berlin. reviving the special relationship not shaking hands. and historic elbow bump as joe biden and boris johnson meet for the first time. mr. johnson describing the encounter as a breath of fresh air. also on the program, germany disbands an elite police unit after officers are found to be active in a far-right chat group. it is the latest in a string of

cases among germany's police. surveillance, repression and imprisonment. amnesty international releases new evidence of china's campaign of persecution against its uighur muslim minority. football's european championships are about to kickoff. delayed for a year because of the pandemic, euro 2020 finally gets going in rome. we will tell you what to expect. i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. u.s. president joe biden has wrapped up the first full day of his european tour. he talked with british prime minister boris johnson for 90 minutes discussing cooperation on climate change, global security and the global -- and the coronavirus pandemic.

it was a promising start in mr. biden's first foreign trip as president and his focus is on reinvigorating the transatlantic relationship. >> the president has landed. joe biden on european soil for a week of diplomacy. his message, the trump years of neglecting the transatlantic alliance are well and truly over. >> at every point along the way, we are going to make it clear the united states is back. >> this trip is important for biden. it goes to the heart of his belief about this era, that we have entered a battle of the systems between democracies like those in europe and autocracies like china and russia. biden says the west must unite and show it has got what it takes. >> democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges and issues that matter most to our future. that we are committed to defending our values.

>> biden has come to europe for three summits with democratic clubs. first, the g7 in britain. then nato and the european union in brussels before a meeting with vladimir putin. biden's idea is that it is best to consult your friends before you confront your arrival. a veteran german diplomat says that is a good plan. >> i think it is very smart. in terms of diplomatic practice, to meet with nato partners and e.u. partners first before the meeting with vladimir putin. >> biden once to be able to show putin and a china that when the west is united, it can deliver in ways they cannot. he has announced plans to donate more covid vaccines to poorer countries.

and finance ministers have agreed on a minimum rate of global taxes. you can expect the g7 to be a show of transatlantic unity. how deep does that unity go? when it comes to biden's big idea of pushing back against the autocrats. on china, europe has tied in with u.s. sanctions. europe's economy is so dependent on china it is doubtful it will be as tough as washington wants. on russia, germany has refused to stop the controversial nord stream 2 pipeline. biden sees that as a major mistake that will make europe more dependent on russia. he fears if europe does not step up, it risks feeding the narrative that the transatlantic alliance is not worth it. >> is there anything we can do to make sure that the next president will not be again donald trump or somebody like

donald trump who wishes to abandon europe? will it be a good partner, not a useless partner? >> a lot rides on this week. meetings that count both for the outside world and for the voters back home. phil: we will hear what the foreign policy spokesman of chancellor merkel's conservatives thinks. what do you expect to dominate this meeting? >> i would like to say that we appreciate as europeans the president is coming to europe for one whole week. it was the same with donald trump. he was also coming for g7. then to the nato summit and to a summit with the heads of the european union. we expect he comes with an

agenda of cooperation and multilateral approaches the questions you raised. and the results of the questions will be much more creative than it was four years ago with the predecessor. phil: what will he be able to do in the coming few days that you would not have been able to do a year ago with donald trump in the chair? >> i think we can trust on u.s. and president biden the u.s. wants to go back to leading the free world against dictators and autocrats around the globe. therefore, the question of the behavior of russia not only in ukraine but standing to the dictator of belarus and harming opposite its own country and also to looking with a sharp eye

to chi, which combines economic and political power and political pressure, which is not in line with international law and our expectation on fair relations in the world and i think if europe and north america matches its capabilities, we have a huge leverage to change things and to promotanother behavior by putting an end with the chinese government. phil: he wants to let president putin know what he once him to know, which sounds aggressive if somewhat circular. is that the right approach? >> i think the right approach is first ttalk to partners and friends in europe before going to putin and meeting him. i think it is also clear for putin if he meets with biden and biden presents a u.s. addition that this position -- a u.s.

position, that this position is discussed and with countries like japan. australia is participating in the g7 summit as a guest. this will give putin an impression it wants to take the challenge of the autocratic government's. phil: except that putin and the rest of the world knows there is a schism between the united states and europe when it comes to dealing with russia. putin knows that europe and germany want to deal with the russia. the united states says europe is too dependent on russia. putin will look at that schism between the two sides and exploit it. >> president xi wants to split

the european union by promoting this belton road initiative. i think in an unfair way in some parts. we now have the chance to show to all the dictators in the world we are close together and joe biden is a cooperative u.s. president but also a strong president and willing to lead. i think europeans should take this open hand of biden and should present my personal view on the energy question. why should we not debate on energy security in wider framework not only looking to nord stream 2 but to the questionf how dependent should we be in gas and oil and energy supply. and formalize our independent regulation and have to decide how much russian gas should be.

phil: foreign policy spokesman for the cdc has you in the german bundestag. thank you. we will take a look now at other stories making news around the world. starting in france were a court has sentenced a 28 euros med for four months in prison for slapping the french president in the face. he struck the french president on tuesday. the court has banned him from ever holding office and from owning weapons for five years. pope francis has refused to accept the resignation of a cardinal over the handling of a sex abuse scandal. the archbishop offered his resignation last week, though not himself accused of committing abuse. he said he shared responsibility for what he called the catarophe of sexual abuse i cleric -- abuse by clerics. child labor has risen for the first time.

160 million children around the world are being forced to work. the u.n. is warning the pandemic code push millions more into labor. here in germany, authorities say they will disband an elite unit of frankfurt's police force after revelations that officers were part of right wing extremist chat groups. members of the sek swat team are suspected of sharing content, inciting racial hatred and not see images. one former officer is under investigation. it is the latest in a string of cases among germany's police. let's get more from our political correspondent. disbanding an elite unit seems like a drastic measure. tell us more about what was in these messages. >> we do not know exactly what was in the messages. the descriptions have been

fairly general. nazi propaganda, symbols, possibly pictures of taylor. these are all images prohibited in germany especially in -- except in special context. the interior minister of the region around frankfurt has been under pressure for many months because of the similar sorts of occurrences within the police force in that area. he felt now is the time to set example, to send out a warning to other possibly similar groups that might exist in the police. that is why it was shut down. phil: this is not the first time police in germany have been investigated for right wing extremist links. how was this allowed to happen again? >> in this case, they only found this group by a mistake.

accidentally. they were -- there were investigations going on against a member of this who was alleged to have a child -- to have child pornography. why they were -- while they were big investigate -- while they were investigating that, they found evidence of this check group. -- this chat group. the german domestic intelligence service has talked about hundreds of cases in the last four years and in the german armed forces, about a thousand cases. this is not a simple matter. there seems to be a structural problem. these kinds of organizations, armed forces, do attract these kinds of people. at the moment, the authorities have not been able to get a handle on it. phil: so what are they doing about it? >> there have been several investigations that have been announced.

the interior ministry toward the end of last year announced there would be an investigation of working conditions of police around the country including possible instances of racism, a similar investigation has been announced in berlin by the local authorities. for germany, this is a very sensitive matter. the country with its history is very sensitive to any armed person, any person in uniform showing right wing tendencies after that right wing tendency in germany led to the disaster of the second world war across the world. phil: thank you for that. now to india where monsoon season has begun with a tragedy. 11 people including eight children have died after a building collapsed in mumbai. heavy rains undermined the poorly constructed house. the country is preparing for more monsoon disasters.

>> is a race against time for these rescue workers. as they search for survivors in the rubble of this apartment building. residents joined firefighters and police officers as they looked for signs of life. >> there was an incredibly loud noise. we knew something terrible had happened. i rushed out my front door and i saw the building had collapsed. >> heavy monsoon rains have pounded mumbai since wednesday and many parts of the city are underwater. the rainfall could have weakened the building's foundations with deadly consequences. >>erhe incident happened around midnight. it was a building consisting of a ground-floor and two levels. it fell onto the building in front of it. we have rescued 18 people so far

out of which 11 have died and seven have been injured. police will investigate the accident and will follow-up with whatever legal procedures are required. >> family members wait anxiously for news about their loved ones. with more rains expected in eastern and central india over the coming weeks, many feel this tragedy will not be the last. phil: a new report by amnesty international details china's systematic persecution of the uighur minority. it shows how since 2017, beijing has carried out a campaign of repression against the muslim minority. even those spared imprisonment are subject to harsh surveillance measures. dw learned more about the realities facing them from a former schoolteacher who lives

in the netherlands. >> the surveillance started -- a few years ago, face scanning devices appeared at compounds. this is the compound where she used to live. she has moved to the netherlands and can speak freely. >> there were suddenly not allowed visitors anymore. only close relatives. we had to register them in advance and way for approval. >> this region is home to the muslim people. conflicts have a wrapped it in violence in the past. since 2017, the region has seen an unprecedented incarceration of muslim minorities in

reeducation camps. this -- he used to be a priry schoolteacher when s was assied to this facility on the outskirts of the city to teach mandarin. >> i saw the rest of the -- the rest of the people were in shackles. that is when i understood they had not taken me to school for uneducated adults but to a prison camp. it is unclear what is happening at this site. behind the incarceration stands a powerful network of surveillance and oppression. police stations within eyesight of each other patrol in the street. policemen carry mobile id checking devices. it does not happen as much but in the past, people would get stopped every few hundred meters. >> if an alarm went off during

one of these checks, heavily armed policeman would arrive. they were already waiting nearby. they would put a black bag on the suspects head and take them away. i have witnessed that often. even today, i start shaking when i see a black plastic bag. >> on the outskirts of the city, we managed to film a cluster of data centers. police data and surveillance footage are processed here. an app on the phone alerts policeman once software has identified a suspect. under close surveillance are those who have recently moved to a different city. traveled abroad. who are in an official suspect database. who use an unusual amount of electricity or whose phone is often disconnected.

we were stopped from filming. what is happening is seen by observers around the world as a crime against humanity. a system reminiscent of the darkest periods of the 20th century. powered by today's technology. phil: a group of enterprising farmers in uganda is tapping into the countries promising market for honey. uganda has important rights into the european union where demand is outpacing local production. >> in the mountains of western uganda, farmersave found a new treasure. she is already counting profits from her small apiary. >> i expect much more money from honey production. i want a big piece of land and i am already planning on expanding my apiary. >> uganda is one of the few

african countries certified to export honey into the e. it has good opportunities for beekeepers. before the villagers can start exporting, the must meet standards for the international market estimated at about $9 billion. the farmers fund cooperatives to ensure they get a corresponding price for their natural honey. >> then will come to you and describe -- and disturber price. when we are many, we can stand together and make a law that our price -- >> the slopes are known for producing coffee, which gives uganda a million dollars every day in exports.

they now appreciate the flying creatures an m -- creatures more for helping them to diversify. >> at that time, if the season for honey production is good, bees c keep me going. >> the u.n. food agency reports honey production in europe has recently dropped. hope that challenges in the you -- that you can begin opportunity for them to meet the gap as the demand for again next -- for organics expands. phil: earlier, we reported on the g7 summit. there are lots of issues on the agenda. one group of artist and activist is hoping leaders will also take time to focus on the environmental threat from electronic waste. they have made a bold statement

to make sure the issue is not overlooked. >> the g7 leaders have been immortalized in sculpture made of electronic waste. this giant artwork looks to where the g7 summit is taking place this week. it aims to highlight the growing threat of electronic waste. >> we have to deal with it as a human race. not as nations. where one nation is pushing into another nation. this is why it is the g7 leaders. to get them all talking to each other and say, let's sort this out as a human race. >> the piece highlights not only the arginine for political decision but also more environmental awareness. >> a fridge or hoover could last 20 years. it did not have to be thrown away so quickly. hopefully this will draw

people's attention that these things -- something has to be done about this. >> everyone involved helps the summit will lead to action and not just more empty promises. phil: hope they clear it up when it is over. in sport, your 2020 is happening after being postponed for a year. turkey taking on italy in rome should -- italy in rome. >> the french bandar canned who could put his first stamp. [no audio] stop scoring. don't forget portugal's

cristiano ronaldo who could become the top scorer. the question is, how safe is a pan-european tournament for europe's best players during a pandemic? despite the pandec -- [ audi there have been possible virus clters. this led to ua for allowing nations to expand to 26 players. [no audio] covid-19. for the first time in its hiory, the tournament ll be taking place across europe. each of the 11 host cities -- 10 cities are shooting for anywhere from 12 to 31,000 fans.

budapest is aiming to have a full house. that would mean 61,000 fans in the arena. the semi finals and the final will take place in wembley stadium. world cup winners france enter your 2020 as the top favorites. they need to survive the so-called group of death, which consists of portugal as well as germany. if things go england's way, they could play all but one of their matches in london, some serious home advantage. other nations to watch out for our belgium and italy, who both won all 10 of their qualifiers. the tournaments dark horse could be turkey who with belgium had the best defense during qualifiers and might surprise the top teams at the euros.

phil: parts of the northern hemisphere have been treated to a solar eclipse. the event is known as a ring of fire eclipse. only people in remote areas of eastern canada, greenland and siberia were able to see it fully. others were able to see a partial eclipse where the moon does not completely cover the sun. you're up-to-date. more will news at the top of the hour. in a moment, i will take you through the big events of the day. until then, have a good day. ♪

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on france 24. >> mark: these are the headlines rants is to reduce its commitment to hunting islamist terrorists. president macron announcing a review and fundamental overhaul. we have analysis coming up. and joe biden head-to-head with the u.k. prime minister, the man he once called a clone of donald trump. britain says the talks were productive. biden also confirmed the donation of 500 million doses of