♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. . schools are reopening their doors for in person learning amid more infections across the country. can children and teachers stay safe and stay in the classroom. also coming up tonight, the u.s. vice president stakes enters its final stages and we have a closer look at the top

contenders for the november election. at a tug-of-war over tiktok. the video app chinese owners could sell the u.s. interest to microsoft after the u.s. government threatens to ban tiktok. ♪ brent: to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. here in germany it is the first day back at school for some children. it is happening amid warnings of more and more new coronavirus cases across the country. today is the first time schools have reopened in the country since closure in march when the pandemic began. but a return to school is not a return to how school used to be. >> finally back with a wanted to be, in the schoolyard with all of their friends, for the first

time in five months. these children from primary school can play together without a mask and without needing to social distance. even huts are allowed, although -- hug us are allowed the not recommended. >> it is better now because we are allowed to sit next to each other again, and we can see our friends again. >> i find it great because we can see our friends again, and our classmates and teachers. it is my sister's first at school so that is really exciting. >> just like this class, all 11 million german peoples are supposed to return to a daily school routine in the next couple of weeks. a great relief for their parents, as well. but playaying and learning so close to each other every day comes with a certain risk of infection. that makes some teachers uneasy. >> of course were anxious.

it is not just school. it goes beyond that. i am thinking about my family. my grandmother is s 91. you do not w want to be a carri. plus, i have to be extra careful, as my child has asthma. -- of course we are anxious. >> with covid-19 infections rising, parents have mixed feelings. >> there's is a degree of uncertainty. you do not know where people have been on holiday. i'm glad it is starting up again, the last six x month have been exhausting. >> school started normally and now i can see there might not be any social distancing. >> keeping kids at home longer is not an option for the schools had teacher. >> school is really -- for the head teacher of the school. >> school is important for the children and families as well. i think school can restart

despite the rise in cases. >> for the most part, everyone is trying to keep a distance, even though some hug's are inevitable for the kids. they hope to continue their school year as normally as possible. brent: earlier we talked to the education minister of the first german states reopen schools following the summer holidays. we asked her, what schools are doing to make sure they stay safe, for people -- were pupils and teachers. >> first, we accompany the whole ththing with a strategy of testing. all teachers are allowed to be tested if t they want to, it is voluntary, five timimes, until e fall break. then we do separate different groups. we s structure defined groups sn the classroom, so that the kids who do not elong to the same group do not meet each other during the school day. also, if s something happensns,f there is an infection which we

all do not hope, but we cannotot exexclude the possibility, thene can quickly find the chain of infection. and we can closese certain sections, maybe, of the s schoo. maybe a whole school. but whahat we do wanant to avovs going back to the lockdown in the whole state. brent: how to deal with the coronavirus come and what measures are accepted, those questions will get heated answers here in germany. the latest proof was a major protest here in berlin. thousands of people took to the streets of the german capital saturday, protesting against pandemic restrictions and refusing to our face masks. many observers condemns the protesters, due to the risk of contagion. the protesters say they see the restrictions as a violation of their civil rights. they said they also have a right to demonstrate. our dw correspondant reported from those protests. good evening, benjamin.

how did the experience the process d d what didid you see? -- the protests,s, and what t dd you see? > i h have beeeen coveringngl smaller protests in berlin thehe last couple weeks but this was difffferent with people comingng from all of f the country to berlin to protest. it was a huge mix of people, some saying they have the freedom of not wearing a mask, but there were also mixed with other people, extremists. there were people spreading conspiracy theories. there were also a lot of families with children there. there e re anti-vavax community, that is also very big and was present at this protest. it was her markel and pretty and a string for us because the -- it was remarkable and interesting is the journalists and police officers were the only ones wearing masks. brent: it is interesting and one recently saw on television. who are the demonsnstrators tryg to appeaeal to? > it is,s,hey try toto appea,

well, the people who went there, sayiying this restrictions have gone too far. they are fed up with the situation. they are trying also to persuade people to follow these steps and there have been auntie baxter's being there and also anti-semitic posters there, course that is very big group and the common ground they have that they are e not happy with e actualal situation, whwhat is happening in the country. they are not happy with how the government has dealt with the protest and critics are saying not everyone who went to the protest is actively spreading this conspiracy theory. but criticizing them for walking beside, protesting with them and they see t this thehe kind of endorsement also for t those positionons. brt: our dw correspondant,, benjaminin gruber with t the lat on t those protests we saw heren berlin over the weekend, thank you. here are other stories making headlines around the world. a new motorway bridge has been

inaugurated in genoa, italy, to replace the bridge that collapsed two years ago today. the collapse of the more auntie brent killed 43 people - -- mora ndi bridge killed 43 people, one of italy's worst disasters in decades. the bridge was built in near record time. spanish media say the former king juan carlos has left spain to live abroad. the 82-year-old former monarch, seen here and file footage, is accused of taking millions of euros in kickbacks from saudi arabia. he denies the allegations but has promised to continue cooperating with the investigation. the former northern irish politician john hume has died at the age of 83. hume was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1998, along with david tribble, for their efforts to -- david trimble, for their efforts to end decades of violence in northern ireland. he was a founder and leader of

the social democratic and labor party and campmpaigned for the nonviolent unification of ireland. a massive wildfire is spreading in the u usa, california east of los angeles.. fire protection officialsls say the blaze has consumed 80 square kilometers of dry brush and timber. nearly a thousand people have been forced to evacuate their homes. to the u.s. presidential race, democratic candidate joe biden is expected to announce his choice of a running mate next week. in march, he committed to choosing a woman as his vice president. since then, dozens of names have been discussed. in a moment we will speak to our washington bureau chief about this. first, here's a look at for top contenders for the vice presidential position. >> one person seen as having a good chance of becoming bidens running mate's, harris -- is, the harris. -- kamala harris.

she is a person of color, seen as crucial given current ruptures of a racism in the u.s.. she is also some of the public knows well, having tried to secure the democratic nomination herself, before withdrawing to support audit in march -- to support biden in march. she has a repetition as a fierce debater. critics fear there could be a lack of personal chemistry between her and joe biden, something that could be a drawback. senator elizabeth warren well-known face. [applause] she also fought a tough campaign to become the democratic nominee. at 71, to bring six parents and, -- he brings experience, and the ability to do the job on day one. butter age could work against her. some also worried she could l.a. that republican swing voters by being too progressive -- he could alienate republican swing

voters by being too progressive. then there senator tammy duckworth, a veteran who lost both legs during the iraq war. her personal narrative and veterans status could appeal to voters frustrated with truck. as a thai american she has a diverse background. kelly from the midwest she could combine biden an edge when it comes to midwestern states such as michigan. but some say her lack of experience on the national stage could be a disadvantage. another figure thought to be in contention is former national security advisor susan rice. she also served as u.s. about to the u.n., under the obama administration. as such she has a wealth of foreign policy expertise, including on russia and china. at 55 she is also relatively young. but detractors say one taken her armor could be she has never run for public office. [applause] brent: for more now i am joined

to talk about who will be the lucky candidate. let's look at these candidates. what do you think? which woman has the best chance of becoming joe biden's running mate? >> people of choose to fill in the gaps the presidential candidate leaves and strengthen the weakness. biden announced he will pick a woman. my personal favorite, not my personal favorite, but i think kamala harris has the best chances to get picked. she is an african american woman and would d be the first indian woman who would run for vp. she is experienced, a former prosecutor, a caliph and a senator -- a california senator, so that speaks for her. but she clash on the stage with

joe biden during one of the debates, and this is something people do not like about her, so that is a downside for her. brent: that is a good point, some observers say they will never forgive her because of what happened during that debate between her and bided. what -- her and joe biden. what kind of profile showed the successful running mate have? what would be the desk -- the best tactical choice for the democrats to be on a trip in november? -- to beat donald trump in november? >> that is not easy. first, joe biden is fairly old and if he would win the election he would be 78 years old on inauguration day, so they need to pick someone younger. this vp is a heartbeat away from the oval office. and he really has to win over the swing voters. so his vp can't be too

progressive because that would make it harder to gain republicans who are not going to vote for donald trump. he needs to pick someone who will get votes from the minorities, african americans and latinx people will be crucial in the selection. the vp needs to gain the votes of women, because many posters say this election will be won or lost in the suburbs, mainly women voters are crucial in that regard. then, we have covid-19. so this person really has to be ready for the office, and strong on the economy. because this country here is facing really a terrible times. this is really a huge profile, this vp has to fulfill. brent: that is true. the u.s. is facing unprecedented

challenges. the woman who has chosen, she could become the first female vice president in u.s. history. what does that mean, ines, for women in the united states? >> in a so important. maybe remember four years ago, the moment hillary clinton was picked as the candidate at the nomination, the democratic nomination day. as the mood in the country was so happy. for many, many women, even those who do not support her politics. this country is ready for a female president. and this vp could be the first female president, after all. so it really matters. as i was able to travel the country the last couple of weeks, i also talked to republicans. antirepublican women. -- and to republican women. and they do want a female in the

oval office after all those years. brent: we will see who that will be. i want to ask, is there a sense that when we are talking about women in the united states, they have seen hillary clinton in the last election and that we are talking about a female vice president of canada. is there -- a female vice presidential candidate. is there since women have been given the short sick when it comes to -- vice president of politics -- u.s. presidential politics? >> yes, not only female leaders, also males say it is possible and african american or nonwhite person was chosen to become president of the united states, but so far, no women got even close to this position, so it would mean a lot, it would really empower women, but it also would empower those who want president who has a new start.

who has a new perspective on this country. someone who is thinking out-of-the-box. and we know it is not only race that matters, it is gender. it gives you a specific perspective on life. many in this country are ready for a female president and a female vp, obviously. brent: we will hopefully find out this week or next week from the joe biden campaign. as always, thank you. microsoft is in talks with the owner of the social media platforms tiktok to buy the apps u.s. business. the american software giant which has focused in recent years on applications such as cloud computing, says it wants to seal a deal by the middle of september. behind this push, growing tensions between the u.s. and china. >> office left today would be unthinkable, without microsoft word and excel. but so far the world's leading software producer has not had a

social media hit, among young people. that, however, could be about to change. -- office life today. president trump is giving chinese owned social media platforms tiktok four to five days to sell its u.s. business, a chance for microsoft. [beeping] tiktok is an internationally successful social video platform that allows users to upload, edit and maim short clips and watch clips created by others. -- and memeify. it is owned by chinese company bytedance. chump -- trump wants to curb china's influence in the united states. bytedance is under pressure but china's not backing down. >> we call on some individuals in the u.s. to listen carefully to the voices of the international community, to provide an open and fair environment for each market and its investments in the u.s., to stop lettuce icing

investments and trade issues, and to stop abusing the concept of national security to promote discriminatory policies. in beijing, r reticence -- residents say they are surprised that an app has been dragged into a fight between politicians. >> i think is because the united states-china relationship has really deteriorated recently. >> we use many apps and software developed by the u.s.. tiktok has been successful at gaining many users around the world, but i did not expect that due to put a coat reasons this could affect the economy and even app users -- due to political reasons, ththis cououd affect the economy and app users personally. >> suffer up microsoft's ventures into the world of social media have been limited to the linkedin platform for career professionals, but this kid give microsoft larger

markets -- this could give mike a soft larger mamarket share amg young pfessssionals.. -- could give microsoft a larger market share among young professionals. it is looking to purchase the american tiktok by september 15. brent: americans in their teens and 20's using this and our reporter following this. joel, tell us more about how young tiktok users are reacting to this? >> trump may have just motivated a whole generation of young voters and not in a good way. for many this threat to ban tiktok might be the first direct expense of one of his policies. it is not the first time trump has experienced a tiktok political backlash. you may remember in june he held a rally at which they expected 19,000 people to turn up. in the end there were only one third that did. at the time tiktok users posted they had booked free tickets, as a way of cranking that rally. it is not clear how much impact

that had on the ground on the day. but it did wake people up the idea that this is a user base and platform that could become political active. now tiktok users are angry, and millions of followers have spent the weekend rating against trump. we have also -- raging against trump. parents have also been posting that their children have been signing up as campaign operators for trump's campaign as way of gaining material to drain it of resources and some people say this could lead for two more young people signing up as voters. brent: are tiktok users interested in politics? the image we have as young people watching other young people dancing. >> there is a lot of dancing and a lot of pranks, and there is some political content, particularly about trump, a lot of parity videos. also where users a are -- a lotf parity -videos- parody v video. some say it is a more diverse

platform than twitter. i spoke to a prominent tiktok crater with millions of followers who wrote an open letter urging trump not to ban tiktok precisely for this reason, because it has functionality that bursts out of the so-called filter bubble and lets people see a more diverse range of opinions. we can have a listen to what he had to say. >> in myy opinion, it allows you to see perspectitives you might not otherwise regularly see. if you consistently follow people who a are conservatativen twitter or people who are democratic on twitter, it can put you into this echo c chamber of ideology depending on whoever you follow, with tiktok seemingly, the public is engaging with content over time. and as a result you are seeing things you might not otherwise be exposed to. and that is an officiall for a a wider peperspective than you mit otherwise getet on facebook or twitteter today. brent:a buy buy microsoft would

do wonders for microsoft's image. trump is warming to the idea. without placate tiktok users? >> not necessarily. this is for many people offer tick expensive how trump really operates, making threats, setting deadlines and then flip-flopping. they may come to wonder, is this how politics really should be done? it does for me to be seen whether these young people canan actutually maintain this rage ey have learned over the last few days, and carry it through to november selections. brent: that's right, we have 90 days until the election. joel, as was, thank you. in nicaragua the coronavirus pandemic is making it more difficult for some of the country's poorest people to make ends meet, especially for migrant workers. before the outbreak, many worked on farms in costa rica. but with the border closed, the only way across is with

smugglers, who are ready to take advantage of desperate workers trying to feed their families. >> a blue steel fence separates costa rica from nicaragua here. elsewhere, concrete posts arc the border. --- mark the borde. every morning, nicaraguans crossed the frontier to work on farms in c cta rica. there brought mymy truck to work illegally on fruit, rice, and bean plantations. they earn less than half the official minimum wage. they have been doing it for decades. now the border is closed because of the global health emergency. gustavo from nicaragua counts himself as one of the lucky ones. he is officially resident in costa rica. his wife is not, but officials tested them both for the coronavirus. >> the situation is worrying. i have been tested twice. both results were negative.

but two of my colleagues got infected. so now we have to be tested again. >> dozens of undocumented workers tested positive at this border pineapple farm. only offense are registetered in the costa rica social security system. -- only 1/5 are registered in the costa rica social scaredy system, and they are 12 dollars per month working 12 hours a day, the old way to feed families in nicaragua were conditions can be worse. the costa rican foundation, areas for peace, as can trip -- is critical of portrait of nicaraguan migrant workers and says exportation is widespread. >> everybody knows about the smuggling networks. everyone knows the woman who rents her garden hoesse to the migrants so they can wash their feet. they all know how much it costs. they all know about the taxi

driver who will tell them migrants when the police have gone, or when they are taking a lunch break. the coronavirus is just josh has just uncovered that realityty. -- has just uncovered that reality. migrants pay as much is $200 to smuggle them across the border. >> ministers admit there is little they can do about the illegal employment. >> the legal framework does not allow fines to be imposed on business o owners who employ undocumented drug would harvest workers. for this we need an official decision on whether there is a legal infringement. >> costa rica does not publish the nationalities of coronavirus patients. many blame the nicaragua workers for the growing number of cover 19 cases -- covid-19 cases. as well as raising cases, the

pandemic is highlighting the precarious conditions endured by migrants forced to cross central merck's borders to find work. brent: you are watching "dw news." children in germany have started returning to school after the summer break. many have not been in a classroom for months. parents and teachers hope measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus will prove effective. you are watching "dw news." tonight, germany's pandemic deniers and bidding farewell to an irish peacemaker. we will be right back. ♪

over nineteen cases in france continue to slowly rise as dozens of cities nationwide begin making face masks mandatory in public even when outdoors. italy inaugurates a new bridge in the city of january two years after the former viaduct. of violent thunderstorms leaving forty three people dead. and spanish media report former king juan carlos the first has left spain and gone into exile the former leader is facing an investigation. for corruption