>> this is "d.w. news," live from berlin. tonight, over syria for the first time, russian warplanes. moscow confirming its jets have pounded i.s. targets around the city of homs. but is islamic state the only target? we'll go to washington and moscow for more. also in the show, off for oslo. palestinian president mahmoud abbas tells the u.n. that he's no longer bound by the oslo accords that have guided relations with israel more than 20 years. israel calling the words a speech of lies. in our special coverage, leading up to the anniversary of german

reunification, a look at the man who seized the opportunity to unite his country. i'm brent goff. tonight, russian war jets are attacking in syria. moscow says its planes have destroyed islamic state command posts but the united states appears concerned that what russia says its targeting may not be what it's really hitting. the u.s. defense secretary saying islamic state is probably not even in the area that russia is bombing. could those jets be taking out rebels in the syrian civil war? our correspondent in moscow and washington are standing by. we'll begin where the russian missiles met their target. >> the aftermath in syria, activists who posted this footage say dozens have been killed by russian air strikes. moscow says its hitting islamic

state positions. earlier, lawmakers voted to let president vladimir putin use military force in syria. putin says the air raids are striking terrorists before they target russia. so far, moscow will only send in jets, not ground troops. translator: there are gangs of international terrorists committing outrage in syria and its neighboring countries. the only right way to fight them is to act preemptively. we must eliminate the fighters and terrorists in the areas they have already occupied, not wait until they come to our home. but there are reports that other opposition groups are russia's real targets, implying moscow is supporting syrian president bashar al-assad rather than fighting islamic state. >> we are seeing the russians ramp up their support for

president assad. they've been supporting him for quite some time and it's clear that they've made a significant military investment now in further propping him up. reporter: this came as russia's foreign minister spoke to the u.n. security. the international community is waiting to see how it plays out. the latest news about the russian air strikes does not reduce my concern over the situation in syria. so far, we haven't had reliable information about the goals and methods of these air strikes. russia has been one of assad's strongest allies since the syrian crisis began over four years ago. how it has joined the fighting in a bloody and complicated war. >> we want to bring in our correspondents. our moscow correspondent with us and our correspondent in the

u.s. in new york, richard walker. emma, i want to start with you. russia has been targeting these targets for 24 hours. it's the first day of russia's investment and we're hearing loud doubts about what it really wants to do. any reaction? is anything being said in moscow from the kremlin? emma: the kremlin is saying the line it's been saying for a very long time about this, that the reason it has taken this decision is because it's very concerned about the role of i.s. in syria. vladimir putin has said there are 2,000 people from the post-soviet states fighting in syria and the concern is they may come back home to wreak havoc in russia and it is against the islamic state the russians carried out these pinpoint strikes, they said today, 20 sorties over the skies of syria against eight different

targets, against military installations, communications and fuel depots. they said they warned their western partners they were doing this but there is no doubt this came incredibly short notice because the decision by the russian federation council to back president putin's personal request for intervention in syria only came this morning and the strikes happened only a couple of hours later so there is a sense perhaps that the west might have been caught on the hot by all of this. brent: rich, let me put you in here. we're hearing more and more reports about concern, doubts about the truthfulness of russia's aims here. but that's nothing new, right? those concerns we've heard before today. richard: there's been deep skepticism, even cynicism about vladimir putin's motivations, of what he's really up to in syria over the last few weeks as the

buildup has been ongoing and those doubts have come most strongly today. you mentioned the secretary of defense here in the united states at the pentagon saying he viewed this as pouring gasoline on a fire in syria, if it's not accompanied by that important process of political transition, that the united states says is essential and casting doubt over whether russia had really been hitting i.s. targets or whether it had actually been hitting rebels supported by the united states itself. there's also been talk, as we heard from emma, about how much notice the united states received, really one hour, in fact. the white house says that it expects to have talks later in the week with the russians about this piece of jargon, deacon fliction, the all-important matter of making sure when a russian plane doesn't go up in the air over syria it doesn't crash into an american one in the same airspace. brent: what about the logistics?

we have a reality that in syrian airspace we have possibly u.s. aircraft and russian aircraft. are they communicating? is this planned? or is this a disaster waiting to happen? richard: that's what they really need to avoid and it's not just those two countries. also israeli and french aircraft have been active in syrian airspace, dropping weapons on to syrian territory in the last few days so the term de-confliction is all important, that the vaousilarie talk one anhernd warn each other and give eacher t spa to enter the syrian airspace. it's an intricate and complex mechanism that needs to be built up and it sounds like it's not there. brent: thank you to you both. the oslo accords were an

historic set of agreements that led to the creation of the palestinian authority 22 years ago. you may remember. now, palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas says his government is no longer bound by them. abbas told the u.n. general assembly in new york that since israel has continued its settlement activity, he considers the treaty to have been scrapped. drawn up back in 1993, the oslo accords were intended to pave the way for palestinian self-determination and bring peace for israel. let's go to our correspondent, tanya cramer, standing by in jerusalem. what is going on here, tanya? every year before a general assembly at the u.n., we're told that abbas is going to say something earthshattering. was this a bombshell? or how's it going down where you are? a a bombshell. it was expected, he's talking about the oslo accords, but he

delivered one at the end but one that raises a lot of questions even over here because what does he mean in practical terms, what is the intention of the palestinian leadership right now, will they translate the statement into concrete steps because that would mean at the end that they would, for example, end the already controversial security cooperation with israel or dismantling the palestinian authority. but there was no mentioning of that in his speech he gave before the u.n. general assembly so we're not sure what he means yet. brent: people are wondering is this a declaration of something? what's going to happen -- come after this speech? we know the israelis have called the speech a bag of lies. tonia: there was a quick

response. netanyahu is giving his speech to the general assembly and they are saying his speech was insightful and creates more incitement in the middle east but they all support the palestinian leader to come back to the negotiating table but that seems unlikely now because that's exactly what mr. abbas said all along, his speech, the way the negotiations were done over the past 20 years, they were on and off the last time they broke down in 2014, that's not the way to go forward. the palestinians want to do it in a different way. so will certainly hear more reactions from the israeli side, from prime minister netanyahu himself when he gives his speech on thursday to the u.n. brent: thank you very much. it's the story that keeps getting bigger and bigger. i'm talking about diesel gate and volkswagen. ben is here with, i guess, the report of the minute.

ben: another few reports as close to 700,000 cars by volkswagen have illegal software. france is investigating whether v.w. cheated on emissions there. there are signs that the german firm is bracing for a hit in sales, cutting back on shifts at one factory and putting a freeze on hiring at its financial arm. the top level personnel reshuffle continues. matthias muller taking over the helm, his retirement is over bloomer. so two insiders, analysts, not impressed and no one's owned up to the fiasco. >> while volkswagen top managers meet wednesday night, the fallout is spreading. the company faces recalls and restructuring and may have to pay back government subsidies in france and paid, originally paid to support supposedly cleaner calls.

criminal prosecutions are also possible, according to a volkswagen board member, also the economic minister of the state where v.w. has headquarters. translator: those people who allowed this to happen or who made the decision to install software that falsifies data and gives a false reading, they acted criminally. they must take personal responsibility. reporter: former c.e.o. martin winterkorn is already the object of inquiry and some managers have been suspended. operations are affected, too. v.w. has canceled one shift at one factory and there's a hiring freeze in its financial services division. so the company already seems to be preparing to sell fewer cars than originally forecast. ben: some say this v.w. scandal could spell the death of diesel. better timing for tesla, the

american automaker has unveiled its first fully electric s.u.v., although it has been a long time coming. >> these doors are among the reasons why the launch of tesla's model x was delayed several times. it took a while to develop the fountain winning doors. it is tesla's third model and the first fully electric s.u.v. on the market. >> as you guys know, it's incredibly important that we move to a sustainable world, sooner rather than later. the sooner we do it, the better it is. reporter: but that comes with a price. a fully loaded model x costs around $140,000 u.s. complex engineering means that production will be slow. counterfeit mers to put in an order now will have to wait up to a year for delivery. although global takeup of electric vehicles has been slow, tesla has been the pioneer of luxury electric cars in the

united states. for now, the model x is alone on the market but soon tesla will face competition in the luxury all electric car segment. porsche and audi unveiled all electric models at the frankfurt auto show, expected to be on the market by 2018. ben: what do you think about the car? is it going to get people excited enough to see electric vehicles overtake diesel? lars: absolutely, ben. this car is definitely getting people excited. certainly not a lot of people will buy this car, not at that price tag and of course it's not a surprise to anyone, least of all, of course, to elon musk or tes lampt -- tesla. but selling a lot of these cars was probably not the point for this company. it was more important for tesla to introduce consumers to what an electric car can be because so far a lot of americans and a mass market would think of an

electric car as something signee, golf cart size, and they were laughing about it and now they do understand hopefully over the next a couple of years that an electric car can be.

brett: welcome back, you're watching "d.w. news" live from berlin. i'm brent goff. in three days, germany will mark the 25th anniversary of reunification. this week we are loo fall of the berlin wall and led to the reunification of west and east germany and what it means today for germany's place in the world. you can join the discussion by using the hash tag german unification. we'd love to hear what you think about german unification. one man is particularly associated with this moment in german history. helmut kohl, there he is right

there on that night when two germans became one. he has been called the chancellor of reunification. it was he who recognized the opportunity for a united german state and overcame tough opposition at home and abroad. after the euphoria of the fall of the berlin wall, he came up with a plan and it took him less than a year to turn it into a united reality. >> helmut kohl on the third of october 25 years ago, the reunification chancellor. that's how he's remembered in the history books today but he was not always popular. at his first appearance in berlin after the fall of the wall, he was roundly booed. translator: the federal government with helmut kohl in charge came into play much later. initially, they were very reserved and kohl didn't want to destabilize the initiative. he only took up the initiative at the end of 1989.

reporter: the german government was under pressure. as the world looked at events in germany, the political situation was turbulent. kohl's popularity was low for months. >> i said to him, the benefit of being the chancellor that was he could set the agenda, determine the discussion. and there was only one topic at that time, the reunification of germany. if he wanted it and if so, how he planned to do it. reporter: kohl decided to take up the challenge. at the end of november in 1989, he introduced his now famous 10-point plan to parliament. translator: today, nobody really knows what a reunified germany will look like. but i am certain if the people of germany want it, reunification will take place. reporter: in his speech, the chancellor spoke of german self-determination and of a

confederation. at the time, he had no time table for the plan. his own foreign minister was taken by surprise. abroad, his plan was heavily criticized. the four allies of the second world war felt they should have a say in any effort to reunify germany. >> when helmut kohl made his famous 10-point speech at the end of november 1989, we were not even told, let alone consulted before that speech. that gave a feeling that kohl was trying to run away with change and not being willing to consult others. reporter: the french were surprised by kohl's plan and moscow felt equally ignored. washington was only informed at the last minute but the americans recognized a great opportunity. translator: in hindsight, the 10-point plan was a new chapter for germany because it was an independent and autonomous initiative. it was also acknowledged by

washington. and without the initiative, the plan would never have really gathered momentum. reporter: kohl still had to convince his sceptics. he promised a reunified germany would remain firmly anchored within europe and pledged closer economic integration with european partners. while garnering support for his plan abroad was vital, winning over voters in west and east germany was just as crucial. >> when he visited dresden at the end of 1989 and realized how strong the emotion was, that was a very important moment because the east german state started to unravel and collapse. he acted very, very quickly, realzed that he had to push his allies, he sometimes had to be rude to his allies but this was an essential part of his strategy. reporter: while the east german government distanced itself from kohl, in dresden, he was

celebrated in the streets. his first visit was a turning point for the west german chancellor. >> the hopes of those involved in this mass movement were becoming increasingly concentrated on helmut kohl and the west german government and in just a few weeks, bond had taken up the reins. reporter: the plan gave the impetus to reunification at a crucial moment in history. less than a year later, a united germany was celebrating the end of 4 1/2 decades of separation. brett: 25 years later, germany dealing with an unprecedented migration crisis. so many refugees have come and more are arriving all the time. we're expecting 800,000 this year. the most pressing problem is finding adequate housing for everyone but looking ahead, thoughts are turning to interrigration.

we hear terms like assimilation, the melting pot. those who are arrived have surmounted enormous hurdles and now face a language barrier. reporter: some of her first words in a strange new language. learning german is the major hurdle for refugees arriving in germany. the country's school ministry has announced plans to invest $130 million euros into educating newly arrived asylum seekers with a strong focus on language skills. translator: mastering the german language is vital. it's central. secondly, we need to recognize what skills and what potential each individual refugee has. then, after you've pinpointed their potential, we have to focus on education and employment. this vocational skill in berlin is already training 24 newly arrived teenagers and there are

a lot more who would like to join. the teachers are willing but classrooms are just too small. translator: i've already invited local authorities to have a serious discussion with us about room capacity so that we can find a quick, productive solution. but so far, i haven't received any response. reporter: the head master says hope for the future is the most important thing that germany has to offer refugees. unfortunately, the wheels of change are, in many cases, still too fast for german bureaucracy. brett: let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. burkeina faso's interim government has started negotiations to persuade the leader of the recently failed coup to hand himself in. the general fled barracks held by his forces before they were raided by government troops. he has taken refuge at the

vatican embassy in the capital. historians in france have published records kept by senior nazi leader hermund gert detailing his collection of looted artworks. many recovered their stolen items after the war but some are unclaimed. to the rugby world cup now and wales meets fiji in cardiff after the stunning match against england. their treatment room is full as one of the most brutal sports on the planet takes its toll. >> injury hit wales produced a miracle to beat england last saturday and the coach dealing with three players with concussion, dislocated shoulder

and knee injury. coach gatland: i'm not complaining about the short turnaround. reporter: despite bad luck with injuries, wales players showing incredible determination. a win against fiji will put them inside the quarterfinals. the captain knows complacency is the biggest enemy. sam: players talking to each other like, you know, definitely can beat fiji and it's not just the week of the england game, going back three, four months. reporter: going through and possibly locking it in in the process will be worth all that hard work. brett: the stars of about a yerm munich were in high spirits after beating zagreb and traded

in their uniforms for laider hones to enjoy oktoberfest. that was fine with the coach, pep guardiola. bayern needs to be in shape on sunday. bayern not the only ones grabbing attention for snazzy attire. second division spanish side have a new kit adorned with images of slices of iberian ham. the club wanted to pay tribute to the main product of their region which is ham. the president owns a ham business that sponsors the team. they might not become well known for soccer but their flamboyant kit will attract the attention of spanish ham lovers around the world. admit it, you've always wanted to take one of those hams on the airplane. a reminder of our top stories.

russia ups the stakes in syria. its warplanes hitting targets around the city of homs. moscow said it targeted the islamic state but the pentagon expresses concerns about that and adds there was no effort to coordinate with the u.s.-led coalition. the taliban hangs on to its prize in northern afghanistan, despite the help of half a dozen u.s. air strikes, government forces face withering resistance in efforts to retake kunduz. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.] yg÷j/wocococó

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