iraq's forces are storming the western city of ramadi, which has been under the control of so-called islamic state since may. the city's fall to i.s. was a major defeat for the central government, but islamic state has lost a significant amount of the territory is controlled at the beginning of this year. your with dw news live from berlin. -- you are with dw news, live from berlin. we will see you at the top of the hour. >> from paris, it is 9:00 p.m. here. these are the top stories. afghan fighters are battling to regain helmand province, in danger of falling into atilano's hands. troops rushed to the area. in a major push, iraqi forces have entered the center of ramadi, a city that has been in the grasp of the group since last may. much celebration in spain as the annual el gordo lottery sweep is drawn just before christmas with billions of euros up for grabs.

iraq's forces are storming the western city of ramadi, which has been under the control of so-called islamic state since may. the city's fall to i.s. was a major defeat for the central government, but islamic state has lost a significant amount of the territory is controlled at the beginning of this year. your with dw news live from berlin. -- you are with dw news, live from berlin. we will see you at the top of the hour. >> euro max highlights. host: thank you for joining for the highlights of the week. it has been eventful one -- which kicked off by with our first story: the power of music. the scorpions play an emotional show in paris. a burst of color. danish artist olafur eliasson illuminates a baroque palace. a grueling adventure. british extreme athlete sarah outen circles the northern hemisphere. euromaxx was in france for one of the first major concerts since the paris attacks. the scorpions are among the first international rock bands to play a major concert in the french capital since the terror attack that left 130 people dead. the scorpions have a special connection tfr

evidence that western historians do not consider the city's western abounds. i'm not trying to call anybody, i found relatively few paper titles that named western cities even though it is possible that some titles do not include the name of cities because they don't to appear to parochial. on the other hand there are numerous sessions and titles refer to spaces not coded as urban such as borderland in great plains. in light of the emphasis on agriculture i would argue that the very term " the west and the north american west" invokes open spaces were relatively few people lived. people think of the region in which six of the 10 largest cities are located. a number of scholars try to kill this zombie four years ago. >> you have one second. [laughter] >> i want to mention gerald nash. and i am now dead. [laughter] i have been dead for a while but keep rising. [laughter] >> any responses to that? go to the microphone please. moved to the microphones see you can anticipate the end of their minutes. we want to keep this going and lively. more people think about re

city. it cannot be western if it is industrial is what i am finding. oftentern cities are service-oriented cities. denver is a great example having so many federal employees. either -- hi there. speak louder to everyone. >> do you think the concentration of interest in inies versus rural areas western history have a lot to do with the concentration of thetal in those places and expropriation of the wealth in the hinterland that defies the frontier? san francisco is the center capital that developed mining west. do you think there is a focus on that kind of peripheral case of extraction as opposed to the concentration of wealth and capital in the west? >> i suggesting that western historians are reluctant to write about capitalism? [laughter] >> maybe that is my question. >> i absolutely think that is part of what is going on although i am interested in the ways in which -- when we say that los angeles is a city that is not really western, we also disappear the indigenous people of los angeles and the people of mexican heritage and latin american heritag

the iraqi flag now flows into the western city of ramadi, according to the military. iraqi troops have "fully liberated" the islamic city, which has been under islamic state for the last several must. government conference was abandoned by islamic state fighters there. >> a victory sign. entrannehe key to the of a government complex in ramadi. kilometers about 100 west of baghdad and is the capital of anbar, iraq's largest province, bordering syria, arabia. all islamic state group fighters have left the former government compound. here, iraq a security forces search a house, formerly under jihadists control. over the past two days, fighting around the former government -- suicide car bomb attacks and hundreds of roadside bombs and booby-traps. streets of ramadi carry the scars of the fighting, with piles of rubble and collapsed houses. some appear to have been completely destroyed by the advance. started a fewon and the air force is supported with an air cover, and we gained control over our foes, which is the key to enter the governmental square. >> the us-led coaliti

the army pushed back islamic state militants out of several key neighborhoods of the western city. the prime minister called that success to motivate troops. the next goal, retaking mosul. >> we're coming to liberate mosul, which will be the is, and alow to is victory for our community. >> deals islamic state still controls much of the country, but has lost territories seen here in yellow. the recapture of ramadi is a strategic planning light in the fight against the extremist group. it is directly related to the retaking of other cities including falluja. as for the retaking of ramadi, it has created favorable conditions for the iraqi forces to advance towards mosul. >> coalition backed airstrikes helped to drive back the fighters. taking over territories is a long process, even after the jihadists laid. the army has to find and disarm hundreds of explosive devices in buildings and on roads. at least 21 people have been killed in a bomb blast in pakistan. police say a suicide bomber on a motorbike carried out the attack in the northwest of the country, in a televised stronghold. m

christopher: iraqi government of the western city of ramadi as they try to dislodge islamic state militantsi.s. captured the city and be taking it would be a major boost for the government in baghdad. reporter: one police officials said much of ramadi had already been liberated, but baghdad says it could take days to complete the operation. the iraq he army advanced on the city from multiple directions. the offense of to reclaim the and bar provincial capital from the islamic state has been months in the making -- the offensive to reclaim the anbar provincial capital. >> our antiterrorism heroes into the city of ramadi and advance in the enemy's direction. a number of ruby track houses and vehicles were destroyed -- a number of boobytrapped houses and vehicles were destroyed. reporter: iraq says it's air force is providing air support to the troops on the ground. baghdad chose to leave pro-government shia militias out of the operation. in the past, human rights organizations have accused iranian backed groups of abusing sunni iraqis. the iraqi military dropped leaflets urging residents to l

the western city ever ramadi. debora patta reports. >> after months of i.s.i.s. yellow, an iraqi military source says troops control most of the city, although pockets of resistance campaign. u.s. defense department could not confirm those reports. troops inched forward street by street, securing a path to its intended target. a gloft compound held by i.s.i.s. fighters. iraq's counterterrorism fighters moved cautiously, ferreting out buildings once controlled by i.s.i.s. fighters, fearing some of the structures had been rigged by explosives. the offensive which began five days ago has been slow and tough going. iraqi forces were hampered by sniper fire and forced to navigate roads littlerred by suffered a hue military defeat and seen fleeing the city when i.s.i.s. took control of it in may of this year but it will also serve as a stepping-stone for the iraqi military plan to take back mosul, the largest city in iraq controlled by i.s.i.s. are debora patta, cbs, london. >> destroyed more than 1200 acres a wildfire. mariaville villarreal. >> a wall of flames overtak

they gave up the western city of ramadi this week.uthorities are showing signing of dwauing from demarcus. >>> ten member countries of the southeast asian nations launched an economic community on thursday which promotes trade liberalization. asean leaders signed a declaration in malaysia last month to establish it. ♪ a government-sponsored event to celebrate the launch of the aseen economic community or a.c.e., was held in the thai capital of bangkok. it has a population of 600 million. they will also allow freer movement of skilled workers such as medical doctors and architects within the region. they expect the economic community will help accelerate the pace of growth in the region. however, economic differentials in the region pose a challenge for the single market. the per capita gdp of singapore the most advanced asean economy is about 60 times that of myanmar. member economies also have domestic regulations against foreign affiliated companies to protect their own industries. they are expected to discuss how to ease such regul

after weeks of fighting in the western city of ramadi. >> reporter: gun battles raged on the streets of ramadi today as iraqi soldiers pushed to retake the city after months of isis control. an iraqi military source says troops control most of the city though pockets of resistance remain. united states defense department could not confirm those reports. troops inched forward street by street securing a path to its intended targets. a government compound held by isis fighters. iraq's counterterrorism soldiers moved cautiously, tearing out buildings once controlled by isis fighters, fearing that some of the structures had been rigged with explosives. the offensive, which began five days ago, has been slow and tough going. iraqi forces were hampered by sniper fire and were forced to navigate roads littered with ieds. recapturing ramadi will not only be a psychological leap for the iraqi military, which suffered a humiliating defeat and were seen fleeing the city when isis took control of it in may this year. but it will also serve as a stepping stone for the iraqi military's plan to take

skeg -- hear as good schedule for january 12th >>iraqi forces say they're close to taking the western city of ramadi from isis. officials say the fighting is slow going because soldiers have to remove road side bombs. >>> and an accomplice of the san bernardino shooters will remain behind bars on charges. a california judge ruled enrique marquez poses a continuing danger to the community. he's accused of plotting attacks that were never carried out. he also bought the rifles used in the massacre earlier this month. . >>> a grand jury has decided there was no felony crime in connection with the death of a black woman in a southeast texas jail. a prosecutor in texas says the panel will meet again in january to determine if the troopers who arrested sandra bland should face charges. bland was pulled over for an improper lane change in june. she was found dead in her jail cell three days later. the victim's mother says she wants to know how her daughter died. >> its the secrecy of it all. i can't even begin to tell you what's going on because i myself don't know what's going on. to not have my

those areas include the western city of ramadi, which is about 80-mile from baghdad. the iraqi military's progress was slowed by snipers, roadside bombs, and booby-trapped buildings, but some families who had been trapped managed to flee the city and reach safe areas. >>> two men have been sentenced to death for raping and murdering a 23-year-old woman. the 22-year-old myanmar my grants denied killing david miller and raping and murdering hannah whitteredge. it raises questions about competence and workers in thailand. it also ruins the image of the tourist industry. >>> allyson is up next with the holiday forecast. it's looking better. >> yeah, things are looking better. santa looks drier, but we're talking about record highs. hey, quick note -- if you're heading to the big game, skins versus eagles on saturday night. chance of showers there, a better chance and, actually, what we will see here on saturday. i'll go through the extended futurecast before you make your travel plans. stay right here. which truck brand do you think offers best in class hd towing, best v8

at the eastern and western city gates, pro-government forces are trying to fend off houthi fighters from entering. there are reports the houthis may be about to receive reinforcements from nearby towns. fornow, now a blockade means nothing can get in. the stranglehold is meant to force the houthis out but it's also affecting this formally bustling hospital. doctors have run out of essential supplies and can't treat anymore patients. a similar scene plays out hundreds of kilometers to the south in this hospital in the port city of aden. most departments here can no longer function but the ward for kidney patients was spared from the bombs, something this man is thankful for. >> when the war started, it was impossible to go to the hospital. it would be considered a miracle if you managed just to get in. >> with aden now back under government control, the race is on to rebuild this hospital and resume much needed services. >> a lot of people come to the hospital. we have all types of military and civilian cases. some injured military fighters from taiz also receive treatment here. we work w

syrian government and opposition fighters have agreed to a ceasefire in a rebel-held area near the western cityhoms. government officials say rebel fighters will withdraw from the neighborhood. the rebel groups deny that they have agreed to leave the district as part of a ceasefire. the deal could be introduced next week. it was mediated by a u.n. delegation to syria. >> translator: the goal of this visit is to implement the plan that was called for after the vienna talks to try to find a solution, and reach a truce in the area, and to stop the fighting and shelling across syria. ♪ >>> russia's defense ministry says the turkish president and his family are involved in an illegal oil trade with moscow. russia claims that these satellite images show oil tankers heading from isil-held territory into turkey. the two countries have been in a war of words since the tush -- turkish air force shot down a russian plane last week. >> reporter: this was a fairly incendiary briefing from the russian defense ministry. it was laying out what it says is the evidence for claims it has been making that isil is

there has been several explosions in the western city of homs. activists say at least 32 people were killed, 90 injured. it is the second attack in homs since a ceasefire this month. the agreement followed - allowed the government to take over the last rebel held area of the city. and the violence in syria forced millions to take enormous risks to reach europe. among them was the family of 3-year-old alan kurdi. his lifeless body was found washed ashore on the turkish coast. some of the family members have now reached canada. his uncle and family are among the 25,000 syrian refugees that canada promised to welcome by the end of february. alan, his brother and mother drowned trying to cross the mediterranean sea. >> thank you for the people. thank you for the government and thank you for the group. >> i'm very happy and excited. at the same time i'm sad about my uncle's kids. >> at least 26 have been killed, and 82 injured in attacks in north-eastern nigeria. >> emergency services say two bombers struck a market in the town, and neighbouring borno

backed air strikes iraqi security forces are poised to announce they've recaptured the key western cityf ramadi from isis militants. isis seized control of the sunni city seven months ago are iraqi troops fled in an embarrassing defeat that prompted washington to rethink its strategy against isis. the government's next target the northern city of mosul, the most populated city controlled by isis in either iraq or syria. >>> here at home at least 60 people have been charged with terrorism linked crimes this year, a record the justice department attributes to the rising threat and influence of isis. >>> an historic meeting to tell you about, it all began with a birthday phone call four hours after the indian prime minister narendra modi called his pakistani counteren part sharif to wish him a happy birthday. modi landed in lahore for the first visit by a indian prime minister to pakistan in more than a decade. the unofficial visit requested by modi hours before he flew back from afghanistan raised hopes for negotiations between the nuclear armed neighbors who have fought three wars since

reports explosions in the western city of homs, saying 19 were killed and 130 others wounded in the explosions. a syrian rights group said at least 32 have died. >>> a suicide bomber in the afghan capital killing at least one person today injuring 13 others close to the airport, the attack happened close to the military entrance used by nato forces. the bomber walked to a car and detonated explosives he was wiring. the taliban claimed responsibility. >>> the japanese foreign minister has apologized for the second world war policy of forcing hundreds of thousands of korean women to be sex slaves for soldiers. the apology, part of a landmark deal with south korea soured releases. they are paying $8 million in compensation. >> the victims waited 70 years for an apology from japan. it finally came from the japanese prime minister. >> we have been expressing our feelings of remorse and apology on this issue, as the prefers governments have and such position will not be changed. from today, japan and south korea will enter into a new era. i hope this agreement will serve as a momentum for japan and

abadi arrived in ramadi today, a day after the iraqi army took back the western city from isil. while in ramadi, prime minister abadi will meet with iraqi commanders and counter terrorism forces which led the offensive. >>> we are looking back at the news stories that defined 2015. syrians living in refugee camps in jordan, lebanon and turkey endured bitter cold conditions for the past years. more than 1 million refugees in europe. i asked jonah hull what europe is doing to help them at this time of year. >> well, that would be country specific, of course. lots of different countries housing and receiving these refugees in very different ways. to the north of europe, scandinavia countries like sweden and germany perhaps offering more humane conditions to the extent that they can in formal housing, in halls and warehouses and everything with a roof essentially that isn't being used is being put into service in lots of towns and cities to house refugees and of course they would be given at least a basic amount of sanitation, as well. countires in central and eastern europe the bal

after weeks of fighting in the western city of ramadi. debora patta reports. >> reporter: gun battles raged on the streets of ramadi today as iraqi soldiers pushed to retake the city after months of isis control. an iraqi military source says troops controlled most of the city although pockets of resistance remain. united states defense department could not confirm those reports. troops inched forward street by street, securing a path to its intended target, a government compound held by i.s.i.s. fighters. iraq's counterterrorism soldiers moved cautiously, clearing out buildings once controlled by i.s.i.s. fighters, fearing some of the structures had been rigged with explosives. the offensive which began five days ago has been slow and tough going. iraqi forces were hampered by sniper fire and were forced to navigate roads littered by i.e.d.s. recapturing ramadi will not only be a psychological boost for the iraqi military, which suffered a humiliating defeat when isis took control of the city in may this year. but it will also serve as a

out of the western city of ramadi. y marked second day of a major offensive to retake largest city i in anbar province, jennifer with our report for battle for ramadi. reporter: iraqi troops sense victory as they make their way to the center of ramadi, but fierce fighting prevented them from declaring the city of anbar province under control. sons of proud iraqis your brave men are fighting battle of glory and honor intends this morning, they started their advance to center of ramadi to clear it from terrorism. reporter: '150 isis fighters using snipers, booby-trap, suicide bomb belts, roadside bombs, load the iraqi forces, they dropped 50 bombs against the target, u.s. playing a key role in hopping iraqi forces put up a temporary bridge. when allow them to cross the euphrates river into the city, the u.s. army's 814 bridge company trained the iraqi forces. just 4 days ago, u.s. army chief mark millie was in baghdad meeting the iraqi commanders overseeing the battle to retake ramadi be they estimated there are about 250

but to think a major western city brussels would cancel their new year's eve celebration is frightening. >> it is frightening. these are free societies. these are free western societies. when you can shut down an entire operation and put the country on lockdown as they have in the past based on the threat, you have to start to wonder, are you free or do you value security so much you are willing to give away your freedom. charles: that's something we grapple with. not too long ago there was a bomb left in times square. what should we do? how should we live our lives and does this sort of push us to the point where we know that isis is not going to go away and they are determined to make some sort of statement well beyond what we saw in san diego and perhaps terrorists. >> this is the kind of new normal. we don't like to acknowledge that and say it. but that's what everyone is thinking. i think that builds character. americans know they have to be morer more vigilant. they have to hug their kids tighter at night and pay attention. we are not going to be able to stop every terrorist attac

after weeks of fighting in the western city of ramadi. on the streets of ramadi today as iraqi soldiers pushed to retake the city after months of isis control. an iraqi military source says troops control most of the city though pockets of resistance remain. united states defense department could not confirm those reports. troops inched forward street by street securing a path to its intended targets. a government compound held by isis fighters. iraq's counterterrorism soldiers moved cautiously, tearing out buildings once controlled by isis fighters, fearing that some of the structures had been rigged with explosives. the offensive, which began five days ago, has been slow and tough going. iraqi forces were hampered by sniper fire and were forced to navigate roads littered with ieds. recapturing ramadi will not only be a psychological leap for the iraqi military, which suffered a humiliating defeat and were seen fleeing the city when isis took control of it in may this year. stepping stone for the iraqi military's plan to take back mosul,

hadn't been used for about 19 years because of the separation of the old city from the new city or western city of jerusalem. since that time scholars came from all over the world to join us and participate in our academic work. including some of the leaders of israel. we had a clergy of christians, muslims, and others who participated in our work. so, again, academically we focused on jerusalem for a very long time. i would just like to mention one particular study related to our topic today. not for publicity purposes, but back in 1973 we had a project at columbia university in the school of journalism about how religion could advance the cause of peace in the middle east. producing a book on the role of communications in the middle east. i'm mentioning this because there is no way that one can discuss the issue of jerusalem separate from the palestinian conflict or israeli conflict. or the conflict between israel and the muslim world and the international issue. so, let me just begin by reminding all of us that we are familiar with jerusalem the same way that we are familiar with washington,

military is confirming that iraqi army forces have taken back the strategic western city of ramadi from isis fighters. iraqi soldiers have been dancing in the streets of ramadi celebrating. the liberation of ramadi comes after days of intense fighting with isis forces. chapman bell has been following the story for us. let's get an update for the latest developments on the ground. chapman, what can you tell us? >> the spokesman of the joint operation in iraq releasing a statement saying dear honored iraqi people, we'd like to deliver to you the happy news of the sons of the liberation forces who liberated ramadi from isis forces. the iraqi flag was once again flying over the main government complex in that strategics city of ramadi. this operation involved thousands of fighters and coalition support, the u.s. military saying this has included more than 630 air strikes, the training of several of the army iraqi brigades and various police forces and provided specialized engineering equipment for clearing i.e.d.s and other explosive equipment. the statement "this clearance is the a signifi

true, that's an enormous victory because that scene as isis' last remaining stronghold in that western city. as you pointed baghdadi, as the fierce battle continues, there is a fierce debate here, state side, about the wisdom of using ground forces to eradicate isis. >> i think we can do this with special operations in the forefront and trying to help organize coalitions and those people on the ground like the iraqis, like the saudis, like the jordanians and egyptians who want to join the fight and to do this for us, the boots on the ground for us. if we don't do that quickly, isis will continue to thrive and baghdadi will be right. >> i would expect al baghdadi to say that. we had some impact. but overall, probably right. after 15 months of -- 16 months of air attacks bit u.s., had minimal inpact on isis, considering how long the attacks have been going on. >> keep this also in mind there, leland. now there are more special forces, operators on the ground that seems to be working, at least in some pockets and if iraqi security forces have been able to reclaim ramadi, that would probably be

we have not seen terrorism in china targeting westerners but here, in this particular area of the cityhere are some foreign embassies, there are a lot of shopping venues, some upscale stores, et cetera, they put out a possible alert. it was not just the u.s. embassy who put this out, but the uk and australians, too. and the chinese have really increased their presence. they have a domestic terrorism problem in china. there's a uighur population, a minority muslim population and they have seen incidents in the past but never targeting westerners. so this is quite unusual. >> we focus so much of our attention recently on threats against western cities. obviously when we talk about terrorism threats, we think of european capitals, we think of here in the u.s. are u.s. intelligence agencies similarly concerned about places like beijing or is it a little bit less on their radar, so to speak? >> u.s. intelligence agencies are concerned about terrorism globally. certainly any time there's a threat to american citizens around the world. so while the domestic areas here are a key function, they

when we see terror in western cities, when isis declares new provinces when millions of additional refugeesod the it will be further proof that inaction has serious consequences. in fact, i believe this the unitedhas put states homeland in the highest 9/11. environment since the fbi is investigating nearly 1000 home grown terror cases. most of which isis related states.ll 50 already, federal authority have over 70 isis supporters in our country. that's more than one per week the last year. you add san bernardino to the list, there has been 19 here at home. they set up pipe bombs on detonatingl, explosives at new york city attack in american college campuses. extremist activity has made active yeargle most of home grown terror. months of 2015. our intelligence and law professionals have stopped attacks. however in a world where terror has gone viral, we are struggling to monitor every threat. as we saw in tech, th -- texas e of a hatch not might be an internet hash tag. before ang minutes attack. as we saw in san bernardino, it be a facebook status online. word might be like the chattanooga

in a western city, the real victims are the poor muslims because someone might look at them funny on the bus on the way to work the following morning. >> the same thing she was going to go after people who used hate speech. she's pulling back on it today. the fbi actually has statistics on this very issue. and 62.4% of victims of hate speech, you know who they are? they're jewish americans. it's only 11.6% that have an anti-muslim bias. so i don't know exactly what they're referring to. they're trying to create a controversy where there is none. >> well, no, the attorney general's words were quite disgraceful and shouldn't require ra foreigner coming on your show to point it out, sean. she's supposed to defend the first amendment. this country has free speech. loretta lynch announced that, as far as she's concerned, it is free speech but. one of the reasons we're in the situation we're in, we have a stupid homeland security slogan that they paid some, you know, marketing group a ton of money to come up with. if you see something, say something. loretta lynch just says, if you see som

iraqi military officials say they have retaken control of the key western city of ramadi from isis.raqi soldiers have literally been dancing in the streets of ramadi. nbc's ron allen is traveling with president obama who is on vacation in hawaii. we are also joined by msnbc national security and military analyst kevin barron, executive editor of "defense one." ron, start with you. any reaction yet from the white house? >> reporter: well, cautious optimism perhaps? the white house has not confirmed -- declared victory. the national security spokesman who is in charge of this operation is saying that they are congratulating the iraqi forces for retaking the government center of ramadi, but not the entire town as of yet. there are other reports suggesting that isis forces still control as much as 45% of the town. this is a significant city actually. it is hundreds of thousands of people. it is a key city on the road to baghdad about 55 or 60 miles west of baghdad, a road that leads in from jordan and from syria, coming in to the capital. so it is a place that's been contested for many,

when we see terror in more western cities, when isis declares new provinces, when millions of additional refugees flood the shores of our allies, it will be further proof that in action has serious consequences. in fact, i believe this leadership void has put the united states homeland in the highest threat environment since 9/11. the fbi is investigating nearly 1,000 home grown terror cases. most of which are isis related across all 50 states. already, federal authorities have arrested over 70 isis supporters from our country. that's more than one per week over the last year. and if you add san bernardino to the list, there have been now been 19 isis connected terror plots or attacks here at home. these include plans to murder tourists on florida beaches, to set off pipe bombs on capitol hill, to detonate explosives at new york city landmarks and to live stream an attack at an american college campus. the overall uptick in extremist activity has made 2015 is single most active year nor home yofor terror we have ever seen. in fact, there were more home grown terror cases the first six mo