Secretary of state pompeo served as an n army officer in ththe cd war. Also in iraq, they are hoping for a revolution, but its not going to be peaceful. Protestors tear down blockades, Security Forces have responded and the demonstrators have fled for now but they say they will be back. As part of our special coverage of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, our reporter takes us through a tunnel dug under the wall to follow the trail of some of those who escaped from communist eastst germany. Im brent goff. To our viewers in the United States and around the world, welcome. The french president s timing could hardly be worse as the world marks 30 years since the cold war began to end, france a crucial member of that winning team is suggesting that the alliance, the ties that bind no longer do. That is putting natos future in doubt prompting german and nato leaders mounting a hasty defense today. Part of the berlin wall is displayed outside of natos headquarters. Stoltenberg is celebrating the victory over communism but he is declaring that his alliance isnt dead. Nato is strong and the United States are working together. One of natos most important members has spoiled the party in historic week for the alliance. President macron is calling into question some of natos founding values. In an interview, he said the mutual defense pact was in danger of breaking down. What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of nato he said adding you have no coordination whatsoever of strategic Decision Making between the United States and its nato allies. S. Its the e events of last monthn syria that h have macr worried. The alliances largest member, United States, announced a troop pullout and tuturkey marched i the syrian northeast despite the objections of berlin and paris. They are worried that it threatens european security. But does all this add up to a threat . Nato and germany insisted that the alliance is still alive e a well. Even if we do have problems and do disagree,e, from the e gn perspective, nato is very much in our intererests, its our securityty alliaiance. For its part, berlin has been signaling an increased commitment to the allies. Visiting training soldiers, one is in favor of making nato 2 spending target mandatory. Alliance members question its future. Lets bring in our political correspondent. The German Defense minister, a. K. K. , optimistic about nato, does she have a right to be . There are reasons to be concerned. President macron says its brain dead and u. S. Under donald trump, not impressed that the United States are so to increase military spending and the president seems to be calling the whole alliance into question as a result of that and you have the position of turkey which is confused at the moment because of the conflict in syria. There are reasons to be optimistic are also there. The idea of a strong common defense for europe is still frfront and center. We see the posture of the United States is still strong, particularly visavis russia and the commitment that the u. S. Is putting troops into europe. The United States have heard the message they have to spend more on their own defense and some of them are actually doing it. You are seeing the German Defense minister putting a concrete date when germany is going to reach that 2 by 2031. A couple of years to go. Donald trump will have to wait a little bit. 30 years after the fall of the berlin wall. Is germany rethinking its position, its place in the world . I think it has been over the years. It has been a gradual process and we have seen germany used to be said germany is an economic giant and a small person politically. Well, now, we have germany stepping up diplomatically and taking the lead in organizations like the e. U. And the u. N. Increasingly as well. And you know, they are taking the lead on issues like Climate Change and in other areas. Having said that, the military thing, thats still the where there is a sense of blockage. Of course germany has been less keen to get involved in issues militarily and thats because of history. Its not a votewinning policy to say you are going to massively increase germanys military role which makes it surprising that the defense minister is coming out as strongly. Is the german chancellor merkel going to step down in 2021, where is she in all of this with germanys new position in the world . She is waiting and watching as she often does and listening to these efforts by her defense minister to kind of rally people around the idea of a more prominent defense role for germany. And these plans, by the way, are quite controversial as the defense minister admits herself. Things like a National Security council has been an idea that has been kicked around for a long time. But germany has a policy of running all military decisions through the parliament. So it can be a slow Decision Making process. She wants to speed that up. It is a good thought but it is difficult. The chancellor, as you say, she stepped back, its a Twilight Years and no longer runs her own party. Thats run by a. K. K. And the defense minister, so we are seeing that shift of power and merkels influence is perhaps waning. As always, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Another crucial actor in the history and future of germany is the United States. U. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo is in berlin to mark the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. He and his counterpart heiko maas had a look back. It was a deeply personal visit. U. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo used the first day of his stay in germany to return to his former military base and was stationed here as a soldier in the 1980s. He patrolled the border that separated east and west germany. Together with foreign minister heiko maas, this was an occasion to raise the tensions between the u. S. And german relations. It was a bit of a walk down memory lane for me, memory strassa. You could say i saw a piece of history that i was a tiny little part of back in the late 1980s. I think it is indicative of the important relationship between our two countries. Maas expressed support of the german reunification process. We are committed to you with great solidarity and gratitude and owe our freedom to you as well as our unity. Pompeo also wanted to show solidarity with jews living in germany. He visited the site of a recent antisemitic attack where a gunman shot two people after he wasnt able to carry out a mass shooting. I pay honor to those individuals who were killed here and the people who want to come here and worship in their own faith the way they desire. He will meet Angela Merkel to discuss foreign issues and policy. Here are some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. President erdogan said he will let refugees travel to the European Union if he doesnt get more e. U. Support to accommodate those refugees. 3 million are living in turkey. Workers removed explososives fr the bottom of the acack sea. It involved months of efforts on the wreckage of a world war ii cacargo ship belonging to the soviet union. Devices were then detonated onshore. In iraq, protests against the government carry on unabated in the battle of the bridges over crucial parts of baghdad. There is everything to fight for and in other parts of the country, demonstrators are blocking ports, stopping exports of oil and imports of food. For iraqs protestors this is a symbol of a country divided. Its aim to stop getting them too close to government ministries. This as they tear it down. But while the pictures might look similar, this is not europe 1999. Its rather the start of another deadly clash in baghdad with protestors running for their lives and Security Forces apparently once more firing live rounds into the crowds. We are not afraid of your bombs, sound grenades or smoke bombs. We want to get rid of the government. We, the young people of iraq are dying. We missed out on our youth. It has been dubbed battle of the bridges because both strides are struggling for control over the tigris river. Security forces want to stop them from getting there. For now, there is a strategic stale mate on the streets but one that is paralyzing the city and increasing pressure on the authorities. You politicians have destroyed the country for years. You have taken what is ours. Get out. We dont want you. Paralysis. There is a a blockade of the countrys main ports. From here food imports enter the country. A political crisis that is hitting the economy, threatening any remaining stability this country still has. You are watching d. W. News. Well take you on a journey into a relic of the cold wawar only visible e now for the very first time, a redidiscovered escape tunnel from the year 1941 underneath berlin. German engineering has reported a rise in Fourth Quarter profit and revenue beating analyst expectations. The Company Achieved 40 year targets for 2019 despite headwins from a cooling economy. Siemens is in a Recovery Process to make it fit for the next decade. The chief executive officer has big plans. He wants to make the industrial giant ready for future challenges and will split it into three major units. As far as hes concerned, the era of large corporations is over. With our corporate concept, wewe are embmbarking on the bib transformation in the companys 172year history. This is signgnificant, even historic milestone. The Health Care Division has already gone public with a listing last year. It is nonow a successful business. Siemens still holds the majority of shares. And there is the energy unit with the troubled turbine business. This was the business for many years. The plan is to go public as an independent company. It generates around 40 of total sales of 30 billion euros and employs 80,000 people. The Railway Technology sector should make siemens more leaner and more profitable. But this restructuring is risky. They are in fear that it is destroying itself. Celebrations are under way in south africa following the rugby world cup. It claimed its first world title in 12 years. Now the players are taking the trophy across the country to share their big moment with the fans. South africas world cup victory tour began where thousands lined the streets to greet the players and their prized trophy. The countrys third world titit makes it the most Successful Team in rugby and the fans are reveling. The emotions, love, joy. We are very happy for the boys. The president helped to kick off the celebrations. His predecessor Nelson Mandela was key in making rugby a True National sport. Now the teams first black captain stands as a percent son fix of mandela who was referred to locally. Unite all nations and we are happy we should celebrate and enjoy. Those celebrations will continue throughout the nation wide parade of the trophy. The party is just getting started. The west africa cameroon, a country that has very few cinemas. People are watching movies on tv at home. It has not stopped some intrepid directors from going out on location. Take a look. Action. T the cameras a are rolli in cacameroon. Every month, several lowbudget movies are made by independent filmmakers here. But theres a problem. There arent Distribution Companies or even movie theaters. Fifilmmakers like this director are forced to find other ways to show off their work. Some raise funds by holding exclusive premiers for friends and family, or they get lucky. The story is telling enough, you get elected to get selected. You can have the opportunity to have your people see the movie. If you are powerful, you can have it by a movie. Most films have a local theme, such as the recent saving bango which portrays the struggles of a cameroon family. Few here are able to watch the result. One has starred in more than 10 films, but still struggling to be seen. You want people to say hello. I watched your movie and it feels frustrating that you dont get that. But i dont put that first. My number one reason for doing what i do is the passion tore the art. I loveve what i do. Even though they havent found d much success on the domestic market, cameroon films have done well internationally and many have won awards and made it to festivals around the world but it hardly pays the bill. Most filmmakers do other work to susurvive. But he could never give up his true love. The passion is what drives you. Enthusiasm i is what driveves you. It becomes very difficult for r film maker in cameroon to do someththing else bececause you like fililm making is s who you arare. While preremiers like this offer r glitz and glglamor and opportunity to watch the movies, its out on the streets that these film crews get their real buzz. Heres a look at some of the other stories. Iran has resumed uranium enrichment and underground nuclear plant, a significant breach of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. It follows the United States unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and reimposition of sanctions against tehran. Lufthansa has canceled flights on thursday and friday affecting 180,000 passengers. Thats due to a twoday strike. The industrial action affects flights that are leaving german airports. As part of d. W. s special coverage of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall we are looking for what many east germans was the first time shopping in the capitalist west. On november 9, 1989, east germans crossed the border and headed to west berlins shopping boulevard. It is a street that was a showcase of consumerism in the divided city. D. W. Is returning to this famous boulevard and what it meant to the east germans to see it for the first time. One of the Top Destinations for east berliners exploring wewest berlin was a Department Store which was famous throughout the country even before the war. The store was ready for the rush. Many east german shoppers stayed up for the opening. First and fororemost we decid that they should get a free cup of coffee so they could warm up first. The Grocery Department was overflowing with exotic products, a new experience for many. I cant believe my eyes. I dont know what i should buy first or eat first. I bought some mussel soup and crab. These were nervy days. The east germans had to head across the berlin wall by 8 00. No one knew if they would be allowed out again. Some east berliners refused to wait for the wall to fall. They risked their lives to get over, around and even under the wall. Now, some of those desperate to escape dug tunnels to get to the west. Attempts were made throughout the history of the wall beginning in 1961. Some succeeded but others were discovered by the east German Authorities. One of these tunnels built in 1971 has been opened to the public. Our reporter kennedy went inside. W we are here for the reopeng of the famous escape tunnel. It began here and was supposed to end just beyond that road up there in berlin west and freedom. So lets take a look. Between 1961 and 1999, at least 254 people escaped from east to west via tunnels built under the border. The most successful tunnel escape allowed 57 east germans to defect. But at least four people died and 200 were arrested. This is the story of a tunnel that was discovered by the east German Authorities tantalizingly short of completion. This genentleman word d on this tunnnnel. I was in n east berlin n andn early september, 1961, four weeks after the wall was built, i i escaped to west berlin t thh the sewer system and friends and i thought about whwh we could do about this damn wall and get our friends out from the east and we decided to dig a tunnel. In all,l, he built four tunnels. The most successful allowed 29 people to o escape. His final tunnel was begun in 1970. As an engineer, he was responsible for the precise cacalculation of the route to a house 100 meters away in the east. So this tunnel began in a building that used to stand on that corner in the west. Here was the ball, the tunnel started in the west and it went in a curve around here and down to that house. Almost 50 years after his final tunnel was buried under rubble, its back in the spotlight. They are here to cut the ribbon and usher the first visitors in. Ok, lets go. Here we are in the new access tunnel. There you can see going towards east berlin. The experience gives a unique experience to the Great Lengths pepeople would go to to escape from the communistasast. In this case, the tunnel was discovered shortly before completion. Almost to the end, incredibly disappointed to have it discovered just few meters from the actual destination. He says he is not a hero, just an engineer. Cross that every day on the way to work. This is d. W. News. German chancellor merkel has rejected president macrons claim that nato is experiencing quote brain death. The chancellor along with nato secretary general reaffirmed their commitment to the Nato Alliance despite the action ofof Member States turkey and u. S. In syria. U. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo has visited an American Military base. He is in germany to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war. German defense minister krampkarrenbauer has called for a more active military presence. They have had minor roles because of constitutional restrictions imposed after world war ii. Chill yes president will seek to raise the minimum wage by 15 and investigate human rights abuses by police. He tries to quell the countrys worst unrest. Truckers blocked higighways and there have been rerenewed demonstrations in the capital of santiago. This is d. W. News from berlin. Follow us on twitter at dwnews. Ill be right back with the day. Yeah but it is welcome to live from paris world news and analysis from france twenty four a month going these are the headlines six more protests the seven killed in baghdad Security Forces fired live rounds the protesters who dismantling a barrier in place to stop them march and for more i reported killed us troops for. Sittin in bastrop. Brain death of nato in a frank interview. The bridge between the french president condensed Donald Trumps decision to pull out of syria without consulting nato allies. Over one and a half thousand migrants separately accounts
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