anchor: this is dw news live from berlin. european leaders trying a kinder, gentler brexit. despite starting negotiations, the commission president says he's more optimistic a deal will be reached and he says europe is willing to give london more time for its transition. brexiteers in the u.k. do not like the sound of that. turkish media published new images in the case of the missing saudi journalist.

they say the photos show a man with close ties to saudi arabia's crown prince entering the consulate in istanbul on the same day that khshaggi disappeared. plus, we will take you to virginia, one of the key states where democrats are looking to take background. -- is locked in a tight race for the u.s. house. the former navy commander running for the democrats so far has had a remarkably strong campaign. i'm brent goff. good to have you with us. e.u. leaders have wrapped up a summit in brussels voicing rare optimism over bricks it. both the commission president and council president say they

believe a deal can be reached. negotiations remain stalled over the issue of the irish border. leaders suggested extending that post brexit transition period to try to solve the impasse. british prime minister theresa may is considering the idea even though it is unpopular among brexit hardliners back home. reporter: leaders emerged wary, but optimistic. while there was no major breakthrough, but talks have net -- not yet broken down. german chancellor angela merkel said the situation was a complicated work in progress. >> i referred to it as squaring the circle. as long as we don't have a solution, no one can explain how we will get there. but where there is a will, there is a way. reporter: the european commission president said he

thought a deal would be done. >> have to focus on the large number of agreements we have. it will be done. reporter: but they know that british prime minister theresa may is under huge pressure at home. many hardliners reacted angrily when she said she was considering extending the transition period. speaking after the conference, may set an extension would give negotiators more time to find a solution to the sticking point of the irish border. >> we are not standi here proposing an extension to the implementation period. what we are doing is working to ensure we have a solution in northern ireland. reporter: the e u and u.k. are still at loggerheads as to how they can prevent a hard border.

with the clock counting down to the date set for brexit, no one is sure how that can be done. anchor: our brussels bureau chief is covering this for us. i asked him how extending the post brexit transition period will help solve the irish border issue. >> very good question, brent. they are not directly linked. they are indirectly linked. if you have more time to negotiate the future trade relations, that is what it is all about. let's say a free trade agreement. according to the nature of that agreement, the whole problem of a hard border between northern ireland and ireland might go away. but no illusions there. it will only go away if the u.k. arpart of customs union or the single market. that is something that the u.k. has more or less ruled out.

they don't want to accept e.u. rule. the present question is not how long the transition period will be, but what the withdrawal agreement will look like. if there is no brexit deal, it doesn't matter what they agree on for the transition period. brent: what about no deal? we've got five months until the u.k. is due to formally leave the european union. as it stands right now, are we more likely to have a brexit crash than a brexit deal? >> french president macron put it pretty interestingly. with every day that passes and we have no deal, the likelihood of a hard brexit increases. you could also say it is like a pressure cooker and the most difficult topics are discussed at the end.

the truth is we don't know. it doesn't depend on the e.u. anymore. it depends on what happens in the u.k. theresa may can't really move in either direction. the likely scenario is she will come up with what has been negotiated, put it in front of parliament and say, vote it down if you want to, but you have responsibility for what happens. brent: very true. max on the story for us in brussels. thank you. brexit may have dominated this summit, but the question of migration was also on the agenda today. the disagreement over refugee policy is long-running and seems to be intractable. most migrants who come to the e.u. arrived in italy, spain, or greece. italy says this is unfair.

this gathering has heard at least some fresh thinking on how to deal with the issue. reporter: the austrian chancellor had an ambitious agenda, tackling the gridlocked issue of migration. his proposal, a more flexible approach to resolve divisions on how to resettle migrants and asylum-seekers. >> the european union has been at a dead-end for many years in the migration debate because there has only been one focus, mandatory quotas. that is why we want to opt for solidarity instead. porter: countries could then choose to contribute by paying for border security or accommodations instead of taking in refugees themselves. just this month amnesty international released a new report on the devastating conditions in greek refugee camps. the idea would be a defeat for

german chancellor merkel, who has fought for a mandatory relocation of migrants within the e.u. that would mean taking the easy way out. it sounds good as a headline, but if we decide that mandatory solidarity means just giving money, then we still haven't solved many problems, and abandoned the countries of arrival. eastern european leaders celebrated the proposal. >> the austrian proposal has shown that they understand in which direction the european union is headed. it is a strong signal. reporter: clear divisions remain, but e.u. leaders also tried to show united front, agreeing to boost cooperation with north african countries and crackdown on people smuggling. brent: here's a look at some of the other stories making

headlines. people in russia annexed crimea have begun three days of national mourning in tribute to the victims of a school shooting that left at least 20 people dead. russian authorities in the black sea port say thatn 18-year-old man detonated explosives and shot fellow students before killing himself. german authorities say this man from northern germany was involved in the planning of a major islamic state terror attack here in the country two years ago. the plot allegedly aimed for a large number of deaths at a music festival. a security operation foiled the attack. at least one person has been killed and dozens more injured during protests in the haitian capital port-au-prince. thousands of people turned out amid growing anger about the alleged misuse of funds from a government program sponsored by venezuela.

tonight u.s. treasury secretary steven mnuchin has announced that he's pulling out of next week's investment conference in saudi arabia. it comes as the investigation into missing journalist jamaal khashoggi continues. it follows a string of resignations from companies around the world. today a turkish newspaper published new images which they say proves that whatever happens to khashoggi was sanctioned from the very top in riyadh. reporter: a pro-government newspaper in turkey says the man circled in these images is the head of a hit squad involved in the alleged killing of saudi journalist jamaal khashoggi. the photographs show the man in istanbul, at the saudi consulate, the consul's residents, and the airport on the day khashoggi disappeared. he said to be a saudi

intelligence officer and former diplomat with close ties to saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman. earlier this year, he was for the correct -- he was photographed doing the crown prince's trip to the united states. khashoggi was last seen entering the saudi consulate in istanbul. turkish officials say they have audio and video evidence of his murder. state media has published details of the alleged audio, including that the saudi consul can be heard in the recording. he left istanbul earlier this week. khashoggi had been living in the united states, writing for the "washington post." he was a public critic of the saudi government. brent: the "washington post" today publishing what may have been the last op-ed piece by mr. khashoggi. our correspondent in washington

standing by. we understand that the u.s. treasury secretary steven mnuchin has become the latest high-profile person to withdraw from next week's saudi investment summit. i guessed better late than never. >> that is exactly what the critics say. there are so many here, of the white house administration and president trump. that is foremost the left, but a growing number of republican senators and house representatives as well as the foreign policy establishment, all critical of the president, of the administration, and of this late reaction of mr. manage and -- mnuchin, saying he will not go next week to the high-profile conference in riyadh. 85% of the compa ceo's and

organization representatives have already said they are not going. now the treasury secretary follows suit. that is for many a first good step. brent: the treasury secretary is not going. the u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has been and has come back and questions still remain. what was the objective of going to saudi arabia? >> you nailed it. that is what everybody is asking here. secretary of state pompeo came back, briefed the press, surprisingly, about his conversation with president trump. he has briefed the president and advised him that the u.s. should wait out the investigation of the saudi's. basically giving them more time to figure out their story and to

come up with a comprehensive tale. i have to say, just moments ago, the president, on the way to a campaign stop in montana, answered a few questions for the press. he was asked if he thinks khashoggi is dead and mr. trump said, it certainly looks like it. the president seems to believe now that jamaal khashoggi was killed, but still, no harsh words yet, or a firm promise of any retaliation or consequences for the saudi's. brent: still no real explanation for why the president has been so reluctant and slow to take action against what appears to have been a brutal murder. our correspondent in washington on the story tonight, thank you. time for business news.

javier is here and what analysts are calling the biggest postwar fraud investigation and the biggest tax ripoff ever here in europe. >> that is why it is a big story. it has a very interesting development. one of the biggest scams in european history. banks bought and sold shares at a pace that got tax authorities confused and earned billions in the process. money that is now gone. the trading scandal has been known about for years, but recent reports suggest the amount of money involved could be way higher. in germany, six times more than we thought. >> some insiders call it organized crime in pinstripes. they are referring to the controversial but at the time legal dividend stripping transactions allegedly carried out by almost every major european bank. starting in 2001 investors would

rapidly sell each other's stocks around the days companies paid out dividends. the capital gains tax on the dividend was paid only once, but the multiple short-term owners claimed the tax return. tax authorities were unable to determine the real owner, so all of them were able to claim a tax rebate. according to a tax expert, germany's tax office could have lost 31.8 billion. the new estimates suggest france lost at least 17 billion, italy 4.5 billion, and denmark 1.7 billion. the fiscal loophole was closed in012, but many questions remain unanswered, such as when germany informed other countries about the dealings. the case is firing up those demanding stronger financial oversight. brent: joining me now in the

studio is the deputy editor-in-chief of an investigative newsroom that has been key for this report. thank you for joining us. we're talking about something that happened in the early 2000's. how come it has taken pretty much 18 years for the whole truth to come out? >> i don't actually think the whole truth has come out yet. some countries in europe are only now waking up to the fact that they have been robbed. why does it take germany so long to stop this? on one hand this is highly complex criminal activity. i think they only tackled this when they found insiders who would cooperate with law enforcement. this also has some features of organized crime. it has been difficult to find

those insiders. in germany the banking lobby is very strong. i think that also has played a role in this. it took probably more than a decade for german lawmakers to make the right adjustments. brent: if it was difficult to find out what was happening, i think it is even more difficult to have someone to be pointed out as responsible. can we see something about the perpetrators facing consequences in the future, or will we see the money back? >> at the moment it doesn't look like that at all. some of these people who have been operating in close circle for a long time moved either to switzerland or dubai, and they moved many billions to offshore accounts. in dubai it is very difficult to get hold of people and to get

hold of the money that has been moved there. brent: where do we go from here? the loophole is closed in germany. do you see other similar schemes in european countries? >> according to our investigation, it is still happening in other european countries. now it is for politicians and law enforcement in those countries to put more effort into stopping this. i believe the best way is to cooperate across borders, which has also been difficult for law enforcement. brent: you do feel powerless when you hear all this. thank you for your insight. the european union, norway, russia, and other countries have asked the world trade organization to set up a resolution panel to address the united states higher tariffs for imported steel and aluminum.

the countries believe the tariffs are not allowed under wto rules. that means that wto members have failed to come up with a resolution themselves and the wto is stepping in as arbitrator. the rulings must be implemented immediately according to wto rules. let's go straight to new york where our financial correspondent is standing by. we've seen these tariffs. they have been in effect a few months now. have they had any effect on u.s. business at all? >> we do see that costs are going up for companies who produce canned soups for example, soda, all the way up to companies who make planes or cars. when we talk about steel, we have tariffs of 25%. when it comes to aluminum it is only 10%. we hear some companies actually

pointing to some margin pressure. they've tried to switch those cost increases to the consumer, who will feel some of the pain. on the other side, some companies profit from those higher tariffs. aluminum prices in the u.s. have gone up. and aluminum maker is profiting from that. the stock traded all the way up to at some point 10% here in thursday's session. brent: the rest of the markets have actually taken another dive. what is happening? >> a lot is going on and we certainly did some pressure coming from overseas. all of this uncertainty with the italian budget, with some harsh comments from the ecb.

then we have the chinese stock market under quite some pressure, dropping about 3% just in thursday's session, and since the beginning of the year, the shanghai composite down about 30%. when it comes to the u.s., there is talk of higher interest rates and how that could be a bumper on u.s. growth. we also see higher mortgage rates. that actually could weaken the u.s. housing market. there's a couple of stuff going on. those are the summaries. at some point we lost almost 500 points on the dow jones industrial average. brent: challenging times for the u.s. powerful economy. thank you very much. and we're going to stay in the u.s. because politics also have challenging times. >> exactly right. u.s. elections take place in

less than three weeks and they are already making history for the number of women running for governor or u.s. congress. take a look at congressional races. a steady increase in the number of women running for office with a strong spike between 2016 and 2018. to kickoff election coverage, we are taking a look at four women grabbing the headlines. tonight, it is democrat elaine luria. she is a navy veteran from virginia and this is her first run for the house of representatives. alexander traveled to virginia to meet her. reporter: elaine luria, the former u.s. navy commander challenging the republican incumbent in virginia's second district. in a race considered competitive. a children's festival in

norfolk, an opportunity to meet with her constituents. she's been invited by the local chinese community. many of its members are troubled by trump's anti-immigration policies. >> are there specific things you are seeing? >> that is a good question. i'm not sure. we have a lot of business owners , restaurants, and people running businesses. immigration is always an issue. reporter: more than a location, affordable health care, climate protection, these are the issues elaine luria will face, but most of all, she believes in a strong and well-funded military. elaine luria is one of a dozen female veterans running for congress. she says public service like military work is about getting a mission done, not abo political afliations.

in a district where signs of military presence are never far away, having a military background is likely to resonate. honor, integrity, service to country. elaine luria says she wants her campaign to focus on a positive message. >> i feel it is an obligation to not sit on the sidelines, to take my experience in the military and as a small business owner and a mother. all those things inform my decisions. i felt it was time to step up. >> so far she's made a remarkable showing in this conservative district, while her republican opponent, also a veteran, grapples with a scandal. his campaign is under investigation for allegedly forging signatures. taylor denied any wrongdoing. he's hit back with attack ads that portray luria as a puppet

of democratic leaders in washington. a meet and greet with elaine luria in a retirement community. the people are curious to hear what she has to say. >> very flattering. but i can tell you that i'm not anybody's puppet. i didn't command a combat unit of -- >> i think she comes across as being a very honest person. i get so upset with the ads her opponent puts out because they are not true. >> you know that everyone is not going to be friendly and you are not going to win over every voter. reporter: virginia is one of the key states where the democrats have to flip republican leaning districts to take back control of the house of representatives. it is a tough mission, but elaine luria says she wants to fight for every vote until election day. brent: here's a reminder of that

top story. european leaders have ended their summit in brussels, saying they believe a deal on brexit can be reached, but with more time. the main sticking point remains the border between ireland and the republic of ireland. you are watching dw news live 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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