brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, with just six months before britain leaves the european union, the austrian chancellor sends a positive signal about brexit. >> we want to do everything possible to avoid a hard brexit. we stand ready to compromise. but we also expect that from the u.k. brent: the leaders of all 28 eu countries, including germany's chancellor, are meeting tonight in salzburg, austria. it is a working dinner of sorts with the british prime minister

presenting her latest brexit proposal. we will have the latest on the summit. and the leaders of north and south korea agree to sweeping measures to improve relations. it comes as the u.s. gives north korea until 2021 to make good on its pledge to denuclearize. anfears for syria's idlib idlib province. despite a deal to halt a military offensive, refugees from the region are skeptical the turkish russian plan to establish a date -- a demilitarized zone will save syria's last rebel stronghold. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us. we must do everything to avoid a hard brexit, and we stand ready to compromise.

those confident words are from austrian chancellor sebastian kurtz ahead of a key eu summit in salzburg. but with just six months to go before britain leaves the european union, the european council president is warning that key parts of the u.k.'s brexit plan needs revising. so, is the eu sending mixed signals? we will go to salzburg in just a moment. we begin tonight with this report. reporter: it's being described as an informal summit. the austrian chancellor sebastian kurtz appeared to be living up to the relaxed atmosphere, as british prime minister theresa may arrived for dinner. but may's main task is to convince the whole of the eu that her brexit package will work. ahead of formal negotiations, a positive message from kurtz. >> i think that if we want to make a deal, both sides need to compromise.

i think we want to do everything possible to avoid a hard brexit. we stand ready to compromise. but we also expect that from the u.k. reporter: but top eu official donald tusk had a word of warning ahead of the talks. >> issues such as the irish question, or the framework from the economic corporation, the u.k.'s proposals will need to be reworked and further negotiated. today, there's perhaps more hope, but there's surely less and less time. therefore, every day that is left we must use for talks. i would like to finalize them still this autumn. reporter: angela merkel also spoke to waiting press and called for a brexit of goodwill and respect. smiles all around on arrival at the salzburg venue.

however, negotiations to avoid a hard brexit could see the mood change quickly. brent: a word of warning to london ahead of another key eu summit. let's go left to salzburg where our correspondent max hofmann is standing by covering the summit for us. good evening to you. are eu leaders united in hope of a compromise? max: they're certainly united in hoping for a compromise. they all said so when they came here. angela merkel even said she had hoped for very close collaboration. as an example she cited security, not trade ties. trade ties, of course, one of the crucial issues which could compromise. another issue is the border

between northern ireland and the rest of ireland which is part of the european union. no compromise or progress insight here. both -- in sight here. in the case of theresa may she said it is time for the eu to do something, and the eu said it is time for the u.k. to do something. brent: we have the european council president donald tusk calling for an extra brexit summit to take place in november. do you think that is really going to happen? max: brent, we have been hearing rumors about this summit for quite some time now, because that is what the strategists said. we need this, it will not happen in october where we have a regular summit in brussels. originally the plan was to have this deal in the pocket, it is not going to happen. this november summit is very likely to happen.

the question is when in november, because some say the last possible date would be in the beginning of the summer. but they really need to have this deal because you still need the european parliament waving it through, being ok with the deal, which is not a given. it is a very tight schedule. what donald tusk did here, he announced the end of the endgame. and what we are having here at salzburg is the beginning of this and game where you can tell the pressure is increasing. brent: if brexit were not heavyweight enough, you have the austrian chancellor sebastian kurtz talking about migration when he arrived at the summit. what are the chances that european union members will be able to see i to lie on migration? -- eye to eye on migration? max: it was the same thing he has said for months.

he is trying to prevent migrants from reaching the european union, that is why he is talking about controlling the outer borders, having partnerships with northern african countries to establish disembarkation centers, that is the term they use for that now. you don't hear about that second part. what happens riviera -- with refugees, people fleeing political hardship or political prosecution in other countries that make it to the european union? will they be reached -- redistributed among the countries of the eu? that part is completely unclear. that is the part where you have the most controversy, especially between countries like poland and hungary and countries like germany and france. quite frankly, there is no compromise insight here because the prime minister of hungary like this controversy because it helps them to get elected in their own countries. brent: yeah.

it's a point that probably will desert -- deserve its own extra summit in the foreseeable future. who knows. max helmet -- max, as always, thank you. germany's chancellor angela merkel's fragile government is under renewed pressure after coalition leaders agreed to dismiss a controversial head of domestic intelligence. merkel's authority is being called into question after she allowed her powerful interior minister to promote the spy chief to a more senior position , a position that pays more money. reporter: most german newspapers have reacted with scorn. the promotion of the controversial head of germany's domestic intelligence agency, hans-georg maassen, has also provoked exasperation in the streets. >> in the private sector he would have been kicked out. if you mess up, you go. it is that simple. >> i think it's bad, really.

if he has to leave his office he should not get a promotion. >> one bad decision after the other by the government. maassen should have gone. reporter: after yesterday's decision to promote maassen to a more senior position in the interior ministry, there was no comment from coalition leaders. they left without stepping in front of the microphones. and at chancellor angela merkel's first official engagement of the day, she still avoided addressing the issue. in the wake of far right unrest in chemnitz, maassen had defied the chancellor by questioning the authenticity of a video showing mobs chasing down migrants. merkel had said the video was real and condemned the actions shown. calls for maassen's dismissal grew louder. yet merkel's interior minister horst seehofer, maassen's boss, stood firmly by his side.

today he denied any responsibility for the controversy. >> i would like to point out that i did not start the discussion around mr. maassen or his agency. i can't say that mr. maassen wanted this to happen. he did not push me to do anything, just to stress that. he's a civil servant who will do his duty wherever he is posted. reporter: officials have presented this reshuffle as a necessary political compromise. but many will interpret it as a cynical act of face-saving. it is unlikely to boost trust in merkel's government. brent: here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world. police in western germany have been ordered to stop clearing activists from an old-growth forest after a journalist fell from a treetop camp and died.

plans to cut down the forest for lignite mining have led to ongoing protests. the woodland lies between the city of cologne. italian authorities have closed the country's highest road bridge after discovering severe structural products. the viaduct over the river links two regions in central italy. spotchecks following the fatal collapse of another bridge brought the findings to light. u.s. president donald trump has arrived in north carolina to survey the damage left by hurricane florence. trump has been meeting with the state's governor, roy cooper, as well as relief workers and volunteers. north carolina bore the brunt of hurricane florence. the storm has killed at least 27 people across the state. tonight, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo says washington is ready to restart negotiations with north korea immediately.

pompeo says he has invited pyongyang's foreign minister to meet him in new york next week. the goal here is to complete north korea's denuclearization by january 2021. it comes as the leaders of north and south korea are hailing a deal to improve ties between the two countries. in a highly symbolic move, the south's moon jae-in has invited kim jong-un to seoul. this would be the first-ever visit by a north korean leader. but progress on reducing nuclear tensions in the region was less clear-cut. our next report has more. reporter: day two of south korean president moon jae-in's visit to his northern neighbor kim jong-un. more carefully staged displays of harmony, along with a generous serving of food. the two leaders are selling their pact as a breakthrough.

they have announced kim will become the first northern leader to visit seoul, another step along the road to peace, they say. >> we have adopted a military pact to end a history of brutal confrontation and agree to make efforts to turn the korean peninsula into a land of peace. reporter: they also promise to hold family reunions regularly. that is after dozens of relatives from the north and south, separated in the 1950's, recently met. and the leaders agreed to disarm a jointly controlled border village, starting with the removal of landmines. they also said they have made progress on the issue the world is watching -- denuclearization. >> south and north korea have agreed on a way to achieve denuclearization for the first time. it is a very meaningful outcome. reporter: the north says it will allow international inspectors to observe the dismantling of

its main missile testing site, but it's repeatedly promised its closure in the past. and the north has now made closing its nuclear plant dependent on reciprocal steps from the u.s., without saying what exactly they want. both leaders have been keen to put on a display of unity at the summit, but it has left experts debating if this is a big deal or yet more empty promises. brent: javier is here now with the latest business news. we're going to start off talking about amazon and what amazon does or should not do with our data. javier: that's right, especially with the data of retailers and merchants who sell through amazon. the eu opposition watchdog has launched a probe to see if there is a need for antitrust action against the retailer.

amazon also allows independent retailers to sell products through its platform. the eu commission is questioning those merchants to find out if amazon is using the data they provide to improve its own sales, putting them at a disadvantage. the move ces as manyall for stricter regulation to reduce the online giant's influence in the retail market. by monday next week, over $250 billion with the products from china will be more expensive in the u.s. the trump administration wants to use these tariffs to pressure beijing to negotiate new deals with concessions of rules for foreign investments and intellectual property. some fear this plan could backfire. reporter: this week, beijing responded to washington's latest tariffs with its own levies on $60 billion of american products. among the goods it is targeting, liquefied natural gas. that could undermine u.s. president trump's ambition to

make the u.s. a global energy leader. last year china was the world's second-largest importer of lng after japan and head of south korea. asia is an important market for ameran suppliers, so chinese taffs will hurt them. new tariffs also target u.s. meat and whaeter -- and wheat. trump tweeted, quote, china has openly stated they are actively trying to impact and change our election by tacking ou farmers, ranchers, a industrial workers because of their loyalty toe. china's retiatory tariffs a hitting where it is hurting. soybean farmers are now receiving aid from the u.s. government to help offset major losses. tech companies are also worried, despite being unscathed for now. apple's products are not on the list. but many leaders are concerned.

they fear tariffs could disrupt supply chains, so they are warning the trump administration against further escalation of the trade dispute. javier: our financial correspondent at the new york stock exchange sophie scimansky is ready to give us the view from wall street. we have been talking about these tariffs for a long time. as they seem to pile up, just how much our american businesses going to suffer this time? sophie: well, farmers for example are being targeted in a way that's a big threat to their business, especially soybean farmers. they have sold more than $12 billion worth to china last year and has spoken out repeatedly against the threat to their livelihoods. they will get up to $4.7 billion in government payments starting this month. the biggest chunk of that money

is going to soybean farmers. we also have many other sectors being negatively impacted, especially sectors connected to chinese suppliers via the global supply chains. the first one that comes to mind is automakers. the newest sanctions are expected to hit auto-related imports. and the automotive industry has become so globalized that chinese suppliers are so dominant at certain points in the supply chain, there are simply no alternatives. javier: sophie, speaking of the auto industry that could be affected by the nafta, reports are out once again the nafta negotiators are close to reaching a deal. we have heard that so many times recently. what is different this time? sophie: well, experts say the u.s. is making progress in the trade area. trump has already wrapped up a deal with mexico but it excludes

canada. whatever trump may decide, congress has to agree. canadian officials say they do not believe the u.s. congress will agree to a bilateral treaty done only with mexico. others say they are very close to a deal with canada. but the 250% plus canadian tariffs -- justin trudeau said on wednesday he would like to see flexibility from the u.s. so, this is where we are at right now. javier: that one is tough these days. thank you so much sophie, from new york. when it comes to electric cars, germany still lags behind its target of having one million of them on the roads by 2020. but the industry is stepping up its game. german carmaker daimler, known for its mercedes brand, has opened a new testing facility.

chancellor angela merkel was on hand to see its latest range of vehicles. reporter: the german chancellor did not arrive in an electric car herself, but a helicopter. but the development is so important, that angela merkel rushed to the salt of the country for the opening of the new daimler electric car testing grounds. >> we have to build confidence,y technologies are no use if people still have the impression they can get stuck somewhere, or that the engine technology to be unsafe. soon, all of germany's gas stations will have charging stations, so our roadways will be well-equipped for electric vehicles. reporter: already before the end of 2018, germany is scheduled to have the world's first nationwide network of charging stations in place. but the german government is a long way from its self-imposed goal of getting one million

electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads by 2020. on wednesday, politicians postponed their initial goal, setting a new aim of 2022 instead. at the moment there are only 3 335 electric vehicles on the road in germany. this might be due to the fact that german manufacturers are producing few electric or hybrid models. in recent weeks, audi, bmw and daimler have made strides to counter this. but their new electric vehicles will be expensive, and a large price tag is not likely to usher in change among consumers. javier: back to brent now for the latest in new syria conflict. brent: monday's deal between turkey and russia to establish a demilitarized zone in syria's idlib province appears to have spared the region from an all-out government offensive. but civilians in idlib still

face harsh conditions and families who have already fled the region to turkey receive on a daily basis harrowing messages from those who stayed behind. julia hahn reports on the turkish side of the syrian border. julia: two days ago there were airstrikes here again. thank god it was nothing worse. julia: she she's her sister only on whatsapp videos. she lives in a village near idlib, across the border in turkey. he fled idlib six years ago. his sister remained behind. >> her house was destroyed in an airstrike. she left with her children to

our parent's village. fatima simply did not believe the war would last this long. julia: he shows me how he lives in turkey, in a makeshift tent camp with his wife and five children. they all share one space. >> we live here because nothing else is possible. you should see this place in winter. the ground outside gets muddy and it is eyes cold. it -- and it's ice cold. it's a really hard life. julia: as difficult as life might be here, they are at least in safety. years ago turkey effectively closed border with syria and build the wall several hundred kilometers long.

aince -- since, new refugees have not been allowed to enter. the reflex of that can be seen here. on the right in syria, refugee camps practically to the horizon. refugee groups feed the people there. in the market, many turks say they are glad syrians are no longer allowed to cross the border. >> we have already taken into many syrians. we cannot take more and do not want to. >> if we had to flee the fighting, we would do the same. it is fine with me if they come. i understand that they need help and the same could happen to us. but still, since they have been here, a lot has changed. too much. >> they are taking our jobs. we used to earn 80 lires a day. now the syrians do the same work

for half the pay. julia: they very much feel the hostility. still, they are grateful. turkey's president is considered a hero here, even more so after managing to avert a final bloody offensive. >> of course it is not the end of the conflict. but when you are drowning you grasp at every straw. at least the killing will stop now, i hope. julia: whatever idlib's future is, he wants to see his sister again. someday, in peace and freedom, and not just on the small screen. brent: finally tonight, new zealanders have been commemorating a historic victory in the struggle for women's rights. 125 years ago today, the country became the first in the world to

allow women the right to vote. in auckland, women donned suffragette costumes in honor of the occasion. many wore white flowers, a symbol of the struggle. they were joined by prime minister jacinda ardern, the country's third female prime minister and the world's youngest female head of government. ardern praised the ordinary women who petitioned for their voting rights. >> there were 25,000 women in faith who signed a petition who also probably thought they were ordinary. they were dress makers, they were shopkeepers, they were mothers, sisters, grandmothers. and they signed the petition some times of great cost to themselves, unknown whether or not it would ever succeed. brent: that was the prime minister of new zealand speaking there. here's a reminder of the top

stories we're following for you. with six months until brexit, donald tusk tells britain it needs to look again at elements of its withdrawal plan. tusk says proposals related to the irish border and future trade ties need reworking. you're watching "dw news," from berlin. after a short break i'll 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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