phil: this is "dw news," live from berlin. no more mr. nice guy. canada's justin trudeau no longer gets the respectful hearing as pressure builds after a second cabinet minister resigns. he has questions to answer over a construction bribery scandal. also on the program, one of the u.s. democrats, a new young start, embroiled in a controversy over anti-semitism. ilhan omar criticizes america's pro-israel lobby and now the house will vote on a resolution criticizing her. france's president macron writes an open letter to europe's

voters ahead of eu parliamentary elections in may. he calls for major changes to defend europe's borders, defend against nationalism, and defend against what he calls the digital giants. also coming up, coming home, but to what? refugees who fled boko haram are back in a nigerian town that is no safer than when they left. we will hear from the ngo championing their plight. ♪ phil: i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. support for the popular -- once highly popular canadian prime minister justin trudeau has fallen for the first time behind the main opposition party. it comes after a second cabinet minister quit in protest over the way he has been handling the scandal involving a construction

company and bribery. reporter: justin trudeau still knows how to work a crowd, but his days as politics' mr. nice guy may be gone for good, just as he is campaigning for reelection. the clear favorite only months ago, he is suddenly fighting an uphill battle after a second minister quit his cabinet over a bribery scandal. trudeau tried to put a positive spin on the resignation. >> in a democracy like ours and in a space w where we value our diversity so strongly, we are allowed to have disagreements and debate. we even encourage it. rereporter: jane philpotott wasn charge of canada's finances until she resigned on monday. she accuses the government of putting political interests above the rule of law. global conglomerate snc lavalin is a majoror player in candidats construction s secto it stands accucused of payining kickbacks to secure lucrative contracts in libya. if convicted of corruption, it will not be able to tender for

canadian government contracts, putting thousands of jobs at risk. in february, an attorney general and justice minister jody wilson-raybould was the first to go. she says trudeau and senior government figures pressured her to stop the prosecution of snc lavalin. >> i experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as the attorney general of canada. reporter: trudeau denies any wrongdoing, but his popularity is sliding. with elections set for october, he is now polling behind the rival conservatives. phil: let's s get more on this fromom campbell clark, chiefef polilitical writer at canada's "globe and mail" newewspaper, which broke e the scandal. welcome to dw. tell us more about justin trudeau's response to these allegations. campbell: i ththink part of the problem has been that he has not

had much of a response. he has dribbled out ananswers or time, at first denying that he had pressured or directed the attorney general to interfere in the prosecution. and then when she testified in front of commons committee, he did not respond other than to say he disagreed with her characterization of events. we have not really heard justin trudeau. and people expected him to be the e kind of open and frarank, different kindnd of polititicia. the fact he is sort of hiding behind the old politicians barrier and saying little is part of the problem. phil: an attorney general and a finance minister, ththose are to significant resignationsns. are more likely to follow? campbell: it does not appear that more are likely to follow at t the moment. ththere are one or two in cacabt that we think probabably sympathized, the firstst one beg the minister of justice and the attorney general jody wilson-raybould.

but it seems they are all on board for now. these are two very important cabinet ministers, not only because of their positions, but because of who they were. jody wilson-raybould was the first indigenous woman appointment in canada, which was historic. the second person, jane philpott, she is known for being highly principled, highly ethical and confident person. and those two strong people in cabinet saying we do not have faith in justin trudeau anymore, that is the real damage. phil: and is this issue coming up in cacampaigning? you have electioions in october. campbell: : yeah, so it is c cog upup everywhere in the polititil sphere. it is dominating federeral politics i in canada. the liberarals are trying to tak about other ththings, but they cannot get on that message. the opposition is saying this is a big scandal. the conservative later -- leader, mr. trudeau's main

opponent, has already called for his immediate resignation. so this is the issue at the moment, and it will come up over the course of the campaign. seven months away, and normally in the canadian election cycle that is time to recover, but mr. trudeau is on the ropes and he is in a political crisis at the moment, the kind of political crisis he has not seen before. phil: good talking to you. thank you for joinining us. campbell clark, from canada's "globe and mail" newspaper. now to the united states, where infighting has broken out within the democratic party as a result of perceived anti-semitic statements from one of their own members. one of their own members who happens to be one of the first muslim women to serve in congress. house democrats want to -- will introduce an -- it will not mention ilhan omar by name. but the bill is seen as a response to a comment she made on sunday. she said the pro-israel lobby in the united states is pushing for allegiance to a foreign country.

this is the latest in an ongoing struggle between the democratic leadership and a small number of freshman democrats who have been vocal about pushing the party further to the left. we can get more on this from dw's amien essif. welcome, amien. why do democrats find her statement so offensive? amien: the statement she made originally on sunday was at an event and she tweeted about it again and reiterated the statement. we can see that tweet now. the problem at the center of it was her use of the idea of allegiance to a foreign country. which the anti-defamation league and top democrats have pointed out is an anti-semitic trope that has been used against the jewish community for a long time to say that, on the one hand, they have an allegiance to their own country, but also an allegiance to the wider jewish.

but others have gone further and said all criticism of u.s. support for israel is unacceptable. and he's basically just pointing out a platform of the democratic and republican parties that israel has and always will be a u.s. ally. phil: has anyone come to ilhan omar's defense? amien: definitely. there have been a lot of left-wing commentators and journalists who pointed out her comments were not against jewish congresspeople, but against any congressperson who supports israel because of the money they get from the pro-israel lobby in the u.s. she also has support from a core group of other democratic congresspeople who came in on the democratic wave that happened in the last elections. young, progressive congresspeople have come to her support and said, actually, she is being attacked because she is muslim, which adds another element to this whole story.

they have pointed out that at the same time that the democratic party, the leadership is attacking her for being anti-semitic, she is the object of islamophobic attacks. there is a picture circulating online, actually a poster that was at an official republican event in west virginia that links her to 9/11. of course i do not have to say there is no link. the only link they have is that she is muslim. phil: so, another layer of weirdness in this is the fact that this is democrats sensuring one of their own. amien: that's right. it comes off as strange, but it is no surprise that the democratic party is having an internal crisis right now. maybe not a crisis, but definitely a struggle between two different elements. you have the democratic leadership which tends to be more conservative, more centrist, and now there is kind of what some people call an insurgency of more left-wing

people like ilhan omar, alexandria ocasio-cortez, who are challenging the democratic party platform, and there is resistance. phil: how will this affect ilhan omar? amien: well, the resolution is mostly symbolic. like i said, it does not mention her by name. trump, president donald trump has called for her to resign. other members of congress have said she should step down from the foreign affairs committee. that is also not likely to happen. she has been pushing, she's been reiterating her points that she is against the israel lobby. but she may also be happy that this has confifirmed her originl point that anytime one criticizes a link between the israel lobby and u.s. support for israel, you might get censored, and that is a taboo that she is willing toto break. phil: amien essef, thank you. we will take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world. researchers say a second person is in sustained remission from

hiv i. the virus of course is aids. the news raises hope that the condition can one day be cured. this case comes 10 years after a first hiv patient appeared to oe cured of the infection after a blood stem cell transplant. counterterrorism police in the u.k. are investigating a series of small improvised explosive devices sent to staff buildings at three lonondon transporort h. it has emerged that they were sent through the post with irish stamps. police in the republic of ireland are assisting g with the investigation. the devices were discoverered at heathrow a and london city airports and in the country's biggest railway station, waterloo. at least 21 people have been injured in a head-on collision between two passenger trains in the southern czech republic. the crash occurred outside the main station. police are investigating if it was a technical malfunction or human error.

china's economy is taking center stage at the annual meeting of the national people's congress. around 3000 delegates from around the country are in beijing for the two-week event. during the opening session, premier li keqiang cut the economic growth forecast to its lower in nearly three decades. we'll take a look at what this means for the world's second-largest economy in just a moment. first, this report. reporter: beijing's new airport. it is set to be the largest in the world when it opens later this year. chinina's leadership oftenen uss polititical events as an occasin to flaunt its successes to the media. and it is a welcome distraction. china's economy is burdened with the consequences of its trade dispute the u.s. municipalities and state-run companies are struggling under high levels of debt. addressing china's national people's congress, premier li keqiang issued a warning. >> we face a complex and serious situation as well as challenges,

foreseeable and otherwise, that are greater in number and in size. reporter: li also announced market reforms aimed at leveling the playing field for chinese and foreign companies. this bid to diffuse u.s. complaints has made delegates more optimistic that the trade dispute with the u.s. could soon be resolved. >> china and the u.s. are starting to get used to each other. i think there is growing trust between the people and the governments of both countries. reporter: china has announced a further increase in defense spending of 7.5% on the previous year. with this, china hopes to strengthen its military, allowing its troops to train under more realistic conditions. phil: you're watching "dw news," live from berlin. still l to come, a shock for german football. national team coach joachim low sacks three of his regulars. we will find out why.

and it is carnival time around the world. we will take you to the party in guinea-bissau. ahead of that, france's president emmanuel macron has called for far-reaching eu reforms, and warned against the dangers of populism. three months ahead of european parliamentary elections, he laid out his vivision in an o open lr addressed to the citizens of europe. 28 newspapers in all 28 eu member states published the letter in which he s said we are at a pivotal moment for our continent, a moment when together we need to politically and culturally reinvent the shape of our civilization in a changing world. it is the moment for european renewal. so let's take a closer look at some of what the french president is proposing. a new european agency for ththe protection of democracy would help shield member states and elections against cyber-attacks and manipulation. the president also proposes banning foreign funding of european political parties.

another hot button issue of course is migration. the french president wants to reform the border, the free area set up -- it's the free area. he also wants to set up a common border force and a european asylum office. it will give all eu states the same acceptance and refusal rules for refugees. he also proposes a social shield for all workers guaranteeing the same pay in the same workplace and minimum european wage appropriate for each country. here is even more of emmanuel macron's big ideas and how they are being received. reporter: a man with a vision for europe. french president emmanuel macron, a convinced european, says the continent is in danger. in his latest pro-european initiative, the french president has addressed europeans directly in major newspapers across all 28 eu member states.

the raft of proposals is directed against nationalism, and calls for a european authority toto protect democrac. a statement by german chancellor angela merkel's spokesperson says berlin supports the, quote, lively discussion about the orientation of the eu. other german parties were notably more critical, but welcomed macron's principled campaign. >> i do not support every sentence or project here, but the core idea is that we need to change europe to maintain the peace p project. that is essential. and we see that just like macron. reporter: with just three months to go until eu citizens head to the polls, the proposals have been widely well received, including in germany. >> this is really about the preservation of europe. and as i see it, our democratic structures are also in danger of populist parties. reporter: in macron's home country, too.

>> i think macron wants to urge europeans to work for the eu, for human rights and for democracy. and i think that's s important. reporter: critics, however, claim that macron's appeal aims only to fuel his p personal campaign for may's eu elections. phil: tens of those thousands of nigerian refugees have returned to their remote hometown in the north despite a lack of food, water, shelter, and security there. the town has suffered repeated attacks from boko haram militants. after an upsurge in violence in december and january, 40,000 people fled across the border, eight kilometers away. now three quarters of those refugees have returned. but aid agencies say they are in dire need of humanitarian help. reporter: they came here seeking safety. tens of thousands of refugees from northern nigeria fleeing violence from bokoko haram.

>> when the military left, we had no other possibility but to leave. we h had nothing to defend ourselves with, so it was better to leave. reporter: but just a few weeks later, there is s not much leftn this camp. medical charity msf posted this picture. here is the empty space in front of the msf clinic after refugees left this morning. before that, this place was bustling with life. aid agencies say the refugees were told to return by officials from cameroooon and nigeria. and there is concern about their safety. >> reports indicate that returnees are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. international and humanitarian organizations have not returned since january 17 due to ongoing insecurity.

reporterer: back then,n, a boko haram attatack on the town left4 people dead. those who fled have now had to retrace their journey in rivers. -- reverse. phil: three of the most prominent players from germany's 2014 world cup winning squad achieved some bad news on tuesday. thomas muller, mats hummels, and jerome boateng were informed by coach joachim low that they will play no part in germany's upcoming qualification for euro 2020. this is the coach's first major step in his plan to hit the reset button on his team. reporter: for years, they took to the pitch for g germany and wewere pillars of the 2014 world cup-winning squad. forward thomas muller, 29, and two 30-year-old defenders, mats hummels and jerome boateng, all currently employed by bayern munich. but now their international career is coming to an end after last year's disastrous world cup. coach joachim low is finally

making radical changes. in the year of qualifying for the european championship 2020, we are sending out a clear signal. the young national team players will have the space they need to fully develop. they have to take responsibility now. even at bayern munich, the three players have dealt with frequent injuries and delivered modest performances. so low's decision did not come completely out of the blue, as suggested by boateng's reaction on twitter. i am sad about this news because it has always been the greatest thing for me to represent my country. however, i respect the new course and understand the decision of the nationonal team coach. now, jerome boateng, thomas muller, andnd mats hummels will have to make room for the next generaration. phil: let's get more on this from tom gennoy from dw sports. we just heard joachim low talking about sending a clear signal.

so, is this a pr stunt? tom: i think pr stunt may be a bit much. i think there certainly an argument and play of the interpretation of this being a lot about signals and messages sent and not just about the sporting aspect of keeping these players in the squad or getting rid of them. low has to show that he is taking real, significant steps to draw a line under the disastrous world cup that germany produced last summer. he has promised drastic change for a long time. he has promised that he would really put the past to bed and make a clean break with what went before. and this is actually, to be honest, the first time we have seen anything really materialize of that. the fact that even that joachim low still in this job is a pretty strong element of continuity with what went before the world cup, and he cannot afford to keep all the same players because then really nothing has changed. what you might expect to see when a player ends their career

in the national team is they get grgradually phased out. but joachim low went down to munich today, had a meeting with all three of these players and told them that basically they are getting forced into retirement. so it is a pretty bold move and a radical step to take. phil: which means that the youngsters in the squad now see their opportunity. who is coming up through the ranks? tom: absolutely. well, germany of course have plenty of young talent. one year before the world cup there was the confederations cup, and joachim low took a very young squad to that tournament in russia and they blew all of their opposition out of the water. so there is plenty of talent waiting to step in and fill the shoes that hummels, boatend, and -- failing me for a second, thomas muller leave behind. at the back, players we have started to see emerge in recent times anyway. antonio is also a big figure for germany in the defense.

kai going forward. jlian, whose exclusion from the world cup was a part of germany's arrogance going to that tournament. plenty of young talent waiting to fill these empty boots. phil: so the coach keeps his job and three long-standing players get thrown under the bus. tom: that is how it works. phil: tom gennoy, thank you. tensions in south asia peaked last week after pakistan shut down an indian air force fighter jet and captured his pilot. pakistan later released him and what it said was a gesture of peace, and wing commander abhinandan went home to a hero's welcome. now lots of men appear to have been inspired by his mustache and are heading to the barbers for his unique look. reporter: he may have been shot down and captured, but this fighter pilot is not flying high as india's new national hero. and his macho mustache has become a star.

now men who want to be just like him only have to get a trim. here in bangalore, the whiskered fans are lining up for the abhinandan special. ♪ >> his face e is similar to o m, so when i wanted to change my look he inspired me. >> you like him? >> i i do. >> why? >> this because. >> is he your hero? >> yeah, he is. he is my hero. >> we respect wing commander abhinandan. that is why we are doing all these things. because we cannot go to that place. only our hero has gone there. he came back from pakistan. that is why we thought to do all these things.

reporter: the pilot't's sweet fans, now paying their respects to his close shave with danger. tall or shshort, fat or thin. in india, the abhinandan can make anyone feel like a hero. phil: let's talk about carnival now, which is being celebrated around the world. and while the word might summon thoughts of brazil's rio de janeiro, let me introduce you to carnival guinea-bissau style. reporter: a joyful celebration of culture. guinea-bissau's carnival was originally brought over by portuguese colonizers, but after gaining independence in 1974, the country made carnival its own. >> from the 1980's, it became a carnival of bissau. a general carnival of

guinea-bissau is the manifestation of our cultutural values. it is a platform for demonstrating our cultural heritage. the stories and the artifacts of our ancestors. reporter: held every year in the capital, the carnival showcases the tiny west african nation's huge diversity. >> the carnival is important in guinea-bissau because people come here and show the traditional culture. >> the carnival is culture, and religion, too. >> we started to lose our culture. but we shouldn't, because we are africans. we should be proud of our culture.

reporter: as festivities draw to a close for this year, these carnival lovers are making the most of the chance to show off their skills. phil: coming up next here on "the day" -- coming up next on dw, it is "the day." we will have another bulletin of world news at the top of the hour. until then, have a good day. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

. honest about a dozen of them and then you get the bodiess of thoe units. there's nothing in this back in the latete. alalso falls and gets against president abdelaziz beautifully gives intent to run for a fifth term. in a french for a new european renaissance that's how french president emmanuel metal has described his plan to strengthen the european union. a series of proposals outlined in a letter published by several newspapers in europe. a patient in britain has become the seconond knownwn adults worldwidee to be cleared of hiv after receiving a bone marrow transplahr