brent: can they bring peace to eastern ukraine? angela merkel is going to try. the chancellor is trying to revive the accord that was supposed to provide a basis for peace. what are her chances of success? also, moving faster than expected. the iraq military on the road to mosul. they capture 20 villages today. u.s. president barack obama warning of a tough battle ahead before the ultimate destruction of the so-called islamic state. in a picturesque town in russia wrestles with its past, all

because of one person was born there. guess who? ♪ it is good to have you with us. trying for peace in ukraine again. german chancellor angela merkel is preparing to host a summit in berlin on wednesday. she'll be joined by president putin of russia, the ukraine, and france and they will try to revive the accord. it was supposed to bring a degree of peace to eastern ukraine. an insurgency, however, has an going on there for 2.5 years. reporter: it has been a little over one year since merkel and putin negotiated face to face. even then in paris it became clear that the treaty is more of a pipe dream than reality. a later -- a year later, the

chancellor tried to play down expectations. >> the assessor do taking stock of where we are. purely one cannot expect miracles from the meeting, but it will be worth the effort. reporter: not especially optimistic. at the time, the french president and the german chancellor succeeded in getting the ukrainian president and putin to sign the agreement. >> we now have a glimmer of hope. we have agreed to comprehensive implementation of minsk, but it still must be implemented. reporter: but since then, that is exactly what has been missing. as these recent images of tank exercises in ukraine illustrate. rebels show off their readiness to fight. long since negotiated and agreed

trooper drawled just withdrawals are the exception. -- troop withdrawals are the exception. it is believed with the cease-fire over aleppo, russia has signaled it is willing to negotiate, and now is the time to take advantage. >> they priority is to first somehow minimize the people of suffering, and that will be tomorrow's topic. one cannot expect miracles, but we will talk. talking is always necessary, even when opinions are very divergent. reporter: she then added how she wants to put pressure on russia, saying sanctions would be one option that should not yet be dropped. brent: we want to go to our political scored fondant -- correspondent here in berlin. good evening to you. two big difficult issues. let's start with syria. chance of the possible of

sanctions against moscow because of its massive bombing campaign in aleppo. how likely is it that this could happen? >> that is a difficult decision, there is no doubt about that. angela merkel today spoke of the possibility of sanctions as an option, option, that is the word she used. i think it was a very careful use of that word by the chancellor here in berlin. the reason why she chose that, the reason why it was so difficult is because there are very different opinions, not only within the german government but also within other european governments as to what the cause of action should be in this particular case. whereas some governments to favor the possibility of imposing sanctions because they believe it will increase the pressure on moscow. other governments believe that would be the wrong position, that they would increase tension and it would block channels of communication. that is the reason why this would be a very difficult

decision. it will probably be discussed tomorrow but it is unlikely they will actually impose sanctions tomorrow. brent: we talk about syria, moscow and ukraine at the same time -- it speaks to the nexus right now that moscow appears to be in the middle of. this meeting tomorrow is designed to discuss the situation in ukraine. is there any chance of a breakthrough there? thomas: chancellor merkel said we should not expect any miracles in both situations in the ukraine and regarding syria. they talked specifically about ukraine, the main issue that will be discussed tomorrow is the implementation of the minsk agreement. as we know, the implementation of the minsk agreement has had a lot of problems, especially when it comes to a stable peace fire.

at the same time, the german government has stated time and time again that they believe that is the framework that the international community has. it is the framework that can be used to try to find a critical settlement to a situation in the eastern ukraine. it is worth discussing even know it may be difficult to find points in common. brent: german chancellor and go merkel -- angela merkel, what does she hope to get out of it? what is germany hoping to achieve? thomas: germany wants to keep those channels of communication open, that is one of germany's main goals. not only here in ukraine that for example, the case in syria. that is what germany really wants. germany helped to broker the minsk agreement in the first place. germany also holds a rotating presidency of the organization for security and cooperation in europe, which monitors the situation in eastern ukraine.

out of all the conflicts that germany is trying to help find a solution for, there's no doubt that finding a solution to the crisis in ukraine is definitely one of the most important for the german government. brent: articles correspondent on the story force tonight in berlin. thank you for i much. tonight in the syrian city of aleppo, russian and syrian forces have stopped their bombing two days ahead of a planned pause in airstrikes. originally russia announced an eight hour truce for thursday to allow civilians in rebels to leave the devastating city. but aid groups describe the plan as inadequate, criticizing it for allowing insufficient time for aid to reach areas. they say they do not yet have enough security assurances to begin aid deliveries or medical evacuations. in iraq, just two days into the campaign to retake the city of

mosul, the military says progress is faster than expected. isil is littering the road to mosul with bombs. today, president barack obama said capturing mosul would be a set towards the ultimate destruction of i.s. reporter: day two of the battle for mosul. tens of thousands of troops are heading for the last major bastian held by the so-called islamic state. some 20 villages have already fallen. >> this is the first phase of the operation. it started from the east and southeast of the city. it is a joint operation between the forces and the iraq he army. -- iraqi army. reporter: troops are getting support from the u.s. coalition. france said is just destroyed a

depot. -- its jets destroyed a depot. this bridge has also been hit. i.s. video showed it reduced to a twisted mass. even of the jihadists are heavily outnumbered, every conquest of the second city is expected to take months. an i.s.-run news agency tried to paint life as normal in the city. they claim the city was safe, with buying and selling going on at the market just like any other day. >> thank god we are working. may god preserve this gift for us and maintain safety and security. reporter: but many families are already fleeing. eight agencies warn of a catastrophe in the making, and exit is from mosul the could

become one of the worst man-made crises in recent years. some have already made it to relative safety, like here in the refugee camp in syria. even in such desperate conditions, they have hope for the future. >> when mosul will be liberated, we will return to our houses and to our lands. all of this. i want security. i want peace. i want security. reporter: but more than one million civilians are still trapped. they could flee en masse, overwhelming the fragile infrastructure just as winter sets in. brent: supporters for a saudi blogger say they have information that he is to get 50 lashes for insulting islam.

he is serving 10 years in risen in phases 1000 lashes after being arrested in 2012. his long advocated freedom of speech and religion in saudi arabia. he received his first 50 lashes in 2015, prompting an international outcry. earlier today, dw spoke to his wife. she is here in germany to present a journalism award in her husband's name. we asked her how she is reacting to the news and if she thinks that saudi authorities will actually go ahead with the lashes. >> i was totally shocked by the news. i am worried and scared that they will carry on whipping him. i am very concerned about raif's health, which is not good. neither is his mental or physical state.

i really hope that saudi arabia will not go ahead and implement this very harsh sentence. i would hope that the saudi authorities strip raif of his citizenship then deport him to canada so he can be with us. brent: that was the wife of raif, speaking with us earlier today. in austria, adolf hitler is still stirring up trouble. the interior missile -- minister wanted to tear down the building in which hitler was born, but they said that demolition would negate to -- would negate their nazi past. there will be an architectural opposition to determine the future of the house. reporter: this house has been

the subject of decades of debate. time has taken its toll on the building, which is stood empty since 2011. and now it's days appeared to be numbered. but most residents are against demolishing the building. he has lived opposite for the past 50 years. >> i think it is wrong to tear down. that does not change the history. you cannot change history, and if the building gos, people just say that is where the houston. -- the house stodd. reporter: the head of the jewish community recommends demolishing the building. he is worried by photos like these, souvenirs -- he wants an end to such pilgrimages. >> it is particularly important

to end this practice now. statistics show us that right-wing extremism is on the rise. reporter: but some believe another solution is necessary. a political analyst has collected over 4000 supporters for his idea -- a house of responsibility where young people can delve into history. he says the interior minister's initial plan for demolition amount to sweeping the past under the carpet. >> politics is about shaping things. for a minister in particular, it is a key part of his job. our interior minister is in his -- is in a vicious person. but my turn the house he is brushing things aside. reporter: he also oppose plans to tear down the building. they do -- brent: we're going to take a short break.

when we come back, more world news. stick around. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back. our top story, germany's chancellor angela merkel is preparing to host a summit in berlin trying to revive the 2015 minsk a court i trying to bring peace to ukraine. russia, ukraine, and france will join her on wednesday. melania trump has been speaking about the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding her husband, predential candidate donald trump. in interviews with fox news and cnn, mrs. trump said the women who have accused her husband of

sexual assault are lying. [stand by] today's stop his wichita, kansas, home to a thriving muslim community. students at the university are hosting a muslim awareness week. our reporter met one of the organizers. reporter: it is morning in middle america and like thousands of others like her, jenna is on her way to college. she is the freshman and she is settling. but one thing does worry her --

next year the state of kansas will allow students to carry guns at college. as a daughter of syrian immigrants, she tells us that she fears her headscarf could make her a target. >> all it takes is one person that has hatred in their heart or negative intentions. i do not know how comfortable i would be with everyone being able to carry a deadly weapon so easily. reporter: but guns are a reality here in wichita, the biggest city in the heartland state of kansas. it is home to more than 9000 muslims, many of them moved here to work at firms like boeing. alongside the factories and churches, a large mosque now also stands proud. jenna knows what role she wants to play in this committee. she wants to be a journalist. she is already making a start as a reporter for her college

newspaper. she and her team spend long hours down here in the basement newsroom. she says american journalism needs perspectives like hers. >> as a journalist when you're going to cover a story, you're always part of the picture. you are never really truly objective, he always bring your background and history to the story and that affects the way you look at the people you're talking to, the situation you are observing. i think it is important to have people of different backgrounds for that reason because two people could look at the same situation and a cover entirely differently. reporter: she is proud of her reporting. last year the student body decided to replace -- the college had no objections, but a backlash soon followed. fox news even claimed it was an

act of christian cleansing. jenna deeply disagrees. >> this is a public university. i think it is questionable in the first place of a chapel at all on campus, since it is a state school. if we're going to have one, it definitely should not be not aligned with one particular religion. it should be open to everyone. reporter: now islams place in america is at the center of the presidential campaign. jenna and her friends have already been the target everest in the street. shouts that they should take off their headscarves and go home. >> it is confusing to me when people say muslims that belonged in the united states just because muslims have been in this country since george washington' time.

i was born in the united states, this is my home. what people tell me to go back to where it came from, i'm like, where should i go? this is where i come from. reporter: jenna has plans for life here. >> i would like to use my privilege to empower the voices of others and help people, help bridge gaps between people and help build understanding among one another. that is important to me. reporter: as america chooses which direction it wants to take, jenna knows that she has to fight for her place in it. which he believes in america, the country that she loves, the country that she calls home. brent: time for business news. javier is here. the future for the ceta agreement not looking very good. javier: it is uncertain and it was not just a few hours ago. a free trade agreement and european union in canada will

not see the light of day after all, at least for now. they failed to sign off the agreement known as ceta. this'll have to grant the federal government authorization to approve the multi-billion impact. reporter: seven years of negotiations have turned into a last-minute cliffhanger. not all the eu's 28 members are happy about the free trade deal with canada. while most resistance comes from belgium, bulgaria and romania are also hesitant. they say it is unfair that their citizens need visas to visit canada, whereas canadians do not need one. >> we are engaging in them the same way. seeing if there are ways we can solve it without reopening the treaty that is not even on the agenda. reporter: germany also hopes ceta -- >> i think this agreement offer

so many benefits and above all secures to single benefits for people, not only economic advantages. reporter: ceta critics beg to differ. they say that the best it under -- it hands too much power to corporations. the deal has been a long time in the making. but the clock is clicking loudly. ceta was due to be signed next week in brussels. but all members have to sign up for the deal and right now, hold out belgium could still scuffle the entire enterprise. javier: canada's prime minister justin judo was set to ship -- justin trudeu was set to come to europe to sign the agreement. >> he was not really present. the minds of everybody.

it was the trade minister of the federal government a belgium. he would like to say yes to ceta but he cannot because he needs the support of all the different regions in belgium. what he got here was basically an ultimatum by all the other countries saying you need to decide by friday because they want to keep the original schedule, which would mean as you just said, justin would come up in october & ceta -- and sign ceta, but he can only do so if they say yes. javier: in a decisive hearing, a san francisco federal judge has said he is " strongly inclined to accept -- the hearings include car owners, lawyers and others arguing why they think volkswagen's settlement proposal to sign up. vw has agreed to spend $60.7

billion to address costs. a final decision is set for next tuesday. now let's find out more on the subject with our financial correspondent on wall street, jens kono matter what the outcoe know this will be a massive amount of money. how significant could this ruling be for vw's future? jens: well, it is a significant case. overall, observers already said the offer from volkswagen is actually pretty good and also very generous. it came to no surprise that the judge also made comments in that direction. but there are also other cases pending from states, possible criminal charges, charges from investors. but this one with the drivers themselves, that is the big one. it looks that it can be solved

in the near future. javier: here in germany at least come he often tend to hear things like diesel-gate is bad but not that bad because volkswagen's sales numbers are doing quite well. is this valid for the united states as well? javier: well, no. volkswagen is still struggling here in united states. vw never had such a big market share here to start with, before the past 11 months, the sales figures have been declining even further and volkswagen has a market share here in the u.s. of about 2%. it is interesting to see how different these strategies are of the different carmakers. u.s. car companies for instance, they are not necessarily aiming to become the biggest car seller of a planet. they want to be profitable. so, margin goes before sales figures, with both leg and

especially being so strong in asia and china. that does not always seem to be the same case. javier: a complicated case. thank you so much for the analysis. that is it for me. now back to brent. brent: after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. sick around for that. ♪ -- stick around for that. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> euromaxx highlights, and here's your host louise houghton. louise: welcome to our pick of the best lifestyle news going on this week in europe. let's see what is coming up for you. fashion icon -- an exclusive interview with paul smith. new perspective -- a photographer turns his back on famous landmarks. and canine revival -- why the dachshund dog is back on trend. the traditional ebru art form originated in turkey and, like many old traditions, it is seeing a revival amongst young artists. garip ay is one such turkish