from berlin. venezuela's assembly gets to work rewriting the constitution. members were elected over the weekend in a controversial vote. many venezuelans fear democracy is under a threat. coming up, come on board with a migrant rescue vessel in the mediterranean. dw follows a doctors without borders off the coast. our humanitarian operations making life too easy for people smugglers?

plus, volkswagen executive oliver schmidt pleads guilty to cheating on diesel omissions. -- emissions. he could face up to seven years in prison and a big fine. sarah: welcome to the show, good to have you with us. venezuela's new constituent assembly has begun its first assembly in caracas. that despite pressure from the international community that fears it would further worsen their economic crisis. opponents of maduro have said this fight against him is not over. they say he was not elected fairly. reporter: neither returned to

venezuela's congress friday. delegates from nicolas maduro's assembly carried it with them. the opposition party had removed it. the legitimate people have taken back our national assembly, our space. which of the opposition had trampled on. delegates in nicolas maduro's assembly held a portrait. amongst them, his own wife and son. the vote was marred by allegations of fraud. a struggle over venezuela's democracy. they fear maduro's assembly will usurp it. >> they do not have the right. our national assembly was elected by 40 million venezuelans.

if they succeed, there will be a civil war in this country. security forces have cordoned off the parliament but the opposition leader has been sent home, according to his daughter. sarah: the first order of business for venezuela's controversial new smb, choosing a new foreign minister. i asked our correspondent what message that choice sends. reporter: it sends a strong message to the world. minister rodriguez are now the most powerful form of government, part -- surpassing the president and supreme court. besides rewriting the constitution, they will have legislative and governing powers. they say that will work from now

on and start working inside the parliament building which leads the question, where will they hold their sessions? we can expect more conflict as these two governing bodies try to take over parliament. it is definitely a defiance move for the government after scandals of voter fraud, sanctions, and 40 countries saying this is undemocratic. sarah: the intelligence service has a in opposition figure released from jail. antonio is now under house arrest after three days behind bars. why did they let him go? reporter: he told those he spoke to he does not know why he was released. his wife said it was a surprise move from the government after holding him for three days. he was put back into risen along with lopez, also under house

arrest. freedom for political prisoners is one of the conditions they are demanding in order to reestablish these talks with the government. but we have seen more persecution. this house arrest could mean the government might be asking for new talks with the opposition. but that is unsure at this moment. sarah: a lot going on politically in venezuela. where is the opposition in all of this? reporter: the opposition is in the streets protesting. they said they will continue to protest and will not stop this wave of protests that began four months ago. these have left 120 dead and many injured and detained. it did not start because of this constituent assembly. it started because of a protest in nicolas maduro, asking for

new elections and a new government. that will not stop until they feel that democracy is being held here in venezuela. we are also seeing oppression in the streets against these protests. sarah: oscar, thanks for your reporting. italy has accused groups of coordinating with people smugglers in the mediterranean, effectively acting as a ferry service between libya and europe. they must carry armed police of bard -- aboard ships. one group is doctors without borders. we joined one of their search and rescue missions off of the coast. reporter: the crew of the prudence has identified a boat in distress 45 kilometers off the libya coast. doctors without borders vessel immediately sends out a rescue team.

they find a dinghy packed with 50 people. it was only meant to hold 20. without help, there were journey may have had a different ending. soon, the migrants are safely on board. they are not sure how long they have been drifting on open waters. >> all we had was a sign. at that was it. we find ourselves here. reporter: several hundred people have been rescued by humanitarian organizations this week alone. doctors without borders has been asked to find an italian code of conduct, but they have refused. this may mean the prudence may soon be unable to dock in italian ports. a coordinator stands by the aid organization's decision. he says that police officers are allowed on board, the group's

neutrality would be jeopardized. some migrants are also concerned, saying increasing cooperation with the libyan coast guard is a mistake, as they often work directly with the traffickers. >> the people they are working with, those are the people that control us. they are cousins. reporter: for now, that aid boat continues its work. after dark, it needs to head out again. a petrol leak has caused a vessel carrying migrants to catch fire. many people have suffered burns. and a woman has been found unconscious. >> the italian navy arrives when the prudence requests backup. the woman is taken to a hospital on an island. >> we often come across cases of

the scabies, especially from libya. as well as respiratory diseases. there are also a lot of pregnancies. not all as a result of rape, but many are. reporter: three days after the rescue, the prudence enters the port of reggio. but for the migrants on board, the journey is far from over. here, they are assigned accommodations and registered by authorities. what happens next is uncertain. the future of the rescuers is also unclear. the prudence crew is hoping to find a compromise with the government. sarah: for more i am joined by someone from the german ngo, which also rescues refugees from the mediterranean. italy's interior minister says eight organizations that do not find this code of conduct will likely not be allowed to

continue their work. your organization has refused to sign of this code of conduct. are you worried you cannot continue your rescue missions? >> the majority refused to sign, including doctors without borders. they are experts in human rights. i would say first of all that this threat that we will not have access to italian ports is illegal. it goes against international law. we do not think it is a threat. but it is clear what they are aiming to do is scare them away from the mediterranean so the problem does not exist, in their minds. we have been out there for years, saving people every day. on monday, the ngo's refused to sign a code. one of our engineers was confiscated on monday. and this is supposedly a coincidence. but i think it is clear what they are trying to do. and that is, to turn away from the crisis to the mediterranean.

sarah: are you sympathetic to the italian government's situation, that they cannot support all of these people to their shores? >> of course, there is a -- an issue of how to share migrants. but the answer cannot be to send them back to libya or let them drowned in the mediterranean. these are two things that what happened, according to this code. sarah: would you allow unarmed policeman onto your boats? would that be a compromise? >> doctors without borders requested this as one of their conditions. we try to negotiate to some extent. they have simply turned a blind eye. i cannot say we would or would not had it been on the table, because it was not on the table. that is assigned a have no interesting cooperating with us, they want to scare us away. sarah: they also want to keep people from reaching italy's shores.

had you respond to accusations that you and your team are aiding and abetting people smugglers. if there were not rescue boats in the mediterranean, people would not had to italy. >> that is not true, there has been a number of academic studies, the idea that people cross because rescuers in the mediterranean. there was a study from oxford and others. they came to the same conclusion. it is not pull factors but push factors. it can be war or persecution or torture in countries like syria. there was also in a point point, a lot of people in libya, even coming to countries where there is not war, they are tortured, they suffered terrible degradation and are forced into the mediterranean against their will. these are people who have good reasons to risk their life. despite ngo's being there last year, many have fought.

if it is further restricted, this number will be far higher. sarah: what do you think italian authorities should do instead? >> it is partly a question for europe, as i said before, in terms of spreading the load around. sarah: we have been talking about that for months, and it is not happening. >> first of all, they should stick to their international commitments. they cannot refuse access to their harbors. there is a crucial legal principle at stake here. if they should not only obey its own obligation under national law, it should end the smear campaign with supporters. some senior politicians against ngo's, making accusations that are baseless and putting our work at risk. we haven't put in a situation. there cannot be human rights abuses and deaths in the mediterranean, but it has been happening.

thengo's working in the mediterranean saved 9000 people in three days. if we had not been there, they still would've come and drowned. that is like the titanic sinking three times over in three days. it would not happen because there would not be anyone to observe it. so us, that would always be unacceptable. we will continue to save lives in the mediterranean. sarah: are you hopeful about the future? >> we do not know what the future holds. there was a lot of political pressure from europe. we know we will be out there, come what may. we see pressure exerted on fellow organizations. we will not be scared off by political pressure. we know we are acting according to international law, the law of the sea. what we do is not only within the law, but it is a duty to save anyone in distress at sea. we have sympathy for the idea we should not be there, but we are small organizations filling a gap where europe should step in.

sarah: thank you for being with us. plenty more news coming up after the break.

♪ sarah: welcome back, you are watching "dw news." venezuela's constituent assembly rewriting the constitution. members were elected over the weekend in a controversial vote. many venezuelans and the international community fear democracy is under threat. rwanda and's have been to the polls to elect a new president. the incumbent is expected to win by a landslide. he is so confident he is describing it as a formality. the opposition said his ballot.

they only allow one registered opposition party and one independent candidate. if kagame wins, he could stay in power until 2034. a special counsel investigating suspected russian interference in last year's u.s. elections has reportedly convened a grand jury. if confirmed, the move by robert mueller would allow him to issue subpoenas and compel witnesses to testify. it is the latest escalation in a probe that includes claims trumps campaign colluded with russia. reporter: president trump seems relaxed. but the investigation into russian involvement in the u.s. election last year and complicity of those closest to him is gathering pace. the grand jury, called by special counsel robert mueller, has begun to subpoena witnesses. >> it is a sign that this is a

serious inquiry. and that mueller has gotten to the point where people will have to talk to him or give him documents. reporter: these early subpoenas are reportedly in connection to a russian lawyer close to the kremlin and the president's son donald trump junior, his campaign manager palmetto -- paul manafort, and his son-in-law, kushner. but he seems unperturbed. in virginia he accused democrats of russian -- as using russian involvement as an excuse for losing the election. president trump: most people know, there were no russians in our campaign. there never were. we did not win because of russia. we won because of you. reporter: trump was to head off to a golfing vacation, but the russian investigation is likely to become another handicap. sarah: staying in the u.s.,

where carmaker vw -- volkswagen is in trouble. reporter: the family facing the music. oliver schmidt has pleaded guilty. he was the executive in charge of emm -- -- executive in charge. he could face up to seven years in prison and is much as $400,000 in fines. he was arrested at miami airport in january before boarding a flight to germany. american prosecutors have indicted five other vw staff. they are in germany, which does not extradite its citizens. vw management in america must be feeling hot under the collar right now? >> what we see is the usual game of u.s. prosecutors. you try to make little birds

catch the bigger ones. they came up with ridiculous charges, threatening oliver schmidt with the prison term of up to 169 years. if he pleads guilty it gives them more information to go after higher ranks in the volkswagen company, where that ends remains to be seen. many of the higher ranks do not live in the united states. they are probably in germany and will not be extradited. that is the game we see playing out between prosecutors and volkswagen employees. reporter: if i was him, i would be nervous, too. american unemployment at a 16 year low. what has been the market response? >> first of all, we had a very strong job reading. maybe the downside is that wages are not increasing that much. overall, since donald trump took

over office, one million jobs got created. the growth are restarted under obama -- under barack obama. but june and july, 450,000 jobs got created. pretty healthy numbers. reaction on wall street was upbeat. we ended the week on a new record close. for eight consecutive trading days, blue-chip set a new record, 22,000 points for the first time this week. a really successful week. reporter: ending the week on a high. thank you very much. he is a former pharmaceutical ceo who called himself pharmab ro. martin shelley has been arrested for failing investors in hedge fund schemes. they found at the 34-year-old guilty of securities fraud. he could be -- shkreli became

infamous for jacking up the price of an hiv drug by hundreds of dollars a dose. more sanctions against russians. the european union including the deputy energy minister, two others, and three firms on a blacklist. it follows the diverted -- the industrial giant says they gave assurances it would not be delivered to the region. it was annexed by russia in 2014. the e.u. has thought to punish russia with economic sanctions. siemens says four turbines were illegally moved there. russia responded, the foreign ministry says it reserves the right to retaliate, adding it is interesting in cooperation with it -- the e.u. the so-called brexit bust, mark carney says the u.k.'s financial

sector could double in the next 25 years. it seems some are not convinced. the royal bank of scotland saying, it will now move its european headquarters to amsterdam. it is just one of a string of financial institutions making the jump. reporter: london is europe's financial camp -- capital. almost all the major banks have headquarters here. it is where 1/5 of global transactions take place. it is one of the key sectors of the british economy, adding around 7% of gross value. but that may soon come to an end, thanks to brexit. financial institutions could soon be moving their european headquarters away from london, to keep them inside the e.u. most banks have chosen frankfurt, including deutsche bank and j.p. morgan. second place is paris.

french banks like bnp paribas are heading home. also, amsterdam. frankfurt is pulling out all the stops to attract the big banks. there are thousands of well-paid employees. it is far from clear that can be enough to knock london from its pedestal, when it comes to banking. reporter: 2017 will be a great vintage for italy's winemakers. a heat wave has crated the perfect conditions for an early grape harvest. black pinot, white pinot, and chardonnay grapes are ahead of schedule. it adds freshness. despite a drop in production, they will have a coworker of a year, predicted to make more wine than both france and spain. it is also set to be a good season for football. i will hand you back over to sarah. sarah: tomorrow is the

traditional curtain raiser for the german football season, the cup to read it pits bayern munich against dortmund. bayern, it is a track -- a chance to get back on track after a difficult season. ♪ reporter: two mainstays of the bayern squad. despite advancing years and injury-prone bodies, they have 21 goals and 31 assists between them last season. the record german champions also need new blood. madrid has been ruled out for a month since in a tree. it is what bayern have been looking for. >> quite simply, he gives us the quality we need to have a new

successful season. reporter: also, i knew face. he cost bayern $41 million euros. then there are new arrivals. they give the coach extra options in defense. the team is taking time to gel together with only one preseason win in six games. >> we lost a lot of games in this first part and had a lot of problems. but we think we are working in the next games. reporter: a clapboard two -- calp -- a clap or two, maybe. sarah: venezuela's constituent

assembly has started the work of rewriting its constitution. members were elected this weekend in a controversial vote. many venezuelans and much of the international community fear democracy is under threat. that is your "dw news." you are up-to-date. as always, you'll find the latest on our website, dw.com. thank you for watching, see you soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ >> greetings from the german capital and welcome to our highlights edition, all pimped up and ready to go with the following topics. riding the waves, top kitesurfers compete on the german island of sylt. taking the plunge, enjoying the rides at a theme park on cyprus . and stealing the show, ferrari celebrates a milestone at a british racetrack event. and we kick off in the french capital, where despite the summer heat that exclusive club of haute couture houses presented its collections for next fall & winter. french fashion house christian