♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. the demise of the islamist carousel that brought chaos to catalonia. police shoot dead younes abouyaaqoub, who they believe joe the van rammed crowds in barcelona. they also confirmed the death of the a mom -- the imam they believe radicalize them. also coming up, the u.s. and south korea practice virtual wargames. pyongyang says they are war maniacs. seoul says it is purely defensive. and when darkness fell across

the land. a solar eclipse delights onlookers in the united states with a corridor a sudden night stretching from coast-to-coast. ♪ brent: i am brent goff. it is good to have you with us. tonight, spanish police say they have killed the main suspect in last week's barcelona attacks. police shot and killed a man wearing what appeared to be an explosives belt just west of barcelona. they confirmed his identity as younes abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old moroccan who allegedly rammed a van into crowds on barcelona's main boulevard. authorities now say the imam who radicalized him died in a gas explosion last week.

with me here at the big table now is pablo, he has been following the investigation. the suspect who was shot dead, with we know about how the shooting occurred today? pablo: it's a fascinating story in many respects. police were related -- aol lerted by a women where this took place because he looked suspicious he was wearing too much clothes, it's a hot day in spain. and she recognized him eventually from all these images that have been in the media. so she called the police and then the operation began and they found him apparently sort of crouching down. he was then shot and killed.

he shouted out, and was killed. he was wearing what looked like an explosives belt. the police could not get near to him so they sent in a robot to see if it was actually an explosives belt. brent: we had a lot of new information coming in today about these attacks and about other members of what was a terrorist cell. what have we learned? pablo: we've -- this investigation, even of the 12 people they said had been accounted for, eight are dead and four have been arrested and detained. what we do know is the key person here is the imam, the head of this terror cell. we do know a little more about him. there is a connection to belgium as well.

before a i want to mention in the past few minutes, i read in spanish media that another person has been arrested in morocco. at the end of the day these 12 guys have a connection with morocco. it will be interesting to see what this person has to do with this carousel. but the -- this terror cell. but the imam apparently radicalized these members over a long period of time. the questions are now, how was it not made aware in some way this was happening? how did the police not know about it? there's many questions about that. brent: you mentioned the code -- the connections to morocco. how is that going to influence the debate that is already going on in spain about immigration? pablo: it is a region that does have a significant north african population.

this is unfortunately not the first time these kinds of questions have been raised. bear in mind over the past two years since 2015, spain increased its terror alert to four, which it has maintained, close to 200 people have been arrested and it has been a connection to north africa since. a lot of countries in france and belgium and here in germany as well, in a lot of questions have been raised to the immigrant population. but there have been many people calling for within the muslim community in spain to maybe look at why was it a lot of these young guys into being radicalized, -- end up being radicalized, and how can be avoided in the future. brent: the questions with big answers. as always, thank you very much. here's a look at some other stories making headlines around the world. nigeria's president has hit out

at separatists in his first television appearance after a very long absence. he spent several months in the u.k. being treated for an undisclosed medical condition. 's absence led for protests and calls for him to resign. officials have ruled out terrorism is emotive after a van crashed into two bus shelters this morning. at least one was killed and another injured after a van plowed into two separate bus stops. police arrested the driver. he has a history of psychological problems. iraqi forces are making progress in their drive to recapture the town of -- from the so-called islamic state. troops have liberated scores of villagers on the outskirts of the town. it is one of the last i.s. outpost in northern iraq.

the u.s. navy has ordered what it is calling a 24 hour operational pause for its fleets worldwide. that, as it investigates a spate of collisions between its ships and civilian vessels. on monday, the destroyer uss john mccain crashed with an oil tanker near singapore. five people were injured another 10 are missing. this is the fourth accident involving a u.s. naval vessel in asian waters in the last seven months. the u.s. and south korea have begun joint military exercises in the face of angry threats from the north. pyongyang sees the annual drills, which largely involves computer simulations, as a rehearsal for invasions. south korea says the drills only take place because of repeated provocations by the north. reporter: from this room, south korean and u.s. military

officers are preparing a response to the unthinkable -- war with a nuclear-armed and capable north korea. using computers, they are simulating a nuclear conflict with the isolated country. the details are a closely guarded secret. officials only going as far as describing the wargames as defensive in nature. >> this year's exercise will check the defensive postures of our civilians, government, and military to secure the lives and safety of our people. it is an annual exercise of a defensive nature and there is no intention of heightening military tensions on the korean peninsula. reporter: but pyongyang says the drills are a preparation for war, calling them the most explicit form of hostility. north korea's ally china also condemns the drills. >> the present situation on the korean peninsula is highly complicated, sensitive, and

very fragile. the parties directly involved in the issue need to make more practical efforts to ease the tensions and confrontations. we don't think south korea and the united states holding joint drills is beneficial to easing current tensions. reporter: the drills began running in 1970's, but this time it is feared they may hold more potential to provoke than ever. they come after north korea successfully tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in july and heated -- rhetoric between donald trump in kim jong-un which led to pyongyang threatening the u.s. territory of guam. the drills will run through august and involve more than 67,000 troops and soldiers from south korea and the u.s. they will be joined by personal -- by personnel by britain, australia, and another of other countries. there have been calls to pause the drills to ease tension but

military officials city drills have long been scheduled. brent: let's get more now from david kang, professor of the korean studies institute at the university of southern california in los angeles. it is good to have you on the show. let's, if we could, take the north korean leader in the north korean nuclear weapons program out of the equation for a moment. if we could do that, would we be seeing the same joint exercises between the u.s. and south korea that we are seeing today? david: absolutely. one of the big issues about having two different militaries working together is you have to practice. if they could, they would practice a lot more because having such large forces -- land, sea, air -- these are actually really important to keep the two countries from militarily being able to act against each other. brent: so what has changed,

besides the fact that we have seen the progress in north korea's nuclear weapons program? but we also have two leaders who are belligerent towards each other publicly, and that is something we have not had before. david: well, we have had it, it is just not been quite as flamboyant. all american presidents -- bill clinton threatened a nuclear retaliation on north korea back in the 1990's. they just have not been quite as over the top as our current president. so it has always been on the table. the issue has been that north korea claims it for 30 years to be defensive. north korea will let their guard down. then on year 31, we will go north. i am not saying that is accurate, but every year the south korean and u.s. troops do this, north korea goes on high alert just in case. so it is a very tense situation. brent: what about what we are hearing from some people in

south korea, protesters who say that these exercises are not needed, they are wargames, they are virtual exercises. the fact that they do take place is like putting salt in an open wound. is there any validity to that argument? david: to some degree. in other words, these military exercises, there are a bunch of military exercises the u.s. and south korea have done over the years. and they had been a bargaining chip, meaning that in times of good faith the u.s. has canceled temporarily these, we have reduced the figures of troops that are involved. in some sense, it is always a negotiation about whether and how to do these wargames. the extent to which it is salt in the wound is really a question of what north korea wants us to think. brent: what about china in all of this?

china again today said that the u.s. and south korea should stop these wargames, and if they do that, north korea should stop its nuclear weapons program. why does china continue to treat those two issues as equals in some type of bargain? david: yeah, i mean, china's role -- china typically plays the role of trying to keep both the american and south korean side and the north korean side a little calmer. china usually tries to play as the go-between between these two sides. and their latest proposal has an been freeze for freeze. i don't think it is an equal type of freeze but this is what they are trying to do to make some kind of step back from both sides, which seem determined to dig in and plow forward. brent: what options are there for the u.s. tonight? if we don't want to go the military way, are more sanctions

still possible? david: you know, i pretty consistently think that pressure has not worked on north korea. a little more pressure is not going to work any more. in fact, you just saw that a a couple weeks ago with the u.s. sanctions. within two days north korea launched a missile. it did not back down, they ramped up. i don't think there are limits you can put on north korea because you will start a war and every one knows that. the dirty secret is there is just pure deterrence and we sit staring at each other, or if you want to make progress there will have to be some kind of negotiation between the two sides. brent: professor, we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. you're watching dw news. still the come, a solar eclipse wows onlookers in the u.s.

we will get a closer look at because nick spectacle of the century. -- cosmic spectacle of the century. plus christoph will be here with business news. stick around. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back. our top stories, spanish police have shut that the chiefs by spect -- chief suspect in last week's attack. 22-year-old younes abouyaaqoub was wearing a fake explosives belt as police gunned them down. authorities believe he drove the van that rammed crowds on thursday. millions in the united states have been able to witness a total solar eclipse, with the moon briefly blocks out the sun.

people across the country gazed in wonder at the rare celestial event which began in the western state of oregon. reporter: day transforms into night for just a couple minutes. scientists call it the grandest of cosmic spectacles. and little wonder. as the moon swallowed the last slivers of sunlight come the star at the center of our solar system gave one last magnificent sparkle. the so-called diamond ring effect. on the ground in oregon, the first state to see totality, people wearing special sunglasses whooped and cheered as the sky went dark. most here will never get another glimpse of a total solar eclipse. because the last time a total eclipse went coast-to-coast like this in the u.s. was 99 years ago.

the phenomenon took over 90 minutes to cross the country, crossing 14 states in shadow. the science of it is a lesson in celeste teal symmetry. this is 400 times bigger than the moon, and 400 times further away. the total solar eclipse occurs when they arrange in awesome alignment. the phenomenon since guide users flocking to the best viewing points on the path in what is likely to be the most photographed and users -- and observed eclipse in history. brent: everyone watching the skies. now we're going to turn and look at christoph to talk about video games. christoph: do you know the difference between psp and vr? brent: no, sounds like you might need antibiotics for that. christoph: one of the world's

largest video game events is set to get underway on tuesday. german chancellor angela merkel will get the chance to prove she knows the difference between psp and vr during her visit to the gamecon convention. exhibitors for more than 50 countries are unveiling their latest titles. this year's focus is on getting social. reporter: gone are the days when gamer meant a lone teenager slumped in front of a computer screen. the trend is now moving towards a multiplayer experience. >> the theme is all about playing together. a lot of games we're going to see our games that are cooperative or very multiplayer-focused. everything is about playing together in a living room, everyone coming together from all reaches of the world. their exciting. reporter: in germany alone some 18 million people play video games with others, and companies are taking note of the trend. the soon-to-be released super mario odyssey features

cooperative gameplay. >> console gaming is still going strong. pc is a little bit of a hurdle for the average consumer. a console is you just pluck it down and it plays. a lot of people are still excited about new hardware announcements. reporter: its gaming industry is worth $3 billion annually, putting it in third place behind the u.s. and japan. christoph: this next door he could cause political ways in the u.s. china's great wall motor has its sights set on the italian-american carmaker fee at chrysler. -- fiat chrysler. there are reports it wants to buy the jeep brand. a spokeswoman says the intention is there but fiat chrysler sister has a no contact with

great wall. given the tensions between china and the u.s., a chinese acquisition of the big three u.s. automaker could encounter stiff resistance from the trump administration. for some more analysis was bringing our financial correspondent in new york. how likely is this deal? sohpie: well, let's put it like this -- fiat shares rose to their highest level in two weeks about speculation. now the stock rose even more on monday. investors are seemingly thinking there is enough competition to end up with a good offer. they said they were exploring a bit but fiat chrysler said monday it has not been approached yet. at the moment is not clear whether great wall target all of

fiat chrysler are only fiat jeep. there is probably more news to come this week. christoph: in other news the first round of renegotiating the north american free trade agreement nafta came to a close today. give us the latest. sophie: the first round of nafta talks kind of got to a awkward start last week. at a press conference, leaders from mexico and canada praised gains nafta had brought to all three countries. it's going to be tough and that is not surprising at all, as trump has promised to renegotiate trade deals was a key part of his campaign. both canada and mexico would have to step back on certain issues. christoph: sophie, thank you. from new york over the russian capital moscow, and an

experiment where no one is in the driver seat. two local automotive manufacturers are teaming up to create an autonomous van big enough to seat up to one dozen passengers and replace minibus taxis that play a key role in russia's public transportation system. reporter: this prototype driverless van may look slow and ungainly, but it is being made ready to take to the public streets in 2020. for now it is being tested in a closed off technology park in moscow where engineers have located city streets -- replicated city streets in an industrial plant. >> the technology park created this road for testing. here it is all possible. we can use it around the clock in any conditions. summer, winter, during the day, and at night. reporter: electric van uses cameras to follow a route instead of the expensive light

detection sensors used in western autonomous vehicles. >> it knows the route in matches with what it sees in front of itself just as a real person draws a picture in his head in when he sees the road in matches the route and goes down the road. our technology is quite close to real life. it sees as a human being does. maybe they will become cheaper soon, but right now it is much more profitable to use cameras. they are harder to be trained but it is all possible. reporter: the prototype is not allowed to drive more than 10 kilometers an hour for now. but the engineers say you can go 30 kilometers an hour. they plan to start production at the end of next year. christoph: good luck with that. that's all the business for the moment. brent: fasten your seatbelts. germany goes to the polls in six weeks to decide the country's next government. in a provocative statement,

turkey's president has urged turkish germans to boycott the major political parties. it is meddling that plays well to erdogan supporters at home. they have been dismissive. reporter: campaigning is underway for germany's of coming federal elections. here in berlin, home to a large turkish community, there is a lot of talk about the turkish president and his latest provocation. he told german turks not to vote for any major german clinical parties, kong them enemies of turkey. not everyone is convinced. >> you can't tell me to in what to vote for. -- who and what to vote for. you just have to ignore it. don't take it seriously. reporter: just around the corner the green party candidate, a lawyer of turkish descent, is

out campaigning. >> this interference by mr. erdogan is uncalled for and disrespectful. of course, we don't know him any differently. reporter: another issue worrying german turkish -- germany's turkish community leaders feel he is the victim of political persecution. >> the people who are critical and to freely express their opinion should be supported. so in this respect, it is an accessible -- unacceptable for free speech to be restricted. reporter: off-camera, a few admit there are many turkish germans who stand by erdogan, even if he does persecute writers or interferes with germany's election campaign. tough times for german turkish

relations. brent: he is a reminder of the top stories we're following for you. eclipse watchers in the u.s. have been treated to a solar spectacle. the moon passed in front of the sun over a four-door -- crridor stretching from coast-to-coast. millions turned out. after a short bracket -- break i will be back to take it to the day. we'll be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ [theme music] welcome to potus 2017 where we keep watch on the oval office and pour cold hard facts on the over heated political rhetoric. i'm brian lehrer. today a special program. we have gathered some political specialists and general practitioners to examine the administration's effect so far on the country and on the presidency itself. even without passing a major piece of legislation, it's safe to say that the effect has been profound. let's get right to our panel.