brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. dead man walking. yesterday he was declared a murdered man, gunned down in kiev. but today, the russian journalist arkady babchenko turned up alive and well at a news conference. his supposed kililling was faked to foil an actual murder. we will get the latest from kiev and moscow. also coming up, after two days of dramatic dips, markets gained ground today thanks to encouraging words from italy's

prime minister designate. the two main populist parties are reportedly back at the drawing board to work out a possible compromise. and mexico gets s ready to make waves at the world cup. we will look at how germany's group rivals are shaping up and how rafael marquez could make history. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us. we start tonight with a story of murky political intrigue that has a stunning twist from today. yesterday a prominent russian journalist was reported to have been shot dead at the ukrainian capital kiev. authorities blamed russia because the dead man, arkady babchenko, was a strong critic of the kremlin. but today he showed up alive and well at a press conference.

ukrainian security services explained that babchenko's was staged to foil a real plot to murder him. reporter: back from the dead. the allegeged attack that hass supposedly left him dead was all staged. >> i want to apologize to my wife for the hell she has gone through. reporter: on tuesday evening, ukrainian police said arkady babchenko had been shot deadd outside his home in kiev. the russian born journalist hahs been working as a presenter in ukraine since last year. prior to that, he worked at a newspaper critical of the kremlin. he left russia after receiving threats. the news of his apparent murder appeared plausible. intelligence agents said his -- staging his death was necessary

to capturing those behind the plot. this man is said to have received $40,000 from russia to plan babchenko's murder in ukraine. >> they presented documents with the photo from my passport. this photo is only available in my passport and at the russian passport office. and that made it obvious that this information came from russia. reporter: plans for the assassination of some 3030 peope had reportedly been made. >> it mainly involved journalists, opposition figures, and writers who publicly criticized the russian leadership. reporter: a russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was good news that babchenko was alive, but the whole story appears to be a propaganda tool. brent: we want to get both sides

of the story this evening. emily sherwin is in the russian capital moscow and nick connolly is an kiev this evening. nick, let me start with you. this is an extraordinary turn of events. babchenko emerged alive and well and said he had no choice but to fake his own death. why? nick: yes, this is been a story that has kept us gasping all day. his version of events and the authorities here say this was necessary to be able to prove the organizers' responsibility for this, and the connection for russia. so by carrying out this attack, or allowing the appearance of this attack, they were hoping to provoke the alleged organizer of this alleged attack to incriminate themselves, basically. they say they now have that evidence and they have detained a ukrainian citizen they say is the organizer of this attack. but they have yet to prove their

direct link to moscow, but they say they have that proof. brent: ok, so we have one person that is in custody tonight. emily, let me ask you, from the get-go, russia has denied any involvement. does the kremlin feel vindicated tonight? emily: well, i absolutely think they do. and we have seen some official statements come out as well from the foreign ministry, for example. they called this whole thing an anti-russian provocation. they also called it propaganda that was used to confuse the entire international community. and also we have heard some statements from parliamentarians including the head of the international affairs committee. he also called this a provocation and he also compared this case to the skripal case, the poisoning of a former russian spy in england, which the international community

accused russia of and which russia has always denied. this whole thing really plays into the russian narrative. going forward, and in this case as well, they can always say, look, you have accused us before and this turned out to be this very strange, twisted plot. even going forward if there are some links that the ukrainian side presents in this case, russia will certainly use this whole foiled plot today, this whole twist of events to kind of show that the ukrainian side is not very legitimate. brent: emily, you cover this story on a daily basis. russia is constantly saying that there are plots around the world, particularly in the west, to discredit it. do you think that regardless of the arrests that are made by ukrainian officials that the kremlin is going to stay on this message and say that we had nothing to do with it? everything that has been reported is not true?

emily: i mean, obviously brent i cannot say what they will say, but if i were to guess, i think they would likely stick to this plot. and i can only assure you that i have heard the words cited in all types of cases, from doping to the skripal case i just mentioned, to the chemical weapons attacks in syria, which were reportedly carried out by the syrian side, a close russian ally. so i think they will stick to the narrative that this is a russia phobic campaign. brent: nick, reporters without borders today condemned the babchenko operation. they called it a pathetic stunt. would you say this is evidence that ukraine is losing the public relations battle? nick: well brent, this is a very interesting story.

because on the one hand, you have internationally a lot of pushback against this stunt, a lot of frustration, as you said. reporters without borders and also the media freedom coming out with very strong words against this. lots of leaders who expressed their condolences will now obviously feel like they have egg on their face. we even saw the ukrainian foreign minister speaking about this on the floor of new york yeyesterday. internally, though, this is playing very well. they had a lot of support from commentators not always on the government side. seeing this as an example of a successful operation for the ukraine's security services. at the moment i think they still think they can get more good out of this than bad. they say they have more evidence to provide as to the connections between this foiled plot and russia. they say this is not the only killing that was being planned. they say up to 30 others were in the spotlight over this. so far in kiev it seems like

they still think this is a winner. we heard from the president tonight saying that this was a birthday for ukraine. ukraine has finally been able to protect itself and its citizens. so some optimism from ukraine's leaders tonight. brent: it is amazing the two completely opposite narratives we have got tonight. nick connolly on the story for us in kiev and emily sherwin on the story in moscow. to both of you, thank you. here are some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. a senior north korean official has arrived in new york city for talks aimed at salvaging a possible summit between kim jong-un and donald trump. last week trump canceled a meeting set for june 12 in singapore but now the white house says they expect the summit to go ahead. greek labor unions called a 24-hour strike and held demonstrations in many cities to protest new austerity measures. the strike affected schools, hospitals and transportation services.

greece's last bailout ends in august but austerity programs are expected to continue for at least two more years. belgian authorities say the man who killed three people in the city of liege yesterday had killed another man the day before. so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility for the incident. the attacker had a history of petty crime and drug offenses and may have been radicalized in prison. he died in a shootout with police. now to italy. markets that were alarmed over the political stalemate have calmed down after prime minister designate carlo cottarelli said that new possibilities have emerged for forming a new government. no details have come out yet, but the two main populist parties are reportedly working out a compromise that would be acceptable to cottarelli and the italian president. the president scuttled their last attempt to form a government just last weekend. reporter: one step forward, two steps back. just as it looked like italy

would finally get a government, it all fell apart. the new prime minister designate carlo cottarelli is bouncing between parliament and president simply trying to wrangle together a temporary cabinet. meanwhile on the streets of rome, confusion and disappointment abound. >> i am worried by the direction things are moving in. it seems extremist against europe. >> there is a sense of confusion right now. because there are serious problems to resolve, which have more to do with italy and the problems of italians than the wider problem of europe. >> the politicians who are trying to help people have their hands tied because the stronger political forces win. reporter: two populist parties, the five-star movement and the league, made better-than-expected gains in the election but were unable to form a government.

some reports say they are now trying to find a new power-sharing compromise. but more than anything, new elections look likely. >> i want to say two things. we still want to go back to the polls as soon as possible, but we are willing to collaborate, including with the president. we want to be coherent but collaborative in order to resolve the current crisis. it is certainly not a crisis we caused. reporter: the eurosceptic stance of these two leading parties have rattled markets over fears of a possible italexit from the eu. brent: our barbara wesel is on the story tonight in rome. gaining to you, -- good evening to you, barbara. it is amazing what we've seen just happen in a few days. now the populist parties are said to be back to square one. italy's five star movement giving it another go. what in the world has changed?

barbara: everything changes every two hours here. we started at a, then wenty t t, to c. what are we talking about? what we saw was sort of the parade of the main actors in this comical opera in rome. marching between the palaces like the palace behind me, where the president is 10 miles up the road, and parliament, which is just a few steps down. they had been making the rounds and talking behind closed doors and trying to figure things out and every two hours they are saying, are we going to have new elections? they say no, then they say let's give it more time. let's not rush anything, we are in no hurry. brent: no hurry with no real solutions. what we do know is at the center of this you have eurosceptics and pro-european union forces that are apparently locked at the horns. but how divided is the country? barbara: the country is of course divided.

however, the populists are absolutely having the upper hand. be under no illusions there. they will be winning this game. maybe they will win the game this week or maybe when new elections come up in the fall, but it will happen. because the majority in the country have really decided they want to wipe out the old political class. they want nothing to do anymore with social democrats and the likes. they want somebody else. and the two populist parties are embodying those different and new forces. and people really want this and they are going to vote for them again. so it will either be now or a bit later. and what we also see is a power struggle between the league, the right-wing extreme party and the five-star movement, which is sort of more like a mixed bag. league is winning that battle for power because they have the stronger people. they have somebody who is a very

experienced demagogue and who is really catching the mood in the country. and he is winning the fight for the soul of the italian people. brent: yeah, i heard one commentator today say, how do you say drain the swamp in italian? barbara, thank you. helena is here now keeping a keen eye on the financial fallout in italy. helena: of course we have just been talking about the political limbo in the country continuing. but financial markets are not as hysterical about the situation one day on. they are factoring in less of a chance of new elections. on tuesday the losses were huge. analysts now bring that down to an overreaction. definitely a more forgivining dy today. the yield on 10 year bonds edging away from yesterday's for your eyes. -- four year highs.

no signs of interbank stress among lenders. they see italy's crisis primarily as political. sophie scimansky is a new york. how is all of this playing out on u.s. markets? sophie: it should not come as a surprise wall street is back on the green track. we could see a turnaround in stock prices on n wednesday. there was shocked on these reactions, something we have seen many times before when there is political news not directly impacting american investors. then we see the markets recover rather quickly. you must not forget that in situations like these investors as simply create their own buying opportunity by letting stocks drop, then they go back and participate in the rally or upward trend. an italy exit from the eu is

probably a worst-case scenario. but if and when this might happen is not bothering investors on wall street too much. helena: let's look at other news. it seems amazon is invading the last bastion of brick-and-mortar stores. sophie: yes. that is pretty exciting, this development for amazon and for consumers, a scary one. amazon has been trying to get onto the market in different ways, first with a delivery service amazon fresh, then buying whole foods. now they are opening their own amazon gold store. consumers walk in, put everything they need in their bags then leave, no need to check out. instead they will be charged online in the amazon at. thanks to secret new ai technology that can identify people and track their movements, amazon is planning on opening at least six more stores this year alone.

the exciting question is, are these simply stores for branding, making the stock of amazon more interesting to investors, or is amazon planning to actually implement this new technology in their whole foods market? helena: food for thought. sophie scimansky, good to talk to you, as ever. european officials have been trying to hold back the u.s. from hiking tariffs at a meeting in paris today, and it is their last chance to diffuse the trade dispute and prevent a trade war. both sides have their lists of targeted goods drawn up. the organization for economic operation and development repeating its warning against import, while at the same time cutting this year's forecast. reporter: the clock is ticking. it is just a matter of days now before the u.s. starts slapping traffic -- tariffs on european steel and aluminum imports. that is, unless an agreement can

be found before friday. with pressure mounting, eu and u.s. delegates met for talks on the sidelines of the oecd summit in paris. the eu trade commissioner said retaliatory measures including a trade or would be on the cards if negotiations fail. >> our future course of action will depend on the nature and the severity of measures imposed on our exports. and the injury it does to our industry. reporter: and that cocould mean tariffs on many u.s. products, including cranberries, peanut butter, orange juice, motorcycles, and whiskey. helena: in a dw exclusive, our correspondent in paris caught up with germany's economy minister at the conference. she asked him how i failure in eu, u.s. talks on trump's tariffs could hurt the german and u.s. economies. >> first of all, we should not

speculate. second, the european and the germanan economy are very robus. so i do not believe in immediate affects. but what we e should try to avo, and this was repeated by the french president as well as his speech today, is a commercial war. a commercial war that would go on for months and for years, would of course undermine trust in european and american markets. it would make products more expensive for the consumers, and therefore this is something we want to avoid. it is not about short-term effects, it is about long-term. helena: and we will have that dw exclusive interview with peter altmaier in its entirety the next edition of the business news.

now for some watching this could be a nightmare. authorities literally trashed hundreds of luxury motorbikes which were struggled into the country. some of the best-known brands in the world were destroyed. a bulldozer trampled some $640,000 worth. it was ordered by the philippines government in hope of deterring smugglers. back over to brent now for the business of returning to where it rightfully belongs. brent: kimberly and the government has promised a review of what are looted cultural artifacts should be returned to their countries of origin. just as greece is demanding artifacts back to athens, so is a city in nigeria returning -- demanding the return of bronze sculptures in luke -- in london and here in berlin. here is more.

reporter: a scepter. he began making such objects when he was just a child. he comes from a child -- family of bronze artists. this tradition goes back to the 13th century in his home in southern nigeria. his ancestors started producing plaques and sculptures for their king. >> in those days there was no means of recording. no camera, no letterwriters. so wee used those as a means of documenting events. this was the camera, then. reporter: artists produced thousands of these valuable objects over the centuries. but their museum only has a few in their collection. most were looted in 1897 when british soldiers invaded the royal palace.

collectors and museums in europe then purchased them at art auctions. nigeria is now pushing for their return. negotiations have been happening for the past eight years, according to the museum's director. but there has been little headway. europe says more intensive research is needed to determine the origin and acquisition of the artworks. >> 4000 was loaded. -- looted. whatever came afterwards cannot upload rate effect a large chunk came from the looting in 1897. [indiscernible] reporter: those critical of

their return have a different argument. they say the bronzes would be better preserved in large international museums than in a nigerian province. but artists of these such arguments with cynicism. she is the owner of nigeria's largest private gallery. permission is fostering the younger generation's talent. those young artists can often not travel to europe. >> enough of the country, they cannot even get a visa to see the part of their country that is in a british museum. it is sad but we want to fight it and make sure we get it back. reporter: eric and his colleagues have also never seen their ancestor's masterpiececesn european museums. what they say there is a positive side to the debate over looted nigerian art.

it is a confirmation to the world that africa is rich with sought-after cultural treasures. brent: we have been hearing a lot about how germany is gearing up for the world cup, but what about their first group opponents, mexico? they had an inauspicious start to their preparations with a friendly draw against wales. but they have good world cup pedigree, and their evergreen captain could set a remarkable record next month in russia. reporter: his first world cup was back in 2002. now, rafael marquez is looking at making it to yet another. if mexico coach juan carlolos osorio names marquez in his final list, , the 39-year-old could become the only player to have captained his country in five world cups. >> he is a man with anan extraordinarary career a and i d say as a human being, an example as well. ththe decision will be about wht he can contribute to the team on the field, because off the field i think there is no debate that he is a player that can

contribubute the most t to the . reporter: his side will likely pose the biggest threat to germany in group f. they were down one goal against wales and would not have had anyone quaking in their boots. frankfurt's winning defender carlos salcedo is confident his country will find form at the right time. >> i have always said that those who do not belelieve mexico can have a great world cup, they should not even try to support us. at the end of the day, everything is in our heads. i think one e of our mistakes hs been setting our own limits. mexicans are capable of doing great things. reporter: mexico have made it to the knockout stage in the last six world cups. against one of the toughest groups of russia, continuing that trend will surely be an achievement. brent: here's a reminder of the

top story we're following. in a twist worthy of a crime thriller, prominent kremlin critic arkady babchenko, who was reported to have been murdered, appeared alive today with ukraine security services who said his death was faked as part of an operation to foil a real murder plot. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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