her refugee policy has really come under a lot of criticism at home including from her political allies so perhaps putin sees a bargaining chip there that he can kind of use in today's talks. and nina i'd like to turn back to you for a moment. only talks about the bargaining chip that putin can use this meeting will be taking place behind closed doors. why is that are they going to discussing things that they perhaps don't want the public to know about. the thing between uncle maclin vladimir putin is that they've known each other for years they were in power when george bush was still u.s. president tony blair was still at the helm of the british government and they know how each of the ticks they also know that sometimes they need a bit of time to sit down and have an open and frank dialogue but we also know that this is not the first meeting behind closed doors between the russian and the german top diplomats if you will the germans the russian foreign minister actually

came to berlin and nobody found out about it a few weeks ago so this just goes to show that. there is a big attempt by the russians to actually get support from the europeans again they've understood that donald trump is the u.s. is no longer the go to address when it comes to talking about talking to the west then now turning to. well again with the most one of the more contentious issues is the ukraine ukraine conflict going home and in eastern ukraine once of russia annexed crimea germany was actually leading the european union push to impose sanctions in response but ultimately economic interests seem to be the priority in most of these sorts of geo political conversations so. when it comes to for example the issue of the north stream to. line ukraine is very unhappy

about it they feel that the project could undermine the use efforts for russia to return crimea is merkel likely to vote to raise this issue well you are you are right it's all about the money as well we mustn't be naive about these things but of course it's also about stability in the region and so germany has tried to be the broker between russia and the ukraine and in this particular case of this gas pipeline germany will try and get russia to guarantee that they will have ukraine benefits from some sort of transit business deal even if this pipeline does get built and gets operational in twenty twenty germany wants russia to guarantee that the ukraine will not completely lose out and the u.s. of course they have their own interests the german government aid has said that the

u.s. is against this pipeline because it would increase russian influence in the west but the german government aide said the u.s. is interested in selling liquefied natural gas so yes it's all about the money you have to look at where the money's going well this pipeline is also making russia's neighbors very nervous emily if you're still standing by with us emily sure when in moscow i'd like to put this question to you can you tell us why russia's neighbors are nervous about the north stream to pipeline project. well ukraine in particular as you said is very nervous about it they know that gas can be a political tool for russia to put political pressure they experience that several times and they're worried not only about the transit fees as nina was saying but but also about perhaps not having gas in the future perhaps the pipeline

routing gas away from them and then not having a gas supply now when it comes to ukraine though i would just like to also say. an interesting that thing that could perhaps be achieved today is movement on an exchange of political prisoners between ukraine and russia now there have been some signs of that there's been this very high profile case you may have heard of since off the ukrainian director he is in prison in russia on terrorism charges critics say that he's a political prisoner and he's been on hunger strike since may saying that he wants all ukrainian prisoners in russia to be freed and his health is deteriorating there have been reports of that in the run up to today or in the in the last few weeks and we've seen a picture of course asked before before this meeting he asked medical to talk to

putin about political prisoners and he specifically mentioned since off so there may be she may be bringing that up with putin and that may be something that there could be movement on that the kremlin could kind of show as a sign of goodwill that there can be some movement on ukraine even if the conflict itself seems to be kind of frozen. if you're just joining us we're bringing you live coverage of the bilateral summit between the german chancellor angela merkel and a lot of your poutine that's taking. in place just north of berlin means a birth we've been looking at live pictures of the two leaders arriving at the venue and they're expected to make a brief statement to the press short time from now and when they do we'll bring you that live for now i'd like to say thank you to our correspondents nina has a here with me in the studio emily sure when in moscow and tom aspera who's

standing by at the venue of that meeting we'll be checking in with all three of you later in the program. well now for some sports news and in soccer the german come first round continued today and there have been some shock results byron munich only narrowly managed to beat fourth tier dockers then off a with a goal by robert lewandowski and the eighty second minute the biggest shock however saw one of them knock out reigning champions i'm tough frankfurt with a two one victory hoffenheim on the other hand had no problem winning six one in kinds as loughton and braman defeated their lowly opponents for much of warms by the same scoreline while with the german cup now underway that means the bundesliga isn't far away either two clubs hoffenheim in life they are vying for that title and there's an extra twist to their rivalry oftentimes coach you down not as man

has already made clear that he'll be moving on to another club at the end of the coming season and that club is you guessed it like sick. this is puff of arms coach for now. is in his final year and many think he will struggle with his players and the club knowing he's heading to might see next season but not this month isn't getting done very soon he has a clear goal for the season after sensationally finishing third last time around the loss of the logical progression would be second but that's not the most rewarding place to finish but it's difficult to win the league every team in this division is essentially here because they want to win it will give it everything to have a successful season and we'll see how it goes. in life they also want to see how it goes this season the players are fully behind into room coach wright. it doesn't matter who's on the sideline that hasn't heard last year this year are

you william not next year it doesn't matter who it is the players always want to win three in a given. also has a lot on his plate in his second job as sporting director says the club still haven't found an adequate replacement for nabby kater who left to join premier league side liverpool isn't bust we'll go we know what we wanted not the moment i can't tell you if we're going to get it. we have time until the thirty first of august that's a week after the league kicks off sikh face a stern test in don't mind in their opening game. but hoffenheim and union naggers might have the toughest test of all their first match of the season is a way to champions buy an annuity. and some real fan frenzy greeted you saying bolter the to make and track and field star arrived at fifty airport ahead of his trial at soccer elite side the central coast mariners

fans cheered poses for selfies and even kissed the olympic champion who said he left australia and has had. need to call the country home for now bolt who won eight a limp in gold medals before retiring last year want to start the second career as a soccer pro. well there are a few. well and some other news former united nations chief as nobel peace laureate kofi annan has died anon was the first black african to be the world's top diplomat he served two terms from one nine hundred ninety seven to two thousand and six and on died after a short illness at the age of eighty. kofi annan for almost ten years the face of the un for many of he still is he managed to be more than just the u.n. secretary general he was a moral authority he was driven by one conviction that he kept for it to rating we

have an obligation under international humanitarian law and now on moral values to help kofi annan was born in ghana in one thousand nine hundred thirty eight his parents were well off he could study economics in the u.s. as well as switzerland the young soccer fan was only twenty four when his career began at the united nations. he started with the world health organization in geneva and soon became head of u.n. missions in war zones. when he moved to the top post at the un it was meant as an interim solution taking over from the controversial previous secretary-general boutros boutros ghali despite his diplomatic skills he felt his biggest defeat was over the two thousand and three iraq war but his belief in the un's goals in importance never ceased i think most of you know that one of my chief moose ever since i took over as secretary general has been to make the united nations more

useful for his tireless work as a peace negotiator and ambassador for human rights and none was honored with the nobel peace prize in two thousand and one leaves a wife and three children. officials in kerala are pleading for more help as the monsoon floods inundate much of the southern indian state and the death toll continues to climb the state's chief minister says three hundred twenty four people have died in what he called the worst floods in one hundred years india's military has been called in to help the relief effort. rescue teams are continuously being called out here more often than they can keep up with others drag themselves to safety in whichever way they can. this is now a full scale military operation a human chain of soldiers passing basic supplies a remake shift bridge for these villages who've sought higher ground in the

treetops. those rescued to being taken to shelters more than three hundred thousand people have been evacuated so far many more are still waiting for the newest escort these are being undertaken and people keep coming additionally we have more than. what it gives was along with giving the boards. it's being called the worst flooding in one hundred years ten days of relentless heavy rains have left villages totally submerged thousands of people across the state are still stranded and with more rain forecast the flood waters won't be receding anytime soon. but the level of water has risen tremendously it's not slowing down and that's why people are scared what. deadly mudslides have added to the desolation they've crushed homes.

scattered temporary. homes cut off by the roads. on saturday morning prime minister narendra modi was flown over some of the worst hit areas he's promised more than seventy million dollars in eight more boats and helicopters for many down below all that can't come soon enough. turning now to italy where thousands of mourners have attended a state funeral in the city of genoa to commemorate those killed when a motorway bridge collapsed of the city on tuesday the country's leaders joined victims' relatives to pay tribute to the dead but the families of about half of the victims a boycott of the ceremony calling it a farce. these are the they pray for their losses for their loved ones

and friends. these people of genoa are heartbroken by the tragedy of the bridge that collapsed killing so many could collapse of the morandi bridge costa gosh in the heart of genoa. what it did you know that. the turnout for the state funeral service was huge italy's political leaders also attended both prime minister two separate continent and presidency came to offer their personal condolences to the relatives but not everybody took part the families of about half the victims chose to have private services some out of anger against the government calling the state funeral a farce and blaming the authorities for failing to keep the bridge safe their sentiment is shared by some. so moved by that these are mistakes that keep on being repeated and now again angels are flying into the sky and paying for the mistakes of other human beings it is time to say enough and to think about what is really

crucial which is maintenance and i took a phone with me. this is the aftermath. this car was pulled out of the rubble of the collapsed bridge investigators are trying to find out if a design flaw or improper maintenance might have cost the disaster interior minister any though seen here on the left has been quick to blame al to strut of the managing company of the highway. that. has refuted the claims the company's c.e.o. has said they'll create a fund for the victims' families. if he didn't stay but no money in the world can bring back their loved ones and now to some of the other stories making news around the world. a polish prosecutor says the driver of a ukrainian bus that crashed overnight in eastern poland will be charged three

people were killed and thirty eight others injured when the bus heading from the ukrainian city of live to vienna crashed through a guardrail and plunged down a slope about forty kilometers from the polish ukrainian border. venezuela's president nicolas maduro has raised wages in the country for the fifth time this year is part of a monetary overhaul that aims to curb inflation and new software and believe are in rooms from monday to the five zero zero walked off the nation's currency. the mexican military has uncovered a huge underground drug lab in remote mountains in the country's west troops say they destroyed fifty tons of methamphetamine on site mexico is a major supplier of meth and heroin to be united states which is seen a surge in opioid addiction. well turning now to some other news and the

former united nations chief and nobel peace laureate kofi annan has died anon was the first black african to be the world's top diplomat he served two terms from one thousand nine hundred seven to two thousand and six and non died after a short illness at the age of eighty. kofi annan for almost ten years the face of the u.n. for many years he still is he managed to be more than just the u.n. secretary general he was a moral authority he was driven by one conviction that he kept for it to rating we have an obligation under international humanitarian law and now on moral values to help kofi annan was born in ghana in one thousand nine hundred thirty eight his parents were well off he could study economics in the u.s. as well as switzerland the young soccer fan was only twenty four when his career began at the united nations. he started with the world health organization in

geneva and soon became head of u.n. missions and was. when he moved to the top post at the. dumb one town in the ladies and gentleman i would like to welcome the russian president vladimir putin back to mexico castle. to give this means we've had the opportunity to continue the talk that we began in sochi and continue with this dialogue and i think in view of the fact that there are so many serious conflicts across the globe this emphasises the opportunity that we have to seek solutions together after all we have responsibilities on germany does but so does russia because they are permanent member of the security council and this is why we need to work on finding solutions this is true for the whole question of ukraine and we've been working on this subject for some time the basis remains the minsk

agreements though again and again we discover that we still have no stable ceasefire in the region i do hope that for the start of school that we will once again try to make progress here and we'll be. discussing the opportunity of the u.n. mission here which will perhaps be able to play a role when it comes to settling the conflict well certainly germany is prepared to continue to take on responsibility within the framework of the normandy format and around ukraine will be talking about the gast transit as well i believe that if knowledge stream too does come about europe will have to play a role when it comes to trying the transit of gas to europe and i'm pleased that we've been able to begin discussions between ukraine russia and the european commission another important issue today that will be discussed in your syria yes.

we have to ensure that. we don't have a humanitarian disaster that we are seeing that there is a reduction of armed conflict in the city in the country but that doesn't mean that we have a lasting peace and this is why germany as a member of a small group would you believe that it's important that we start talking about on political processes that we began this discussion which is that we need to have a constitutional reform of potential elections and we supported. the idea of a commissioner as well iran is something we'll be talking about germany remains committed to the juice to p. o. a treaty but we are seeing worrying developments whether it's in your run or in yemen or the ballistic program or the situation in syria and here as well will be continuing on from the talks that we had with russian foreign minister laughed off

at the start of the summer and searching as well we'll be talking about human rights issues as well and about bilateral relations. this is the year and on local and regional it's winning and this is a good way of getting to know. one another better they'll be the petersburg dialogue in october and we hope to god be a good exchange between civic society representatives of both countries i believe that controversial issues can only be solved if we speak to one another which is why i'm so pleased that read to me putin is my guest today but if you are sure to do it well first of all cry once or fracture federal child star for her invitation and for the opportunity to have it this way to new york we are certainly happy your mask to discuss what russian and german relations as well as current edge national issues i'd like to say as well that russia would seize the development of mutually

beneficial cooperation with germany in the political economic and other swears to it will fill me up and based on the fact that we are looking at the opportunity to trade for both countries as well because germany is one of the leading partners in this area in our country very neutral and last year looks but we had twenty two percent increase in need trades of you but you and you got up to fifty five billion dollars and this year there will be another twenty five percent increase expected in trade and the level of german and vestment in russia is about eighteen billion dollars as well five thousand german vehicles the germans represented companies work in russia and there doubt would be twelve hundred sixty thousand employees there would be three and if all of you for the signal in germany it's also the case that we have what many russian companies as

well working in various different areas are worth eight billion euros in investment terms these include our involvement in the energy sector because germany is one of the biggest recipients of russian energy resources. last year alone will be a word with a place if you put it in terms of natural gas there was fifty three billion cubic meters of gas that we delivered to germany in one year and every year there's an increase in the amount of over russian gas used in germany an increase last year alone a thirty percent surgeries not just a big market for russian goods but it is also an important transit country for gas to the british in your last year when it was the fiftieth anniversary if you will of the spring natural gas being delivered from a shutdown was it if you didn't say that you know it was that you were serious europe and all of these years you would question has supplied stable energy and

want to hear about being a prick working together with germany part and i suppose we as russia are working on projects to create a new natural gas pipeline to know it's going to mean you know with friends you can which will complement our very high line system to bring natural gas because you are you sure of which are and this you in the pulps worried is the increase in unlimited for natural gas years ago when i was in germany nordstrom isn't an exclusively economic project as well just for order for you to go in the gulf of aqaba it's just means though that we have to also feeds this gas to ukraine in ukraine so now i understand the position of the german chancellor so you're still going to computer additionally we have had pipelines go through ukraine from russia to europe people if you could if you would know but. you can approach it well i

have to say that there it is likely that we will be able to increase our cooperation and others three years as well if you will but what you should not least in terms of our industrial cooperation as well as board of economies through having high tech there are projects that many of these. flourish between our two countries is important while we also continue to work in cultural areas as well between our two countries a number of different events are held within the framework of our local and with a gun and what in your there's a big concert program that is why material as well in germany with the russian musicians about the with and we have a good cooperation between our parliament just as well there was a big party mentary a delegation that recently came from germany to visit us and russia and the russian parliament the dumas i wonder if house members are coming to visit germany as well what are sustainable good cooperation around the risk of the peace to spread dialogue that chancellor mentioned him and in terms of the international agenda

naturally we will address all of the issues that have been touched on here. they are very good and they were used in the cradle is an issue that will be just going to go you know it's very important as well will be good things that we. do what we can to gain create. an international security the situation in the middle east is something we are naturally debasing here now as well. it is important that humanitarian support for syria be stepped up. in a humanitarian aid to the civil populations of syria and its supports in youth from her usual when they were in the return of syrian refugees back to my stable syria were you when you mean you and your obviously son can return to be found you have

as well but there are you know you will so many refugees in lebanon and turkey for them what are you to create i think it's really meant that in the form which is just an address and we need to encourage them to be able to return and what do we need to do to make this happen well in which we need to in. sure that local authorities would need to ensure that basic infrastructure such as heating i just want to supply work again because i'm actually will be discussing ukraine shops are said within the context of settling the ukrainian crisis is good for my future though that's the news you could wish it would mean we've not been making much progress with might have hoped to you know but obviously there is no alternative to implementing the minister agreements because the memories of working together in the normandy format will continue obviously still willing. to support the u.n. monitoring mission as well issue of so there's plenty of food for debates but once

again i'd like to thank madam chancellor for her hospitality and the opportunity to speak with her today. option. on the number that i'm now but of well established by your stewardship it's been a wonderful trip that we've. just give you a very nice trip very nice visit i had a private visit or you must thank you. and if you're just joining us we're been watching the live coverage of the bilateral summits between german chancellor angela merkel and russian president vladimir putin that the taking place north of berlin the chancellor and her russian counterpart made a family remarks to the press before their meeting before disappearing for their talks behind closed doors their talks are expected to focus as they mentioned on

energy issues as well as the conflict in ukraine and syria and german russian ties have been tense for years but they're showing signs of pragmatic fox and of this meeting today will be putin and second meeting in just the last three months. and let's go straight to mr burke where our correspondent thomas ferro is standing by we also have emily share when our correspondent in moscow and with me in the studio is now has the our political correspondent so thomas well we just finished a listening to the brief remarks by america and thirteen very different focus from each of them what did you make of how they spoke to the press just now well very different focus for instance when it comes to syria i'm going to call stressing that there should be a political solution there that could include new elections or constitutional

reform and go one hundred eighty me or fourteen or stressing that his focus or at least one of his focus is the return of refugees to what he described as a stable syria i see doctors one of the maybe key issues that they will have to discuss where they will have to try and find common ground because it seems at least from what we heard today that there are different focus there than the issue obviously of ukraine not only the crisis in ukraine but also the role of ukraine as a transit country when it comes to to gas that is something that ukraine has raised on the barrier instances in dot's i believe is also a key issue that both leaders will have to put dress both leaders address states during their initial statements. that is obviously one of the topics that they will have to actually find a lot of the slope with can find common ground it seems really one of the most controversial issues between both countries. well thomas i think it was.