tv DW News PBS May 4, 2018 6:00pm-6:31pm PDT
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♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. donald trump, america's powerful gun lobby. he promises the national rifle association he will defend their right to bear arms less than three months after the florida high school shooting. also on the program, no nobel prize for literature this year after a sexual harassment case. the swedish academy in disarray. the anniversary of perl marks's -- carl marx's birth. we ask berliners what they make of the founder of communism. ♪
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>> i am phil gayle, welcome to the program. donald trump has promised to protect americans' rights to bear arms in a speech to the national rifle association's conference in dallas. this comes three months after the high school massacre in parkland, florida was sparked nationwide demonstrations demanding gun control. at the time donald trump briefly pledged to fight the nra. today he was fully on message with his republican base. mr. trump: your second amendment rights are under siege, but they will never, ever be under siege as long as i am your president. [applause] mr. trump: all of us -- [applause]
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mr. trump: all of us are united by the same timeless values. we believe that our liberty is a gift from our creator, and that no government can ever take it away. we believe in the rule of -- [applause] mr. trump: and we support the men and women of the law enforcement. phil: washington, dc now where we are joined by the correspondent lee richardson. -- claire richardson. some big themes. claire: trump's message here was his administration is behind gun owners and any initiatives they would see as infringing on their second amendment constitutional rights to own guns. he called these people real patriots. it is a massive convention of 80,000, and the reason this was closely watched is because in many ways it was seen as a test
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of how much has really changed. there has been a big national conversation since the massacre at a high school in parkland, florida in february. student led movements of walkouts, protests with celebrity support, and there was a sense this could be a turning point where we might see some tougher regulations on guns in the united states. we heard during trump's speech that he is back in front of the nra, his fourth year addressing the convention, and he has not changed after what we saw in parkland. he said he wanted to harm -- arm highly trained teachers area when i was in parkland,'s teachers would rather have school supplies that you have to also learn how to carry a weapon and use it against shooters. we are more or less in the same point at least in terms of the rhetoric we are seeing from donald trump as we were a year ago. phil: why is he there?
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claire: we have elections coming up in november of course. he is playing to his base at this convention. a lot of republican supporters. there were chances -- chants of usa, usa. the nra is a huge backer of republican candidates. they spent $55 million to help support those candidates last time. he is there, moving back in line with the nra to try and galvanize this space, and told -- this base and told the people to come out to the polls, should not be complacent, and hopefully they will use their power at the ballot box. phil: he did promise some control on guns. he promised a ban on bob stoxx. remind us what they are and where those plans have got to. daniel: bump stocks are devices that allow semi automatic rifles, which are popular in the
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united states, to fire like automatic weapons. this was the kind of device used during the las vegas massacre last year where 59 people lost their lives, and the administration is looking into a ban on bob stoxx, but that is where the buck stops. we have not seen serious federal regulation coming into effect since parkland except for this regulation. phil: claire richardson, thank you. the swedish nobel prize group will not award the literature reward. they are handling scandal against one of the members. the world best writers from more than 100 years, but absent from the calendar until next year. >> it is not unprecedented, but it is rare, the swedish academy
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has postponed the 2018 nobel prize for literature. >> we have decided not to award the prize, and we did that after long and tents discussions. but we reached the conclusion, the confidence of the economy lower at the moment, and that is the deciding -- reporter: the body was plunged into crisis last november when a swedish newspaper published against this man. he is married to the swedish academy member catarina. they were -- they wielded significant influence in the art world. the accusations include an incident in which he allegedly touched sweden's crown princess inappropriately. he denies the claims. the revelations and handling of them sowed deep discord.
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a wave of resignations followed including the secretary sarah daniels. >> i am leaving the economy. -- the academy. it was their wish i should leave. reporter: the ouster has sparked an outpouring of support regarded by many as a case example of a woman taking the fall for a man's bad behavior. >> this is a huge scandal internationally. and then unbelievably symbolic when the first woman to hold the host as permanent secretary is forced out when she tries to sort things out. reporter: the nobel prize in literature will be postponed until 2019, when the academy will name the laureate. phil: let's get more on this from our reporter.
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welcome. 18 allegations of sexual misconduct against this man, but -- >> over 20 years. phil: but no action from the swedish academy until this whole #metoo issue. >> women felt empowered by the #metoo movement to make their voices heard. obviously no one was listening, and there were structures in place that were quite effective at keeping things quiet for a long time. they took advantage of that momentum, and as we know many institutions have been slow to react until they can't do otherwise. phil: we saw in the report his wife is a member of the committee -- chair of the committee in fact. the community -- committee voted against removing her which seems odd given what looks like a clear conflict of interest. >> i can't really tell you why
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they did that and why they caused all this ruckus in their own ranks. i really don't know how many people do know about that. you have to be a real insider because the swedish academy is known for being a secretive group, very nontransparent. they literally tried to get away with keeping this quiet, so obviously i think we can basically grant this academy and its procedure is from the 19th century, and the need to get with the times. phil: aside from this, the academy has maintained a good reputation throughout their 100-year history. >> 230. phil: let's look at some of the former winners. [applause] reporter: the nobel prize in literature, and award to denote the most outstanding work and outstanding direction, to confront the greatest good on mankind. that was alfred nobel's wish when he founded the award 117
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years ago. it has been given to people as diverse as ernest hemingway, winston churchill for their contributions to world literature, but it is more than a celebration of the world's literary canon. it is often helping of some -- helping some obscure writers find readership. and the academy has been accused of taking political positions as well like with their selection of this person, the fellow russian journalist a prominent critic of vladimir putin. [indiscernible] the decision to award the prize to bob dylan and 2016 for his lyrical work caused controversy especially when the american singer-songwriter seemed to ignore it for weeks afterward. one called him rude and arrogant . the nobel prize for literature has had his tractors, but it still remains the most visible
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prize in the world. phil: how does the academy not do about -- now go about restoring its reputation? >> restoring its statutes, and they will do this. the academy has 18 members normally, and with all these people setting -- stepping down, these members are appointed for life. so they are now working with only 10, and they need 12 to make a viable coram decision, so they need to rethink those rules , completely modernize, reappoint new members, then we think their public relations strategy, transparency. that is what you have to do nowadays. this comes -- phil: thank you so much. >> you are welcome. phil: let's take a look at other stories making news. gaza's health ministry said 400 palestinian protesters have been
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injured in a sixth week of classes -- flashes on the border. some people were injured by israeli soldiers. the rest suffering the effects of inhaling tear gas. palestinian president mahmoud abbas is apologizing for reported remarks on the holocaust. he said it was because of their roles as bankers and moneylenders, rather than their religion or race. in his apology he condemned anti-semitism and describes the holocaust as the most wretched crime in history. hundreds of war veterans and civilians have rallied in sarajevo in support of the former muslim general. former members of the army face allegations of committing war crimes against hundreds of bosnian civilians during the conflict in the 1990's. on sunday lebanon will hold its first parliamentary elections are almost a decade.
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the outcome could be crucial for not just the stability of the increasingly fragile state but the region as a whole. forming a new government will likely be a protracted process. hundreds of residents on hawaii's big island have evacuated their homes after the volcano burst into life. this video shows lava flowing through the wooded area. interrupted thursday after -- it corrupted thursday -- errupted thursday. reporter: it started with multiple earthquakes, then a plume of pink smoke that shocked the local residents. >> we just had a huge earthquake, and now in the direction of -- there is a massive cloud of smoke coming up. reporter: after days of warning signs, the kilauea volcano has erupted.
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lava flowed into residential areas of the u.s. island, igniting fires and spreading deadly gases. 2000 people were forced to evacuate. >> since it is right there behind our house, we can hear the lava exploding right from the house. so you know, will it still be there? reporter: the eruptions of boiling lava were flowing from cracks in the ground in populated areas and lasted two hours. a mandatory evacuation order remains in place in the affected area, and geologists warn eruptions could occur again soon. phil: this is dw news live from berlin. karl marx, one of the most divisive thinkers in modern history, the revolutionary philosopher was born 200 years ago saturday, so how should he be remembered? helena humphrey is here with news of volkswagen and the
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diesel imagine cheating scandal. the prosecution get their hands on it? helena: usually in germany authorities do not extradite citizens, but it does depend on the case. that could be a piece of good news for gw ceo -- the dw ceo. prosecutors have charged volkswagen's former boss for his part in the dieselgate emissions scandal. they say mr. winterkorn conspired to mislead regulators and violate the u.s. clean air act. staff at vw in germany support the u.s. charges against their former ceo. german prosecutors say while this is ongoing and will not be affected by the legal process in the united states. reporter: it could not have come at a worse time for volkswagen. the announcement that the former ceo martin winterkorn was
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indicted, it came soon after their shareholders reading where the new ceo spoke about regaining confidence. >> volkswagen must become more honest, more open, more truthful , so that we don't make ourselves more vulnerable again. reporter: but volkswagen is still vulnerable. the indictment of winterkorn has many asking whether the carmaker has done enough to investigate its senior executives. according to u.s. authorities, a former ceo was informed vw cars performed lower emissions during tests than they did on roads. but it is unlikely winterkorn will face charges in u.s. courts. germany doesn't extradite its citizens. the former ceo could be implicated in ongoing investigations in his home
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country. german prosecutors are looking into the involvement of the scene at management in cheating -- that senior management in cheating, and there are -- helena: u.s. unemployment figures are out, and they are good but not quite as good as some had expected. the jobless rate fell to 3.9% in april, the lowest since the year 2000. new jobs were created in manufacturing. there was also growth in the health care sector. the figures are a sign of resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and fears over a trade war. let's get more with the financial correspondent. some people now saying the job numbers were a little underwhelming. are they? reporter: i saw those headlines that there numbers were
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disappointing, and i would disagree. we created a few less jobs than expected, but the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, and that is the lowest since december of 2000, so in more than 17 years, and for that 90th consecutive month, we saw growth, so every single month since october of 2010, there was job creation. that is a new record, and on top of it, wages did not really grow much, just by four cents in comparison to the previous month, but for one street that is -- wall street that is good because it shows there is not too much. we had a positive reaction on those numbers. helena: thank you for that. we will come back to you in a short moment. apple stock is getting a confidence boost.
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more and buffett has been loading up on apple shares. his company brought 75 million apple shares. that is more than $13 billion worth. they are increasing their price in oil 50%. he called apple and unbelievable company, one of the most profitable in the u.s. he has bought more stock than any other in the past year. back over to jens. when buffett speaks, investors listen. have they? jens: they have. the stock of apple just here in the friday session was up 4%, and reaching a new record high for the week. the apple stock is up a good 13 percent, and those are astonishing numbers. warren buffett's company berkshire hathaway owns 420 million apple shares, with a value of $242 billion.
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really breathtaking numbers we are seeing here. the funny thing is worn buffet usually like to buy when stocks are under pressure, and that was true for the apple stock earlier this year, but definitely not right now. i am certain that at this price, warren buffett would not start buying apple stocks again, but he did so in the past. it was good enough for investors to jump on the wagon. helena: thank you. europe's fourth largest airline is in crisis. the ceo is stepping down after staff rejected an offer to pay off strikes. this comes on the same day quarterly figures show the company has entered further losses. >> it has been a turbulent fear months -- few months for air france as they raise wages.
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a total of 13 strikes have taken place since february. the ceo john mark offered a pay rise over four years and invited them to vote for or against it. >> if the results are negative, i can't see how i can stay on his company had. -- head. reporter: in the end half of employees rejected the offer. some are kayak -- this will connect huge changes. the company incurred losses of 118 million euros in the first quarter, while many of its rivals posted several profits. helena: argentina's central bank has raised its benchmark, interest rate to 40%. the move is aimed at putting a lid on soaring inflation to help the country's plummeting currency. the depreciation is partly due
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to investors moving their money away from emerging economies and into dollars. this is the third time in a week argentina's central bank has put up its lending rate. back to fail now and the birth --phil and the birthday of a remarkable thinker. phil: saturday is 200 years since the birth of perhaps the most missiles political figure -- divisive political figure or economic thinker, karl marx. he argued capitalism would only make the rich richer and the poor poorer. some view him as a visionary while others revile him for inspiring authoritarian communist regimes. our reporter hit the streets of berlin to find out what the people think. ♪ reporter: marx's ideas sparked revolutions are those originated in berlin, and they continue to resonate in this city.
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in 1836, the 18-year-old karl marx came to study at berlin's university. he started studying law but soon found he was far more interested in philosophy and history. " in the entrance hall of the university pays tribute to its former students. -- student. he wrote the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, but the point is to change it. marks didn't want to just the arise the state of the world, he wanted to do something about it. he wanted to shake things up. it was the dawn of the industrial age, and while in berlin, marx witnessed the plight of poor workers. it is their cause he took up. his theories of eliminating social injustice by empowering workers started revolutions and changed the map of the world. his ideology was the basis for modern communism and socialism,
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the defining philosophies of the cold war which ended up divided the world and the city. ♪ reporter: and former east berlin, a large evan is still bears marx' names. -- a large boulevard still bears his name. the last military parade to celebrate the achievements of the self-styled workers and peasants state was held here just a month before the berlin wall fell. but what does karl marx still mean to people? >> you had to different idea -- he had a different idea of how society should work. >> a lot of good stuff. capital is still valid today. >> i started reading the communist manifesto, but you have got to have quite a bit of concentration. >> do you know him? >> karl marx.
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he was a great thinker in his time. things did not turn out the way he predicted. >> a clever man and a weighty book. wrote things worthy of discussion today. especially now considering the split in society between rich and poor. reporter: communism as a political system in germany might have fallen with the berlin wall, but some of the people here, marx's ideas have not lost none of their relevance. phil: time to remind you of our top stories. in a speech to the national rifle association, donald trump has promised to defend the rights of gun owners, despite increased calls for gun control in the wake of recent shootings including february's deadly high school shooting in parkland, florida.
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the swedish academy has announced it will not award the nobel prize in literature this year after a series of sex abuse and financial scandals. it will instead award two prices next year. -- prizes next year. more at the top of the hour, and there is always the website. in the meantime, it is star wars day, so may the fourth be with you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪
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st. patrick baptized king aengus here in about 450 a.d. in around 1100, an irish king gave cashel to the church, and it grew to become the ecclesiastical capital of all ireland. 800 years ago, this monastic community was just a chapel and a round tower standing high on this bluff. it looked out then, as it does today, over the plain of tipperary, called the golden vale because its rich soil makes it ireland's best farmland. on this historic rock, you stroll among these ruins in the footsteps of st. patrick, and wandering through my favorite celtic cross graveyard, i feel the soul of ireland.
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♪ meggin: hello, and welcome to our highlights edition, with the best picks of the week. here's what we've got lined up for you today. burst of color -- italian design brand seletti at the current milan design week. capital city -- we spend a day in madrid, spain. and automotive icon -- the volkswagen beetle turns 80. the brand seletti is known for its creative, crazy and provocative designs, like its banana and monkey lamps, which we featured on the show a few weeks ago. well, now for the first time the company is displaying an array
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