i think what frederick mertz wants to avoid is to have a three-waco litigation.n that over the last government. it collapsed and there was a lot of public bickering and that's why we're having a snap election now happening earlier than it was due to be because the government clamsed after various issues but eventually over a budget issue. so mertz hoping he can form a government with just one other party. but the final calculations aren't yet in. >> a few busy days ahead for you and that election takes place this weekend. it's been two months since the assad regime in syria fell. human right organizations estimate that more than 100,000 syrians have disappeared since the uprising began in 2011 with more than 3,000 being children. the bbc has found evidence that some children who were detained with their families were then transferred to orr fannages by orders of the security center. >> all that is left for their families to remember. the faded photos of their missing children. human rights organizations in syria say hundreds disappeared under the assad regime. de

the alternative for germany and 2nd, olaf schultz is s p d, freeland. 3rd, yes, the use leader frederick mertz, is also took my many to become the next johnson, the most open leader. my son has again become the target of demonstrations demanding she resign and put an end to media censorship. protestors gathered this week in front of the pro western presidents offices in the capital kitchen. now, the recent bond on the sputnik molto but new side spark. the latest discontents with critics saying the move violates principles are free speech. the opposition socialist party, organized the raleigh. i'm just calling for parliamentary and early presidential elections to be held this year. here's what the locals have been saying about the incumbent. lead was to go to the current government is ruining people ruining our children, our future. we have come out against this government. stop. it's enough. you see what's happening in the world. where are you leading us to the slow to see we stand in favor of a good life throughout children for our grandchildren, so that they can have a normal life, a life th

germany and 2nd, an overlap schultz is s p d, feeling quite a bit done in 3rd, the city use liter, frederick mertz is also tip. i've managed to become the next johnson, the or whatever they are. our sister german language channels, spoke with bender, stag member clowes, ernst from the on the globe list. so right by getting the deadlines party and an r t exclusive, he re some key issues. the upcoming fast approaching boat has bought and shop focused the eastern city. although the current candidate for the position of tron solo from the christian democratic union, a free drink a match. so it has not yet made a final decision for even before the election. he has made it clear that he intends to send taurus messiahs to ukraine. this would certainly lead to a further escalation of the conflict, and of course, we should expect a russian reaction. this is an unpleasant situation and we should try to avoid it. to match has not yet reached a final decision on this issue. as part of the election campaign of these, however, i fully believed to germany as well as the french british and americans needs to have

frederick mertz stood head-to-head with them in the tv election debate just two heads -- two weeks ahead of the vote. both candidates outlined their strategies for dealing with donald trump. analysis with oliver crook in berlin. who won? >> these are two candidates not known for being the most exciting or best communicators so at certain points it was slow but it kicked off on one of the main debate, immigration, which is where merz wanted to land a blow on olaf scholz, but they quickly moved to this question of afd, a party on the german far-right, scholz saying merz would be willing to enter into a coalition with the afd, which is something that merz rejected, saying there is no overlap between the afd and cdu. one of the points was debt. that was centered around defense and oil. the defense obligations of germany and what needs to spend to get their defense and military to where it needs to be. olaf scholz says he cannot do this with the debt break in place. merz and the cdu have been sticking to the debt break. they did say they would be willing potentially to look at loosening the d

this was a big gamble by frederick mertz footing with the afd on an immigration bill, and that is theirst time were a mainstream party voted with the afd. this came to a lot of shock from the centrists, but it was also a poor showing because even for those who thought he was being pragmatic, the vote did not pass parliament because he could not get his own party and line, and the consequence is the cdu coming in at 8% -- 28%, and what it has not done is obviously he is trying to undercut the afd saying cdu can be strong on immigration. we saw a bit of growth for the greens and other parts of the political spectrum, so this is releasing largely as a political blunder for the cdu and as dented support and has not changed meaningfully in terms of who will be in the running, but did has created once again a fragmented political landscape in germany. it will be harder as these votes dissipate and all of these parties converge around 20% to bill the government when the time comes. lizzy: if we could link politics and the corporate dots, tesla sales in germany are at their lowest levels ever

will undecided voters in germany did the lead of frederick mertz? we will have analysis throughout the show. let's check in on these markets. asia in focus with a tech rally continuing. the earnings coming through from that e-commerce giant with a focus on the platform but also cloud leading into ai, saying the key priority for alibaba is agi, artificial general intelligence that stock is booming in the session and lifting the broader sentiment across the regional index. , now up .6%, set for six straight weekly gains. currently that stock and index up 4.8% and had crossed higher by 5%. the rally continues. european markets fell around .2% yesterday. there has been profit-taking across the u.s. space. we look for fresh catalysts. pmi data out of the euro zone will be coming through. european stoxx 50 futures pointing lower. ftse 100 futures pointing lower by six points. s&p futures after modest losses yesterday following around .4%, pointing lower by another .1%. nasdaq futures dropping run half percent yesterday. palantir was lower. walmart with a

could frederick mertz grab that and be one of the people that has credibility from europe's biggest economyn behalf of europe? we will figure that out soon how strong his mandate is and how much of a presidency can commit on the european stage. jonathan: oliver cook out of berlin on the latest for germany and the continent on foreign policy. we have to talk about trade. how figure the tariffs going to be on the europeans? lisa: we will find out if the commerce secretary will get confirmed today. let's see who the people are on the ground with howard lutnick. jonathan: scott lincicome joins us now to talk about this. welcome back. let's talk about trade and the tension between the u.s. and europe. the focal point is them, taxes. that is not something we talked about years back. how big of an effect is that going to be? scott: it seems like it's a big factor if you listen to the trump administration. they have bought into the idea that the vat is discriminatory against trade. most economists will tell you that is wrong. vats are generally trade neutral or depressed exports a bit. the trump ad

olaf scholz and the conservative front runner frederick mertz making their final pitches. showing mertz in the lead. emmanuel macron is said to visit d.c. next week, likely defending european interest around the world ukraine. annmarie: dani nailed it when we said maybe we'll see a europe leader. germany will be a practitioners government -- fractious government. macron is trying to step up to the plate to be the interlocutor between europe and the united states. he says he will have a message to donald trump on monday. telling him he cannot be weak in the face of vladimir putin. this is coming at a time where we have seen a lot of acrimony between solesky and donald trump. -- zelenskyy and donald trump. dani: you could get a leader out of germany to be the "leader of europe." for talking about joint issuance from the eu. they are free -- few europeans willing to see fiscal 30 to brussels. germany is going to brussels to try to get that done, it could be a different conversation. jonathan: we will see what we get when you wake up monday morning. another big change from ano