♪ nicole: this is dw news lie from berlin. a russian missile strike on a hospital in ukraine kills at least two people and injures many more. ukraine's president describes the attack is a crime against humanity. in turkey, tough talk against migrants is on the rise ahead of sunday's presidential election runoff. we will meet some of the refugees who say the harsh words are making them fear for their safety.

in support, we will talk bundesliga and borussia dortmund. the league title is in their grasp. they last won the bundesliga in 2012. can they end the season on a high note at home? ♪ nicole: i'm nicole frolich. welcome to the program. at least two people have been killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a russian missile attack on a hospital in the central ukrainian city of dnipro. president volodymyr zelenskyy has denounced the strike as a crime against humanity. officials say it was part of a wave of rocket and drone attacks on the dnipro region. >> dnipro has seen many attacks since the start of the war. the brutality of this one has shocked people in the city and across ukraine.

the target was a medical facility and a veterinary hospital. ukraine's president has called the attack a crime against humanity. the regional governor says a 69-year-old passerby was among those killed. two boys aged three and six are being treated at hospital. eyewitnesses witnesses recall what happened. >> the main impact was at the veterinary clinic. the doctors were carrying burnt animals out. i ran into save my cat. >> some in the surrounding residential buildings had a narrow escape. >> i was in the kitchen with my husband when we heard a loud explosion. i was thrown towards the wall. luckily it was only a short distance. the apartment filled up with

smoke. the kitchen window was open and stayed intact. but other windows and the balcony were destroyed. it was very frightening. >> ukraine's military say they shot down dozens of russian drones and missiles, but the one that got through it was enough to cause considerable destruction. nicole: ukraine's president says his country is making progress, boosting its air defenses. >> over the past week we have made substantial progress in securing modern aviation equipment for ukraine, which will be key to our air defenses. we are moving forward in defense modernization faster than depicted have a year ago. nicole: frank ledwidge is a former british military intelligence officer and he told me more about ukraine's defense capabilities. >> zelenskyy is talking particularly about air defenses. europe is now stepping up and

has been for the last year and shoring up what will be for ukraine later in the year real problems in air defense. the problem is they are going to be running out of ammunition for their old soviet stuff. the american patriots and a few other systems are shoring up that gap. there will be problems later this year for ammunition. that and the f-16 question we discussed before. nicole: in may, more than 90% of russian missiles were intercepted by these air defense systems. do you think this is not sustainable? >> that's right. over 90% and clearly they still do have ammunition. the leaks that came out in february indicate that ukraine is going to run out of ammunition.

what they are doing is calibrating their use of ammunition against the kind of missiles coming in according to what the target is going to be and the value of it. they are not going to run out of missiles at any point. the issue is they won't be able to use them at the same rate they did before until they are replenished and that will come as western systems really take over the slack. nicole: how remarkable is it that they have been able to intercept these attacks with such accuracy? >> it is historical i think. it's a historic moment. he see the dominance of ground-based air defense systems wielded by a well-trained, well motivated and now increasingly well-equipped integrated air defense system which will be joined of course by fighters early next year. at that point provided the ammunition continues to come in, we will see ukraine be even safer from air attack and that's

vital at home of course but also for the battlefield itself. nicole: let's look at the other side because we know where ukraine is getting their supplies from. but where is russia getting all these missiles from that they are continuously firing at ukraine? >> the open source intelligence that i'm aware of indicates that what they are doing is making missiles, they have used up their stock essentially of precision guided missiles. essentially they have used up their stocks and what they are relying on our missiles that are being made every month, about 60 precision guided missiles every month plus a few hundred drones they get from iran and make in russia. its hand to mouth for them really. that's the situation. same for artillery by the way. nicole: they want to step up their game when it comes to

drones. kalashnikov announced a new division for the production of kamikaze drones. how worried should ukraine be about that? >> not worried at all. they have already demonstrated the capability of shooting down kamikaze drones as they are called simply drones or cruise missiles even in very large numbers. notably the iranian ones. it's interesting that the russians only announced this now. the british announced, developed and delivered such drones and about six months to ukraine. i'm sure they are in operation. it's rather slow, they are very slow off the mark in this game. i doubt we will see anything of that for the next six months or given that it's russia a year or so. nicole: frank ledwidge, always great talking with you. thank you for your analysis. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan is hoping that sunday's

presidential runoff election will allow him to extend his rule into a third decade. a huge crowd turned out for his final election rally in istanbul. mr. erdogan is expected to win after narrowly missing out on a first-round victory. his arrival has recently adopted a harder anti-immigration tone, promising to throw out millions of refugees who fled the civil in neighboring syria. many people especially syrians fear for their safety and place in turkish society. the abraham met with some of that -- aya ibrahim met with some of them. >> in a previous life, she was an architect. she now helps run yellow, a cultural center -- yolo, a cultural center and café she started in istanbul. karaoke, open mic and stand-up comedy nights.

everyone is welcome. a lot of the events cater to arabic speakers like herself. >> it came from a personal need and wish. there waswhere we could meet people, learn something in arabic. so why shouldn't we be the ones that create that space? we were tired of the pressure of having to explain ourselves as individuals. we are here trying to build ourselves from nothing. >> she came to turkey from syria as a refugee. she worked for almost a decade before she and her partner had gathered enough funds to start yolo. it's short for you only live once. for many refugees and arab migrants, it's a lifeline. a place they can escape a society that has grown increasingly hostile to them. >> i don't want people to come here and here are the same things they see at work, at home, on tv and public transportation.

i don't want them to get the same looks as outside. no one will be comfortable in a place that it's so public you are not welcome. these election placards are on the streets. it's no longer hidden or indirect. >> throughout turkey's current election campaign, she has watched the media scapegoat syrians and migrants. even though she has now become a turkish citizen, she still feels excluded. >> regardless of my legal status, in the end i'm considered syrian. i am the direct target of hate speech. i sometimes think to myself, it is still better that i am here because if i had stayed in syria, i don't know if i would still be alive. i think like this to make myself go on, to motivate myself. >> both candidates in turkey's election have made promises to send syrian refugees back to their home whether through

deportation or voluntary return. the topic of migration is omnipresent in this election campaign. we struggle to find syrian refugees willing to speak to us about it on camera. sammy's experience in turkey perhaps explains why. 26-year-old agreed to speak to us only if we conceal his identity. he is a syrian journalist with a residence permit that needs to be renewed every year. >> when i step out of the house, i try as much as i can to hide my syrian identity. i try not to speak arabic in public. >> he has been told off for speaking arabic in public before and is worried these tensions might escalate. across the country there are rising reports of violence against syrians. >> i feel like if things reach that scenario, i don't have any legal protection.

no one will stand up for my rights. as a syrian refugee in turkish society, i feel i have no value. >> back in yolo, it's a full house. tonight's topic of discussion is how to deal with nagging in relationships. the place feels worlds away from the polarized atmosphere outside the door, much to the relief of patrons and staff. >> it's a safe place. we feel like at home. >> yolo art is the only place i can be myself, embrace my culture and have fun. nicole: there are reports of breaches between the army and the rapid support forces. monitoring group says khartoum has been hit by air strikes and artillery fire. the cease-fire is meant to allow

humanitarian aid into the capital. neighboring chad is one country giving shelter to tens of thousands of sudanese. our reporter has been to a refugee camp in the border. >> just a few days ago, bornon's life looks very different. now she is in a refugee camp in chad. >> i left my bed behind. my very nice house. my mats that were fine as well. i left them all behind. >> their home was indoor for insert. -- in dark for -- dark fur -- darfur in sudan. they walked for days to get here.

despite the conditions, it feels safer. the camp is built out of scarves and steaks. many people will have no shelter from the rain. right now the houses are literally falling apart. bornon and her children are just a few among thousands in this camp. other camps nearby already host half a million who fled darfur years ago. supplies and funds were tied in the region before the latest violence. now with people like bornon and her family here, there is even less to go around. >> right now, we don't have enough. we worry about how to get enough supplies so we can help in time. >> it's not just sudanese people who are arriving. the camp here is for chadians who were leaving on the other

side of the break or who fled the violence. -- the border but who fled the violence. because these people have come home so are not technically refugees, eight is much slower to reach them. this well is supposed to supply water for 7000 people. >> there is no water, no food. the children sleep on cardboard without blankets. there is no hospital to help us. it is very difficult and we don't know what to do. people should come to our aid. >> everyone here is looking for safety. those who left darfur years ago. and those who came home to chad but found nothing. aid organizations warn violence will spill over into the camps. >> in terms of security, they are still located on the border.

that's not very safe. they are still very close to areas they fled from. it's another job to find suitable sites to relocate them to, set them up and give them everything they need. >> bornon focuses on basic needs. >> i have no clothes, no plastic tarps, no soap and no grain. i don't even have simple grain to cook, to eat. >> her bigger hope is to return to home just a few kilometers away but that feels more distant with every cease-fire that saddam's war and generals break. nicole: other stories making headlines around the world today. a rwandan genocide suspect has appeared in court in cape town. fulgence kayishema is accused of ordering the killing of 2000

tutsis. he was arrested in south africa after 22 years on the run. china special envoy and russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov have held talks in moscow about resolving the war in ukraine. he has been on a tour of european capitals and last week visited kyiv. beijing has been condemned widely for not criticizing the russian invasion. pope francis has canceled his audiences because of illness. a vatican spokesman said the 86-year-old had a fever. he appeared to be fatigued at an earlier meeting. in march, pope francis spent five days in hospital with unkindness. here in germany, police are investigating the pink floyd cofounder roger waters over a nazi style uniform he wore during a concert in berlin last week. waters appeared in a long black coat decorated with a red

armband reminiscent of an ss officer. he also brandished a fake gun. authorities say he is being investigated on suspicion of inciting public hatred because the outfit could glorify or justify nazi rule. for more on this, our political correspondent simon young. what exactly was roger waters doing on stage that got him in so much trouble in berlin? >> as you said, this relates to what roger waters was wearing during his stage show in berlin last week and as you have already described it, a long black leather coat with a red armband on his left arm and a symbol reminiscent of a nazi swastika, two hammers and a cross shape.

the police say they have had reports and looked at images and on the face of it this warrants an investigation. i think roger waters as far as i understand it says this is just part of the show that he has been doing for many years and in fact he claims it's really a critique of fascist fantasies. >> what is he now being investigated for? what are authorities looking into in his case? >> the police say they are looking into the possibility that these actions and this costume could represent or undermine the dignity of the victims of the nazis and that it could constitute a glorification or some kind of demonstration of approval for nazi crimes and because of that it could cause a

disturbance of public peace and public order. the police will pass whatever they find in their investigation onto prosecutors who will have to decide whether any charges can be brought, but i think it's also worth saying in the wider public particularly among antisemitism campaigners and politicians, there is concern that roger waters may have crossed a line. he was also firing a gun and behind him the names of anne frank, one of the victims of the holocaust was flashed up on a screen as well as many other dead people. i think it's fair to say roger waters is an increasingly controversial figure. nicole: give us some more context. why is this such a scandal now?

>> anything that might seem to relative eyes or trivialize the holocaust or any other nazi cause is taboo as far as the majority of people here in germany. and of course the law bans nazi symbols. but that doesn't apply here. roger waters is being sort of investigated under the law of incitement, disturbance of the peace. there is a growing focus on this issue and several cities have in fact tried to get roger waters concerts band in the past unsuccessfully and indeed the next roger waters concert is coming up in frankfort and a couple of days and protesters have already said they will be demonstrating against what they see as anti-semitism. nicole: thank you, simon young.

the cannes film festival in the south of france is coming to a close. the jury is getting ready to announce this year's winners, including the film that will take the top prize, the palme d'or. >> the french riviera has been allied with the celebrity fueled glitz and glamour of the cannes film festival. it comes to the festival's prizes, it's not about being famous. the film anatomy of a fall has caught critics attention. it follows the investigation into a young boy's tragic death. the filmmaker could become the third ever woman to take cannes's top prize. >> he had no enemies. >> i did not kill him. >> critics are noticing a german actress who also stars in another film at cannes, the zone of interest. a german language world war ii

film about the commandant of auschwitz and his disturbingly normal private life. director jonathan glazer aims to show nazis as people, not monsters. >> the great crime and tragedy is that human beings did this to other human beings. >> director todd haynes film may december is also about a criminal. julianne moore's character is married to the much younger man she seduced when he was just 13. >> they are sweet, are not they? >> mary. >> natalie portman's character is an actress preparing to play her. both stars have a good shot at the best actress prize. critics agree asteroid city, wes anderson's movie about space nerds won't be receiving the palme d'or. but the movie's star power did make for quite a show on the red carpet.

harrison ford is being honored for his lifetime achievement. he is still doing stunts at 80. >> blessed with this body. [laughter] >> jokes aside, his final indiana jones film did premier, but it's not in the competition. some european veteran filmmakers might stand a chance at winning, including germany's then vend us for his movie perfect days about a music loving tokyo toilet cleaner. or finnish director with his quirky romance fallen leaves. so who will the jury pick? they will let us know come saturday. nicole: the men's bundesliga title race comes down to the wire on the final match day of the season. for the first time in a decade, serial champions bayern munich

could be dethroned by borussia dortmund. >> bayern munich always wins the bundesliga. and that's why it's boring. at least the league's detractors have been put to rest going into the season finale match day 34. sebastian leah has scored four goals in two games. to propel them to a two point lead over bayern munich. >> happy, satisfied. because now we know that's it's in our hands. we have done a lot of the jobs, so we can't just push the break. >> it's a great thing that you open the door, but you have to go through it.

now we are going to fight until the end. >> this season, bayern munich has experienced setbacks. the reign of thomas tuchel might not last long. there are rumors that munich will see significant changes. bayern munich's loss last game force them out of the driver's seat of the bundesliga, where they have been operating on a cruise control for the previous 10 years. now borussia dortmund are in position, inches away from the finish line. nicole: let's take a look at the table going into this very exciting final match day. a win for dortmund will see them clinch the title. bayern munich must beat cologne

and hope dortmund failed to win for them to make it 11 titles in a row. four other teams are all still not safe from the drop either. here's a reminder of the top story where following today. russian missiles have struck a hospital in a central ukrainian city of dnipro. ukraine's president has denounced the attack as a crime against humanity. that's all for now but stick with us, i will be back after the break to take you through the day. hope to see you there. ♪

>> welcome back to the france 24 newsroom. thanks for joining us. we are "live from paris." a russian missile strike hits a medical clinic in eastern ukraine, killing at least two and wounding scores of others. ukrainian authorities calling the attack a crime against humanity. turkey gets set for round two of presidential elections this weekend with president erdogan and his challenger holding rival rallies this friday. but a one seeking to extend his rule into a third decade -- girder one -- erdogan seeking to

extend his rule into a third decade. iranians freed in belgium in an exchange brokered. critics calling the prisoner exchange a capitulation to hostagetaking. thanks for joining us. we begin in ukraine where at least two people are dead and scores more wounded after a russian missile hit a medical clinic. video from the scene shows a badly damaged three-story building engulfed in flames. the ukrainian defense ministry and president volodymyr zelenskyy describing the attack as a crime against humanity. pressure's defense ministry said

it had carried out an overnight strike on ukrainian ammunition depots. >> there is still shock here in new pro, a city which has seen deadly missile strikes before, but this one has again shocked the population. those pictures going around the world of that burnt out clinic. the missile also hit a veterinary center and nearby residential buildings, so so far, at least two people confirmed killed. there could be others trapped under the rubble. rescue workers are still down at the site trying to rescue survivors and see if there are any more bodies to be found. the regional governor had said that some 30 people had been injured, some of those seriously, and some of those taken to hospital were young children, aged just three and six. there has also been some distressing witness accounts of the burnt remains of animals

being taken out of the veterinary clinic which was just nearby. shock and anger. once again, a reminder that even in ukraine's third-largest city, 100 50 kilometers or 200 kilometers from the front lines and depending which direction you are talking, death and destruction could come at any time, so people here once again on edge as night falls. >> to turkiye next with the presidential election campaign has entered the home stretch as candidates held final rallies before sunday's runoff vote. president one seeking to stay in office until 2028. his opposition challenger tries to overcome a first-round deficit to defeat him. he has vowed to strengthen the country's democratic institutions, but he's also taken a nationalist turn in a bid to attract conservative voters, a move that has syrian

refugees in the country growing increasingly uneasy. >> the turkish presidential campaigns have converged around one subject in their final days -- the fate of migrants in turkiye. >> they need to go as fast as possible. they did here for 10 years. they got to go. we don't want europe's border control checkpoints. or else, let them go to europe. >> in the lead up to the first round of voting, the president now has the support of the third-place ultranationalist. his opponent's response -- to veer populist, too, and catch the remaining far right votes. he sounded a dog whistle at a campaign rally, promising to send back 3 million migrants over two years. >> our plan is to send all

refugees back to their countries of origin without racism. they have turned turkey into a migrant depot. we will never ever let turkiye be a migrant depot. >> the radical shift also reflected in his improbable alliance with the leader of a small ultranationalist party. he's trying to beat erdogan at his own game, but turkiye is home to millions of syrian refugees, and it is a-game which could have consequences for their safety. >> they think maybe because we speak arabic, they were afraid of having some troubles. >> the hdp party has renewed its support for the candidate despite his radical shift right, but it remains to be seen how he holds up next to the favorite.

>> next, a belgian aid worker being held in iran and an iranian diplomat have been freed in a prisoner exchange mediated by oman. castille landed in brussels a short time ago. he was arrested in iran a short time ago on spying charges, sentenced to prison and lashes. in a radiant was convicted in belgium over eight "home plot" in france, receiving a 20-year jail sentence -- over "balm -- "over a "bomb plot." what do we know about the negotiations? >> he could see his family greeting him at the tarmac. they are elated to have him

back. this is the end of long campaign to try to get him released here in brussels. we have posters all over the city, even a giant board in kind of the times square of brussels asking for his release, and now it has happened. those calling for that release are elated, but not everyone is so excited about what happen here. this is a story that goes back to 2018 when an iranian diplomat was arrested here in belgium, accused of planning to plant a bomb at a rally of iranian opposition figures, specifically from the national council of resistance at a rally taking place outside of paris. that was a packed rally. that bomb could have killed a lot of people, but he was apprehended and later convicted here in belgium for that plot and sentenced. since then, it was after that that iran arrested castille on

these charges that belgium says are trumped up essentially. the idea is that iran arrested him in order to use him as a bargaining chip in the negotiations to get their diplomat back. there has been a lot of back-and-forth over the past couple of years. iran and belgium actually negotiated a prisoner exchange treaty. they did not have one in place before. that was challenged i the iranian opposition. it went through the courts. eventually in march, the high court in belgium said the treaty can go ahead, and that is what enabled this exchange happening today, but the iranian opposition is not happy about this. they made their feelings about this very clear today, so you have this kind of dichotomy. people are very thrilled to have him back. this campaign has been successful to get him back, but at what cost. >> there's this controversy around what is seen by the iranian opposition as giving in,

capitulating to the sort of hostage diplomacy. what is their case, and how is the belgian government responding to it? >> there's real concern that this sets a precedent that iran can take hostages and get what it wants in exchange, and oftentimes, you will hear governments say they won't negotiate with hostagetaking. ever governments like the united states and the u.k. have resisted this in the past. the belgian government has come under severe criticism for this, but as i said, they were facing a lot of pressure, and it was looking like this was the only way to get him released. the national council released a statement calling this a shameful ransom to terrorism and hostagetaking that will embolden the fascism ruling iran. the belgian government has not wanted to talk about the link here. a lot of these negotiations were

going on behind the scenes. you saw from the prime minister today, from senior government officials, they wanted to focus on the release. of course, they don't want to talk about the iranian diplomat that was released in exchange, but i think there are going to be questions, also from governments who might not like to see the president that belgium is setting. there are other people to tamed in iran, and the fear is that iran will just keep taking hostages, essentially from countries with which they are having an agreement, in order to get that country to change their policy to release an iranian prisoner that was held, and given the severity of the charges here, this could have been a major act of terrorism on french soil. this is not going to go away any time soon, and i think in coming weeks, there will be more questions about this. for the moment, though, at least, family, friends, and supporters are elated to have him back home.

>> potentially dangerous precedent, but obviously good to have him back on home soil. thanks for that. next, a horrifying experience for passengers on a flight after a passenger opened an emergency exit door mid-flight. some dozen people suffered minor injuries, but the plane managed to land safely. the passenger was arrested upon arrival. their identity and possible motivation have yet to be released by authorities. next, a tower figure -- a towering figure of american politics despite never having held elected office. henry kissinger turns 100 years old on saturday. he played a huge role in american foreign policy as secretary of state.

too many around the world, his legacy is that of a war criminal . he expended america's war in vietnam into neighboring laos and cambodia supporting crews and dictatorships -- supporting coups and dictatorships and supporting india's war in which hundreds of thousands are believed to have died. the author of "henry kissinger and the american century" joins us now. he was a man who has not held a government position for quite some time now. he still holds a very important place in u.s. politics. why is that now? >> there are very few figures in the united states who take on the intellectual heft of henry kissinger. he brings policy experience with an incredible over -- incredible ouvre of writing. he has established himself as

the wise men in our society and republicans and democrats want to be -- want to identify themselves with him as -- if they want to be seen a serious politicians. >> your biography talks about the forming of his particular brand of reality. >> henry kissinger is part of a large number of people coming to the united states fleeing the nazis, and they change american society because they bring with them ideas from europe that was -- that were not common in the united states. reality -- realpolitik being one of them. before world war ii, the united states had not been in an alliance since the 18th century when we allied with france against britain. for 150 years, american leadership rejected alliances. kissinger brought to the united states perspective that other german jews and immigrants had

that the united states had to be involved in the world, had to use force and had to combat fascism and communism, and that changed everything in american foreign policy. >> maybe this was just when i started to pay attention, but it feels like it was around the early to thousand's when kissinger's legacy really began to come under scrutiny. he became a villain figure too many on the left. i have a feeling he managed to escape any accountability for events around the world he had a hand in. how is that? >> many of the criticisms to kissinger have a lot of weight and criticism. in the vietnam war during the bombing of cambodia, a generation of 1960's activists really see kissinger as one of the chief villains. those perspectives are forgotten with the end of the cold war, but in the early 21st century with a new emphasis on human

rights, human rights activists look to kissinger as a villain, as someone who's realpolitik questions if there should be international law and war crimes, so he becomes a focus for those who believe we need to create new precedents and a new way of conducting foreign policy. they see him as the old school when they are trying to create a new school of human rights. >> that said, as we have already touched upon, he has remained this towering figure, especially among the mainstream democratic party. hillary clinton cited him as a major influence and a friend, i believe. he is 100 years old now, obviously. does he maintain this influence? is there a future for him in, say, the foreign policy of the biden administration part two or elsewhere? >> as i'm sure many of your watchers know, he has been quite vocal in the war in ukraine, arguing that the united states and western allies should

negotiate with russia but also that ukraine should be part of nato. he is still an influential figure and if you are someone like president biden or president macron, you don't want to be seen as on the other of henry kissinger because he still carries a lot of prestige. at the same time, as a 100-year-old, he is not involved in the day to day policy. he is much more a figure people want to be associated with. the curious thing is that the criticisms of him from human rights activists only make his prestige more important because he is seen as the realpolitik master, and a president like biden or macron wants to be seen as a master of realpolitik, so they want to be seen with henry kissinger. >> towering figure of history and beyond. thanks so much for joining us. next, federal regulators in the united states have given the go-ahead for an ambitious brain

implant to be tested on humans. the implant if successful will allow users to control devices with their minds. >> a device that could revolutionize how humans think and act. already tested on animals, it allows users to remotely control devices just by thinking. the company owned by tech billionaire elon musk has been developing the technology since 2016. it has now made a new breakthrough. american regulators at the food and drug administration have given the green light for the implants to be tested on humans. >> we are excited to share that we have received fda approval to launch our first human clinical study. this is a result of incredible work by the team in close collaboration with the fda and represents an important step that will allow technology to help many people. >> the california-based company

eventually hopes to help people suffering from paralysis or neurological-based disorders. implants could become available via electric surgery allowing people to equip their minds with computer powers. >> next, another member of the far right oath keepers militia has been handed a heavy prison sentence for their role in the january 6, 2021 assault on the u.s. capitol. jessica watkins received eight and a half years in prison friday. she was convicted for her role in the riot which saw supporters of donald trump and pay the capitol building, trying to prevent the certification of joe biden's 2020 election victory. the assault ultimately left five people dead after trump supporters battled with police, sending lawmakers fleeing for safety. thursday, oath keepers founder steward rhodes handed 18 years in prison for crimes including seditious conspiracy over that capitol assault. next, amsterdam has banned the smoking of cannabis in public. as of thursday, anyone caught

smoking cannabis outside of a coffee shop could face a 100-euro fine, but as the city famous for its liberal laws on drug use steps of efforts to clean up its hedonistic image, calls for cannabis are growing across europe with growing parts of the content seeking to replicate moves made by canada and the united states. >> is 2023 c's amsterdam reverted its loss on the use of cannabis in public places and surrounding european countries, the crop is growing. malta was the first to legalize the drug for recreational use in 2021 and has green lit private cannabis clubs. the czech republic also plans to legalize the plan through new reforms, and neighboring luxembourg allows the growth of marijuana for personal use. but it is germany that could pioneer the industry should weed consumption laws be approved. it could become the world's largest regulated national marijuana market.

legalization of cannabis has been under debate for years. as of 2021, around 40 countries have legalized drug partially or fully including canada, uruguay, and thailand, but europe has long taken a conservative approach because of the fine line it has to tread between adhering to eu laws, international drug treaties, and listen to public health concerns. medical professionals fear legalizing drug use would disrupt the marijuana market and risk patients self-medicating. contaminated cannabis is becoming more common with many substances mixed with sand, sugar, glass, or worse, laced with synthetic ingredients more dangerous than thc. others argue that it would improve the quality of substances sold and safeguards within the industry and take the treat out of the hands of criminal gangs, wiping out

illicit drug trafficking. it would also open up an entire job market. experts in germany have already estimated legalizing cannabis could create 27,000 new jobs, bringing in additional 4.7 billion euros per year to their country. >> next, her heart will go on, but the show, alas, will not. canadian pop icon celine dion has canceled concerts for 2023 and 2024. the queen of power ballads remained -- revealed last year she was suffering from stiff person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder which causes muscle stiffness with increased sensitivity to noise, triggering painful spasms. the superstar singer tweeting that she is so sorry but that she's not giving up as she works to get her strength back and that she cannot wait to see her fans again. time now for truth or fake. according to photos shared

online, there are fake posters in the new york subway calling for the city's homeless to join the fight in ukraine. tell us more. >> yes indeed. this tweet has been viewed over 660,000 times. in the poster, the alleged add, what we can see is a man sleeping on the subway seats. we can see a sign next to him that says "will work for" and of course the logo of the international legion of the defense of ukraine. the ad also claims that those who do sign up would be party to several benefits, including medical insurance and monthly payments. it's implying that those are homeless or just down on their luck would massively benefit from signing up to this cause. the top response alleged that the number involved actually

belongs to the ukrainian embassy. i did double check that and scoured the official website of the embassy of ukraine, and there's absolutely no mention whatsoever of any call for legalization at all. also interestingly enough, the number includes the international calling code for the u.s., so this technically would be the number for anyone trying to call the usa from abroad. it certainly would not be required for a domestic call within the united states, which is what this ad is claiming to be doing essentially. i reached out to the spokesperson for the mta, the metropolitan transit authority, which manages the new york city subway system, and he said to us this does not appear to be an item placed within the mta network and is not authorized to be displayed in the mta network.

if that were to be observed by an mta employee, it would be subject to removal. the ad has been denounced by several ukrainian institutions as well, including the embassy of ukraine to denmark and cyprus, but also the permanent mission of ukraine to the united nations. in both statements, they said they have never released any materials promoting membership to the international legion of defense and that any citizens who do sign up are not mercenaries and actually have an official contract with the ukrainian armed forces. >> if this poster is indeed fake, do we know anything about how it was created? >> i was unable to verify the exact source of this misinformation. however, there are several visual clues we can look at to show how the photo has indeed been manipulated. this is a free stock image site,

and i did indeed find the same image we saw circulating through that add existing on this site. it is uploaded as a 10-second video that we can see here, and it is the same guy we saw in that poster. if we do a little side-by-side, we can see the image has been manipulated, so we have our fake advertisement there and our real image here. the first thing i noticed was the bit of cardboard on the side. obviously, he has a large piece of cardboard that says "will work for" but it seems to be much smaller in size and shape than the original photo. there also seems to be an overall brightening of the photo as well. we can see his tattoo is removed or seems to be at least in the advertisement. what looks like a plastic bag has been made more in focus, and his genes are indeed a much lighter blue in doctorate image, but yes, this is a fake campaign

for u.s. sign-ups to ukraine. it has come from a real image but has been quite edited, as we can see. ukraine and new york city transport have slammed it as well. it is not the first time we are seeing fake advertisements like that surrounded ukraine circulating. we saw this earlier in stuttgart, germany. this was allegedly claiming to have been projected on the screens in the airport, urging the german government not to send tanks to ukraine. this was in fact photoshopped, and the german airport did confirm that the screen only showed flight information. there was another case also in poland in the warsaw metro, very similar, inviting them to sign up to drive tanks in the ukrainian war effort, again which never existed. >> great work they're keeping us up-to-date on what is truth and fake on social media. that is it for us for now but stay tuned.

more news and information coming up on france 24.

05/26/23 05/26/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from cambridge, massachusetts, this is democracy now! the far right founder of the oath keepers stewart rhodes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the january 6 insurrection. we will get the latest. then we hear from pulitzer prize winning journalist nikole hannah jones and oscar winning filmmaker spike lee on the le