>> from the heart of europe, this is the world news run dw in berlin. >> it's great to have you with us. here come the headlines. >> iraq launches a broad offensive to retake and bar province from islamic state militants -- retake anbar province. and ireland's yes vote on gay marriage puts pressure on the german government to follow suit. pro-government forces in iraq have launched an offensive against islamic state militants in the country's anbar province.

the focus is the provincial capital ramadi which i.s. fighters captured 10 days ago. >> its let the government scrambling to reverse its largest military setback in nearly a year. prime minister has vowed to recapture the city within days. >> government troops are now reported to be closing in on ramadi with heaviest support from iranian-backed shia militias. >> a rack's army is backed by shia paramilitary forces to retake the heavily sunni and bar province despite fears of sunni-shiite tensions. fighting and airstrikes are now under way, spokesmen say. at 5:00 this morning, a convoy of heroes departed to announce the start of the operation through the barrels of their rifles.

the spokesman says operation forces have moved in from the north to surround and isolate the i.s. members and ramadi. the city had resisted capture for months until last weekend. since then, the united nations estimates more than 80,000 led their homes -- fled more than 50,000 fled their homes. >> we don't know the destiny of our families. >> ramadi cost displaced could return home soon if tuesday's mission goes as planned. those heading the mission issued a confident assessment, saying their plan to rest back ramadi will not take long. >> lets get background on what's going on. an analyst who works for the jamestown foundation and is based in northern iraq joins us. thanks for joining us. these iranian-backed shiite militias have chosen an openly

sectarian name for the opposition that is underweight a name that no doubt in furious the sunnis. what sort of tension is this causing? >> well, the sunnis already have a lot of distrust in the iraqi government in baghdad, but the fact is that mostly shia militias will take part in this operation. it will cause a lot of fear and distrust for the shia fighters and it could also heighten support or the islamic state. >> isn't this all a bit embarrassing for the government in baghdad? >> i think it's more embarrassing or the americans because they always try to keep the shia militias out of the right and wanted to focus on the+ iraqi army and iraqi police, but now everyone realizes that the only way to defeat isis is to use shia militias.

>> these shia militias have been quite vocal over the last few hours, saying they are taking the lead in this operation. how much control does the prime minister in baghdad have over the operation? >> the shia militias are led by iranian-backed commanders, and they are somehow independent from decision-making, so i really doubt that the prime minister will control them. >> many thanks for that analysis. >> a huge nato training exercises under way in northern europe close to the region's border with russia. >> over 100 fighter jets from the u.s. and eight european nations are involved. the exercise was designed to test cooperation between nato and the nordic nations. >> meanwhile, moscow is

conducting a simultaneous exercise, also involving large number's of aircraft and military personnel. worries are growing in nordic countries over increased russian military at trinity -- activity in the region. >> moving on, police in malaysia have begun the grisly task of clearing dozens of gravesites in suspected people-smuggling camps. >> those camps were used to hold migrants while the smugglers demanded ransoms from their families. many of the inmates never made it back home. >> the abandoned camp was deep in the jungle, an ideal spot for traffickers to warehouse their human groups. 37 grades have -- graves had already been identified, and it did not take long for diggers to make some grisly discoveries. the dense forest along the border had been a major staging post for people smugglers. they find themselves held in remote camps like this until a ransom like this is paid for their freedom. the policeman in charge confirms

that the remains discovered so far are human and that they will be taken to the nearest hospital to be examined. dozens of shallow graves have been found that 28 camps seemingly abandoned in haste after thailand launched a crackdown on people smuggling earlier this month, but the migrants keep coming. now the tight navy has started an operation to provide humanitarian assistance at sea -- the thai navy has started an operation to provide humanitarian assistance at the. if they accidentally come into thai territory or their engine is broken, he says they will exit give them food and water supplies and provide medical teams to take care of the injured while they are at sea. meanwhile, the grim task continues. more than 3500 migrants have arrived on thai malaysian, and indonesian soil in recent weeks, and the flow shows no sign of ending. >> the euro has had a one-month low against the dollar as concerns grow over the greek

debt crisis. >> the country has a few weeks to be to deal with creditors or face default. >> the clock is ticking, as it has been or sometime, and so far, there's no sign of compromise. >> the greek government has managed to scrape together enough government -- enough money to make its payments, so far, but comments by cabinet members suggest athens is finally out of money. >> i want to be very honest -- we're supposed to make full payments to the imf between june 5 and june 19. we're not going to make those payments because we don't have the money. >> that has further alarmed greece's international creditors. if athens is truly broke, the international monetary fund and others will not get their money back. one possible solution is to lend debts. the head of the european

stability mechanism says the final 7.2 billion euro trench from greases -- greece's bail at package is still available, with conditions. for greek creditors, reforms mean continuing best air and he calls set by previous governments, but that something the greek finance minister has consistently rejected. >> how did that news out of greece affect the mood in the financial markets? let's find out at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> nervousness and anxiety -- that the mood in the financial markets. people here in frankfurt, for example, hearing statements coming out of athens that are not very promising the people say. they don't see greece moving any closer to reaching an agreement with the money givers in order to avoid default. spain is a further worry. the election resulted in a success for the leftist party

pajamas, as the stability-oriented direction spain has been cut off? normally a low euro is good for equities, but equities stock market prices suffered for the nervousness over greece >> we stay in frankfurt for a closer look at tuesday's market numbers. the dax closed down by more than 1.5% or the day. the euro stoxx 50 the pan-european index also off by about 1%. in new york where they are still trading, the dow at the moment also taking a downward course. more than 1% down at the moment. the euro also down $1.08 70. china has deep trade ties with latin america but limited political influence, which is why the country's premier has

been touring the region in recent days. >> he signed a series of investment deals in brazil, colombia and peru. he's now in copper-rich today -- copper-rich chile for the final stop of his tour. >> chile pulled out all the stops to give the chinese guests a warm welcome. key investment and business deals are mistake. both countries have traditionally had very strong ties. in the 1970's, chile became the first south american country to establish diplomatic relations with modern china. they signed a free trade agreement in 2000 i. china receives a quarter of chile's exports. mutual trade last year his 35 billion euros. the purpose of the premier possible as it was to see that figure grow even more. >> chile needs a strategy to attract chinese investment.

for example, in the building of infrastructure. >> chile's copper has traditionally been its most attractive commodity for china. now, other industries like agriculture, fishing and timber are expected to follow suit. >> to nigeria now where unions representing fuel distributors have agreed to do and a crippling strike after a meeting between the distributors and nigeria's finance ministry and oil producers. >> this breakthrough comes days before the president-elect takes office on friday. >> this gas station has been inundated since early morning. word has spread that you list flowing here again, so these people are all hoping to buy at least a few leaders. they grabbed their cans while drivers who stayed in line was allowed. this man says he showed up at 7:00 in the morning and the line has barely moved since.

>> nigeria's biggest cell phone operator set generated us that power its radio mast will soon run out of fuel. electricity and water companies have also been affected. >> we're not happy because we cannot turn our lights on at night. they should find a solution before the youth react badly. if the situation continues like this for one more week, there will be chaos everywhere. >> monday, nigeria agreed to give oil distribution companies a down payment of 800 million u.s. dollars less than half of what it does, but the stopgap measure will keep gas stations open at least temporarily. >> the interim president of the central african republic has called on european nations to deliver on their aid promises to the war-torn nation. >> she made her appeal during a visit to brussels. she is currently trying to

organize elections and take her country beyond a brutal conflict that has pitted christians against muslims. >> she is known as mother courage. she has brought a renewed sense of hope to the war-torn country. central african republic's president is regarded as determined and honest. she managed to bring together rebel leaders for talks. now, she's in brussels to seek eu help as she tries to restore stability to her country. >> people need the chance to rebuild. we are hopeful that germany france, the netherlands, and the eu will continue to support us. >> two years ago, the country descended into violence after muslim rebels overthrew a christian president. the conflict quickly became a

sectarian one. revenge killings by both sides were rampant. thousands led -- fled pillaging rate, and lynching. united's aids estimates 2/3 of the population are in dire need of basic necessities. the main challenge in brussels is coming up with the aid money. the eu commission has set up a trust fund. 200 million euros were donated by the block in 2014 but more is needed to pay for the elections later this year. >> for the transition to democracy, we still need $17 million. that's what we will need to hold the elections. >> those elections are seen as key to bringing stability back to c.a.r. under the deal that made her president, she has one year to make those elections happen. >> were going to take a short break. when we come back, we'll focus

on india where a deadly heat wave is sweeping through the country. >> don't go away.

>> thanks for staying with us. officials say extreme heat has killed over 700 people, most of them in the south of india. >> the heat wave has hit two states especially hard. some areas have seen temperatures of up 48 degrees. forecasters say it will stay hot for a while. >> that hot weaher has caused many cases of sunstroke and dehydration. authorities urge people to drink fluids and stay inside of a can. >> the heat is brutal. it's 50 degrees celsius in delhi and not much cooler elsewhere. in one part of the capital officials say the pavement had even started melting. many people say work is nearly impossible. >> the heat is making our cars breakdown. we are sweating profusely. our throats are parched.

those are just a few of the problems. >> the government has advised people to drink either water or buttermilk and to avoid sweetened drinks. they've been told to stay indoors if they can but there's little more that authorities can do to ease people's suffering. the heat wave has disproportionately hit poor and sick people. many hospitals have run out of heads. the elderly are also suffering. this senior citizens center lies where some 550 people have already died in the last two weeks. >> this year, summer is very severe. already by it :00 it's very serious heat. >> indians are hoping and praying for relief, but it's difficult to predict when temperatures may start to cool down. >> let's cross over to delhi now

to our correspondent via skype. good to have you on the program. the pavements are melting in some parts of india. how hot is it where you are in delhi? >> indeed, delhi is really sizzling right now. the city has witnessed several days of sweltering heat. the temperature soared to almost 46 degrees celsius today. there were reports of pedestrian crossings literally melting cars breaking down because of overheating. there are also fewer people out during the day because of the oppressive heat. what has made the situation worse in some cases, is water shortages and power cuts. officials have advised people to avoid stepping outside during the midday heat entering plenty of fluids, so, yes, it's really really hot. >> pre-monsoon heat nothing unusual in india. is this heat anything

exceptional? our people used to it, or is this worse than ever before? >> as you say, india is no stranger to heat waves. this is a tropical country and abnormally high temperatures are not uncommon. they usually occur between march and june with may being the hottest month, and we have had heat waves in the past. thousands of people have died in those heat waves in 2002, 2003 so in that ends, this is not really exceptional but the bad news is it looks like there will be no respite anytime soon. monsoon rains are expected around the end of the month and expected to bring some relief. everyone is obviously awaiting them but it will be several weeks before the rains reach the dry northern parts of the country, and there are fears that some of the worst affected eights could taste route so it's quite worrying picture really. >> thanks for now. -- there are fears that some of the worst affected states could face drought, so it's quite a

worrying picture, really. >> thanks for now. >> india was described as an anchor of the asia-pacific region. she is scheduled to meet the prime minister and french minister for talks on a broad range of security issues. india is the world's biggest weapons importer. much of that hardware coming round germany. later in the week, we go to singapore for a security summit there. >> of course, the prime minister is meeting in delhi as india's newest leader, who swept to power exactly a year ago after winning a handsome parliamentary majority. on tuesday, the ruling party marked that anniversary with mass rallies. >> but is that anniversary cause for celebration? before we bring you some analysis of the record so far let's remind you first of some of the challenges faced.

>> pollution is only one of india's many problems. society is rigid and dominated by tradition. mobility is difficult. corruption is widespread and it can be a dangerous place for women. but the prime minister wants the world to start thinking differently about his country. he's trying to boost foreign investment by promising changes. as here recently in south korea. >> i can tell you that india was and is the land of potential. now, india is also a land of enabling policy. moreover, there is a new commitment for changing the pace of the country. >> india plus young population is one of the country's selling

points. almost half the population is under 25. indians work for low wages. combined with low oil prices in the cheap cost of our owing these could add up to a good deal or investors. he must begin creating enough jobs to exhort the millions of young indians who come onto the labor market every year. his progress will be judged in the next election four years away. >> back to our india correspondent. he swept into office pledging changes in india sweeping changes. is there a since the country really is changing? p>> there certainly is a sense of expectation for the country partly due to his governance style. he's often described as a very dynamic leader. but he can certainly point to some concrete achievements on the ground. his government so far has been free of corruption scandals. he is making bureaucrats work very hard.

his government has really deregulated fuel prices. all these are designed to attract investment, so there's a sense among many that some things are indeed changing. >> where else does he need to deliver if he wants to win reelection in four years time? >> i would say much of the criticism is really aimed at the pace of change, the pace of these economic reforms. there's concern in india about a slow rate of pickup and economic growth. job growth as we saw in your report, sluggish, and his government has thinking to push through two key bills, very closely watched by investors. so he has kind of failed to deliver on these reforms so far.

>> briefly, what about foreign policy? he's visited 18 different countries in his first year in office. is that working? is he putting india back into the national spotlight cap >> it certainly seems so. most analysts suggest most of his compliments oh far have been on the world stage. he has already courted countries like japan and the u.s. and australia. he is really putting india back on the map. he certainly seems to have a good record so far there. >> many thanks for all that. >> moving out to a leader who really has brought sweeping changes to his country. turkey's president erdogan. it has been only a few months since he moved into a brand-new palace, but now a court has found it was built illegally.

>> a cost more than 400 million euros, by the way and it was built on protected land. the court has ruled special permits to allow construction were actually illegal. it is still unclear what impact that ruling will have. >> ireland's clear yesterday and sex marriage has put marriage equality back on the political agenda in germany. >> opposition parties are calling for lesbian and gay couples to be put on equal footing with heterosexual companies as soon as possible. many changes are likely to face determined resistance from traditionalists. >> these photos may look like any other wedding pictures, but german law does not see it that way. gay and lesbian couples in germany can only enter so-called registered life partnerships. the green now says change is long overdue.

>> by opening marriage up we're not taking anything away from anyone. the heterosexual majority will not lose anything, but the lesbian and gay minority, which has been discriminated against will vinyl you enjoy equal rights. >> but full marriage equality is not on the agenda. instead, the justice minister has proposed tweaking the existing law. the queens -- the greens say that lacks ambition. the left party is similarly unimpressed. >> by denying people the term marriage, you are preventing equality. the message it sends is that you are not like other people. that alone is discrimination. that's why it's wrong. >> same-sex marriage is legal in 30 european countries, including catholic majority states like spain and most recently ireland, where change came through a referendum. that's next to impossible in germany. chancellor angela merkel's conservatives see no need for full equality -- at least not yet.

>> we need to take the public and the party with us on this to talk about these issues. a lot has changed in recent years, but we have not reached the end of the debate yet. >> but ireland's example has inspired many in germany, who say they are tired of waiting. >> that's the latest world news here on dw here in berlin. >> mourners at the top of the hour, and if you cannot wait, dw.des err u -- more news at the top of the hour. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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