Syrians accused of torture are going on trial here in germany can justice be delivered a world away and the german footballs talk sign off on a plan to restart the countrys bundesliga season in may but not Everyone Wants a kick off in the middle of a pandemic. Im burnt off its good to have you with us we begin with europe and the pandemics economic costs European Union leaders have moved closer to an agreement on funding a joint Recovery Fund for the time after the pandemic the 27 e. U. Leaders met in a Video Conference call today diplomatic sources say that they agreed to ask the European Commission to work out the details. Of the common Recovery Plan this is the 4th time that the leaders have met since the Virus Outbreak began in italy. Where he u. G. 1st live and ally and she took part in that summit today and she warned that all you countries need to see a steady recovery or risk deepening the divisions within your by the pandemic no certainly no borders and is blind to nationalities some countries are certainly hit harder than others and unless unless we act decisively and collectively the recovery will not be symmetric and divergencies between Member States will increase our listing the story now to brussels and speak with the chief international of the Richard Walker getting b. G. You richard so how do e. U. Leaders after this meeting today how do they plan to tackle this huge problem. Well we are a few baby steps closer to an answer on that brain but were still not quite there basically all that 27 e. U. Leaders managed to agree on so far is the really Broad Strokes of what they want to happen they have agreed that they want to have a big Recovery Fund that is designed to help countries recover their economies once the really intense phase of this pandemic is behind us and to try and smooth out inequalities and how they are able to recover from the really profound economic shock and also thirdly that this fund will have some relationship to the e. U. s overall budget for the next 7 years which is also something that has to be worked out so there are those agreements but the detail of all of that is totally open how big should this fund be the numbers range from the hundreds of billions up to like one and a half trillion euros theres no clarity yet on how big their fun should be where should the money come from not clear how should the money be dispersed should it be given out in grants or should it be given out in loans also not clear so those arent exactly just like niggly detail questions that still have to be worked out they are absolutely fundamental so what the 27 e. U. Leaders have now said is its over to the president at the European Commission it was a love underline who we just saw there over to her to try and work out those details and that does mean that in the next few weeks some kind of plan is going to emerge from that with this huge scope still for disagreement on what those parameters are disagreements or what about this controversial topic or sharing the debt burden here in europe in the form of corona bonds does that topic still remain. Here for the Northern European countries. And thats right i mean corona bans this kind of harks back to a decade ago and there are discussions about euro bonds cheering the euro debt crisis doesnt it and back at that time it was germany and other countries in Northern Europe that were very much against the idea of pooling liability for debt within the e. U. That really hasnt changed those countries remain dead set against and it seems that theyve managed to fend that off so the debate is moving a little bit on from that it seems and the bigger disagreements are really centered around what kind of funding is going to come out of any fund that does eventually emerge will it be in the form of loans will it be in the form of grants and weve seen in the aftermath of this meeting all of the e. U. Leaders all spinning their versions of whats going to happen for instance austrias Prime Minister and italian italys Prime Minister absolutely on divergently opposite ends of the spectrum on that key question so it seems that that is now the battleground loans or grants right interviews Richard Walker with analysis tonight in brussels richard thank you were german chancellor Angela Merkel she has also voiced her support for a joint rescue fund even if that means that germany will have to dig deeper into its own pockets today she stressed solidarity she said it will benefit germans as well. Thats the difficulty for germany it means we have to expect high a contribution is for the next budget. Its clear we need some kind of financial instrument Recovery Plan but on the recovery front and on the Recovery Fund and i want to be very clear here a collective response is also in germanys interest are there was the german chancellor speaking today lets bring in our chief Political Correspondent belinda crane she is in berlin good evening to you melinda you know weve heard it many times we were talking about these corroded bonds euro bonds germany and the Northern European countries theyve always been labeled the bad guys southern European Countries did the chancellor good day did she appear to be on the defensive a little. No absolutely not and she spoke in a press conference just after the end of this Video Conference summit and seemed pretty satisfied and she described the atmosphere as very positive very friendly and said that there was absolute agreement that together the e. U. Member countries must find a way forward i think in part this lack of defensiveness is because this morning to some degree she went on the office if she managed to get herself out of the corner that sometimes germany quiets that getting backed into as a naysayer she said very clearly we know we must port more money on the table germany only does well when the rest of the e. U. Does well and then she made this very clear statement in her remarks to the parliament this morning saying we will be increasing our contribution to the e. U. Budget significantly until now germany has insisted that the number was one percent of g. D. P. And thats what it would stay at that what they contribute to the budget now she made it very clear it is going to be significantly higher than that and this essentially is part of this the solution that is not a carone up on solution but that would increase the Commission Capacity and i think in that way she feels that she is now part of the solution rather than a problem all right our chief Political Correspondent lyndal crane well in the thank you. Well heres a look now at other stories that are making headlines around the world wildfires have devastated about 10 percent of eastern polands. National park some 6000. 00 hectares of Forest Meadows and peat bogs have burned since sunday poland is facing its worst drought in years after an unusually dry winter and spring concerns are growing for indigenous tribes in brazils Amazon Region hard hit by the corona virus the city of my now says is digging mass graves to handle about 100 burials a day now that is 3 times the usual number local officials are pleading for federal aid but president so here bill sanaa is government it is playing down the threat. South africas president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced steps to gradually lift the countrys lockdown starting may 1st restrictions on travel and some industries will be east South Africans have been under stay at home orders for almost a month with essential trips the only exceptions. Staff at a barcelona hospital distributed roses and books to cope with night patients today they were celebrating sun is already had alone has a patron say today is the day when people traditionally exchange roses and books in catalonia but the corona virus has made that tradition impossible for many people. Are its back here in germany the trial of 2 suspected members of syrias secret police opened today in the german city and co blitz the men face charges of murder torture and Sexual Assault that they allegedly committed in a damascus prison back in 2011 in 2012 prosecutors are using universal jurisdiction balls to try the 2 suspects here of they entered germany as asylum seekers. Reports now on one womans hope that the trial can bring justice for her son and a warning to our viewers some of you may find the images in this story disturbing. Mario lives in a berlin suburb it seems it to like but this syrian woman is part of a europe wide hunt to catch criminal secret Service Agents from her country like many others merriam son i hum was systematically tortured the young medical student had spoken up for human rights and called for president bashar assad to step down now 8 years after his death his mother is seeking justice. I want the culprits to be brought to justice from the accomplices all the way up to assad these people i was spilling our childrens blood that can be done. More than 26000 pictures of torture victims were smuggled out of war torn syria by a courageous former Police Photographer his code name caesar the photos could help convict torturers and murderers. Human rights lawyer mas and doubt we survived torture in syria now living in germany hes pressing charges against his former tormentors including anwar as a former Senior Member of the Syrian Secret Service n y r r is charged with crimes against humanity murder and rape. This is a 5 stone it will be a thought this is the 1st thing that has sparked the court of judge and we have picked a suspect and the size of the state of florida we dont have it and see if you. Bill wiley is investigating syrian torturers be used to hunt war criminals as a un prosecutor and worked on cases from the former yugoslavia and the rwandan genocide he knows that without a peeper trail its difficult to bring culprits to justice. Thats why these state documents smuggled out of syria are so valuable. What you have in this room. An aerated by the Security Intelligence structures of syria the military structures of syria and the party or political structures of syria at the top level and the governor levels at qwest they also shed light on suspected torturers such as anwar are widely believed at least a dozen former senior agents remain undetected in europe. 100 hopes that not only the killers of her son will be brought to justice but also others living in hiding for her the hunt has just begun. Our sports news now this league clubs and the German Football League met today and they say that they hope to officially restart the bundesliga season on may 9th and do stadiums of course that depends on what the government decides it would mark the 1st return of a major european Football League during the coronavirus and. The German Football League wants to restart the bundesliga season with games behind closed doors and they have a powerful motive broadcasters have agreed to pay out around 300000000 euros in t. V. Money if the season resumes. Tuesday noon to toughen for thanks to the agreement the 36 1st and 2nd Division Clubs will be assured the money they need until june the 30th. It would be a lifeline for cash strapped clubs like cologne. I just wanted to give yourself. It was Important News today a lot of clubs have money problems and making partial payments now and payments in full when play resumes would send an important message. Games without spectators may be the only way to stem the financial damage during the coronavirus pandemic. If the season doesnt resume or it stops again such mechanisms would ensure the money is repaid. That would threaten the survival of a number of clubs and it would jeopardize the livelihood of around 56000 people who work in german professional football. The rushing d. W. News live from berlin Stephen Beardsley is up next with the w. Business stick around well be right back. What secrets lie behind. Discover new adventures in 360 degrees. And explore fascinating World Heritage sites. D. W. World heritage 368 get mapped now