>> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, europe struggling to find one voice in its recovery plan from the economic shock of the pandemic. with the crisis hammering europe's economy, eu leaders have made progress toward establishing a joint rescue fund, but deep divisions remain over a long-term strategy. also coming up tonigight, in the first case of its kind in the world, to syrians accused of torture are going on trial here in germany.

can justice be delivered a world away? and german football's top rest sign off on a plan to restart the countries bundesliga season in may, but not everyone wants a kick off in the middle of a pandemic. plus, we talk to the british fundraising phenomenon, captain tom moore. he's 99 years old, he fought and survived a world warar, nowow 's telling people they can survive this crisis. >> things will get better, there's no doubt that one day we will be all out and the sun will be shining again. brent: i'm a brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome.

europe and the pandemic's economic cost -- european leaders have been closer to funding a joint recovery fund for the time after the coronavirus pandemic. the 27 eu leaders met in a video conference call today and diplomatic sources say they agreed to ask the european commission to work out the details of the common support recovery plan. this is the fourth time the leaders have met since the virus outbreak began in italy. the eu chief took part in that summit today and warned all eu countries need to see a steady recovery or risk deepening the divisions within europe. >> the pandemic certainly knows no borders and is blind to nationalities. some countries are certainly hit harder than others and unless we act decisively and collectively,

the recovery will not be symmetric. divergencies between member states will increase. brent: let's take this story to brussels and speak with dw's chief, richard walker. how do eu leaders plan to tackle this huge problem? richard: we are a few baby steps closer, but we are not quite there. a sickly all of the 27 eu leaders managed to agree on so far is a really broad strokes of what they want to happen. they have agreed they want to have the big recovery fund that is designed to help countries recover their economies once the really intense phase of this pandemic is behind us and to try to smooth out inequalities and how they are able to recover

from the profound economic shock . also that this fund will have some relation to the eu's overall budget for the next seven years, which is something that has to be worked out. so, there are those agreements, but the detail is totally open -- how big should this fund be? numbers range from hundreds of billions to 1.5 trillion euros. where should the money come from ? not clear. how should the money be dispersed? should it be given out in france or in loans? not clear. so those are not exactly detailed questions that have to be worked out, they are absolutely fundamental. so at the 27 eu leaders have said is it over to the president of the european commission who we just saw their to work out those details and that does mean in the next yoyou weeks, some kd of plan will emerge, but there

is huge scope for disagreement on what those parameters are. brent: you see disagreement, what about this controversial topic of sharing the debt burden in europe in the form of corona bonds? does that topic remain taboo for the northern european countries? richard: that is right. corona bonds rack -- harks back to a decade ago and euro bonds during the euro debt crisis. at that time, it was germany and countries that were very much the eye d -- rematch against the idea of cooling liability of debt in the eu. that has not changed. those countries remain dead set against it and they managed to have fended it off. the debate is moving on from that, it seems and the bigger disagreements are centered around what kind of funding is going to come out of any fund that does emerge? will it be in the form of loans or grants? we have seen in the aftermath of

this meeting all of the different eu leaders spinning their versions of what is going to happen. the italian prime minister and austrian prime minister are on opposite ends of the spectrum on that question, and it seems that is now the battleground -- loans or grants. brent: richard walker with analysis tonight in brussels, thank you. german angela merkel has voiced her support for a joint recovery fund even if that means germany will have to dig deeper into its own pockets. today, she suggested solidarity will benefit germans as well. >> for germany, it means we have to expect higher contributions for the eu path next budget. it is clear we need some kind of financial instrument or recovery plan or recovery fund.

and i want to be very clear here -- the collective response is also in germany's interest. brent: that was the german chancellor speaking today. let's bring in linda craig in berlin. we have heard it any times and we were talking about these corona bonds, euro bonds. germany and northern european countries have always been labeled the bad guys by southern european countries. did the chancellor today appeared to be on the defensive a little bit? >> absolutely not. she spoke in n a preress confere just after thehe end of this video, prince summit and seemed pretty satisfied. she describedd the atmosphereres very positive andd friendly and said therere was absolutute agreemement that together, the u memberer countries musust find y forward. i thinink in partt,, this lack f defefensiveness is because this

morning to some d degree, s shet on thehe offensive and she manad to get herseself out of t the cr germanany s sometimes gets b bao asas a naysayer.r. she said verery clelearly we kne must putut more money y on the tatable. germany only does well whenen te rest of the e eu does wellll. then, she made t this very clear ststatement in her remarks to parliamement this morning, sayig we will be increasing our contribubution to the eu budget significantly. until now, germany has insisistd number was 1% % of gdp and thats what it would ststay at. now,w, s she made it very c clet is going to o be significantntly higherer than that. this is e essentially p part ofe sosolution that is not a cororoa bond solution, but wouould incrcrease the commission capapy . i thihink in thatat way, she fes she is part of the solution rather than the prproblem. brent: belinda, thank you.u.

here is a look at some of the latest elements in the coronavirus pandemic -- the global death toll from covid-19 has now surpassed 180 7000 according to johns hopkins university. the number of global cases is approaching 3 million. scientists at oxford university have started clinical trials of a potential covid-19 vaccine. it's the latest in a growing number of european efforts aimed at developing a vaccine. dubai has allowed cafes, restaurants and shopping malls to reopen, but they are being limited to operating at 30% of their normal capacity. and the u.s. state of california recorded 150 deaths from the coronavirus on wednesday, the highest single day death toll so far. the virus has claimed almost 1500 lives in the country's most populous state.

in new york, the death toll nearly 15,000. volkswagen has reopened one of its german production plants as the all-important car industry tries to get back on the road. it comes as daimler posted an 80% plunge in first quarter operating profits. daimler restarted machines at its mercedes plants this week, but as the figures show, the return to work is by no means business as usual. >> workers trickled through the gates of the dialer plant after four weeks of coronavirus closure. just a few steps into their workplace, staff are reminded that these are not normal times. however, mask work no mask, many planned to be back. finally a return to evereryday life full everyone is healthy and we are glad to businesses running again and we can get

back to work. volkswagen staff are also getting back on the job. vw reopened this plant in slovakia and it factorory in a n eaeastern g germantown. otother sites will follow soon. bmbmw is the last of t the germn giantsts to reawaken. it hopes to open idled plants next month. the return of workers to production lines like at daimler plus engine factory is crucial not just for the carmakers themselves in the showrooms they supply, it is also essential for the rest of the supply chain which is keen to get back to making parts and making money. but, the return to work is being approached with caution. the protection of our employees is our number one priority, but the focus on keeping distance. we cannot guarantee a half

between employees. workers are required to wear face masks. the restrictions apply to both work and rest with socially distant break times the order of the day. the coronavirus pandemic has changed the rules of the game, but this week has seen the return of a key engine of the german economy. brent: coronavirus lockdowns have disrupted supply chains around the world, especially in manufacturing countries like bangladesh. where closed factories have left workers jobless and struggling to survive stop >> despite the lockdown, thousands of seamstresses have taken to the streets. they are hungry and they are angry. the government has instructed textile companies to keep paying wages to workers during the closures, but many factory owners will not comply. >> of course we are scared of

catching the virus, but we are protesting anyway. we have nothing. our families are suffering. we are risking our lives because we are hungry. that is worth -- that is worse than the coronavirus. >> bangladesh has the second-largest textile industry in the world. normally at babylon garment in dakar, the seamstresses gather together here at the beginning of their shifts. but now, only a handful of workers are allowed into maintain the building. nearly 20,000 employees are now on forced leave. the textile industry in bangladesh earns more than 30 billion euros in revenue a year and has helped the country emerge from the list of the world's poorest nations. the lockdown is not the only reason for the hope. >> if our customers do not start placing orders soon, we are going to have a big problem. if we are not allowed to manufacture and liver are wears,

that is another problem. we paid our workers in march and we will pay them in april, but we have to take out loans to do it. >> people are starving. the government is distributing food, but there is not enough to go around. expeperts fearar the c coronavis could set emerging countries back 20 years. that is why the textile industry is appealing for help from the west stop -- from the west. >> definitely we ask them to reconsider thiss issue and they should take that total order and will pay, otherwise the total industry will be collapsed. >> it is the seamstresses who suffer most. their wages often only amount to 100 euros a month. as long as that is not being paid, they will continue to protest despite the lockdown. brent: here's a look at the other stories makining headlinis araround the world -- staff at a

barcelona hospital distributed roses and books to covid-19 patients today. they were celebrating catalonia patron saint. today is the day when people traditioionally exchange roses d books in catalonia, but the coronavirus has made that tradition impossible for many people. gold has risen to a seven-year high. prprices as investors look for a safefe haven. people in thailaland have been selling jewewelry with the precious metals briefly trading today at more than $1750 an ounce stop -- an ounce. concerned growing four tribes in the brazilian towns hard-hit by coronavirus. digging mass g gravess to o hane more t than 100 buririals a d d, more than three times the usual number. locacal officials s are pleadinr federal aiaid, but the p presidt and his government are playing

down the threat. back to germany now for a different story. the trial of two suspected members of syria secret police opened today in the german city of code-1. they face charges of murder, torture and sexual assault allegedly committed in a damascus prison in 2011 and 2012. prosecutors are using universal jurisdiction laws to try the people in this country. dw reports on one woman's hope the trial will bring justice for her son and a warning, some viewers may find some of thee images in the story disturbing. >> mariam lives in a berlin suburb. it seems gillette, but she is part of a europe-white hunt to catch criminals secret service agents from her r country. like many, her son was systematicically tortured. youngg mededical student had spn

up for human rights and called for bashar al-assad to stetep down. now come eight years after his death, his mother is seeking justice. >> i want the cuculprits to be p to justice, from the accomplishment -- accomplices all the way up to assad. they are responsible for spilling our children's blood. >> more than 26,000 pictures of torture victims were smuggled out of war-torn syria by a courageous former police photographer. his codenename -- caesar. the photos could help convict torturers and murderers. this human rights lawyer survived torture in syria. now living in germany, he is pressing charges against his former tormentors. as a former senior member of the secret service, he is charged with crimes against humanity, murder and rape. >> this is the first time it will be a trial. this is the first time there is

a respectable court and judge and we have victim and suspect and we can exercise the law and state of law. we do not have it in syria. >> l wiley is investigating syrian torturers.. he used d to hunt war criminalss a u.n. prosecutor and worked on cases from the former yugoslavia and the rwandan genocide. he knows that without a paper trail, it is difficult to bring culprits to justice stop -- to justice. that is why these state documents smuggled out of syria are so valuable. >> what you have in this room are materials generated by the security intelligence structures of syria, the military structures of f syria, and the political structures of syria. at the top level and at the

govevernor at levels. >> they y also shed light on suspected torturers. he believes at least a dozen former agents remain undetected in europe. mariam helps not only will the killers be brought to justice but others living in hiding. for her, the hunt has just begun. brent: germany is the latest country to allow the testing of a possible coronavirus vaccine on humans, but not everyone is hoping for success. despite the pandemic, anti-vaccine sentiment continues to thrive around the world. it is a movement fueled by a long discredited study linking the measles vaccine to autism in chilildren. experts warn people's resistance to a covid-19 v vaccine, when it eventually becomes available, could undermine efforts to eradicate the virus.

that would be a horror scenario. let's go to our reporter who has been looking into this. let's get this straight -- is the coronavirus pandemic, is it leading anti-factors to change their opinionon -- a anti-factoo change their o opinion about vaccines? > if you look k at countrieso have a p particularly high numbr of people who don't trust vaccines, it might come as a surprise to people that that is in france. but the number of people actually willing too get a vaccine for ththe coronavirus hs actually increased. the same is the case for the u.k.. there has been a slight increase in studies c carried outut recey in the number ofof people willig to get a vaccine when it doeoes become available. but experts are still warning that despite the fact there is some sort of shift regarding the

vaccine, there are many people who o are adamant they wouldld t edit. in fact, there are some well-knownwn faces comoming out publiclyly sayining they would t get a vaccine. the most famous is the tennisis star, novak djokovic and you don't need to look far to find groups that say y they will none gettining the vaccine for a numr of reasons.. either for health reasons or they simply y don't t want the vaccinine. there are plenty o of conspiracy theoeories out there over the coronavirus, w why it started ad what the vaccine will mean andnd all of the e money being g pumpd into i it. but i it will be hard for administrations to convinince peopople when it does actually happen. brent: i saw an interview with the mayor of las vegas last night and she said everyone has the coronavirus and said most people are doing fine. soso you have t to work around t type of thinking as well. when we e do get a vaccine, how are officials planning to deal

withth this type o of skepticic? >> it is hard to knonow b becaue first a and f foremost, w we d't actually have a cocoronavirurus vaccine at the moment. we can almost preempt howow some countries are going to react. in germany, let's not forget a law was introduced over measles, making the measles vaccicine compulsory f for children who wantnted to attend school anand daycare centers. we could seeee something simimir taking place. anotheher interesting country to look at is italy. lelet's not forget, the worst ht country in europe and thehe wort hit in t the world. they have people within their parliament in fact who are anti--vaxxers. brent: thank you. sports news now -- bundesliga clubs and the german football league that today. they say they hope to officially

restart the bundesliga season on may 9, albeit in empty stadiums. that of course depends on getting government approval. it would mark the first return of a major european fooootball league dururing the o ongoing coronanavirus pandemic. >> the german football league wantnts to restart the bundeslia season with games behind closed doors and they have a powerful motive -- rod casters have agreed to pay out around 300 million euros in tv money if the season resumes. -- broadcasters have agreed to pay out around 300 million euros. >> inks to the agreement, the clubs will be assured the money they need until june 30. >> it would be a lifeline for cash-strapped clubs like cologne. >> it was important news today. a lot of clubs have any problems and making partiaial payment now

and payment in full when play resumes wouldld send an importat message. >> games without spectators may be the only way to stem the financial damage during the coronavirus pandemic. >> if the season doesn't resume or is stopped again, certain mechanisms would ensure the money is repaid. >> that would threaten the survivival of a number of clubss and jeopapardize the e livelihos of arounund 56,000 people who wk in german professional football. brent: in the u.k., there is perhaps no one more admired right now than this gentleman here -- captain tom moore. while britain battles the pandemic, the 99-year-old world war ii veteran has been busy raising more than 32 million euros for the country's health care system and the donations are still pouring in. dw had the chance to speak with captain moore one week shy of

his 100th birthday. >> 100 laps of the garden for 100 pounds -- that was captain tom moore plus plan to raise money for supporting workers in britain's national health service. in the process, he won the hearts of many around the world and far surpassed his fundraising target by millions pounds. speaking to dw alongside his daughter, the world war ii veteran expressed his delelightt the e achievement. >> i think it's absolutely amazing such an amountnt of mony has been mayor -- has been raised in such a short time. it's vevery good to raise this sorts of money, i think it's absolutely amazing. >> the coronavirus pandemic has strained britain's public health service, the nhs and has shown shortages for frontline staff. that is why tom took up p the

challengnge. >> we said initially the money wowould be for the nhs charitie. that money will l be used to supppport all sortrts of things within this covid crisis, so things likee stuff for a slapdah for staff to sleep i in and supplying ipads and looking after mental health. that money has already been put to good use. >> having fought in world war ii, the army veteran turned celebrity had words of hope for today's gegeneration. >> thrhroughout the w world, ths has been very, very difficult for so many people. it is nowhere near a sign of finishing, but i would say to everyone, things will get better . there's no doubt one day we should be all out to the broadside -- to the bright side and the son will be shining again.

>> tom moore turns 100 next week. physical distancing measures means there will not be a big party at his home in bedford, but nothing will stop the many well-wishers who will be cheering him on from afar. brent: we hope to speak captain tom moore next weekend wish him an early happy birthday on the eve of his big centennial. stay tuned. after a short break, i will be back to take you around "the day." stick around.

european union dividided national leaders argue with thte videdeo link aboutut a giantnt economic rececovery package with front a and harard hitit s soutn nanations calalling for putting debt across the block. one in six american workers lose their jobs because of coronavirus swelling us unemployment to levels not seen since the great depression of the nineteen thirties. after one german city reports new new covet nineteen inspections since composing compulsory face mask wearing the measure is now set to be enforced nationwide from next week