berlin, this is the journal on dw. i am sarah harmon. the german chancellor calls on the ukrainian president to urge a cease-fire and a provocative russian aid convoy returns to russia. i.s. militants are battled. back, and who is would have thought it, bayern munich win their match.

german chancellor angela merkel has arrived in ukraine for talks on the escalating conflict in the country's east. her visit comes a day after russia sent 200 trucks into ukrainian territory without permission. moscow says they were caring humanitarian aid, but the ukrainian government calls it an invasion and accused russia of smuggling supplies. most of the trucks have returned. >> tensions are running high. urged.merkel is role in say germany's mediation is crucial. >> the most important thing is europe's day united. it will continue to be crucial

that no one drives a wedge between european countries. that is where germany can help lead. >> this footage shows russian ukraine again today. russia has insisted it carries only ukrainian aid, however ukrainian military forces say they observe the trucks unloading military equipment before leaving. they also said russian forces were also firing artillery. the fast approaching situation makes angela merkel's more complicated with some ukrainians feeling germany will not be able to protect them. marked with as demonstration outside of the german embassy. some protesters say germany has divided loyalties. >> we should not forget how important russia's gas promised is in germany. using this as a tool, russia has

an effect on german and french policy. >> russia and the ukraine are scheduled to meet for talks next week. >> german chancellor angela merkel is holding a press conference in kyiv at this moment and our correspondent as covering that for us. angela merkel has arrived in kyiv at a tense time. what can we expect from her visit? >> that is absolutely correct. the situation could not be more tense. you heard the report that yesterday a russian convoy confirmedd nato russian troops are firing on the ukrainian territory. we have spoken to the representative of the minister of foreign affairs who said that our two expectations from the meetings. first, the ukrainian government does hope that germany will somehow facilitate the easing of

the tension between the ukraine and russia over the conflict, and second, the rebuilding of the eastern ukrainian region of donetsk after the crisis finishes. what exactly were the arrangements, the agreements between chancellor angela merkel and president petro poroshenko are still unknown because the press conference is taking place as we speak. quick you will be covering that. what kind of reception has angela merkel received from the ukrainian people? >> there were mixed feelings. some people are happy that she finally came to the ukraine and tried to support ukrainian conflict, in this however there are people that think the germany and other european countries and the u.s. are not doing enough for ukraine in this conflict to support

ukraine in this fight against russia, basically. >> state universal, most of the russian convoy vehicles that have entered the ukraine without permission have now returned. is that doing anything to ease tension? >> they are indeed leading now, and it's somewhat decreases the tension, however the big questions are what was exactly on these trucks when they rolled into the ukraine yesterday without permission and without cooperation with the red cross as had been agreed earlier. the second day question -- the second big question is what are the trucks carrying now as they leave the ukraine? up until yesterday, border control officials were able to track only 34 trucks out of more than 200. earlier today, the security council spokesperson said that

these trucks are carrying the a ukrainian military factory out of the ukraine. >> as you say, still a lot of unanswered questions. thank you very much. we turn our attention to the middle east where hamas has said it would back a palestinian bid to join the international criminal toward. such a step could expose israel but also hamas to war crimes investigations. israel again bombed targets in the gaza strip this morning, killing at least five people. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu promised a tough response after a four-year-old israeli boy was killed yesterday in a palestinian rocket attack. a suicide bombing in the iraqi capital of baghdad has killed eight people. the attacker rammed his vehicle into an intelligence service

building. yesterday almost 70 people were killed in an attack on a sunni mosque north of baghdad. it is not clear who conducted the attack but it further fueled tensions. the u.s. is continuing airstrikes against islamic state militants in northern iraq. russia says u.s. military action alone will not be enough to defeat them. islamic state militants are also making further advances in neighboring syria. they hold a swath of territory across. and iraq that is larger than britain and estimated to be home to some 4 million people. situation is complex with deep divisions among antigovernment rebels. those that fight for democracy feel international community has forgot them. >> this internet video shows citizens in aleppo fighting government troops, but they have enemy, islamicul

militants trying to seize syria from bashar al-assad's government. many here accused the west of having forgotten the incident. this activist says the media only pays attention when foreigners are executed. another activist speaking from aleppo on skype says the opposition movement is in great danger and the islamic state has brought a rain of hellfire down upon them. in cairo, this member of the syrian opposition says the international community must take on the islamic state in syria. >> we need the arab countries and the west to join together to to an end. if they do not, the world is sitting on a power tag.

>> the killers, destroyers, torturers in syria have been powered and emboldened by the international paralysis. >> meanwhile, the islamic state has continued to make a demand -- advances. they posted this video showing a military post it took over. migrants carrying 170 capital ofar the libya, tripoli. a search is underway for the remaining passengers. the migrants were reportedly trying to reach europe. tens of thousands of north africans risk their lives every year trying to get to europe. the world health organization says the extent of the ebola outbreak in west africa has been underestimated. some are hiding infected relatives or chasing away health workers and there are shadow zones where medics cannot go, so

many cases go unreported. on a visit to liberia, the head of the who said it would take six tonine months of hard work to stop the academic -- epidemic. the united states has issued a formal complaint to the chinese it called ar what dangerous intercepting international airspace. the pentagon has images of a chinese fighter jet that it says came within 10 meters of a u.s. navy plane i was on a routine patrol mission 200 kilometers off the coast of a chinese island. the u.s. says it is the fourth such incident since march. there has been no response from beijing. >> onto bundesliga soccer, and in the first match, champions bayern munich defended their title by defeating ball smirk --

wolfsburg at home. but it was not easy. >> bayern munich was celebrating as their six world cup winners were honored. holger badstuber was welcomed back. thomas -- thomass neue nealon was honored. robin scored. the score cut the lead in half. they should have make it -- should have made it 2-2. it was a close game, though bayern munich felt they were robbed of a third goal, but nonetheless they got their

campaign off to a winning start. >> that was the first game of the new bundesliga season. over 500 players from 60 nations are competing including many members of the german world cup winning squad. when it comes to the bundesliga, we have you covered. you can watch all of the highlights on dw tv and online. >> curtain up on the legal world cup winners. >> it is great to come back as the world cup champion. >> enjoy the bundesliga. back atorld beaters are their day jobs. it is the bundesliga on dw. >> i love the bundesliga. >> and if you love the bundesliga two, you can make your own predictions with us and win a trip to next season's

opening game. the competition starts tonight. , go to program, and select kickoff. the new bundesliga continues with six more games with dortmund taking on like a cruise in, who finished fourth. both sides have their work cut out for them. >> higher like a cruise in as manned up, spending 30 million euros on a new players. they are aiming high. the first encounter will not be a walk in the park. still, the new coach is in good spirits. >> what a match to start the season -- and away game in dortmund is one of the nicest you could have. it will be a real challenge. dortmund is reveling in newfound wealth, expecting up to 114 million euros from issuing

new shares and they just leave bayern munich. they are looking forward to playing.- beating -- >> we know we will play a team that is very talented and they have a lively style of play, if i could put it that way. so, that is what we are preparing for. >> dortmund will be down several key players, including their new captain. they will still be able to call on a strong team. >> and just before we go, the rally of germany is underway through the veil -- vineyards of the most ovale at is already over -- most ovale and it is already over. turns well but then crashed twice. him and his copilot were not hurt, but the second crash this morning cost and make 10-minute penalty. his motorsport teammate is

leading the standings. >> that does it for us on the journal. thank you so much for being with us. >> he has to stick every new shirt to the tailor shop to shorten the sleeves. [speaking foreign language] the redshirt is for reference. it has a clean cut, he says. armss born with deformed

get an his mother to 1951.ve that was sold in the deformities that it caused on unborn children became the biggest ever pharmaceutical scandal. she was among the pregnant women to receive the drug. he says she was supposed to get a sleeping pill or a tranquilizer. she did not want it, but was told that it was, said she had to. she could not refuse, so she took it. when i was born, no one remember that. the connection was not obvious. later, she recalled taking the drug.

>> she can put her close on the morning alone if she is wearing a dress. she is another victim, one of 2400 in germany. when her mother first laid eyes on her newborn navy, she was shocked. she says her mother started arms, the arms, and then she was immediately tranquilized. being, i was time taken away.

i was dressed up in a package so you could not notice anything and her mother was put in a room together with a woman who had miscarried. that is how these things were handled back then. when he goes shopping, he always needs help. for years, victims of the drug waged illegal data for increased state support. their demands were met on the recently in the form of higher monthly support payments.

helpers, therapy, modified apartments -- the costs add up fast. without a helper, he is often found himself in awful predicament. i was at a meeting in a hotel, he says. i had to go to the bathroom. i got my underwear off and went to the bathroom, but could not get my clothes back on and have no hope. there i said, helpless on the toilet. after half an hour, someone came who i could ask to help. it was unpleasant and degrading. >> hello. >> a visit to the doctor, but it is not just a private appointment. he is in the process of building up a countrywide doctors network.

[laughter] at present, there are a few physicians experience with physical deformities. for most doctors, the victims are like a big puzzle. he says i broke my arm and went to the hospital, and the doctor said it is fractured, but he -- the doctor said he did not know what it looked like before. he had no original pictures because the anatomy is different. they do not know where to take blood or measure blood pressure. once a week a therapist visits.

she spent half of her childhood and hospitals. today, she is 52, but has the body of an 80-year-old. that is common among victims. over decades, their joints and/or heavy strain. therapist provides what .omfort she can she says my left knee and left hip both hurt. and my right knee hurts more and more. is losing herrry mobility and her ability to live her own life. when she thinks about the future, she says it is horrible. she says she cannot endure the thought. she has to suppress it. yet, she has a job. each morning a transport service picks her up.

earlier, she could still walk. she got her driver's license at 18 and it gave her independence. but, for more than 15 years, she has been wheelchair-bound. her driving days are over. i could still cry thinking about it. i still cry over my car. with it, i lost my freedom. now i have to be belted in and wait. i cannot decide myself went to drive away. earlier, i could just walk to the car, get in and drive away.

>> he can still drive, but important little aids like his es like his phone's speech recognition often fails. again,tem is not working he says. it does not recognize my language. he needs to be mobile. he works for nit -- four and -- it company. in certain many more have been harmed that have been officially recognized. he says some parents kept the information from their children because mothers felt guilty for and could notg bear revealing the truth to the children. now that the parents have died, those children are making inquiries.

he is just such a case. he is visiting him today. he asked for help. he was born in the early 1960's, and he is convinced his foot is deformed because his mother took solidified -- seleka might. he wants official recognition as a victim. he meets people like him all the time. >> he says a man's good at my , put -- stood at my table his coffee down and started to cry. and hewhat is wrong, said you are a victim, and i said that is right, but that is no reason for you to cry.

>> he said he had a daughter, baby. cimetidine she only lived for six months. the man was 80. he is still crying about it. she was a social worker at a berlin hospital. [tone] forsays the work is good her, let her help others, and takes her mind over her own problems, but fears for the future always remain. she says she has no future plans. the way others plan their vacations in advance for 2015 and make the arrangements -- i

cannot think that far into the future. i do not know if i will still be able to stand or be in a nursing home by then, but they are both tenacious people who refuse to succumb to the difficulties. they are also committed to helping others. he is active in an international network for people with disorders of the limbs. he says there was a 26-year-old man from poland born with this malia. he lives at home, no arms, no legs, and not well cared for, so our network is trying to do what it can, for instance, how we can use his computer better through speech recognition. on his motorcycle, you can finally forget everything -- forget his disability, and just feel the freedom of the open road.

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captioning and audio description provided by the u.s. department of education [exotic music] ♪ >> bokara: i think that at the end of the cold war, all of us thought that we were gonna have a peaceful world, and, in fact, we don't. 59 wars are presently being fought. and of these, many of them have to do with differences in religious faith.