♪ anchor: this is "dw news." a deadly attack on the doorstep of british democracy. a terrorist rams pedestrians and stabs a police officer outside of parliament. ffour people are dead and 20 are injured. we have the latest from the scene. sarah: i'm sarah kelly. thank you for joining us.

for people are dead and another 20 injured after an attack outside of the houses of parliament. the attack began when a crowd drove into a crowd on westminster bridge. the vehicle driving the short distance along the bridge, around the corner and into the railings outside of the houses of parliament. an attacker then stabbed a police officer standing guard and was subsequently shot by police. now the british prime minister was rushed to safety during the attack and has offered condolences to the victims, a major police investigation is now underway. and authorities are treating the incident as terrorism. reporter: panic in the heart of london. only meters from the houses of parliament, the injured lie on the streets. police say there have been multiple casualties.

[sirens] reporter: eyewitnesses described a car driven by an attacker hitting the pedestrians on westminster bridge before it crashed at the foot of big ben. >> they continue to drive all the way down to the bottom of the bridge, there is a bus stop on the left-hand side, and that he continue between the bus and the -- just like we are stated here now, as if it would run into us. >> we saw three people in the road and somebody called out for first aid and some went running to help to see what they could do. reporter: shortly after, a police officer was stabbed. the assailant was shot by police. scotland yard said it was pursuing a terrorism investigation. >> since 2:40 p.m. this

afternoon, we have responded to an incident in parliament square and the senior coordinator has declared it a terrorist incident. although we are open-minded, a full investigation is now underway. reporter: police say they have not established a motive for the attacks, but they will pursue all leads in that direction. sarah: we will bring in kitty logan who is near the attack seen on the banks of the thames. hi, so it is the end of a dramatic day in the british capital. now the probe will begin. what are investigators looking for? >> that is right. beside me, there is a truck pulling away from the response unit that is setting up. behind me, you can barely make it out, this is westminster bridge where the incident began in the afternoon. it is now dark. the vehicle is still parked

there as the police begin to investigate the incident in more detail. what we are hearing above me still, hours later, his police helicopters and the entire area is locked down while the police carry out what is now probably likely to be a routine police believe this was a lone attacker. one thing they will be looking into as if the attacker has links to wider terrorist networks or if anybody else is associated with this. as a security measure, the police say the area will remain under lockdown. sarah: earlier today, there was a sense of panic in the area where you are. in the meantime, accounts of terrorism coming to light. tell us about that. kitty: yes, there is at least one account. a member of parliament who stepped in to give first aid, the member of parliament did

have previous experience in the military and he stepped in to give aid to a member of the public. a great deal of panic as you said as the incident first played out. and many members of the public caught up in it. particularly on westminster bridge, it is a very busy place in the afternoon, members of the public and tourists as well. it is quiet now with the police still have this area roped off. it is calm. but now the real investigation begins as police tried to determine what was behind it and who the suspect was. sarah: because the area is so busy as you mentioned, still very close to the seat of power in britain, it shows there is no such thing as absolute security, doesn't it? kitty: this is a very widely patrolled area outside the houses of parliament.

there is always a police presence, there is always security measures in place, is why the police officer concerned was able to respond so quickly to this incident. we saw immediately the gunfire, you have seen it in the clips that have come out. but it cost one officer his life and it goes to show, as well as the attacker himself, members of the public, this goes to show it is difficult, despite all the preparation the police have put into preventing or trying to deter terrorist attacks in the city, despite all of that and all the intelligence that has boarded attacks -- thwarted attacks, it is still hard to stop an attack like this when somedy simply drives car into arowd. we saw it in bern, in nice,t is difficult to stop that. police did stop it, but not before the attacker caused a

great deal of damage my loss of life and injury. sarah: as we mentioned, for people he was ableo kill, another 20 injured. kenny logan with the latest -- kitty log with the latest. we thank you for your reporting. we will get now more on the incidents, we are joined by charlotte chelsom-pill in the studio. charlotte, as we were talking about, a city with high security , so is this a shock? charlotte: anybody who takes a look at the pictures emerging will be moved by what has happened today. what struck me when looking at the pictures is how reminiscent they are of the london bombings in 2005, really shocking scenes then and now again repeated with bodies in the streets of london. it is terrifying. but it is something that security officials would have been preparing for for years.

they have had strict procedures in place, particularly for the houses of parliament, somewhere where the security would be high. as well with the prime minister, the procedure in place about how to handle her. we heard she was ushered out of the building quickly and put into a car and taken to safety. so the head of the counterterrorism agency in the u.k. has said it is something they planned for, but hoped would never happen. sadly today we have seen something tragic take place. sarah: to be clear, all british members of parliament were unharmed? charlotte: correct. we do not have any reports of members of parliament injured. and a theresa may is safe. her office issued a statement offering condolences to those caught up in what office called an appalling attack. we know that parliamentarian

stepped in. he is being held as a hero -- hailed as a hero, stepping in to try to resuscitate the officer that was caught up trying to prevent the attacker from entering the houses of parliament. was -- what was tragic about his story, his brother who was a teacher died in the bombings in 2002 and now this mp, his life has collided with another attack. sarah: what happens next in london? charlotte: at the moment they are trying to get everything secured. and train stations nearby, they are starting to allow people to go through the area, hours after it was completely closed off. once that is under control, then they will start to look at how this could possibly have happened. how was it that this attacker was able to get so close to the seat of government in the u.k.?

it is shocking that this was able to take place. the prime minister theresa may is chairing a meeting of cobra, a meeting including intelligence officials, members of state, security officials, all trying to figure out where to go next. they will look at who possibly was behind the attack, anybody else involved -- police do not think so, but they will try to cover all bases. and what to do to prevent further attacks. sarah: ok. thank you. as you might have imagined, reaction to the attacks coming in from british officials. the mayor of london has released a statement on twitter, he writes, "my thoughts are with those affected and the families. i want to express thanks to the police and emergency services who work hard to keep us safe and show bravery in exceptionally difficult

circumstances." the attack in london comes exactly one year after twin suicide bombings in brussels. 32 people died in that capital, the deadliest terror attacks in the country's history. brussels fell silent today at ceremonies marking the exact moment those attackers struck the airport and the central subway station. take a listen. reporter: the sound of fear. this was a scene moments after two explosions ripped through the check-in area of the international airport in belgium, one year ago. just over an hour later, another attack. a bomb detonated in a train in the city center. ♪ reporter: one year later,

hundreds gathered outside the brussels airport to remember the suicide attacks. ♪ [solomon music] -- [solemn music] reporter: observing a moment of silence before hearing from survivors. >> march 22, 2006, the day our lives were turned upside down. the day the unimaginable happened. the day i lost my beautiful wife. many times i ask myself what is -- if? what if we had left 10 minutes later? what if we had driven a bit slower? what if? reporter: in a small park leading to the airport, another commemoration took place.

♪ reporter: this sculpture ruined in the attack had been a familiar meeting point. its restoration a symbolic gesture of resilience one year after the attack. ♪ sarah: a somber day in brussels where a report is standing by. barbara, what must be on people's minds as they see the images coming out of london today? barbara: as we have seen, it was brussels that was grieving today and of course the city was in high alert, because security forces here have a fear that a repeat attack could be planned, somebody trying to do something again in the belgium capital. and then this afternoon we noticed something was taking place in london.

we do not know whether these two incidents are related, but of course for everybody here, particularly the families of the victims and survivors of the attacks in brussels last year, they will be reminded of all the emotions that are connected with it. and we heard the first messages from the heads of the european union and eu commission chief who said, our thoughts and feelings are with you, but i am so emotional i can hardly express them. no wonder, because he had participated in the morning -- mourning in the commemoration -- and then this morning with london, saying, we're thinking of you. it is a reputation, like a flashback. sarah: barbara, tell us, fair to say there is a pattern emerging with the lone wolf style attacks?

barbara: they're destined to be a pattern since the attacks in nice last year. we saw this again in december in the attacks against the christmas market in berlin. secured forces are aware of it. the best kinds of corporations across the borders cannot prohibit those kinds of attacks. sarah: thank you. we will leave it there. ♪ ♪

♪ sarah: welcome back. a quick reminder of our top story paid is suspected terror attack -- top story paid a suspected terror attack -- story. a suspected terror attack in london, and attackers that many police officer guarding parliament and hitting pedestrians. a two day conference focusing on fighting the islamic state almost 70 countries meeting in washington dc to find new ideas to defeat the extremist group. hosting the meeting, the u.s. secretary of state rex

tillerson, said the u.s. wants to increase pressure on the islamic state and also work to set up what he calls interim zones of stability to help refugees return home. in the next phase of the battle. we are joined by our correspondent in washington dc for more on this. what is expected to come out of this meeting today? >> well, first off we are expecting the host country, the u.s., to ask for more money, particularly from some of the wealthy care of nations such as kuwait or saudi arabia. the last time around, germany contributed around $250 million and the u.s. contributed $500 million to the group effort, but the question still remains, once isis has been defeated and everybody has sort of clear the air, what happens the day after?

how do they secure the region, how do they secure the people who are still there. this seems to be the question no one is asking or answering. sarah: we know during his political campaign, the u.s. president promised to do just that, to wipe out the islamic state. are we getting any further information today on what exactly his plan is? maya: we heard rex tillerson in his opening address say that the u.s. was committed to a military intervention in the areas where is still has control. we know that if the u.s. and russia were to go in and hit them as strong as they could, is would in fact be obliterated to use a fairly pedestrian term. but the question remains, what would happen afterward? we know that trump during the campaign talked about setting up safe zones, but there has not

been many more details coming out of the conference. sarah: in the meantime, what about the reaction to the incident in london today? what has been the conversation there in the u.s. and do have a sense the country is preparing for the possibility of something similar like this, the lone wolf style attacks? maya: we know that the president is informed of the incident and we know he spoke with the prime minister, theresa may. we know that a lot of these efforts that president trump is putting for the slightly travel ban -- like the travel ban, and the band put forth for electronics yesterday, our steps to try to counter -- are steps to try to counter these attacks. but the problem with these kinds of attacks is they are hard to predict, because it is usually one person probably watching too many videos on the islamic state

website, so it is hard to preempt where they are going to come from or where they will be next going to strike. but these are efforts the president is putting forward it trying to preempt something like this happening. sarah: ok. thank you. the threat of terrorism is impacting business models as well. kristof has more on that story. kristof: the aviation industry just yesterday, the united states and britain announcing that passengers traveling on inbound flights from a number of countries will not be allowed to take their laptops or tablet computers in the cabin. officials are setting the risk of terrorists targeting planes with explosives hidden in consumer devices. what has come as a nuisance to travelers has heavy financial impact for the united airlines who are affected. reporter: this is the emirates response to the ban on larger

devices in the cabin and and added to provide -- rpromote in-flight entertainment. >> would you like to go back to your seats? >> i am good. reporter: many are affected by the new resolution, as are other airlines which have seen the prices hit hard. shares at airlines including british airways, german carrier lufthansa, and turkish airlines, all took a tumble in tuesday trading. germany and other eu countries have not implemented bans for the time being. whether the move will make flights safer is questionable. the infamous bombing was caused by an explosive hidden in the hold of an aircraft. kristof: now we get the latest from the markets with our man on wall street.

he is not there i am afraid. that is the white house. ok, there he is. the big topic on the side of the atlantic has been the attack in london. how have people on the trading floor in new york reacted? >> i mean, for most of the trading, traders followed very closely what happened in london and for sure people are, who experienced the attacks of 9/11, are always reminded of what happens. and there was a lot of sympathy for the victims in london. by the way, there was no heightened security necessarily here around the new york stock exchange, but security is always a very tight thing in the financial district. kristof: the dollar moving 200 points, the biggest drop of the year so far.

has the downward trend continued today? >> no, it has stopped in the wednesday session. we only saw a very tiny decrease for the dow jones industrial average, and it was mainly because of nike. nike had come out with their earnings report and they bet the profit expectations, but were shy on revenue and also the outlook does not look strong. and the stock lost more than 7% in value and that was by far the biggest loser in the dow jones. by the way, retail was one of the big topics over here. the iconic department store sears talked about that there is a substantial doubt about the future, the brick and mortar stores having a very tough time with online competition and the stocks dropped by about 13%. overall, the market was much

calmer on wednesday than what we saw after the selloff on -- sales on tuesday. kristof: thank you. prosecutors in germany probing a carmaker for fraud over emissions. it is the latest after bulldog and admitted -- vw admitted to cheating on emissions test. this follows a newspaper report that they may have manipulated some vehicles to get them to tests. they say they are unaware of any employees being questioned by prosecutors. and the ceo has always insisted that his company has never rigged engine emissions readings. brazil's meatpacking industry has been devastated by a probe into unsanitary and corrupt practices, as worldwide import bans have come into place, the meat exports have collapsed.

before the scandal, brazil was the number one meet exporter -- meat exporter, which is now down to a miniscule 68,000 euros a day. the government says it could take five years to regain their exports. and that is all the business for now. sarah: thank you. we have to tell you that germany has a new president. the foreign foreign minister -- former foreign minister signed in on wednesday. the social democrat addressed parliament and laid out his plans for his five-year term. the president also used his speech to address tensions facing germany, including domestic and international challenges from populism and authoritarianism. while this is largely ceremonial, it carries moral authority, something that germany's new head of state says he intends to invoke.

>> i am not neutral, nonpartisan yes as the office requires, but i am not allowed to be neutral when it comes to the fundamentals. that is why i say to you, i will be partial, partial to democracy. [applause] sarah: the new president speaking a short while ago. in other news, germany's cabinet has decided to a no the convictions of homosexual men who were sentenced by the german courts decades ago simply for being gay. and a german justice minister describing this as a state persecution and injustice. until homosexuality became legal in 1969, some 50,000 men saw their careers and reputations ruined by being sentenced on the basis of their sexual orientation. the victims groups were welcoming the late recognition mode but there is criticism that

a planned compensation plan may be seen as too little, too late. and a quick reminder of the top story before we go. four people are dead after an attack outside the british parliament including the assailant and a police officer. at least 20 injured. police are treating it as a terrorist attack. it started when a car was driven into people on westminster bridge, hitting members of the public and three police officers. you are up-to-date. thank you for watching. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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