brent: this is "dw news." live from berlin. tonight in afghanistan, a powerful earthquake. officials say 1000 people have died, many more injured, making the country's deadliest earthquake in decades. here in germany, chancellor scholz calls for a new marshall plan to help ukraine. speaking in parliament today, he also said there would be no

partnerships with vladimir putin's imperial russia. this comes as the first german heavy weapons arrive in ukraine. but are they enough to silence critics who say germany has done too little to help ukraine defend itself? and as the war feels inflation around the world, africa is feeling the impact. more and more people are ending up homeless in south africa, and authorities there say they don't know what to do. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching in pbs and the united states and all of you around the world, it it's good to have you with us on this wednesday. we begin with a massive earthquake in afghanistan. at least 1000 people have died and hundreds injured. president joe biden has ordered american aid agencies to see what they could do to help the

afghan people. but that will not be easy. since the taliban took control last year, most aid agencies have stayed out of the country. reporter: rescuers and survivors or the injured to reading helicopters. getting around in the remote modernist regions of afghanistan is challenging under norma circumstances, but after wednesday's earthquake, it is more difficult. the powerful tremor took residence by surprise. many were in their beds when it hit. >> it was midnight when the quake struck. the kids and i screamed. our rooms were destroyed. our neighbor screamed and we saw everyone's rooms collapse. >> the houses in this rural region are mostly made of mud or stone and dozens were destroyed. authorities fear many people could be trapped beneath the rubble. reporter: that disaster poses a major test for the taliban-led government which seized power last year. since then, many international

aid agencies have left the country, and billions of euros in development aid were cutp as a result, afghanistan was already suffering a severe economic crisis. in light of these difficult circumstances, the taliban-led government is asking for international help. the afghan red crescent society has dispatched aid from kabul to the affected areas. the you and says it is also sending its teams. brent: earlier i asked a freelance journalist whoas in kabul to give us the latest. reporter: the death toll and the numbers of injured have written to the day, to the numbers you mentioned, up to 1500. risky efforts were also impeded by rainfall and heavy winds at times. now it is nighttime in kabul and afghanistan, so rescue efforts

have mostly stopped until tomorrow morning. brent: this was the deadliest earthquake to hit the country in years. are there agencies in afghanistan that can deal with this, especially with the taliban now in control? guest: one thing to remember is that afghanistan frequent earthquakes. yes, yes this one was a major one. the largest one in several years, but this is not something completely new. to some extent, the taliban also reactedell. for example, they quickly dispatched helicopters to the most affected areas. in one of the most heavily hit districts, excavators arrived quickly, it was confirmed to me. in other areas, the taliban lacked theapacity act quickly. the aid that has arrived to some extent is not sufficient. brent: help us understand, u.s.

president biden has ordered eight agencies from his country to do what they can. what can they do, though, right now in afghanistan? guest: the situation is not easy. it is difficult. however, aidgencies have, pretty soon after the taliban takeover, tried to resume their operations sometimes successfully and sometimes not successfully. the u.s. issued several general licenses that exempt humanitarian organizations from sanctions that are imposed on afghanistan and the taliban regime. so it is possible to get aid in. but they still face difficulties. nonetheless, some ngos expanded their programming. they are under pressure to implement from the donors, under pressure from the taliban that want to get aid in and also to

siphon some of the aid of. this leads to various problems sometimes, but also to the fact that aid projects are still running. and in this case, a certain amount of international aid will certainly reach these regions. brent: journalist, franz marty with the latest tonight from afghanistan. thank you. germany will do justice to its responsibilities -- that is the key message today from german chancellor scholz, who used his address before the country's parliament to double down on his country's commitment to supporting ukraine and germany's other allies. in his speech, the term -- the chancellor said the european union have joined forces like never before to fight against russian imperialism. he says germany notes from its own history that lancets are important, and that germany will

remain a reliable partner. >> in the biggest security challenge in europe for decades, germany as the economically strongest country in europe with the largest population in the e.u., takes on larger responsibility not just for its own security, but also that of its allies. when they visited the baltic states two weeks ago, i made it clear, an attack on them would be an attack on all of us. brent: earlier i asked our political correspondent to save about the chancellor's heavy emphasis today about germany's responsibility towards us allies? guest: olaf scholz repeated a commitment he made back at the start of the war in ukraine, saying that we will protect every centimeter of nato territory. he says germany is doing that by beefing up its own military spending, but also by sending troops and materiel to nato's

eastern flank and showing its commitment that way. but also by the support that it has given to ukraine, both financial and increasingly in the form of direct military support as well. brent: simon, the chancellor today tried to quash the idea he's moving too slowly on helping ukraine. did he achieve what he wanted? guest: i guess that will depend on the wider perceptions. there are plenty of people here in germany, opposition politicians and others who think that the progress has been to slow and too hesitant. will other world leaders give germany the credit that olaf scholz things he deserves? we will have to wait and see. he has a week of summit meetings meeting up, in particular the nato summit here in germany

again and the beginning of next week. and we may hear more, and particularly resident zelenskyy of ukraine himself will be part of the summit video link. now that the first heavy weapons from germany have begun to arrive in ukraine, perhaps some of the criticism of germany's cautious approach will die down. brent: our political correspondent state money young, thank you. well, in his speech today, german chancellor scholz also said ukraine has a right to defend itself, adding that it is our duty to support ukraine as best we can. germany has faced international criticism for its initial reluctance to supply ukraine with weapons and then for the time that it took to deliver those weapons. reporter: the german panzerhaubitze 2000, one of the most sophisticated weapon

systems in the world. several of these have finally arrived on the battlefield. germany has long been accused of dragging its heels over the delivery of the aid to ukraine. to counter such criticism, berlin has released a lengthy list of weapons and equipment but has handed over to keep. it includes panzerhaubitze 2000 antitank rocket launchers, portable air defense systems that enable soldiers to hit enemy aircraft, 60 million rounds of admonition. these deliveries proved useful in the early stages of the war when ukrainian forces ambushed russian softer at close range. but against the mass artillery deployed by russia and its dundas offensive, ukraine needs more heavy guns of its own. germany have been slow to react, unlike some of its nato allies.

the u.s. has delivered over 100 of these modern artillery pieces and will soon send long-range missile systems. poland has donated at least 18 howitzers and hundreds of soviet-era tanks. germany too has pledged more heavy equipment. on the to-do list, self-propelled antiaircraft guns, effective against low-flying aircraft, multiple launch rocket systems, april to target up to 80 kilometers away, and the antiaircraft system able to clear the sky of enemy aircraft and missiles. but the first batch of parts and the mass lnchers arenly slated for delivery in july. and others might only arrive in ukraine in october's. long wait for country under constant attack.

brent: what difference will this delivery of weapons make to ukraine? our guest is a former defense at least and a former officer in the british army. >> these wpons are eremely good in their own rit. the ponds or habits are 2000 is one of the most capable artillery pieces in service across nato. a range of 70 kilometers with 70 admonition types, able to deliver five rounds of targets simultaneously. but we're only providing a limited quantity of these and really what ukraine needs is mass. there is no substitute for quantity as well as quality. brent: if i could just ask about these weapons and delivering them, the german government has been criticized massively for how long it has taken, four months. how big of a hurdle are the logistics? guest: it is not just the

howitzers, it is the ammunition that supplies them. bere y can use them effectively, you havto deliver all the ammunition that is needed. so the logistics planning has to be very carefully coordinated with the ukrainian forces. the second important factor is you have to train the crews. this is a highly sophisticated piece of equipment that requires an experienced crew to use it effectively on the battlefield. those factors alone will have delayed this introduction into service irrespective of any of the political background to the delivery of such weapons. brent: we have been following you on twitter. you have been arguing that germany's hesitancy perhaps to send military support is not a weakness, in fact you have written that it is a sign of integrity. why do you think so? guest: germany has behaved very

well indeed. after the secondorld war, it decided it wanted to be a country built on economic strength, not military strength, and therefore it adopted pretty much a pacifist mindset and realized it was not going to sponsor massive buildup of weapons and so on. and then of course it realized that actually, the pacifist approach would not deter an adversarlike russia. and olaf scholz announced after the invasion of ukraine by russia in february, we have to change. we were wrong. we have to be strong because he only understands strength and not weakness. we are week if we do not invest in defense. it takes 10 kilometers to turn around. he has had to lead not only his own party, but the whole german people of east germany. i think he has done it with

great political dexterity. as far as the u.k. is concerned, germany is a great ally and doing extremely well. brent: in his speech today, the german chancellor said that support for the ukraine, particularly with weapons, would continue as long as the country needs it. and we're not talking about a quick end to this war. do you read this as germany abandoning this approach that you have p?>>is no. i think germany realizes now that this will be a long-term commitment. it will not change uess there is a change in government in russia. as long as that regime remains in place, russia will be a threat not only to the ukraine, back to the rest of europe. russia is extremely angry, putin is angry that we have supported ukraine. he thought this would be a walk

in the park and it has been anything but that thanks to nato's support of ukraine. if we do not support ukrne and we allow russia to win,t will co after us with a vengeance, and therefore, we are committed to this for the long term, for as long as it takes. brent: mr. trump and, we appreciate your time and your valuable insights tonight, thank you. guest: thank you. pleasure. brent: a diplomatic dispute between russia and nato member to linear continues to escalate. lithuania has blocked trains loaded with sunshine goods from crossing its territory to kaliningrad. lithuania says this is in line with european union sanctions against russia. but moscow says there will be serious consequences. reporter: bound from russia to russia. this train is bringing goods from russia's heartland to its exclave of kaliningrad.

kaliningrad is separated from the rest of russia by two countries, lithuania and belaru t why belarus is letting -- while belarus is letting all russian trains transit its territory, lithuania has started blocking all trades carrying russian goods. >> it's not lithuania doing anything, it is russian sanctions that started from the 17th of june. reporter: cold, metal, cement, they are among the items on the sanctions list and account for up to 50% of all goods bound for kaliningrad. moscow has called the transit ban a hostile blockade and is threatening nato member lithuania. >> the freight traffic between the kaliningrad region and the rest of russia's territory is not fully restored, russia will take measures to defend its national interests.

reporter: russia insists that international freight transportation agreements must beespected, and is accusing lithuania of violating the human rights of its reasons in kaliningrad. the e.u. has rejected moscow's criticism and is in turn accusing the russian government of exploiting the partial transit ban for its own ends. >> they could have expected this. the russian side forhe well that sanions would limit the transection of goods and, they are now using this as a weapon and an information war. reporter: passenger trains from russia continue to pass through lithuania without any problems. however, travelers are not allowed to get off the train, or wait at the station here. in order to get around the blockade, russian once to use c routes as an alternative. fears are growing that moscow could further escalated the standoff. brent: a quick look now at some

of the. other stories making headlines around the world. . saudi arabia's conference mohammad bin salman is visiting turkey for the first time since the killing of saudi journalists jamal khashoggi plunged to relations between the two countries into crisis. the crown prince today, with turkish president erdogan. eric garlick once blamed -- again once blamed him for that journalist's marder. ended the remains of patrice lumumba have arrived in his home region, more than 60 years after his death. a single tooth was all that was recovered. it will be taken on a national tour of democratic republic of congo before being buried. bulgaria's prime minister petkov has lost a confidence vote in parliament over his physical and economic policies. his government took office in december after three elections in the sce of on year. 's centrist party has a second

and last chance to form a coalition. if not, there could be yet again a new elections. for the first time in decades, the u.s. senate has taken a step towards passing major gun-control legislation. senators voted to speed up the passage of the bipartisan bill to toughen federal gun laws. the senate is expected to vote on the measures this week. the proposals for the number of recent mass shootings, including the uvalde school massacre. the war in ukraine is one of the major drivers of inflation around the world. ask anyone anywhere, and they will tell you that food prices, the cost of living, raising. especially in africa. in south africa, poverty, inequality, the pandemic, and now, surging prices are fueling the homelessness crisis. our correspondent reports from cape town, where more and more makeshift shelters are popping up around the city. >> thank you very much for the

food. reporter: giving up for food and data charity for homeless people in the middle of cape town. she has not had a warm meal for a long time, she has been living on the streets for more than four years. >> i came to a point whereby i had to. there is no way you can move forward in life. there is no way that you can build yourself up in life where on the streets. i tried it many times and it didn't work. reporter: she is not alone. since the pandemic hit, even more people have been forced to live on the street. camps and makeshift shelters like this have been mushrooming in the city of captain. there are about 7000 homeless people in the city, much more than before lockdown. the city runs a safe place program for homeless people, but currently there are about 50 free spaces will be every night. cape town at once to create

additional spaces, but the mayor says that the lack of support from the government makes it impossible to solve the problem. >> the core of the problem is that the health care system is not capacity did enough to deal with the scale of this problem. we are picking up the pieces at the end of all of these other failures. that has been a poverty failure, there has been a domestic violence failure often, that the system has not coped with. there has been a mental breakdown failure and a substance abuse failure. reporter: along with the rising homelessness, south africa is also dealing with an and implement crisis. every third person here is jobless. rising costs of living driven by the war in ukraine are making things worse for everyone. cooking oil has gone up by almost 50%, fueled by 20%. >> it is starting to affect everyone. it affects the prices of the six commodities, but now the salaries of people are not going

up. reporter: people can't live like this anymore, it is crazy. >> is chaos. we are in a chaos world now. in the state we are living, prices just going up and up and up. reporter: the government has acknowledged the problem but has failed to provide a sution, naming a shortage of funds -- blaming a shorta of funds. >> we are having to deal with thrising cost of living. it has made it increasingly difficult for the majority of our people tget by and pay their bills and also to feed their children. reporter: she is relieved that she doesn't have to worry about food, at least for today, but tomorrow, her daily struggle continues. brent: some football transfer needs. it's official, this senegalese star has completed his move from liverpool to bayern munich. he is one of africa's most

successful players, having won the champions league and the premier league. bayern munich will pay 41 million euros for the start. that 30 year old could end up replacing robert lewandowski if he gets his wish to leave the german champions. h medical personnel will stand trial, charged with criminal negligence over the death of argentina soccer great diego maradona. the 60 year old died of cardiac arrest two years ago while recovering from brain surgery due to a blood clot. he had also battled cocaine and alcohol addictions for decades. prosecutors have accused his caregivers of causing his death i abandoning him while he was hospitalized at home. no trial date has been set. a new film telling the story of elvis presley opens in u.s. cinemas this week. presley scandalized the united

states with his swinging hips in 1957 and he became an overnight sensation in the process. let's take a look at what is in store. >> ladies and gentlemen, elvis presley. reporter: austin butler is elvis. the young actor went to great lengths to get his portrayal right. >> i started with just being a sponge, reading every book i could get my hands on, watching everything and every image i possibly could find. treating it like a detective. . and also working with a number of different vocal coaches and singing, because his voice was more important than anything. reporter: tom hanks plays his controversial manager, colonel tom parker. >> now i don't know nothing about this, but i could see in that girl's eyes, he was a taste of forbidden fruit. she could have eaten him alive. ♪

he was my destiny. i have to say, you couldn't take your eyes off of austin butler. whether he is up on stage performing, singing, full on, fulltilt, the dedication was impressive right off the ballot. reporter: the movie covers most students in the singers life, leading to his early tragic death but it feels to dig deep. it is a visual feast in familia bazz lerman style. reviewers loved it and hated it. now cinema goers can decide. brent: before we go, a quick look at our top stories this hour. . an earthquake in the east of afghanistan has killed more than 1000 people, injuring hundreds more, according to the country's state media. president joe biden directed american aid agencies to see what assistance they can provide. german chancellor scholz promised germany will do justice to its security responsibilities

at home and abroad. in an address before the german parliament, he said the european union and nato had joined forces like never before to fight against russian imperialism. you are watching "dw news." after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." stick around. we will be right back. ♪

■x■x >> here are the stories making

world headlines.stories making emmanuel macron says there is a way for it but the path looks unclear. the stakes are high as the president struggled to form a governing coalition following the legislative elections. searching for survivors after a massive earthquake in afghanistan, 1000 people were killed and hundreds were injured when the quake struck the border with pakistan overnight. the crown prce