suspected neo-nazi gunman managed to kill two people in the eastern city of halle. warplanes launch raiaids against kurdrdish militants in what the turkisish presidedent callsls

opereration pieiece free. he says he wants to prevent what he called a terror corridor or along turkey's southern border. i'm brent goff. reviewers on -- to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with an anti-semitic attack on judaism's holiest day, the day of atonement, yom kippur. the attack in the eastern city of halle failed, but the neo-nazi gunman turned to a nearby kebab restaurant and killed two. angela merkel's interior minister said it could be assumed that the halle attack

was anti-semitic. at the end of the vigil, merkel spoke to reporters. here is part of what she had to say. >> unfortunately today, on yourr holiest day, we have witnessed something terrible. two people have lostt their lives. there was an attack onn jews and jews in germany. my goal and that of ththe government is to do everything possible to o ensure that you cn live in safety, though this day shows us that this is not so simple and that we must do even more. brent: that was german chancellor angela merkel there tonight here in berlin. police have arrested a suspect in today's attack. he is reported to be a 27-year-old german man with a right wing extremist background. at first, police. several people had carried out the attacks, but they decided it had just been

one man who acted alone. >> the midday attack filmed by a resident in halla. the video shows a man dressed in combat-type gear climbing out of a car and firing off a series of shots. a few streets away, eyewitnesses recount how a woman was shot in front of the synagogue. >> first, there was a huge bang. then someone tried to get into the jewish cemetery. he fired several times with aa shotgun at the door. then the woman came along. the worker was shot. she just came along from the tram stop quite by chance. >> the synagogue was full when it was targeted. worshipers were celebrating judaism's holiest festival of yom kippur. an attacker tried to shoot the synagogue door open. the jewish leaders heads the reinforced structure withstood the onslaught.

close by, a man was killeled asa kebab shop also came u under attack. >> suddenlyy a man came up dressed d in a helmet or army things or at least very military looking. he was holdingng a rifle, had a balaclava o on. he trieded to throw w what lookd like a hand grenade into the shop, but it t bounced off thehe doorframame and went off right n front of the old woman with a really loud bang. thenen he raised the rifle and began shooting. >> police said shots were also fired in a town 15 kilometers from halle, but it was not clear if the incidents were related. soon after, police arrested a person outside halle who is reported to be a 27-year-old

white german male with a right wing extremist background. brent: dw's carl nasman joins me with more. we have had the confirmation that this attack was an anti-semitic attack, and we have also learned today that this could have been a lot worse, couldn't it? carl: that is absolutely right. details continue to come in, and still, there is a large police presence here. you can see the vehicles and officers blocking the entrance to the street where that synagogue and further along where that kebab shop are. this was described by authorities as a rampage. it certainly was a brazen attack. as we heard, the suspected shooter tried to gain access to that synagogue on yom kippur. this being such a holy day, maybe the most important religious holiday on the jewish calendar, there were many people in there, in fact. the synagogue was described as at capacity, some 70 or 80

people inside. around 700 or 800 people belong to the jewish commununity here,o that would be about 10% of the jewish community here inside that synagogue. we do not know exactly if this day was chosen in particular, but it certainly would be an opportune time if one were planning an attack. this is when people, even those who are not so observant in the jewish faith, would attend synagogue service. when the attacker was not allowed in, when those doors withstood, when perhaps the security intervened, the shooter moved along and apparently shot a couple different targets. a woman on the street was shot and killed. a man in a kebab shop was also shot and killed. we do know there were two other shooting victims. they are in serious condition and are currently being treated in the hospital. brent: there has been a lot of reaction to what happened today in halep -- halle.

there has also been reaction from germany's central council of jews. here is what the president of the council had to say about the attack. >> it was and still is shocking. on the one hand, we are seeing a new quality, and that is horrible, but it is a development that i and we as jews have warned against in recent months. we are seeing a shift to right wing in society. it feels to me that words are followed by actions. i don't see it as an isolated case that just happened. but as a clear and direct development. brent: we heard today from several security analysts that the attack had some of the same hallmarks that we find in the

christchurch attack that we saw in new zealand earlier this year. let's talk a little bit about those. the government today, he had some type of recording device on him, and he wanted to use that to livestream the attack to the whole world, right? carl: that is apparently what we are thinking at this point. there were some images -- videos and photos of eyewitnesses that have been posted on social media earlier in the day, and those appeared to show the suspect wearing some sort of helmet. wearing tactical style gear, and as you mentioned, a video camera, a video recorder was attached, and that's very similar to what we saw earlier this year and that christchurch attack, where the attack was streamed live, in fact, on facebook. we know video of the attack ended up on twitch, a live streaming platform usually used by gamers as something for video games. it ended up there. we do not know who posted it.

it has since been taken down. this time around, these videos were taken down a lot sooner th t they had been after the christchchurch soting. those videos remained on facebook for a long time. we don't show you that video, but we do know the attacker was saying and yelling some anti-semitic slogans and statements, so we do know a bit more now about the motive from looking at that video, but it does seem, as i mentioned, a brazazen attack, not something where you want to get in and get out without being seen. this shooter was in the street for a long time. even after being denied acceces, continued d on the streets lookg for potentially further victims and of course, trying to post that video online as well. this was certainly somebody who had more than one motive. brent: he definitely wanted the biggest audience possible for what he planned to do today. carl nasman in the german city of halle tonight. thank you.

here now in the studio with me is a security and terrorism analyst with the german institute for international and security affairs, rafael bushong -- raphael bosong. it sounds like what we saw in halle was meant to be a copycat attack of what we saw in christchurch earlier this year. do you agree? >> that seems obvious. thank goodness this perpetrator was not as well prepared and armed as the perpetrator in christchurch. this person so far seems to have acted alone. very difficult to prevent. brent: we heard from the interior minister in germany that this was an anti-semitic attack. what does that tell us about the strength of the far right, the

neo-nazi scene in germany? >> unfortunately, over the last four or five years, we have seen a steady increase in the readiness to use violence in the right wing extremist seen in germany, which has always been considerably large, but is growing in numbebers. now the estimate is about 25,000 people. half of them are considered to be generally prone to violence. of course, that does not mean they are terrorists, but that means there's a large number of people potentially taking it to that extent. brent: they are not all being monitored d by authoririties, ae they? quick snow. germany has long looked at radical right-wing extremism, but mostly on an organizational level. i think in the recent three or four years, there has been more

risk of missing out on individuals in small cells, and i think in the last two or three years, there have been efforts to catch up on this action. this summer, the interior minister offered up to 700 new analysts to go on this granular level, not just for parties and groups, but when you look at individuals. brent: we know that here in germany, jewish houses of worship -- they all have some type of police surveillance 24/7, and that was the case in halle as well. the cctv, the security guard, all of that came together and prevented what could have been a bloodbath. >> yes, thankfully in this case, security did work. there is always the risk and the possibility that attackers can strike somewhere where we do not expect it, but it makes perfect sense to prepare these targets.

unfortunately, it is necessary. brent: do you see a need to increase security? when you have 24/7 police protection at a synagogue, for example, how much more can you do? >> not much more. in this case, there was some debate. apparently there was not police stationed outside the synagogue as in many other jewish installations, so that probably could have been added and acted as a deterrent in addition to what happened, but, yes, unfortunately, we are already at a very high level of repair in this, and is not that much more that can be done. brent: we appreciate your time and your inputs tonight. thank you. more breaking news -- turkey has begun ground and air attacks in syria aimed at crushing kurdish fighters. the move comes immediately after the u.s. pulled its troops back

from the area just a few days ago. a spokesman for the kurdish fighters says that several people have been killed, including civilians. the military operation has drawn criticism and calls for restraint from nato. turkey is a member of nato. >> black smoke fills thehe sky. the town on the turkish-syrian border is a target. turkish armed forces say the strikes are not aimed at civilian areas. but despite the assurances, many local residents took to the roads to bring their families to safety. kurdish forcesesere were once part of an uneasy coalition with turkey with both sides wking to deat the so-called islamic state in syr. however,r, ankara has branded te kuish-led foes terrorists because of their militants who have carried out attacks against the turkishovernment. a tweet, the tursh

president said his armed forces intended to neutralize terrorist threats against turkey and set up a safe zone, allowing the return of syrian refugees to their homes. a kurdish spokesman called on the international communityty to stop thehe bombing. many of turkey's allies w were e military campaign could rekindle the fire in syria's civilil war. >> i it is important to o avoid actions that may further destabilize the region, escalate tensions, and cause more human suffering. we must not jeopardize the gains we have made together r against our commonon enemy.. > the europopean uninion hasd on tururkey to stop itss push io northern syria. but despite the pressure, there has been no sign ankara is willing to back down. brent: let's take the story now to turkey.

dw correspondent dorian jones joins me from istanbul. good evening to you. the turkish military operation has now gone from just an air assault to a ground assault. what do we know? troops and forces have actually crossed the border now, right? dorian: that's right. the turkish defense ministry in a statement has said that the ground operation has begun, saying soldiers have crossed the syrian border into these towns held by the syrian kurdish militia. this follows hours of bombardment by turkish jets and turkish artillllery, pounding townwns all held by the syrian militia, but it does suggest that the turkish military are expediting the operation. the air strikes a and artillery lasted for days. even in one case, a couple of weeks. this indicates that after a few

hours, they are starting these ground operations. this could be in reaction to the growing backlash in washington. we just heard the u.s. president again threatening to destroy turkey's economy if they go too far against the kurds. there is a realization and ankara they need to g get on wih the operation -- there is a realization in ankara they need to get on with this operation. brent: what do we know about the situation on the ground in northern syria? >> it is difficult to get confirmed reports, but the syrian kurdish militia are describing reports of mass panic following the bombing of one of the towns. we are also getting reports of many syrian kurds and other people streaming out of them, heading away from the fighting. it's unclear where they will be going. humanitarian groupups havave vod concerns that these people have been going to places where it is

difficult to deliver a. there is fear there could be another refugee crisis looming. we have seen pictures of plumes of smoke rising up from these towns that have been under heavy sustained artillery. civilian buildings have been among those that have been targeted. ankara insists these operations are only against the syrian kurdish mililitia they say are terrorists and say the safety of civilians is a priority for this operation. brent: the goal here is to establish what erdogan calls safe zones along the border with syria, but for them to be safe in the eyes of the turkish president means there can be no more kurds living there. we are talking about getting rid of the kurds. we are talking about demographic engineering in northern syria, are we not?

quickset certainly is the fear, although turkish officials say this is not against the kurds but only against this terrorist organization. they say the safety and security of civilians is utmost in their minds. but the fact that turkey is talking about sending between one million and 2 million refugees to this region, many believed to be mainly sunni arabs, the area is predominantly kurdish, is fueling fears of major demographic change in this area. this is a tactic that has been used for cenenturies wherebyby tryiying to dililute one group s consnsidered a thrhreat to anot. this is against international law, and this is certainly a concern among international aid groups and many foreign governments as well.

brent: dw's dorian jones with the latest tonight from istanbul. as always, thank you. earlier this evening, i spoke with the spokesman for the sdf, the kurdish forces in syria, and i asked a aut what h he and the kukurds are e experienencing to. >> well, there is a lot of chaos , and i thinink there is a lotof fefear,,specially in areas that haveve been airstrike and shelld by t the turkishsh armyuring the last f few hours. we h have several casualties. several killed andnd otherers woundeded. moststly from the civilian population. i thihink that creatated a lot f fearar among the peoplple, but again, in heher a areas a litite bit far f from the border, t the

are a lot o of people tryining o supppport those in need. everyone is trying to worork everytything togetether in ordeo pass this period of time. brent: tell me if you can, these airstrikes coming from turkekey, whatat are they tarargeting? what is being hit? >> we do not know what they are trying to target, but mostly, they are trying to target civilian neighboborhoods, mostly areas in the cities and towns on the border. that is why a majority of the casualties are from civilian people. we do not know what they want, shelling inside each city, what it will bring for them. we are still monitoring the

situation. we are waiting for what is going to happen in the next few hours. brent: that was a spokesman for the kurdish forces in syria. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. in the united states, democratic presidential contender joe biden has called for the impeachment of donald trump for the first time. during a campaign speech, he said that the republican president had violated his oath of office, betrayed the nation, and committed in peach of a acts . in ecuador, protesters had clashed with riot police at antigovernment rallies. ecuador has seen six days of nationwide protests following cuts to fuel subsidies and nationwide us 30 measures. the government has decreed a state of emergency. nearly 700 people have been arrested.

the nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three scientists who developed lithium ion batteries. the swedish royal academy of science has praised them for developing batteries that are lightweight and can be used in many devices from cell phones to laptops to electric vehicles. >> wireless digital devices are everywhere nowadays, and lithium ion batteries made them possible. today, the scientists behind the innovation were honored with the nobel prize in chemistry. >> the royal swedish academy of sciences has today decided to award the 20 nobel prize in chemistry jointly. for the development of

lithium-ion batteries. >> back in the 1970's and 1980's, two laid the foundation for the first batteries made from the light metal, but to truly take off, the technology had to be refined by the third. in the mid-1980's, he began experimenting with lithium ions, making batteries that were light, nearly endlessly rechargeable, and safe or every day use. the impact on industry and society was m massive. today, lithium-ion batteries are used in everything from smartphones to scooters and automobiles, and because the energy used to recharge them can come from renewable sources, they are helping us usher in a more sustainable w world, even f the grid. for years, scientists have been looking at new ways of storing energy, but nothing has managed to beat theithium-ionon battery

for capacity and compatibility. it was a development that changed the world. brent: well, it does not go far enough -- that is what climate activists are saying about the german government's draft of a new climate protection bill which includes a package of measures aimed at curbing global warming, but it is not going to do the job according to climate activists. the movement extinction rebellion has been holding a series of protests in the german capital this week to make the point. >> a wave of plastic symbolizing the waste in our oceans. climate activists from the extinction rebellion movement say drastic measures are needed to fight environmental pollution and global warming. quickset the moment, we are still in the privileged position of not noticing the effects so much -- >> at the moment. other countries are far more

effective. we have to act. something has to happen on a political level. positions have to be taken so there can be a stop to this. >> while climate activists were taking to the streets, thehe german government introduced a whole package of measures. it's the first time germany's climate goals could become legally binding. starting in 2021, a ton of co2 will cost 10 euros. greenhouse gases should be reduced by 55% by 2030. the german government had already made a decision to phase out coal by 2038. >> compromises are worth something when we managed to bring together different interests. these compromises will be sustainable, and they will restore peace in regards to societal conflict. >> compromises are not what these climate activists were hoping for. a co2 tax is not enough to deal

with an issue like climate change that is a global topic and calls for drastic measures, but the government delivered -- what the government delivered in a weakened version enrages me, to put it mildly. the german parliament still has to vote on a new climate bill. these activists say they will continue protesting to keep the pressure up. brent: you're watching "dw news" live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day stay tuned. -- take you through "the day." stay tuned.

on france twenty four i'm from twenty four .com. welcome back to live in paris and moscow in these are the main world news headlines the ground invasion underway on the turkey syria border turkey earlier launched attacks on northeast in syria. because of the target less than forty eight hours donald trump's phone call with wretched type though to one of the decision to move out us forces trump is not condemning. turkey's military tack as a bad idea. the truck to change tack on the impeachment inquire the us president now saying that he'll cooperate if the house. guarantees in hihis rights. to e the only investigate w what it tellss me to. move out joe biden the man who trump urged ukraine to investigate.