berlin. britain points the finger. the former russian spy whose daughter poison in britain. theresa may says it is highly likely russia was behind this. >> it is now clear he and his dahter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent. this is part of a group of nerve agents. host: germany's coalition partners finally sign up to govern after nearly six months of political uncertainty. chancellor angela merkel joins the leader of the social

democrats to bring a new government into existence. so what does this new coalition of old partners mean for the country? we will look back at his life. ♪ host: welcome to the program. britain's prime minister says it is highly likely russia was behind the nerve agent attack on former double agent survey scripgey and his daughter. they were in the hospital for more than a week after being found unconscious in salisbury. theresa may made statement in the address to parliament. >> it is now clear that he and his daughter were poisoned by mi

litary grade chemical agent. our knowledge that russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so. russia's record of conducting this and our assessment that russia views affect -- defectors as targets for assassinations, the government concluded is highly likely russia was responsible for the acts against them. >> a man who has had his own runs at the kremlin is bill, author of "red notice." he joins us from washington. do agree with the british government's assessment that russia poisoned them? bill: it is absolutely clear to

me russia is behind us. all the evidence points in that direction. he was considered to be a traitor to russia. russia has a history of assassinating those here and abroad. they were caught in another case. and now we discovered what the name of the poison is, the name of the nerve agent that comes from russia. now the question is what happens next. host: what i suppose is particularly boring it -- worrying is as a former double agents, it now looks as though that does not wipe the slate clean as far as russia is concerned. bill: no, it does not. [no audio]

do not apply to the putin regime. they are making up the rules. they are lying and cheating in every aspect of their interaction of the world and they think they can do so with impunity. in this particular case, i do not think there are any slates that are clean. putin holds grudges and he has other reasons to do this. host: how should britain respond? bill: well, let us start with how britain should not respond. the way they responded after the missing yo assassination. in 2006, russia was proven to use -- the sponsor and they were caught was absolutely nothing. nothing happened. that is what should not happen. if they do nothing again, it is open season in britain. in fact, this current situation with the skripal family, i would blame it is a direct result of

the policy failure of the government before. what should be done is going after the russians' assests. many have bought apartments, houses, villas, etc. there should be no participation in the world cup. there should be an expulsion of diplomats and rounding up as if they were doing and anti-terror operation, because this is a terrorist operation of russian illegals in the u.k.. host: you mentioned alexander. they wanted to make it an act targeting russian individuals. this is something i know you support. explain effect that would have. bill: the act is named after my lawyer who was murdered in russian police custody after

uncovering a massive scheme. if raises the assets and bands the visas of human rights violators from russia. it is in place in the united kingdom. it can be used. the reason why it is such a valuable till is because there is nothing that vladimir putin and his regime value more than money. they value money much more than human life. because their money was held not in russia but in the u.k., u.s., europe this is a way of extracting the real leverage over them by seizing with a covenant and value most, which is their money. host: critics are saying this is overly targeted. there are human rights violators from all over the world. why just target russia? bill: first of all, most human rights by leaders all over the world are not using high toxicity chemical nerve agents,

chemical weapons of acts of terror in foreign countries, exposing foreign citizens to that. this is an unprecedented escalation in situation and something that cannot be tolerated. beyond that, the act applies to bad guys everywhere. not just applying to russians but it should be, as a matter of first instance and urgency applied in this particular case. host: i mentioned your own personal running in moscow. you're kicked as a threat to national security. please it's playing briefly why. bill: i was the largest foreign investor in russia are about 10 years. i discovered corruption in the major russian companies like gas from that i invested in. i exposed the corruption. the exposure led to me being expelled from the country. the russian government was responsible for stealing $230 million in taxes that i paid to the russian government from the russian government.

they have now, after killing my and all sorts -- in all sorts of different ways. they threatened me with death, kidnapping, extradition, arrest. i'm basically at the forefront of a major confrontation with vladimir putin that has been going on for a long time. i suspect it will go on for a long time in the future unless they kill me. host: you said in an interview that corruption is so entrenched in russia that the entire russian government is the mafia. it is not -- that bad? bill: it is that bad. for anyone involved in russia, they will know what i'm talking about. russia has the appearance of a normal sovereign state except that if you dig just a slight below the surface, what you will discover is vladimir putin is one of the richest men in the world probably worth $200 billion. the people around him in the

government, if you take all the officials, they will probably have a net worth of $1 trillion. all the money is stolen from the russian government and from russian people. the purpose of being in government is to steal money. when you look at this, this is not a sovereign state. this is like public with all the powers -- pablo escobar. host: vicki so much for joining dw -- thank you so much for joining dw. on to some of the other stories making news around the world. allee 50 people are reported to have been killed in a plane crash. officials say the aircraft from bangladesh missed the runway, hit burst into flames. miramar military is increasing military presence.

satellite images so military bases -- show military bases burned to the ground last year. muslims fled to neighboring bangladesh following an army crackdown. brundi's ruling party gave president a new title. supreme guide. that would allow him to veto all decisions by the party's central committee. there is referendum in may that could allow him to rule until 2034. he already led the least african -- east african nation for 13 years. it's say he wants to hold power for life. slovakia's interior minister declined from his post. his departure comes amid a political crisis over a journalist. he was a key ally of the slovakian prime minister.

germany' government iss prepared to take office after his main political parties signed a much anticipated coalition agreement. the document sends out between the conservative bloc in the social democrats. this locks -- marks the end of difficult associations. the joint program would address the concerns of germans who feel left behind. >> into them six months to finally agree on this coalition. all three party leaders made it clear today that they want the government to last the full term. the signed agreement is 177 pages long. 177 pages of political policies for germany. the hierarchy in the new government is clear. the leading figures still angela merkel. she promises things will continue adding new clip. -- at a new clip. >> i think everyone feels it is

time to start working. a new start for europe. new cohesion for our country. this is what we set out to accomplish. for the spd, social issues are especially important. the social democrats struggled for a long time. >> fourth grand coalition in germany did not start as a love match. this cdu, csu, and as pd will remain fundamentally different parties, and they will still be able to work constructively together and govern properly. >> the third coalition partner, the csu, calls this a grand coalition for the common people. >> to list the keywords, job

security with the promise of full-time employment, a basic pension, pension credits for stay-at-home parents. >> the opposition parties described the agreement in negative terms, protesting the future government's program. >> there are major gaps in his coalition agreement, especially when it comes to future challenges. above all, climate protection does not feature in it. >> mrs. merkel has once again been able to use money as a lubricant to build up the coalition. a coalition that refuses to set the clear course for the renewal of this country. if there is one central idea in this agreement, it is spend money, increase the powers of the state, decrease freedom. this could actually be the title of this coalition. >> on wednesday, they will take the final hurdle to forming a government. angela merkel is to be elected chancellor for the fourth time.

their choices on a certain. and then the new government will be up and running. at least that is what the chancellor promised. >> christopher springgate joins us from the berlin parliament. welcome. the three parties have now side. now what? >> parliament convenes wednesday morning. to formally elect chancellor merkel as the next head of government. she needs what is a chancellor's majority. there are 709 members of parliament at the moment. she needs 355 yes votes. the coalition government that she controls has 399 members of parliament so should be a formality. host: is the coalition likely the last the next four years? >> outgoing government is also the incoming government.

it is the same political consolation. any of these people have been working with each other front to four years. now, 4.5 if you include the time they've been waiting for this new government. working relationships are already in place. there's a certain amount of political trust in place. that is good. the thing that is different this time is both the conservatives and the democrats lost a lot of support and last september's election. they are both keen to sharpen their profiles while in government. you've some conservatives lurching to the right and some lurching to the left. in the middle you chancellor merkel who will need to draw on all her political skills to keep the coalition together. host: with all the lurching going on as they are trying to bring back lost voters, does this look like a coalition that will get back? talk to some of the highlights.

>> if they deliver on the many promises, they could win back support. they talked about bringing improvements to the lives of ordinary germans. they will manage it quite simply because they have quite a budget surplus at the moment. this group of policymakers had the good fortune of drawing on 46 billion euros more than the previous period in office. over the next four years. so things like that her child care, faster internet, the chances are not bad but they will fulfill some of those promises. host: thank you. this is news now in the eu grappling with donald trump steel tariffs. >> this one is a tough nut to

crack. the vice president says he is confident you steel shipped to the united states will run same exemptions as canada and australia, thereby averting the potential tit for tat dispute with a key customer. they made, at the gathering of european eel executives. it is the home of one of the biggest steel producers. >>teel has been the lifeblood for more than 300 years. over 5000 people are employed by the steel mill. many areorried abo their jobs ameran tariffsould he real-world csequences re. the parent comny te components to u.s. manufacturers like the automotive industry. >> woodshop is doing is a huge mistake withhe terrorists.

they explore a lot to the u.s.. trump is going to have second thoughts about all of this. >> it is not ok. you cannot make any progress with him diplomatically. you have to do to him what he is doing for us, then we will get a better deal. >> industry managers, politicians, and empyee reesentatives discuss the future of the european steel industry. the president of the european commission says they are a tool of last resort and they hope to find common ground in the u.s.. >> we want to make sure tariffs are not put in place. we want things to stay the way they are. there is no reason to introduce tariffs. that is our position. >> the people here argue trumps tariffs should not target steel, which is high-quality and few countries apply. >> the question here was very clear.

we produce the best deal in the world and we do it in line with international routes. they know it is hard to argue rationally with donald trump over policy. >> the european union sta ting they will not deal with trade bullies. we caught up with the french economy administer. >> you are concerned about a potential trade war with the u.s.. would you say that you has the necessary leverage and determination to avoid such a scenario? >> i am deeply convinced that we have the leverage and the determination to answer to the last decision of president trump. we have to do our best to avoid any kind of trade war. it would lead nowhere and it would make only losses.

we have to think about our response to the decisions of president trump. i think there are a set of responses on the table. the first one is to have countermeasures to explain to the united states where we need to take the kind of decisions. i think that countermeasures on some products. i think they will talk about the type of products in the framework and the type of solutions we have to think about. >> so it is a longer-term negotiation you're looking at, not short term slapping terrorists on u.s. products? >> you are right. if you want to be respected, if you want to be respected by the american administration, we

need european countries to be strong. we have to be united, and we have to abide by common rules. we know that protectionism is not the right answer to the difficulty that we have with overcapacity in steel. we have to explain that very clearly to american friends, including by taking the necessary measures to respond to the last decision of the trump administration. >> thank you very much. >> so the french economy minister speaking to our correspondent. here in europe, the discussion about how to deal with the threat of higher tariffs is waging. let us bring in our markets man in new york. what is the latest on your end? the u.s. president donald trump tweeted on monday that

>> wilbur ross will be speaking with representatives of the european union, talking about eliminating tariffs and barriers used against the u.s.. what we might see is some concessions from the site of the european union to avoid the tariffs on steel and aluminum. we do not know when the talks will actually take lace. the u.s. government, to a certain degree, would have won. the clock is ticking and we will see the terrorists starting on march 23. we will see if time runs out and if the tariffs can be avoided. >> canada is the biggest supplier of steel to the united states now the canadian prime minister says it is all the fault of the chinese, who have been dumping steel on global markets. what do you make of that? >> i would say, in general,

justin trudeau is right. what happened many years ago was that china did have the world w toith cheap steel. barack obama and former administrations had tariffs on chinese steel. they cut it to a minimum. the steel was still on a global or world market. that caused over capacity in some european steel producers. they started selling this steel for a dumping price to the u.s.. so, yes, it seems like the core of it all actually does go back to china. >> thank you. one of germany's last not the convicts has died.

>> are about a former member of the nazis known as the keeper of actuate. he died at age 96. he was sentenced to four years in prison for being an accessory to the murder of thousands of people at the auschwitz concentration camp. he came to public attention years earlier for efforts to persuade holocaust providers that the genocide did happen. he did not participate in the murders were counted money taking -- taken from victims arriving at the kampeter he died before he could begin his sentence. a top football league suspended its season indefinitely today hours after the owner of that the top club invaded the pitch with a gun strapped to his belt. the owner let his bodyguards onto the field wearing a gun in a holster. he appeared to threaten the

referee, which disallowed a goal for his team. police have issued a warrant for his arrest. future matches will not be played until a new framework is agreed. fashion designer who many saw as the very essence of french style has died at the age of 91. he was recognized for his elegant design, especially those he created for audrey hepburn and some of her most famous films. >> seen here grazing the catwalk at the end of his last fashion show in 1995 as part of an elite group of french fashion designers. master of elegance, he was an expert tailor and havind an eye for a perfect line. he came from an aristocratic

background. his family had high hopes he would become a lawyer. however, the fashion designs saw him move to paris at the age of 17. he found that the house of the french capital in 1952. and the rest, as we say, is history. the man himself had famously pioneered the ready-to-wear little black dress. he designed audrey hepburn's iconic outfit in the film, breakfast at tiffany's. he collaborated with her throughout her career. he had an a-list client based for decades. jackie kennedy wore one of his designs to the funeral of her then-husband u.s. president john f. kennedy in 1963. in a statement, the house described its founder as a gentleman who symbolized

parisian chic. >> it is time to recap our top story for you. bring's prime minister -- britain's prime minister says it is highly likely the warmer russian former spy and his daughter are victims of a russian plot. the poisoning could be a 10n unlawfully use of force. europe today. more at the top of the hour. have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, sit ncicap.org]nd accuracy.s xnóx

reyes: receiving a free education is a constitutional right of every child in haiti. so why do most go to private school? i'm elaine reyes in washington, dc, and this is "americas now." [students speaking creole] reyes: first up, in haiti, more children attend private schools than they do public. and the high price of tuition, books, and uniforms makes the cost for parents steep. we'll take a look at how a new education system may help l then, latin americans are among some of the most innovated entrepreneurs in silicon valley, but there is fear the shifting political landscape in the u.s. could impact their work and their future.