this is g.w. news live from berlin tonight calls for calm after tensions between israel and iran so war israel launched massive air strikes overnight on iranian targets in syria after rockets landed on is really. also coming a french president is on heard with the charlemagne prize for promoting a new vision for europe he says the time to strengthen europe is now. plus a dam burst in kenya killing dozens under what is being described as a wall of water the east african country is reeling from weeks of catastrophic

flooding we'll speak with survivors who say they've lost everything. it's good to have you with us tonight worries that a new war may be in the making in the middle east europe and the u.s. are calling for restraint after the most serious military confrontation between israel and iran in years a last night israeli air strikes hit iranian targets across syria in the biggest israeli attack on syrian territory in over forty years and that's after israeli troops in this region here the disputed territory of the golan heights allegedly came under iranian rocket fire the prime minister of israel says that his country's response was appropriate accusing iran of crossing

a red line. a fireball in the sky over damascus syrian state television showed these images said to be syrian anti-aircraft defenses targeting israeli rockets israel's defense ministry said its forces hit over fifty iranian positions across syria prime minister binyamin netanyahu case the justification. of iran has crossed a red line our response was appropriate our army has carried out a large scale attack on iranian targets in syria. we're engaged in a long term conflict and our policy is clear we will not allow iran to establish a military presence in syria iran provides political and military backing for the regime of syrian president bashar al assad in the country's civil war israel says it strikes a retaliation for a rocket attack on territory a talkie pi's in the golan heights according to israel iranian militants fired the rockets from syria but none of them reach that target the iranian leadership has

not commented on the events and usually to only said that syrian defense forces had been fairly successful accounts of casualties and damage cause very widely. likely to get. the israeli rockets took the lives of three martyrs two others were injured a radar station and an ammunition depot were destroyed. but syrian opposition sources say losses were much higher with at least twenty three dead. tensions remain high on the golan heights the israeli army has sent reinforcements to its northern border. all the. middle east demanding attention. and russia. foreign minister heiko mosque held talks with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov while russia is a firm backer of iran germany insists that israel has the right to defend itself

a lever of stress that the remaining signatories to the iran's deal which the us withdrew from this week should discuss how best to keep it alive i go must expressed germany's hope that russia would use its close ties to iran to convince them to stick with the nuclear deal. while there may soon be a breakthrough on that seven month impasse over who will lead a new kettle on parliament former president karla's which to me has renounced his candidacy for the job. proposed political newcomer and member of parliament kim tura in his place kettle on lawmakers have so far been unable to agree on a leader since last december's election they must however pick a leader to form a government by may twenty second to avert new elections. or french president in his challenge to european governments to unite in an increasingly complex and troubled world speaking today in the german city of often he said that

the idea of european integration has been thrown into doubt and whether it lives or dies he says is up to today's leaders he was speaking after receiving oftens prestigious charlemagne prize. and award for contributions to european unity a topic very close to french president emmanuel maccollins hot many of the dignitaries attending the ceremony had warm words to make on including the german chancellor angela merkel she said she thought mcallen was the perfect recipient for the prize . that's a man who one macro knows what binds europe together if he has a clear vision of how europe should move forward. and a man who has a capacity to inspire others in the service of your. knuckle referred to global conflicts european space and stressed the need for calm in the middle east.

we know that we have facing an extremely complicated situation there you know this is really about war and peace as the recent escalation show this and i can only call on all participants to exercise restraint. in his acceptance speech mccaughan urge the nations of europe to rise in unison to the challenges they face and not to turn inwards let it go and in difficult times the temptation to be nationalistic was a big one to close ourselves in and to think of it on a national level it is easier to master challenges and to find our sovereignty because on the european level it is still nascent and fragile. and the french president spoke of the importance of the franco german partnership only only in france many people tell us go ahead go confront germany this is the solution germany is old they don't want to reform europe they only want to benefit from

europe i know that this is wrong and i'm never going to listen to that temptation just because you know man you. agreed with those sentiments she reaffirmed her commitment to mcallen's vision and she said she would follow him as he attempts to implement his plans the real task for the french president however is to persuade his skeptics. and here's some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world attackers armed with guns and knives have struck a mosque near the south african city of durban stabbing to death one man seriously injuring two others at the mosque in the town of vera loughton was also set alight there are concerns about the possible motive they said that with the motive rather is not yet known but the suspects are said to be egyptian men germany has marked the eighty fifth anniversary of the nazi burning of books with readings and other events such as here in berlin in one thousand thirty three fires fueled with

literature labeled un-german by the hitler regime were lit across the country many students enthusiastically joined in the act at the town a one hundred four year old man who drew international attention with his right to die case has ended his life in a swiss clinic in his final hours david goodall listened to beethoven's ode to joy and he ate fish and chips and cheesecake his favorite food the biologists had to travel to switzerland from his home in australia where assisted suicide remains illegal well a date in venue for that much anticipated summit between u.s. president donald trump and north korean leader kim jong un has been announced it will take place june twelfth in singapore tweeted the announcement shortly after welcoming home three americans who had been released from detention in north korea he described their release as a sign of goodwill from pyongyang. it was nearly three in the

morning but the u.s. president and the first lady were on hand to greet the freed captives from a north korean labor camp to reception with the u.s. president it all happened in less than a day for these three men their release was the moment their families had dreamed of. really great. right. the three men are kim jong il tony kim and kim hawke song all are americans who

were imprisoned in north korea for between one and two years for quote anti-state activities the charges are widely seen as bogus. secretary of state met pompei i made a thirteen hour visit to the hermit kingdom to arrange the plant thumb it between trump and came down on us in the process pump air also secured the men's release. the country is new tourists for its harsh labor camps. you know are you know we were treated in many different ways. for me i had to do a lot of labor with. the wanted money but when i got sick i was also treated by them you know. just a little. tramp seems to think this is a sure sign that kim is ready to reconcile he even thanks the north korean leader for freeing the men but kim is every bit as unpredictable as his american

counterpart and it's unclear if today show peacemaking will lead to actual peace. release forty four people are dead many more are missing after a dam burst in kenya's rift valley on wednesday evening homes were swept away as water rushed down the hillside in submerged homes in a radius of two kilometers kenya had been suffering from severe drought but authorities say that weeks of heavy seasonal rains have now overwhelmed the parched land and calls the dam to burst. where the rains have led to the deaths of more than one hundred people across kenya and displaced more than a quarter of a million many schools in the affected region have either been submerged or are being used as shelters catherine m one do travel to the hard hit region of melinda on kenya's east coast where displaced people there haven't just lost their homes they say they've lost everything. another

family overrides the twenty of the shelters in the russian remote area in kenya's close to the edge and this camp is the temporary home of at least two thousand two hundred people from surrounding villages. christina molly a single mother of six arrived here two weeks ago the family was evacuated by boat those little time to save their belongings most of what they have is borrowed including her children's textbooks. i'm a farmer away and i had my little piece of land. i would sell the crops from the land to pay the school fees for my children now for you as he i have children in primary and secondary school i also had a little shock but that all went with the floods it's all gone so i. christine story reflects that of five thousand people living in shelters in the region many of them were just recovering from the severe drought that hit kenya

last year local chief hopes that a majority will be able to return to their land and rebuild their lives have or his worried that some farmlands have been so badly affected that some people may not be able to harvest anything for seasons to come. he says weather extremes have worsened over the last decades. but you may find them a people saying that this man is similar to the one material place in one thousand nine hundred sixty one. this is the worst of the oldest can remember he even the frequent el nino rainfalls that we get here compared to what is happening i by moments i feel. all across the country water sources have been contaminated by the floods thirty help centers two hundred schools and thousands of homes have been damaged. the kenya red cross says it needs about four million euros for show to food tool to support façade by this. coastal region is one of the west

affected regions aid agencies one of the high risk good idea out rate and an area not just here in the but the city but also of the rule areas that have been badly affected and the situation could get was given that the rains don't seem to be letting up any time. back at the camp in the russian children can't wait to return to school but it's not clear if the schools in the region will open again christine has no idea how she will afford the fees for the next ten. when now a raise and a sport for those who just hate to take her home turf the european orienteering championships check out the stars here. now everyone is looking down to start reading their maps of their composition in an exhausting and mixed scoring relay championship runs up before days to determine the best country using their wits and the adherence to find control points along

the mystery race horses norway seemed most excited to cross the finish line but it was the home country switzerland taking the goal. all right you're up to date with the news for all of us here in berlin thanks for the company. blessing. and a curse. response from nature and in this.