brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, the biggest attack ever against islamic state. in iraq, armed forces are storming the city of ramadi, pushing forward to take this city from iaf militants. there are reports tonight that i.s. is using human shields to stop the advance. also coming up, 1 million and counting. uned nns has more than one million migrants arrived in europe this year. that is three times more than in 2014. in sports, another head rolls. athletics official mark davies

steps aside after e-mails alleged he had tried to delay doping investigations. iraqi forces say they are now in the center of the city of ramadi, a major stronghold of the self-declared islamic state. the attack began 24 hours ago and has been met with fierce resistance. iraqi officials are saying that i.s. is using civilians as human shields to stop any advance. we begin with this report. >> the battle appears to be entering its decisive phase. with government forces firing rocket propelled grenades at i.s. positions.

troops pushing steadily toward the city center, and nervously searching for islamic state militants. iraqi intelligence believes between 215 at 300 of them are still in the city. experts believe dislodging them will not be easy. >> i expect this to be a pretty long 550 islamic state does not have the capability to with stand a full on arms offensive. the terrain allows them to engage their enemies in a long and costly battle. >> on iraq state run tv, presenter read out a dramatic statement. the sons of iraq had started their counterterrorism effort. the victory was coming thanks to these brave men.

the iraqi air force pounding i.s. positions throughout the area last week. ground forces liberating the they still face a tough task. >> capturing the city, while causing an enormous level of destruction, and civilian casualties, would play into the hands of islamic state. the army is between a rock and a hard place. if they do not capture the city quickly, that is a lost morale and credibility. if it does use overwhelming force to capture the city, that voice and their relationship with the government of the sunni country even for the. >> losing ramadi to islamic state was a major blow to the iraqi government. retaking the city would be a major boost for the rest of the campaign. brent: here in europe, not since the second world war have we

seen so many people on the run trying to save their lives. more than one million migrants arrived by irregular means. that means people fleeing conflict, such as the civil war in syria. these are people who take life-threatening risks and often die just to get to europe's shores. >> the coast guard pulls migrants to safety. their boat capsized tuesday. many onboard drones. -- drowned. the official count has topped one million this year, a staggering figure. >> this is three to four times as many migrants coming north in refugees as we had in the year 2014. the deaths have already far surpassed the deaths last year. >> a semblance of relief for

those who reach european shores. but the journey is far from over. migrants face much uncertainty, and much waiting. the eu remains bitterly divided over how to accommodate, distribute, and integrate the hundreds of thousands of refugees. some stress european nations should not be expected to shoulder the burden alone. >> i've never understood why people are continuing to insist on the fact that this is a european problem. this is really a global issue, and needs to be dealt with as such. >> a quandary sure to dominate european policymaking in the coming year. refugee authorities reject more people will seek refuge in 2016, especially if the violence continues. brent: sweden has traditionally been one of europe's most welcoming countries for refugees, but last month lawmakers there voted to

introduce more tough new border controls. swedish railways has it will have to stop running trains over the course and bridge. this is an important story and an important connection. the bridge connects to the danish capital, copenhagen. it is also one of the most beautiful bridges. it is a quick and popular link between the scandinavian neighbors, but they lack the manpower to enforce the strict checks that are now required by the new laws. it is a controversial decision and it reveals the divisions in sweden on how to handle the migration crisis. you add that to the u.n. figure showing one million undocumented migrants, and you can see how freedom of movement may no longer be a given on this continent. >> as of january the fourth, the swedish state railway will suspend its service across the bridge connecting to copenhagen.

it does not have the capacity to check all passengers ids as a new laws require. until now the police have checked the papers of travelers entering sweden. now transport operators will have to do that. the eight railway says the infrastructure is not available -- state railway says the infrastructure is not available. >> we wanted a separate platform just for ourselves, for our passengers, so we can check their ids before they board. that is not possible at the moment. >> in november, the social democratic party announced a radical shift away from its open-door policy towards refugees. >> over the past few weeks i have been completely convinced that the best way to assess my municipal partners is to do something after all. >> that meant reintroducing border controls.

rivals, who stand little or no chance of being allowed to stay are sent back to denmark. the state railway only runs 10 trains across the sound. other operators run many more. they believed they have the capacity to check ids and comply with the law. brent: in afghanistan local military units are struggling in their fight against the taliban. they are trying to fight against a taliban sees in a key district. the afghan government says they are air dropping more supplies to these forces as worries grow that kabul could lose another town to the jihadists. >> one year after nato troops officially pulled out of afghanistan, government forces are now being put to the test and fighting has intensified in several key district. s. afghan forces are on the verge

of a major loss. >> the situation is critical, and security forces need the help of the air force, otherwise a contact to be will take lace -- a catastrophe will take place. >> there are conflicting reports as to who controls the region. the governor disputed reports that the taliban has gained control of key government buildings. >> i do not reports about the fall of the district. it is still under our control, as is the police department. >> at the heart of the battle, a strategic town and one of the world's largest hubs of the opium trade. it provides the taliban the means to fund their insurgency. the latest siege has left residents and soldiers cut off. the militants control the roads and considere food shortages ara

growing problem. reinforcements or on the way great on tuesday britain's defense ministry announced that a small unit of troops had been deployed. they will perform an advisory role and will not engage in combat. brent: it is time now for a look at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. india has passed a bill that would allow 16-year-olds to be tried as adults for serious criminal offenses. it comes after the release of a young man who served a three-year pilot sentence after participating in a fatal gang rape in new delhi. he was 17 years old at the time and he served the maximum sentence. the turkish army has been pounding what it describes as kurdish separatist in the country's south. its operation has been focused or the syrian border. the military says it was still over 100 militants in the

weeklong offensive. pro-kurdish sources say 23 civilians have perished. northwestern england is facing yet another big cleanup after flooding hit for the third time in less than a month. roads have been closed and river levels have risen again. the number of storms have brought torrential rain to the region, and more is forecast. another top sports official had stepped aside. amid reports he tried to delay doping revelations a senior figure in international at lenox says he is temporarily leaving to let an ethics committee investigation. we have heard this before. in an e-mail next amy's allegedly advised against naming structure and run sheets ahead of the world championships in moscow. it is another blow to a board that has battered credibility. >> nick davies sent this e-mail to marketing consultant

regarding russia and the 2013 moscow world championships i. he is the chief, who faces allegations of a doping cover-up which both denied. his e-mail said, we avoid international media scandals related to the moscow championships. he suggests using a sports marketing firm to try to ensure that 2013 events will pass with no controversy. he wrote that he wanted to know what russian skeleton there might be in the cupboard, as if the guilty ones are not competing, then we might as well wait until the event is over to announce them. the journalist to first exposed russian doping exposed the e-mails on twitter, and was

received with a response that he was only brainstorming, and that there was no involvement. the secretary has now stepped aside for an investigation into the e-mail. the russian federation was suspended in february for the doping scandal. was the skeleton known about two years ago? why was not more done then? brent: when we see you, it has to be dirty. yesterday it was world soccer. today it is athletics. ben: it is never ending. pretty much every day for the past three or four, five months there has been something new. nick davies, he is not a big

denver, he always came across as a straightlaced guy. they are saying he was brainstorming, and we all say silly things in the office when we are throwing ideas around. that is how he will try to get out of it. it was not enacted, but the e-mails are there, the evidence is there. brent: to have an e-mail trail, first of all, is deadly to somebody who's doing that type of rain storming. he has stepped down. what does this mean for the sport? >> the president was not actually in charge at the time. he only took over this year, so he is ok, although he is very close to nick davies. the problem was that he came into the office and said i am defending the sport. this is a gross attack on us, we have done nothing wrong. but now he is looking pretty silly. we have a huge problem here, we need to deal with it. brent: thank you, we will take a

62nd break. when we come back we will have more news plus christoffel be here with the latest business headlines -- christoph will be here with the latest news t business headlines.

brent: welcome back. out of story this hour, the racks on forces are storming the western city of ramadi -- iraq's armed forces are storming the western city of ramadi. the fall was a major defeat for the government in may, but i.s. has lost a lot of the territory controlled since the beginning of this year. now to a legal case in china reveals the state's strong hand against dissent. one of the most outspoken

critics of the chinese government, and one of the most prominent defenders of human rights has spent the last 18 months in jail arrested as the president launched a large-scale crackdown. it leaves his career in tatters. >> supporters voiced their opinion outside of beijing's number two intermediate people's court. police do not want them to be found. he has been on trial for comments he posted on a microblogging site. his supporters call it a travesty of justice. >> he is innocent. he is innocent. he did not commit any act. he just said words. which words are wrong? if there is a legal basis to regulate what piec a person can

say -- >> he was facing up to eight years in prison. the human rights lawyer has already served 18 months pretrial time. the suspended sentence means he will not be returning to jail, but he is never allowed to work as a lawyer in china. the 50 year old often spoken of on controversial issues in china. he called for an end to the country's labor camp system where detainees are often held without trial in prisons like these. two years ago he managed to win compensation for several former inmates. one of his most famous clients was a dissident artist, who he defended in a tax evasion case. when he was fined 2 million euros, he was scathing in his critique. >> i know i regime can be shameless. i did not know how shameless this can be without remorse.

they use all means, lies, always possible. -- all ways possible. >> even if pu zhiqiang is released, his lawyers are unhappy with the verdict. brent: just 10 days after the agreement to cut carbon emissions, we have seeing the go-ahead for a highly controversial project. >> the harbor in north queensland is located just 20 kilometers off the famous great barrier reef. conservationists fear that the expansion will have a devastating effect of the marine life -- on the marine life. >> the future looks

bleak for the life on the great barrier reef. they hope to increase coal exports to 120 million tons a year. expanding the port and other parts means dredging 100 million cubic feet of sediment and dumping it on the land. this expansion is said to be necessary to compete with others in the world coal market. conservationists say that increased ship traffic heightens the risks, such as oil spill. s. >> to nigeria, where the president has promised to reduce the dependency on oil. the budget deficit is projected to rise to 14% of gdp from 2%

today. the large majority of nigeria's budget is covered by oil revenue, which puts africa's biggest economy in precarious position. commercial space travel could be a reality sooner than expected. spacex has taken a major step to making the flight to the stars at more affordable. much of the material for rock ets is usually used only once. that makes it very expensive. but now, instead of crashing into the ground, and unmanned spacecraft has taken off and land vertically, making it much cheaper for spaceflight. >> it was a first for the world, a carrier rocket returning from outer space and returning vertically in a precision

landing. it is clear that with this mission they have written street, rocking new chapters for american commercial space travel. for elon musk's troubled firm wanted setbacks, and for the u.s. with its long history of space first. nasa expressed its congratulations on twitter, and scott kelly beamed his admiration over from the space station. he was very impressed. a carrier of this kind cost between 55 and 80 million euros. if it were able to use the falcon nine again in the future, the astronomic cost could be drastically reduced. the falcon nine reduced its 10 minute take off to a mere footnote. it orbits 11 satellites close to earth, and it was the return of the rocket which turned this

into a historical mission. brent: christmas is just around the corner, and hundreds of amazon workers are going on strike in germany. the trade union has called on employees to use this time of year to demand better pay and better hours. amazon has assured customers that the lockout will not interfere with orders, that they will be met. some people have been too afraid to go to the market here in germany, but consumers are becoming more bold once again. >> police on patrol on germany's markets.

security has been beefed up across the country following november's terrorist attacks in paris. christmas shoppers do not seem to mind. market research says consumer confidence in december has risen for the first time in months. >> we are experiencing job growth, people are not worried about losing their jobs and wages are also rising, noticeably more than in previous years. all this means more money in people's pockets because inflation is quite low at the moment. >> one factor that is weighing on consumer confidence in germany is the ongoing refugee crisis, which market research has blamed or the slow start to this year's christmas shopping season. the pace has picked up in recent weeks, and researchers predict the next your consumers will be out in force -- year consumers will be out in force

to shop. brent: spaniards find al gorel gordo and welcome distraction, and a winner has been announced. for one city, it is a major cause for celebration. >> for a town down on and it's luck, it is just the ticket. the winning number four residents, they have claimed the top prize in the mega lotto. this southern spanish beach city has been going through tough times. almost one third of its residents are unemployed. >> this is a poor working-class town, and i'm very happy the prize has been one here. >> this man is originally from

senegal. he buys literary tickets every year. this time around the dream came true. >> i do not know what i'm going to do with the money yet. it is too soon to say. we will have to discuss it and see. i have a wife here. she has always been with me, ever since i came to spain. we have had difficult times. >> earlier, hopefuls lined up to buy their tickets. hundreds crowded into the madrid opera house to watch the drawing person. as always, an entire nation was glued to tv sets as the winning numbers were called out. a massively popular lottery that showers spain with plenty of prizes. and for him, the jackpot.

brent: someone is going to have a very nice christmas. here is a reminder of the top stories we are following for you. iraq's forces are storming the western city of ramadi, which has been under the control of so-called islamic state since may. the city's fall to i.s. was a major defeat for the central government, but islamic state has lost a significant amount of the territory is controlled at the beginning of this year. your with dw news live from berlin. -- you are with dw news, live from berlin. we will see you at the top of the hour.

>> euro max highlights. host: thank you for joining for the highlights of the week. it has been eventful one -- which kicked off by with our first story: the power of music. the scorpions play an emotional show in paris. a burst of color. danish artist olafur eliasson illuminates a baroque palace. a grueling adventure. british extreme athlete sarah outen circles the northern hemisphere. euromaxx was in france for one of the first major concerts since the paris attacks. the scorpions are among the first international rock bands to play a major concert in the french capital since the terror attack that left 130 people dead. the scorpions have a special connection tfr