brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, the battle over dresden. germany marks 74 years after the allied bombing. one of the most controversial attacks during the second world war. a humid chain today, the prime minister let the tribute of the thousand that were killed and he urged germans to stand up against far right extremism. also tonight, china's deadliest day yet in the coronavirus out rate. a search and deaths and infections due to new leaearning

meththods. -- reporting methods. is the threat to china and the world a greater one than we thought? >> plus, extreme vacations on to part rid one of the two men who cross antarctica on foot nearly 20 -- two decades ago, is sounding an alarm on the frozen continent. one coach split all ties with his athlete. coming up, what has become a nasty football divorce worried. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs and united states and all over the world, welcome. today, germany marks the 75th anniversary of the bombing of dresden one of war twos most

controversial moments. as the war neared its end, british and american planes dropped firebombs on the city for three days killing tens of thousands of people. the assault left dresden in ruins and it sparked a lasting debate. for some, it was a necessary state and defeating nazi germany or you do for others, it was a senseless tragedy. -- for others, it was a senseless tragedy. >> they formed a humid chain. the german president joined in the show of unity. the present -- message to the thousands of people gathered in the main square, n never forget. >> when we joined hands with our neighbors, then we confess. we want to take responsibility together for peace a among peope at home and route the world very

.. over a time of three days, tons of explosives were dropped on dresden. the attacks killed 25,000 people and totally wiped out the city's historic center. what happened in dresden has been seized on by the far right to portray germany as a victim. >> at an earlier ceremony, he said the crimes should not be compared. >> i wish to say clearly today, anyone who still counts the debt of dresden against auschwitz, anyone who tries to downplay german wrongs, anyone who tries to falsify historic facts, we must stand up to them as democrats and contradict them loudly. [applause] >> he went on to warn of threats against democrcracy. the far-right alternative for germany is the third against

party in germany's parliament. -- third against party in germany's parliament. >> where also experiencing how anti-semitism and racism are poisoning public life again. how states governed at the rule of law and democratic institutions are being scorned. if elected, members of parliament are mocked and ridiculed in the parliaments in which they sit, then -- then this is an attempt to destroy democracy from within. [applause] >> dresden's physical scars have long since healed. the psychological ones are taking somewhat longer. brent: we have team coverage of today's deliberations. from dresden is my colleague. here at the big table is our analyst.

both of you, welcome. you were there today for the commemoration. talk us through the main points of today's ceremony. >> i'm sorry i can't hear you very much because just behind me, too big groups are facing off. the far-right party has organized a commemoration here are in a moment of silence commemorating the victims. it is said to instrument allies the number of victims here -- instrument allies the number of victims here. behind me, left groups and activists are protesting this commemoration by the far right parties saying it is trying to downplay the nazi germany role and responsibility for the second war. they organized a concert just

behind me but this is just a showdown happening tonight. there was a serious of -- series of official events commemorating this anniversary of the bombing of dresden earlier today worried we just saw in the report, the president gave a long speech at the commemoration. earlier today, there was a humid chain thousands of people gathered in the city center of dresden to commemorate to stand up for tolerance for humanity. they sent out this positive image from the city of dresden and also to say never again, never again to war and conflict happening. there were a series of different commemoration events happening here today. brent: i want to remind our viewers that the far-right antiparty is the largest

opposition party in parliament in germany. the demonstration they are holding, they had a booth set up claiming to give people the real information about the history of what happened and dresden. -- in dresden worried what role is this far-right party playing in what we saw today and how germany remembers dresden? >>'s not only the party itself but we can talk about what we have just seen worried. the german president today used all of his moral, , morality and his moral values in his speech. one of the strongest speeches from him i have ever heard and listened to saying what is coming here from the far-right is not a narrative of our history of the german history of the liberal open society. no. democrats have to stand up against every rewriting of history.

what he has mentioned here, has to stand up against the use of victims and again, there is a quarrel about wasn't at 100,000 victims in dresden or 25,000 according to a very decent historical work that is published years ago? the president obviously was aware of the conflict of different narratives, different commemoration's that might evil in the cost -- cause of this. >> that is part of what is going on here. the asd behind you,afd behind you, they are trying to offer a counter narrative to the truth about what happened there. what is the mood like there? is there a sense of conflict?

did we lose her? it looks like we lost our signal there. something has happened with our signal. let me ask you. what is the afd? what are they doing in dresden? >> dresden is the stronghold of the afd. it was a city with a movement, a right-wing populist movement started and became a constant political force during the last years. today, we are commemorating the bombing of dresden and it was crystal clear also for the president and for the democratic officials of this country. for the society that this might be used. for right-wing purposes. this is where the conflict lies.

at the end of the day, this speech and we will read more about it it might be stronger than what we are seeing down the street at the moment. as a matter of fact, the conflict is -- brent: we thank you for your analysis. here are other stories making headlines. european commission president ursula von der leyen is a technology mistakes and how external consultants were hired when s she was germany''s defene minister. she defended the use of consultants. testifying today before a committee accusing nepotism and inefficiency. it is prime minister boris johnson has fireminister's. in a surprise move, the finance minister resigned rather than fire his eighth and install new ones chosen by boris johnson. replacing him is a tragedy -- treasury deputy.

he is seen as a johnson loyalist. the u.n. has released a report accusing israeli businesses of beingg complicit in violating palestiniarighghts by opoperatig in the west bank. palestinian officials have welcomed this report. benjamin netanyahu described it as a shameful attempt to blacken his country's name. there has been an alarming surge in the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus which scientists are now calling -- now calliling covid-19. the number of infections has shot up after 15,000 new cases were reported in just one day. japan has reported its first covid-19 death. the center of this outbreak, china's hubei province has recorded 250 deaths on wednesday alone. our correspondedent has more now from beijing. >> indeed a new reporting method. local authorities have decided to include patients who include

-- show clear symptoms of the virus. but who are not tested positively for the virus into this statistic. the reason is that many patients could not be tested so far because there is a lack of laboratories and testing kits and we are also hearing cases where people have tested negative despite clear symptoms that point to the coronavirus infection. i have spoken to some of them. one woman told me that her mother was suffering severely. could not be admittetedo hospital because she t tested negatively twice despite her symptoms and only the third test was positive. hopefully, this new method of counting will also lead to more patients having a chance to proper treatment because they

can be admitted to hospitals now. it might also mean that the cues for the hospital beds will be longer and people will still have to wait. brent: that was our reporter in beijing. authorities in -- gathered in brussels to discuss the outbreak. our reporter spoke with germany's health minister after the meeting. >> which additional measures does germany need to prevent the corona outbreak to evolve into a real pandemic? >> first of all, what we do need is a coordinated approach in europe and internationally. that is why we are engaged and coordinating with the eu. today within the g7, we have calls within the health minister's. it is essential that we prepare and we try to retarded that the

virus reaches regions other than china and it affects it as much as china. there is a outbreak and china but we need to ensure that it does not become a real epidemic worldwide and if so, a pandemic worldwide if so we need to prepare research regarding therapies and vaccination. we need to be prepared in what we know about the virus and we have to prepare to know how infectious it is, how severe it can get for the patients and all of these actions are focusing on this. gaining time to know more. >> do you restrict travel like the united states did? >> what we already have done in germany for example that we already asked pilots that they need to tell the tower in

advance if there are passengers with symptoms on board or not. that passengers have to fill out a form that says where their reachable contact is for the next 30 days. we have to know the measures for which patients have been in contact -- passengers have been in contact with people from the wuhan, china region for example. that is what we have discussed here during the council meeting. what we do not n need by the way from my point at least, fever measuring's for example taking the temperature of passengegers because we just know because of the incubabation time and the symptom free time we have after infection does not help. do you >> do you trust the numbers in get from the communist regime in china? >> what we can be many more case

do see in the public figigures because they just changed the case definition for the statistic that only a case goes into the statistic if there really were symptoms. we know there are many symptom-free cases. i would assume there are many more cases than we see in the statistic which is important because if you take the cases in relation to for example peoplele that died, that makes a difference for the relation red. >> >> china is able to prepared to oconee and measures for example locked down. it would germany be able to do that maybe? >> i would say i am impressed with what china does in regards actually. what we see is, for example if there is a measles outbreak in germany and measles are much more infectious than what we see

with the coronavirus so far, we actually are able to deal with it without putting whole cities under quarantine. >> when will this be a work -- over? >> that is a good question. the problem is, we don't know enough about thehe virus. that is why there are some measures that need to be taken to prepare as long as we don't know really what it does for example and how harmful it is. so far it europe with the european union attention and containment works. we're able to stop the infectious strains but, we have to admit today that it could get worse before it becomes better because as long as it is not under control in china, these regional epidemic situtuation cn develop to a worldwide pandemic situation. >> thank you very much.

>> thank you all the best. brent: that was germany's health minister. despite recording erected -- a record high temperature, antarctica still attracts adventures. 30 years ago, to germany or's -- german or's begin the first to cross on foot. today, trekking across the ice is less about stamina and much more about money. >> t the antntctic wasas a difft place when these two set out to make history. in temperatures of -35 degrees, the two adventurers sometimes used types and skis to cross the south pole. marchingng through the icy expanse, freezing cold feet were just one of the problems they faced. >> in those dadays, thee antarcc was trululy hard to reach. things have changed a lot rid

today, there are tour operators the do a lot of business there. >> arrival at one of the world's most remote tourist destinations. air travel expense to the antarctic and planes ferry passengers to airstrips carved into the ice. distances that t took the two several weeks on foot now only take a few hours by air. private jets and luxury camps, tourism here does not come cheap . a week's holiday cost over 80,000 euros per person. day trips including champagne picnics are also on offer. >> i d don't like it when the antarctic is just seen n as a fm of e entertainment. when people go j just to say thy haveve been there. visitotors should a appreciate s uniq consonant with i its mamagnificent nature.

>> these emperor penguins are tourist magnets. more and more people visit their breeding grounds in the eternal winter. both travel to the consonant is comparatively cheap. for a few thousand dollars, tourists can admire the animal kingdom as they travel. about 52,000 tourists visited the antarctic last year. these numbers are predicted to rise. >> there has to be a cap on the number of people visiting the antarctic. mass tourism cannot be allowed there. >> when the entered the record books like crossing the antarctic 30 years ago, they travel to for three months without seeing another soul. brent: here's another look at the other stories making headlines.

at least one person has died after torrential rains batter australia's east coast. a woman has been reported missing. emergency workers have rescued dodozens of people from thehe fs and schools have been closed. authorities say the rain has helped them put out multiple bushfireres. indonesia's s volcano has eruptd throwing ash thousands of meters into the air. visitors were asked to stay outside of a three kilometer zone. this is one of their most active volcanoes. the un security council has agreed to a plan to end the war in libya. it is trying to bring an end to years of conflict between rival governments following the ousting of muammar gaddafi. calls for negotiations, international monitors and the separation of forces. ♪ brent: now to german soccer.

a coach abruptly resigned on tuesday after two months on the job. since then, the team and its former coach have taken turns making statements about each other to the media. their relationship appears to be irreparably damaged her he at. >> he was supposed to take berlin to the champions league. he came as a member of the sort -- supervisory board. 11 weeks ago, he surprisingly got hired as the new coach as they were mired in the relegation battle. the man who won the world cup with germany in 1990 and once coached the u.s. a team was back in the league. this tuesday came another surprise when he annouounced his resignation on facebook. >> of course, the way i did it was questionable and open to criticism.

in that case, i apologize.. >> the ambassador who have brought him said in a news conference on n thursday that wt the coach had done was not acceceptable professional behavr from an adult. >> i a also talked to him by phe afterwards. he apologized. he is very sorry. i think he also regrets the decision. i think he was very emotional. >> he said what he wanted was more power in his own hands and less interference from the general manager. >> it bugged me that a manager was sitting there making comments on the players treated. >> he rolled out letting him

remain on the supervisory board or letting him have any further involvement with the club. brent: now, a story about perseverance. johnny uses a wheelchair but his disability did not stop him from studying sports at university. his daily routine is tough but the training he puts himself through is incredible. the germans ultimate goal is a spot in the paralympics her head . >> this is johnny. he was told he might never be able to walk but against all odds, he has been accepted as a student at germany's top sports university. >> when it comes to my body and my disability, sport is my therapy. without it, i would not be able to lead and independent life because i would not be able to move property -- properly. sports is my medicine and i wanted to stay that way. >> johnny loves to swim trade he

has a rigorous training regime. on average, he spends four hours per day working out. he can only rely on his arms while swimming. he also uses the full --pooool r sosomething more amazing. the tower is 7.5 meters high. johnny worries that other disabled people are not in the same chance as him. >> sometimes i get the feeling that for a sports university, the most important thing is the performance other athletes. the way you are perceived relates to the amount of metals you went. that's why a wheelchair does not fit the image of a sports university. >> the head of the universitit's disability officice denies this.

>> i deeply regret that he thinks this way. i i strongly disagree e with the ststatement. from my perspective, it was never important if someone brings back a metal or not. if we look at the 20 to 30 students at our university with disasabilities, i don't think ay would say i am only welcome here because i might win a medal sunday. i think they would say i am able to study her like anyone else. >> johnny has more goals in life. if surfing ever becomes a paralympic sport, he says he would do anything to take part. after what he has achieved so far, you would not bet against him. brent: you can see our 12 minute documentary on our sports like program. you can also watch it on our website on dw.com/sports.

here is a reminder of the top stories we are following. germany has been commemorating the 75th anniversary of the allied bombing of dresden. it happened just a few months before the end of the second world war. the german president joined a humid chain today. earlier, he urged against portray germans as victims. this is dw news. coming back i will take you through the day. stay with us. ♪

twenty four and france twenty four .com. yeah but its use welcome to live from paris world news and analysis from france twenty full on marco and these are the main world news headlines. sesearch and deaths caused by the corona virus two hundred forty one fatalities over the past twenty four hours. in china we have a an analysis to come. rating in trump of votes in the u. s. senate could yet stop the president waging war. without congressional agreement. okay finance minister resigns amid a major reshuffle of boris johnson is capped at just nine weeks after his landslide election victory.