>> this is dw news live from berlin. a truck plows and to pedestrians in central stockholm, and is now a search for a person of interest in the attack. police have reported three people were killed, but they say they cannot confirm the number dead and injured. the swedish prime minister says it was terror related. we have the very latest. also coming up, the u.n., britain, and france all the u.s. airstrikes legitimate response to a suspected gas attacks are

the assad regime, but russian people say it could destabilize the region. and jacob zuma has come under fire after an anticorruption case. now they want to give up his job. ♪ sarah: thank you very much for joining us. stockholm is on lockdown at this hour. a crush -- truck crashed into the heart of the swedish capital causing multiple deaths. police are searching for the driver of the vehicle and have released a photo. they shut down the main train station as well as the subway system. sweden's prime minister is calling it a terror attack. reporter: the aftermath of another deadly truck attack, this time in stockholm.

this is a major pedestrian street and the site of one of the busiest department stores, but police cover the debt. >> we were standing at the traffic lights, and we heard screams, then we saw a truck coming in at 50 to 60 kilometers per hour. then there were lots of people on the ground. it went along the pedestrian area before it hit a pillar and caught fire. we saw someone laying under the wheel. it was herbal. -- horrible. reporter: the attack lasted only a few seconds. >> something is happening. reporter: in its wake, panic. sweden's prime minister was clear this was no accident. >> sweden has been attached. everything indicates that this is a terrorist attack. the government is receiving information about this act.

reporter: after the attack, central stockholm looks like a ghost town. authorities shut down the main railway station and the metro for several hours, leaving travelers stranded. meanwhile, a major firefighting effort was underway to stop the truck blaze from spreading through the department store. and as authorities seal off the city and investigate what happened, swedes are asking why the city has become the latest target of islamic terror. sarah: let's get the latest now. we are joined by the journalist james savage. we understand swedish police have interviewed to people in relation to this attack. what more have they told us? james: earlier they were interviewing to people in relation to the attack, but now they have made an arrest.

they say this man matches the description of someone who was in the vicinity of the attack when it happened. they have not released information as to whether he was the driver, but they say he was someone they are interested in. this man matches, appears to be the same person that they release earlier this evening. sarah: we understand the prime minister has been speaking. what does he have to say? james: the prime minister has told journalists earlier stockholm would not be cowed by this terror attack. he said that stockholm and sweden would stand strong against the terrorists, and that matches very much with what other politicians and leaders have been saying in sweden today, that this attack would not put sweden office course. that certainly -- off its

course. that certainly has been what people on the streets have said in the same vein. sarah: that defiance in the face of terror, that is something we have seen in the wake of similar attacks in london and berlin. have swedish authorities been anticipating this? james: absolutely. if you look back into 2010, there was an attempted suicide bombing just down the road from where the attack happened today. that bomber only managed to kill himself, which was very lucky. but that makes sweden understand this was something that could happen in this country. there was also the fact that level of -- a lot of swedish people have been known to go down to fight for isis in syria and in iraq, and there has been

concern some of these people may come back and commit atrocities in sweden. nobody knows if entity, so it would be wrong to speculate if there was connection. that has been a discussion in the press this could be a problem. sarah: such a challenge for the authorities. thank you for reporting, james savage, founder of the news website the world. let's get more now with our chief lyrical correspondent linda crane who joins us. this style of attack promotes significant challenges to authorities. how have they been preparing for something like this? melinda: judging from what we experienced in berlin after the christmas market attack, it was very, very important for the city after that to look at the inner-city districts that are viewed as soft targets, people

congregating, places that is difficult to harden. what happened in berlin, waon physical barriers put in the place at key central areas to prevent the weapon icing of vehicles or allowing vehicles to plow into large crowds of people. another thing we saw happen here and undoubtedly certainly sweden will be looking into as well, whether the intelligence services were working at the full level of efficiency and with the full ordination of all the different various branches -- coordination of various branches to stop attacks. that did not occur here in berlin. as you remember, after the attack in december, there was reconfiguring of the intelligence and crime prevention apparatus in order to make it work better. all of that said, it is very

difficult to fortify a big city like berlin or stockholm in such a way such an attack cannot be perpetrated. there will always be something. sarah: and did they have this desire of weaponize and of the vehicle? didn't terrorize the population -- did it terrorize the population? melinda: people were troubled. you remember the mounds of flowers the way people came out, but people go on with their lives. they stay calm and carry on in big cities around the world. sarah: thank you for your reporting. weevil had to some news -- we will head to some news out of the united states because they are not ruling out airstrikes in syria to the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley. she said washington was prepared to do more and hopes it will not be necessary.

president trump ordered the stripes on the syrian air base following the nerve gas attack on a rebel town earlier this week. the assad regime has been blamed, which killed dozens of civilians. here is a look at factors that went into washington's decision. look. reporter: america's first direct attack on the syrian government is the start of the civil war more than 50, crock -- civil war. more than 50 tomahawk missiles launched from the mediterranean. their target was this air base. it was in response to a chemical attack widely blamed on the syrian regime that killed dozens of people in the idlib province. the horror and american response prompted strong words in the united nations security council. >> the united states took a very measured steps last night. we are prepared to do more.

but we hope that will not be necessary. reporter: the governor says syrian troops were using the airbags in their fight -- air base in their fight against the islamic state. at the u.n., many nations backed trump, but moscow was furious. there is concern on how this could affect u.s.-relation -- russian relations. >> we strongly condemn the illegitimate attacks by the u.s. the consequences of this for regional and international stability could be serious. u.s. officials say the strike was intended to deter the syrian government from chemical weapons attacks. what it does for efforts to find a russian solution remains to be seen. sarah: let's bring in daniel guerra left. he has written extensively about

the middle east. thank you for joining us. what do you think the significance of this strike is? daniel: it is certainly spectacular. it did not do much harm, so it sounds contradictory, but i think we don't see a shift in the policies or at least 180 degree turn around. we see a lot of continuation, because the idea of creating more leverage for the u.s. by retaliating strikes, by attacking syrian airbases is something cooked up under the obama administration. they were taking the pretext or moment to apply it. the frustration that had not been done earlier. so what trump on it to do, the whole administration wanted to show it could go to terms. so it is very much the case.

they notified allies, the russians. that is probably one of the reasons why the base was evacuated, and they wanted a big show for trump so he could be the commander in chief and establish trust and the feel of the might of the u.s. military which he thinks was lacking under the obama administration. that is not so much different from what has happened before, even though it sounds contradictory. sarah: when you say the strike did not do much harm, you mean in a physical sense? melinda: yes. -- daniel: yes. sarah: people say it could now escalate with russia, the agreement that was supposed to avoid air collision for example. could you see that conflict being more entangled? daniel: the russians would have

been foolish if they thought that kind of reaction or activity would not be a trump's mind. they have studied him carefully. they know what he is up to. what they also know is that in the pentagon, there is people who can deal with such operations and who have studied options before. i don't think the russians are surprised by the political reactions. even the united nations don't sound as of they were taken by surprise. -- though they were taken by surprise. i don't think the united states wants to bring down the syrian regime. that is not on their agenda at the moment. they have other fish to fry. they want to keep the promise of fighting daesh. they are tunneling all kinds of weaponry into the kurdish region and north of syria to have this operation against daesh accomplished.

i have special forces on the ground already. creating leverage and somehow inflicting a symbolic damage and respect. that is what they have in mind for the united states. this is very much what is happening, because they believe the united states had been humiliated in the international arena. this is what is going on. sarah: thank you for your analysis. we appreciate it. the editor-in-chief of the magazine. you are watching dw news. when may come back, the separatist group at will surrender its groups -- its weapons. ken spain and france forge -- forget the deadly bombings that marked the fight for the bosque homeland? we will have the latest business news. ♪

♪ sarah: welcome back. a quick reminder of your top stories, a truck has plowed into pedestrians in central stockholm, killing four people and wounding 15. police made one arrest related to the attack. swedish media say it was stolen earlier on friday, and the prime minister singh it is a suspected terrorist attack. -- saying it is a suspected prime minister -- suspected terrorist attack. cristophe: greece has taken one step back from the brink of default. they faced debt repayments.

to handle more mental health from creditors is on the horizon. the government has agreed to a fresh set of reforms, unlocking the next beta installment. no deal and a default could spell disaster for the recovery of the greek economy. reporter: greece's finance minister was confronted with an unpleasant altercation. they need to meet debt payments or refuse to refold -- default and challenge the tentative economic recovery. he opted for austerity. the impasse had dragged on for months. the euro group announced the end of the deadlock. >> you have the overarching elements of policy in terms of

size, timing and sequencing of the reforms, and on that basis is further work continuing in the coming days with a few of the missionary churning as soon as possible reporter:. what has been decided here translates into further pension cuts in 2019 and lower tax breaks in 2020. unpopular reforms which germany will help make a fourth bailout redundant. >> the idea is greece can return to financial markets to rais money like other member states instead of receiving special loans. that is why athens must do the reforms. reporter: lenders representatives are expected to head to offense next week to put the finishing touches to the deal. in the greek element has its say. cristophe: the unemployment rate in the united states fell 4.5% in march, the lowest level in

nearly 10 years, but they only added 98,000 new positions last month, far below analyst expectations. some blame it on the weather, warm temperatures earlier in the year pulled hiring forward in industries like construction. but the cold weather return for large parts of the country in march, hiring decline. for more on this, let's bring in the corresponding. unemployment down but less new jobs, that is a mixed bag. what do investors make of it? >> the dow was down quite a bit after the report was released, but it came back, and it shows how they reported. first they were disappointed indeed that the economy did not create much jobs as analysts estimated, but they took into account the main reason for this number falling short of

expectations, the winter, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, so the lowest level since march 2007. that is precrisis level, so they seem to be ok with that numbers. cristophe: and geopolitics, the stockholm attack, u.s. air strikes in syria, and the president of the united state and china trying to find solid ground. what did markets make of the news? sophie: a lot of input to process here on wall street. the dow and indices were pretty resilient and recovered quickly after all of the concerning news. let's look at the syrian conflict. there were some stocks that benefited because when you fire 55 missiles, you probably end up deciding you need 55 more to ramp up your armories. you see the stock prices of the

tomahawk producer rising to a high. they also talked about a meeting between trump and xi jinping, but it is not clear yet what they talks about. they had a good time and became friends to trump, but nothing enlightening on their plans for the future. cristophe: thank you. the european commission has approved 21st century fox's acquisition of sky. u.s. antitrust authorities say the proposed merger would raise no competition concerns. they are offering 16 billion euros for the 61% in sky it does not already own. it is the biggest pay-tv company with 21 million subscribers. newspapers including the times and the sun are included. that is all your business for now. go back to sarah.

sarah: we are heading to spain, for more than 50 years, the basque separatist group has waged a violent campaign in france and spain. they have been blamed for a hundred deaths, but many of the aging members are in jail or on the bond -- on the run. this group will end the bloodshed. they will surrender their weapons, but is this enough for them to forgive and forget? reporter: this is the scene of their first killing, the train station in san sebastian. in 1960, a bomb placed in one of the lockers exploded, taking the life of an infant. today there is no more, but that does not mean the conflict is forgotten. people lived with the fear of its terror for so long. this is one of the most prominent independent politicians and convicted eta

supporter. he tried to establish the prohibited party as the political wing. he believes in the voluntary weapons surrender. >> i believe since we gave up violence, we are in a better position. that makes our work easier. violence is to overshadow political business. the state reacted with oppression, society was split. that is different now. reporter: a lot has changed, everyone agrees. so does this person. in the 1980's and 1990's, he was the mayor of one of the eta strongholds. the terror organizations committed murder and spread fear among civilians. he did not leave his house without bodyguards for years. now he hopes the change of tone is not just come for words. >> i would be satisfied if they

would surrender their weapons. but is the first and necessary step towards full absolution. reporter: the reactions are mixed. >> i hope it is true and stays that way, but i have my. >> at the -- eta is running on empty and does not have a chance. this sociologist was threatened for years. he has high expectations. >> eta and its political environment west burke from the past -- must work from their past and was once a bill -- and have responsible activity. there is one place where people agree. reporter: the walls are painted with the heads of jailed terrorists. they are seen as fighters for an independent basque region. >> five years ago, we

surrendered our weapons, but we never got rights in return. that is why our fight does not end with weapons surrender. that is one step, even if it is an important one. reporter: this man was just at the funeral of a politician who was his biggest role model. he thinks on dependence -- thinks independence will be important. >> the debate will flare up again. we want something that allows us to determine our own life. reporter: only a minority thinks that way. most basques prefer security to independence. they are happy enough without the regime of here. sarah: we are heading to south africa are more than 6000 protesters have marched through major cities demanding president jacob zuma's resignation. they come after the second readings agency said the country was junk status.

this has fanned public anger. the move has divided the party and led to a sharp decline in investor confidence. in britain, a woman who fell into the river thames during the recent terror attack has died of her injuries. the romanian tourist was rescued from the river and had been undergoing treatment in the hospital. she was among the crowd of people on the westminster bridge hit when the man drove a car into them two weeks ago. the death brings it to five, the number of people killed. a quick reminder of top stories, a truck plowed into pedestrians in central stockholm, killing four people and wounding 15. police made one arrest for that into the attack. swedish media said the truck was stolen on friday and the prime minister said the incident is a suspected terrorist attack. at an emergency you and security

council meeting, britain and france called the u.s. missile strikes on the syrian air base a legitimate response. they followed the gas attack by the recited -- assad regime, russia condemning, saying it could destabilize the region. you are up-to-date on dw news. thank you for watching. i will see you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

- [narrator] saudi arabia is a nation in transition. with increasing signs that the status quo it has enjoyed for decades is beginning to fray. as aging rulers give way to a new generation, the political, social, and economic status quo is beginning to shift. with an ambitious young prince, will saudi arabia be able to weather the push for reform? once known for having a special relationship with the us, many question whether the alliance between an ultra-conservative islamic monarchy and the secular democratic republic is coming under new strains. saudi arabia, next on great decisions. (enthusiastic music) - [announcer] great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association in association with thomson reuters.