ah ah ah ah, this is didi of you news live from berlin. the european union puts ukraine on the path to membership. european leaders approve both ukraine and moldova as official candidates to join the e. u in the future. also coming up. the u. s. senate pass is a gun safety bill to bipartisan action is the most significant measure of its kind

in 3 decades bought. the boat came at hours after the supreme court ruled that americans have the right to carry guns and public and response teams are struggling to reap survivors of afghanistan's deadliest earthquake in decades. people in the remote regions say more health is urgently need. ah, i'm nick spicer. welcome to the program. and we begin with an historic shift in europe. e. u. leaders have approved ukraine and moldova bid for candidate status, the 1st official step towards joining the european union. it's a big political boast for ukraine as it faces big challenges on the battlefield. leaders from germany, france and italy had all backed ukraine's application, but all 27 member states needed to give it the go ahead. yes,

yes we are protesters outside the you council building here in brussels, found their views reflected by the 27 european leaders meeting inside. all of them agreed to grant ukraine e u candidate status, along with moldova french president emanuel my call spoke glowingly after the vote . the pewter plum usual to complete a from day one of this conflict as europe has been reacting in a quick historic and united way body function. firstly, with the sanctions. a few, then economic, military and financial support a committee day. and now by this political gesture suggested politic, the decision did not come as a surprise mccomb, along with 2 other powerful e u leaders, germany's olaf schultz and italy's mario doggy had travelled to keith earlier in june, where they endorsed ukraine's e. u membership bid. many of the leaders acknowledged that russia's invasion played

a large role in their decision making. these put the whole european union in such a motion. i will, we see is a result of totally new i would say utmost through with a new open council. it's is, i would say this is a new european council at this moment. it's clear ukraine will have to fulfill a long list of criteria before being able to enter the union. a process that could take years even decades. but the possibility of a lengthy wait didn't dampen the spirits of ukraine's president who thank the council via video link. each of these. yeah, ve to show property given us, i believe that the flag of the european union will fly in every ukrainian city that we have to liberate from russian occupation. great. the ukrainian and european flags will be together when we rebuild our country. after this war, the rubble, the slits yielding the ras. you leaders will also have to discuss whether the union

is even able to welcome new family members any time soon. many here and brussels agree the block needs internal reform 1st. so europe can compete on the world stage and believe the war raging on its doorstep makes this even more urgent. and for more in this, i am now joined by the w. brussels bureau chief, alexandra fond. amen. alexander was this step, an easy one for leaders to take i think it was not an easy decision, and we saw it initially. there was a lot of 1st kept to says martha and some members state saying they cannot lads, are you? queen anne jumped the cue and arguing that this is a country, of course at war, occupied in many areas are by russian forces. and her this decision was a risk for the european union. and that defiance itself as a piece project. but i think that the whole discussion then change of to france,

italy and germany through their weight, behind this idea convincing the avarice that it is important to send this a signal. this message of solidarity to key of and it is also important to rebut the kremlin effort to recreate the soviet sphere of influence and alexander it. but by european union standers, i think it's safe to say this decision was taken quite quickly. does that mean that ukraine is now on the fast track to membership? well, we have been asking this question a lot here in brussels, and every time you speak with her e officials or representatives of members days, you get a clear no. they say that the ukraine, that ukraine has to complete the whole process that everything has to be done by the book that they have to fulfill criteria that are necessary, that they have to strengthen the rule of law and fight against corruption. so it could take years, especially when you have

a look at other candidate countries that have been in the waiting room for years. it is a lengthy process. ok, d w 's, alexander phenomena in brussels. thanks for about and we're gonna cross right over now to the ukrainian capital key for reaction. we're deep w correspondent. emanuel shaft is standing by emmanuel, how are we ukrainians? reacting to this big decision? well i think and last night that was a big sigh of relief. people gathered on the independence that also is european flags to celebrate the succession to candidacy. they know, and they know that the process will be really long, but they also feel dads are all the efforts have been made over the years to prove that there can be that ukraine can be of value to you. candidates have finally paid off. you credit president followed me and then ski says it's

a unique and historical moment. that's what i've heard us. so from people i was talking to last night, even if of course it comes out the time where ukrainians are, you know, still struggling a war. so of course supports a joy, but also the awareness thought to this to a rule, to be full of fear on the ukrainian territory. but a man you're getting to this point of becoming an official candid it has really been a long and sometimes perilous journey for ukraine as a country, hasn't it? hey, exactly. and that's why the decision of the you to graham candidate status is such an important one. here in key if remember, nik i'm actually you were here in key if at the time in 2013, when the euro made and process started, it all started with a new generation of ukrainians who wanted to ukraine, closer to the e. u and not to russia. remember back then a pro russian government

a discarded a possible association between the e. u and ukraine. and that's why people to, to the street. that's why they over to the pro ration at yahoo. com each government and not so. so why then in 2014 rush out intervened an annex asia, annex a crimea, and also that's why we seen a pro separatists and movements you know, taking off in the ease. so a very significant as that being taken now with this candidate states is granted and a result of a very long and very painful journey for your queen anne. so pay and who continued to pay with their lives this wish to be closer to the west on they used to be to russia. katie w corresponds emanuel. shes reporting for us from keys. lawmakers in the united states have moved forward on landmark legislation to curb gun

violence. the senate passed the country's 1st federal gun control bill and 25 years after a small group of republicans joined with the democrats. the bill provides for a number of measures such as enhanced background checks for young adults who wish to buy a gun. the bill is expected to pass the house of representatives and be signed into law by president joe barton. but the breakthrough came just to hours after a ruling that could lead to more people carrying guns in public. the supreme court struck down a new york law requiring people to prove a specific need to carry a concealed weapon outside their homes. americans have a constitutional right to carry firearms in public. this was the landmark ruling by the u. s. supreme court. it's 1st major decision on gun control in over a decade. the court took issue with how new york provided licenses to carry

concealed firearms. applicants in new york had to prove a special need for self protection to carry a concealed gun outside of their homes. but the court has instead place that burden of proof on the state. it rolled that because americans have a constitutional rights to carry guns and public states must justified denying a permit. while the decision invalidated several states regulations. it said authorities can still restrict permits based on objective factors such as age and training. rob for the plaintiffs who brought the case forward. the ruling was a welcome one. the lawful and legal gun owner of new york state is no longer going to be persecuted by laws that i have nothing to do with the safety of the people. and i will do nothing to make the people safer. but gun control advocates disagree, fearing it could undermine similar restrictions in other states. the governor of

new york called the ruling a dark day and warned that it could put millions of lives in danger. have let the supreme court the united states of america has stripped away the state of new york's right and responsibility to protect its citizens. this decision isn't just reckless. it's reprehensible. gun rights are a contentious issue in a country still reeling from mass shootings, inova, they, texas, and buffalo, new york. the supreme court's ruling has forced a rethink of safety measures across the country, making tackling gun violence and increasingly complicated task. let's take a quick look now at some of the other stores making headlines. at this hour. british prime minister boris johnson's conservatives have suffered to crushing defeats in parliamentary by elections. one of the losses was in a part of southwest england held by his party for well over a century,

the defeats or the latest blow for the embattled leader and could renew speculation about his future. the lease in ecuador is capital have fired tear gas protesters as they tried to enter the congress building nationwide demonstrations against rising fuel prices and the high cost of living have shut down the capital for over a week. 3 people have died in the unrest. new russian president vladimir putin says he is re routing trade, an oil towards countries from the bricks group of emerging economies in the wake of western sanctions over ukraine. the announcement was made during an online meeting of the leaders of brazil, russia, india, china, and south africa. the american sportswear maker nike has announced it is pulling out of russia completely. is suspended operations there 3 months ago in response to moscow's invasion of ukraine. other big western brands

like mcdonalds and google have already best response teams are struggling to search for survivors of afghanistan's deadliest earthquake and decades. people in the remote regions say more help is urgently needed. the tremor killed at least a 1000 people and injured many more. when it hit wednesday, taliban authorities say the search for survivors is now over scenes of destruction like these all across spectacle province. in eastern afghanistan, people were still sifting through what's left of their destroyed homes. the hope of still finding some one alive slowly waning. most people have lost some one in the deadly quake. some families have been decimated, douglasville mother, i lost 12 members of my family and my house would that good. it is completely destroyed the miles of everything. we had one gone off the phone said on the lot of effort he gets a dog hook. oh, those who survive has started. it burying their dead. but even finding tools to dig

the graves is difficult with the rescue operations as a whole, have been challenging. heavy rain in the region has made the dirt roads harder to navigate. with rescue team struggling to reach the remote area. with little heavy equipment on the ground, people have often been left to their own devices and their bare hands to dig through the rubble of loa saquina. well, no rescue was arrived and everybody was digging on the roman. all of them children were trapped under the debris and i went back in to help them out and make it a supplies have started to arrive, but 8 organizations say they're not enough. since the taliban take over last year, some agencies have left afghanistan over much of the development financing that the country so heavily relied on was also withdrawn amid conflict food and security and

lack of health care. this earthquake is yet another humanitarian disaster to hit afghanistan. and you are, of course, watching d. w. news live from berlin. business news is up next. don't forget you can get all the latest news on our website at d, w dot com object. spicer, thanks to watch with people and trucks injured when trying to flee the city center more and more refugees are being turned away. order families, involvement, taxes. the reason for the credit is with administrative people fleeing.