♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. fever pitch in windsor, hours ahead of the royal wedding. rinse harry and his brother out to meet well-wishers already in place for the big day. future father-in-law prince charles will accompany megan to the altar after her own father was unable to travel. we are alive in windsor for you. smoothing over differences, hopes for eastern ukraine are kindled as russia's president meets germany's chancellor. both sides will now reconsider options for multinational

peacekeeping mission. and venezuelans go to the polls on sunday, the outcome a foregone conclusion. nicolas maduro likely to win despite the shortages of food and medicine. thank you very much for your company. excitement is building across the u.k. and abroad, ahead of tomorrow's royal wedding between prince harry and american actress meghan markle. while waiting, fans had a treat when the grown to be -- groomed to be and his brother turned up for a walk about outside windsor castle. that is where the couple are due to marry tomorrow and more than 100,000 people are expected to flock to the town to catch a glimpse of the happy couple. there is heightened security

across windsor, but royal fans are making the most of this big event. and we are counting down to this event with our reporters who are both in windsor covering the royal wedding for us. good to see you guys. set the scene, give us a taste of what it is like where you are now? reporter: what fantastic atmosphere. no doubt the anticipation is massive here. we have people from all over the world who have come in, securing their places. places where people are camping on the route the couple will take, arriving and leaving as husband as wife. a really electric atmosphere. reporter: one highlight of the day was when prince henry -- prince harry came out with his brother and they came out where we are here a few hours ago. you can see the tension rising because people sense something was going to happen.

there was police on the streets, and they were stopping people crossing the road, then they did come out and spent quite a while talking to all these people who are lining the streets, and some of them still arriving. so that was a special moment. the huge roar went through the crowd when they arrived. it really summarized the excitement that is still here in windsor tonight. leila: and other big news that brought us excitement is the fact prince charles has agreed to walk meghan markle down the aisle, an elegant solution. what did people make of that? reporter: a young woman said it is a wonderful solution. she will enter the church by herself in the middle of children, bridesmaid and page boys, and this woman said it is a strong feminist message, a taste of the fresh one she will being desperate into the royal family but a wonderful gesture

that prince charles will welcome her into the royal family by accompanying her a bit of the way. leila: the royal wedding, did you want to add something? reporter: no, there is also the sense -- i took from some ladies and they said is fantastic. i think prince charles is somebody who somehow comes across as a bit aloof i would say, so not the warmest person, and the fact that he does this, well comes the future daughter-in-law is a positive sign. leila: and now of course the royal wedding, the entire world is assembled where you are. tell us more about the intense press interest for this wedding. reporter: there is usually press interest. everywhere we are looking, there are television crews, 79 only

american networks and affiliates because especially for the american broadcasters it is a massive event. it is the american dream coming true really with an american princess in the making. 5000 journalists, just u.k. journalists, and many of us international journalists, thousands everywhere you go. there are camera crews, reporters, really a massive media interest. leila: and security has been beefed up? reporter: without a doubt. harry and meghan wanted to make this inclusive, but this comes at a cost, and that cost is 30 million pounds. here are other numbers that give you a taste of how tight security will be in one of what will be the biggest security operations the country has seen. there is 30,000 officers deployed, 3000 alone here in town, so it will be security

like circumstances on an airport. everyone will come into town tomorrow, will have to check in through securities, so it is very tight, but at the moment, you can't really feel it. you have seen a few police officers, but for the moment that is it. leila: all right, our reporters from windsor on the big day, thank you so very much. and now to our other top story, german chancellor angela merkel and russian president vladimir putin every kindled hopes of peace in eastern ukraine with talks at the seaside resort of sochi. diplomats on both sides would look again at options for deploy a multinational peacekeeping force to the region. at the posts summit news conference, merkel said they had a strategic interest getting on well rather than the frosty relations of recent times. reporter: she speaks fluent russian.

and he speaks fluent german. yet they still have struggled to understand one another in the past few years. now of all people donald trump is changing that. the u.s. president's unashamedly anti-european policy is forcing germany's chancellor to look elsewhere for allies. in moscow which has not exactly been her favorite hunting ground. >> we have a strategic interest in good relations with russia and even during the most difficult times, i supported for example the continuation of the nato russia council and the e.u. remains in contact. i believe talking to each other is of utmost importance. reporter: germany and in fact the e.u. as a whole are on the same side as russia on certain issues. both sides want to save the iran nuclear deal without the u.s., and both consider the u.s. moving its embassy to jerusalem

huge mistake. a few things stand in the way of getting too cozy. the biggest stumbling blocks are the annexation of crimea, which is not been recognized by most nations and russia's aggression towards ukraine. the case of the former russian double agent sergei screwball who was poisoned in london has also triggered tensions. russian president putin claims russia is incessant -- is innocent, offering his own insights. >> if a military grade agent had really been used, the man that have died on the spot. reporter: maybe because the last time the two leaders met, things were not family -- were not friendly. this time on the black sea, he wanted to leave a better impression by saying it with flowers. leila: let's find out if that is going to help. we have a political analyst and expert on russia.

very good evening. flowers, smiles, the optics of two leaders trying to make up for less warm times. his president trump the reason? johannes: i think it is. i am impressed by the differences that we have seen surfacing from the summit conference between merkel and putin, then the confluence of interests and thoughts. so this is a big problem that we have these differences. leila: let's talk about one of the big problems, one of the thorns in the relation between germany and russia, eastern ukraine, the ongoing conflict there. they seem to be getting together and trying to find a solution. johannes: i don't see evidence of that. as you mentioned in this uptake, there is talk about the united nations peacekeeping mission,

but it is nothing new. this has been the proposal by the ukrainians for several years , then in september of last year, putin then tabled this idea, but it was since then, nothing has happened. you cannot agree on the modality of it. leila: do you think this was windowdressing? johannes: it is just a restatement of position and it is the same as the commitment, the commitment of both sides towards a full and complete agreement of the minsk agreement. there has not been any progress whatsoever. leila: this might be a confidence building measure but we will have to see if it materializes. also high on the agenda is iran nuclear deal. both sides are signatories to the deal, continue to support the deal, so will they keep the iran nuclear deal alive? johannes: that depends on the iranians, but as you outline

through the european powers, germany, france and the u.k., as well as the russians of course, they want to maintain the agreement, and it depends on whether the europeans and russia can persuade the iranians to stick to the agreement. leila: the other thing i don't see eye to eye on is syria. -- they don't see eye to eye on is syria. johannes: the difference is quite apparent because putin is quite intent on keeping assad in power. that surfaced at the meeting in sochi that russia would like germany to take a substantial role in the reconstruction of syria. so in other words it is ironic that russia is responsible for large-scale destruction of the cities in syria, and germany is

supposed to be paying for the reinstatement of it. leila: going by what you are saying, angela merkel is a very -- is in a difficult dilemma because on the one hand she is dealing with the deteriorating transatlantic relationship with the trump administration, and issue trying to give it towards russia and make up for that? johannes: i don't think so because this would be a dangerous route to take, very problematic because it would convey the notion that germany and putin our incorporation with the other powers, trying to confront the united states. that would be a very big mistake to convey this impression and certainly it would be a mistake in the substance of the term. leila: our political analyst and expert on russia, thank you for weighing in. i am going to move on to other news. at least 10 people have been

killed in another -- and another 10 wounded in a high school near the town of santa fe in texas. a 17-year-old man has been taken into custody with police confirming he is a student there. texas governor greg abbott said he used a shotgun and revolver, taken from his father. the attack comes three months after 17 were killed in a school shooting in parkland, florida which sparked a fierce nationwide debate on gun control. and some breaking developments, boeing 737 airliner with more than 100 people on board has crashed after taking off from havana's international airport according to cuban state media. three people were reportedly pulled alive from the wreckage. the plane was operated by the kuby on a -- the cubana airlines. it was en route to the eastern city of aldean -- holguin very

let's get the latest now with reporter from havana. what more are you hearing, any information about the people on board? reporter: we are getting some reports that most of them are from mexico. they were here for -- the northeast of this caribbean island. but there is no complete conversation so far, so we are looking for information. it is possible because this province is an important place. these national airplanes service usually are used to tourists from havana to the east part of the island. leila: can you tell us more about the airline? they say a fleet might have been

a little out of date. reporter: well, the traditional fleet for this air career or russian airplanes. they are actually out of service because they don't have enough, but in this case only 737 planes, so it is a leased aircraft from mexico, not common for a regular air plane from this cubana company. leila: the latest from havana, thank you. you are watching dw news. we have a lot more to tell you about including venezuela's president is the -- is seeking a another reelection despite the widespread shortages of food and medicine. he is expected to win it. we want to know why. but first could a trade dispute

between china and the u.s. be easing, and there are conflicting reports. reporter: conflicting reports in deed. america says it has come to an agreement to reduce the huge trade surplus by $200 billion annually. the news said -- the news surprised the world. now saying they agreed to no such thing. the rumors are not true. that is what the ministry spokesman had to say in a dialogue with negotiators. it is ongoing, but what is for sure, china has agreed to drop an antidumping probe into u.s. imports on sorghum and animal feed. let's bring in our financial correspondent in new york. trump says tomato, china says something else. how is it they came to an agreement regarding this trade surplus?

jens: after the trade talks between the chinese delegation and the u.s. representatives on writing, there are sources from the white house saying or some governmental officials that actually the $200 billion number is still on the table. i would say it is in general rather unlikely. the biggest export item from the u.s. to china last year were aircraft in the value of $16 billion. so from $16 billion to $200 billion is interesting. china would have to buy aircraft for about 600 big airplanes to come up with anything close to that number. at this point it does seem rather unlikely. reporter: what we have seen is the concession to drop penalties on sorghum. it is not something we talk about every day. is this a big deal? jens: it certainly is a big item

. there is no doubt about it. last year china actually imported more than 4.7 million tons of sorghum from the u.s. in a total value of $1.1 billion. then when the u.s. actually started steep tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, from china to the u.s., then the chinese government answered with steep tariffs on those sorghum imports, so if there should get loose, and that is a good sign not just for sorghum but the u.s. agricultural sector in general. reporter: thank you very much indeed. to a deal now bringing us one step closer to a cashless society, u.s. online payment giant paypal is buying a swedish e-commerce startup. paypal is stomping out to

billion dollars. it makes credit card scanners for smart phones and tablets. it is a big deal for a small firm, and the agreement came as a surprise as the young company was getting ready to make its stock market debut. now paypal, the leading online payment service belonged to ebay and has been valued at $94 billion. but this is their biggest acquisition to date. it is looking at ways to strengthen its platform for handling transactions with all businesses in europe and latin america which have made much easier with those small card readers. italy finally has a government deal after 2.5 months with the anti-establishment five-star movement and the far right leg coming together to form a coalition. they have put together a plan to govern the country. gone are the leak proposals to scrap the euro which rattled markets. that plan to ask for massive debt forgiveness from the european central bank. what is left?

reporter: the shares tumbled sharply on thursday after the new coalition proposed scrapping restructuring plans at the world's oldest bank. it is still unstable despite the one billion euro rescue. its size makes it the biggest rhetoric italy's financial. the possibility of ending measures aimed at nursing the bank back to health have made investors nervous. the euro is under pressure as well. the new government promised tax cuts and increased public spending. implementing the plans would cost billions of euros but italy has the highest debt levels in the e.u. after greece. economic plans combined with the two-party euro skepticism could set rome on a collision course with brussels. reporter: back over to leila now. could there be more important time them when a country is in crisis? leila: it could not, but in venezuela nicolas maduro looks

likely to win another term. when voters go to the polls on sunday. what countries like the united states say they don't recognize the election as legitimate. they are badly not only the stranglehold on the country but also called by the main opposition parties to boycott the vote. reporter: hunger has reached a new level in venezuela. food shortages and hyperinflation are forcing people to take extreme measures like eating garbage. juan carlos used to study engineering at venezuela central university but for a few years, he has barely had anything to eat. >> entire families, and people like me are experiencing hardship. we can't find food. so unfortunately we have to look for it in the trash to survive. i don't want to hurt anyone, so instead of stealing, i prefer to

look in the trash. reporter: the economy is only one reason these people have been protesting against madero since he took office. >> i have been fighting for 20 years against his regime for nicolas maduro to leave. what i am asking him is to quit. there is so much misery in our beautiful country, so many hospitals with no medicine, so many children who die every day. i have been without medication for over three months now. reporter: some opposition lawmakers are calling on venezuelans to boycott sunday's elections. [applause] >> this sunday, venezuela is not voting. this process violates our right, and on sunday it is our turn to make it known that the people do not choose. it is a process of social control and domination by the

state. the necessary conditions are absent. control of the center by for impartial people, and the arbiter was part of the broad. these things being absent is assigned venezuelans cannot make their own decisions. reporter: but electoral authorities ensure their system is one of the most transparent in the world, even though the company that provided the technical platform for voting machines accused them of fraud last year. historically venezuela has had five that had high voter turnouts there this election will be different. >> without a doubt we will have the lowest voter turnout in history. in the last presidential election i think 55% to 60% went to the polls. i am the only candidate who has never had any relationship with chaunism, neither in a political sense nor any other way. reporter: but even if one of the opposition candidates were to

become the new president, some people think they would be acting as the government's puppet in order to legitimize a process the international community has strongly condemned. leila: i am joined by dw news' of celia who is monitoring this. very good evening. the outcome is considered an outcome -- has been considered a foregone conclusion. nicolas maduro could win again. why have another election at all? ophelia: that is what many people are asking. as we heard, the international community is not going to accept this, and is why many people have decided not to vote this sunday. they believe that they can't make a change, that the elections have been decided, and for them, another term for maduro will mean more trouble, continuation of the crisis in a

country that also has been suppressing any of its opponents , and many people believe that this will only get worse. we see a different that we will see a bigger exodus. leila: let's talk about the exodus, because people are voting with their feet, leaving the country on a daily basis. what next for the people who are left in venezuela? ophelia: we see literally a humanitarian crisis in link -- in neighboring countries. we can see this turnout of the elections will probably mean more sanctions from the international community, and these sanctions, the u.s. is sanctioning one of the biggest heads of the maduro government, and these would mean that mostly national companies will continue -- multi-natural -- these are also doing that.

venezuela can't keep up with its debt, and the hyperinflation is reaching five digits nowadays. leila: i just have 30 seconds left. talk a note the opposition -- talk about the opposition. do they play any role? ophelia: the opposition has a big problem, and that is that they have been divided for a long time now. some are supporting maduro's two biggest contenders. this is henry frank and an evangelical priest named javier, but the other big part of the opposition is calling for a boycott on this sunday. they want people not to vote because they believe it is a farce and these two opponents are actually supporters of the government. leila: ophelia, thank you. and they have -- we have football news.

great for in the olympic stadium saturday night. byron got this -- bayern are the favorites, and they are gunning for the championship. this will expect to be the last. we have me surprisingly reached the cup final. that brings us to the end of this edition of dw news. thank you for spending this part of your day with us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ xnóx

♪ linda: hi, everyone. great to have you here again. today's show is our highlights edition with the best picks of the week. here's a look at what's coming up. strength and focus -- adam ondra climbs the world's toughest cliffs. fact and fiction -- an exhibition looks behind bavarian cliches. and nature and technology -- design duo studio drift creates poetic works of art. this guy is absolutely amazing. we're talking about adam ondra from the czech republic, who's known as the world's best sports climber. in september he conquered a