brent: max hoffman at that eu summit tonight in brussels. max, thank you.e are some other stories making headlines around the world. a german court has sentenced an afghan refugee to life in prison for killing a teenage student in the city of fried pork -- b fryborg. critics say eu checks on migrants are inadequate. german lawmakers of authorized more troops for afghanistan. the next woman -- the next him him number of german forces on the ground will rise to 1300. the expansion was approved because of deteriorating security in the country. afghanistan as part of the nato-led mission resolute support, which provides training and assistance to the afghan army. the russian ambassador to london says written cannot be trusted in investigating the poisoning of a next -- of an ex spy and his daughter. the ambassador said britain had accused russia of the attempted murders without presenting evidence. he also said russia could not take british accusations seriously, because the british have a record of misleading the international community. we made mistakes. that

team coverage now of these cherubs clear richardson is in washington and brussels bureau chief max hoffman is at an e.u. summit where european leaders have convened for two days to both of you good evening clare let me start with you trump made two major points today he said there had been a policy for decades of the u.s. economy being taken advantage of and he said that the main culprit has been and continues to be china what happened to the decades of u.s. companies manufacturing cheaply in china and selling goods to u.s. consumers at rock bottom prices. well certainly and from a statement announcing these tariffs we saw the kind of language that is typical of his world view that the united states has been cheated by its freeloading allies and that the u.s. is a victim of the system that created and so the trade imbalance especially has always been something that trumps been deeply opposed to he thinks in the case of china that its trade surplus is costing american jobs but let's take a step back and remember how we got here and you might remember earlier this year the trump administrati

all right our very own max hoffman at that eve summits and in brussels max as always thank you very much. here's some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world german lawmakers have authorized more troops for afghanistan the maximum number of german forces on the ground will rise to thirteen hundred the expansion was approved because of the deteriorating security situation in the country the bundeswehr enough going to stand as part of the nato led mission resolute support which provides training and assistance to the afghan army. prosecutors in ukraine have detained a lawmaker or not is some change go on suspicion of planning a coup. became a national hero after she was found guilty of involvement in the killing of two russian journalists in the ukraine's war torn east the charges come after lawmakers removed her parliamentary immunity to prosecution. travelers in france are facing a new wave of strikes that is hitting the country only two of every five high speed trains were running on thursday half of regional trains across the country have been cancelled unio

next hoffman covering italy's upcoming general election for us thank you max. and we have some breaking news that's coming into us there are reports of an explosion at birkenau faso army headquarters in the capital what are dugu and additional reports of gunfire in a separate part of the city housing united nations offices and embassies there is no word yet on any casualties witnesses say they heard gunfire immediately before the blast out the army headquarters and one eye witnesses told the reuters news agency that masked gunmen with backpacks had attacked guards at the entrance to the army facility. that story still developing we'll bring you more details on that as they come in to us for now though let's move on to some other stories making news around the world israeli police have reportedly question prime minister benjamin netanyahu for the first time in a corruption case involving communications giant bez they're alleging that the company provided positive coverage of netanyahu in exchange for favors he's facing allegations of corruption in several cases

one hundred fifty billion euros right impressive mental arithmetic skills that studio brussels max hoffman for us thank you. well regulation supposing it fresh pressure on facebook in the wake of its dealings with cambridge analysts in the company says it expects to be questioned by the leading u.s. consumer regulator over the data acquired by more. than fifty million facebook profiles now facebook's shares have plummeted over the past two days the company has now lost sixty billion dollars worth of its stock market value and in the wake of those fears about last advertising a new regulations facebook was also hit with a cost action lawsuit in a san francisco court on tuesday that was the first of many potential lawsuits by shareholders claiming losses because the company missed that than about its ability to protect the date. south africa has declared its current drought a national disaster water level to so low that people are only allowed minimal quantities especially in big cities this affects people's everyday lives and businesses south africa's wine industry is one of the needles in

initiatives and balance the european project for more let's cross over to political correspondent max hoffman who's standing by for us in brussels max i want to ask you in a moment about the machall tandem but first and you've been looking at the headlines what are european papers having to say about the s.p.d. finally approving a coalition deal. well that piece of news really did make the front page on all newspapers i had to live through a little bit with the election italy going on and other things in europe but here she is right here financial times and financial times writes europe's most powerful leader is back in control so that is a very positive assessment here and then also online you find a lot of news for example the bells and chose to print a portrait of kevin kuna that we just saw the young social democrat who was the leading voice against a grand coalition what else do we have for example more on the fence a lot more in the newspaper says europe shaken by the braggs it needs a solid germany and finally let me quote the guardian from the u.k. germany's coalition deal safeguards

max hoffman has been to sicily where berlusconi's message is leading the debate.orter: he knows this neighborhood like no one else. he has taken me to the market, an institution in old town palermo. img to get a feel for what matters to people in this election. -- i am trying to get a feel for what matters to people in this election. immigration seems to be top of the list. >> the tone of the current campaign is very harsh. i am afraid of the topic of migration is being exploited from the left and from the right. these people don't understand the value of migrants and migration can bring to a country. reporter: sicily has always been an island between two continents. many africans that make it to europe spend a lot of time here. some learn italian in charity-sponsored classes like this one next to the market, hoping to be granted asylum. others move on. there are approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants in italy. one man italians are very familiar with this calling the situation a social timebomb. that man is silvio berlusconi, former prime minister and billion

phil: max hoffman, bounce us through the highlights. what do france and germany want to change? max: well, the emphasis on the soundbite we just heard was on hard work, because the issues they want to resolve are among the most difficult issues or the most divisive issues. let's start, for example, with the common asylum system in the european union, something they have strived for for many years. it is not working at the moment because it would implicate you need some kind of system to redistribute the migrants within the european union. there is a huge divide over that can especially between eastern and western european countries. and yet the two want to resolve that until june. that will be difficult. reform of the euro zone -- macron started the discussion by saying he wanted a eurozone budget and a finance minister for the euro zone, something the european union for now does not have. we know the germans are not in favor of something like that of this design, so although we always have the show of unity between macron and merkel, this is something where they will have to rea

it will have to accept many rules from the european union without being able to influence them max hoffman with the latest from brussels thanks max. well we're going to return to a topic that max and i just discussed those tariffs that are coming from washington right helena that's right and they have sent global markets sliding in trading as fears of a trade will grow now china says it will fight to the end if u.s. president donald trump imposes those tariffs as he has promised to do say which he says are in response to unfair trading practices up to sixty billion dollars worth of annual chinese exports to the united states could be affected. stock markets tumbled on friday as fears grow of a tit for tat global trade war us president donald trump plans to hike tariffs on up to sixty billion dollars in goods from china retaliation he says for unfair trade practices we want we supercool mirror if they judge us we charge them the same thing. beijing says like for mike should not be the gold on trade and it would rather convince washington to change course but the chinese are ready to impose

and let's go right to did abuse correspondent max hoffman who was in strasbourg for us hi max how significant is this that the european court of human rights has ruled in favor of these two journalists. you can't really get much higher than the european court of human rights in europe at least because this is the guardian of democracy and human rights for the whole continent not only for the european union and they highlighted again the situation in turkey and let me let me explain that again because you really have to save or that the constitutional court in turkey which is the highest court in turkey ruled that those two journalists should be released then a lower court said no we're just not going to do that so you can't really be much more outside the rule of law than in this case and of course this was an easy verdict for the european court of human rights this it here this is not in agreement with article five the right to liberty and security and also is a violation of article ten the freedom of expression so they basically followed the constitutional court of turkey here and this of c

all right our very own max hoffman at that e.u. summit tonight in brussels max as always thank you very much. here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world a german court has sentenced an afghan refugee to life in prison for killing a teenage student in the city of freiburg far right groups had seized on the case because the defendant came to germany after being convicted for attempted murder in greece critics say e.u. checks on migrants are inadequate german lawmakers have authorized more troops for afghanistan the maximum number of german forces on the ground will rise to one thousand three hundred the expansion was approved because of the deteriorating security situation in the country the buddhist vary in afghanistan is part of the nato led mission resolute support which provides training and assistance to the afghan army. russia's ambassador to london says britain cannot be trusted in investigating the poisoning of an ex spy and his daughter alexander cold said that britain had accused russia

and let's bring indeed abuse max hoffman he is in strasbourg following this case for us hi max how significant is it that the european court of human rights has ruled in favor of these two journalists. you can't get much higher than the european court of human rights especially of course in europe so what this does it sides with the constitutional court in turkey and let me just remind everybody how this played out because the constitutional court in turkey which is of course the highest court in turkey said that these two journalists need to be released but then a lower court said we're not going to do that we're against the constitutional court so you can't really be much more outside of the rule of law than that lower court has been and by the way those two are the only journalists that are being detained in turkey approximately one hundred fifty journalists at the moment are being detained after that coup attempt in two thousand and sixteen so this gives even more credibility to the highest court of turkey it gives it more punch and of course it builds up pressure against the turkish gover

five star movement immigration is the biggest issue and driving voters well let's get more from max hoffman he's that g.w. is a bureau chief in brussels he's covering this story for us hi max good to see you now you spent last week i traveling through italy why is immigration such a divisive issue in this election there are facts and perceptions and we unify course it'll is at the forefront of the whole migration crisis and the mediterranean route has gained more importance over the last two years or so after the western balkans route where many people from syria fled through originally had been close so you had about one hundred nineteen thousand migrants making their way over the mediterranean route to italy last year which is a drop but on a high level so that's not the only reason why this is such an important topic of course the right wing parties are trying to make an important topic of it but you also had a public couple of high profile events terrible events happening in the last months in italy for example a drive by shooting by a right wing extremist of six african migrants and th

but the nerve agent attack in britain helped the block's members close ranks at least today well max hoffman is covering those talks in paris welcome max well we'll start with a nice to see shall we chancellor merkel spoke in glowing terms about germany and france his track record of working together his shoes if. we want to find a common path in the history of franco german relations hard work and honest cooperation have always brought success we don't always share the same opinion but throughout history germany and france have achieved a lot together we are intent i am intent on reaching our goals and i believe we will do that that's what is. so much of a bosis are the highlights what do france and germany want to change. all the emphasis on the sound bite we just heard was on hard work because the issues that they want to resolve are among the most difficult issues or the most divisive issues that start for example with a common asylum system in the european union something they have strife for for many years it's not working at the moment because it would implicate that you need kind som

meto renzi the other may contenders the anti establishment five star movement as our correspondent max hoffman reports from colombia migration has been the biggest issue. i think father and knows this neighborhood like no one else. has taken me to the market and institution in the old town palermo i'm trying to get a feel for what matters to people in this election migration seems to be at the top of the list. the tone of the current campaign is very harsh i'm afraid that the topic of migration is being exploited from the left and from the right these people don't understand the value of migrants and migration that can bring into our country then they need it and get it i mean it's. sicily has always been an island between two continents many africans that make it to europe spend a lot of time here some learn italian in charity sponsored classes like this one right next to the market hoping to be granted asylum others move on. there are approximately five hundred thousand undocumented migrants in italy and one man italians are very familiar with this calling the situation a social time bomb. a

and surely announce that my colleague max hoffman spoke to band along at the chairman of the e.u.'s trade commission who provided some background on the stance in the face of protective tariffs from the u.s. . so like it wouldn't it be counterproductive now to retaliate to the measures that the u.s. will probably install on steel and aluminum i'm talking about the tariffs of course you know we should to make it clear you opinion statement against this. announced by the united states because it's not related to dumping or subsidies cases is really to close a market of the united states and this is another man's ruling of a double kyoto and therefore we need to reaction from the of insight but isn't that looking at how trump has governed how you react isn't that the spark that really would start a trade war i would not say to a dog but stick to the real sticking to the rule of. also in our countermeasures. i think the united states have to learn that this is an international would based system and they should stick to this as well but do you think this is going to work because trump

renzi the other main player of the anti establishment five star movement now as our correspondent max hoffman reports from blair mo the issue that could determine this election is migration. father and knows this neighborhood like no one else. has taken me to the markets and institution in old town palermo i'm trying to get a feel for what matters to people in this election migration seems to be at the top of the list. the tone of the current campaign is very harsh i'm afraid that the topic of migration is being exploited from the left and from the right these people don't understand the value of migrants and migration that can bring into a country then they need to get out and get it i mean. this is really has always been an island between two continents many africans that make it to europe spend a lot of time here some learn italian in charity sponsored classes like this one right next to the market hoping to be granted asylum others move on. there are approximately five hundred thousand undocumented migrants in italy and one man italians are very familiar with this calling the situation a

max hoffman there reporting from stroudsburg well with a threat of a trade war looming how on a chinese leaders have used the national people's congress or just growing tensions over trade with the us there so i may have it later faced with the prospect of courage if china maintained that congress that it's still open for business now the higher gigi's on imported steel and many and go into effect on friday and perhaps a last ditch attempt to avoid the beijing insists that it will she treat chinese and international companies just the same. life can be tough full foreign companies in china there's little security for intellectual property and technology transfers are regularly demanded of all who want to do business there those are the main complaints but they are having none of it at the end of the annual parliament session and during the current trade conflict china's premier spoke of his country's welcoming economic culture or china will continue to safeguard free trade and the reform and open up policy which is our basic state policy if there were any change a tool to china's open d

brussels we're going to strasburg where the european parliament meets in our correspondent there max hoffman all eyes on berlin where you are right now max. all eyes on berlin we've talked to a number of parliamentarians over the days and i can tell you across the spectrum everybody is happy that there is a new german government but expectations very large the someone here who knows exactly what he's talking about because he's not only the head of the european peoples party month would be a welcome european peoples party of course the party where. is also a part of he was part of the negotiation of the coalition to go she has been so. excited about this day about this new coalition absolutely because it's what do you say to already the end of one period of instability of uncertainty in people's needs now stability that is what is needed and the expectations are really really big because we've talked to a number of people who are not another grand coalition they would have preferred for example a coalition with the greens and the liberals and everything it seemed like there was no momentum fo

it will have to accept many rules from the european union without being able to influence them max hoffman with the latest from brussels thanks max and there has been a lot of reaction to the tariff headlines have your innocence here with more on that i have here are of course lots of reactions especially from china which as we know is one of the most affected ones now donald trump's crackdown on china specifically is bringing global markets down the worst case scenario would be a trade war as we know where all global economy start imposing tariffs on each other however politicians and economists alike do see the need for a change in china's behavior as a trading partner needless to say opinions are mixed. if you thought it was just a spat between the u.s. and china think again the contagion from trump's tariffs will reach european shores weighing on global trade as a whole so say germany's economic representatives. dustbuster stocks and what's happening is extremely dangerous because everything's connected to everything else you will be hit if china can't send its goods to america. as of

institutions max hoffman covering italy's upcoming general election for us thank you max. now to some other stories making news around the world israeli police have reportedly questioned prime minister benjamin netanyahu for the first time in a corruption case involving communications giant of bezerk they're alleging the company provided positive coverage of netanyahu in exchange for favors he's facing allegations of corruption in several cases but he denies any wrongdoing. a fire at a drug abuse treatment center in the azerbaijani capital baku is killed at least twenty five people at least four others have reportedly been taken to the hospital officials are working to determine the cause of the blaze the united states has accused moscow of violating cold war era treaties after russian president vladimir putin on veiled an array of new nuclear weapons during his state of the nation speech on thursday these include a hypersonic cruise missile that putin said could hit anywhere in the world like a meteorite. well there's been more intense fighting across syria in defiance of

thank you so much max hoffman there in brussels. while here to get a quick check now of some other stories that have been making news around the world because russia's ambassador to london says that britain cannot be trusted investigating the poisoning of his ex by and his daughter alexander yankel said that britain had accused russia of the attempted murder of sergei scruple without presenting evidence he also said that russia could not take british accusations seriously because the british had a record of misleading the international community. former french president nicolas sarkozy has hit out at allegations that he allegedly accepted funding from late libyan dictator moammar gadhafi sarkozy says there is no physical evidence of wrongdoing he was placed under formal investigation on wednesday for allegedly accepting millions from gadhafi for his two thousand and seven election campaign. belgium has observed a minute of silence to mark the second anniversary of the bombings that left thirty four people dead belgian prime minister