♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, the two day grilling of mark zuckerberg begins. can he convince u.s. lawmakers that his company is not a threat to democracy? before a senate committ, zuckerberg began by apologizing for abuses of people's personal information. he promises to ban those who do not follow the rules. will that be enough? also coming up, donald trump expresses his anger as the fbi raids his lawyer's office. >> it is a disgraceful

situation. it is a total witchhunt. it's an attack on our country. brent: the u.s. presidents is the raid was intended to undermine his presidency. the fbi says it was linked into the investigation into russia's alleged meddling in the u.s. presidential election. and the boss of volkswagen may be headed for the exit door as the company says it is considering further evolving its leadership structure. we will decipher that. plus, the organization for the prevention of chemical weapons says it has sent inspectors of syria. they will investigate a suspected poison gas attack that killed dozens of people last weekend. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us.

facebook ceo mark zuckerberg is testifying before u.s. senator is at this hour in an eagerly awaited hearing. the session is focusing on an admission by facebook that the data of up to 87 million users was improperly shared with a company that was seeking to put donald trump in the white house. zuckerberg began by reading out a prepared statement in which he apologized and took personal responsibility for the huge data breach. zuckerberg has apologized to the public before, but this is the first time that he has gone before congress. >> but it is clear now that we did not do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. and that goes for fake news, for an interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy. we did not take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake and i am sorry.

i started facebook. i run it. and i'm responsible for what happens here. brent: all right. that hearing now in its second hour. we want to take you to capitol hill and watch it in where our correspondent is standing by. good evening to you. so is this the grilling that everyone expected it would be? reporter: well, the grilling has just started two hours ago and it will be an marathon session. it is still ongoing right now and tomorrow zuckerberg faces a second day of grilling on capitol hill. and while he faced some tough questions from the senators, zuckerberg appeared very dispassionate and calm, and he apologized profusely and it was a big mea culpa. but it didn't seem to faze him that much. he didn't seem emotional.

brent: you say it was a big mea culpa. has zuckerberg offered anything more than a big apology? reporter: so far he has not really gone beyond what he released in a statement before this marathon session on congress. the one concrete thing he said that facebook was looking at all apps, to investigate all apps that were used before 2014 and to check those and if they found any breaches they would notify the user is affected. he repeatedly promised that they would do better, but also said that facebook needed time to actually do all of this and he promised to get back to the senators. but there was very little specifics so far and a big mea culpa. brent: a short while ago one

u.s. senator asked if the u.s. should adopt the european union's rules and regulations. and mr. zuckerberg struggled to give a straight answer. do you get the sense that he was lawmakers are moving more towards the european model when it comes to protecting data? michael: not really so far. mean, what was interestin about zuckerberg's statement on the european question was he was asked that same question last week and he kind of waffled, as he did today, on the question. he said they would look into that, then later he said they would give the same rights as europeans have internationally. but he kind of waffled. it is not clear if those european rules will be implemented locally. and it doesn't see my senators here are really willing to crack

down on facebook. brent: so is it likely that we will actually see a more regulated facebook, more regulated social media in the united states? michael: so far, i would say yes, that is unlikely. senators have made clear they are willing to give facebook another chance to remedy this situation. they said if facebook does not, they will be forced to regulate. but they do not seem ready to do so now. that's been an act before congress, honest ads act, it has so far stalled in congress because it does not have enough support. that would be regulating these political ads that have been an issue now, but so far there has been little support to pass it. brent: our correspondent michael knigge on capitol hill where those hearings with mark zuckerberg are happening. thank you.

staying in washington, u.s. president donald trump has an -- reacted angrily to a rate of the office of his personal lawyer, describing it as disgraceful. the fbi searched the officers of -- offices of michael cohen. reporter: president trump was blindsided by news of the raid on his longtime attorney's office. trump condemned the action at a meeting on monday to discuss syria. and today the president has taken to twitter, describing the raid as a total witchhunt and complaining that attorney-client privilege is dead. trump attorney michael cohen came under scrutiny after he made a $130,000 payment to an adult film actress days before

the election. stormy daniels alleges she had a sexual relationship with donald trump in 2006. she says cohen paid her to keep silent. trump has denied the allegations. the raid followed a referral from special counsel robert mueller, who is heading a separate investigation into suspected russian meddling into the u.s. presidential election. it is not clear if that was directly linked, but it did not stop trump from railing against the inquiry. >> it's an attack on the country in a true sense. why don't i just firing mueller? i think it's a disgrace what is going on. we will see what happens. but it is really a set situation. reporter: lawmakers are warning the president to allow the mueller investigation to go ahead without political interference. the latest fbi raid suggests that for donald trump, there

could be more legal trouble at. brent: here are -- legal trouble ahead. brent: here are more stories making headlines. france and saudi arabia have reportedly signed business deals worth $18 billion. th saudi crown prince has ended his first trip to france by meeting emmanuel macron. macron agrees that iranian expansion in the region should be curbed. north korean leader kim jong-un has made his first official mention of possible talks with the u.s.. that is according to state media. kim reportedly met with top party officials to discuss the prospect of dialogue. u.s. president trump has agreed to meet kim as soon as next month. no date or venue has yet been set. the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court has asked judges to rule whether she can open an investigation into the mass exodus of the rohingya people from myanmar. the prosecutor argues that there

is evidence that the rohingya were intentionally deported from myanmar into neighboring bangladesh. myanmar is not a member of the icc, but bangladesh is. german chancellor angela merkel has gathered her cabinet for a two day retreat to hammer out the details of her government's program. on the agenda are drafting a new budget and reforming germany's refugee policy. the jets will also be seeking to forge some team spirit after repeated infighting in recent weeks. you're watching "dw news." still to come, the organization for the prevention of chemical weapons says it is sending inspectors this -- inspectors to syria. but can a showdown between the u.s. and russia be avoided? the poisoned daughter of a former russian spy has left the hospital in britain. yulia skripal has been taken to

a secure and secret location. we will have a look at her remarkable recovery. let's get some business news now. volkswagen is in the spotlight and believe it or not, it is not because of dirty diesel. javier: how is that for a change? volkswagen wants to begin a new chapter in his corporate history after the dieselgate scandal and it plans on doing it without its ceo. according to reports, the top job is going to be taken over. he has been with the company for years. this could be the beginning of a comprehensive restructuring of the company's management. reporter: it is the most important job in the german car industry. he took over the helm of vw in 2015. his mission, dragging the company out of the dieselgate crisis. by some measures, he has succeeded. this year vw has sold more cars than ever before.

>> considering the journey so far, which has felt like a roller coaster at times, it is not a given that we can say today volkswagen as a company is in very good shape. reporter: he has been praised for managing to communicate effectively with both trade unions and politicians as well as restructuring the company. but it is up to the man who will succeed him to announce significant cost reductions. he is not a favorite with the unions, but appears to be popular with the board of directors. they will meet on friday, potentially to decide on a replacement. javier: dw beads -- business editor has been following these developments. so far the dieselgate scandal is not actually lead to any major changes at volkswagen's top executive members.

so do you think this is different now? is this finally a reaction to the dieselgate scandal? >> most likely not. keep in mind he was brought in to guide volkswagen to the aftermath of the dieselgate revelations. they really have been no twists or turns lately, no new scandals that would suggest this was coming. so we don't know the internal politics of the company, what is going on in the board room. and we have heard there are other moves on the way. if we look at the bigger picture, keep in mind that for more than two years, muller was tapped from his job as head of porsche where he was quite happy, to leave volkswagen, the world's largest carmaker, and its most difficult moment. so he had to do with a lot of difficult issues. he had to see colleagues be arrested and prosecuted. he had to help guide volkswagen

as it settled with consumers in the u.s.. it is worth mentioning that in europe they have made no settlements with car owners, and that is a big issue. and of course he has been with volkswagen as diesel has become a synonym for dirty and not clean. he has also had to seek continued efforts to electrifying volkswagens models and expanding his position in china. these are major tasks for anyone, especially with someone who might not be happy to be in that position. javier: volkswagen did say when the scandal came out that they wanted a change in a cporate culture. we know there is a potentially new name herbet diess. to see her present that kind of change? steven: diess has a reputation as a cost cutter, so that means the unions probably will not like him much. is he a change in culture for both clackum? -- for volkswagen?

probably not. look at where they both come from. they both have long histories in the german auto industry. diess arrived two months before the diesel scandal broke. he is no cleaner in this affair than mueller was. if they want to someone who is not touched by the diesel affair, it would not be him. furthermore, he will have to do with the same issues that mueller was dealing with in terms of increasing electrification of the models and the access to china. javier: we will see this friday if he actually becomes the new ceo. thank you, steven beardsley, for the analysis. we stay on the subject because want to analyze the other side of the atlantic with our financial correspondent at the new york stock exchange, jens korte. we know volkswagen has had a rough time in the u.s. how is it looking right now and what challenges could be on the

way for the new boss? jens: volkswagen has recovered quite a bit in the past couple months after the diesel scandal the.s if you look at the months of march, for example, volkswagen was able to increase sales in the united states that almost 80% -- almost 18%, much better than their competitors in the u.s. market. looking ahead as volkswagen looks to achieve a market share of roughly 5% in the next couple years in the united states. but that is not going to be easy to achieve this goal. if you look at the u.s. car market, volkswagen only has a market share of roughly 2% here in the united states. so they are not such a big player over here. in the last time that volkswagen had a market share of around 5% in the u.s. was actually in the early 1970's, so it will not be easy to achieve this goal. javier: it will certainly take a

lot of time. thank you very much for the analysis. that's all from the business desk. back to brick now with use from the -- news from new york. brent: in the last hour, russia has vetoed yet again a un security council resolution put forward by the united states. the draft called for a probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons in syria last weekend. meanwhile, the organization for the prevention of chemical weapons says it will start its own investigation and is sending inspectors to syria. syrian opposition activists say a gas attack killed dozens of people near damascus. they blame the syrian government, which denies any involvement. the u.s. has warned of a possible military response to the attacks, and president trump has canceled a planned trip to south america to monitor events. former u.s. ambassador to nato robert e hunter joins me tonight

from washington. ambassador hunter, it is good to have you on the program. russia has vetoed a u.s. bid to create a new expert body to determine responsibility for this suspected gas attack in duma. is this a further serious blow to the peace process? robert: well, russia is moving forward with resolutions of its own, which will be voted on momentarily. it has already vetoed the one put forward by the u.s. the russians do not want to see blame assessed in the initial step. the united states and most other countries believe that yes, there was a chemical attack, let's move forward and figure out what happened and who did it. is this a blow to the peace process? no question.

anything that does not attempt to look at exactly what is going on and try to move things forward has to be a blow. but there is something even more, in my judgment. i don't think there has yet been a serious peace process that anybody could expect to be effective. brent: ambassador, we are hearing that a rival russian bid for an inquiry was rejected by the un security council. could this war of words we are seeing between the u.s. and russia, could that quickly translate into conflict on the ground in syria? robert: i don't think we're going to see a russian-american conflict on the ground, but obviously there are proxies already involved. the united states is backing the so-called opposition and also the kurds, whereas the russians along with iranians are backing the outside government. but everybody is holding their breath now to see what president

trump will do in the next 24 to 48 hours in response to this chemical weapons attack. he has canceled a visit, a trip to latin america in order to stay in the u.s. to decide what to do. my own judgment is that it is time for everybody in the outside world to stop just assessing blame, look at the situation, and look at the broader requirements of actually moving this from the battlefield with some hope to preserve lives and stop the killing in syria. that has not happened yet. brent: ambassador, how does that translate into tangible, real actions? we have had missile strikes by the u.s. on syria before. that happened just a year b -- ago. now we have the u.s. president threatening some kind of response with force. so how do you get from there to

what you are talking about, where we can actually stop the fighting and ashley talk about some type of peaceful -- and actually talk about some type of peaceful and game? -- end game. robert: the americans and rushes have to talk directly with one another. so that russian and american aircraft don't get involved in one another. it is to include something that has not been included so far, which is a plan that would, over time, potentially protect all the different groups. so far most of the peace process has been run by the opponents of president assad, who is a butcher, but does not provide for the chance for his people, the allies, which is a minority shia sect which really runs the

country, to ve them a chance to survive. we have to say yes, there has to be something for the minority, there has to be something for the sunni majority, there has to something for the kurds, there has to be something for every group. because if you are only going to favor one side or the other, the fighting is going to continue. the aloe lights -- they believe they are going to get slaughtered, so they continue to fight. this is a proxy war. the saudis seeing -- and this gets complicated -- the u.s. overthrew the saddam hussein regime in iraq, which was a shia minority government in a sunni majority country, and they are trying to return the favor by getting rid of assad. until someone can take a step back and say this has to stop, there is no chance of peace at all. brent: definitely right they are

speak to how complicated and how difficult the situation is in syria. that is definitely the truth, this evening. ambassador, we appreciate you taking the time to be on the show tonight. thank you. robert: thank you. brent: yulia skripal has left the hospital in britain and has been taken to a secret, secure location. skripal and her father, an ex-ru ssian spy, were poisoned by a nerve agent in britain and month ago. it is not known what she wants to do. reporter: at one point it was feared yulia skripal would die in this hospital. after steady improvement in her health, doctors have deemed her well enough to leave. >> i want to take this opportunity to wish yulia well. this is not the end of her

treatment but marks a significant milestone. reporter: five weeks ago, yulia and her father were -- they we found slumped unconscious on a park bench in the center of a sleepy english city. doctors said they were able to keep them alive until their bodies heal naturally. they say sergei skripal's condition is also improving. >> although he is recovering more slowly than yulia, we hope he, too, will be able to leave hospital in due course. reporter: it appears sergei skripal was a target of the attack. he was accused of passing information to the u.k. in 2006. he was later freed from jail as part of a swap deal. the attack on british soil has caused a massive diplomatic scandal. the u.k. blames russia, but moscow denies involvement and accuses the u.k. of inventing stories. the russian embassy in london

wants access to the skripals. british police are currently centering their investigation on the skriapal's home. now they have a witness whose story they once thought they would never hear. brent: sports are an outlet for many people around the world, including south sudan, a country were millions have been displaced. sports facilities have been badly damaged, leaving locals no court to play on. now the u.n. is lending a helping hand. take a look. reporter:he conditions here in south sudan are bleak. civil unrest has reduced the region's only sporting complex to rubble. helping hands from the united nations are clearing the area and rebuilding for the future. the peacekeepers involved in the

mission have engineering know-how and hope sport will foster better relationships among the people. >> we are actually walking here today and creating this space, developing this area, to see how the youth, the people from town can actually utilize this space to interact, play sports, and actually build strong, mutual relationships. reporter: teenagers have alread hit the half ready pitch to practice. and with the basketball court in progress, the locals believe this complex, once completed, will have positive impacts. >> it will help in terms of stress management. you spend more time being happy than being idle. reporter: the united nations is breaking down conflict through building in an attempt for lasting peace in south sudan.

brent: here's a reminder of the top story we're following for you. facebook ceo mark zuckerberg has begun two days of testimony before a senate committee. he started by apologizing for abuses of people's personal information. he announced facebook is auditing the ways tens of apps have used user data in the past. after a short break, i will take you through the day. we will have more on mark zuckerberg going to washington. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

is made possible by..." croplife america. and it's member companies and associations in the crop protection industry including: the american farm bureau foundation for agriculture. more information at: agfoundation.org. sacramento's proud to be america's farm to fork capital visit: farmtofork.com pests, parasites - disease! they all sound gross to you and me. but for farmers and ranchers they can be devastating to livestock. coming up, i'll take you to florida to find out what's being done to protect animal agriculture. i'm kristen simoes. we'll bring in the harvest on a very special crop this time. we'll take you to california for some green and