news. tonight in britain, a damning report on the chaos and a forceful rebuttal. >> i will never agree that those who died or were injured made their sacrifice anything. -- in vain. brent: tony blair declares the world a safer place after the iraq war, saying he did not have the option of waiting. that is his take following the

release of the chilcot report, a report on the invasion of iraq. south african athlete oscar pistorius is sentenced to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend and 2013. -- in 2013. has justice been served? and another suspicious killing of a black man by u.s. police officers. one activist calling it, a legal lynching. ♪ brent: it is good to have you with us. we begin with the grave mistakes of the past. that is the assessment of the uk's role in the invasion of iraq in 2003. the chilcot report concludes the war was launched on flawed

evidence from the field to achieve -- evidence, and has left the world in dire consequences to this day. former prime minister tony blair defended the decision to go to war as the hardest and most agonizing decision of his time in office. [chanting] >> war criminal. reporter: families of british soldiers killed in iraq and other protesters gathered for the conclusion of the report as it was red. several years in the making, following the decision of tony blair to go to iraq, has released a document with 2.6 million words. the head of the inquiry said that the u.k. chose to join the invasion before all the peaceful options have been exhausted. >> despite explicit warnings,

the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. the planning and preparations for iraq after saddam hussein were in adequate. the government failed to achieve its objectives. [bombs] reporter: the invasion of iraq in 2003 was contetentious, one f the seven told -- one of the central questions was if the government explained why it went to war. evidence that they were weapons of mass destruction ended up false. in -- tony blair said he would be with the u.s. president. despite the disastrous outcome of the war, tony blair said he would make the same decision today with the intelligence available. >> as the report makes clear, there were no lies, parliament

was not misled, there was no secret commitment to war, intelligence was not falsified and the decision was made in good faith. reporter: despite the damning criticism of the former prime minister, the report fails to declare that any of the actions were illegal. as a result, tony blair is unlikely to face charges in court related to the war. brent: i am joined by a reporter for the wall street journal who joins uss from 1 -- from london. let me ask, how do you think tony blair, how has he emerged in this report? >> the report is not intended to be flattering, but that quote that everybody seems to havave seizized on when thehe prime mininister told president bush,i am withh you, whatever, itt has

been seized as a side of heaven unforgivable sin. but if you see in the context of this, month after 9-11, britain being the closest ally of the u.s. and a government that the british petitioned repeatedly to enter on their side for one or two, there is a sense of gratitude on both sides. for that prime minister to say, i'm with you, whatever, that is not t an unpredictable -- unforgivivable sin, itit is thae prime minister undnder said -- understood what happened and the challenge to westetern security. brent: let me ask, do you think that this report communicates the historical context that you are talking about, because if you're not familiar with what was going on at the time, it is not immediately obvious that tony blair would have been informed so much by the events

of 9/11 as he was. >> that is a great point. that is the cloud of amnesia that now covers questions about the iraq war on both sides of the atlantic, which is the context that has played out, it has come down to this simplistic talking point of george bush and tony blair allowed people e to die. in fact, saddam hussein had a hate for the west going back to his invasion from -- of iran, of kuwait, of t the attttempted genocide against the kurds, this is the context in which this was playing out and you had 9/11, and intelligence reports -- believing the wrong intelligence reports isis not a war crime. so all of that in context.

brent: we know he was not doing that now. don't you think the biggest indictment in this report is that it concludes that not all peaceful means to stop or avoid this conflict were exhausted before war restarted? that is an incredible indictment against t any leader. >> i suppose, but then you look at what is happening in syria and i wonder if mr. chilcot is looking a at syria as well, whee the west has started a convention in syria, where the leader started genocide in the thousands. the initiative on the approval of russia and china, not regimes that care about human rights or western security, and you see the outcome now.

so the idea that this diplomacy, with the history i laid out with sasaddam hussein, what it can be like and you exhaust diplomacy and you let this regime get away with it. agaiain, it t turned out they we not doing anything, butut as a decision-maker in bush or blair's shoes, you did not know that. brent: we will be back a bit later on to talk with you in the day, in-depth about today's report. thank you. he is an olympian, a double-amputee, and now a fallen hero. the south african court has sentenced oscar pistorius to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend in 2013. the 3.5 year drama revolved around whether the question it was premeditated or a tragic accident. the criticism of the light

sentence, a judge declared, ", this is a court of open long, not public opinion -- open long, not public opinion." reporter: oscar pistorius showed almost no emotion as his sentence was read, but he has reason to be relieved. >> six years imprisonment. reporter: the prosecution was pushing for a 15 year jail sentence, the minimum term for murder in south africa. >> i was interviewed that a long-term imprisonment -- in view that a long-term imprisonment will not settle this matter. the accused has already served 12 months. he was a first offender. and considering the facts of this m matter, he is not likelyo reoffend. reporter: although the family of the girlfriend has suffered a great loss, the life and career of the olympic runner are also in ruins.

the legal drama surrounding the story has dragged on for more than three years. for the defense team, the case is now closed. >> we respect the decision. and we will not be lodging any applications for appeal going forward. and oscar will serve the sentence as handed down. reporter: for now, the family is reserving judgment on whether they feel that justice has been served in their daughter cost -- daughter's death. the state could ask for a heavier sentence, it can appeal within two weeks. otherwise, he could be eligible for parole after spending three years in prison. brent: the u.s. civil rights leaders are in arms after two policemen shot and killed a black man in baton rouge, louisiana. the victim's family says that he

posed no threat and some activists are calling it a legal lynching. reporter: this was the moment when 37-year-old alton sterling was taken to the ground by two police officers, then seconds later. [shots] reporter: he was selling cds out of a store when he was killed. he was confronted by police after he was said to have threatened somebody with a gun. his family is demanding a federal investigation and the firing of the police chief. >> the individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children, who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis. my son is not the youngest, he is the oldest of his siblings. he is 15 years old. [crying] reporter: the video that was

published online has outraged. the state's governor said that the killing would be investigated professionally. >> based on information i have obtained from law enforcement, and the footage i observed of the video that was made available, i have very serious concerns. the video is disturbing, to say the least. reporter: thehe killing prompted hundreds to take to the streets of baton rouge in protest. many want answers as told -- as to why another black life was taken at the hands of the police. brent: muslims around the world are celebrated eid to mark the end of ramadan. the annual event will end weeks of fasting and it is one of the most important dates of the calendar. this year's festivities have been marred by several deadly attacks across continents. reporter: worshipers gathered

outside the mosque in the pakistani capital. as people celebrate eid, not far from memory are the terrorist attacks that have targeted the holy month of ramadan in other countries. >> reporter: the sentiment was shared in indonesia, where people gathered for prayers in jakarta. >> every muslim must show high morals. islam has lofty goals for justice, truth, and freedom of religion. these are goals that should be implemented in a noble way. reporter: the festival brings an

end to fasting during the holy month of ramadan. in the weeks before ramadan, the so-called d islamic state called for supporters to strike wherever possible. soon, there was a response. extremists carried out attacks that killed at least 350 people. this one, and baghdad -- in baghdad was among the worst. whether 170 people died in one of the countries deadliest bombing attacks. in honor of the victims, worshipers said prayers at the scene of the blast. >> i came all the way from dhi qar province. i took a promise to come here. today is the eve of those who died. reporter: for some, each time is attacks is an opportunity to unite. brent: you are watching "dw news", still to come.

a significant increase in weapons exporor from germrmany, going to questionn all -- questionable buyers and there is a war for -- of words right here in berlin. and daniel will have the latest business news. back in 60 seconds. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back. our top story, former british prime minister tony blair declares the iraq war made the world a safer place and those who were killed d in the conflit in not die in vain. this is after an inquiry criticized his decision to oust saddam hussein in 2003. germany doubled its global sales

of armaments last year, despite trying to curb exports. the government waived through nearly a billion years -- 8 billion euros of arms sales in 2015. -- has defended the exports, despite the increased grumbling in his party. this is a double-edged sword, because he is the favorite to run against the german chancellor in next year'd elections. reporter: hello in the export of this kind of boat to saudi arabia has been controversial. the saudis exexpressed interest years ago, now it is a done deal. meanwhile, the country has become actively involved in yemen's civil war. the opposition says that the german government should have put a stop to the tray. for us, saudi arabia is a conflict zone. that is why the justification that previous governments drew a contract is not enough for me.

you can stop the madness. the german government argues that saudi arabia is one of the few reliable partners in the region and disease no reason to stop -- sees no reason to stop the trade. the social democratic party remains skeptical. >> you have to look more critically, since saudi arabia has become it -- become involved with the yemen war. the patrol boats are irrelevant, you cannot wait war with them. by today's s standards, thihis l be judgeged more critically. for example, the delivery of tanks to qatar. he took office with the promise to reduce the exports to conflict zones. experts say that the numbers tell a different story. brent: business news, can you feel the brexit gravity?

the pound continues to fall. daniel: yes. the topic that keeps on giving, but maybe not in a good way. great britain is taking back control, that was the promise of the leave campaigners. but the pound is falling even further. four cents less today than the day after it was announced. the effect has been global. reporter: british voters shots the financial market with their unexpected decision to leave the european union. since the brexit votes, the pound has lost more than 40% of its value against the u.s. dollar -- 14% of its value against the u.s. dollar and many are flocking to the japanese yen. yen assets are still considered a safe haven. the yen went soaring. another currency affected by

brexit is the chinese currency. it has only lost a little more than 1%, but the slight drop may hide a more troubling development. brexit contributed to the biggest currency loss on record, down from percent over the past three months and now at its lowest level in more than five years. the drop in value could spark panic on global financial markets. daniel: and those a joins us -- jose joins us now. it was a tough day for european equities, but did the same story play out in the u.s.? jose: no, not at all. the u.s. believes that this is the beginning of the trading session, they are more optimistic after learning that the service sector is at its strongest, trading around 10%.

they were cautious as expected. now the attention is on the job report on friday, they say that 200,000 jobs could push the equities forward and put a rate hike on the table for the coming months. daniel: following a fatal car crash, tesla is accused of holding back information from investors. what can you tell us about that? jose: and that is correct. pressure is mounting as we learn about another car crash on autopilot and after hearing it to the company about nine days to inform regulators in the u.s. about the first crash that killed a driver. coincidence or not, the company raised about $1.5 billion in capital from investors just two days after reporting the issue to the authorities. that said, tesla will be meeting

together on wednesday. daniel: thank you. could this be the perfect storm for italy's banks? they have done loans equivalent to a fifth of gdp. they want to help with cash, but bond buyers would have to take losses. a lot of bonds are held by household, so it is a vicious circle. now the italian prime minister is searching for a solution, but not finding much sympathy and brussels. -- in brussels. reporter: the eu introduced the reslution mechanism in 2013. it forms a major part of the banking union, enabling the block to restructure failing financial institutions. but today, nonperforming loans continue to plague it to -- italy. britain's decision to leave the eu triggered losses across

europe. and the effects have been germanic in italy, which -- dramatic in italy, which already is in a crisis. they have hit a record low this month. the news has not been very good for italian lenders, they have the biggest debt burden in europe after greece. the banks are burdened by about $360 billion in bad loans and the italian government is devising a plan to recapitalize lenders. they hope that public money will stave off the glasses for shareholders -- big lososses for shareholders, but you rules -- eu rules say that the banks must share the responsibility. they fear it could spark a run on italy's banks, causing turmoil. daniel: then as well you's economic -- then as william -- v

enezuala's economic crisis continues. the majority opposition in parliament there says that the mismanagement of the president is to blame. the lack of hard currency has led to major shortages in supermarkets and even hospitals. it has driven some people in need of basic supplies to desperate measures. reporter: hundreds of determined and hungry women pushing past security forces on the border. all they wanted to do was shop for food, a scarce commodity in the country these days. we no longer have enough to make a dinner. we will not last another week. our children are starving. we have to wake up, we spent a year waiting for food to be brought to us. then as well you -- the country's economic crisis team

from the plunge and oil crisis -- in oil prices. inflation is soaring. on thehe street, tension is high with scuffles and alluding now commonplace -- looting now commonplace. daniel: it is time for me to get on my bike. time to talk about cycling. brent: in france, the stage is set to mix things up as the race went into the hills. a series of mass sprints decided the previous stages, but today it ended with a series of steep climbs. and a breakaway right across the line first. in tennis, roger federer is through to the semifinal at wimbledon after a five set thriller. there are -- roger federer saved three match points before sealing the victory. he will face a canadian player

in the semi final after he overcame an american in four sets. and andy murray is through to and andyhe semi final after a wr joe will free -- wilfrey. he will play -- who knocked them out in straight sets. and a reminder of the top story we are following. the former british prime minister tony blair declares the iraq war made the world a safer place and of those killed in the conflilict did not die in vain. his comments, as an inqry criticizes his decision to join the coalition that ousted saddam hussein in 2003. his oscar pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for killing his girlfriend in 2013. it could -- he could have been sent to jail for 15 years, but the judge said there were reasons to give him a lighter

sentence. ok, you are watching "dw news" and after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. we will leave you now with a whole lot more kisses. it is world kissing day, after all. see you soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

>> hello, and welcome back to "live from paris" with me, thomas water -- thomas water hazard former british prime minister tony blair says the world is safer after a report claiming military action was not a last resort. south african paralympic superstar a suspect behind bars, ais time for murder, after court in pretoria found him guilty of shooting get his girlfriend in 2013. lawyers say they will not be appealing his six-year sentence. muslims across the world celebrate the end