now for some of the other stories making the news today the british prime minister theresa may is battling to keep her plan on track as parliament is set to begin a marathon five day debate on her deal may has already been handed a major blow her government has become the first in british history to be found in contempt of parliament this effort refused to publish a legal report on bracks. u.s. prosecutors say michael flynn the former national security advisor to president trump should not face jail time special counsel robert muller cited flynn's quote substantial cooperation with the russian investigators. when resigned from his post in february after the merge he'd lied to the white house of this rolls about a meeting he had with the russian ambassador in the lead up to the twenty sixteen election. a handwritten letter from the nobel physicist albert einstein as sold for two point four million euros at an auction in new york a one and

a half page so-called god letter was written in german in one thousand fifty four to the philosopher eric good kid and it takes issue with the concept of religion and einstein's own jewish faith and it's regarded as a key manuscript in the debate over science and religion. and a medical first doctors in brazil have reported helping a woman to successfully deliver a baby from a transplanted uterus the uterus had been taken from a deceased donor the baby girl was born last december previous cases of uterus transplants from dead donors have failed to produce a live birth. it's to france now where president emanuel necro has climbed down from his unpopular increase in fuel taxes the move comes after three weeks of growing protests that have brought central paris to a standstill and that have become increasingly violent but mccollum's announcement that he's suspending the tax has done little to appease protesters. a french school

going up in flames. these images were filmed in toulouse but other images spread on social media showed similar scenes elsewhere high school students on strike for the second day the students say they want to voice their opposition to education reforms and show support for the yellow vista protests meanwhile on national t.v. the french prime minister announced the government was suspending planting creases to fuel taxes for six months in response to the nation want protests that could have another one and he sang the has deep roots it's been brewing for a long time it's often stayed quiet house of discretion or cry. it today it is being expressed with force and in a collective way one has to be deaf or blind not to see or hear it or the. you don't all but there was also

a clear warning the government would not tolerate further violence from the yellow vests so your new bridge will need to move to give another day of protest is organized on saturday it must be authorized in must take place peacefully the interior minister will use all necessary means to enforce law and order. illo. sparked by an announced fuel tax hike the yellow based protests have now come to reflect more widespread anger at the government that hit major cities causing damage and disruption over the last three weeks the government move is an attempt to quell the son rest but yellow vests supporters say it's too little too late. it's not a sign of appeasement it's just a storming tactic there's nothing there it's empty there's no specific explanation . but i don't think that's going to be enough to put this genie back into its bottle because now it's out and people are waiting for something else is an answer

. the climb down as you're kind of a setback for president a manual mccall his approval ratings have slipped sharply in recent months and it's doubtful this policy u. turn will appease the protesters. the u.s. is observing a national day of mourning in honor of former president george h.w. bush who died on friday his casket has been lying in state since monday in the u.s. capitol rotunda where mourners have been passing through to pay their respects. there in germany george bush sr will be remembered as a president closely linked to the dramatic moments that marked the end of the cold war and german reunification it was during his presidency that the berlin wall fell and that communist east germany and west germany were reunited after forty years of division. it was the moment germans had a waited for decades and while it was ronald reagan he famously called for the

berlin wall to be toned down george bush sr was in office when it finally happened . hebert called the chancellor who oversaw over unification once described bush as a stroke of luck in his country's history saying that every united germany wouldn't have been possible without his help were described as a tireless diplomat the forty first us president help soften the front after decades of animosity between washington and the eastern bloc. and he vocally supported the idea of german reunification when other european countries were strongly opposed. on the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall cole and former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev came together to mark the occasion the war could never erase your dream our green. one germany. a free germany

a proud germany that is thankfully regained its rightful place among the leading nations of the earth. when news of his death broke bush diplomatic contributions to germany's unity were at the forefront of many people's minds. on the sidelines of a g. twenty summit in argentina german chancellor angela merkel expressed her condolences as well as an apparent sentimentality for a different era and transatlantic relations and would call countries a home that cold could always rely on his ally in the white house during george h.w. bush's presidency we experienced reliability and strength in the german american relationship and we'll never forget this experience for gibson. george bush's legacy isn't fit without controversy in germany many citizens were deeply opposed to his war on the gulf war that was co financed by their government

. nevertheless most will remember that will keep us as a friend and a us president who helped show what's possible when countries but together. for more i'm joined now by irwin call your he's a professor of economics at the bard college here one focuses on germany u.s. relations did morning or one for me here in germany george bush sr a celebrated as a president who managed to bring over france and especially britain the then prime minister margaret thatcher to the idea of german reunification a powerful germany was feared back then by many. that was the case one has to sort of go back in history to realize what a surprise events were people were not expecting suddenly the german question to rear its head at that moment and that dramatically so the fact that george herbert walker bush and his team was quick to realize the potential of the

situation and bring others around who were still in shellshock they had older ways of viewing germany within the european context so in many ways it was this realization that here was a grand opportunity in post-war history for freedom and democracy to be reestablished in germany and that germany would not be a threat to its neighbors now bush offered germany at the time a bush sr a a partnership in peace a strategic role in leadership with the united states but berlin has never really been comfortable with that role as you know and germany has learned within multilateral contacts to assert its interests and to come forward it has never felt comfortable in the post-war world of being a unilateral force and that was just. offering too much power too

soon cole had his eye on the ball it was a european ball european unification get that project farther down the road before talking in terms of strategic partnership.