♪ ♪ >> this is a dw news alive from berlin. china's president xi jinping arrives in florida for his first meeting with a u.s. president donald trump. in their first face to face, what will the leaders of the two largest world economies do? who released poison gas in syria earlier this week? investigators are trying to find answers on syria, russia, turkey

and other leaders in the united nations. ♪ brent: it is good to have you with us. we begin with the situation in syria. the u.s. president donald trump has hinted at a possible intervention in the country after a suspected gas attacon a rebeheld tn they are left week. at least 70 people were killed. there are claims of that russian planes hit a chemical depot held by rebels. correspondent: these men are carrying -- gathering chemical

samples from the streets. they say they are also doing tests for chemicals on animals found in the area. they hope to preserve evidence that can be used in an investigation. western leaders believe that the evidence is already overwhelming. >> obviously there is a cocktail of chemicals. quartering, other substances and you see the pictures, it is terrible. that is bashar al-assad's regime. correspondent: at the u.n. headquarters, special investigator echoed that comment. >> war, when more women and children die than grown, armed men is a very dirty war. a war where children suffocate to death because of chemical weapons -- toxic chemicals is a

very, very dirty war. correspondent: the syrian government says an investigation will take place but it will not allow any inspection it can be influenced by foreign powers. >> there must begin tease for it -- there must be gaurentees from it --it must proceed from damascus and not from turkey. correspondent: a doctor who works not far from the town where the attack took place spoke with a dw. he said the syrian government is spreading lies. 3 ♪ -- >> the media of russia and the syrian government talk rumors

and nonsense. correspondent: away from the political arena, here in shang sha hoon, people are mourning the dozens who died. correspondent: these latest events in syria seem to be shifting the u.s. president's decision after he recently claimed removing bashar al-assad from power was not a priority, his secretary of state now says assad must go. >> the process by which assad would leave is something that requires an international community effort both to defeat isis in syria, to stabilize the syrian country, to avoid further civil war and to work collectively with our partners around the world in a political

process that will lead a five to leave -- assad to leave. >> will you and president trump organize a coalition to get that underway? our military options on the table? >> we are considering the appropriate response for this chemical weapon attack that violates all previous u.n. resolutions and international norms and long-held agreements for parties including the syrian regime, the russian government and all other members of the un security council. it is a serious matter that requires a serious response. brent: again those are some of the strongest words we have heard from the u.s. administration on syria. we will be taking you to syria in the second part of this broadcast with an interview with

the white helmets. that is a rescue group that takes care many times of women and children in syria. the leaders of the united states and china are set to meet in what could be the biggest test of donald trump presidency. china's xi jinping landed in florida where he was met by u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson. just last week, trump tweeted that he expects the meeting to be very difficult and if you look at what he said about china and the past, it is easy to see why this summit might be a challenge. in january, for example, trump tweeted, china has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the u.s. in total one-sided trading but will not help with north korea.

when it comes to trade relations in china, beijing's stand on north korea has been a concern for trump over a year now. >> with the chinese come in and want to make great trade deals -- not anymore -- when i am there, we turn it around. we have a $500 billion trade deficit with china. we're going to turn it around and we have the cards. we are like the piggy bank that is being robbed. we have a lot of power with china. when china does not want to fix the problem in north korea, we say sorry we have to fix the problem because we cannot allow china to rape our country. correspondent: strong words from the candidate donald trump. love the u.s. president headed to florida, offense in

washington were moving fast. republican leaders in the u.s. senate resulted -- resorted to the so-called nuclear option to vote through the supreme court nominee. the proposed inquiry into russian meddling in the u.s. presidential election, he is saying he will step aside from the probe. correspondent: another trump ally have to step aside, the congressman heading the investigation into's expected russian interference in the u.s. elections has resigned. he is accused of having disclosed classified documents. >> i want to be clear, none of this surveillance was related to russia or the investigation of russian activities or of the trump team. correspondent: nunez has come under heavy fire for allegedly sharing intelligence with the president but not with members

of his own committee. he will now be replaced by mike conaway. >> i think it will allow us to have a fresh start moving forward. i look forward to working with mr. conway. i think the investigation is of such critical importance that we need to get fully back on track. correspondent: the house of representatives is not the only body not on track. republican and democratic senators collided over the president nominee for the supreme court neil gorsuch. after the democrats successfully blocked a vote on conforming gorsuch, republicans went for the so-called nuclear option. it lists the requirement for a majority of 61 votes in the senate. from now on 51 will be enough to confirm a supreme court justice. >> the nuclear option into the end of a long history of

consensus on supreme court nominations. it weakens the standing of the senate as a whole as a check on the president's ability to shape the judiciary. in a post nuclear world, if the senate and the presidency are in the hands of the same party, there is no incentive to even speak to the senate minority. that is a recipe for more conflict and bad blood between the parties, not less. correspondent: for the republicans, the step is needed to be able to act. >> we need to restore the norms and traditions of the senate and get past this unprecedented partisan filibuster. i raised the point of order that the vote is a majority vote on all nominations. correspondent: a final confirmation vote on gorsuch is expected on friday. brent: a lot taking place in the

u.s. capital. let's go there now. our correspondent is on the scene. a lot is going on right now. and we have been talking about trump and foreign policy this week but let's talk about domestic policy. steve bannon taken off the national security council. we have had two executive orders by the president blocked. obamacare was not repealed. the president has no domestic victories to speak of so far in his presidency. does that explain why we saw the nuclear option take place today in the u.s. senate? maya: certainly there has been pressure on senate republicans from the very beginning. from the time gorsuch nomination -- gorsuch's nomination -- we

saw the president at his nomination saying mcconnell if you need to go nuclear you have permission to. this is a huge change in the senate and we have to remember the senate and the u.s. congress is supposed to be the slower, more deliberative and intellectual of the two houses where the minority party has more of a say and more they way -- -- more of a sway in the u.s. congress, now with the change of procedures, we are seeing the senate become more like the house of representatives where we need a simple majority to pass things rather than a two thirds majority. it is a big day for the u.s. senate. brent: mitch mcconnell was saying they need to restore the normative behavior of the u.s. senate but what happened today certainly was not limited

behavior. moving forward, can we give up any hope of seeing bipartisan work be the rule of the day? maya: it's will make it much easier for whatever party is in power to simply pass whatever they want without having to consult or compromise with whichever party is in the minority and the thing is, if and when the democrats ever take back the congress, they will then have very little incentive to reinstate these rules that were just removed because they will have the power to pass whatever they want just as the republicans now have a very much of the power. the legislative filibuster is the next to go and that filibuster is still in place. what we have seen is this will make it -- there will be much less than the tip or presence to dominate -- less incentive for president's to nominate justices

that are less centric and simply stacked the courts with their ideological present -- prescence. correspondent: president trump is going to meet with chinese president xi jinping. >> both men need a win in this meeting. trump has suffered a long series of setbacks with the deals a knocks it down, with obamacare not being repealed. he needs to look good with xi in front of the cameras and xi needs to look good with trump because he has the twice a decade annual party meeting coming up in october. the mini to look like they can work with each other. brent: a lot to watch for. our correspondent on the story in washington. thank you very much.

we're going to take a 62nd break. when we come back, more news including the situation in syria. and the latest business headlines. stick around. ♪

brent: welcome back. our top story, u.s. president donald trump has hinted at a harder line on syria in the aftermath of the suspected chemical weapons attack. 70 people were killed, scores more injured. the u.s. has said it will take unspecified unilateral action against the assad regime. we want to bring in ishmael alab

, he is part of the white helmets. the only rescue workers available to help people. it is good you back on the show. we have been trying ever since tuesday to get information from the site of the attack and what happened. if you heard from the people who were there? >> i have heard and i went to the town situated in the south. a lot was happening before the night of the chemical bombing. thereikes in that night. our colleagues heard a large

explosion, we use it to hear cluster bombs and rockets but this time it was a light explosion and the rescue teams -- brent: the syrian government, the regime is saying that what you had were the explosions when rockets were fired on the pose held by the rebels. the rebels who were hiding illegal chemical weapons on the ground. can you verify that or can you -- have you heard that claim? correspondent: they claim as they did four years ago -- again they are denying everything.

they will not allow anyone from the u.n. to come. who can have this kind of gas, who can have this kind of sarin gas? all the people, and you can ask witnesses and you can see videos -- it was documented by videos. everyone can watch the videos of how the warplanes dropped the bombs on the high shootout -- h otel. the fact is they bombs the city and it is not the first time.

they used the chlorine in elvis city -- in the city. in the last month of the siege, they use it more than ever. many neighborhoods were attacked. they use chemical weapons but this time we are watching the news that there is -- brent: we are running out of time but we will be coming back to talk to. thank you for your time. in moscow, thousands attended the memorial event paying tribute to the deadly blast in st. petersburg subway earlier this week.

13 people were killed on monday when a 22-year-old man from two to stand -- kirgazstan blew himself up. investigators also defuse a bomb that they found at the apartment where the three suspects lived. we are now to india. police of their have arrested three suspects in the murder of a muslim farmer who was attacked as he transported cattle. some 200 vigilantes beat him and his companions apparently in the belief that his cattle were being sent for slaughter. the violence comes amid a crackdown on unlicensed slaughterhouses in india. government officials say they are being shut down to protect cows but critics say it is a form of persecution against india's muslim minority who often run the slaughterhouses.

now business news, the quarrel between the european union and china over steel imports continues. correspondent: the european commission has imposed higher anti-dumping on products from china. the move is to keep chief in points from china to stop flooding a europe's struggling still market. -- steel market. the products will now face the terrace of 18-35%. the government in china urged the eu to correct it take. -- its mistake. the move comes as the u.s. president and chinese president are coming together amid tensions. how likely is it that president

trump will remain as blue dress as he has then with china -- as belligerent as he has with china? >> quite an interesting encounter. it has been a flat day on wall street. investors are fearing the worst, hoping for the best. trump has to confront a lot of complexities in this summit and investors fear he might do this in his usual quick-tempered, not quite diplomatic way. both countries have aced drawn interest -- have a strong interest in finding common ground. experts hope that the prospect of achieving this win-win installation might be more tempting than resentment. correspondent: investors also have their mind on economic data , what is coming out there? >> they goodness there is a

little more than waiting on politicians every word. tomorrow wall street will pay it close attention to the u.s. data of the labor market and how it performed in march. next season the -- next week in the earnings season will start. did he morgan will be among the early birds. investors are already hoping for the next rally. brent: sophie in new york, thank you very much. the imf sees progress in negotiations over the financial state of greece. the new finance ministers will old talk at their meeting on friday. it is hoping for further financial help. correspondent: the augeers

family lived with their children in a suburb of athens. the father takes temporary jobs and they scrape by on a single income. they scrape by why they can -- while they can, including not using electricity. >> when you live on very little money, you cannot pay the bills. someone will always give you a plate of food, but you cannot pay the bills. correspondent: it is a similar story for many greeks, over 40% are behind on their electricity payments because they do not have the money. debt totals over 1.3 billion euros nationally. many want to delay their payments or pay in installments. >> it is very hard to get by in this situation. you cut a bit from here and there, you have to prioritize. everything else you pay

sparingly. correspondent: while greeks struggle with everyday life, their politicians already see light at the end of the tunnel. the economy is picking up. hopes are high that -- germany's finance minister also appears optimistic. >> based on what i am hearing from the talks held the day before yesterday, we are close to a result. and i get back to berlin, i will meet with the euro group chairman and they will have a more information and i'm confident we will come to a solution. correspondent: but for greeks waiting outside the ppc power provider that is not enough. they're calling for free electricity and power for everyone. brent: that is all your business for this hour. here's a reminder of that top story we are following. chinese president xi jinping has arrived in florida would could be a difficult encounter for u.s. president donald trump.

the president has sharply criticized china in the past. investors will be looking at how the president's the presidency deal with issues such as trade and north korea. in the aftermath of a suspected gas attack, the u.n. condemned russian and ukrainian support for the syrian government. it said it could take unilateral action. when i come back, we'll have more on syria and that is in between trump and xi jinping. stick around.

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