berlin. it took them less than a day. errors in the trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin say they have released a verdict. within the next hour, we should know what the jury decided. will direct -- will derek chauvin be found guilty of murder? much of the world waiting to hear a decision that could also be a verdict on the state of race relations in america. as the battle for european soccer even -- over even before

it begins? several clubs are reportedly backing away. less than 72 hours after agreeing to join it. plus, chaos in the republic of chad. the army announces the president has died in combat fighting rebel forces. hours earlier, he had been reelected to a sixth term in office. european regulators giving the go-ahead for the johnson & johnson coronavirus vaccine despite links to rare places of led clots. they say the benefits outweigh the risks. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. it is a verdict the nation is waiting with baited breath. the jury in minnesota has reached a decision in one of the

most closely watched trials ever. the question for the jury, will they are want they convict from a police officer derek chauvin of second-degree murder for the death of george floyd? the national guard has been deployed in the city of minneapolis where the 46-year-old black man died after being restrained during his arrest by the white police officer last may. it is a case that has sent shockwaves around the world. people across the u.s. are bracing in anticipation of what might happen if derek chauvin is acquitted. of course -- our correspondent is covering the trial. he is in minneapolis. good evening to you. we have this jury reaching a decision and we are going to find out what they decided within the next half hour or so, right? >> that is correct. about half an hour or maximum an

hour and then the verdict will be read by the judge. we are right across from the hennepin county center where the trial happened. you see this while here? we were here four weeks ago when the trial started when there was jury selection. there were one or people -- one or two people writing down what they feel. this is plastered with statements. the scene here is justice. people want justice. justice for george floyd justice for their cause. and justice, change in the justice system for african-americans, for black people who think they are -- they have no equal rights when it comes to those. this brings us to over there. there is the hennepin county center. this is where the verdict will be right out. security in minneapolis still and for a good reason very high. you have razor wire. you have the national guard troops here in town. police and so on.

the next half an hour depending on how this verdict will pan out will be very interesting. brent: this is a verdict that is not just for the city of minneapolis or the state of minnesota. this is for most of the united states. he can say people are waiting on pins and needles tonight. >> absolutely. this is not just -- you are right. minneapolis, st. paul, twin cities here. pinnacle of the interest of this very problem which started last year to creep into the consciousness of white people and young people. that is when we had the summer of racial reckoning. now of course, all over the united states, every metropolitan area, l.a., washington, d.c., new york, atlanta, on and on, everybody is looking at this here. what will this verdict be? and don't forget, a verdict is

one thing. let's say he is found guilty in one or two charges or all of them. it is the judge who has to schedule a sentencing date where he announces how many years he will put mr. chauvin into prison. you are right. this is a very big deal not just for minneapolis. not just for this state. this is big for the unit states. brent: we also had elected official speaking publicly about this trial. even the u.s. president weighed in on it today. here is what he said after a phone call with george floyd's family. take a listen. >> they are a good family and they are calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is. praying the verdict is the right verdict. i think it is overwhelming in my view. the jury is sequestered now.

brent: the u. president saying and i am quoting here that he is praying for the right verdict. how are those words going down across the united states? >> depends on who you ask. if you ask republicans in washington, they are crying foul and saying the president should have never said anything like this. not making any statement like this. does not matter if the jury was sequestered or not. others say, democrats say a rich statement coming from the republicans as they let anything go. former donald president -- former president donald trump said. if he wanted to say something, but did not matter when that was. the point is the african-american community,

this is their critical thing here. coming back to this. no justice, no peace. the president saying something, verdict one way or another. other politicians chiming in for the people on the ground. not just here but everywhere in the united states. that is the core. they want to see justice. they understand just as in very specific way. if they don't get it, it will be for all the rest of us who are not literally and closely affected by any of this, there will be no peace. brent: we know there is the story also of the member of congress, representative maxine waters, she has gotten into some trouble for commenting on this trial publicly. there is talk even if derek chauvin is convicted and found guilty that his attorneys may appeal, ask for either and other trial or a mistrial based on what this member of congress has

said. what are you hearing about that? >> i hope you still hear me. what happened is ms. waters made those comments and of course the defense used those to say this is not right for her to comment. the judge agreed. he said you may have reason for an appeal here. but you know what? this is something for the experts to decide and for people who work in the justice system if that is -- if it has the means to qualify for a real appeal. there are others who say the defense would throw this at the wall and everything to make an appeal. we will see how this will pan out. there are people saying there will be an appeal one way or the other if there is a guilty conviction. this is not over yet. after the verdict will be ready, it is not over yet. this is a first, very critical step should -- critical step

should the u.s. -- prickle step. brent: the u.s. and the world i wait trial of derek chauvin. moving on, as quickly as the controversial new super league of your kid football was announced, there are reports one of the founding members or perhaps more or pulling out. sports media in the u.k. and usa lending club chelsea has changed its mind. fans who gather this evening outside of chelsea stadium to protest the super league, they were happy to hear this. chelsea was one of the 12 top clubs to announce their move to the breakaway league. reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. manchester city will also reportedly pulled out. my colleague from dw sports is here with me. 24 hours ago, we were talking about the super league gang suggested. now are we talki about it not getting off the ground?

>> it may not get off the ground. definitely call this something of a stunning reversal.manchests out as well. there is an emergency meeting going on right now. the spanish media reporting the 12 teams are getting together. the 12 teams that were supposed to be the founding members of the super league are getting together tonight. hashing things out.they may wela because ua five and fifa as well, the governing body of world football and european football came out guns blazing against this concept as did fan groups. the fans as you saw in chelsea starkly strongly against how this was panning out. brent: it is hard to believe these 12 sides, these clubs did not anticipate this type of reaction. >> exactly.

they had no clue it seems like to me. they were thinking money. it was a boldfaced money grab as far as the fans were concerned. there was some cynical discussion. the incoming chairman of the super league from real madrid was saying -- he was saying this was going to save football and fans looked right past that kid it is amazing -- past that. it is amazing. almost the case study and public relations faltering. fifa saying these teams joining this league are out if they join this league. brent: is it possible that they knew this would happen and that this has been a trial balloon just to remind the teams and the club of where the money is? >> it may have well been. it may have been a negotiating ploy of some sort. but it faltered dramatically and it may change the face of football.

as ihese teams sort of went down in stature as far as ua for was concerned. they did throw its weight and everything behind overpowering its proposal. we are not certain of all the details of what is happening at if all 12 teams will eventually crumble in this scenario or if it is just reportedly chelsea and manchester united. we do know some major administrative personnel in some of these clubs are either resigning soon or being pressured to resign as well. brent: it is moving quickly. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. germany's governing conservative alliance has agreed on a candidate to succeed chancellor

angela merkel in the elections in september. the rival conceded the race earlier today, ending a protracted power struggle. conservatives face an uphill battle to impress voters against an increasingly popular green party. firefighters in south africa have largely contained a blaze on the slopes of cape town's table mountain. the forest many to evacuate their homes. a library containing rare books was badly affected. holding flowers in me and mari. hunters have marched in protest. it was a number of rallies across the country to show support for the national unity government announced last week by protest leaders. today, the military said it is outlawing this shadow government. tonight in the republic of chad, the president has died just a day after he won election,

securing him a sixth term in office. troops have been deployed to the streets of the capital. air and land borders have been closed until further notice and a curfew is in effect between 6:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. he was reportedly killed while visiting troops on the front line of a battle against a rebel group in the north of the country. the army has named his son as interim head of state should the rebels have rejected this transition. they are vowing to march on the capital. >> residents of chad reacted with disbelief to the televised announcement of the president death. >> he did every time when the institution was threatened, took the he lead in combat operations against terrorists who had come from libya. he was injured in the engagement

and died after being brought back. >> the news came hours after he was declared the winner of the country's presidential election on april 11. it would have been the long-term leader's sixth term in office. it is sad news. the presidential election took place calmly. and just a day after they announced his win, they announced his death. this news is very surprising. on a human level, it is touching. but there are rumors that the information disseminated by the transition council is false.

it is not known why he would have visited the frontline or participated in the clashes. the exact circumstances of his death remain unclear and some observers questioned the military's narrative. following the announcement, a military council deployed the army around the capital and imposed a curfew. it also dissolved the country's government and parliament and named his 38-year-old son as transitional leader. he heads the elite presidential guard that oversaw his father's security. he was among the world's longest serving leaders. the son took the classic path of power to the army. his rebel forces overthrew the then president should during his 30 year rule, he became a key ally of the west and supplied weaponry and soldiers to the anti-jihadist campaign. his unexpected death could spell

the beginning of a new period of uertainty in a deeply troubled region. brent: for more, i am joined by a senior regional advisor at the institute for security studies. it is good to have you on the program. there are a lot of unanswered questions. first, the president allegedly died on the battlefield. why was the president on the battlefield? >> the president has always concled himself. a military typof governance. he is a soldier. he never shied away from going to the front. it is not the first time. obviously this time around he was less lucky than in previous times. we saw him joining in these comrades in other places. like when boko haram was

attacking parts of the territory. it is unusual, but it was his style. brent: i assumed there was a vice president. why have we not heard the vice president is assuming the duties of the president? >> the speaker of the parliament and eventually -- take over in case of ch a situation. the situation in chad is qui confused because we are in the middle of an electoral process. it is not completed. the president was just declared the winner. the result was not confirmed by the court. and then he dies. then we have the suspension of

the constitution by a military transition council. suspending the constitution -- the military council does not involve civilians showing that we see the president in an attempt to preserve some sort of group. these are signs. brent: we understand that rebels in the north of the country have released a statement and they have said and i am quoting here, chad is not a monarchy. there can be no dynastic devolution of power in our country. that sounds like it is a dangerous situation in the country. how dangerous is it tonight? >> that kind of morning comes from the rebel group. s a dangerous situation.

it is confused situation. the successor is the president's son. his son is 37. he is army general who had an extremely fast military promotion who rose through the ranks very fast. it is said he never had that kind of career should his father be president. this raises the question of the type of respect he earns from his peers within the army, which might also point to some fricons, groups and factions within thermy. so it does not bode well for chad because the president's role was long. -- president's rule was long. the country was constantly attacked by rebel groups

particularly the northern part. we can expect some level -- particularly as the rebels increase the pressure. brent: giving us an update on the situation in chad tonight. we appreciate your time and your insights. thank you. back here in europe, the european union's medical regulator has backed the johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine despite a possible link to blood clots. last week, the company halted its european rollout amid concerns over rare but potentially deadly blood clots. the ema says the bennett -- the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks but that a warning label should be added to the vaccine labels. >> the european medical agency has given johnson & johnson's one-shot covid-19 vaccine greenlight despite finding a possible link to rare blood clots.

>> the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh these risks and we now have detailed information in the labeling that alerts to these risks. we have detailed information from the health care professionals in case there are any issues. >> the e.u. paused its rollout of the johnson & johnson vaccine last week before any shots were administered. following reports of blood clot cases in the u.s. of the seven million people vaccinated with j&j in the u.s., eight developed the rare blood clots including one who later died. on tuesday, the ema said the cases were similar to those seen in the review of astrazeneca. >> the reported cases occurred mostly in women under 60 years and within the first three weeks after the vaccine. at this moment, it is not possible to identify clear risk factors for the occurrence of

these very rare events. the most plausible hypothesis as we have seen with the astrazeneca vaccine is an immune response that leads to a condition similar to a typical -- >> the ema says the blood clots should be listed as a rare side effect of johnson & johnson's vaccine to the company immediately announced it would revise its label as requested and resume vaccine shipments to the e.u., norway and iceland. the.s. is expected to announce his decision on a single shot vaccine by friday. brent: india has reported its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus as the pandemic surges. the number of new cases reported each day have skyrocketed past india's earlier peak of septa -- in september of last year.

new daily infections have exceeded 200,000 for six days running. that leaves the world's second-largest nation struggling with inadequate supplies to keep people alive. >> india's gravediggers have never been busier. as covid-19 goes on the rampage, the dead keep coming. crematoria are inundated with arrivals. in some cases, dealing with three or four times more bodies than usual. relatives left to endure agonizing waiting times. >> we have been waiting out here since 9:00 a.m. now it is 1:00 p.m. and we still have to wait another two or three hours for a return. there are only two furnaces here

and since morning, we have been waiting and there are hundreds of people like us also waiting here. >> the capital is the worst affected city. police enforcing the six-day lockdown check that on the east central workers are on the move and that businesses remain closed in an attempt to stop a rampant virus. >> among the recent cases, the former prime minister has been hospitalized after testing positive. as health experts monitor the trend, there are concerns india might be facing a new variant of the virus. >> we have seen a systematic increase in cases across india. more or less taking off at the same time, suggesting what might happening is something that is more transmissible between

people is rapidly moving for the population of people have yet to contract the infection and spreading faster. >> following criticism it's bad -- it failed to stop the spread, the indian government now says every adult will be eligible for a vaccine from may. a desperate attempt to stop a sweeping virus that is leaving a seemingly endless trail of death. brent: these days, we could all use a story with a happy ending. this one comes from the indian state of maharashtra where one brave railway worker wrist his life to save a child in the nick of time. the drama captured on cctv. a toddler fell on the tracks with a train rapidly approaching and then a brave railway worker spotted what was going on. we see him sprinting into action. he lifts the child to safety,

then picks himself up just as the locomotive arrived. we understand he and the child are safe and sound. you are watching dw news live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. our coverage in the verdict of the trial of derek chauvin continues. we'll go live to minneapolis for the reading of one of the most anticipated verdicts in u.s. history. we will be right back. ♪

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