>> this is dw news, live from berlin. a german politician and her final push to secure the european union's top job. ursula quit today as defense minister. she is making concessions on the eve of the decisive vote, a vote that could make history tomorrow. also, south africa's former president jacob zuma shrugs off accusations on live television.

scores killed millions contending with floodwaters and buildings collllapsing as month sued -- monsoon rains flood across. plus, the death toll already at 1600, the virus reaches the crowded city on the border with rwanda. describing the new case as a potential game changer. i'm brent goff. brent: welcome. ursula fund a line -- ursula has said that she will step down as the german defense minister. she of the european parliament will give her a new job as the

first in a president as the european commission. von der leyen faces criticism from groups who say that she was forced on them as a third choice candidate. she has been making promises to win over policymakers. keeping up with ursula von der leyen is not an easy task. she was on thehe move constantl. she needs to cononvince enough parliamentarians that t she is e right woman for the commission presidency. that could be a problem, especially with the social democrats in the european parliament. they have called her commitments to vague. they dislike that ursula von der leyen was not even one of the lead candidates. the social democrats are up in arms. >> the members of the social

democrats have not taken a final decision yet. i guess there e are some thatt mighght still consider voting fr her that have further questions. and others who are already clear they want. >> including you -- they want. -- clear that they will not vote for her. >> including you? >> including me. >> she will get one -- all 182 from her own group, the conservative people's party. now gets dicey. the liberals seem rather positive but not complplely convinced. onto the social democrats. lots of opposition but also lots of support from the mighty spanish delegation.

there are 153 seats total. if she is lucky, she might get 100. finally, there are the conservative eurosceptics. their seat total is s 62. realistically, she could expect 30 seats, maybe even more from them. that would put her over the hump. to get those v votes, von der leyen has a strategy. make sure the eu parliament has felt respected. >> we have to draw all of our strength. i came here e to work with parliament and i'm confident we will work together.

>> number two, emphasize her european side. now she is tweeting in german, english and french. nevertheleless, it will l be a e call. she will probably have to give the e speech of heher life to susucceed rightt here in t the european parliament in strasburg . brent: the speech of her life. in parliament is where max hofmann is this evening. good evening max. we understand that ursula von der leyen has written to the parliament's social democrats. do we know what she said? >> she testified many of those topics where the social democrats insisted she still needs to do some work. she visited the social democrats last week in brussels but there were many questions open. the feedback from those members of the european parliament was that she is too vague. she wrote this e eight page letr saying that she w wants a fair d social europe.

shshe wants s to h have more competitive, more tough goals to counter climate change and counter protection. what struck me is she told them she would use the full toolbox when it comes to enforcing the rule of law in certain countries. some of the social democrats said she was being too soft on countries likeke poland, hunungy where the commission has beef. the rule of law procedure was kicked in. she will need some of those votes. she said she would be firm on those procedures. that might cost her a couple of votes. there's a real balance. brent: it is a balancing act. in this letter to the social democrats, the promises she has made, will this be enough to bring her onto their side?

>> what we are hearing is rather positive. take the brits. up until a couple of days ago, they said they would not vote in the over -- in favor of ursula von der leyen. she said she would do anything in her power to avoid brexit. that is something that goes down well with the social democrats. she can expect some votes from them. we don't have that much opposition within the social democrats except for the austrians. also, from the germans. brent: explain why german social democrats are so against one of their fellow countrymen.

especially comes to making history like this at the eu top level? >> it is not only that, the social democrats are in a coalition. they govern together. they are absolutely opposed. the social democrats were hoping to get there the canandidate through. to have vivid candidate. things were looking really good. in the end, it changed again. it switched. the german s social democrats often had this. it seems to be that feeling that is motivating them. >> if she loses this vote, to european leaders have another surprise candidate up their sleeves that can pull out?

>> they would have to disrupt -- to decide on that surprise candidate. we have some names. frankly, we are not there yet. at the moment, she i is also a conservative. she is a woman. she is not backed by her own government. thisis will be a conservative, somebody from the european people's party. they will have another conservative candidate after that. brent: that was max on the story for us in strasburg. thank you. we are here with some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. foreign ministers have pledged to keep that you ran -- jiran -- iran n nuclear deal right -- alalive.

iran could reverse its steps and go back to full compliance. police in italy have seized a stash of weapons, including an air to air missile from suspected neo-nazis. three men were detained and not see memorabilia -- nazi memorabilia wasas siezed. donald trump said that four democratic congress women who are all american citizensns shod leavave and go back k to the cre infested places hehe said they came from. the president said he stands behind those remarks. turkey is marking three years since a failed coup attempt against president erdogan. top members of the military or

even foreign powers involved in efforts to topple the government. what is clear to see is the consequences of the crackdown that came after the coup attempt. >> the night of july 15, 2016 was filled with chaos andnd violence. elements launched operation to unseat erdogan. troops occupied bridges and squares. as many as 300 people were killed. >> officers told us it was a trading operation. they w went out onto t the stree and th thehe police cameme. we learned the reality when they detained us. >> forces loyal to erdogan put down the coup. they jailed thousands of journalists, teachers and other servants. they stand accused of supporting the attempted takeover or at

least of disloyalty to the government. many still support erdogan. that is not likely to last. i interest rates have shaken his grip on power. relations with the rest are at a low point. erdogan held the post before h e ascended. >> we will see that in days. >> no one can say windows better times may come. he survived the bank of the coup attempt. >> our correspondent is following the story. she joins me from istanbul. good evening. this is definitely in a

comfortable and painful anniversary for a lot of people. talk to me about how the country marked the moment today. >> this has been a very emotional day for people in turkey. july 15 is a public national holiday now. we have seen a number of events commmmemorating the victims ofof ththat dmatitic night. the psident l ld flolowers. he also spoke at a huguge eventt istanbul. a very symbobolic location. the airport was briefly occupied that n night. he later retururned to t the ci. he announced that the coup attempt had failed. hihis message today, one of hihs key messages was traded in trying to drag turkey into darkness. the citizens prevented it and

protected democracy. those were his words. he is trying to push this narrative of a nation under attack. this is a chance for him to rally support and to show strength. thousands of ordinary citizens took to the streets often just armed with their kitchen utensils after he called people to defend democracy against the tax. 251 people were called. we talked to a few people in istanbul. let's s listen to what they have to say. >> we commemorate our martyrs with full respect. they try to divide us. he has been trying to divide this country for years. >> itt was an exexemely diffffit night t for our countrtry. i was outside on the streets.

i didn't even know who had attacked people for what reasons and why people -- why things developed this way. we have to investigate all of this. >> we have lost many friends and neighbhbors, our brorothers and fathers died on the day of the coup for the sake of the nation. >> it is interesting the way people remember that time. we remember that president erdogan described the coup attempt as a gift from god. would you say that today? >> he said it was a gift from god that would give him a chance to reshape the company -- country. tens of thousands of people were

sacked from their jobs. state employees, academics. journalists. the government said it is necessary to go after the coup plotters. this has impacted their society. you would meet teachers who were cleaning toilets. they just can't get back into their old jobs. this has led international organizations to criticize erdogan, saying this has gone way too far. he is trying to get rid of all critical voices and tighten his own grip on power with these purges. >> how has the coup attempt affected turkey's foreign relations? >> relations with the number of countries have deteriorated. some partners are concerned that turkey is drifting toward authoritarianism.

that criticize them of not being supportive enough. at the same time, turkey has drifted toward russia, it has just acquired the as/400 missile-defense system from moscow despite warnings from the u.s., despite threats of sanctions. this has definitely impacted turkey bus -- turkey's foreign relations. brent: that was yulia on the story for us from instanbul. this is after a case of ebola was confirmed in the city of goma. it is the first time the virus has reached a major urban center. global health officials are now sounding the alarm.

>> it is a health worker's worst nightmare. a highly contagious disease reaching the city. that has happened in the dimmick -- democratic state of congo. many have been identified and some vaccinated. global health officials have praised the response and prevention efforts. they also expressed concerfor what e ebola in a major urban center may mean for containingng the week. >> the i identification could potentially be a game changer in this epidemic. >> in addition to the high concentration of people, this is also a transit center on the border witith rwanda. ebeba has claiaimed more tn 1500 lives inin this outbreak. officialals meeting donors say e global response would get a lot more complicated if the disease reaches rwanda and the situation

isis already dififficult. >> this is one of the was most dangerous viruses in one of the world's most dangerous areasas. >> rival militias have long been competing for power in this region in the congo. health officials are not immune to the brutal violence. two workers were murdered by unidentified assailants. now they are weighing whether to declare the outbreak and international health emergency that can provide the containment effort with the additional resources and money it needs to stop the outbreak from spreading. brent: former south african president jacob zuma denied allegations of corruption in johannesburg. he argued that he was the target of a character assassination by little enemies that wanted to push him out of power. this is being broadcast live on television. it is due to continue until friday. >> this is not the first time

jacob zuma has had to answer to corruption charges. this was his first appearance before a high-profile commission. he is providing -- residing over a culture of this. speaking uninterrupted for over two hours, he dismissed the mogul -- multiple allegations against him. he claimed he was a victim of conspiracy. jacob zuma: there has been a drive to remove me. it has come in different forms. they have been trying to does things.

>> the commission has not been tasked with proving a case against anyone. his supporters are angry at what they say is the unfair betrayal of him. >> we have seen an avalanche of many attacks. finding president jacob zuma guilty without trial. that is wrong. >> he is set to face cross-examination at the inquiry. that could last all week. brent: adrienne is followingng e hearining in johannenesburg. >> jacob zuma did what many expected him to do. he pretrade himself as a victim of a campaign against him. we see that he takes the whole

process very seriously and personally. this has a huge impact on the lives of himself and his family. also on his reputation. he is still a very powerful figurere here in south africa. he does not hold an official position anymore. the rulingng pty is splilit into two major factions. they were trying to reform the party. now it is really exciting to see how these next days are going to continue. obviously, zuma has a lot of supporters. he is facing serious allegations. there are witnesses that were pointing the finger at jacob zuma. the question is where this commission actually leads. this commission will try to

establish the truthth. they can take prosecution action, possibly. it will be a very long time and a long process. also, ththe south african people will wonder what really happened under the watch of jacob zuma. brent: about 3 million people are on the move in nepal, northern india and bangladesh. they are playing monsoon floods and high water. the heavy rains have triggered landslides and deadly classes like this one in northern india. soldiers had gathered in this four-story building. the flooding is also affecting hundreds of thousands. many are risking what shelter they have found.

>> this is becoming lilife-thrhreatening.. flooding a and mudslides have killed at least 10 people in the overcrowded camps and destroyed some 5000 shelters. authorities limit what materials refugees can use to build here. their homes are meant to be temporary,y, making them partrticulararly vulnerarable. >> i'm sufferingng a lot. i don't live in a t tent. mine is a connected has. the middle section has been heavily damaged. there is a hole in it. >> structural damage is just one aspect of the problem. more than 200 landslides have been reported in the camamp sine april, disrupting logistics and daily activity. >> in the many season, we have problems gettiting food. our children get sicick.

toilet and bathroom hygiene e ae a problem. the kids cannot get to school. school buildldings are falling into disrepair. it is all a big problem. >> this cocould be the only -- only be the beginning of a much bigger crisis. and already unsasanitary and environment, weatherwise suggest the downpour is likely to continue. brent: the european space injury -- agency says that their galileo system is not working. a technical glitch on the ground is being blamed. he is billed as -- it is billed as a future arrival to the u.s. gps navigation netetwork. rocket launchers were supposed to bring the european union more independence and security.

the galileo system has been cripplpled since product with al 22 of its satellites off-line. officials blamed the outage on an error in the ground-based infrastructure. of whihich is behindnd the disrtition. galileo has been in the testing phase. recently, more companies have begun to make use of the servicice, including many y mobe phone manufafacturers. an outage of the scale is a painful misstep. it may delay the plan to make galileo fully operational by next year. brent: he has won the 10th stage in a sprint finish. tuesday is the first rest that

of the race. at the halfway point, they are still holding the yellow jersey while defending champion has moved up to second. you are watching dw news, live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that.

twenty four and france twenty four dot com. get all t the spreads furththero the east o of the democratic rerepublic o of congo casases he been diagnosed in the city of goma. on the border with rwanda. an urgent you meeting on the iran nuclear deal federica mogherini set the deal marked at the french president emmanuel michael says he'll be speaking to a highly trained and putin this week. in a bid to sasave thehe accord. racism row deepens after telling for non white congresswoman that they should go homee. cacalls a dememocrat house the e policy of racist. thank you very much