hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm michel henery anxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election with eve skeptic and far right parties on the rise experts predict they will search in the vote whether italy does lurch further to the right will depend on one man and a tail salvini railing against the euro brussels and migrants he and his populist party leader could form part of a governing coalition in rome. perhaps inspired by the success of the us president donald trump slogan america first material so the need has made it tell us first the defining catchphrase of the twenty eighteen tell you the election polls in the run up to the vote showed his right wing party leader with their anti migrant platform in the lead with around six hundred thousand refugees and migrants having landed on italian shore star in the last four years immigration is a hot topic in the election campaign and the likud party activists we met in piglia

on michelle henery thanks for joining us the dispute over the poisoning of a russian former double agent in britain is deepening russia says it will expel british diplomats in a tit for tat response to measures the u.k. has taken against moscow over the case the british consulate in st petersburg and the british council cultural organization well also be closed. that it will go to reach and send messages to russia summons for an edge meeting he was informed that twenty three british diplomats have a week to leave the country it's russia's reaction should britain expanding its diplomats earlier in the week. in london british prime minister to resign and russia was in flagrant breach of international law russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter the attempted assassination of two people on the british soil for which there is no alternative conclusion. the russian state was culpable. the kremlin has fiercely denied being behind the attack which involved a military grade nerve agent that british officials saying was developed in russia russia has also said it will shut down th

a very warm welcome to focus on europe by michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one in russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure i'm not there six year terms.

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to aspiring movie.

hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery anxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election with eve skeptic and far right parties on the rise.

a very warm welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one in russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure imo their six year term.

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to aspire.

a very warm welcome to focus on europe by michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one in russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure imo their six year term.

a very warm welcome to focus on europe by michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one in russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure i'm not there six years.

a very warm welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one and russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure i'm not there six year term.

on michelle henery welcome to the program syrian state television says rebel fighters and their families have begun to leave the opposition stronghold of eastern ghouta the news came on the day that much needed aid reached the besieged enclave after being delayed for days by fighting. syrian state t.v. showed these images of a small group of al nusra front fighters and their families boarding a bus in eastern guta. it said they'll be taken to areas controlled by the government and it's promising them safe passage to rebel held live province even though the government views them as terrorists. despite the profound devastation in ghouta most opposition groups are rejecting the government's offer to evacuate. earlier and emergency aid convoy deliver desperately needed supplies to residents this should be enough to feed twelve thousand people for one month but almost four hundred thousand people have been living under government siege in eastern guta for five years the delivery was interrupted by renewed fighting. in the past month russian backed regime forces have intensified airstrikes to

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to a spy.

hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery anxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election with eve skeptic and far right parties on the rise.

hello and welcome to focus on europe i'm michel henery anxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election with skeptic and far right parties on the rise experts predict they will search in the vote whether italy does lurch further to the right will depend on one man in a tail salvini railing against.

on michelle henery welcome to the program. there are concerns china could be returning to a one man rule today the country's lawmakers have just passed a series of constitutional amendments that scrap the presidential term limits and allow for president xi jinping to remain in office indefinitely the presidency had previously been limited to two five year terms. the changes also permit she's personal political philosophy to be engraved in the constitution the amenities pass with two no votes and three of sentients among almost three thousand delegates. d.w. corresponded with ts berlinger is in beijing following the congress and new developments mathias we've had a press statement a short while ago can you tell us what was said yeah there is a press conference going on at the moment sham and off the legal affairs committee of parliament justifying the amendments made to the constitution saying that it was strengthen the fish and feel free of the rule of law it will strengthen the efficiency of government it will strengthen also

i'm michelle henery. rarararararararararararararararn indecisive election last september. finally, however, the end could be in sight. in our spepecial broadcacast s week, we take a look at what d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d. after weeks of political wrangling, the fate of the potential coalition between angela merkel's conservatives d the socicial democratic papay members who have a postal ballot on the terms of the agreement.y

by michelle henery welcome to the program. syrian forces have reportedly split weapon held eastern guta a monitoring group says they've surrounded the largest city duma the advance comes after a much too late a delivery was able to reach the area in the past few hours syrian state television showed rebel fighters and their families leaving but many are staying put saying they don't trust the government's promise of safe passage. syrian state t.v. showed these images of a small group of al nusra front fighters and their families boarding a bus in eastern guta. it said they'll be taken to areas controlled by the government and it's promising them safe passage to rebel held in live province even though the government views them as terrorists. despite the profound devastation in ghouta most opposition groups are rejecting the government's offer to evacuate. earlier and emergency aid convoy deliver desperately needed supplies to residents. this should be enough to feed twelve thousand people for one month but almost four hundred th

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to aspire movie nor is it a tale from the cold war this is attack happened in modern day britain and the government is convinced that that the kremlin is behind it in the city.

a michelle henery welcome to the program. there are concerns china could be returning to one man rule today the country's lawmakers have just passed a series of constitutional amendments that scrapped the presidential term limits and pave the way for president xi jinping to remain in office indefinitely the presidency had been previously limited to two five year terms the changes also permit jews personal political philosophy to be engraved in the constitution the amendments passed with no votes and three abstentions among almost three thousand delegates. d.w. correspondent mathias boehner is following the congress and joins us from beijing for us this is an historic amendment along president xi jinping to remain in office forever is he on his way to becoming the new now zad on. a lot of service have drawn some have see are seeing a lot of similarities between the two leaders what we can say is that. is the most powerful chinese president chinese leader since mouths that don't there's also a cult of personality evolving aroun

hi michelle henery glad to have you with us thousands of people continued to flee the rebel held damascus suburb of eastern ghouta for the third day running syrian government forces have intensified artillery bombardments of the area backed by russian airstrikes russia's military said some three thousand people and our relieving their home in humanitarian corridor monitored by russian troops more than thirteen hundred civilians have been killed and thousands more wounded amid weeks of for let loose fighting. the tide of human misery leaving the rebel held eastern suburbs of the capital damascus reached flood proportions on saturday as russian bombers gave air support to syrian government forces on the ground russia's military said some three thousand people an hour were leaving nearly forty five thousand in the last three days meanwhile syrian and russian forces have stepped up their offensive on the rebel enclave the russians are determined to turn a humanitarian disaster into a public relations victory. we have information that militant units are ready to lay down their arms and leave e

on michelle henery welcome to the program. there are concerns china could be returning to one man rule today the country's lawmakers have passed a series of constitutional amendments that scrap the presidential term limit and allow for president xi jinping to remain in office indefinitely the presidency had previously been limited to two five year terms the changes also permit she's personal political philosophy to be engraved in the constitution the amendments passed with to know that and three abstentions among almost three thousand delegates. and for more let's get to our correspondent mathias berlinger in beijing who's been following the congress mathias several on their meds and policies have been announced today what more can you tell us well there have been several amendments some of them are meant to strengthen the party's role in this state and the others strengthening sieging things position in the party so it all amounts to strengthening him to centralizing power in his hands the party has no more say in the governm

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to aspiring movie.

by michelle henery welcome to the program and historic vote in china today as the country's parliament amends the constitution to allow president xi jinping to rule indefinitely so far the presidency has been limited to two five year terms the amendment also calls for inserting she's personal political philosophy into the preamble of the constitution joining us now is the correspondent matteis bolinger in beijing. matthias the constitutional. amendment allows president xi jinping to remain in office forever is he becoming a new mouse a dog. not to something a lot of observers as a comparison a lot of observers have been drawn and the mill of chinese president has been powerful as small as a dome within the since knowledge of don't and there is a cause of personality around teaching about a proposed propaganda department that reminds of the cult of personality around monza don't however have east to politician very. very different personalities and they have a very different style of ruling mao was somebody who liked to incite chaos to. just to get rid of his opponents who relied on spo

i'm michel henery and berlin thanks for joining us on camera back forces have taken control of the northern syrian town of the frain the town has been the target of turkey's two month offensive against the syrian kurdish militia if used as terrorists its capture marks a major victory for turkey but as less thousands of civilians homeless and desperate. this is the moment taiki has been working towards for two months. the raising of the turkish flag over the town of affray in northern syria. this footage is said to show turkish backed rebels entering the town on sunday morning. i was there at the time these men have been fighting since january to ask the kurdish militia known as the people's protection units a white b.g. over the plans it does allow us are going to have to take he says the group is an offshoot of the band p k k terrorist group and as such a threat to its national security. across the border in turkey news of the dick she was met with jubilation by president added one and his supporters. most of the terrorists have already fled with their tails between their legs our special

hi michelle henery thanks for joining me. another high level firing by the trumpet ministration former f.b.i. deputy director engine mccabe has been dismissed just before he was he to qualify for retirement became to work for the agency for over twenty years we'll get full analysis in a few moments but first here's a look at what happened. work as deputy director of the f.b.i. and drew mccabe played a key role in investigations into hillary clinton's e-mail affair and alleged russian involvement in the twenty sixteen election he stepped down in january but remained on the f.b.i.'s payroll he was fired twenty six hours before he would have become eligible for retirement the justice department acted after an internal f.b.i. investigation concluded mccabe had quote made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and looked kinder including under oath on multiple occasions president donald trump immediately praised the move in a tweet he said it's a great day for the hardworking men and women of the f.b.i. a great day for democ

by michelle henery thanks for joining us the dispute over the poisoning of a former russian spy in britain is deepening russia says it will expel twenty three british diplomats in a tit for tat response to measures the u.k. has taken against moscow over the case the british consulate in st petersburg and the british council cultural organization will also be closed britain says it will consider its response in the coming days so today our ambassador in moscow was informed by the russian government of the action they are taking in response in the eyes of their previous behavior we anticipated a response of this kind and we will consider our next steps in the coming days alongside our allies and partners. but russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter the attempted assassination of two people on british soil for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable it is russia that is in flagrant breach of international law and the chemical weapons convention i repeat today that we have no disagreement with the russian people many russians hav

a very warm welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though not a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last.

i'm michelle henery.nxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election. with eu-sceptic and far right parties on the rise, experts predict that t they will surgen the e vote. whether italy does lurch further to the right will depend on one man, matteo salvini. railing against the euro, brussels, and migrants, he and his populist party lega could form part of a governing coalition in rome. perhaps inspired by the success of u.s. president donanald trums

i'm michelle henery. glad you could join us.els as though not a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last, except the one in russia feels a bit different. that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure another six-year term when russians go to the polls. a rally in moscow appeared to show many endorsing putin, with tens of thousands of supporters cheering him on.

i'm michelle henery. glad you could join us.t feels as though not a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last, except the one in russia feels a bit different. that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure another six-year term when russians go to the polls. a rally in moscow appeared to show many endorsing putin, with tens of thousands of supporters cheering him on. ♪ michelle: that was, according to official reports from the main media organizations, the very ones which critics complain are firmly under his control. but multiple reports from opposition media outlets indicated that many of the attendees, from students to civil servants, had been strong-armed into showing up at the event. the few journalists who remain critical of putin and his government fear reprisals from the kremlin. our reporter juri rescheto spoke to two who refuse to buy into the state propaganda and are paying a heavy price for it. ♪ >> reporter pawel nikulin dared criticize t

i'm michelle henery. all of europe is watching pyeongchang as athletes gather from all over the world to compete in the 2018 olympic games. all, perhaps, except for many russians who refuse to watch in protest at their team being banned because of doping practices. some russian athletes with a clean track record are allowed to take part under the olympic flag. but many people in russia are outraged. here in moscow, they are demonstrating against the decision. some athletes prepare their entire lives for the olympics. so it comes as no surprise that some of russia's top competitors were left frustrated and angry by being excluded. while many critics hoped the ban would force the country to tackle the doping issue, people across russia complain that this is all part of a conspiracy against their country, a feeling shared by some of the suspended athletes. >> it was an unexpected blow for ivan bukin, but being barred from the olympics hasn't stopped him from training. he and his partner alexandra stepanova h

i'm michelle henery. all of europe is watching pyeongchang as athletes gather from all over the world to compete in the 2018 olympic games. all, perhaps, except for many russians who refuse to watch in protest at their team being banned because of doping practices. some russian athletes with a clean track record are allowed to take part under the olympic flag. but many people in russia are outraged. here in moscow, they are demonstrating against the decision.

a very warm welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery glad you could join us it feels as though none a month goes by without an election taking place here in europe and each more exciting than the last except the one in russia feels a bit different that's because president vladimir putin is all but certain to secure imo their six year term when russians go to the polls a rally in moscow appear to show many endorsements you're terrible with tens of thousands of supporters cheering him on. that was according to official reports from the main media organizations the very ones which critics complain are firmly under his control but multiple reports from opposition media outlets indicated that many of the attendees from students to civil servants have been strong armed into showing up at the event the few journalists who remain critical of putin and his government fear of reprisals from the kremlin our reporter your château spoke to two who refused to buy into the state propaganda and are paying a heavy price for it. reporter powerful new coolant dared criticize the kremlin's policie

i'm michelle henery.nxiety is running high as much of europe awaits the outcome of italy's election. with eu-sceptic and far right parties on the rise, experts predict that they will surge in the vote. whether italy does lurch further to the right will depend on one man, matteo salvini. railing against the euro, brussels, and migrants, he and his populist party lega could form part of a governing coalition in rome. perhaps inspired by the success of u.s. president donald trump's slogan, america first, matteo salvini has made italians first the defining catchphrase of the 2018 italian election. polls in the run up to the vote showed his right wing party lega, with their anti-migrant platform, in the lead. with around 600,000 refugees and migrants having landed on italian shores during the last four years, immigration is a hot topic in the election campaign. and the lega party activist we met in puglia plans to take advantage of that. >> leonardo and his fellow activists want their the slogan "italians firs

i'm michelle henery. germany's government has been in paralysis for months since an indecisive election last september. finally, however, the end could be in sight. in our special broadcast this week, we take a look at what this political limbo has meant for germany and for europe. after weeks of political wrangling, the fate of the potential coalition between angela merkel's conservatives and the social democratic party now lies in the hands of the almost half a million spd party members who have a postal ballot on the terms of the agreement. but the vote could go either way because the spd is divided. while the older party establishment is keen to renew the coalition with chancellor merkel, the youth wing wants the party to go into opposition. this split is even apparent in families. we met with ralf stegner, the deputy party chairman who was instrumental not only in the negotiations for the coalition agreement, but also in convincing members to support it, members like his son fabian. he's concerned ab

welcome to focus on europe i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us after defecting to the west a former russian double agent is found poisoned on a park bench in england this isn't the plot to aspire movie nor is it a tale from the cold war this attack happened in modern day britain and the government is convinced that that the kremlin is behind it in the city of solsbury in southern england the former russian spy circuit script seen here shortly before the assault and his daughter were found unconscious after being exposed to the deadly nerve agent nervous shock both are now fighting for their lives just a few days later another russian in exile fell victim to a suspicious attack nicholai glitch caused a businessman one didn't rush on fraud allegations was found strangled in his home in london these attacks are both the chilling echo of the murder of alexander litvinenko in two thousand and six the russian spy was considered a traitor after settling with his family in britain he too was poisoned our reporter met with his widow who talked about how other exiled russians now fear for the