an exclusive report from a destroyed city. in the sights of our u.s. starts october 24th on d.w. . this is the news live from berlin u.s. president donald trump imposes sanctions to halt turkey's offensive in northern syria now this comes as the conflict there approaches a dangerous escalation with syrian government troops advancing towards turkish positions the u.s. is calling for turkey to withdraw also coming up. while and on rest breaks out in

barcelona protesters on the streets after spain's supreme court delivers long prison terms to catalonia separatist leaders. and from political outsider to president of tunisia after his landslide electoral victory law professor. is now putting together a new government and he's turning to young people for help. i'm brian thomas great to have you with us the united states is calling on turkey to halt its invasion of northern syria the white house is ordering sanctions on turkey as well the president says he's halting negotiations on a major trade deal with on grow raising steel tariffs and sanctioning senior turkish officials is also sending its vice president mike pence to ankara to. talk

to the turkish president now meanwhile the offensive continues these are the latest pictures coming in from ross all that's in north eastern syria right on the border with turkey exact details on the progress of the turkish turkish offensive remain sketchy but turkey has targeted a number of towns inside syria close to its border and has been pushing forward farther than expected now from the south syrian government forces are moving into the very same area as well. was syrian troops heading towards the turkish border 8 years off a sad lost control of a northern syria his army is moving back in the kurds who control the region saw no alternative other than to relinquish their hard won autonomy and elicit the syrian government's help. turkish air strikes and artillery continue to rain down on the border town of ras al-ain for a 6th day. turkish backed rebel groups have

already expelled the kurds from taleb yet another town on the border but in nearby telemark ascents troops arrived to halt the turkish advance. that we came here to tell to merit to face the turkish attack against syria and to ensure the safety of families from the random turkish shelling. the development risks a direct confrontation between syrian and turkish forces. meanwhile u.s. troops are continuing their withdrawal from northern syria trump has said that he'll keep a quote small footprint stationed in southern syria and threaten turkey with sanctions for its offensive against the kurds. the european union has also condemned the operation the block agreed to limit the sales of weapons to turkey but it fell short of announcing sanctions. form of the more city pup was

formally it was not possible to have an embargo on that old country committed to no longer delivering. don't ask me right now which is only going. to see. is up to each country to see what they do it's nevertheless a very strong decision don't come in 1st but turkish president richard earlier when vowed to press on. guard most of the threats and pressures were determined to continue the operation until the end i'm stating clearly we will absolutely finish the job we started. as turkey continues its advance its civilians who are left to pay the price. to their views washington correspondent all over salah has been following the response to the white house decision to word of the sanctions against turkey officially president trump is trying to retaliate against turkey for their

assaults against kurds in north and syria but the sanctions against turkey are also an attempt to limit the damage in his own party fellow republicans have accused the president of betrayal of one of america's closest allies in the fight against isis so the sanctions against turkey can also be considered an attempt to calm down the critics off his own party but top republicans have already voiced concern if these sanctions are powerful enough and so president trump is once again being criticized for not having a clear strategy for syria and the middle east. they're all european union negotiated have indicated they want more concessions from the british prime minister boris johnson that is if a bracks a deal is to be agreed by the end of this month the pressure is building on all sides as an e.u. summit looms at the end of this week johnson says he wants to strike an exit deal

at that summit meanwhile in london queen elizabeth spelled out the government's legislative program at the opening of a new session of the british parliament. queen elizabeth on her way to deliver her 64th queen's speech steeped in pomp and tradition the formal opening of the parliamentary season sees the british monarch greeting up the prime minister's legislative agenda my government's priority has always been to secure the united kingdom's departure from the european union on the 31st of october my government intends to work towards a new partnership with the european union based on free trade and friendly cooperation. but opponents of prime minister boris johnson excuse him of instrumental was in the queen in a stunt to support his political manifesto in the parliamentary debate following the queen's speech labor party leader jeremy corbin took aim at johnson mr speaker

there is never been such a farce as a government with a majority of minus 45 and a 100 percent record of defeat in the house of commons. sitting out a legislative agenda they know cannot be delivered in this parliament and indeed with bricks at negotiations going down to the line and persistent rumors of snap elections the queen could soon be back opening parliament for the 65th time. well yet another crucial week for braxton. joins us now to take us through it good morning baggett the new says it wants more concessions from boris johnson we have the finnish prime minister even saying the deadline for breakfast at the end of this month is impossible or what's the response to that in london.

well in london people are asking themselves whether this e.u. summit at the end of this week that was supposed to be the crunch time of the brics at summit and boris johnson's opportunity to move on to actually execute what he has just laid out in the korean speech whether this is actually going to be the crunch summit that was supposed to be we know that the british government have laid out a very complicated proposal its new proposals as for the situation another nod and which was always the stumbling block for getting anything agreed between the e.u. and the u.k. so new concessions more concessions on needed says brussels and here in london people are asking themselves well if this is the case then surely the negotiations need to go on a little longer we know that a cabinet meeting that you held on tuesday morning said today is going to be postponed so the update off the cabinet is postponing so that indicates that you

know the negotiations that was supposed to end imminently end today and tomorrow in order to prepare for the e.u. summit that might just go on a little bit longer ok is that the expectation then that these negotiations will be continuing how long can they continue. well boris johnson has always said at the end of october britain is going to leave the european union do or die those were his words and in order for that to happen at the e.u. summit at the end of this week so in just 2 days time it would have to be agreed or on the other hand britain would leave without any deal so so those other options however if johnson decided well he does want drawl it would be beneficial. to not just leave the european union and then just see what happens with all the economic consequences the consequences for security he might just try and look for

an extension this is what politicians want parliament once the parliamentarians are in the prime minister to seek an extension they're trying to bind his hands to do so but we will see at the end of the summit and then on saturday when there is an extraordinary session of the u.k. parliament that basically takes stock of what's happening and take stock of what will life be in the result of the e.u. summit on saturday we should know more but we know that time is really really showed the end of october is nearing and that's really the next deadline for the whole breadth of saga ok those states approaching very quickly now bigger thanks so much for that from london. let's brief you now and some of the other stories in the news today a large fires forced an overcrowded camp for asylum seekers to be evacuated on the island of songs breeze it's not yet clear what started that blaze although it did follow earlier clashes on the camp site reportedly houses thousands of people despite having at the passably just a few 100. in fort worth texas in the us

a white police officer has been charged with the murder of a black woman in her own home police body count for the show aaron deems shooting other tanya jefferson without warning after a neighbor called the police to check on her welfare. all spanish riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets against pro and appends demonstrators in barcelona after a court ruling issued long prison terms for cattle on separatist leaders dozens were injured in those clashes as spain's supreme court convicted the 12 catalog politicians of illegally promoting independence in 2017 spain also assured a new arrest warrant for the former catalogue president carles proved among. the signs and barcelona read free the political prisoners. after the

judgment was declared thousands took to the streets that outraged by the long sentences handed down to catalonia separatist leader has said that yesterday 11th the sentence is horribly unfair it goes against all fundamental rights freedom of demonstration and freedom of expression. this punishment is a disgrace the truth our democratic system is incompetent is the time that i could cry this is unbelievable. today. but for the supreme court in madrid it is clear that the catalan leadership is guilty of sedition the former vice president orioles youngcare us the sentenced to 13 years in prison and 8 other defendants owns the received lengthy prison sentences. according to the judges those sentenced organizers the independence referendum in october 2017 despite a ban when the former president of catalonia college puts demond declared independence from spain farland clashes with the police broke out this resulted in

madrid imposing direct rule over catalonia and one of spain's most serious political crises prime minister petra sun she has hopes that this verdict will now and the much at once and for all. following the supreme court decision we need to turn the page and open a new chapter based on peaceful coexistence in catalonia through dialogue within the boundaries of the no on the sponsor situation. but many catalans don't seem ready to give up the fight since the ruling was handed down demonstrators have become blocking railway tracks and airports in the independence and chittister whom they are preparing for what they're calling democratic tsunami. it's to tunisia now or officials there have confirmed a landslide election victory for saeed the 61 year old former law professor

is now set to become president now this vote was closely watched because it's the only 2nd democratic election since the country sparked the arab spring that was 9 years ago saeed thanked the country's young people for turning a new page and vowed to try to build a new tunisia. joy explodes on the main boulevard in tunis proud of this still budding democracy thousands of sides supporters celebrating the men with a say can keep alive the spirits of the 2011 revolution. had any young people say they can use their vote to change the system several political parties give a lot of money to win this presidency but the people and the young ones who are part of the revolution in 2011 did it again a new revolution this time with a ballot. case slate is a low profile conservative low professor he come pain for radical decentralization

and pledged to build a democracy that old in the shins including the youth can have a say in. yes we've gotten we will face up to all the challenges without blood sweat and that will power especially the economic and the social ones because the tunisian people expect solutions in this respect. but he will have to work with the parliament where no party has a clear majority the supporters though are hopeful that the independent outsider can convince and succeed. let's talk about this more now do the views i ever have in the studio with me this morning good morning i see you again you know we're looking at some interesting polls that show 90 percent of 18 to 25 year olds voted for saeed what's his appeal with young voters i think it's because he's not a politician and i think young people have had enough of traditional tunisian

politicians and cases. is exactly the opposite of that he's a law professor people say that he's a newcomer to politics it's true that he's not a career politician but he's been on the scene for quite some time as a constitutional law and appears in the media quite regularly he was also involved in the drafting of the 2014 constitution he's also you know really portrayed himself as someone who's not seeking power we can see this in the way that he has run this campaign a very very spartan campaign if you will and not a lot of advertising has a real light so much on. external funding he notably did not do any campaigning in the 2nd phase of the election because his opponent was in prison and you know as a constitutional law professor he knew full well that you know should he win his up his opponent could appeal a thing that he wasn't able to campaign and as such he refrained from campaigning and still he won this landslide i think this anti-corruption spirit that he has

really appear appeals to young voters who've had enough of a politician you know and knowing the constitutional ins. house as being one of the fathers of the 24000 constitution courses will help him with the divided parliament we're looking at right now no party has a majority can he get his goals his priorities through with a divided parliament well yes and no i mean we have to really understand the role of the president in tunisia's governance the president unlike the president's role before the arab spring he has limited powers his powers are limited to foreign policy and defense the parliament is really the one that has a lot of power to approve laws however the president does have sort of some influence to set the tone of the government most notably the last president was the one who proposed that tunisia consider and equal inheritance law he had no power to approve it but he could initiate it and then it would go into parliament so he heard and saw for women and for men and women most notably and you know that there

was met with a lot of resistance but the president had the power to sort of initiate that debate so he does have power to initiate the debate but you know it's still limited but i think you know he is an independent and with this parliament really being uncharted territory for the arab world with so many dependents maybe there this new spirit will inspire some sort of unprecedented cooperation this election has definitely been a surprise and so on many levels and that means maybe the government will be as well ok hopefully there's more pleasant surprises ahead we'll be following this very closely thanks for that. we're turning now to another election this one taking place today in mozambique the ruling party there has not lost the national vote since it overthrew portuguese colonial rule if you can believe that 44 years ago but that party known as free lemo is facing new challenges this time around krish has a story for. their religious songs usually giving things

to but in this campaign version the lyrics have been changed sing the praises of incumbent president felipe in you see and is friendly to the president as messiah. now more than most and you see. we're voting for president you see on the free my party for the sake of continuity. you see kept his promise. he said every district should have a pac and a hospital and that's exactly what he delivered. he makes everything better and going to. 2 2 sing in the future we can see in many projects in mozambique. president knows. the men we can issues is a. president you see is presenting himself as a peacemaker and all the scientists peace agreement with the former rebel group.

that was already the disagreement and once again it is a very one hour journey takes us to go in central mozambique this area was devastated by 15 years of civil war which pitted the ruling socialist for any more party against the opposition mozambican national resistance or party young people here especially hope that the old conflict over ideology is now coming to an end. if we have peace i will have a better chance to graduate because of the conflict i could not study the economy is down and there is no money. but it was always again. this is just as much as well the situation appears to be calm and peaceful right here there's still some tensions because not far from here up in the hills this is where some members of the armed opposition hiding. this is the real normal stronghold of the parties and to some resistance fighters are refusing to accept the peace agreement and want

to stop the election it was clear to local politician and mr angeleno during the election campaign that the internal conflict could cost in the movie but he's optimistic the party will unite and outrun the free in the party. i don't know when we stopped the police taking it as a different nama wins the elections we will change many things socially economically in all of the areas that affect the mozambican people so that they can finally live freely and happily. leave he even. more. inequality is a huge problem here powerful for mozambicans live in poverty. the country is only slowly recovering from an economic crisis and president you see as government has recently been plagued by several corruption scandals. the election will be closed and for the 1st time in years and up the struggle for the ruling for the party.

well restoration is underway at notre dame cathedral in paris following the terrible fire there a brawl that devastated the structure but it's still several months before reconstruction work on that cathedrals expected to begin in earnest experts and saying the government's promised timeline of rebuilding within 5 years is not realistic. cathedral is very much a part of the nation's households life every day from my balcony she looks to see if it's still standing. half a year after the blaze denise is still not over the trauma of it. along with her very dark. there straight ahead it was exactly where the tower was it we saw how it caught fire started wobbling left and right and then broke off.

it was terrible if only sit it out that. the fire broke out on a pile of 15 why is still a mystery to build it and in fear for not thousands of people gathered spontaneously in front of the cathedral millions worldwide in front of their screens tonight denise and her husband unjustly want strong their balcony. construction is moving ahead but it's much slower than residents would like the cathedral is still in danger of collapsing the building must 1st be stabilised says architect. she's angry at president obama call he promised to rebuild a cathedral in just 5 years she says that's completely unrealistic. your feeling your renovations will take at least 10 years and that's only if a miracle happens and they find the right kinds of wood and stone and if all those employed work well this fire has plunged into an enormous crisis we

expected the government to ask the french people to trust us ex-pats but that was not the case that a ballot might indeed after all not at all is a unesco world heritage site the government must put all its can't on the table it is it to the parisians and the tourists 50000000 of whom came here every year before the fire. what eyewitnesses on the night of the fire could not have known was that more than $400.00 tons of toxic lead would be vaporized and spread over the neighborhood official information on the dangers off to the fire was almost nonexistent this so shocked metate today that she took on the view forty's failed to do she went from. to fedora over the following weeks to warn the residents. actually the construction site must be completely sealed and lead molecules must be

prevented from getting into the environment during the construction. it's just really gotten here in the jungle he knew. clarendon is a devout catholics and believe that god has personally protected now to them from collapse until now. there was a predictable hand. that offer nothing happened it's on the verge of a child all there was a great everywhere and she didn't even have a scratch not even a scratch that's a sunrise is sassiest supper still on the thick with no. load in the knees are quite sure that they're not move stand here splendidly as before and i hope they'll live to see it. this is did have you news just bring you up to date now on our top stories this hour. the white house has called on turkey to halt its strikes against kurds in syria and has announced a number of sanctions including against turkish officials the kurds have negotiated

a deal with syria's government for military help to help stem the turkish invasion . a large fire has forced an overcrowded camp for asylum seekers in greece to be evacuated it's not yet clear what started the blaze the site reportedly houses thousands of people despite its capacity were just a few 100. police and protesters have clashed in barcelona airport after 12 separatist leaders were sentenced for their roles in a failed secession bid in 20179 leaders received long jail sentences of up to 13 years. a white police officer in texas has been charged with murdering a black woman in her own home body cam footage shows erin dean shooting up the tonya jefferson without warning after

a neighbor called police to check on her welfare. this is the news of from berlin i'm brian thomas for the entire news team thanks for being here don't forget there's more at our website as well you know dot com we have business coming up next.

week off. gathers for firing high flyers for germany's national. committee minutes quitted the previously playing that's

right. damn diamond where josh sargent is in the starting blocks and ready to go. in 60 minutes. i'm not going to think that well i guess sometimes i am but i stand up and whip it up and move thanks to you consider jam a culture of looking at the stereotypes clad in ears think this leaves the country guy not paying. p.s. needed seems ridiculous drama day out to you because it's all about hey look i might show join me to meet the jetman fundy w. . post. unity and justice and freedom the 1st words of the german national lands.

and the 3 central values that formed the foundation of this country. have these values developed in postwar germany. hard is it to live by and defend the principles of unity justice and freedom in our work every day lives. our german 3 part series stars were told were 21st d.w. . by the us hailed as a breakthrough china says more talks needed we'll bring you the latest on the trade war between washington and beijing also on the show as the top minds in german engineering gather in beilin wants challenges are they facing. not one but.