>> this is the journal live on dw. great to have you along. our top stories --the german foreign minister is in iraq to offer support against the islamic state militants. a warning from the west -- germany and the u.s. call on vladimir putin to help de-escalate the ukraine crisis. it is a record-breaking summer on the soccer transfer market as teams battle to sign world cup stars.

we want to begin with that deepening humanitarian crisis unfolding in northern iraq that is driving thousands to flee in terror from advancing islamic state militants. iraqi officials, over 80 men belonging to the minority yazidis were massacred. in response, the u.s. launched fresh drum attacks -- drone attacks. the german prime minister has made the first visit to iraq since nouri al-maliki has resigned power. >> desperately needed cargo has arrived, 36 tons. the german foreign minister announced that berlin has earmarked more than 24 million crisis-tornto the -- 48 to the crisis-torn

country. talked aboutst this in discussion with the european member states -- what we can contribute to arming those who are, right now, opposing the islamic state militants. >> u.s. airstrikes against islamic state targets have not managed to stop the onslaught of violence. iraqi officials say on friday militants killed 80 men from one the womend abducted and children, all members of the yazidis minority. huge numbers of people have left their homes and are desperately seeking safety. a kurdish province has taken in some 400,000 displaced yazidis. >> we had nothing. we were dying of thirst, hunger. there was nothing there. we have been walking for 12 days.

family was noty killed. close friends of mine lost their family -- whole families gone, killed, exterminated. >> more supplies from germany are due to arrive in northern iraq and the foreign minister is meeting with refugees to get first-hand information about their situation. providinghas begun weapons directly to kurdish fighters who are still out-gun by the islamic group. as hundreds of thousands flee the violence, kurdish volunteers are flocking to the front lines to defend iraqi kurdistan. >> volunteers are on the frontline in the fight against is militants. having been engaged in a frome-long or for autonomy turkey, they had been considered a terrorist organization by the

west, but now they are fighting for the right side in the west's view. >> handoff -- an offshoot has been playing a critical role -- battling islamic groups for some time and it is one of the few groups that can claim to have structures resembling those of a fully fledged state. >> in iraq, the autonomous kurdistan region is one of the few stable places in the country's north. in 2009, germany opened a new consulate in the regional capital, part of a wave of new construction programs that with oil sales triggered an economic boom. they might have an autonomous province, but the kurds are pushing for statehood. they are currently spread over four countries. there are strong communities in iraq and syria, but the biggest

is in turkey. the prime minister has vowed reconciliation following his recent election victory. >> do to the instability created by the conflict in syria, turkey knows it has to keep the kurds on their side, and also to prevent what could have happened in the 1990's, the syrian government aligning against turkey. >> any hope of pushing back the islamic state militants rest on the kurds. if they succeed in halting the advance, they could take on a new role, something closer to the state that they long hoped for. >> now to the escalating crisis on the border of the ukraine where events have taken a potentially dangerous twist following complaints by kyiv and enteredt armed vehicles

ukrainian territory. moscow denies any incursion took place. we will speak to our correspondent in a moment, but first, this report. >> russian soldiers on the ukrainian border. accused the west have moscow of delivering arms to the separatists in eastern ukraine and now pro -- and now there is concern that is the case. this was broadcast. latest proclaimed leader concedes they received help from russia. he says the support includes dozens of tanks and over 1000 fighters that have been trained on russian territory. he says they will be used in the area between donetsk and your. -- you on skype. it says it comes in a decisive

time -- he says it comes at a decisive time for them. the ukrainian government and nato say late thursday a column of vehicles drove over the border southeast of giants could. -- luhansk. they are concerned this will lead to a major escalation of tension with russia. >> this column was under surveillance and reconnaissance. we took appropriate action and a part of it no longer exists. >> the russian defense ministry denies the convoy ever existed. state television quotes the defense ministry that called this a fantasy. reports are coming in that more russian tanks like these have been rolling toward the ukrainian border. >> it has been difficult to get a clear picture of what is going on in the region. we turn to vladimir on the phone.

usdimir, first of all, bring up to date with the situation with the russian aid convoy near the border. >> well, the russian aid convoy has been stationed on the russian territory for the third day now, and yesterday, a group of border guards and customs officers are inspecting the cargo. according to the plan, the recipients of this in an italian aid should be the red cross committee who should consequently transported into the ukraine, however the red cross says to do so they need to guarantees of safety from both sides of the conflict. whether by this one side of the conflict they mean the separatists. chris let's talk about the separatists. we have seen in our reporting --

>> let's talk about the separatists. we have seen in our reporting the claims that reinforcements have crossed from russia. all credible are these allegations -- how credible are these allegations? >> it is very difficult to get an independent confirmation of this statement and it is very much possible that some reinforcement did make it through the border. confirmed that there was a convoy. primepossible that the minister was referring to this convoy, but given the numbers than 4000voiced, more -- 1000d military men, tanks and military men, it is possible these numbers are exaggerated given that the city is fully encircled by the ukrainian army. >> what about the status of the russian convoy in the ukraine

that the ukraine says they have destroyed. is there concrete evidence to support that claim? >> there has been much debate about the statement of the ukrainian president that part of the convoy was destroyed. russia denied everything. obviously, there is no chance, possibility to make an independent verification. also, earlier today, the united states also said they did not have confirmation that convoy was destroyed by the ukrainian army. it is a very tricky situation right now because if both claims are confirmed, they could first confirm iraq's military engagement. >> m, thank you for that update. -- vladimir, thank you for that update. in other news, germany was outraged over reports that u.s. intelligence agencies spied on german leaders, and now in an

ironic twist, it seems german intelligence services have been playing the same game. thursday will magazine -- dear spiegel magazine says that they have eavesdropped on john kerry and hillary clinton and also targeted nato ally turkey for intelligence gathering. >> it is no surprise that german intelligence services collect telecommunications data from the middle east another crisis-hit regions, but other things ended up in their net as they troll the digital world for information, including at least one phone call made by hillary clinton, and another made by her successor as secretary of state, john kerry. berlin says it was all purely accidental. >> i believe there is a difference between deliberately spying on someone and carrying out important intelligence

activities in these regions to get information that is needed to make crucial political decisions. cuts in both of these sensitive cases ash >> in both of these sensitive cases, the accidental captures one not immediately destroyed. information was kept and analyzed had last year -- advice. the political damage has been done. the u.s. has always maintained that the germans also spy. john kerry has enjoyed rubbing the nose of his counterpart in the scandal. >> this might explain why the german government has had so little interest in uncovering the nsa scandal and why they have been so soft on the united states. they simply have a bad conscience. correct berlin -- >> berlin has made no official comment on this or reports that the bnd has been

spying on turkey since 2009, another nato partner, which means it should be treated as an ally. >> now to sports news, the start players arens means changing clubs. some of the most thrilling young talent has joined some of the biggest clubs. they are headed for the english and spanish leagues. here is more. >> this could be a record-breaking transfer summer. team is spending like there is no tomorrow. 120 million euros have been spent. the top goaltender one year ago would have cost only half of that. >> i have dreamt of being here for a long time. i want to succeed. hasl -- real has already made back some of the

money by selling jerseys. german players are cheaper. he might not be a top score, but he is a world cup winner. it looks real madrid tried very hard -- >> real madrid tried very hard to get me and i was impressed, so we came to an agreement quickly. >> madrid has been outdone by barcelona. they have spent 162 million. half of that is from -- four luis suarez from liverpool. liverpool has hauled in four young players. italylly has paid over -- has paid over $250 million. dortmund had been biggest pockets spending 46 million. they pay the most for the italian striker, handing over 19

million euros. bayern munich have spent a lot in the past years, but not so this year. their top acquisition did not cost a penny in transfer fees. >> that does it for us. join us again at the top of the hour. goodbye. broken and it has given me an idea. inake it to a workshop here hamburg where i have a gps tracking device installed. i want to know what actually happens with the old set after it is disposed of. the signals from the transmitter will let me follow its exact path. but i want to test two different

disposal routes so i have a second broken tv equipped with a transmitter as well, and then the experiment begins. the first device i use a company that i find on the internet. it sounds like a good offer. they say they will pick up my e- waste for free. as an employee comes to pick up what will i ask happen with it. he says it will be scrapped. is that really true? shortly afterwards, we pick up the tracking device for the first time. yes, we are finally getting a signal here, a gps signal. my tv has landed in an industrial area here in hamburg. i decide to follow it there. let's have a look.

the signal comes from the premises of an import/export company. so, this is where my tv is. i asked a man here if he will answer some questions. he asks what i am doing here and yells at me to turn off the camera. not very fun. the second old television i decided to take myself to the musical recycling center north of hamburg. we are off to the recycling depot because we wanted to dispose of one of the tvs in the usual, legal way. there are more than 3000 municipal collection sites in germany. here, different types of waste are neatly separated from each other. television sets have their own separate container.

this is where my old set will be disposed of properly. the recycling center promises on its website -- "old electronic devices are in safe hands here. suddenly, television number one signals from hamburg. we have just received a signal from the tv that was taken away yesterday. it is a strong signal with seven satellites giving us a precise location. it is near the harbor. so, let's go there now. but i do not really get any further this time either. the site has been released to a shipping company that specializes in africa. isctly what they ship unclear. i meet with an officer of the hamburg police.

his task is to search for illegal scrapped exports, but how can he check all of the containers? he says it is nearly impossible. there are not just a few tons of goods, but a few thousand tons. a short time later, i get another signal from my old tv coming from a large container ship. gps tv left for west africa to a three weeks ago and it has arrived in africa and the port in ghana. africa, and i am determined to find it. >> ladies and gentlemen, we are already descending. the meeting flight time will be

30 minutes to accra. mike,ghana, i meet with an electronic -- environmental journalist and an expert in waste. we drive to the capital. that is where my last signal from my old tv came from. we are now 400 meters away. that means the television is somewhere here in this huge container compound. but we cannot get any closer to the tv. so, we investigate further. what happens here with electronic trash from europe? this company sells old electronics. many of them are broken. salesman if he checks equipment before he sells it.

he says most of it is sold without any guarantee. if a customer wants to test it first, it will cost more. >> for those who buy, and you take it home, plug it and it does not work -- the sale is a business somewhere in the gray zone. >> where are these tvs from? do you know that? >> he says he does not know. he says it could be from the u.k.. >> ok. >> later in the day, mike explains the situation. >> there are only 20% that will work. 80% is junk, garbage, out of sight, out of mind. someone sends it here on the guides got -- guys of secondhand functioning equipment. we need to make sure so that ande tvs will be collected

recycled because for now it is a leaking hole that needs to be plugged because it has been used by criminals. >> what is not completely junk lands in workshops like this one. a repaired device can sometimes bring a few euros. most of the tvs here are beyond rescue. , 105 meters -- it is coming from over there. my tv with the gps transmitter has signaled us again. we shoot with a hidden camera to keep from getting noticed, and we actually find it. later, we watch as the tv is unloaded. we suspect it is to be delivered. waste dumpe largest e-

in africa. mercury, it is one of the most polluted places in the world, but at the same time, this scrapped is the only source of income for many people. >> now, what do you do -- tell me what you do. go on the inside. >> ok. ok, the wires. then these go for burning later.

>> the plastic is burned away from the cables. it is lit with insulating foam from old refrigerators. >> when you look at the color, that tells you how toxic it is. yellowish.enish, it in the media -- you breathe it in immediately. goes straight into your lungs. it is really unbearable. they work in this poisonous environment every day. >> and we're talking about air, water -- we are talking about human life. >> sure. >> the instruction is enormous. we are losing our water source. >> the entire river is there. >> the entire river is there, and now lagoons. it ends up in the sea. >> so, this is it, the final

tvsination for europe's old . no trace, though, of my old set. back in germany i wonder what is happening to the second tv. it is also sending signals from lycos, and it does not sound very environmentally friendly, despite with the recycling center promised. i asked someone from the city government. he says there is no 100% guarantee that everything will be done by the book, but they do try. so, you cannot rule out the tvs will be sent to africa, i ask. he says they can only try. after the interview, something amazing happens. tv number two, the one that was in nigeria suddenly started

sending signals from germany. apparently the recycling center had recalled its cargo. [indiscernible] so, i just checked the signal from the tv that we left at the recycling center that went to nigeria. it is coming from lead c.k. airport. it is an absurd return from the scrap heap, and the tv in ghana is also sending new signals. it has not landed on the dump. instead, it is now in a fishing village 500, meters away. -- kilometers away. i asked mike to search for the tv and to buy it back for me, and he really does find it. now onoken television is

its way back to germany, where maybe it will finally receive an environmentally friendly disposal.

captioning and audio description provided by the u.s. department of education [exotic flute music] ♪ >> bokara: today we're going to do a show about nature as the sacred path. and no spiritual discipline epitomizes this more than taoism, the religion of ancient china. in taoism, the universal life force is expressn