but robust tourism powered a dramatic turnaround in the economy. iceland's gdp grew 11.3% in the final quarter of last year. helen: that's the latest to -- from the business desk now back to brent. brent: we're going to talk about doctors now -- britain already has a shortage and they could be about to get even more scarce. some are eu nationals living in the u.k. and some are already planning their own brexit. >> moving house always means the decisions like which teddy bears will make the trip to dublin. rosa mcnamara has in a leading physician at a hospital in london for four years but the brexit vote changed things and she and her family don't feel as welcome in britain as they once

did. >> for me, the uncertainty around planning for their future if we were staying here is one of the egg motivators. i don't really know what the implications are for them if they stay and what are they going to be allowedwill it disa? reporter: they are being registered to go to school in dublin and their father has found a job there. polls suggest half of those doctors in britain with you -- with eu passports are thinking of leaving. i think it has been a topic on every shift. even though they've been there nearly all their lives, they are seeking employment lawyers, trying to work out what their immigration status is and get the legal opinion.

reporter: over 130,000 eu citizens are employed in the health service. due to an acute staff shortage, conditions are increasingly strained. >> i just come out of the hospital after a couple of weeks and it was quite full because of the situation because of the lack of nurses. >> they were shortstaffed and underfunded and i don't know what they're going to do if they are further shortstaffed. >> i was treated by three european doctors. >> the british government is planning to train more doctors to become more self-sufficient in the future. however, it will take years until these doctors will be fully qualified and the british medical association's morning in the meantime, patients could find themselves in disaster situations. brent: after a short break, i

will be back to take you through the day. but first, scenes from the hindu holy festival marking the beginning of spring. it is best known for its brightly color calendars.

♪[theme music] ♪[theme music] ernabel demillo: hi. welcome to asian american life. i'm ernabel demillo. it's the fourteenth annual orchid show here at the new york botanical garden and we're here celebrating orchid delirium, which chronicles the history of orchids from all over the world. there are over six thousand colorful species on display here. let's take a closer look. orchids were first discovered in china and japan around 700bc. many of these exotic flowers