>> this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight the virus the money. leaders try to walk in staff to -- instep to prepare for recovery. the german chancellor and british president met today near berlin. can they convince the skeptics to cs to a multibillion euro coronavirus rescue package? also a militant attack in the commercial heart of pakistan.

government -- gunmen target the stock exchange in karachi. at least seven people were killed including all four attackers. and the vote for change that could change nothing. russians are being u ued to vote on constitutional amendments that could allow president putin toto twhirl for r two more term. critics say it is a sham aimed at keeping putting in power for life. and to define the rules on physical distancing. south african mini bus drivers who could end up accelerating the spread of covid-19. welcome to our viewers on pbs and around the world. we begin with the future of europe after the pandemic, the subject today as german

chancellor angela merkel and french president emmanuel macron met at a palace near berlin. it was there first face to face since the pandemic hit in march. the two were eager to show they stand shoulder to shoulder on their multibillion euro plan they say is crucial to guaranteeing the eu's future. >> the greeting was distance because of coronavirus but warm nonetheless. it is not by chance that emmanuel macron is the first foreign leader to meet with chancellor merkel since the virus crisis began. the pair are spearheading a 500 billion euro proposal for rebuilding europe's economy after the pandemic. these are two leaders who want to work together, and be the driving force for europe. >> we understand europe is not united nearly because your many and france agree. but when germany and france disagree, it does not look so

good for unity in europe. so, perhaps, we can find agreement on many questions,, and make a contribution give a positive impulse to move things in the right direction for europe's future. >> as germany prepares to take over the presidency of the eu on the first of july, miracle is more central than ever to the future of the bloc. the french president wants to be seen injecting his own energy and ideas into the tandem. he brought from paris a proposal for a new environmental levy, and spoke of how european values have prevailed during the pandemic. >> across europe there has been an open and transparent debate from the start. i think our citizens should be aware of what that means. and many other parts of the world, some more severely affected by the virus that us, the insistence of both individuals and companies has not been as massive, far from it. in many places the epidemic has been synonymous with the

suspension of democratic life. but not here in europe. >> while mccrone has -- macron has been weakened by his parties elections on sunday, merkel has boosted d support e evenhough te plan to transfer funds to struggling countries in southern europe is s a huge u-turn, with not all that her party back. as they try to convince some reluctant eu members they have the right recipe for recovery, france and terminate want to make sure they are pointing in the same direction. brent: now we go to our political correspondent at the palace north of berlin, where the meeting took place today. good evening, hans. the german chancellor is asking for solidarity and support for this rescue fund, but not every european union member is on board. are we seeing the possibility of a compromise here? >> we have to see that.

this was a proposal that medi-cal and mccrone -- merkel and m macron and the proposal s there would be 500 billion euros given to needy countries as monetary assistance, as grant pushed across the table toward them. that was the reaction from the european or's -- european commissioners likely. the government wants to add another $250 billion in loans. the question is whether it should be grants or loans. there arere some countries in te eu that feel thahat giving other cocountries m money is not the h way to do it. alll of this money should b be n the form of loans and should be repaid ovever the years. macron insisted that budgetary direct assistance was ththe only way too rescue e countries thate in need at the moment. and he said he thought within the last -- next month or so some agreement could be found

but in the end it will likely end up being a compromise in the european union matter, probably some sort of mixture between loans and erect grants. -- and direct grants. brent: what about climate change and crating a greener economy, hans? we know that was on the agenda today. what are we expecting from germany as it is set to begin the eu presidency on the first of july? >> in fact that was a subject that came up very often in the press conference of the two leaders today. it is something that seems to be central to their thinking, both of them. both of them obviously it face green parties in their countries at home. emmanuel macron this sunday and angela merkel also pressure from the green party. at the same time we have to remember the new head of the year pn union -- of the european union is the former germrman

defense minister, and a close associate of angela merkel who has also been pushing a green agenda for the european union. so there is a lot of interest, a lot of political pressure on these issues, not only in terms of finding a solution for the environment, but also i think with some sort of political maneuvering in the background because of the domestic situation in the various countries. brent: we know france is also preparing to take over the eu presidency one and a half years from now. how important will the german- franco relationship before europe in the coming two years? >> we have to say that mccrone -- macron has only been president for a few years. he is a young man who has been pushing hard to make things smooth and show he it can put things into action. on glow merkel a season politician is very reticent

about moving too quickly so this type of cooperation has not that successful the past three years. but now under the pressure from the corona crisis both sides have recognized movement is necessary and it is picking up momentum this french german cooperation. brent: hans, thank you. other headlines making headlines around the world. germany is investigating 30,000 suspects as a probe into an online pedophile network, the latest in a series of child sex abuse scandals in the west of the country. cybercrime investigators began the probe in october with the arrest of a suspect knew the city of cologne. the u.s. supreme court has dealt a blow against antiabortion advocates striking down a louisiana state law that hot to place restrictions on doctors who perform the procedure. chief justice john roberts voted with his forte more liberal

colleagues in a ruling that is seen as a blow to the trump administration. india has banned 59 chinese mobile apps, including popular tiktoknd wechat, citing national security and privacy concerns. the move comes just weeks after border clash between the neighbors which resulted and strained diplomatic relations. staying in that region, pakistani authorities are vowing to wipe out any group found responsible for a deadly terror attack on karachi stock exchange earlier monday. police say at least seven people were killed in the assault, including four militants. [speaking foreign language] >> the attack was filmed by an eyewitness from across the road. ananother gunman was capapturedt closed-c-circuitit tv in the pag lot of karachi stock exchange. pakistani authorities say the four gunmen attacked secured

guards with grenades, but were killed before they were able to gain access to the main building, where more than 1000 traders and staffs were working. [speaking foreign lalanguage] >> today a after 10:00 a.m.m., gunshots echoed and there was a sounund of an explosive, just le firecrcrackers. this continued for 20 minutes. we locked ourselves insidee our offices fofor safety reasons. >> for the safety reason. >> while the people working inside the stock exchange remained unharmed, at least three people, two guards and a police officer, were killed in the attack. police how large supplies of ammunition, explosives, and food on the militants. they state is possible the attackers signed a long siege. >> thank got a huge disaster could have occurred which was averted.

life is back to normal and there is no need for concern. we are ease now. our own security, police forces and agencies together averted a huge disaster today. >> the assault was later claimed by the latest on liberation army, a separatist group responsible for stream attacks in recent years demanding independence in pakistan for the resource rich baluchistan province. brent: we spoke with our asia desk who told us more about the baluchistan liberation army which claimed responsibility for the attack. >> the baluchistan liberation army is a militant group fighting to liberate baluchistan province from pakistan and they believe baluchistan has not been receiving its due rights. it is the largest province in terms of area and pakistan andd rich in resources such as copper and gold and it orders

afghanistan and iran. the armrmy believes this group s the backing, that another country is supporting them and sheltering them and providing support. anand this group issued aa statement eaearlier today, sayig they carried out this attack. they said the target was pakistan's economy because the stock exchange is a symbol of investment and so forth. and they y said the other targe, china is very acactive in the province,, building projects ata seaport. these militants see china strengthening the pakistani government, and the expense of baluchistan activists. brent: is china committing democratic genocide of its uighur muslim minority? an investigation by the associated press finds beijing

is forcing ethnic uighur women to undergo sterilizations and abortions, in an effort to reduce the muslim population in the country. >> two months in a detention camp has left scars. even once u.s. release, this mother was not free. along with other uighur women in her area, she was forcibly sterilized. [speaking foreign language] >> we lost part of our body, we lost our identity as women. we will never be able to have children again. they cut out one of our organs, it is gone. >> a chinese born cossack narrowly escaped a detention camp. she alalso has three children. to avoid p prison for the multle births,, she was ordered to paya huge fine.

she had already been forced to accept an iud birtrth control device.. now, she feels one of the lucky ones. [speaking foreign language] >> they g give shots and remove fefetuses forcefully. they won't ask the spouse's permission or anything else. if they say itit is illegal, thy make you get an abortion. those who did not obey were sent to the camamps. now people are terrified of giving birth. >> while china has relaxed its one child policy across the country, according to this investigation, in one area it has tightened. sterilizations among women in the northern province have increased dramatically. in 2018, 243 were recorded per 100,000 women. and the rest of the country

there were just 32. experts say this is all about beijing exerting control. >> as part of its policy to control the uighurs, populations that do nonot grow as rapidly ae easier t to control as partt o f beijing's coercive social reengineering strategy in the area. >> china has had back at these revelations. [speaking foreign language] >> the media report is purely for ulterior motive's and baseless. i also want to emphasize that both ethnic minorities and honda people need -- han people need to act in accordance with the law. >> many, though, see this investigation as more evidence that china is trying to cut its muslim and minority populations, by any means necessary.

brent: vladimir, russian president for life? that is what russians could make possible, as they go to the polls. they are voting on constitutional amendments that could allow resident polymeric pugin --vladimir putin to remain in power until 2026. voting has been staggered over one week to respect physical distancing. critics say that pop campaign to mobilize voters has been anything but neutral and distance. we take a look at that messaging ahead of the pole. >> for accessible health care, for a strong stable russia, for familyly values,s, the flyerss . these so-called volunteers for the constitution in the moscow region are working with russia's electoral commission and have been tasked i authorities to inform citizens what is at stake at the boat including an amendment that could keep vladimir putin in power. the volunteers insisted their messaging is completely neutral.

[speaking foreign language] >> our job is to get people to the ballot box so they can makee whatever toythey wanant. we want people to come and vote and for them to know their opinion makes a d difference rather than thinking thihis foot has been bought or decideded in advance so why bother. i personally think our country is on the right patand that depends on o our errant tour, or leader so i think it's important one of the amendment's could give an opportutunity to the men who put our country back on its feet. >> pushing himself is absent from the information banners around moscow, which simply present this as a vote on russia's future. across moscow there is official information about how and where to vote up on many apartment buildings. some of the posters evenn seem o be encouraging people to vote for the constitutional amendments. this poster, for example, reads, 'da', the russian word d for y.

the authorities have emphasized the amendments willl improveve people's liviv by enshririning social guarantees in the constitution. [speaking foreign language] >> if the constitutional amendment surpassed, they will set the bar mumuch higher for te government, demanding more meaningful and effective social and economic policy, and decisions to improve people's quality y of life and prosperit. >> but activists from the no campaign argued the vote is all about keepeping put in power for life. the campaign has ignited opposition groups who say that system is skewed against them. [speaking forereign language] >> the procedure is not fair in the first place because putin who holds all the reins of power in his hands has essentially arranged a vote for himself. we have no way off presenting or positition on a federal level, boboth in newspaperers and on se television. we are not allowedo o be present ther that is a barrier we cannot pass. so we can only campaign online and on the streets.

>> even though they said about is just for show, volunteers from the 'no'campaign want to keep fighting against constitutional changes, and for a future without putting. brent: you are watching "dw news." still to come, and german football, the bundesliga season has come to an end and because of the coronavirus pandemic it was one of the strangest ever. we will take a look back. while the world waits impatiently for a vaccine against the new coronavirus, it is hard to believe that a disease for which there is a vaccine is still killing thousands of people. the world's largest measles outbreak is spreading in the democratic republic of congo. while much attention has been paid to curbing ebola and now the new coronavirus, fighting measles has been a lower priority, with deadly consequences. [children crying]

>> christie is just now receiving her measles vaccination. she is not happy about the shot but her mother is relieved the child is now safe from the didisease. >> we know about the import of prevention. if there is an outbreak, my child is now protected. >> while little christie is safe, measles has killed 6800 people since the beginning of the outbreak in early 2019. but the e world and manyny darkr -- donor organizations have been focused on the covid-19 threat and to separate ebola outbreaks here. [speaking foreign language] >> ebola is a global threat and that is causing a stir. lots of people are interested because it is ebola. measles is only a threat to underdeveloped countries, countries dealing with conflicts, and that is not attract the media. the measles outbreak is silently spreading in the shadow of ebola and covid-19. humanitarian groups say it was neglected from the start.

supplying clclinics with mededie has been problematic. vaccination campaigns s have ben delayed. [s[speaking foreign language] >> the couountry has been experiencing many security incidents, which resulted in populationon displacement, so there e are thousasands of chiln not vaccinated on a regular basis. >> these vaccines are being transported to my sisi, a region suffering from a f fsh wavave of fighting between a armed groups. [speaking foreign language] >> we just loaded two boxes containing 33,000 vaccines. they will be used in a vaccination campaign. [speaking foreign language] >> effort continu despite jor logiical and security chchlenges, such as entire cities and regions being placed under lockdown to fight the spread of covid-19. the consequence, children are missing out on routine

vaccinations. the death toll from measles is three times that of ebola. the local population knows too well that threat of silent killer such malaria, malnutrition or measles. brent: making news this hour, airbus is cutting production by 40% for two years in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. with air travel at eight stanandstill, airlinines have stopped taking delivery of new planes and tens of thousands of jobs are threatened by the cutbacks. two statues of george washington in new york washington square part have been vandalized as activism against racial injustice continues. the united states'first president, george washington, owned slaves and has been a target of black lives matter protester since the death h of george floyd in minneapolis. the lockdown of the northwestern german district of goodridge left has been extended for one

other week, following the outbreak of coronavirus at eight meat processing plan with 1500 people infected. restrictions in a neighboring strict spire midnight wednesday. -- in a neighboring district expire at midnight on wednesday. some of the country's minibus taxi drivers say the rules are not being eased fast enough and one union is taking unilateral action but it is a decision that could jeopardize the health of drivers and passengers in the country. dw reports from cape town. >> for millions of commuters in south africa, obeying physical distancing regulations is almost impossible. pupublic transport is mainly y y buses known n as taxis -- come mainly comprised of minibuseses, known as t taxis. mondnday the drivers'largest unn

announced it would abandon the limit. >> ththe government must let us operate the way we used to, because it does not want to give us minimums. are we supposed to die with a coronana? we are trying to make a living here. we still have to pay the fines. >> the government offered drivers s compensatition amountg to 250 euros per bus, a total of almost 70 million euros. but driver said that is not enough. things are tough for passengers to. at this many bus terminal in cape town, people regularly disinfect their hands but no one's checking distance regulations or whether people are wearing masks. >> you are in a difficulult situation because you need to go to thehe doctor for your kids. so you cannot actually enter a taxi, because it is danangerous. you can see the operation we have here, not properlrly on

standard, because in the circumstances now, you are killing yourself actually. it is very, very dangerous. >> it is a responsible. so they s should n not be packig taxis at this time during the pandemic. >> vivirologists in south africa have been warning about the high-risk of the spread of the virus inside those minibuses. here this many bus stands the drivers are divided as to whether it is a good idea to operate at full capacity are not -- or not. >> many drivers want to stick to the regulations. >> i am not responsible to go against the government. >> forr me i w would rather drie with 10 people or whatever, because you do not know who has the virus. you u have to go to yoyour fami. >> cape town is at the epicenter of the pandemic in south africa. units aree set to hold talks wih the government in the next few days but if regulations do nott change, the unions weren't they will bring up a transport to a

standstill. -- the unions worn. brent: in football news and the strange bundesliga season drew to a close of the weekend. bayern munich won the title. the campaign ended in empty stadiums. >> the 57th bundesliga season began as normal. then came the pandemic and the lockdown. suddenly, distancing and safety were the watchwords. empty stadiums, masks stars given humble sendoff. pplause] titles toasted sensibly, with beer showers nowhere to be seen. instead of players and stand standing together, there were appeals to reason. >> please, we are in the middle of a pandemic. stay at home and watchable at home. we play in the stadium and at

some point we will make up for it. [horns honking] >> but when will that be possible? >> in an ideal world the next season that would run normal it would be 28 1-2022. so the coming season with look like the end of this one, not the nicest prospect. brent: you are watching "dw news." stick around. ♪

the green wave floods through a string of french town in city hall says ecologists win big in the delayed second rounds municipal election but a bruised president mac home promises to inject billions more to make the country's economy greener. the lawyer acting on behalf of a one time french presidential hopeful says his client plans to appeal. this up to judges