♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. an uncertain future. in germany plans for the era after angela merkel have fallen apart. the woman to take over angela merkel says she is no longer in the running. but she insists her decision will not endanger stability. also coming up, the syrian a sidede regime -- assad regime

stepping up its offensive in idlib province. and the death toll from the china coronavirus approaches 1000. we'll report tonight from paris. residents there in chinatown say the virus has led to an outbreak of r racial discrimination. and -- >> parasite. >> history is made at the oscars as a non-english-language film wins best picture for the first time. we'll bring you the latest. the history making events from hollywood. brent: i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs, welcome. it is not the future the german chancellor had planned. tonight the woman tipped to

succeed angela merkel says she has changed her mind and will not seek to become the german chancellor. annegret kramp karrenbauer is stepping aside following events last week that broke a political taboo. her conservative party for the first time worked with the far right alternative for germany party to win a regional election. a taboo too far that put her credibility as party leader into question. >> annegret kramp-karrenbauer gave little notice before informing party owners of her decision to she was long angela merkel's hand-picked successor. now she will not be her party's candidate and plans to step down as party chief. she says that cudu's decision to years ago to separate the roles of candidate and party leader was a mistake.

>> the leadership question is still unresolved. to this very day, specifically the issue of who will be the party's candidate for chancellor. we haven't been able to find a solution, despite two party conventions and apparently some people do not want to resolve this issue. reporter: annegret kramp-karrenbauer she believes that cdu could pick a new leader at its convention in december purchase she is planning to stay on as defense minister. her decision was one that she took alone. even chancellor merkel did not find out about her plans to step down until monday morning. >> i i respect this dececion. but i must also say i regret that it has come to this. i can imagigine that t this wast an easy decicision for annegret kramp-karrenbauer. reporter: former cdu party

leader -- is being eyed as a potential successor to annegret kramp-karrenbauer. in 2018, he narrowly lost the party leadership vote to her. the state premier of north west philly and the german health minister are -- north westphalia and the german health minister are in the running. it has the social democrats worried. >> the cdu cannot agree on its future directition and has been without a real leader for a long time. reporter: once seen as the future, annegret kramp-karrenbauer announces she is stepping back after only one year as party chief. her decision means that cdu will be busy for months deciding on the new leader. brent: let's take this now to our political correspondent, simon young. good evening to you. so, this is a crisis for the cdu, without question. is it also a crisis for

germany's ruling coalition government? simone: it certainly has the potential to be that. obviously, annegret kramp-karrenbauer herself said today she does not see any threat to the stability of the government, but other senior figures -- like th christian democratse economy minister says this is a very serious situation. and a lot of people are saying, well, it is necessary for everyone now within the christian democrat family to come together and try and assert some stability. and, indeed, the social democrats, the coalition partners in angela merkel's national government, have been bowing to pressure demanding that the cdu show what is the line between it and the far r ight. they are tempted to make a little bit of political capital with it.

they are unlikely to abandon the coalition because they themselves are a -- electorally very weak. brent: the far right afd party, it appears to be profiting by h aving the withdrawal of akk as party leader but who else benefits from akk stepping down? simon: as i say, the social democrats will seek to pull themselves up. they are presenting themselves as the party no that is needed to sort of needed to watch out the conservatives do not move too far to the right, do not flirt with the far right party, the afd. then, of course, the other people who could regard themselves as some house beneficiaries of today's event are those christian democrats who are rivals of akk. she wanted to succeed angela

merkel and possibly go on to run for chancellor next year. in the elections. well, there are several people as we saw in that report who are waiting in the wings for their chance to step up. so, they, of course, will see her demise as a win for them. brent: simon, this question no of who will run to become the next chancellor, it throws all this uncertainty into the political equation in germany. we know that germans do not like that. will the question of who will run for chancellor, will it weaken the cdu party? simon: i think it will. you know, the csu leader, the bavarian conservative leader says they cannot have months of uncertainty as a search for a new leader and decision about who is going to be the chancellor candidate rumbles on.

that would be very damaging, he said. and i think there is a battle for the soul of the conservative party. there are those on the right wing who say merkel has taken the party too far to the left and fears are that battle that has been latent for a long time may break out into the open. brent: our political correspondent simon young. a momentous day in german politics. thank you. the turkish military has struck an neutralizedd more than 100 military personnel in the syrian province of idlib. showing retaliation for a syrian strike earlier in the day. the assad regime is now on the offensive in idlib, the last stronghold of antigoverernment forces. the past week has seen an escalation intent is between syria and turkey. last week it kill the number of

turkish troops as part of the campaign to retake the province. for more on this, we want to bring in our correspondent dorian jones in istanbul. good evening. turkish armed forces are being hit directly by the syrian army. is this a benchmark in this escalation? dorian: it certainly is a very serious escalation asyou said. this is the latest attack, fatal attack on turkish soldiers. kurdish forces were swiftly to retaliate, bombarding dozens of sites. it remainsnsnclear whether that willll be enough for world turky carry on its offensive target ing syryrian regime forces. turkey is continuing to reinforce its military presence in idlib. in last week''s attack it deployed 250 armed vehicles and tanks alongng with thousandnds f turkisish solers.

those reinforcements are continuing. we're seeing train those of armor being railed down to the border. we're getting reports of another brigade of turkish forces sent into idlib. with this continuing escalation of clashes with the syrian regime and the reinforcement of turkish presence in syria, this brings the possibility of an a ll-out confrontation. brent: we understand that right now a delegation from russia is in akara for talks on the situation in idlib. what do you expect from those talks? dorian: well, according to the turkish foreign minister speaking today, he said the talks on saturday yielded no results. unclear what has happened in the lalatest round of talks today, t we do understand from reports, the syrian regime did target turkish forces. that will not go down well in

ankara. they will see this as further evidence of moscow as incacapabe of reining in d damascus. but moscow will too be very concernened that the possibility that ankara will get engaged with a full-scale conflict with the syrian regime. at the moment russian air force are keeping the turkish planes out of syrian air space. and one e inted turkish fighter jet was escorted away from the syrianan air space. will turkey the continue to accept the russian air force dominating airs force -- air force? that brings the prospect of a clash between turkrkh and rurussian forces. recall b back in 2015, turkish jets did down a russian fighter. the two countries working to resolve the conflict. whether that will continue is very unclear. brent: dorian jones with the

latest from istanbul. thank you. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. ireland's left-wing nationalist party sinn fein says it wants a major role in the country's next government after a record collection showing. the party led by mary lou mcdonald won the popular vote beating both centrist parties. they previously refused to work with sinn fein. but the center-right is no longer ruling out a coalition. a russian court has sentenced seven activist to prison tererms of 18 yeaears. the defendadants were accused aplenty to carry out bomb attacks during the 2018 world cup. human rights activist criticized the casing the men were tortured into signing confessions. a powerful storm has killed five people across europe. two died at a ski resort in poland whe a roof was ripped off a building. germany's entire long-distance rail network was shut down most of monday.

paparts of grereat b britain han flflooding andnd tens of t thous of people across the continent have been left without power. you're watching dw news. still to come, a ground breaking night at the oscars asas a foren language film wins best t pictue for the first time in hollywood history. first, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in china is approaching 1000. more than 40,000 cases have been reported across the country. the world health organization is concerned about the virus spreading beyond china and says the focus should remain on containing the outbreak. china's extended new year holiday break is coming to an end. many are choosing to stay at home rather than returning to work. france has recorded just six coronavirus cases but chinese people and others in the country's east asian community say they are becoming targets

for dissemination. many have taken to social media to share their stories. our correspondent has been to paris's main chinatown to find out more. reporter: this embarrasseses chinatown. these a lever costumes were named for the new year parade that draws thousands of spectators but for the first time the event was called off this year. a regular participant blames the coronavirus and the stigma. >> the parade was canceled not out of fear of the coronavirus but the fear of children being stigmatized. we have been told that asian children are coming back from school crying because they were singleled out and mamade fun of. they were insulted and called names. we didn't feel like celebrating. it has been very tough. reporter: she grew up in this neighborhood, a melting pot known for its 1960's s high rise apartment blocks. and dozens of east asian stalls and restaurants.

the frenchman is of chinese and cambodian dissent and says he never experienced racism openly in paris until a week ago. >> i took the metro. as i sat down the person next to me got up and moved away. then he covered his mouth and nose with a scarf. i realized it was a form of xenophobia and fear. i was sad and shocked. reporter: it is far from being an isolated case. accounts of presidents, avoidance and slurs are piling up in france. here in southeastern paris, the city's main chinatown home to large numbers of friends's asian community, the usually bustling neighborhood seems a bit subdued. many residents are wary of seeking -- but some are rattled by incidents of racist abuse amid fears of the coronavirus. >> a friend of mine who is asian was taununted and call the virus in the metro. that's not veryy nice.

>> our customers w wanted to knw if our waiters had chinese nationality. even though ours is a vietnamese restaurant. seeing asian faces did not reassure them. >> this epidemic has given free rein to racism against asians, something which h in france is t talked about and not taken seriously. reporter: the issue was -- has reverberated across the french media. on the banks of the river seine, a journalist has been following accounts by french asns being t targeted, usising e #iamnot a virus. >> it looks like it is on the french train. reporter: she has long campaigned against anti-asian racism but nothing prepared her for these responses to an article on the coronavirirus in china. s translates into englishhe. >> you should not have eaten weird beasts. is is normrmal, they would eat anything. the country is overcrowded.

this is horrible. people have no empathy. we are just talking about sick people and they would say racist things like that. a viruses a protest -- a pretext to be hateful. reporter: lynn has been speaking out against the hate on talk shows and social media. she's also h i iit out at sectio of her o professioion. for this headline in a local newspaper warning of the yellow alert. so far,, france has recorded ony a few cases of the coronavirus. if the numbers go up, the fear is thahat prejudice could spread just as fast. brent: to talk about that i am joined by a german chinese writer with a phd in neuro politics and dehumanization. those topics go to the core of what we're seeing with this virus. we've got a virus which does not

discriminate. who it infects and it isn't fueling discriminatory behavior. fueling racist behaviors. how do you explain that? >> i study the social brain, and human beings find it hard to make sense of something impersonal. so, it makes a lot of sense to attach the virus to a group of people. indeed, to be fair, this virus started in china. it is understandable that people, people's social brains have a fear reaction when they see somebody chinese. brent: do they field inside china, since it did originate in china, did they feel that it's one of us, is part of the problem? is there an element of almost self hate or fear of one's self? >> whil ei think rather when we are under threat we mamake snap decisions. both in china we know

discrimination is happening towards people who are from wuhan by other chinese people. from wuhan. we know that there has been some citizen justice being carried out that's concerning in china, but we also know that to wards people that just look asian in europe and canada and in the u.s., there has been a lot of discrimination and snap judgment. that is concerning. brent: what do you say about the lockdown policy in china? you're basically, your isolated huge populations. and are they getting the information they need? because i would assume that the information would help to stop this discrimination. >> i think, you know, china right now is in a very different position. in order to get information, chinese do have mobile phones, they have access to internet. at least they can converse with

each other. there is not a sense of total isolation, but i think there is a sense that people can't decide over their own lives right now. i don't just mean government policies but we know that people can't, in beijing people cannot, renters cannot return to their homes because -- brent: the lockdown. what would you say we have 30 seconds -- what would you say would need to happen right now, other than the virus going away, what needs to happen to reduce the xenophobic fear and behavior? >> i think the world needs to understand this is a battle we share. the chinese economy is interdependent with europe's economy and germany's economy. german medicines are largely made in china now. this is not just us against them. this is a problem that we need to battle together and overcome fear and de humanization towards chinese in our brains. we need to act more rationally

together. brent: see people as people and not as carriers of a virus. we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. the 92nd academy awards have made cinema history. the south korean movie "parasite" became the first non-english lang which win the oscar for best picture. it was a night of triumph for the director. >> it was the big surprise of the night. >> and the oscar goes to. "parasite." >> the first ever non-english language movie to win best picturure. south korean director bong joon ho's dark satire about the gap between the rich and poor in modern-day seoul was the big winner of the night. it earned a total of four

awards, including best director for bong joon ho who paid tribute to one of cinema's all-time great directors and fellow nominees. >> thank you so much. when i was young and studying cinema there was a saying i carved deep into my heart, , whh is the most personal is the most creative. that quote was from our greatat martin scorsese. so, thank you. i will drink until next morning. thank you. >> there were no upsets in other big categories. the awards went to the hotly tipp favoritesed. in a comeback for renée zellweger, she took the best actress award for her betrayal of judy garland. >> do you take anything for depression? >> four husband. >> you won't forget me, will

you? >> joaquin phoenix winning best actor for his mesmerizing performance. the dark origin stories of one of the best-known comic book villains. >> is this a joke to you? ♪ >> supporting actor awards went to laura dern for her role as a divorce lawyer in "marriage story." and brad pitt won his first acting oscar for his supporting role as a laid back stunned back in quentin tarantino's once upon a time in hollywood. and the oscars would not be the oscars without some political jibing. >> they told me i only have 45 secondss up here, which is 45 seconds more than the senate gave john bolton this week. i'm thinking maybe quentin does a movie about it. in the end, the adults do the

right thing. >> but there was also some good old-fashioned fun. and plenty of entertainment. music legend elton john performing his oscar-winning original song from "rocket m an." getting hollywood in the mood for the infamous oscars after parties. brent: we were not invited unfortunately. south korea has been celebrating the success of parasite. the film scooped up four academy awards. south korea has a sizable film industry but this is the first time the country is that the jackpot at the oscars. >> there was no doubting parasite director bong joon ho is now a national hero in south korea. the celebrations in hollywood for felt all the way to the top in seoul. the president spoke of his pride of parasite's success is kicking

off a cabinet meeting with a round of applause. few in the country were expecting one oscar, let alone four. students at this university, boon's, moderate, watched as the ceremony unfolded. the moment when the best picture award was announced. >> whoa! >> it's hoped the success will boost south korea's film industry. >> oh! >> i've always liked korean movies. korean film history is being written at this moment. it is very meaningful. i think there will be more improvements in the future. it is very, i'm lost for words, it is such an honor. >> parasite shows the often painful divide betwtween rich ad poor in south korea. ththe actors are largely unknown

outside the country. for one young cast maker who did not make it to l.a., it was a night to remember. >> yeah! >> i thought it would be awesome to get the award. we actually won it. so, i'm wondering if i am in heaven. i think i was born to receive the oscar. >> a dream already achieved at the age of 10. the sky for all this cast and crew is now the limit. brent: a new space probe built by nasa and the european space agency h has set off on a missin to capture t the first picturesf the sun's poles. the $1.5 bilillionolar orbititer blasted off from cape canaveveral this morning. it's 10 year missionon will sese adventure perilously close to the sun and join the parker

probe which was launched two months ago. as a reminder, the top stories we are following. the woman tipped to takeover from angela merkel has announced she is no longer in the running. annegret kramp-karrenbauer insists her move is not a danger for germany's coalition government. and fighting intensifying between turkish and syrian forces. the a assad regimne has steteppp its offensive n idlib province. you're watching dw news. i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that.

yeah but it is welcome t to live from paris world news and analysis from france twenty four i'm margot in these are the headlines. over nine hundred dead now and they can run a virus outbreak presidency jim being visited a hospital in the capital of caring for victims. related video call to the doctors and behind the- epicenter of the infection. turkey says it struck a hundred to fifteen syrian targets in retaliation for an attack that killed five of that so just. and set the controls f for the heartt of the sun the latest knocks and- y you look like you could get make the words of the pink floloyd song. become a reality this new space mission. to get the closest kicked