from berlin. tonight, washington, pulling back. the u.s. says it will no longer stand in the way of the nord stream 2 pipeline linking russia to germany. in return, germany promises to impose sctions on russi if moscow uses the pipeline as a political weapon. on both sides of the atlantic tonight, there are worries the decision could be a mistake. also, massive floods hit china in what is being called a once in a millennium of end. at least when he five people are

dead, tens of thousands have been evacuated. and germany, rushing to bring relief to its own flood hit communities, probing up to 400 million euros in emergency aid and vowing to start rebuilding quickly. and and basketball, the milwaukee bucks are nba champions for the first time in 50 years. their star player, giannis antetokounmpo, lead them to victory with an historic performance. we will have highlights and analysis from their game six win. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs, in the united states, and to all of you around the world, welcome. we start tonight with a deal that some call a breakthrough and others are calling a mistake. the u.s. and germany have reached a deal to resolve their

long-standing dispute over the german russian nord stream 2 pipeline. the undersea pipeline is designed to carry russian gas to germany under the baltic sea, bypassing ukraine. construction on the german and was started in 2018. the pipeline is now 95% complete. but controversy has put its future in doubt. germany has now agreed to impose sanctions on russia, if moscow uses the pipeline as a political weapon. in china, large areas our underwater after being hit by torrential rain and landslides. meteorologist say it is heaviest on port and 1000 years. at least one if i people have been killed. many of them, passengers trapped in a flooded subway in the provincial capital. with more rain on the way, there are fears a situation make it worse. -- may get worse. we want to bring in our

political correspondent and berlin and carolina and washington. good evening to both of you. carolina, let me start with you. let's flesh out the details of this agreement. reporter: we do have a couple of details. we know germany and the united states have agreed on a more than 200 million euro funding to help ukraine reduce its risk toward a more secure, sustainable energy future. this is the core of the agreement, the more important part of the deal, helping ukraine develop its energy system towards a more independent system, not depending on russia's fees, for a sample. germany wants to support ukraine and developing green energy. german has also committed to take action with a number of tools to push back against russia, if they try to threaten ukraine or even poland. what is clear for this agreement is that even if the u.s. and

germany have differences, they remain united toward russia, meaning that if russia should try and threaten ukraine, germany and the u.s. will react together. brent: does this mean the pipeline will be finished after all? we know the chancellor's always been in support of this project. reporter: well, brent, it is likely that it will go ahead now. the u.s. opposition was the main obstacle. and of course, of the 1200 kilometers or so of the pipeline, almost all of it has been built. there's a huge urgency on the german side to get this thing finished. as this deal appears to introduce, as it were, a new threat that the eu would push forward with sanctions, if russia applied pressure to ukraine. ukraine is important here

because it is a transit country for russian gas. at the moment, the theory is the russians might switch that off if they have the altnative of nord stream 2. and the eu may impose sanctions, but that u.s. sanctions threat is being removed. we know president biden already suspended those sanctions. he's not keen on nord stream 2. angela merkel raised the issue with him when she was in washington last week. it appears the u.s. side said, well, let's not keep fighting this issue, let's approach it in a different way. brent: what we've heard in the last hour or so is that part of this agreement -- germany says it would take action against russia if russia were to use energy as a weapon and that it would do it with or without the same action being taken by the european union. that would in itself be surprising. it would be a change in foreign policy for germany. wouldn't it? reporter: well, the german

approach would certainly be first of all to go to the european partners, but the problem is, the european union is pretty split on this issue. you've got countries like poland and lithuania, who also fear that russia might somehow use this pipeline, use its gas deliveries to europe as some sort of bargaining tool, or even worse. you've also got slovakia, ukraine is a transit country for gas right now. on the other said you've got countries like germany, austria, the netherlands, who all think this is actually a good deal because it increases the energy mix -- increasing security, they say. this is a private industrial project over the politicians should stand back. brent: if you look at these events from the perspective of the americans, carolina, they only had to wait another two months and there would be an election in germany and they probably will have a new government to deal with.

do we know why they didn't wait? why they changed their mind and decided to go with the deal now? reporter: this is exactly one of the points. the u.s. and germany, they were in a kind of dilemma. because on the one hand, biden made clear germany is their most important partner in europe. on the other hand, they have this nord stream 2 issue. now they have reached an agreement. and that was exactly the goal, to reach an agreement before germany goes into those elections, because they will know who it will talk to by the end of this year. so apparently this agreement has been dealt with no. -- now. brent: caroline and simon, to both of you, thank you. in china, large areas of the province our underwater after being hit by torrential rain and landslides. meteorologists say it is to

heaviest down for in a thousand years. at least tony five people have been killed -- a downpour in 1000 years. at least 25 people have been killed. with more rain on the way, there are fears the situation may become worse. reporter: soaked, but safe. this boy is one of more than 150 lucky children to be saved from a kindergarten. rescue workers are in a race against the clock as new scenes of horror unfold by the hour. one of many desperate scenes, spreading on chinese social media tuesday. this woman fearing for her life, as region floodwaters engulfed her subway train. while more than one doesn't died in the underground disaster, officials say the me -- they managed to rescue hundred. -- to rescue hundreds. >> the flood was strong and many were carried away from that. we nearly gave up, we were so

tired. we kept holding on tight to the railing. that is why you can see many bruises on my arms. rerter: in just three days, the city of over 10 million has been inundated by years' worth of brain, turning once bustling streets into raging rivers. but in a city of tragedy, a ray of hope. a life saved at the last minute by resence banng together -- sidents banding together pivot officials say some 200,000 residents have so far been evacuated. as authorities issued the highest warning level for the region on the banks of the mighty yield river -- mighty yellow river. the army has warned things could be about to get worse, saying a nearby dam could collapse at any time. brent: earlier, we spoke to

fabian, a journalist based in beijing. he told us why the scale of the devastation might be bigger than the initial reports suggest. reporter: i've been reviewing videos from social media. the scene is quite dramatic. you have to see this is only the information coming out of the provincial capital mostly. surrounding countryside's are also affected, but tre's not so much information that we have. one big problem for us journalist here is to really assess the situation, critically assess it. because the state media here is highly controlle they'veeen quite late in reporting about it. always try to report with a sort of optimistic spin. the state media ly focused their reporting on the rescue missions, but they don't criticallysk questions, for example, whether there's also a human factor in it. a man-made catastrophe. that's what some people o social media are asking. there was a discharge from a

water reservoir. cial media is asking whether this has led to the flooding of the subway stationhat eventually led to the deaths of ateast a dozen people. he asked those questions, and they get deleted. it is hard to get answers. brent: that was reporting from beijing. we will stay with the topic of flooding and go to germany. still reeling from last week's flooding. governments have unlocked 400 million euros in financial aid for the victims. chancellor angela merkel ensured the funds are delivered swiftly to those in need, after losing at least 170 people in the disaster, the affected communities now face the daunting task of rebuilding. for them, the money cannot arrive fast enough. reporter: until a few days ago, this was a sterile environment, a clean place were cancer and assist patients received medical care should dialysis patients received medical care.

-- and dialysis patients received medical care. then 300 patients were evacuated due to the floodwaters. this professor is a senior consultant here. one of germany's leading experts on the coronavirus pandemic. but right now, he has just one focus. >> for us, it's important to show the hospital will not cease to exist. i'm absolutely sure we will achieve that. people need us, and we will rebuild. reporter: volunteers and staff are pitching in for now. conscious that reconstruction will take time and ultimately public help will be needed. the government announced a package of immediate assistance, funded by both the federal and state government. long-term financial support of at least 6 billion euros. >> there will be immediate help provided to all through the regions affected on bureaucratically. -- un-bureaucratically.

we will be able to start medially with reconstruction. it will cost several billion euros but we are ready to face it together, with the regions, everyone can count on it. that is a determination we have. the immediate help is geared first and foremost to those who have lost everything. that is why it is good that it reaches those people within the next days. and that that happens un-bureaucratically. it is important there are no extensive income or asset checks, but that the help comes quickly. reporter: the floods could leave a deep hole in public finances. across parts of western germany, roads, bridges, rail lines, all needing repairing or replacing. one thing the political leaders can do is direct money to where it is so urgently needed. brent: from one natural disaster

to another, large parts of the west coast of the u.s. are still ablaze tonight, as wildfires continue to spread in the state of oregon. firefighters had to stop efforts, as fireballs jumped from treetop to treetop. the bootleg fire is expanding up to six kilometers a day. firefighters are not preparing for the threat of oncoming lightning and thunderstorms, smoke from the fires has reached all the way across to the east coast of the u.s. new york city today, reporting hazy skies. it is a problem for the entire continent of north america. let's go to our washington bureau chief, talking to us from the state of oregon, where the largest while fire is burning now in the u.s. -- while fire is burning on the u.s.. these are frightening scenes. -- wildfire is burning in the u.s.

these are frightening scenes. what's happening on the ground where you are? reporter: this fire is just as big as los angeles, to get a bit of a perspective. thousands of families already have left, have abandoned their homes to flee the flames. another couple thousand are forced to leave their homes. this is the evacuation order, level three, which means leave no immediately, because the firefighters cannot protect any houses at this point. brent: it's not just in oregon, we know south of the border in california, they are also dealing with these wildfires. how are authorities dealing with this? also those people who are being affected, facing the possibility of losing everything, how are they coping? reporter: this area faces often

wildfires, but they are happening early in the year because of this extreme heat and extreme drought. i mean, experts don't leave any doubt that this has a lot to do with the climate crisis. but if you talk to people on the ground, as what we do for dw news, and ask them if they think there should be action taken to fight the climate crisis, it is quite astonishing that many, many people do not believe that this has anything to do with it. they just want to continue their lifestyle, they want to keep driving big cars, they want to move to the middle of the woods, it's quite surprising to me that there's so little debate about the importance of fighting the climate crisis at this point. brent: we can see behind you there, this forest has been completely burned. we know that there was wildlife living there. everything from birds, all types of animals, in the trees.

what's being done for these animals? is there a mission to rescue wild animals? you also have to ask about domesticate animals like dogs and cats and horses -- domesticated animals like dogs and cats and horses. reporter: people are really focused to save their own lives, they just leave their houses with nothing but maybe their iphones, money, and a pillow. then they are taking care of their cattle. there are a lot of cows. we saw cowboys and horses guiding the cattle away from the fires. this is a major concern at this very moment. sure, wildlife is also highly affected, but the farmers here at this point are mainly concerned with their farm animals. brent: which we can understand. our reporter come on the ground for us in the u.s. state of oregon. -- our reporter, on the ground

for us in the u.s. state of oregon. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines from around the world. the australian city of brisbane has been picked to host a summer 2032 olympics after the international olympic committee approved the bid. there were no rival candidates. australia will become the second country after the united states to host summer games in three different cities. russia has successfully launched a londelayed laboratory module for the international space station. it is intended to provide more room for scientific experiments and space for the crew. it's flight t the i is scheduled to last eight days. protests have been held in paris, as france launches its so-called health pass. the proof of covid-19 vaccination that's required now for entry to venues such as cinemas, museums, and sports stadiums. france is in the fourth wave of the pandemic. the government says the goal of

the pass is to prevent a fourth nationwide lockdown. sexual violence has long been a weapon of war and conflicts around the world. a recent human report found this type of violence is a widespread problem in the ongoing war in the central african republic. dw visited one organization in the country trying to make a difference to a group that is particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, women and girls who are deaf. every day, members of the association head out on the campaign trail to try to raise awareness and protect some of society's most at risk individuals. reporter: it is with a heavy heart that she heads out every morning to campaign against sexual violence. her experience a few years ago, when she was 16 years old,

is ever present. >> they took me by force into their tent. two men took turns raping me. afterwards, i was in serious pain. because of the rape, i became pregnant with my first child. i suffered with this pregnancy because i was poor. i was ashamed and ran away to cameroon to look for a job, so i could look after my child. reporter: but life was tough for her in cameroon, too. so she returned, where she discovered the association for deaf girls. it saved her life, she says. >> every time i remember the rape, i would cry. since i joined the association into thousand 18, i stopped crying. -- in 2018, i stopped crying. i now live without violence. i decided to raise awareness among other deaf girls so that they protect themselves from sexual violence. reporter: according to official

studies, 90% of the deaf girls in the central african republic do not go to school. there's very little awareness of sexual abuse -- of what sexual abuse and violence actually is. >> as a child, i never heard about sexual violence against women. often while playing with my friends come i didn't pay attention when they touched my buttocks and breasts because i thought it was normal. i was then educated about a woman's consent to bring intimate relations. then i understood that the touching i was experiencing was a violation of my rights. reporter: the deaf girls association tells me that with the ongoing war in the country, they are seeing an increase in deaf girls being raped, as they cannot hear when and from where the attack is coming, they are seen as easy targets for sexual violence. the deaf girls association aims to create a sense of solidarity and inclusion and wants to contribute to the security of the girls and, develop and

-- and economic development. >> deaf people are vulnerable. it is important to train them and protect them in their -- them and their families. we have to explain to them that if they are raped, they have to go to the hospital for treatment. they should be encouraged to report the person, for their peace of mind, but also so that the violence stops. however, there are also people in the provinces who do not understand sign language. who will help them? >> she plans to reach out to deaf girls. but as the war and the central african republic rages on, this remains a silent dream. brent: some sports news now -- it was a 50 year wait, but for

fans of the milwaukee bucks basketball team, it was well worth it. they are nba champions after they beat the phoenix suns in game six of the finals. giannis antetokounmpo dominated on both ends of the floor with his first block of five leading to his first points with a total of 50. the suns rallied from a double-digit deficit couldn't hold the lead, playing in front of a crowd away from home. the books claimed victory and set up their 4-2 series win with giannis antetokounmpo taking down the final m.v.p. award. after the game, he reflected on what this championship means to him, having grown up as a son of nigerian immigrants in greece. >> i hope that i give people around the world, from africa, from europe, give them hope that it can be done, it can be done. eight years ago, eight and a half years ago, i didn't know

what my next move -- where my next move would come from. my mom was selling stuff in the street. now i am here, sitting at the top of the top. i am externally blessed. that is why i can never -- i am externally blessed. if i never have the chance to sit on this table ever again, i am fine with it. you know? i am fine with it. but i hope this can give everybody around the world hope. and allow them to believe in their dreams. brent: wow. anthony howard from dw sports is with me now. let's talk about -- about giannis. what makes them so special? >> everything. his achievement and the way he's done it. let's start from the beginning. he was born in athens. from a poor family of and he shared shoes with his brothers because they couldn't afford a pair each. he sold some glasses at the acropolis to make money. -- sunglasses at the acropolis

to make money. there were nigerians, not greeks. they were without health care. he didn't have access to state-funded sports programs. it all changed when he was scouted by an nba scout that said i will find your parents a better paying job if you come entering with me. -- come and train with me. he was only awarded rick citizenship. how did he get to the nba? things got very serious for the great government when he was about to sign as in a -- as a nigerian athlete, and they said, no, you were greek. he put on tony five kilograms of muscle under that incredible frame and became known as the greek freak. because people couldn't say his name. now they know their name much better. then you get the sport in achievement. now the finals m.v.p. a giant cherry on top. 50 points in a historic game. he dragged his team over the line and he answered the one

remaining question, can he do it on the biggest age? -- the biggest stage? brent: yes, he can. and he loves and respect his mother. you have to love him for that. the first temperature for the books since 1971, this is going to lead to them dominating in years to come. >> i don't think so. brent: you think it is a one-off? >> this could be. superstars have left recently smaller teams for brighter light and more opportunities to win a championship, shaquille o'neal goes to play with l.a. this was a beginning a firepower in the nba. the people have responded in such numbers, because last year, giannis antetokounmpo had the decision, the power was in his hands, and he chose to stay in milwaukee. that means a lot to him. the price he will pay as he will not win as many championship says other players, but no player will get a championship with so much respect attached to it, because he stayed and he did it the hard way. and this guy with this

incredible story, this amazing athletic ability has also got these giant helpings of humility. that's what makes him so special and his story one that is special. brent: you would think you could write his ticket now for the future. >> he can do anything he wants, but he chooses to stay, it's what makes it so special. brent: anthony, thinking. -- thank you. you're watching to ne-yo spirit after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." stick around, i will be right back. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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♪ >> health -- comes into effect in france. access to the louvre museum can only happen if you have official proof that you have been vaccinated or negative test. the prime minister's warning this could change again, covid permitting. the misuse of the pegasus spyware is emerging and modi's government continues to avoid answering awkward questions dealing with the israeli software developer nso. two days before the official