this is the debbie news live from berlin. britain files for divorce and voting article 50 of the eu's lisbon treaty. >> the article 50 process is now underway. in accordance with wishes of the british people, the united kingdom is leaving the european union. >> prime minister theresa may tells parliament in london it is a historic moment from which there can be no turning back. we will go live to brussels with analysis of today's events. also on thee program, a man-made catastrophe with hunger used as a weapon of war after two years of civil war in yemen.

we report on millions of people facing the eminent prospect of famine. the scandal over turkish agents spying widens. this german member of parliament is on thehe list of targets dran up by turkey's intelligence service. my name is christopher springer, thanks for joining us. the united kingdom has formally launched the process of leaving the european union. in brussels, european councncil resident donald tusk receiving a letter earlier today from british prime minister theresa may triggering that divorce. in london, may told parliament that brexit was an opportunity for the u.k. to become stronger and fairer. >> prime minister theresa may made history today, ceiling

brexit and thereby radically changing the course of great written. -- great britain. after signing the process for the exit of the european union, he addressed in the's -- mp's. >> in accordance with the wishes of the british people, the united kingdom is leaving the european union. this is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back. reporter: theresa may said that given britain's gold to control immigration, the u.k. can't remain part of thehe eu single market. outside, brexit opponents say -- staged a protest. they hoped to stop the process from becoming a reality, but in the end, their push was unsuccessful. the formal notice from london was met with sadness. >> most europeans, including

almost half of the british voters, we wish that we would stay together. for me, i will not pretend that i am happy today. reporter: just across the street, u.k. independence party members were in a better mood. they gathered for a celebration in style with champagne and a cake with candles spelling out article 50. >> what we are doing today is restoring democracy. it is something that has been consistently removed from us over 40 years. and now, what we are doing is ringing back home freedom and justice. >> despite concerns of what lies ahead, many are supportive of the withdrawal from the eu.

>> i think it will be good for the economy to get back. we will have control of our borders again which i know not a lot of people want. >> we haven't seen many of them making serious preparations for moving out. it remains to be seen. i am optimistic the job losses will be manageable. >> we studied here and got the job. it is hard to determine what it means and we are assessing all options. reporter: the divorce papers are in in negotiations should get underway by summer. christopher: let's get the view from brussels and london. the british prime minister theresa may talking today about wanting to maintain a strong and special relationship with europe. what will she be bringing to the

bargaining table? >> promises. but we heard seven times in her speech that she wants a deep and very friendly relationship with europe. so that is a definite change of tune. but we have seen a lot of aggression around the turn of the year in terms of blackmailing the european union. it has changed because as negotiations are going to get underway, theresa may and her government know that you can start out on the wrong foot. whether this climate of peace and love and friendship will hold up when talks have started, that is another question. christopher: let's go to brussels with that prospect. two years of negotiations about to start.

what are the expectations? how acrimonious can these talks get? >> it depends on the tactics applied in the next two years. impression is that the european side is also why prepared to suffer quite a bit, having come to terms in the past nine months with this shock decision of britain leaving the european union. and it is there that the chief exit negotiator has tried to come forward with a number of rules for how this game can be played without both sides hurting each other too much. he has, for instance, pointed out a number of fields where the bargaining chips should be taken off table. it applies not only do citizen rights, but also to security. >> the security of our citizens is far too important to start a trade-off of one for the other.

and both are absolutely necessary in the future partnership. without starting to bargain on this. against the other. reporter: the message is that the intelligence expertise that britain brings to the table is far too important. that even if there is no deal after those two years of negotiations, they want to cooperate on the issue of security at a time when terror attacks have occurred in brussels, london, and other parts of the european union. it europe can't afford a lose lose situation in that case. christopher: when these negotiations begin, there are so many issues on the table. what is the eu's top priority going to be? >> the overarching objective is clearly that there can be no

deal better than the one that britain had inside the european union. they will have to lose out on something's or it puts the european union in a difficult situation. they pointed out a number of guarantees that the european union wants. citizen rights would be secured. i've mentioned that. and no return to a hard border regarding northern ireland. and there is a brexit bill to be settled. christopher: what is britain's priority? what does britain want to achieve particularly in these negotiations? >> it wants, of course, exactly the opposite. what has now become good brexit tradition, have the cake and eat it. britain once a trade deal that is as good as the conditions it has now. that is the impression theresa may gave in her speech today. even though she did sound a

warning. there might be consequences of exit -- brexit. she told people to expect that and deal with it. but what britain wants to push for his trade to continue unfettered. the way it is now. it will be the main bone of contention. that is where the talks will run up against the wall once they have reached that point. it will take quite a while because as we heard from german chancellor angela merkel today, first the divorce negotiations have to talk about the terms. and then we can talk about the future relationship. britain wants to have this now. as quickly as possible. have a new trade deal. they believe this is doable. christopher: many thanks to both

of you. moving on to other news, french presidential candidate got an unexpected endorsement today from a former -- it has come as something of an embarrassment. reporter: france's former prime minister, once a hopeful for the country's top job himself is throwing his weight behind independent centrist candidate. he announced his decision in a television interview. >> i am not going to put the republic at risk. i'm not going to put france at risk. i want the strongest hand possible to the candidate that represents reformers and progressives. reporter: the risks he was referring to come in the form of marine le pen.

it might be greater than anticipated. what he says is an effort to stop her, he's turned his back on his own socialist party's candidate. in a radio interview, he thanked them for the support and hinted that the latest supportrt could not nececessarily expected job n return. -- expect a job in return. >> i guarantee new faces and new practices. >> on the conservative side, his wife penelope is being placed under formal investigation. opinion polls for the first round currently show a manual and marine le pen net. christopher: and now for some of the otheher stories, a peruvian airlines plane burst into flames and skidded off the runway earlier today during an emergency landing at an

airport. the crew were evacuated unharmed. an investigation is now underway. residents on australia's eastern coast are bracing for severe flooding following a category four storm that made landfall there on tuesday. cyclone debbie caused major damage, torrential rain, and power cuts to tens of thousands of homes. authororities have warned people to stay off roads and avoid being stranded in floodwaters. and police in washington, d.c. opened fire on a car today that rammed into a police vehicle near the capital. the driver also reportedly tried to run police officers over. she w was taken into custody and authorities say there are no links to terrorism and no one was injured in the incident. two years of civil war in yemen have left millions of it

citizens struggling to survive as a severe shortage of housing and clean water and sanitary facilities in the country are especially hard hit with chronic malnutrition rampant. huhunger is being used as a a wn in this conflict. >> s survival hangngs in the balance. two years after the outbreak of war, a growing number of people are ththreatened with malnutritn and unicef says over 460,00000 children are among thehem. it is a human made catastrophehe with hununger as a weaeapon of conflict by ththe warring parti. people f fear another attack whe all shipments of food supplies arrive before being distributed around the country. there e are three peers that are empty. the port is not working at full capacity. it is a source of f concern fors because the flow of food

supplies must contininue to avod famine in yemen. the saudi led coalition thahat supppports thehe government is blockading the a areas contrleld byebel hootie -- h huttis. win food s supplies in thehe ciy are exhausted, the undernourished residents will have nothihing more to eatat. the united nations always calls on party to exempt civilian infrastructure from conflict and reminds us that the infrastructure of the sport a ad anany other infrastructcture is protected by humanitarian international law. that appeal may fall on deaf ears. both sides h have refused to return for negotiatitions. instead, government troops have begun a major offensive on yemen's west coast. christopher: still to come on this program, the scandal over

turkish agents spying on german agents. emerging on a list of targets drawn up by turkey's intelligence service. and on social media, brexit day trending worldwide at the moment. we will get you all of that coming up on dw news.

christopher: welcome back to dw news in berlin. the top story at the moment, britain's brexit from the eu has begun. theresa may gave official notice of the intention to european council president doll tusk. here in germany, allegations have surfaced that turkey has been spying on democrat michele muntaferin. they say a line has clearly been crossed. they have opened an

investigation into large-scale spying here in germany. >> german in p head of the parliamentary association and the focus of t the turki intelligencece servicece. it wasas probably y this appeare two yeyears ago at a an event hd i it made her a target. they believe the cleric living in u.s. exile was behind the failed coup in summer of 2016. they're trying to crush the movement associated with it. the head of turkish intelligence handed over to german authorities a list of 300 alleged supporters in germany hoping that berlin would help gather more information. among the 300 names, to german politicians, one of them the german mp. the head of the social democrats isis outraged.

>> i find this s solutely unacceptable.. the turkish government has to and the spying immediately. i am stunned by the radical it with which the turkish government i is undermined in relation -- undermining relations with germany. reporter: german security authorities are contacting supporters and their organizations. a warning them that they are on the turkish watchlist. christopher: we are going to get some more background on this from our senior political correspondent melinda crane. help us understand this, first of all. why are turkish spies interested in this german social democrat? delinda: -- melinda: she is the head of the german turkish parliamentary group. she promotes dialogue and cooperation with turkish parliamentarians. so she has traveled to turkey several times and she does maintain contact with in germany

. whatat she herself s says is a y wide spectrum m of people anand groups. includuding, as e e said today, some difficult groups.s. groups pososbly with t ties to e ghoul in movement - -- gulen movements.s. she is said to have attended a cultural event put on by an organization that is thought to be close to the gulen movemenen. she herself says i have to promote dialogue here and that is part of my function as head of the turkish parliamentary group. this absolutely crosses a line. christopher: germans were shocked to hear turkish intelligence is spying at all on people here in germany. specifically president erdogan's opponents. and how a german member of parliament appears to be a target presumably takes this route to a whole new level. melinda: it absolutely does.

there is outrage across the entire political spectrum in germany. have to bear in mind that this comes after a series of very problematic incidents in german turkish relations. turkey detained a journalist with double nationality. he was arrested ostensibly. for matters related to that failed coup. and germany has very vocally protested that this arrest, so far, to no avail. then, the upcoming constitutional referendum and turkish leaders responded by comparing the german leaders to nazis. and with fury. that is the background of very widespread outrage.

christopher: what is the consequence of that outrage? how is the german government reacting to this latest development? melinda: the german foreign minister said germany will not tolerate foreign intelligence services spying on people here in germany. he federal prosecutors office has opened an investigation to the degree in which turkish spying is occurring and will certainly be looking into this case of the parliamentarians. surely, there will be consequences. christopher: melinda crane our senior political correspondent. lawyers are lodging an appeal in turkey's top court to get him released from prison, arguing that it goes against the principle that suspects are innocent until proven guilty and violates his personal rights. lawyers are demanding their client be given a fair trial. he has been in custody for over four weeks now.

time for the latest business. a big merger just not going to happen. reporter: thank you very much. they officially blocked the stock exchange. the veto doesn't come as a surprise after they signaled it was not prepared to meet eu demands to sell the italian trading business. the deal would have been worth well over 20 billion euros. this is the third time the stock exchange operators have tried and failed to emerge. -- to merge. our financial correspondent on wall street, as we pointed out, there is no merger between them once again. what are the reactions there on wall street? >> well, investors on wall street believe that there are political reasons and not

necessarily competitive reasons why the european union said no to this merger. especially now with brexit and the headquarter of the exchange probably would have been london. after years of consolidation, some industries are between the big stock exchanges. worldwide in the past, we did see that it got more difficult. we try to buy the new york stock exchange and they also have tried to merge with london. it is not easy to get those deals done by the way. the stock prices of the stock exchange gained quite a bit here. >> it plays into the bilateral

relationships. and what donald trump is also a fan of. where the reactions in the u.s.? is at a party the u.s. will take on a different shape? >> the u.k. is an important trading partner to the united states. it is the seventh biggest and what might be even more important, one of the countries where the u.s. has a positive trade balance with. meaning that the u.s. exports more to the u.k. then it imports. this whole thing is completely unprecedented so nobody really knows how it will play out. and it will take time. it will probably take another two years before brexit really happens. all of that said, we did not see a big impact of this latest news on the stock prices. even last year in june we had the surprise yes votes to leave

the european union. wall street reacted by far not as aggressive as we have seen in the european market. everyone is well aware this is unprecedented and nobody knows will happen further down the line for the u.k. and also the u.s. economy. >> thank you for your analysis from new york. and on a different story, south korea's elect tronic -- electronic giant samsung introduced the galaxy s eight smartphones today. welcome good news after the disastrous note seven recall and the ongoing corruption scandal. the galaxy s8 is bigger and has a screen that curves around edges. the question is, is that enough to convince customers?

>> the new model has a thinner edge without a home button that gives it a bigger display and it has a voice assistant called bixby. thes s8 is supposed to get the company back on track. >> as you all know, it has been a challenging year for samsung. it is filled with valuable lessons, and important new beginnings. reporter: samsung needs that after the disaster with thehe ne 7. some devices had batteries that exploded or burst into flames. they lost plenty of sleep over the problem. the samsung smart tv may have been vulnerable to a spy program called weeping angel that was supposedly able to record conversations in people's homes and to transmit them straight to the u.s. central intelligence agency. adding to the woes, the former

samsung chief is involved in the corruption scandal that brought down the south korean president. to win back customers trust, samsung desperately needs positive headlines. really galaxy s eight do the trick? the new smartphone will be up there with the best of them and stock markets seem to agree. samsung shares jumped by nearly 2% on the announcement. christopher: thank you. it you are watching dw news in berlin and i will be back in just a second with the day. stay with us for that.

>> hello, this is live from paris, good to have you with us. here are the top stories we are following for you this hour. back, that's from british prime minister theresa may after she officially launched the historic brexit process. racking up the endorsements. french centrist presidential candidate emmanuel macron gets a boost. manuel valls giving him the seal of approval. ♪