Way here in germany to mark the destruction of the city of dresden by american and reddish bombs. The allied attack created a firestorm that left 33 square kilometers in ruin and at least 25,000 civilians dead. The number could be far higher, as dresden was home to thousands of refugees fleeing the soviet advance in the east. 70 years later the memory of february 13 still haunts the city and those who managed to survive. 70 years after allied bombing reduced dresden to rubble, the church of the virgin mary stands once more. The house of worship is a proud symbol of reconciliation, the center point of commemorations attended by or teen hundred guest 1400 guests, including the german president. We know who started the murderous war. We know. Victims of german warfare and never will. We remember by commemorating the german victims here today. The entire city played a part in the memorial events. Dozens gathered at this rail depot to remember the deportation of dresdens dues to concentration cap camps. Some here were Young Children at the time. Though we were not bombed out, memories of what happened are still present today. The fundamental question of war and peace remains the prime question of our time. I remember them vividly. Small, brown packages, like pieces of earned meet burned meat about this big. We have never seen anything like it before. We all wondered what they were. Then there were bodies wrapped in blankets. Their lungs were first, or they were dead from smoke inhalation. You would see the bodies sitting somewhere that look like they were sleeping. Those were some childhood impressions, and after that, a different life again. Up to 25,000 people died during the allied bombing raids on dresden. 70 years later, the memories live on. They are very much alive in the memories of many this evening. Weve been following ceremonies in dresden. Aside from the official ceremonies how have the people of dresden been marking this day . Well, the central ceremony was shown on a big screen right behind me here and several hundred people turned up and watched it. Overall, the mood was festive peaceful. There were some minor interruptions by supporters from the far left, especially when the german president spoke, but overall, it was an appropriate mood for the occasion. An estimated 10,000 people turned out to form the human chain around the Historic Center of dresden. That is something the people of dresden have been doing every year on february 13 as a sign to block and tyrants from their city center. We heard from the german president in our report, but there were other speakers, international speakers, at the service today, including the archbishop of canterbury. That is correct. The archbishop of canterbury actually in his speech called the dresden bombing the most controversial raid of the allied bombing campaign, and he said, if we walk together as friends that means we have to talk together truthfully and to remember wrongdoings at bishop said was to act unjustly, so he did send out a message of reconciliation. A very strong message indeed. How is today wrapping up in dresden . Well, the church bells in dresden will ring again at 9 45 which is the time when bombings started. Of course, seeing that this is the 70th anniversary and also not just of the dresden bombing but also with the end of the second world war, commemoration will not stop today. In the coming months the city of dresden will hold special exhibitions and concerts to commemorate this event. One thing i want to mention is that in the past, february 13 has seen violent clashes between neonazis and supporters from the far left and police. None of that today. Truly, the message from dresden to the world was one of reconciliation and peace. In dresden as the city marks 70 years since the firebombing of that city. The refugees packing dresden were mainly mothers and children in the elderly fleeing the red army, seeking to reach american lines in the west. Many of them were among the victims. We spoke with two women who were girls at the time who have lost family members and friends. As we are about to hear, the fear was not just of being burnt alive above ground, but of being buried alive beneath the rubble. These firebombs they just kept on falling. Thats how it sounded. I have always said it was like the sound of someone dumping potatoes or coals on top of you. That was a very familiar sound to us back then. When bombs are falling and going off right above you, they make sounds no one can imitate. Not even the best film director. The noise of the experience shaking to the core, the feeling you get is hard to describe. You just have to turn off your feelings and can only wait to see what happens. I cannot even describe the hellish noise. It was terrifying. At first, i thought, this is so awful. Is he isnt anyone going to come and help us . They cannot just let Something Like that happen, but no one came. No one help us. We could not get out of the seller the cellar. It was obviously not the best place to be. They told us to lie on the floor to protect ourselves. That is what everyone did. My mother lay on top of me. There just was not enough room for everyone. Then people began to get anxious. Some were praying are singing while others screamed. Some just kept silent. We made our way through the firestorm. There were millions of glowing sparks. Back then, we really did not know how a storm like that came about. A lack of oxygen . We said to ourselves that even the weather was our enemy. It was my fate. We all were together in the cellar after the second attack. The people who lived in our building in the end, 13 died survivor was me. It was all so horrifying. You can never forget it. And the worst thing is we told ourselves we could not allow this to happen again. Above all, there should be no more war, but it did happen again. Thats the worst thing. For more on the commemorations in dresden as well as the history behind them go to our website, www. Dw. De. As germany marks the horrors of a war on its soil 70 years ago a germansponsored Peace Initiative for a ceasefire in ukraine will be put to the test in just over 24 hours time. Thats when the guns are set to fall silent. The agreement also calls for the removal of heavy weapons from a demilitarized zone. But it has intensified in the runup to that truce. Well have more rom our correspondent after this report. The ceasefire may be just around the corner, but on a visit to a military Training Base in kiev, president Petro Poroshenko was pessimistic that ukraine might be at a turning point. No one should have any illusions. Im not naive. Peace is still a long way off. Nobody truly believes conditions for peace signed in minsk will be strictly implemented. In the fighting continues. Numerous civilian casualties were reported after an apartment was shelled in this town outside luhansk. And none yet and across Eastern Ukraine, people are weary of the fighting in donetsk and across Eastern Ukraine. But they are skeptical, too, that the agreement will bring relief. Announced a ceasefire so many times and never stuck to it. We have to believe. Under the terms of the minsk agreement, osce observers are tasked with overseeing the truce. So far, they have mostly been witnessing fighting. Already concerned that we are seeing this morning continuation of hostilities. We expect these hostilities to terminate at the deadline that was said in minsk and we would really hope to see a decrease already between now and that moment. That is mostly Wishful Thinking at this point. The odds for a lasting truce remained high. For more on the situation in ukraine, lets cross now live to our correspondent in kiev. First off the fighting has intensified. There are fences on the way in the runup to the ceasefire. We have our eyes on a city that has been cut off by the separatists. Thousands of government soldiers are there. What is the situation right now . Yes, thats right, what you said. Ukrainian armed forces and prorussian rebels both have been trying to gain more territory, more ground in this very important, Crucial Point between rebel stronghold. It is a cross point of the railway and other channels of supply there in Eastern Ukraine. This has been leading to new findings that are importantly now going on. Weve been told there have been more fierce fightings with more casualties of the signing of this Peace Agreement in minsk unfortunately. Is the ceasefire being greeted as a success where you are, and what is the far right saying . Of course, most ukrainians suppose the gleam of hope for more peace or for peace in the east ukraine, but on the other hand, we have plenty of very critical opinions here, which we can here in kiev. People have been talking about the disadvantages for their country since more details have appeared in the newspapers, for example. They have been asking firstly why the ceasefire has been scheduled to begin on sunday and not immediately, for example. They have been also asking why the Peace Agreement regulates that only heavy weapons must be removed. What about other arms or fighters on the ground . And according to the Peace Agreement, the russianukrainian border has to be completely under ukrainian control not until the end of this year. The question is what can happen in the next few months . Thanks so much for now from kiev, covering that story. In other news, taliban gunmen have stormed a shiite mosque in northwestern pakistan, killing at least 20 people and wounding many more. Officials say as many as five heavily armed militants wearing suicide vest stormed the mosques during friday prayers. At least three suicide bombers blew themselves up. The Pakistani Taliban released a video claiming responsibility, saying it was in revenge for a militant hanged by the government teat of months ago. Two months ago. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes in myanmar. Heavily armed fighters try to capital cap to the regions capital near the chinese border. 47 soldiers died in that violence. The clashes are the latest in that series of incidents involving Government Troops and rebels. Coming up, well be going to egypt and news about the al jazeera journalists jailed there. And we will not let you go without taking you to the berlinale as well. Stay tuned. Welcome back to the show. The last of three journalists held for more than a year in a cairo prison is now home with his family. The trio were handed link the prison sentences for allegedly supporting the muslim brotherhood. The Egyptian Government overthrew an elected brotherhooddominated government in 2013 and has been cracking down on the group ever since. Journalists now out on bail work for al jazeera in network run by the ruling family of qatar which also supports the brotherhood. He is back where he belongs home with his family, including a baby son he has only just met. After too much time alone in prison, its like a dream come true. He was the last of the al jazeera journalists to be released. The first was let out on february 1 and promptly deported home to australia. We knew there was always a chance that one of us would leave and some of the others would have to stay. That does not make it any easier. This week, the judge chairing the retrial of the other two released them on bail and the egyptian canadian was immediately freed. Was a very tough time for us. Mohammed is a victim. A day later it was mohammeds turn. Am very proud of every single moment i spent in prison or the sake of it him of expression. Im really proud about it. If i would go back, i would choose the same experience. I will continue to fight for freedom of expression, and i will not back off. The journalists say their entire ordeal was a result of a feud between egypt and qatar the gulf nation that owns al jazeera and is a major back or of the muslim brotherhood. Business news of the pleasant surprise variety the German Economy finished on a high with 2014 with waryour growth of 26 fouryour growth of. 6 . Germanys performance from october to december was driven by Household Spending and investment in equipment and construction. Exports and imports also rose strongly. Traders in frankfurt were understandably excited about those growth numbers. For more, lets go to the frankfurt stock exchange. Great news from the German Economy thats what you heard traders say on the Economic Growth data from germany. Important because it is so important as an economic engine for the eurozone. That all helped repel the dax two over 11,000 points, to a new record high. Within the today dropping back just a little, it was still in the positive zone, and about 1 higher than at the end of last week. A major contributor to this weeks performance was greece. One got over very quickly that there was no agreement reached this week, but one is confident that there will be one on extending Financial Aid for greece next week, on monday perhaps. And the agreement in minsk over a ceasefire for the Eastern Ukraine also good for the mood in the share prices. Here come the numbers in all starting in frankfurt with the dax, which rose 5. 4 on the day. Euro stoxx 50 also climbed up to 3447. The Dow Jones Industrial average where they are still trading is ever so slightly up and the euro slightly down against the dollar a 1. 13 87. Now its time for the latest from the Berlin Film Festival where today was all about Kenneth Branaghs cinderella. Here the stars of the film were out in force. Cate blanchett plays the hard drinking gambling stepmother. Branagh said he wanted to tell a love story of equals. Helena Bonham Carter said that they created something a world away from the disney cartoon of the same name of 1950. Now lets go white to right to sarah. You told us yesterday that people have been camping out for days to see this movie. Was there expectation warranted . I cannot speak for them, but my expectation was certainly met. Yes, this film is kitschy. Yes, it is completely overthetop, but it is 100 percent fun. This is really disney at its best. Cate blanchett is perfectly cast in the role of the wicked stepmother. You can really see how much fun she is having with the role. Helena bottom carter gives us some comic relief as a fairy godmother who was not quite sure how the whole magic thing works helena Bonham Carter. Earlier today, i caught up with prince charming himself actor Richard Madden whom you may know from game of thrones. Here is what he had to say. Do you think this could be a modern story . I think it is absolutely modern. I think it is more modern than the animation was. In the animation, a prince comes in on his horse and saves the damsel in distress and in this film, you get to see a young man who is a son as well as air to the throne and a strong woman with all her own problems, and its about them overcoming their problems together and being stronger together. I guess more modern. Do you think we will ever see a film where cinderella saves the prince . A think she does save the prince in this film and lots of wave lots of ways. She saves him from going down the path he could have done in an arranged marriage. The message is have courage and be kind, and that is the message she passes on to him, and that is what gives them their strength. She saves him. Thanks so much. You can find out for yourself if cinderella saves the prince. The film opens on march 13. All the films running in the competition have now run. What were the main recurring themes we saw this year . One huge theme this year was strong roles for female characters. We saw that right out of the gate on the Opening Night with spanish director isabel crochets film nobody wants the night, about an arctic explorer who goes to greenland. We also saw it with queen of the desert starring Nicole Kidman and the role of a female explorer who goes to the arab world about 1900 and we also saw that with the german competition entry with the film victoria, about a young spanish woman who ends up robbing a bank with a gang of berlin criminals. A lot of strong roles for women. It was really refreshing to see. All right, our very own strong woman on the red carpet. Thanks so very much. Talking about cinderella, a lot of princes and princesses looking forward to valentines day tomorrow. The global flower industry is also looking forward to a surge in rails as many countries mark valentines day. Ethiopia is one of the worlds biggest exporter of red roses. Industry has created jobs for a lot of people. But Flower Companies in places like ethiopia have been taking advantage of poor pfarmers, unaware of the massive profits to be made. Everythings coming up roses, and that suits him just fine. Valentines day is the busiest and most lucrative time of year at this rose farm in it hell be a february 14, these flowers can etch up to five times the usual price as lovebirds across europe lineup to buy bouquets for their darling ballantyne. And that is good news for harvesters. For the community, it has created lots of job opportunities. People have more money than before, which makes us happy. The farm where she works uses organic pest control. It also pays employees slightly more than other low skilled jobs and provides the health care. None of this is her wired by law, but the owners put a high priority on building and maintaining a sustainable presence. We also believe that when people are feeling respected and confident here, that they do a better job. That is also what weise he in our products. But most competitors are less concerned about their impact on local communities. Environmental damage and the displacement of Small Farmers have tainted the image of the blooming flower cultivation sector. Land in ethiopia governmentowned and dirt cheap to rent. For as little as five euros per hector a year, it is an attractive prospect for investors, but it also means that rural populations often lose out. This village is an hours drive from the capital. Entrepreneurs say the jobs created by flower farms outweigh the cost of losing land. Some locals do not see it that way. He says he was coerced into selling his land to a Flower Company nine years ago and received only 200 euros, hardly enough to start again or read his family of 12. We are worse off now. Our children work at the flower farm but the money they earn does not even Cover Health Expenses when they get sick. I should not have sold. The farm that took over his land is expanding by another 10 hectors this year. Owners say the expansion cost them 80,000 euros in payments to the government. Its unclear how much of that revenue is earmarked for local needs. The government insists communities are consulted and compensated before their land is allocated for agricultural investments. The land size is very small and it is through discussion with the community through agreement, not force. The governments ambitious growth plan aims to turn ethiopia into a middle income country by 2025, but critics say the policy is currently in place are of little benefit to much of the population. Recapping our top story at this hour, commemorations have been under way in germany to mark the destruction of the city of dresden by american and british bombers 70 years ago. The allied attack created a firestorm that left at least 25,000 civilians dead. We have a lot more about those commemorations in the history on our website www. Dw. De. Especially the u. K. Angle, an interview with the archbishop of canterbury, as well as a piece from our london correspondent who traveled to coventry, also devastated by bombs in world war ii. Stay with us. More news at the top of the hour. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] four years ago, the area stricken by the great earthquake received many relief supplies. Food stuffs were particularly welcome by the hungry victims. However, there were some recipients who very uneasy about the supplies of food. Immediately after the age quake, these are the relief supplies that were delivered with no gas, electricity or water, those that came to the evacuations shelters were given