from berlin. and exercise currently in critical condition tonight in a british hospital, police say they are investigating an incident involving a 66-year-old man. he is a former intelligence official who spied on russia for the u.k.. he is said to have become ill after exposure to an unknown substance. we will get the latest from london. also coming up, a united front from two men mired in scandal. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu and donald trump. there are reports that donald trump could open the u.s. embassy in jerusalem. we will get more from our washington correspondent. italy's former prime minister matteo renzi steps down as democratic party leader. that after record numbers of

voters deserted the political center in the election. a flocked to anti-immigrant and eurosceptic parties. they will have to battle it out and cap -- form a new government. i'm brent goff, it is good to have you with a, there are reports that a form a former russian spy living in england is critically ill after being exposed to an unknown substance. he was granted refuge in britain after a spy slot deal back in 2010. he was convicted in russia of betraying russian agents to british intelligence. police have confirmed that two people, a man and a woman were found unconscious on a bench in the city of saws berry. both are receiving treatment and an investigation is underway to determine what caused the

condition. a police gave a press conference to say they're keeping an open mind about the nature of the incident. >> this has not been declared as a counterterrorism incident. we would urge people not to speculate. however, i must emphasize that we retain an open mind and that we continue to review this position. we have access to a wide range of specialist resources to help us understand where we are and what we are doing without this time. the focus at this moment in trying to establish what has caused these people to become critically ill -- we are working with partners to prioritize this diagnosis and enjoy they receive the most appropriate and timely treatment. brent: let's bring in our correspondent. this is birgit maas. what do no about the victims? this man and this woman?

birgit: we know that the man is in his 60's and the woman is in her 30's. we don't really know the identity of the woman. we do know that the man in the 60's was somebody who was convicted in russia for having spied for britain. he was then imprisoned in russia and then came to the u.k. years later as part of a spy swap. we don't really know what has caused the critical condition. we know the hospital is also cornered off. they're taking it very seriously. they are trying to find out if they have taken any substances, what it is and what caused them to be in such a back condition. police are also saying it is not a terrorism incident at this point. brent: what has been the

reaction there? we know this is not the first case involving a russian national being exposed to an unknown substance. birgit: we don't have any official reaction from the british government because it is something that is really something that only brought just a few hours ago. of course, there are parallels and people will think about the case of alexander. he was somebody glenn worked for the russian intelligence services within became a critic of the kremlin and subsequently he looks for asylum here in london where he was eventually poisoned in 2006. he was poisoned by polonium. it was enormous speculation that the russian state was responsible for his widow marina who fought long and hard for an inquiry. they found out that he was ordered by vladimir putin to be killed.

nobody was made responsible, nobody was put into jail because of that. of course, it is something that is really in the mind of british people because it is something that happened not so long ago and the very was just a few years ago. brent: thank you, that was birgit maas on that story for us tonight. benjamin netanyahu met with donald trump at the white house. the visit comes amid corruption investigations that could threaten his political survival. talks are expected to focus on curbing the regional influence of israel's archrival -- iran. as well as the stalled israeli-palestinian peace process. trump regnize jerusalem as the

capital and announced that the u.s. embassy would move to jerusalem. despite those tensions, trump told reporters that he thinks there is a good chance for peace in the conflict, here is part of what he had to say a bit earlier. donald trump: what better if we could make peace between israel and the palestinians? we are working very hard and doing that. i think we have a very good chance. the biggest difficulty anybody has had -- you look over 25 years, nobody could get past number one, jerusalem, they could not get past it. this gives us a real opportunity to gain peace. we will see how it works out. palestinians i wanted to come back to the table very badly. if they don't, we don't have peace. that is a possibility also. i'm not saying it's going to happen. brent: that was donald trump.

let's go to washington now, we are joined by carsten von nahmen. where does this leave peace negotiations? trump's mideast envoy, his son-in-law, jared kushner has lost his security clearance. carsten: the fact that these security clearance of jared kushner has been downgraded from top to only secret is of course a major blow to kushner. he wants to be seen as a serious powerbroker on international stage. of course, he still has the president's ear. the president can give him any sense of information that he once and i think the bigger problem really is donald trump's decision to officially move the u.s. embassy to israel from --

from israel to jerusalem. in contrast to what the president just sat in that clip, barely it has destroyed the notion of the united states as a broker. palestinian leaders don't even want to be seen talking with the americans. clearly they think that america has now openly sided with israel so in my view there is no peace process and jared kushner has not even presented any peace plan or roadmap to revive the peace process. i'm not sure about this optimism from president trump. brent: both of these leaders are in hot water domestically. we have the israeli leader facing corruption allegations, the white house is in turmoil. the president is possibly starting a trade war.

how will this help both of these leaders? carsten: it hurts both leaders indeed. benjamin netanyahu can demonstrate he is still an important player on the international stage. he is seen next to the most powerful man in the world and for donald tru, it is good for him on the domestic stage. he is seen as somebody who sides with israel, a good friend of the is really prime minister because that please is an important part of his domestic race, the pro-israel lobby and the christians who are supporting israel. for those, this was a given event. -- feel-good event. brent: has president netanyahu extended an invitation to president trump to attend the opening of the u.s. embassy in jerusalem? carsten: the you have been talking about this.

when asked about this possibility by the white house prestel in the oval office, president trump said i made go to jerusalem for the official opening of the u.s. embassy there. the date has been moved toward -- forward. this will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the state of israel on may 14, of course, the americans will not be able to build a new embassy by that time. so what they are doing is upgrading the existing consulate, the american consulate and moving the ambassador that and yes, donald trump baby going as well. -- may be going as well. brent: thank you very much, carsten. the ramifications of italy's national election are starting

to unfold. the prime minister has resigned after a bruising defeat in the polls. he made the announcement moments ago, his party won less than 90% of the vote. -- 19 percent of the vote. that is a historic low. this is rising anti-immigrant sentiment. or than 50% of voters cast their vote for populist parties. former prime minister got the lion share. we asked him what was next for italy and the central's -- centrist left's democratic party. >> he said he would not withdraw immediately. we can't expect him to remain in the position as a leader of the centrist left the party until

congress would vote somebody new and. it is interesting. when they go out any coalition with a populist parties. experts have told me this is the most likely or would have been the most likely scenario with the five-star movement. it adds to the complicated situation of a hung parliament and we will have to wait and see what the next couple of days will bring. >> reporting from wrong. -- rome. brent: a relief convoy has crossed into damascus. this is the first aide brought to the region. officials from the world health organization say syrian authorities stripped of their convoy of crucial medical supplies before allowing it to pass through.

thousands of syrians, many of them injured remained trapped. >> a glimmer of hope for the sick and wounded. dozens of aid trucks have been clear to cross but the united nations says syrian authorities have seized crucial life-saving medical supplies. according to officials, much of the aid was not allowed through. >> we were hoping to enter without this because the cease-fire must be effected. this is a humanitarian convoy heading toward a large number of civilians. the convoy isn't sufficient, supplies for 70,000 people were reduced hundred 28,000 people. >> the crippling siege has left civilians stranded as syrian forces expanded their assault on the turn by international

outcry. the cease-fire has been largely ignored as president -- >> i see no conflict between the truce and our operations. our recent advance is occurring during the cease-fire. it is possible to achieve our humanitarian objectives well striking terrorists. we have to continue our operations were allowing civilians to leave, controlled areas. >> hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped in the enclave among the brutal bombardment. despite an agreement for peaceful a delivery, there have been reports of showing. brent: we want to go to ralph l.

hage. he is the international spokesman for the middle east. we have heard that the word of organization was able to get some supplies into his computer. did you get all of the supplies in that you wanted to ? ralph: we were able to deliver medical supplies and give you an idea of what these medical supplies contained. they contend medicine for chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension and consumables for dialysis patients and in addition to we delivered much needed food and other essential items for basic necessities of people inside. brent: you are in close contact with your colleagues who are on the ground with the convoy, what are they telling you about the

situation? describe what you are hearing. ralph: what weeard from our colleagues on their way back is that they have seen men, women and children who are pleading for medical aid, they are desperate for safety, they just want the war to stop, they are telling us this has to end soon and they want to get out of that area to a place where they feel safe for the children, where they don't get injured, that is what they want at the moment, that is the most important thing, the safety of civilians inside. you -- the city of people remains the major priority today. >> is allowing the convoy into eastern good at -- is that the first that were willis remain an exception? what do you think? >> this is a positive step.

perhaps it is just a little too late. we hope not, we hope this positive step will be the first of further positive steps in which we will be allowed to provide aid through more convoys. today we have around 400,000 people in this area and they are desperately in need of medical aid and other support that humanitarian organizations must and should be allowed to deliver inside. brent: ralph, thank you very much. here are some of the other stores that are making headlines around the world, protesters have marched through washington to demand that congress protect hundreds of thousands of young people from deportation. the deferred action for childhood arrivals program which shows some 700,000 immigrants

brought to the u.s. illegally as children is set to expire on monday. the government has so far on -- been unable to agree on a replacement for the so-called dreamers. jimmy morales has confirmed his country will relocate its interest -- embassy. just a couple of days after washington moved its stigmatic mission. he tola pro-israeli group the move underscores guatemala's support for israel. president trump announced last year that washington would be moving its embassy to jerusalem. you are watching dw news, live from berlin, still to come, was representation the biggest winner of this year's academy awards after a person of hollywood abusers? tinseltown gets set for another era of being inclusive. first, daniel is here.

i guess donald trump has europe's big industries a little worried. daniel: this is just a bargaining tactic but it scared the wits out of corporations that steel tariffs could be a double blow for european carmakers, not only will the factories that they own in america have to pay more for the steel to make vehicles but now trump has threatened big levies on car imports from europe. it is a topic on everyone's lips as the biggest brands gather in geneva. twice as carmakers prepare juice showcase their shyness models at the geneva motor show, don't trumps threat to impose tariffs cast a shadow over proceedings. some experts maintained the move would backfire. >> trumps direct doesn't appear to be very well thought through, if he really wants to impose

import tariffs that would affect over 6 million cars overall, that would amount to a minor revolution in america because it would anger both carmakers and consumers, leading to a recession in the u.s. car market. that is the opposite of what he wants. if trump is good on his threat, the german car industry in particular could be badly hurt. volkswagen, bmw and receipt is have their own plants in the united states but the m w's subsidiaries audi and porsche do not. they would be hit hard by tariffs. the united states is the second biggest export destination for german cars other than china. german automakers exported almost half a million vehicles to the u.s.. now they are feeling uneasy about what could be to come. >> here at the sidelines of the geneva motor show, carmakers are wondering what tariffs will mean with them.

especially german carmakers who have production operations in the u.s. and american manufacturers manufacture figures are brought as well. perhaps import tariffs will only apply to direct imports from europe but that would be a bloated industry as well. the u.s. is the largest -- second largest automotive market and the most important buyer for the grammar expensive german cars. >> the show goes on with a pan-european panel declared this the car of the year. the award can distract from the widely held belief that the trade war is unlikely to produce any winners in the european car industry. >> the world health calling it the world's biggest ever outbreak of listeria. 180 people confirmed that in south africa and the government is pointing to meet producers. tiger bread is fighting back,

south africa's biggest consumer food maker is saying there ino direct link between the company and the deaths. tiger has halted production against to enterprise food factories. earlier i spoke to south african respondent asking her why tiger brand is being singled out. >> they are saying there is no proof of it. they have actually said that two weeks ago when they did their own checks that they did find low levels of listeria. they say they have been checking regularly and they can't be responsible. the numbers mentioned are because listeria has been going around for years. the minister of health has said that been there from the source. preschool kids got sick in the township and near johannesburg often eating pilates. this is the sauces that could be made of -- this would be pleasant.

this is from enterprise. the minister says we are cleaning out, this is where it comes from. >> how is the reason reacting to all of this? it is not just south africa. >> definitely not, this company also exports a lot to neighboring countries. so far, we have seen them, countries around us in panic mode as well. namibia, zambia, malawi, they all said that they are going to stop this now and they also removed all the product they did have from their shelves. >> it looks like patients experienced high temperature flu symptoms, vomiting, diarrhea and even die. our consumers panicking? >> definitely. it is all people, kids that have

been mainly affected by this. they are checking just what is in the freds, what kind of processed meat do i have russian mark basically, a lot of cold cuts and processed meats, we also see people actually full of this meat going to the factories and amending refunds as well. people are scared, supermarkets have been responding quick and publishing this -- all the big supermarket chains here, woolworth's, they said we definitely don't want this in our schools anymore. -- stores anymore. these are very good prices and people are in panic. >> a nightmare scenario for consumers in south africa. thank you very much.

brent: the 90th annual academy awards and six months after the launch of the me too movement, women look to see the spotlight. and more opportunity. >> the highlight of the oscars, faye dunaway and one baby and it at the coveted best picture award. >> the shape of water. it was gamble -- guillermo del toro's second trip to the stage. his quirky love story between a mystery mermen and a mute cleaning lady was a favorite throughout the awards season. it took home a golden glove and a directors guild awards before grabbing oscars. the best actor accolade went to gary oldman for his portrayal of winston churchill and the gritty

world war ii drama the darkest hour. both men had to endure up to five hours in makeup every day during filming to complete his transformation to britain's story. the best actress oscar went to frances mcdormand for her role as a grieving mother in the community drama three billboards outside of ebbings, missouri. >> if i could have the female nominees stand with me, merrill, if you do it everybody out slow, they are so milkers. the directors, the writers, the cinematographers, the composers, the songwriters, the designers. everybody, we all have stories to tell and

projects we need financed. >> judging by the overwhelming support in the room, many of the call is too loud for the hollywood studios to ignore. brent: after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day, we will go to los angeles, stick around for that.

reyes: minors migrating to the united states caught in mexico and sent back to central america. why are they taking the risk? i'm elaine reyes in washington, d.c., and this is "americas now." first up, young migrants make a desperate journey to the u.s. to escape economic hardship, but many don't make it through mexico. we'll talk to some minors from guatemala who were sent back home. then, a doctor in florida dedicated to making medical breakthroughs makes a professional breakthrough of her own. welcome to the show. they are