jared kushner arrives in the middle east to drum up support for president donald trump's peace plan but he finds himself in the midst of a storm israel's prime minister couldn't form a government so parliament's been dissolved and the palestinians don't want anything to do with trump's deal and uphill battle lies ahead i'm. this is the day. the hour the very last night. i started to stop the spread of what happened this is real looks like it's over with that reality is out there that if the banks say. our commitment is for a national government tends not. orthodox government. your efforts to strengthen the relationship between our 2 countries it's never been stronger and so on the one. hand.

i need to get to. that. also coming up on the day harvard honors german chancellor angela merkel by awarding her a doctorate and she give something back and return today is a day of joy it's your day many congratulations. i am delighted to be here today and would like to tell you about some of my own experiences. we start with a trumpet ministrations long awaited peace plan for the middle east jared kushner the president's son in law and senior advisor is touring the region to build support for what trump calls the deal of the century the details of which are still unknown but the timing couldn't be worse the palestinians have rejected the plan already and israel is in political chaos prime minister benjamin netanyahu wasn't

able to form a coalition government since elections in april so israeli lawmakers dissolved parliament now there will be fresh elections in september well get some analysis on what it all means for israel and for jared questioner in a moment but 1st more on israel's unprecedented political deadlock. it was a test of nerves for netanyahu until the last minute and he failed he couldn't forge a governing coalition of right wing and ultra religious parties so the parliament had no choice but to dissolve and trigger new elections in september the divisive issue between netanyahu and his potential coalition partners was a law that would require ultra-orthodox men to serve in the military the ultra religious parties are vehemently against it while former defense minister avigdor lieberman positioned himself as a guardian of nationalist secular values. but i think the public understands that netanyahu his likud party is selling out to the ultra orthodox.

following the failed negotiations the israeli president could have task netanyahu selection opponent benny gantz with the formation of a new government but netanyahu the likud party blocked this by taking the initiative to push for a new vote overnight netanyahu was back in election mode. approved we'll carry out a clear focused campaign that will lead us to victory. reborn of. netanyahu his previous government will remain in office until the election in mid september when he could be indicted on corruption charges that's likely to become a hot issue in the run up to the vote. let's go to jerusalem and speak to michael friedman he's a middle east analyst with the u.s. based independent news organization the media like michael thank you for joining us so how significant is this impasse that we're seeing in israeli politics we seem to

be witnessing a historic divide in israeli politics. we are witnessing possibly one to many probably the end of the dynasty you know mr netanyahu had he survived as prime minister until july and he would become the longest serving prime minister ever this place in the legendary they've been during the only prime minister more importantly though it's a young who has carved a very important niche for himself that israelis when they go to the voting booth to greet her seriously i doubt that many people could name another government head head of government of any of the western or western style country like israel would would be where the leader of the country can pick up a phone and in the left hand speak to putin in the right hands big triumph and have that kind of access and the kind of notoriety of people up the street they recognize the name that you know who they associated with his real it's very hard

to counter that especially with 150000 missiles pointed at you and that's a big selling point for these really voter to move the classic fat lady sings in hebrew as well and that nobody's really her tuning up all right you said possibly probably the end of an era you're talking about a fat lady singing so does that mean that now doesn't have any other major coalition options other than the party of avatar lieberman. now he can go to unity if you want see him you know it's all negotiation matter how close you appear to be or it seems this is heavy duty horse trading as we call it in america. there's the currency is committee chairmanships in the knesset committees deputy prime ministership is planning as the ships and even as you see now a small party of only 5 seats can go up against the party of 35 seats and not been pretty cold in the whole new election what is the unknown in this one though

they've never done this snap election again and people didn't want it who overwhelmingly is really didn't want his men to go to rebel billionaire have $1000000000.00 and they were going to take to tuesday's election that they're not happy about it so there's a money millions here about who's going to get the affection and the disaffection let's talk about and share a questionnaire now arriving in the middle east to to talk about the trump administration's peace plan for the region and we should say that benjamin netanyahu is a keith and very close ally to the trump administration a key piece of the puzzle if you will for any type of peace plan so how much does this already her to jared question as efforts in the region. i think it doesn't really hurt him all that much if it's stalls a little bit and creates a little more time that's great with and he's been doing that all along and sell and he's pretty much run out of excuses so he's going to get a little extra time here that's good with what he's trying to do with father was an inspiration trying to go the back door 1st the trying to line up support in the

arab world make palestinians the odd man out and from the internal all of that pressure he did going to squeeze out not at least they're talking about a deal to heal their century they've the avoid terms like peace proposals and peace and all that it's not he said to century is the deal of the century deals of the century come with a cost to and the israeli people having that considered the fact that many believe if there is a cost that they will be built for it you actively some of these goodies that they've been receiving a little less of of yours and michael it we keep talking about this deal of the century what is actually in it what do we know about what is part of this deal. well it's remarkable. effort so far remarkable because in the middle east to keep something the leak is absolutely amazing and. what they've done with the cushion of

team has done is release the idea that there will be a strong economic component basically making a deal the palestinians can't refuse because of the financial woes they find themselves in regularly and else didion's are equally upset that they're being viewed as an entity that would take the money and run no that part is now on the table and everybody's playing posturing and getting ready for the next round but the political sign for all of them all the. tremendous issues that nobody can get anywhere with a year after year decade after decade that's all been months gone there's no word yet of what those are and pretty much the speculation has been put to rest every time something awful is stated in terms of being known to somebody you talked about the palestinian perspective let's listen to what we have palestinian politician had to say earlier and it's clear that so 5 americans have been kicking the ball down

that road all the time about that plan in order to give israel more time to create factional laterally and for them to create thoughts on the ground such as to doso them and effigies us on and prevent. any type of intervention from anybody else including the europeans to have a political initiative ok so a very clear message there everyone else is being left out of this only the israeli perspective is being respected here so does jury questionnaire really have a chance to engage the palestinians if they are against any sort of a deal from the start. it's really in the deal and there's no way of telling what the author is going to be what the authors of the proposal have been saying regularly since the nerve beginning is that this is going to be a very pragmatic document that this is going to deal with realities on the ground and not worry so much about the p.r. kind of stuff that most of the other efforts any piece is filled with then

eventually maybe their own form plus if what is wrong is nobody has really seen the documents in the proposal you know exactly what they believe are these thank magic realities that they're going to be addressing it's hard to answer the question we really just don't know michael i do want to ask you about benjamin netanyahu and sell a few things are not getting easier for him he's facing possible indictment on corruption charges as well how much is all of that affecting his image among voters. now netanyahu has been somewhat teflon for a long time he's been in the public eye for decades he's the longest running prime minister he had a term in between her he wasn't so he's got more than 10 years under his belt but this time he's done something to the people of israel for fear to be riling that madden itself is unusual the people of israel understand human nature and they take . sitting around for a minister or other or someone who's being investigated for groups and charges

that's all really matter of course but this time that the prime minister has himself been behind legislation that would make it. illegal to bring in an 8 minute ganz to sit in a minister and this has really touched a nerve because the israeli people as a whole if i can generalize tend to feel that if you can do something like this for a minister as you believe the treatment he's receiving shouldn't happen to him it should be for the next guy not for you and the fact that even the coalition partners and potential coalition partners had to promise to support a legislation of that sort. really set a tone that we haven't seen it haven't seen before and if this runoff is as reason it's been as the previous one this could be the end. all right michael friedman a middle east analyst with the media line thank you so much for joining us on our program the pleasure. that's

a good. thing the straw and then. that requires us not to describe lies as truth and truth. thank you. german chancellor angela merkel delivering the commencement speech at harvard university earlier and on a reserved for the very few she was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree as well let's talk about the speech we have our chief political editor michelle acosta with us here in a studio and alexander phenomenas at harvard where she's been listening in on the speech for us and i found her let's start with you give us your highlights from this commencement address from the chancellor. so i think that angle of merkel struck the right tone here in harvard was in the audience as you said listening to this speech watching the erection in the crowd people applauding

laughing standing up for the chancellor and i think it was a very smart move to start talking about her personal life growing up in east germany seeing this berlin wall that limiting possibilities as a scientist and then the wall fell and everything was possible and she as she said in her speech and she even you know became chancellor of the united germany so that was something that really impressed to distance i talked to and then she also talked about the fundament of the transatlantic relationship that is now is the critical condition she talked about based on the fundamental of this relationship values. democracy and human rights and that this relationship is still very strong and important to tackle the problems the world is

facing she said that to solve those problems such as for example climate change it's important to work together for we have to act multilateral rather than unilateral we have to go global then national and we have to work together so this was a very positive message america had here for the graduates and i think that many students at least in students i talked to like this match message very much parts of the speech went down well there and harper and michelle when they come to you and ask you for your reactions you know what were your takeaways from the speech we were all speculating is this going to be a political political speech will she say anything new what do you think but i think she went a bit beyond her usual xander fleshed out of speech. pro multilateralism because she also addressed those students rather directly and telling them that it will be their task in the future to tear down walls there was

a quote that we just heard where she said lies should not be called the truth and the truth should not be called lies that her 1st standing ovations and that was understood and i believe quite rightly so as a pretty direct reference to donald trump and his administrative ministration she also said that protectionism and trade conflicts are jeopardizing the very foundations of our prosperity clearly hinting more than hinting at what could be a looming trade war there between the united states and china which would have huge implications on the entire global economy and she also said that we should stick with our. values and act according to those now this is something we've this is come up and again again throughout many speeches that she's held in the past this is something she wants to also see as her legacy but as she pointed out she will soon be part of the history books that that leadership that is required for those

key challenges in the future will be probably with some of the students so they clearly have a task ahead of them but this is the context for us when we talk about the difficulties right now in transatlantic relations between the u.s. and germany yes i mean there are a lot of real really serious issues that it's appears germany and europe won't be able to move beyond we have. coming here the secretary of state actually on friday she will meet him here with him the german foreign minister will meet with him and the over arching conflict is over iran of the united states having decided to leave what's become known as the iran nuclear deal with now the prospect of a potential confrontation in that particular region this is goes against everything that. europe believes in when it comes to diplomacy what would what kind of deal should be reached to stabilize and contain potential conflicts now much more

confrontational style in the united states and that's just one of the issues not to mention the threats and then withdrawn threat of. tariffs tariffs 1st it was steel then cause so a lot of issues where the united states is unafraid of playing out its national strength and that's also something the chances said would not lead to any kind of. solution when it comes to meeting those global challenges ok so it's a rocky road at the moment but still as we heard from alexandra you know she delivered a fairly positive speech up to tell us more about the background of why harvard invited the chancellor and if you see this is also an important platform for her what do you think it meant to the chancellor to be invited to receive this degree to be able to deliver this address. well i think for her it was a great honor to be here to be here far away from problems at home from political tour in germany and europe and of course it was

a great honor to receive the real degree and to speak here today for howard it is quite. a way of celebrating this day to invite famous and prominent speakers. of course here steven spielberg and smoko was the 4th german chancellor who was invited here to conrad. and held hold and this university we also have to mention has very close ties to germany going back to the 19th century but also there is one fact that we should mention the faculty at harvard is considered to be rather a liberal leaning and many here are merkel as leader and are quite happy with the president. and the white house you know we saw that

with the moments of applause that we saw from the students to the items that they chose to applaud their michelle and. you know one more last question to you about the question of michael's legacy we're talking about how long she's going to be in office as she's being celebrated abroad she's also been facing a lot of challenge and many challenges here at home yes absolutely. term runs out in 2021 she herself has ruled out taking up any for the political office herself she mentioned in that speech that once again it's an open question where the future will lead her but her own coalition just suffered a setback in the social democrats received yet another slap down at the box in those elections that we saw last weekend and there's a lot of question marks whether this whole mission and her chance to actually reach the full time until 2021 so she has a bumpy road here at home in europe. all right our correspondents michelle are here with us in studio and alexander for now men at howard thank you both as always.

now it's listed by many travel advisors as a destination to visit and 2019 and plugged it is nearly halfway through its run as a european capital of culture so it's time to get cracking well gary a 2nd largest city is often overlooked by tourists as they say with the quirky post soviet charm of the country's capital sofia but with its 8000 year history and beautiful roman ruins is seizing the opportunity to use culture as a binding thread for its social fabric. the congress 2nd largest city plovdiv has a turbulent history it was once on to thresh roman and osman rule. postal communism has also left its mark making a cultural mix together is the motto of this european capital of culture. gallery

owner vessel in a city year that shows us her hometown close if it's also place where different minorities made as a turkey join. our main young people roma people and of course bog area and they are all proud of their almost 2000 year old roman theater which hosts events throughout the summer there's more history in the archaeological museum the world famous pentagon wristy treasure ritual thracian drinking vessels made of 6 kilograms of gold. in the center of the city gallery sorry it was one of the initiators of the exhibition and listen to us one of the capital of culture events teaches contemporary art from europe spoken states. listen to us focuses on social issues including bulgaria's communist past and the

situation of women. dave is famous for its restored old tower. what you're seeing the old town and now high heels. the streets are narrow about wide enough the 2 loaded mules that once had to pass by one another. most of the buildings date back to the 19th century. like this. from a private villa one of the most beautiful houses in the whole town. this is that the graphic museum of floor of the if one of the places of the night the museums and galleries and this house is perfect example of barak architecture in

plovdiv a little further up hill and you have the best view of a plot dave built on 7 hills it's one of the oldest cities in europe. next we head towards come the hippest district in the old implosive. that used to be notorious for traffic jams now it's full of babies presents a playground for creative people high street artists. still on is one of the most famous ball garion spray is planned with a bit of luck you can watch over his shoulder while he would. love to have has a lot to offer this year not always make it events but many small happenings that have one main goal bringing people together especially through culture.

and finally today u.n. secretary general antonio terrace has been awarded the annual charlemagne prize which recognizes work done in the service of european unity the jury in the west german city of aachen said they selected the secretary general for his work in providing global cooperation past recipients of this honor have included the french president. german chancellor merkel and french. that's it for the day but the conversation continues online you'll find us on twitter either at news or at some ugly ass and don't forget to use our hash tag the day when leave you now with some impressions of the day america was honored by harvard university. thank you thank you has guided not only germany on the

war well thank you. thank you thank you very much. quantum chemist turned stalwart states. right. around right. right. right on the right right. room world. thank.

you. eco africa. these people used to make money by hunting elephants. now they earn their living collecting elephant dung. here at queen elizabeth national park in uganda. their work plays an important role in protecting this endangered species. the a. public.

sometime in the 26th. my great granddaughter. what was the word like in your life during and around half a century. it's really fun to. have asked. why aren't people more concerned. little yellow boots. carefully. simply trying to be a good. discovery

. subscribe to the documentary to. a more. welcome to a new edition of eco africa the environment magazine co-produced by channel 7 vision in nigeria details being germany and crazy in south africa i'm now outside of the loofah sea park in lagos nigeria hello to all our viewers again and hello to my colleague the in south africa hey auntie and hello to everyone and cecily goes to coming to you.