♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, a nurse in germany suspected of murdering his patients. could he be one of the world's deadliest serial killers? niels hogel, already serving a life sentence for multiple murders, is now suspected of killing another 84 people. also, houston braces for more rain as thousands seek shelter from tropical storm harvey and the rising waters force in the u.s. army corps of engineers to open two dams, said to be an extremely high risk.

plus, turning refugees into residence again. france's president hosts a mini-summit to come up with a better policy to deal with europe's migration crisis. and a shaggy doug story with a happy and profitable ending. a canadian author who wrote a bestseller about how a stray dog saved his life tells his story to dw. ♪ brent: i am brent goff. it is good to have you with us. there are new revelations tonight about a possible german serial killer, so disturbing, the shock was visible on the faces of police today as they announced the news. investigators believe that niels hogel, a former male nurse re: convicted of killing two

patients, may have murdered as many as 84 more. he acted not to heal, only to kill. we will talk to a criminal psychologist in a moment about this case, but first, this report. reporter: niels hogel injected patients with drugs which could cause arrest, then was on hand to reanimate them. >> they knew about these irregularities, they knew about the rising numbers of reanimation's and ecotality's connected with them. instead of this being reported to the police, hogel was allowed to leave with good references. reporter: he was able to continue his serial killing. here, too, colleagues reported there were frequent deaths while hogel was on duty. those who stood by and did

nothing actually enabled these terrible events to happen. the prosecutor's office is investigating senior staff for negligent homicide. how can a case like this be prevented in the future? >> we need a whistleblower system. there has to be the possibility to report something incompetence from a hospital or character -- or care home. this case -- reporter: hogel has already been found guilty of two murders and is suspected of another 84 killings. the prosecutor says this is probably only the tip of the iceberg. 41 test results are missing. many other victims cannot be exhumed because they were cremated. brent: i am now joined by karoline roshdi, a criminal psychologist joining us from germany. we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us.

i know we are only speculating because we don't know the details of this case, but when you look at this case, what was you assume is going on inside the mind of someone who may have murdered 84 people, 84 patients? karoline: forensic examination says he has an autistic personality disorder. egocentric, addicted to admiration from others for his own self-regulation. brent: that is very surprising though, isn't it? someone who does not have much empathy for other people working as a nurse, working in a profession and a job that is there to heal people. karoline: yes, but his

personality has also the need to get admiration, and you can be addicted to the feeling of getting attention and admiration after rescuing a life. and this can be a feeling of being god-like, and you need to repeat the actions again and again. brent: what about any signs or symptoms that could have identified this person as someone who would be willing to murder? could people have seen this coming? karoline: yes, there were different warning signs. one warning sign was that the statistic rises -- they had more risky situations than before. other stuff, don't feel good to work with them, they had bad feelings after a while, that's another warning sign.

medicine also rises, that's another warning sign. brent: karoline roshdi on what appears to be a serial murder case here in germany. thank you very much, we appreciate it. in united states tonight, large parts of the city of houston are underwater after d's of torrential rain drops by tropical storm harvey. more than 50,000 people have in order to leave, thousands more have sucked refuge in shelters. the army corps of engineers has begun recent -- have begun releasing water from two dams, which is an extremely high risk. the courses will make the flooding worse in some neighborhoods but it is necessary to prevent even more catastrophic flows of water later. reporter: her house is underwater up to the first floor. 88-year-old marie was rescued just in time by her son, tom.

he borrowed a vote from an -- a boat from a neighbor. >> i have been here for 40 years. a lot of storms. reporter: marie wanted to stay. her son was only just able to persuade her to get in the boat. the neighbors are bewildered. even powerful for will are useless in these floodwaters. -- powerful 4-wheel drive vehicles are useless in these floodwaters. there is still no end to the down for. -- pownpour. water levels are rising by 15 centimeters every hour. emergency services are operating around the clock and rescue operations are becoming more and more dramatic.

this driver was pulled at the last moment from the back of his vehicle. the old and the sick are especially hard-hit. >> i have three feet of water at my house. in my bed, in my hospital bed. i am bedridden. there is water in all the beds in the house. everything. reporter: those with boats our pitching into the -- are pitching in to help. >> it is still very dangerous. we are expecting more rain. we are expecting the demand for our services to increase. we still have pending calls that we are trying to get to. reporter: a state of emergency has been declared in neighboring louisiana as it braces to be next in the storm's path. brent: would is the latest and

how are texans coping with this? i'm joined by journalist jenny hoff joining us from austin, texas. these are dramatic scenes we are seeking -- we are seeing. people cannot believe the city was turned into a flood zone so quickly. what is the latest on the rescue operation tonight? jenny: the latest on the rescue operation is it is in full force. there have been thousands of people rescued so far due to the flooding. there are still many, many more waiting to be rescued, even waiting to get through to emergency services lines. they had been posting help on social media to hope someone can come get them. the best course is just to wait on the ine for emergency services to get to you. they have been asked to get to the top of the roofs so helicopters can see them and people are going around with boats trying to rescue everyone they can't but it is a very difficult situation. the governor of texas state's ee

national guard, about 12,000 people. it just shows you how city of the situation has become as the rain continues to pound on houston. the ground can't take anymore. it is rising by the minute. brent: the forecast is causing -- calling for the storm to move into the gulf, refuel, then move back onto land, which means more rain. are people basically stuck where they are right now? jenny: in some areas surrounding houston there are now mandatory evacuations because of rivers. now they have admitted tory evacuations from people live along the river. there have been mandatory evacuations in central texas along the colorado river. people who are in dangerous way

-- they are trying to get as many out as possible before all that future rainfall comes as well. for the people of houston, right now it is a wait and see situation because a lot of the thoroughfares, the highways, the feeder rows are all flooded. there is no way to get out. even the emergency crews trying to get to people, they are asking for anyone in the city or has extra boats to give them to the city to be used for rescue efforts because it is very hard to get anything into the city. brent: we know that the federal emergency management agency has now been activated for this. that speaks to the scale of this emergency. and donald trump says he will visit the area tomorrow. what do people expect from the president? is this his first big natural disaster? jenny: that's right. it is often a marking point for presidents when a natural disaster like this happens to make sure all the resources are at the ready and activated immediately and there to help

people not only during the crisis but also afterwards with the repair effort. i'm expecting that is with the president will say when he comes to texas tomorrow. he will assure federal resources will be there as the cleanup from this mess for the next several years. brent: jenny with the latest on the flood situation in houston, texas. thank you very much. here are some other stories making headlines around the world. security was tight around the court in india as it sentenced a popular guru to 20 years in prison for rapining two women. his followers rioted. colombia's leftist rebels have started their transition into a political party. more than 1000 delegates rather in the capital for a congress to discuss future policies.

they plan to officially present its new party and its new name on friday. in paris, year being leaders have been a meeting with a number of their african counterparts to find ways of curbing migrant inflows. following the talks, french president emmanuel macron in german chancellor angela merkel called for tougher measures to fight illegal migration from africa. merkel says europe has a humanitarian responsibility to reign in smugglers who profit from desperate migrants. they also discussed creating a resettlement policy to qualified asylum-seekers. we want to go to paris now and pull in our correspondent catherine martin on the story. good evening. the migration summit was short and sweet. can we say sweet about the outcome? what was the outcome? catherine: this was more

brainstorming on the top level rather than coming up with concrete results. they all agreed on the report and to stabilize africa at all levels. to fight poverty, economic levels, to fight insecurity in order to -- this kind of assessment is as old as the crisis. they had a focus tonight on fighting smuggling, even trafficking, making it less attractive for people to make money off of this. this was one of the main topics discussed here in paris. one concrete result, there is a pilot project which will be kicked off for the czech republic. asylum status can be checked in for europe. while they are still in africa. they will check if it is working

out what all in all i have to say this meeting here was not having a really hard conclusions, given the fact it was not all the member states here, it was not the european union dealing with the african union. this is something that will happen in november. that they will meet again in a same format as tonight and prepare a warm -- a roadmap in late november. brent: catherine, thank you very much. you're watching "dw news." still to come, how a shaggy dog story becomes a bestseller. he tells us the life changing lessons he learned from a dog who is now his best friend. business news now, another round of talks between the u.k. and european union.

vonnie: eu and uk negotiators have picked up the third round of talks -- the u.k. had hoped to move negotiations on the future negotiations without hammering out the details of britain's exit from the eu. a position that has ruffled feathers throughout the. -- the eu. reporter: the united kingdom and the european union are back at the negotiating table. but it seems both sides are still worlds apart. london published its brexit wishlist but was criticized for being light on details. >> we wish to start negotiating soon. we need u.k. papers that are clear in order to have constricted negotiations. and the sooner we remove the

ambiguity, the sooner we will be in a position to discuss the future relationship. reporter: that ambiguity is cost in the u.k. the pound is down 14% against the euro since the brexit vote. inflation is up, which is weighing on growth figures. but some british economists say the downturn is only temporary. and london's man in brussels says the chasm between the two sides can still be overcome. >> we ought to lock in the points where we agree, on pick the areas where we disagree, and make further progress on the whole range of issues. in order to do that, we will require flexibility and imagination on both sides. reporter: there is still a long road ahead before the eu and the u.k. can go their separate ways. vonnie: tropical storm harvey

has not only left thousands of people homeless in texas and louisiana, it is also weighing heavily on the u.s. oil and gas production. mobile has shut down his refinery near houston. the flood has forced other refineries to close as well. reporter: water as far as the eye can see. and floodwaters could continue to rise. hurricane harvey is expected to wreak more havoc in the coming days. and that has prompted exxon mobil to stop production at its refinery near houston. leads that was the country's second-largest and is now joining other refineries in the region that have sent their employees home due to the storm. production stops have raised concerns about bottlenecks in the gas supply which has german prizes up 7%. -- driven prices up 7%. oil and gas production has also taken a hit.

one of every seven oil platforms in the gulf of mexico has been evacuated. harbors and airports are closed throughout the region. 1400 flights were canceled on monday alone and harvey has damaged or destroyed at least 230,000 homes. that have not been exact predictions -- projections so far but estimates are cleanup could cost as much as $40 billio n. the bill is likely to fall short of hurricane katrina. that storm destroyed large parts of new orleans and caused more than $100 billion in damage. vonnie: sophie, just how are refineries coping in the u.s. right now? sophie: a part of the country that accounts for america's -- we agree this means demand should exceed supply.

but it doesn't work like that. at least not now. oil prices have been falling monday because demand -- will refinery plants in houston were shutting down because of the storm. they normally have the capacity to refine about 2 million barrels of oil a day. of the refineries and other countries are taking over. vonnie: there are other things on the plate. tax reform is going on the road. so far the president has it a lot of stumbling blocks. tell us more. sophie: there's just not any plan to sell as basic questions remain unanswered. will changes be permanent? what rate will corporations and up paying? -- end up paying?

instead of giving details, the president gives lecture after lecture and we already know what his plans are. they sound great they are not detailed. secretary steven mnuchin predicted having taxes go down by august. now he revealed the enormity means it might not happen until the end of the year. vonnie: thank you so much for your analysis. the world's toughest law banning plastic bags has just gone into effect in kenya. and when they're caught manufacturing, importing or even carrying plastic shopping bags now risks going to prison or paying a hefty fine. but will this lobby enforced? -- law be enforced? reporter: plastic bags are often ingested by animals. in nairobi slaughterhouses, some

cows have had up to 20 bags removed from their stomachs. officials are sounding the alarm. >> we are more and more plastic bags from the animals. or out of their stomachs. i would say it is a growing concern and a growing problem. something we didn't get 10 years ago but now it is almost on a daily basis. reporter: the u.n. says plastic bags are the number one challenge for carbon waste disposal in the east african country, especially in the poorest communities were axes to disposal systems is limited. >> to the challenge we have at the moment is most of these tags are just littered the new fund them -- then you find them littering our landscapes. there also ingested by livestock. the problem is now we also are

ingesting these micro plastics, and this is a danger to our health. reporter: two previous attempts within the past decade to ban plastic bags -- not everyone is in favor of the ban. they say he will cost a sector 60,000 jobs and forced dozens of companies out of business. vonnie: more sports news with brent. brent: we're going to start with soccer. bundesliga has signed a forward on a four-year contract. the 27-year-old he is replacing meanwhile, completed his move. the unveiling -- he became the second most expensive player of all-time. he get the ball around for a photo op, even mixing it up with some slightly younger players

brought into dawn the number 11 jersey. marcelina agreed to pay 105 million euros in performance bonuses. it is opening day at the u.s. open and there is one matchup that really has people talking in new york city. in just a few hours former world number one maria sharapova will meet up against simone on our -- she was given a wildcard after a ban for using a controlled substance. wimbledon champion took just one hour to defeat american barbara. and the 13th seed be the former -- beat the former number one. the friendship between man and a dog can be life-changing. it can even be life-sustaining.

this was the case when canadian author colin campbell took in an abandoned dog called george gave him a new perspective on life. colin turned their story into a best-selling book. he talked with my colleague about his special relationship with his dog. >> colin and george. for years, they have been inseparable. when they met, both needed one thing -- love. colin's struggle began when returning to a business trip from his home in toronto, he found his wife had packed her things and left. for months he was heartbroken until his friends pushed in to get a dog. in an interview with dw, colin recall that time in his life. >> i was feeling sorry for myself. again, struggling with some issues of depression and

probably drinking a bit more than i should have been. when they reached out to me and said, getting almost dog, you are giving them a purpose and a second chance and maybe in the process you are helping yourself. reporter: colin found george thanks to a pet rescue website. he was fully grown, making it difficult for a family looking to adopt. but colin was drawn to them. they began a new life in california. it was a perfect fit. they are expert swimmers. as it turns out, george was an even better surfer. >> every year in california they have dog surfing champions. and george decided he wanted to get on it or and -- on a board and do it. l reporter: george won the first

prize in the heavyweight category. >> we went to a homeless event -- reporter: together colin and george have come a long way. now their story is not just a best-selling book, and movie deal is also in the works. brent: i will back after a short break to take you to the day. stick around for that. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

♪ [theme music] welcome to potus 2017 where we keep watch on the oval office and pour cold hard facts on the overheated political rhetoric, i'm brian lehrer. today we visit a conference devoted to making peace between israelis and palestinians, the annual j-street conference held in washington, d.c. february 25th to 28th founded in 2008, j-street is a liberal advocacy group for pro-peace, pro-israel americans. it opposes the occupation of the west bank and supports a