this is dw news live from berlin. u.s. protesters renew their call for racial justice. 57 years after martin luther king jr.'s i have a dream speech, tens of thousands gather

on the same spot. there calls followed the recent shooting of a black and in wisconsin by a white police officer. angela merkel warns against foreign intervention in the larissa. russia -- in belarus. she says belarus should enjoy freedom without the threat of outside interference. the president of belarus threatens to retaliate after the eu agrees to impose sanctions against high-level officials as punishment for the violent crackdowns against protesters. welcome to the program. in washington, d.c., huge crowds are taking part in a r rally for social justice..

this is the same spot where 57 years ago, martin luther king jr. made his famous i have a dream speech. protesters ascended on the capital after the police shooting of american jacob blake and reunited tensions over police violence toward black people. the crowd heard from prominent advocates for social justice including the rev. al sharpton. >> we are treated but disrespect by policeman that we pay their salaries. we figured we would let you know whether we are tall or short, fat or skinny, light-skinned or dark skinned, black lives matter. and we won't stop until it matters to everybody. >> it was very emotional.

a large group of people came early in the day. we heard rev. al sharpton giveva powerful speech. we heard from kamala harriand also the children of martin luther king were here. today marks another historic moment in history of guided states. >> let's remind ourselves of what h happened on that spot 57 years ago. >> martin luther king jr. brings his nonviolent civivil rights movevement to the nationalal ma. wiwith a r rally that would bece one of the largest and most iconic to take place in this location. 250,000 people from across the country take part. dr. king's the last of several leaders to speak that day. from the steps of the lincoln

memorial, he delivers what many historians called one of the best speeches of the 20th century. i have a dream, he says, that his children will one date not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. 57 years later, civil rights activists are still fighting for that dream to be fully realized. >> activists may be fighting for the dream, but president trump would beg to differ. he says he is the greatest president for black americans since abraham lincoln freed the slaves. >> that's what he said. the pepeople we talked to today really disagree. they have the feeling that quite the opposite is true. honestly, many to whom we talk

also shared their disappointment about the eight years of president obama beining in the white house. the first african-american president and how little he was able to fight and change this deeply rooted racism here in the political anand police sysystem. >> we have had nearly a week of violent protests in the city. especially in kenosha, wisconsin. do you expect tonight to end peacefully? >> the march started around six hours ago. you are seeing in the background that people are leaving. the peaceful protests are over now. this has been very peaceful today. at least the police is expecting a violent night. you see their kids -- barricades

in front of all of the businesses downtown. our office is barricaded. we will be here throughout the night and see what happens. >> thank you so much for joining us. angela merkel is warning that the sovereignty of belarus must be respected. she addressed a broad range of topics including belarus. she was responding to vladimir putin's announcement that he had formed a police force to support the embattled leader of belarus. the chancellor said foreign forces should stay out of the country. >> i hope that forces like that will not be deployed and the people have taken bravely to the streets who've called out abuses. i hope they can have all of the

freedoms we take for granted. the freedom to protest, freedom of opinion, all of these things must be fought for in belarus. it is with the people want. they should be able to achieve that independently. whether there is any external -- without any interference from any side. that is our wish. >> that's take a look at this with our correspondent. what do you make of her statement? >> this was a strong statement from angela merkel. it was a plea for restraint when she said that the solve entry of belarus -- sovereignty of belarus has to be respected and police forces that vladimir putin was talking about would not be deployed. she stressed that the people of

belarus can take to the streets. they can protest as they wish without any interference from any side. when one of our colleagues asked her about the riddle line of the belarus security forces not only against demonstrators but also against journalists, she said this is not acceptable. she tried to talk to mr. lukashenko. she tried to reach him on the phone, but he declined. >> the chancellor was also asked about the russian opposition leader who is currently being treated in berlin for suspectctd poisoning. >> we will do our best to find out what happened. our ability to do that here is limited. once we are clear about what actually happened, we will strive for a coordinated european response.

not just responses by individual states. this is not just a german problem even though we have taken him in. >> the chancellor sounded cautious. why isn't she taking a tougher line? >> only a few days ago, after the first news from the for lynn hospital where he is being treated, -- news from the berlin hospital where he is being treated, the doctors said they believed he had been poisoned. angela merkel chose a rare way to express concern in a joint statement. this shows how unusual this is. germany pushes for russia to

make a full and transparent investigation of the case. angela merkel also said that it is not a german russian bilateral issue. she strives for a joint european response. after her press conference, the foreign minister said that russia has to count on diplomatic consequences if it proves that it is a state and -- a state initiated murder attempt . >> thank you for that. eu foreign ministers meeting in lynn have agreed to impose sanctions on senior officials of belarus for cracking down on protesters. the decision was made at a meeting in berlin. they u urged russia not to intervene and ali riske after

vladimir putin -- not to intervene in belarus. the top diplomat said the block was working to introduce the sanctions as quickly as possible. >> there was a political agreement among ministers to designate selected individuals responsible for the fraudulent happeninings in belarus. >> let's take a closer look with our russian analyst in moscow. welcome. what affects our eu sanctions against individuals likely to have on the pololitical standoff in belarus? >> frankly not much. these people who are underer the thumb of alexander lukashenko, some of them for 15-20 years, they know very well that they

can be persona non grata at any time. it is very clear to me that this is a symbolic gesture that will have little or no impact on their loyalty to lukashenko. this is a regime that is on a tight asus. these people are not russian oligarch's. they are much tighter controlled by lukashenko. no surprises yet. >> meanwhile, president has written his own countermeasures. let's hear what he had to say. >> now we will show them what sanctions are. until now, they forced their way to china and russia through us. now, they will have to fly either to the baltic or through the black sea to trade with russia. regarding sanctioned products that russia has embargoed, we

will now show them what real sanctions are. they forgot who they are dealing with. >> how is brbrussels likely y to react to that? >> it t is a joke. bebelarus is a couountry of f 95 millllion people w with a gdp of about $55 billion. neighboring lithuania hasas undr 3 million population and pre-much t the same if not lalar gdp.p. who is going to suffer from the sanctions? think it is very clear. belarus's l lifeline is transit ththrough with wing imports. ifif they tried to b block it, y wiwill suffer eveven more. i don't think vladimir puputin will be forthcoming with cash

handouts to babail lukashenko o. fofor now, this is more bluster than reality. look shank goes economy, whichh is n not in good shape because f coronavirus,s, will suffer if usuallyy end much less than ther neighbhbors will. >> vladimir putin says he is expected president lukashenko's quest for help and he will send what he calls a russian police force. do you think? asked for help or didid vladimir putin mckim an offer he cououl't refuse? >> it could be both. i think that vladadimir putin wl fight for lukashenko until the end because shank goes fall will reverberate in russia.

russians are very cautious and at sometimes suspicious.. at least that's what the recent public opinion polls show. in moscow, they will take notice if lukashenko falls. it would be a significant blow to whatever prudence prestige. sincnce 2015, vladimir putin present himself to the world as the ultimate recourse for all authoritarian leaders who are endangered by regime change as he sees it. losing his closest ally would be a blow. it doesn't mean that russia will lose its influence in minsk because the economy is wholly dependent on the russian economy. the political blow willll be hu. vladimimir putin will fight for shank. he will render assistance.e. if president l lukashenko isis n

trtrouble, vladimir putin will offer him his lease forces to battle protesters. >> i suppose europe has to be careful not to push minsk too hard to choose between russia and eu. the last time we saw that, it ended oddly. >> i is s a differerent situatin than it was in ukraine. it i is past time to p push presidenent lukashenknko to do anything. he is fighting for his survival. in this, he can only rely on one person in the world and that is vladimir putin. china is too far away. it doesn't really matter what your due. -- what europe will do. in moscow, they do not respect weakness. european diplomacy may work

elsewhere, but it will not work in moscow. this is a very serious issue and president lukasashenko will noto away until he is defeated. that is still far away. >> thank you. the eu foreign ministers meeting in berlin also decided to impose sanctions on turkey's ability to drill for natural gas. turkey sent an exploration vessel to begin drilling and disputed waters. greece accuses ankara of explication. -- exploitatation. the neighbors have taken part in joint patrols this month. our correspondent has been discussing this with the greek foreign minister. >> you had a foreign policy

success at this meeting in berlin. the eu is willing to consider sanctions against turkey. what are the details? >> i will not consider this a success for us. i will consider a success for our comment european family. in the southeast and it's raining, we are facing turkish aggression, illegal behavior. behavior which goes against international law and the law of the sea. in our family, we have agreed that in case turkey does not come back to its senses, does not come back to the process of dialogue, the process to respect the international law, sanctions have to be the order of the day. that is what has been agreed. >> do you think that greece and the eu should have intervened earlier? is there something you missed?

>> i have to say it is even worse. they view each other's statements. as you know, we had an accident last week. i have to say that the problem is turkey does not understand their limits. their limits are obvious. international law and law of the sea. if there is a mistake in the part of the eu, if there is a mistake on the part of the united states, it is that they have not spoken to turkey a clear enough language. after today's meeting, this will be put in order. >> before the meeting, the german foreign minister came with a soft approach. we need to withdraw ships than talk and have a dialogue with turkey. this has failed so far.

should we scrap that or what is the goal of the next steps? >> it is the presidency of the eu. he has to take the softer of the options hoping for better results. nobody disagrees with that. of course, we would all prefer to resolve our differences with dialogue. greece has always said that we are ready for dialogue and last we would like is to use the options, the options of the sanctions. we don't want that. we would love to avoid that. yet again, clear lines have to be drawn and turkey has to understand. there is no way that the country can exist by not respecting international law. this is problematic not just for the region but for the whole world. it collects scary is the situation? do you think president erdogan is going to listen now? >> it is not me or greece or

anyone who will dictate to him what he has to do to the benefit of turkey. what i would say, what i hope to see in the region is a common understanding between countries and nations. greece is perfectly willing to do so. it is for president everyone to choose. >> what do you think should happen? would greece be willing to sit down at a negotiating table in somewhere like stockholm and talk to the parties involved and you're out a solution, an agreement with everyone? >> we can do that as well, but we have to have terms of references. international law and. --. if -- respect of.

>> thank you very much. >> that was the greek foreign minister speaking with our correspondent. we will start and france where authorities have warned that the number of new coronavirus cases is growing exponentially. the country reported or than 7000 new infections on friday just short of its highest mark earlier this year. the spike in coronavirus infections in munich has led to a ban on the nighttime sale of alcohol to go. the restrictions run from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.. it is also now illegal to consume alcoholol and outdooror spaces like e parks after 11 p.. a court here in berlin has overturned a ban on a demonstration against coronavirus restrictions ran for saturday. it said -- planned for saturday.

police are appealing the decision. the dispute over the protests highlighting the fear and frustration surrounding coronavirus. germany. case numbers have been increasing. angela merkel warned that the country faces a long road back to normalcy. >> a new warning, the coronavirus pandemic is far from over. she expects the few months to be harder as new infections rise and people spend more time indoors create she said germans should keep their guard up. >> we will have to keep living with this virus. that is why my basic attitude is of vigilance and alertness.

especially since the number of cases have's ribs -- risen significantlyin the past two weeks. that is why i decided on further measures yesterday. the situation is serious. as serious as ever, and you should continue to take it seriously. she pointed out three priorities for her government in the coming months. ensuring schools can remain open safely. supporting germany's hard economy and fostering social cohesion in the country at a time when many are suffering. everyone has been impacted by the pandemic and the related restrictions. when asked what she had missed the most in the last few months, she replied spontaneous encounters. the fact you must always think about how to behave now. spontaneity and meeting other people. that's what i miss the most. it will likely be months before angela merkel and her fellow

germans will return to spontaneous meetings. something she herself is made clear. >> in football, a liverpool coach has ruled out trying to sign the player from barcelona because of the expense involved. input many top clubs on alert. everyone it seems once a piece of lionel messi. this parade is begging him to return. please come back, we are waiting for you with open arms. let's go. he shocks the football world on tuesday by announcing he wantedd to leave barcelona. his team of nearly 20 years. that is led t to speculation abt

his future destination. whwhat about liverpool? the english champions? the coach says while he would love to work with lionel messi, money is the problem. >> who doeoesn't want to have h, but we havave no chanc the numbers a are not for u us. we don't even have to start thinking about it. it''s all clclear, no chance. >> one possible destination is here. the stadium in manchester city. a club with deep pockets led byy his former coachch. >> [indiscscernible] that's it. it would be great 100% having the best player in the world. >>messi is a big draw for any club or competition.

for now, his next move is far from certain. >> here's a reminder of our top stories. tens of thousands of people are rallying in washington, d.c. on the anniversary of the i have a dream speech. they are renewing calls for racial justice. germany's chancellor angela merkel has warned against foreign intervention and belarus. she said they should have all the freedoms other nations take for granted without external interference many side. this is dw news live from berlin. i will have more world news at the top of the hour. coming up, we will take a look at the big stories of the day.

thousands in washington on the anniversary of martin luther king's i have a dream speech to demand justitice meanwhile hancock's removed afterer the lifting of charges against the hospitalized jacob blake. whose consummate shot seven times by police. transports another big spike in corona virus cases the highest yearly number in new infections mostly among young people in knees tight sanitary rules surrounding saturday's start t to the to the fall cycling race. welcome back to the newsroom i'm possibly john it's w