>> this is dw news live from berlin. germany demands answers of claims that the merck & co. the united states by of angela merkel. german chancellor fell victim to a phone tapping operation and it has not become clear a close european ally was involved. china scrapped its two--child policy. they will be allowed to hav three children. but most say they can't afford. plus, the chaos of a volcanic

eruption. we meet the volunteers doing their best to take care of the victims. remembering one of the most infamous racial atrocities in american history. a century ago, a white mob burned down a district known as blackwell street. we report from oklahoma on the divisions that remain 100 years on. ♪ i am anthony howard. welcome. leaders from france and germany are reporting and -- demanding answers over a report that denmark helped the u.s. spy on politicians, including tesla. the initial revelations a decade ago showed the n.s.a. tapped the phones of foreign leaders including chancellor merkel. now a multinational media

investigation says the danish military intelligence unit supported the u.s. wiretapping operation. reporter: spying on your neighbors. denmark's secret intelligence agency reportedly gave its u.s. counterpart, the n.s.a., access to tons of data streams through danish internet cables to eavesdrop on european politicians. a joint investigation by several european media outlets shows former german chancellor candidate peer steinbruck, was one of the espionage targets. he is angry at the revelations, saying, it is pretty grotesque that they spy on politicians of other countries. it is evidence that they have a life of their own. i think this is a political scandal. the phone tapping of chancellor merkel and former foreign minister frank-water steinmeier, came out in 2013 as part of edward snowden's leaks on the n.s.a.'s activities.

what they did not reveal is that such a close european ally was involved. another major problem -- the danish government did not inform their german neighbors, though they apparently knew about the eavesdropping as early as 2015. to those who were involved in the original investigation into the n.s.a. scandal, this is not, as a surprise. >> that's why always pointed out, we have common interests, but there is no field of friendship concerninstates o agencies. friendship you have between persons, but notetween agencies, so, never trust anybody. reporter: the german government only found out about the latest revelations from the press. after a virtual meeting, both chancellor merkel and french president macron emphasized why it was not acceptable. >> i was relieved to hear that the danish government, and the danish defense minister also made it very clear what she thought of that,.

so in. addition to seeking clarity about the facts, i see a good basis on which we can rebuild trust in relationships, but to achieve that, copenhagen will have to find a way to keep its intelligence agency in check, for more, we are joined by a member of the institute of national and international security, and an associate professor at the university of denmark. we have seen cautions from france and germany considering the severity of the allegations. what do you thanks of that response? >> german chancellor angela merkel is usually not the one with strong words, but i think it is still worth listening to her. furthermore, she opened a loopholeor denmark to get out of this very precarious situation that our country

borders itself with. andrew: yes, she has made a path out, but given that being the case, how serious a breach of trust is this between denmark and her neighbor, germany? >> this is a very serious matter. the whole scandal which came out yesterday evening shows i would say something pretty fundamental issues within the european community. the question of how and states those tactical advantages of allying theelves wi the united states to gain more advantages and setting out the neighbors. we only have the names of a few german politicians which were mentioned in this report. but we're also talking about

swedish, norwegian, so the very closest and oldest friends of denmark in the region. andrew: how they did it is, of course, of interest but why they cooperated with the u.s. on this. thomas: we have to look back. denmark has been a close ally of thunited states eve since the early days of the cold war. this has actually been one on of the specialties. you could say it is in the genes of the danish service. in the cold war we were able to listen to polish and east german radio communications and also able to keep up this ability to listen in. the problem is the world around us has changed. the enemies of yesterday are now our partners in the european union.

i think the scandal now shows thatur policies have noteen up-to-date with the changes of the past generation in our vicinity. andrew: with the changing landscape you mentiod in mind is this likely to have lasting political and diplomatic consequences? thomas: well, that is an important question, because it really depends on how this is dealt with within the european union. if it is all hashed down, we can have forgotten all about it in a few weeks time and we will get just as surprised the next time a similar case will come up in 10 or 20 years time. and it will come up again, i assure you. or the europeans will seek to repair t problem. the dilemma of national interests against the community interest.

should denmark take denmark first and act with americans or should they think in the larger european framework? i don't think denmark is actually alone with thoughts like this. pandrew: thomas, thanks so much for your input. all right, let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories making headlines around the world at this hour. the un's nuclear watchdog ss iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is 16 times the limit set by the 2015 nuclear accord. it also said tehran failed to explain traces of uranium found at several and declared sites. talks are underway to revive the nuclear deal after the u.s. pulled out in 2018. people are voting in non-delayed parliamentary elections in somaliland. somaliland declared independence 30 years ago but has not gained international recognition authorities.

-- authorities say the polls demonstrate its stability. inyria, medical workers are protestingfter the world health organization's gave a seat on its executive board to the government of president bashar al assad. thousands rallied intaly province. they say aside is responsible for bombing clinics and hospitals during the devastating civil war, now in its eighth year. the eight agency doctors without borders is warning that thousands of people displaced by a volcanic eruption in congo are at risk of cholera infection. the eruption of mount nyiragongo sparked a chaotic mass exodus. hundreds of children were separated from their parents. our reporter reports from a nearby city on the young people still waiting to be reunited with her family's. reporter: the mount nyiragongo volcano is still fuming, over a

week after the devastating eruption, and it is still impacting people in its vicinity, like six-year-old ezra. he lost his parents in the chaos when he and his family fled in panic. this child has been fou. we will take him as we wait to -- you will take them to your home as we wait to find his parents. he will stay with you. he works as a volunteer for the red cross. 's job is to register children who have been separated from their current. according to the u.n., nearly 100 children were reported missing after the eruption. of them, bahati and his group have been able to reunite 700 with their parents. he is the third child he has taken in. bahati already has six children of his own. >> i sacrifice the little that i have, that god has given me. that is what i feed the children, but i still struggle.

at least they can still afford a simple meal. reporter: many others are fighting over essential goods. [shouting] people here are desperate. there is not enough room for the water. they drink the water from the lake, which is not clean and can cause cholera. you can see behind me, aid workers really struggle to provide the people with basic goods. many of the 400,000 people who fled came here to this town. there are no shelters. people are sleeping in schools or inside this church. >> the living conditions have become very bad. markets have no food. personally, i am not making a living. i am now poor. . reporter: naomi was taken in three days ago. she will never forget the moment when the sky turned red. >> i told my mom, look, the

volcano is now on fire. we got out and many were fleeing. that was when we lost each other. i was very afraid. i was shaking. i was not even able to run to the house. >> she thinks she knows where her parents might be, but it is far away, and transportation is expensive. >> after i find mom and dad, i would like to move here because i like it here. >> playing on the level of the past eruption, ezra and naomi up be united by their parents soon. andrew: our correspondent has more on the threat to health posed to the drinking water from lake kivu. reporter: we are in gom this isa

one of the ponds people come to collect water. . borders say there could be a cholera outbreak. this lake there is another risk. volcanologists fear that there could be an abruption under the lake and also lava that could cause lots of carbon dioxide to be released and then suffocate. andrew: that was our correspondent reporting from goma. china is scrapping its long-standing couples of only -- long-standing policy of only allowing couples to have two children. the country wants to reverse the lowea birthrate. the latest census shows china's population growing at the slowest rate in decades. officials feared the aging population means a shrinking workforce which could, in turn, threatened decades of economic growth. reporter: this pediatric center in beijing may look busy, but china's birth rate fallen

heavily in recent years. many have welcomed the news of the new three child policy, but also regretted that he did not come sooner. i think it is a good policy because the aging population is quite a serious problem. i think the country should have taken the problem serious earlier. couples like us missed the time when we could've had another child. china's ruling communist party relaxed its one-child policy in 2016 allowing most couples to have two. but that appears to have done littleo stop the birthrate's downward trend. the latest census data shows the number of people in china old or than 65 rules sharply in the last decade. at the same time, the working age in the population shrank dramatically. despite the new three-child policy, many chinese are hesitant to have more children. they say the extra costs involved along with the demands

of taking care of your own elderly parents, are too much to bear>> there should be more policy support to encourage people to give birth to more children, including more education support, medical support, so that people are more willing to raise children. reporter: some 40 years after the implementation of the one child policy, it seems china's next generations will face a whole set of new challenges. andrew: for more on the story, we asked our correspondent in beijing how serious china's demographic challenge is. reporter: four years ago, china lifted the ban on the second child and allowed people to have two children. there was a small baby boom in the following year, but already in a year after the birthrate started declining again, having reached the lowest point last year. the pandemic might have played into this loan number as well,

but the trend is clear, the numbers are declining. it's not likely that this will change just because the government puts the number at three it. is much easier to prevent people from having children. the chinese government is finding out now. the reason is that the parents who are thinking about their family planning are around 30 years old, many of them have never known families without two children. this is the one-child generation. the other thing is, in the highly competitive education system, many prefer to put their resources into one child to give them better chances in life. andrew: that was our correspondent reporting from beijing. looking at the other world news in brief -- vietnam has started testing all 9 million residents of the capital city to contain any outbreak. a stricter lockdown is in force. vietnam also has stopped

international arrivals at its airport in hanoi. nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg said the alliance will restrict access to belarusian diplomats. this comes after belarus intercepted a flight in minsk and arrested a journalist on board. israel's opposition leader yair lapid says there are still many of the coastal forcing a coalition. the centrist leader is trying to forge an alliance including arab-israeli parties and a center-right party. erosion news agency says covid-19 is spreading faster than at any time since last october. vaccine uptake in russia has been sluggish. moscow's mayor says the capital has lower rates of vaccination than any major european city.

our correspondent went to a specially built city in moscow to find out whether doctors are ready for another wave of infections. reporter: these suits have become like a second skin for doctors like this one. the 45-year-old has been working in the intensive care unit of this coronavirus hospital on the outskirts of moscow since it opened over a year ago. the hospital just added a fifth i see you -- fifth icu. this dr. heads it. >> the severity of the cases have intensified. before our patients stabilized in a shorter priod of time. now the number of patients has stayed the same, but the severity of cases has worsened. reporter: the hospital specializes in treating covid. it takes in patients even when other wards in moscow are not coping. 90% of the beds are occupied at the moment.

hospitalization rates have been going up. some experts are even warning of the third wave in russia, by the doctors here say things are under control. how are you feeling? the head doctors at the icu do their rounds retains a day to check on patients and make sure they are stable. >> the relatives don't always understand. they wanted their loved ones to be discharged immediately, or they're just happy in the slightest improvement in the patient's condition. reporter: during the first wave of the coronavirus last year, 12,000 workers built this infectious disease hospital in just over one month. that sperling hospital is reminiscent of a military camp, but it was built to stay. it has beds for up to 800 patients, and a huge laboratory that can carry out hundreds of thousands of tests per day. it is the showpiece in moscow's fight against the pandemic.

russia's authorities have declared victory in the puddle against covid-19 several times -- in the battle against covid-19 several times, but now the number of cases is inching up again, to go here in moscow. the vaccination drive is very slow in russia, even though the country's sputnik v jab in its widely available. nearly two thirds of russians don't want to get the jab at all. still, coronavirus restrictions have been lifted almost entirely, and not everyone is worried about moscow's infections going up. >> they have been promising a third wave for ages. if it happens, we will wear masks. >> we are very afraid of the third wave. >> i don't believe in this infection. reporter: for denise, this kind of attitude about the virus is frustrating. the battle against the coronavirus has essentially taken over his life. along with most of the medical staff, he lives on a dorm into dormitory of the hospital.

>> once everyone understands that with this virus, you don't just have to protect yourself from others the mask, but also protect others from yourself, that is when we will really win against covid. we will have less work if people take more personal responsibility. reporter: there is already a huge turnover of patients at this hospital, but doctors here are convinced that they are prepared for a third wave of the coronavirus if it hits,. andrew: the u.s. is marking the centenary of one of the most notorious racial atrocities in american history. in 1921, a white mob looted and burned a prosperous black neighborhood in tulsa, oklahoma, killing as many as 300 people and leaving hundreds homeless. the ceremonies to remember one of the deadliest racial massacres in the u.s. have been taking place. president joe biden will also join in the commemorations. 100 years ago, the area was known as black wall street because of its many black entrepreneurial businesses.

for decades, what happened was kept quiet. only recently has the full scale of the massacre come to life. our correspondent sent us this report. ♪ [drumming] >> joy intel says greenwood district -- joy in tulsa's greenwood district. people here are celebrity in their heritage. most of the survivors of tulsa's race massacre are no longer alive, but there descendants are here today. ♪ >> it was kept a secret. i didn't learn about it until i was nine or 10 years old. i don't think people wanted to go back and remember that traumatic things that happened. they might have been afraid that it might happen again. reporter: in 1921, a white mob, along with tulsa police and members of the national guard, attacked the black wall street

district by looting and burning businesses and homes. greenwood was reduced to ashes. at least 300 were killed. more than 10,000 black people were left homeless. as shameful episode in the history of the city where race still divides its residents. >> we are on the north part of tulsa, which is predominantly black. and then south and east and west is predominantly white. i feel like there is that line that you just don't cross if you are one or the other. >> it has always been a division, but with me growing up in north tulsa, we never went south to buy anything. we had our own stores, our own schools, around doctors and hospitals. reporter: while elder tulsans have remained silent out of fear, the younger generation believes the only solution is communicating what happened on that fateful day. >> it is ignorance that keeps us divided so events like this continue to educate people, that is the only thing that i think will get us past that point.

reporter: that is what this commemoration day is all about, teaching people what should never happen again. nevertheless, there are still some buried secrets from the tulsa race massacre. a gruesome discovery was recently made at a nearby cemetery. this is the site where archaeologists unearthed a mass grave. they su it might be connected to the tulsa race massacre of 1921. but until this is clarified, the unknown bodies will remain in the ground. some of the cruel things that haened in this dark chapter of history remain unknown, and for many residents in tulsa, forgiveness will only be possible once the whole truth is finally brought to light, even if it is more than 100 years later. andrew: ted strom is now. naomi osaka has -- to sports now. naomi osaka has withdrawn from

the french open. the world number two decided not to face reporters after her first-round win, citing mental health issues. she was fined $15,000. of sacca earlier said she would not attend the obligatory news conferences. she maintains questioning affects her mental well-being. reaching the summit of mount everest is a challenge for any claim or. for one who is disabled -- for any climber. one of them has managed to overcome his adversity to reach the peak. >> this shows ia feat of you thought possible. what is remarkable is that he is blind. >> i was very scared, because i could not see where i was walking and i could not find my center of gravity. sometimes i would fall, but i kept thinking, i had to face the difficulties.

reporter: he is the first blind person in asia, and only the third anywhere, to scale the world's highest peak. he lost his sight at the age of 21 after suffering glaucoma. he managed to get to the top of everest with the help of three guides. he believes his experience of reaching the summit was different from that of most other climbers. >> i did not feel exhilarated or emotional like others, i didn't think too much. i thought the environment around me was quite risky, so i tolmy guide that i wand to get down quickly. reporter: he made it down to base camp safely. he says he knows why he was successful, and has some advice for others in his position. >> no matter if you are disabled or able-bodied, whether you have lost your eyesight we have no legs or hands, it doesn't matter as long as you have a strong

mind. you can always complete everything that other people cannot. reporter: in his case, this has certainly turned out to be true. andrew: before we go, a quick reminder about top story -- germany isn't demanding answers over claims that denmark helped the united states spy on chancellor merkel over a decade ago. in just a moment, will be back to take you through "the day." stay with us for that. we will be back shortly. ♪

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♪ >> you're watching live from paris here on france 24. these are the headlines. emmanuel macron has condemned spying on his german counterpart by the u.s. with the help of embarq. -- of denmark. speaking alongside angela merkel, he said they were awaiting answers from washington and from copenhagen. fears over stalled economic growth forces china to allow families to have three children. the scrapping of the one child policy three years ago has not led to a significant upward surge in the population.