brett: this is "dw news" lightbank from berlin. was there a conspiracy to keep hillary clinton out of the white house? democrats say yes, and they are suing. the democratic national committee launching a lawsuit against the russian government, donald trump's campaign leaders, and wikileaks. they say never before has a candidate conspired with a former enemy -- informal enemy to become president. we will ask what this means for robert mueller's special investigation. students across the u.s. walked out of class to mark the 19th anniversary of the columbine high school massacre. congress and the white house still have not acted to tighten gun control. is anyone in the u.s. capitol listening this time around?

and a blast special that happened 70 years ago. experts defused an unexploded world war ii bomb in the heart of berlin. the danger was so high that tens of thousands were evacuated. plus, if any joke of a sporting era. the premier of soccer club arsenal announced that are seen wenger -- arsène wenger will step down at the end of the season. he has been in charge for more than 20 years. i'm brent goff. good to have you with us. there have been three official investigations, 2 still running, into possible campaign collusion between donald trump and the russians. tonight, at a lawsuit to that list. the democratic national committee's suing donald trump's

campaign videos, the russian government, and wikileaks. the democrats contend that all three conspired to help trump win the 2016 presidential election in with the particles a brazen attack on american democracy. trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and russia. this lawsuit comes as trump's legal woes are mounting. personal attorney michael cohen is under criminal investigation. we want to take this storage washington. our correspondent is on the story for us tonight. good evening to you. the world is looking at the story and asking why has the democratic national committee decided to do that now. we already have the special prosecutor, mr. mueller. he is still investigating allegations of collusion. >> hi, brent, this lawsuit is

the biggcratic party and tried to get to the bottom of a legend russian meddling in the 2016 elections and possible coordination with the trump campaign. they are trying to remind voters of this issue now ahead of november's midterm elections, which are coming up in just over six months. the democrats are looking to take back control of congress and are using this as a way to remind voters of the issue of russian meddling. as you say, this lawsuit is happening as an aside to robert mueller's investigation into whether there was collusion between the trump campaign and russia. the democrats hope this lawsuit will give them an opportunity to see separate facts come to light and open up an avenue for information about trump and his campaign. brent: what about the risk of this? is there a chance that this could backfire on the democrats? clare: logistically speaking, the democrats could come up with legal challenges in suing russia, a foreign country, but a

more important question is whether this approach of focusing on russian meddling is the kind of messaging they need to help them in the elections. as a party, they want to be able to offer something to voters other than promising a return to the status quo, the party that is anti-trump, and with those coming up in november, it is not so clear what the messaging is yet. brent: this may seem like new territory, and it begs the question, is there a precedent here? clare: "the washington post" broke the story ended pointed to previous incidents that have parallels. they said the democratic party did something quite similar during the watergate scandal, when the dnc filed a lawsuit against then-president nixon, his reelection committee, and they were seeking damages for the break in to democratic headquarters. ultimately they want a settlement just as nixon was leaving office in 1974. brent: amazing, right come

almost feels like we've been here before a little bit. another day has gone by this week without the fired fbi director james comey making immediate appearance -- making a media appearance somewhere. the memos he kept of interactions with the president have been made public. come and about the u.s. president being compromise try this -- can we talk about the u.s. president being compromised by this? clare: as you said, fired fbi director james comey has been in the limelight this week, with about that contains unflattering revelations about interactions with trump. politically speaking, it is hard to see how these allegations can't have much of an effect on what people believe. if you -- views on this issue are so firmly entrenched when comes to trump and russian election-meddling., whether you believe it is true or not.

we could see legal fallout from what comes out of comey's mouth. he could be a key witness in any possible obstruction of justice case that mueller might bring forward. brent: cla richardson on the story for usre from washington. thank you very much. students across the united states have walked out of? the 19th anniversary -- walked out of class to mark the 19th anniversary of the columbine school massacre. gun control advocates have seen little change in the aftermath of school shooting sprees, something a new generation of activists is determined to change. reporter: the message couldn't be clearer. just a handful of the tens of thousands of students who abandoned books to demand

tougher gun controls, from new york -- >> vote them out! vote them out! reporter: to michigan, and even the white house, they made their point. >> basically, we want to see preventative measures taken. we feel schools taking security measures, the onus should not be on the school to take security measures to prevent students from being killed by gunfire. reporter: it was not all chanting. 13 seconds of silence were held to remember the 13 victims of the columbine school massacre. they were killed 19 years ago to the day when two students opened fire on their classmates. the entered school shootings into the global consciousness. two decades on and thousands of deaths later, many of america's students have seen enough. >> at our school, our teacher was shot and killed at the beginning of the year. this is something we take very personally and feel we need to

advocate it for the rest of the people. reporter: organizers say teenagers from more than 2000 schools took part in the lockout -- walked out, the latest wave in a nationwide effort to end the killings. brent: here are other stories making headlines around the world. medics in the gaza strip say to palestinians have been shot dead by israeli forces in another day protests along the border. that is after the military dropped leaflets urging residents to stay away from the border fence. at least 33 palestinians have been killed by soldiers firing at the border in recent weeks. the basque separatist group has asked for forgiveness from victims by the pain caused by his long campaign of violence. a tilt it hundred 50 people -- it killed 850 people over the course of four decades. today the group said it should never have resorted to violence. it is due to formally disband . german chancellor angela merkel

has held talks with indian prime minister narendra modi in berlin. india is looking for new partners in the european union now that britain is leaving the eu. germany, meanwhile, is spearheading efforts to reach a free trade deal with india. you all watching "dw news." still to come, after years in charge of the english soccer club arsenal, coach arsène wagner is stepping down at the end of the season. we asked our sports correspondent about the legacy of one of the games great figures. germany lobbying for europe in washington. reporter: definitely a big job to do. the countdown is on for the european union to make sure it secures the permanent exemption from u.s. tariffs on steel and aluminum, amid rising trade tensions between washington and aging.

the current temporary exemption runs out on may 1. germany's vice chancellor says he is optimistic a solution can be found. all the same, chancellor angela merkel will travel to washington next week to make the case personally. reporter: he had to wait more than an hour to get accepted into the white house. what else to do but take a stroll with the german ambassador in front of the famous building? eventually, the german finance minister met u.s. vice president pence. he didn't disclose details of the chat -- not a good sign. it seems there has been little to no progress on an exception for the eu on steel and aluminum tariffs. "all i can say is i think the officials here understand that we, the european union, speak with one voice when it comes to trade issues. i believe this is a good development. it could lead to good results." at the spring meeting of the

international monetary fund in washington, free trade was on the agenda as well. many also using the opportunity to tell the minister that germany needs to do more to prevent another financial crisis in europe, meaning spending more money on ailing countries. but he avoided giving assurances. "we have improved the stability of the entire european banking sector over the last couple of years. now things are looking a lot better. but of course, there is still room for improvement to whether any new financial storm." however, scholz opposes the swift introduction of an eu-wide scheme. back at save lenders a lot of money if it -- that could save lenders a lot of money if a foreign lender goes bankrupt full to helena: earlier i spoke outside the imf where this bring meetings of the world bank have been taking place, and i asked him how close the eu is to being

granted a permanent tariff exemption. >> we are hearing it is still difficult. yesterday, the german finance minister and vice chancellor said he was optimistic that a solution could be found and there would be a permanent exemption for the europeans from those tariffs. today he sounded a bit more cautious, saying he didn't know if that would happen by the time the temporary exceptions run out at the end of april. we don't know some what is going on. talks are underway. the chancellor will come to washington next week. french president macron will be here next week. what the europeans tried to point out all the time is this is an issue where europe is united, of course, because trade is the affair of the eu, and they make this point to their american counterparts. olaf scholz told us that he had

the impression that his american counterparts were understanding this is the case. helena: the imf chief christine lagarde has been speaking. she has pointed to strong global growth, but she has warned that trade tensions could hurt the global economy in the long term. are the u.s. and china heating her warning, do you think? reporter: i'm not so sure. they might be listening to what she has to say, but for now it does not appear like they are following her advice. neither side seems to be ready to back down at this point. it is completely unclear whether this conflict cap be resolved -- can be result. helena: all right, our washington correspondent at the international monetary fund for us. thank you. the global glut that has kept while places down appears to be over. that is the conclusion of a panel made up of opec members in other oil-producing countries.

a barrel of brent crude has hit a three-year high of $74. the panels is the opec-led agreement in place since january 20 17th has helped to cut oversupply. all the same, there have been fears that the recent buoyancy is spurring inflation come and u.s. president donald trump weighed in on twitter, of course, saying the cartel was keeping prices artificially high. our wall street correspondent jens korte a has more. jens: investors on wall street are puzzled by the comments of u.s. president donald trump. first of all, opec is not the only reason oil prices are increasing. it is also global economic growth, and therefore higher demand. and then if we think back about two years ago, when oil prices were around $30 a barrel, especially for u.s. energy companies, fracking companies, production was not profitable at

all. a lot of those companies actually were in jeopardy and even might have had to file for bankruptcy. then opec started to cut production. oil prices started to increase. and the u.s. energy companies were safe, so the u.s. profited from higher oil prices. but obviously donald trump has the opinion that prices are too high and that could lead to higher prices for u.s. consumers. when donald trump is saying that the high oil prices are not acceptable, what precisely is he going to do and change about production in the u.s. already at record levels? when we look at what happened with oil prices on friday, we started on a weaker note, but then oil prices pretty much recovered the losses. helena: that was jens korte in new york. back to brent and what can only be described as an unwelcome, rather costly surprise in

berlin. brent: i even thought i was going to have to leave my apartment. helena: dramatic scenes. brent: germany's capital was brought to a standstill so experts could defuse a massive world war ii bomb. the operation forced the shutdown of a large part of the city center seven decades after the war's end. germany still finds more than 2000 tons of unexploded wartime ordinances every year. this was the most significant bomb disposal operation the german capital has seen in years. reporter: an unusual sight on central berlin streets. police are urging residents to evacuate and officers going door-to-door to make sure the buildings were cleared. the biggest evacuation in berlin in years came as bob disposal experts moved in to defuse an

unexploded second world war bomb that had been unearthed on a construction site. inside the exclusion zone, an army hospital, part of the german intelligence agency's headquarters, and ministry building, and the seas, and a number of hotels. in the city that likes to wake up late, some were caught by surprise. >> we are on vacation from denmark, and we were not informed by hotels.com that we were going to be evacuated. yeah, frustrating. so we hurried to get our things and get out. reporter: for those with nowhere else to go, emergency shelters were set up around the exclusion zone. but the biggest disruption, perhaps can came for commuters traveling from one side of the city to the other. also located within the exclusion zone, berlin central

station went from buzzing travel hub to ghost station, as it, too, was cleared ahead of the detonation. but by around 1:30 p.m. local time, it was mission accomplished for this is suppose of the world war ii bomb -- for the disposal team, as authorities announced the world war ii bomb was made say. this is where the bomb was recovered and disposed of. while it is common in germany -- so common that each state has its own bomb disposal unit -- the size of the bomb and the proximity to the city center meant widespread police action. berlin central station was reopened within an hour of the diffuse all, allowing the city to get back to business as usual. brent: quite a day here in berlin. at the table i'm happy to welcome a professor, a munitions expert.

good to have you on the show. wow, when you look at is, it is an international news story, but here in germany it happens all the time. >> you are really life. berlin is a busy city and it is a usual event and today it was an unusual event with the bomb squad has to defuse a 500-kilogram bomb, unexploded bomb of british origin. brent: we have a picture of the ball. was anything unusual or special about this bomb? we know that thousands of people were evacuated. >> no, the specialty of this bomb is the location. just in the middle of the city, and you have to evacuate people in an area of 800 meters radius, and that means 10,000 people have to move out of this area,

and that means handicapped people -- brent: everybody. >> everybody. brent: you were telling me that there has been a little over 1000 bombs defused in berlin since the end of the second world war, but you believe there are maybe 3000 that are still in the ground waiting for us to discover. wolfgang: this number 3000 is a number given by the authorities -- brent: it is a huge number. wolfgang: extremely huge. you will have it and you can change it. brent: at the time, these bombs -- i read today that these bombs become more dangerous the longer they remain undiffused. wolfgang: that is correct, because inside you have material that gets corrosion. you don't see the reason why it doesn't work. you have to understand what

happened inside. you have a security system, and the corrosion will suffer the system, so it can unexplode. in germany we have one or two bombs with self-definition. this is horrible. brent: it is, and we know that lives have been lost. construction worker lives, firemen. i don't want to get into the technicalities of what is inside these bombs, but interesting that so many bombs were dropped and they didn't explode. what does that tell you as a weapons expert? wolfgang: i think it is quite normal if you understand the production facility and the pressure under the bombs has to be produced. they need for the wall -- the quality control was not that much what it should be. brent: ok, so they were trying

to do the fast-food version of bombs in the 1940's. what about the bombs we produce today? they almost always explode -- wolfgang: no, no no no, you had bombs and rockets that failed as well, but the rate was much less than world war ii. brent: is it proper to say that berlin, hamburg, cities across germany are still mine fields from the second world war? wolfgang: it would be hard to say at this way, but there is truth in the statement. yes, of course. brent: how long do you think -- you say 3000 bombs just in berlin -- how long will it take to find all of these? wolfgang: i think a problem we will have for lots of generations -- 5, 4 -- brent: another hundred years, at least? wolfgang: yes. sorry about that, but it is my point of view. brent: it is the cruel reality

of war. professor wolfgang spyra, fascinating talking with you. thank you very much. wolfgang: thank you. brent: it is the end of an era in the soccer world. soccer manager arsène wenger. down at the venue to the season after being in charge of the english premier league club more than two decades. he arrived as a soccer revolutionary but will leave having polarized fans. reporter: after 22 years and three premier league titles, wenger's departure from arsenal was announced with two simple words. the frenchman was appointed in 1996 when english football and fashions were very different. then-manchester united manager alex ferguson remarked that someone who had just managed in japan had no right to tell his football what to do. but he revolutionized the game, rapidly changing guides and

introducing a new brand of attacking football which prompted seven fa cups. his biggest achievement was when arsenal at the whole premier league season unbeaten in 2003-2004. but the invincible's campaign would be the senat -- z enith for this career command fans began to demand his exit. now the fans have their wish them a but arsenal hopes he is remembered for the good times. >> as he now makes the stop to the next phase of his life, i think everybody is a little more reflective, and i think it is a moment like this that you can better appreciate what an extraordinary person arsenal football club is losing. reporter: wenger will hope to go out on a high by lifting the

europa league next month. trophy or not this season, his legacy will loom large. >> he developed fantastic players and was a dominating guy, mid-1990's, early 2000, when he was winning pretty much everything. i admire his work always. reporter: possible replacements include the ex-bayern munich boss. whoever takes over is unlikely to be at arsenal for the next 22 years. arsène wenger is one-of-a-kind. brent: raphael that all remains on course for a record-extending 11th monte carlo title after beating dominic thiem in the quarterfinals. nadal breezed past his austrian opponent. the junior clay proved too strong on his -- the king of

clay proved too strong on his favorite surface. the spaniard meets girigor dimitrov in the last four. dj and music producer known as avicii has been founded in oman. the 28-year-old swede was a pioneer of edm, a popular genre of electronic music. his greatest hits included "wake me up" and "hey brother." fellow superstar dj calvin harris tweeted, " devastating news about avicii," "beautiful soul." after the break, i will take you to the news, but first, the sounds of the late avicii. ♪

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♪ european lifestyle and culture this week. here's what's coming up. alpine accommodation -- a hotel with a difference in switzerland. polish performer -- meet indoor skydiver maja kuczynska. and road runner -- take a nostalgic tour in a wooden french icon. we start our journey in switzerland, at a remarkable hotel. two swiss artists decided to strip down their holiday home to the bare minimum.