>> this is "dw news," live from berlin. merkel and macron agreed to start work on eu reform. the french president and a german chancellor met in paris and agreed to a roadmap by june. also on the program britain's foreign secretary says it is likely that russian president vladimir putin personally ordered the nerve agent attack on a former spy in britain. and tensions in germany's new government as the new interior minister says islam is not part of germany. chancellor angela merkel disagrees. also, the story of a martial arts champion blazing a trail for muslim women. she conquered the world and kickboxing, a sport previously considered off-limits to female muslim athletes.

we will hear about the barriers she had to overcome to reach the top. welcome to the program. german chancellor angela merkel is in paris for talks with french president emmanuel macron about plans to reform the european union. the summit comes days after chancellor merkel was confirmed in office for a fourth term. her difficulty in forming a coalition delayed the talks on integration. today the chancellor and the president said they would prepare a roadmap for reforming the eu and eurozone in time for a summit in june. chancellor merkel also stressed the importance of eu countries working more closely together. chancellor merkel: we are learning from experience that it is not in europe's common interest to have different rules and standards in each eu member state. we have to protect our borders, we have to to philip unified africa strategy -- that is an area in which france and germany

have made big steps forward. and we need to work even more closely together. phil: welcome, max. we will start with an eye city, shall we -- a nicety, shall we? they spoke in going terms about germany and france's track record of working together. chancellor merkel: in the history of franco german relations, hard work and cooperation have always brought success. we don't always show the same opinion, but throughout history, germany and france have achieved a lot together. we are intent -- i am intent on reaching our goals, and i believe we will do that. phil: max hoffman, bounce us through the highlights. what do france and germany want to change? max: well, the emphasis on the soundbite we just heard was on hard work, because the issues they want to resolve are among the most difficult issues or the most divisive issues.

let's start, for example, with the common asylum system in the european union, something they have strived for for many years. it is not working at the moment because it would implicate you need some kind of system to redistribute the migrants within the european union. there is a huge divide over that can especially between eastern and western european countries. and yet the two want to resolve that until june. that will be difficult. reform of the euro zone -- macron started the discussion by saying he wanted a eurozone budget and a finance minister for the euro zone, something the european union for now does not have. we know the germans are not in favor of something like that of this design, so although we always have the show of unity between macron and merkel, this is something where they will have to really find real compromise. how they work together for something like that, we don't know yet, but as we just heard

the chancellor say, it will involve hard work. phil: so between them, france and germany have to put together this roadmap for europe. i wonder how other eu countries feel about their roles being reduced to mere rubberstampe rs of franco-german plan. max: you of course are referring to a discussion that is as old as the european union. if germany and france don't work together, everybody else criticizes them, saying they need to work together to get something done. if they do work together, as they do now, many countries feel left out. germany and france represent different parts of the european union. for example, the netherlands or scandinavian countries usually fall in line with germany when the hammer out some kind of compromise with france. the southern countries usually are in accordance with france. if those two, germany and france , managed to agree on something, then a majority of the european

union usually at least and in the past fall in line, even if there is criticism beforehand. phil: after brexit there was lots of talk, especially from chancellor merkel, about europe's need for a new start. this doesn't look like it, because the this looks like trying to make the old system and little bit better, just tinkering with it. max: well, at least you have ideas that have been around for a while. for example, the european finance minister, for the finance minister for the eurozone, that is not a new idea. what would be new now is the german-french engine is working again. that hasn't been the case for a long time. if they get things done now am a that would be new, and it doesn't matter how old the ideas are as long as they are good ideas and everybody can agree on them. the commission president, commission president of the european union, recently sent

you need to repair the roof of the european union as long as the sun is shining, and even if that is not the case here in paris at the moment, the sun is more or less writing at the eu. economies are doing well. if they want to get reforms done, if they want to and ideas can even if they are a little bit dated in some cases, the time is now. phil: max hofmann, new room and new engine in paris. we thank you. other stories making news around the world -- south africa's former president jacob zuma is to be charged with fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. the ruling anc party forced him to resign as head of state last month after years of scandal. the charges relate to a multibillion-dollar arms purchase in the late 1990's. two israeli soldiers in the west bank have been killed and at least two others injured in an attack by a palestinian. the israeli army has not

confirmed the deaths, but said the attacker had been arrested and taken to hospital. the incident came as palestinians protested across the region to mark 100 days since washington recognized jerusalem as israel's capital. an independent monitoring group says russian airstrikes have killed at least 46 people in eastern ghouta, as more civilians flee the rebel-health areas outside damascus. russia says war than 4000 people left today as russia and syria launched an offensive on the region almost four weeks ago. and a runway in the eastern russian city o after a free plae lost part of its cargo on takeoff. the plane was carrying a tons of gold and other precious materials. three tons have been recovered. officials blame a defective door. another salvo in the standoff between russia and western allies over the poisoning of a former double agent in britain.

urgency foreign secretary, boris johnson, says it is likely that russian president vladimir putin personally ordered the attack on sergei skripal and his daughter. the kremlin called that statement shocking and unforgivable. moscow denies any involvement in the attempted murders. reporter: in london, british foreign secretary boris johnson. this is a memorial of world war ii. -- visits are a memorial of world war ii. back then russia was an ally. now they are in a world words over the poisoning of sergei skripal. mr. johnson: it is putin's kremlin, and his position can we think it overwhelmingly likely his decision to direct nerve agent on the streets of the u.k. for the first time since the second world war. reporter: with putin on the campaign trail ahead of elections on sunday, russia called johnson's claims shocking

and unforgivable. bridge in order to the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats over the attack. now russia has said it will respond in kind. russia also announced its own investigation into the attempted murder of skripal's daughter yulia, a russian citizen. it's of the country was ready to cooperate with authorities in the u.k. in britain, police say around 130 people may have come into contact with the military-grade nerve agent used to poison skripal on march 4. the former spy and his daughter are still in critical condition. british police have also announced that they have launched a murder investigation into the suspicious death of another russian living in britain. businessmen nikolai glushkov was found dead due to a compression of the neck in his london home on monday, police said at this stage there is nothing to suggest a link to the nerve-agent attack. phil: a mp who chairs the u.k.

parliament's foreign affairs committee spoke to dw about the investigation into the suspicious death of nikolai glushkov. >> welcome i don't know if it is an untimely coincidence or part of the same incident, but it certainly echoes, doesn't it, that we have a pattern of russian violence, and we are talking about the united kingdom at the moment, of course, because of the dramatic aggression in salisbury that could have killed hundreds of people. thank god it didn't. but we have seen this all over europe and possibly further a field, and we have certainly seen the attempted murder year ago, the invasion of ukraine, the murder of hundreds of dutch and other citizens in the russian attack on image 17, and even today as we are talking can we are seeing russia supporting the use of chemical weapons and civilians by the assad regime.

we are seeing a very hostile, very rope russian regime that is using violence as a state policy and is using murder as a means of influencing outcomes. phil: that is the conservative mp who chairs the british parliament's foreign affairs committee. there is tension in germany's new government. the interior minister has said he does not consider islam to be part of germany. his boss, the chancellor angela merkel, made it clear she did not agree. reporter: germany's new interior minister rejects criticism of his remarks that although muslims who live here have a place in germany, islam does not. >> our country has been culturally influenced by christianity for hundreds of years. that is why it is wrong to say that islam belongs to germany.

reporter: chancellor angela merkel disagrees, and she very quickly and publicly slapped down her interior minister and party ally. "4 million muslims who currently live in germany practice their religion, and they belong here just as much as their religion does." germany's new justice minister offered a reminder that freedom of religion is strictly protected in the constitution. "i think people are tired of these theoretical discussions about terminology. it is clear to everyone that we need practical solutions to our problems. i hope we can agree that our value system encompasses everyone's basic rights." the central council of muslims in germany says politicians should not adopt a far right rhetoric in the run-up to a regional election. >> we don't need a wage in this

society. we have to stick together. we need social cohesion and bridge building. reporter: the interior offered to enter dialogue with muslim associations in germany on the condition they all rejected violence. ph: this is "dw news," live from berlin. still to come from kickboxing started as for secret passion. now she is a world champion. we will hear about her journey from the underground gyms to the top of the world. meanwhile, donald trump has threatened the world with hefty import tariffs but now he seems to be showing more flexibility. >> indeed. the white house says president trump is negotiating with a number of countries over possible exemptions to u.s. import tariffs, but they didn't clarify which countries are involved. there is no time to waste. a week from now these increased tariffs on steel and aluminum are set to come into effect. eu officials have produced a

list of u.s. items that could face levies in return. reporter: the eu's economic hit list is pages long and includes u.s. favorites like corn, was the, tobacco, jeans, and motorcycle, 2 billion euros of annual trade comes as brussels. it comes as donald trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum that the european union says lies in the face of eu-u.s. relations. "we believe the tariffs the united states has proposed are against the visible's of the world trade organization, and we want to change was solve these problems by discussion of possible." which is why germany's new economics minister is traveling to washington on sunday. followed by eu trade commissioner. both hope that they can convince u.s. officials to exempt european products from trump's tariffs. christoph: it is not just the eu

which is worried. the most influential business lobbying group in the united states has warned donald trump against imposing tariffs on chinese goods. the chamber of commerce president says such measures could eventually hurt u.s. consumers and the economy. his remarks come after reports that trump is considering slapping tariffs on up to $60 billion worth of chinese imports. shares of snap tumbled for a second day on friday, that after sinker riha -- singer rihanna told her fans to delete snapchat the social media app. snapchat ran an ad for its smartphone game that poked fun at the violence she endured in an abusive relationship. snapchat apologized and took down the ad, but rihanna refused to accept the apology. for more, let's cross over to

jens korte in new york. one is the last time you saw a singer of the market? -- move the market? jens: well, the world of social media -- you do not have to look that far back, because a couple weeks ago, reality tv personality kylie jenner made a post on her twitter account saying that she is not happy with the new design and layout of snapchat, and that actually caused the stock to drop 7% just a couple of weeks ago. what we are seeing right now is pretty massive. just on thursday, snap lost a good $600 million. on friday, the stock dropped below its ipo price of $17 apiece. some massive moves that those celebrities are causing in the role of social media. christoph: and in other news, carmaker ford wants to almost

exclusively go hybrid. tell us more. jens: it certainly is a very big step. especially if you look at north america, business has not been stellar for ford last year. the stock dropped last 17%. ford wants to become the number one hybrid car manufacturer and soar past toyota. they especially wanted focus on suv's, pickup trucks, and muscle cars like mustang, because those are much more profitable than your regular car. christoph: jens korte in new york. thank you. back to phil, and what could turn out to be historic negotiations. phil: christoph, thank you. sweden has been saying it is willing to play a key role in bringing about a meeting between u.s. president donald trump and north korea's leader kim jong-un

which is planned for may. this comes after a secret meeting in stockholm. north korea's foreign minister flew to beijing for talks with his swedish counterpart, who said the discussions have been good and constructive. she refused to say whether they discussed a possible summit between the u.s. and north korean leaders. sources say that two ministers plan to continue the talks on saturday. the swedish prime minister must also at that meeting before traveling to berlin. he said his country would do whatever it could as a mediator, and that sweden's long-standing relationship with north korea meant it enjoyed a position of trust. >> we have a responsibility to act as a facilitator. all countries, everybody needs to help out here. we need to find a way to build common security. the substance is north korea,

south korea, china, united states, japan, they are the group of countries that have to find a solution. we can facilitate and try to help and support the process, and that is what we have offered. phil: so what are the chances of success, and why is sweden involved? the director of foreign policy studies at the cato institute can probably tell us. he joins us from washington. let's start with one of the two main players, donald trump, who has been speaking with south korea's leader. both of them say they are cautiously optimistic about the prospect of summit talks going ahead. what more can you tell us? >> well, cautious optimism is probably the right tack to take. diplomacy of any kind is extremely difficult come but particularly with two antagonistic adversaries like the united states and north korea, they are really

challenging. it is more challenging given the two leaders involved. trump and kim are erratic and i've been exchanging barbs and insult and even threats of nuclear aggression. this is a particularly difficult and delicate sort of blandford for dramatic standoff. -- plan for diplomatic standoff. normally such a meeting between heads of state would happen only at the last step of a long process of lower-level diplomatic negotiations done mostly in private. that raises the stakes even more. talking is better than where we were a few weeks ago -- threats and escalation and so on -- but we still need to manage our expectations certainly. phil: why is sweden involved? john: well, sweden is a country with very long lasting diplomatic, formal diplomatic

relationship with north korea. they got a diplomatic post there in the 1970's, they've consistently acted as an intermediary between the united states and north korea, which these countries do not have formal diplomatic ties. they also helped in the release of otto warmbier, the american health hostage in north korea. they play this role traditionally. frankly, at the end of the day, the venue, where every dance up if this summit actually happens, is less important than what both sides expect to get out of it. phil: if these top to do happen, we know that north korea has been pushing for them for some time -- the resistance has come from the american side -- how much of a risk is this for president trump? john: well, there is all kinds of risks involved in this kind of diplomatic standoff. it might be the case that these

two leaders are not as committed to a peaceful resolution were as willing to make concessions to the other side, which means that the sort of failure of diplomacy is a foregone conclusion, and when failure --diplomacy is seen it to fail by the top administration, it might bolster the case for a more extreme militaristic approach, and that would obviously be bad. i think with luck and enough preparation, it can be a constructive first meeting that will lead to others and will hopefully come to some kind of compromise that is peaceful as opposed to having it unravel into some kind of war. all the analysis that we know of on a north-south conflict that involves the united states and potentially other regional powers predicts other calamity with extremely high casualty rates and almost uncontrollable esculiatory risks.

we want to keep this peaceful and with luck we can get there. phil: very interesting. john glaser from the cato institute in washington, thank you. now, she is an athlete like no other. she is british and currently world take boxing champion and the sport's only female muslim titleholder. notice the warrior princess, she is switching sports and preparing for her first boxing match another barrier broken for a woman who has overcome so many to chase her dream. reporter: those this of fury below -- fists of fury belong to this season fighter who once had to hide her fashion from her traditional muslim family. >> i saw signs for a kickboxing class after school, so i tended

that and i completely fell in love with the sport. it was fast and furious, explosive, and took me away from all my challenges in life. at that time they didn't know i was doing boxing. they just thought i was going to a normal gym for fitness purposes. reporter: it did not take her long to achieve accolades in the sport she fell in love with. she became a british and european mai thai champion and won the kickboxing association title. her success convinced others to put on the gloves. >> the fact that i did that inspired so many females from all backgrounds come in particular people from my faith and ethnic minority background, and i thought to myself, this is what inspires me to be the best that i can be and push myself and excel in a more mainstream sport to inspire the next generation. reporter: hollywood script

writers bought her story right, so she could be headed to the big screen soon. but first she is looking to knock out her competition in her boxing debut. phil: in football, the draw for the champions league quarterfinals has taken place in switzerland and revealed great matchups. 2015 champions barcelona will face italian. munich paired with severe. real are going for a third title in a row. the report will meet manchester city in an all-8 -- liverpool will meet manchester city in an all-english matchup. the draw for the europa league quarterfinals also met. the first team will meet marseille in the last 8. elsewhere, the thtwo favorites r the title of what it each other for the draw.

-- avoided each other for the draw. the eiffel tower is the world's most visited monument, but for one day it was transformed into a racecourse. whether 100 athletes worth -- more than 100 athletes were vying for the title. it is a grueling workout for the knees. the event is on to its fourth year. the quickest time was just under eight minutes. here's a reminder of our top stories at this hour. president emmanuel macron over france and germany's chancellor angela merkel have started work on what they call a roadmap for reform of the european union and the euro zone. in time they hope for a june eu summit. president macron said he wanted it to be clear and ambitious. and britain's foreign secretary boris johnson has accused russian president vladimir putin of personally ordering the poisoning of a former double agent in a british city.

britain previously set the nerve gas agent originated in russia. that is it. you are up to date. i will have more for you at the top of the hour and there is always more on the website, dw.com. have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ best of european lifestyle and culture this week. here's what's coming up. flamenco festival -- dance fans the world over flock to southern spain. top talents -- the winners of this year's laureus world sports awards. and body beautiful -- meet the 2018 miss germany contestants. on a recent trip to spain, i had the joy of seeing flamenco for the very first time. one thing i was surprised to find out was that the name has no connection to the flamingo