In a sweat over temperatures in the arctic theyre reporting record highs in a land thats usually frozen all year round. And in malaysia a young woman is rewriting the script in the world of progress like 19 year old north again is punching above her weight in the rain but shes also hoping to send a message to muslims everywhere. Im sunni so its got to thank you for joining us members of the European Parliament have made history by electing the 1st woman as Commission President germanys outgoing defense minister it was about funded by and one lawmaker support for the role shes promised to quote united and strong europe saying she would work constructively and pragmatically to achieve it she was voted in by a narrow. Majority. Uncertainty until the very last minute. The members of the European Parliament here in book knew their vote on the next Commission President was going to be close but not even the candidate herself was enough on the line would have thought it was going to be that close vote the votes in favor 383. 00. 1000 on the line secured the majority by just 9 votes a week results at the end still enough to celebrate. My message so all of you is let us worth together constructively because the endevor is a united a strong year old. The former German Defense minister spent the last 2 weeks building a majority trying to convince the political groups in the European Parliament to support her bid should this be her final address to parliament which some called the speech of her lifetime seem to have tilt of the scale in her favor for having the backing of her conservative p. P. P. Group she could afford moving towards the left and resonating with other groups on issues such as climates. This is the greatest responsibility and opportunity of our times i want europe to become the 1st climate neutral continent in the world by 2050. 1 the night has vowed to fight for a greener fairer and more broadly based here but to be mine in a problem and so fragmented building majorities around any of these issues is likely to prove difficult. Are brussels barrow chief max hof month spoke to the new Commission President elect shortly after the vote. It was a lot on the line is with us today and i have a very simple question the start of the interview how are you feeling. Relieved and happy because it was a tough ride over 13 days now i had to. Formulate the guidelines the political guidelines and to convince the parliamentarians this was not a lot of time and i made it and im happy right now does the majority bother you that it was only 9 votes ahead majorities majority and 2 weeks ago i didnt have at all a majority of course i understand that because the parliamentarian said we want to know more of you we want to know what your program is we want to know the details in the topics were dealing with so it was a tough time a very intensive the most intensive in my political career ive ever had but now im happy and you happy with the speech or deliver the feedback you got yes because it showed my conviction and its worth to fight for this europe and its worth to tell the story of our europe united and strong how i see it for the future and so this was a important moment you made a lot of promises today you do realise it will be very tough to keep all of those right but its riot its not promises its politics and policy we want to bring forward if were talking about climate neutral continent in 2050 its necessary that we act we have to take bold action to achieve those goals and we needed for our planet and for life so these all these topics are extremely important and we have to be ambitious and what would you say of all those topics you talked about which is your absolute top priority i think top priority is. Climate mutuality 2050 with a goal for 2013 and digitization those are the 2 biggest concerns all opportunities. We have to tackle youre going to work with a divided parliament words harder than ever to get a majority and also you could say with a divided council because you have a rift between Eastern Europe and the other European Countries for example on migration how will you handle this i think we absolutely have to overcome the division of east and west between east and west i know that people in the east im come to central European Countries often think they are not accepted as they should be and as i have been working as a defense minister very much in those countries i have a lot of friends and they trust me so i know how to Work Together that we can improve the relationship and there is a division between north and south has to do with questions of competitiveness and flexibility and we have to solve that to why that because europe has to be united there are many many Big Questions we have to tackle and europe has to play a role and we only can do that when we are united ok so what are you doing over the summer. Ill spend it in process of getting my cabinet there the commissioners on board and to work on my Work Programme but i have to lay down and lay out in october for the president elect of the European Commission thank you very much for talking to us. What was left on the land has now stepped down from her role as germanys defense minister should be succeeded by an eclectic. Both women attended an official Handover Ceremony with chance ill americal earlier today colin powell is also the leader of merkels conservative party she took over at the head of the christian democrats last year she is widely seen as not protege and for more on that we are. Chief Political Correspondent linda crane with us here in studio hi melinda i said i did not come come by the next defense minister was it a surprise absolutely it was a surprise because around 2 weeks ago she absolutely ruled out the idea that she might become the successor to ursula fundal line in fact ruled out taking on any ministry post saying that she wanted to concentrate on her job as Party Leaders so when this news broke last night most people thought this this cant be this is astonishing there are a couple of reasons though why this would have been of interest to her and the main one is that shes made some real missteps in the last few months her star has been on the wane and this gives her an opportunity to show what she can do in terms of hands on government she has never held a federal ministry before and this is a big tough challenge this ministry literally is full of minefields no pun intended given its defense but it if she succeeds in addressing some of the problems there then certainly that will help her profile and therefore also raise her profile and therefore also give her more credibility in her push to become the chancellor when uncle americal does step down you said yourself this is a tough job some say the toughest one of the toughest at least in berlin what are some of the challenges that are now facing her well start with hardware meaning everything from Weapons Systems to planes as many people will have followed on our news bulletins the German Defense operation has really been struggling with problems she needs to ensure that theres proper maintenance carried out many of the planes are grounded and then she also needs to modernize weapon systems and hardware so thats the 1st point theyre also struggling with a real shortage of recruits for the boy in despair theres a lot. Lot of competition out there were close to full employment in germany so difficult to get recruits particularly in critical areas like Digital Skills and going to sphere is looking to upgrade those so thats another problem area and then theres the question of the budget as you know theres been a lot of pressure on germany to up its contribution to nato to also take more responsibility in military missions abroad we know that the great crime karen bauer supports a stronger financial contribution but shes going to have some tough going to go she had in with her colleagues in the finance ministry so those are just 3 very tough challenges that she will face an opportunity to prove herself but also a lot of pitfalls and one that just briefly what do you think all of this seeing as a 100 line being named a european Commission President now and again. Defense minister 2 allies of the chancellor Angela Merkel what do you think that says about where she stands right right now how strong she is chancellor well you know its her birthday today shes turning 65 and i would say she can definitely be celebrating she has a key ally now who will be running the European Commission theyre both moderates this doesnt mean that underlying will be doing the bidding of the German Government but certainly thats a real bond between the 2 of them and on a great crime convo is also a key ally of the chancellor shes also to some degree a moderate at least in areas that will count in defense and Security Policy and for that reason i think that the chancellor can be very satisfied indeed she has wanted to put more women into positions of power and she has really done that these last 2 days there at our chief Political Correspondent melinda crania thank you for that insight. Now e. U. Antitrust regulators say theyre investigating amazon the Worlds Largest online retailer to see if its use of other merchants data breaches europes antitrust rules that comes as germanys Consumer Protection agency has scored a victory against the ecommerce giant German Authorities are making amazon change how it works with 3rd Party Merchants in europe both sellers and amazon need to take more responsibility for incomplete or inaccurate Order Fulfillment amazon will also have to wait 30 days before blocking or closing seller accounts in exchange Germanys Federal Cartel Office says it will drop its investigation into amazon. Lets get a round up now of some other stories making news around the world in sudan protesters and ruling generals have signed a political document part of a power sharing deal paving the way for a civilian government this has been one of the key demands of demonstrators since president Omar Al Bashir was ousted in april a 2nd constitutional document is likely to be signed within days. We construction and rescue operations are underway across south asia after heavy monsoon rains caused massive flooding and landslides millions are affected and officials estimate that at least 180 people have died floods india nepal and bangladesh where refugee camps have experienced extensive damage. And a court in moscow has extended to pretrial detention for the 1st to 6 of 24. 00 ukrainian sailors arrested by russia off the coast of crimea last year a decision on the remaining sailors is due later on wednesday the group is accused of illegally entering russian waters kiev tonight those targets. Still to come on new scientist sound the alarm in the arctic they think temperatures are rising significantly in a land that is usually frozen all year around. Years but 1st today marks 5 years since the Malaysia Airlines flight m h 17 was blasted out of the sky as it flew over Eastern Ukraine killing all on board blame was swiftly placed on a russian made surface to air missile but moscow disputed those claims last month an International Probe charged 4 men with murder over the incident heres a look at where the investigation stands. Flight m h 17 was short out of the sky on july 17th 2014. All 298 people on board were killed most of them were dutch nationals the plane had departed from amsterdam and was headed to kuala lumpur. But the boeing 777 disappeared off radar screens about 3 hours after takeoff while flying over parts of Eastern Ukraine held by pro russian rebels. International condemnation was swift and fingers were pointed at moscow. Sanctions against russia for its annexation of crimea what we already in place and western nations toughened those measures in response. In the investigation that followed an International Team led by the netherlands found fragments at the scene of the crash which they said probably came from a Russian Missile they said the missile exploded outside the plane causing it to break apart investigators later said they had irrefutable evidence that the missile came from the territory of the Russian Federation last month they named 4 men 3 russians and one ukrainian as murder suspects in the inquiry. Theyre expected to face trial next year moscow has always denied involvement and says investigators have not provided any proof it was responsible for shooting down the plane lets get more on the story with journalist stefan both he joins us from the dutch m. H. 70 National Monument near amsterdam hi stefan the downing of this plane is being remembered what is happening where you are. Well at the moment so the ceremony has just begun that can tell you that the dutch Prime Minister mark carreau to ease here to express also his frustration if you will about the tragedy its my understanding that he will also at least indirectly lash out to russia course the International Investigation is suggesting that russia was behind the attack now i can tell you that many relatives have a arrived here some of them actually are saying that they still remember its as if it happened yesterday they are very emotional there are 298 trees here behind me not far from where i am now with the names of those who passed away in the trying to g. And actually eat dinner names will be old so or at out here today 7 a trial against 4 people who allegedly were involved that will start in the netherlands next year so what evidence that do dutch authorities claim to have against them. Well they are saying that whole so a lot of evidence shows that a Russian Missile was used against the plane to have no doubts that it came from units of the russian army and also they have linked 3 russians and a ukrainian ethans some of them quite high to hike into commands which would suggest even according to soma investigators at least that perhaps the kremlin was somehow indirectly or directly involved south course were denying that but it is clearly something dented and evelyn so wants to have answers that to its already 5 years now up to the strategy and they really hope that those who post will let that get their day in court sooner or later i journalist and us reporting there in the netherlands where commemorations are taking place today thank you stefan. All right lets get the russian perspective on all of this our correspondent emily sure when standing by for us in moscow. As we hear the netherlands is pointing the finger directly at russia here what is moscows latest position on all of this while moscows position remains largely unchanged even 5 years after this tragedy they strongly deny any involvement in the downing of the image 17 we heard in a Statement Today from the Foreign Ministry that russia was saying that they are and have always been open to cooperating with the International Investigation they also said that they would want to find those who were really responsible rather than as they see it people who were kind of blamed in advance now russia sees this whole incident as an opportunity as it were to blame russia once again for something that happened on the International Stage almost as an as an International Plot against russia and they also accuse the joint Investigative Team committee that has been investigating the mh 17 downing of being kind of biased and weve seen that today on state t. V. As well kind of repeating the line and also blaming ukraine once again for not closing its airspace to civilian air traffic during times of crisis and we mentioned there is a trial thats supposed to start in the netherlands next year and 3 of the 4 suspects are russian who are these men. Well all of them are links to the russian army and one of them is a colonel who used to work in the fs the the Russian Security service 2 of them were formerly employed also by the g r g r u v russias military Intelligence Agency and all of them are linked to russian backed separatists in ukraine one of them even lead separatist forces in ukraine in 2014 but its unlikely that those 3 nationals will kind of come to trial that they will and attend the trial of russian law actually. Doesnt allow the extradition of its nationals and also the position of russia as ive said remains unchanged when those accusations came out against those 3 russian nationals the Foreign Ministry called the accusations against the 3 men unfounded. When reporting for us in moscow thank you emily that irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad zarif is due to speak at a United Nations conference in new york today as a heightened tensions are there between tehran and washington relations plummeted last year after President Trump quit the Iranian Nuclear deal and last month the series of incidents in the gulf region engaged the 2 nations in a volatile standoff heres a look at a relationship in crisis. This was a rainy and president has sent rouhani telling his audience just a few days ago that hes ready to hold talks with the United States but only if sanctions are lifted and the u. S. Returns to the nuclear deal equips last year. Relations between the 2 countries have deteriorated since the u. S. Military claims that one if it Surveillance Drones had been shot down by iran last month. While all. This iranian broadcast purports to show a missile from the Islamic Republic targeting that drone and bringing it down. And this was the wreckage the u. S. President trump said he was considering air strikes which called them off at the very last minute this followed attacks on oil tankers in the gulf of oman at the beginning of june which have been blamed on forces allied with iran. Trump has since imposed toughest sanctions on the country americas decision to pull out of the 2050 nuclear deal triggered this standoff the agreement limited Irans Nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions in retaliation iran has been increasing production of enriched uranium. The countrys Supreme Leader ayatollah ali how money says the Islamic Republic will continue to roll back its Nuclear Commitments under the deal unless it gets sanction relief but thats unlikely to come from this man anytime soon. Now to a heat wave in the arctic scientists in canada say they have observed record temperatures earlier this week at a weather station in the worlds northernmost permanently inhabited spot its on a military base less than 600 miles from the north pole t. Shirt weather in this treeless tundra here in the lurch the northernmost permanent human settlement on the planet where snow and frost last all year temperatures hit a record high of 70 degrees fahrenheit or 21 degrees celsius. This summer has wreaked havoc on the arctic chill bringing balmy weather to a land not adapted to deal with it. A recent report showed greenlands glaciers are receding faster than previously thought. This video from a greenland climate researcher went viral sled dogs sloshing across melting ice on the inglefield fjord. An uncommon number of wildfires like this one in Anchorage Alaska have also lit up the arctic and subarctic regions this season fires are not unheard of in the arctic but Scientists Say this summer was an omen of Global Warming there have been unprecedented wildfires in the arctic since the beginning of june according to the World Meteorological organization over 100 intense and long lived wildfires recorded in the Arctic Circle the northern part of the world is warming faster than the planet as a whole that heat is drying out forests and making them more susceptible to burn the wildfires in turn spew more carbon into the atmosphere increasing the effects of Climate Change scientists warn its a vicious cycle that puts the future of the ice caps in doubt. Now to a story of a 19 year old woman blazing a trail to the crossroads of religion sports and entertainment nora diana is already a pioneer in the strange and scripted world of Pro Wrestling because shes completely outnumbered by men but the phoenix as shes known doesnt just pack a punch when she enters the ring she carries a message for muslim women 1st comes the mirror check then comes the show where nor diane becomes phoenix. Small in stature of barely over 5 feet tall phoenix wrestles men twice her size and gets thrown around the ring like a rag doll. But Phoenix Rises from the ashes and gives as good as she gets. 14 years old she became obsessed with the art in sport of wrestling but refusing to do it without her cause problems early on. Says it was. All i get a lot of scenes that i congress because i knew there were scenes out. Proudly sporting her he job phoenix does more than entertaining she also serves as motivation. So i do believe that she said all my dough and his patience and office goes out there that i dont think this thing goes well goes as a duo as a whole i think she kind of built a barrier to spoof it and i mean she can do it again. Taking down the competition phoenixs gained a following on social media in hopes to encourage more muslim women to be true to their faith and their journey. Now police at spains barcelona airport are no strangers to drug smugglers who often come up with ingenious ways of bringing illegal substances into the country now this past week a man seen here wearing a hat and a rather large wig sparked the suspicions of officers and the man who arrived on a flight from colombia was asked to remove the wig revealing half a kilo of cocaine glued to his head he was then swiftly arrested in what police are calling operation to pay. A reminder now our top story here on t. W. Germanys it was enough on the lot has won a close vote to become the 1st Woman Commission president shed of previously been serving as defense minister in chancellor Angela Merkels government. Coming up next our environment show eco africa will be looking at efforts to help elephants in kenya and assist small scale farmers in gonna go away. The mine. Not look that appetizing. But theyre very popular with your mate. C. Q. Cumbers. Curious Sea Creatures are finding sudden madagascar. According to strict ecological regulations. That they know theyre a good safeguard in the hatcheries. Next comes up. The sun something nice for empires came to jurors or dealing with and even at that i killed many civilians. Come including my father why they says i was a student because i wanted to build a life for myself like these totally but suddenly life became knowledge kind of sob. Providing insights global news that matters d. W. Made for mines. Its been 15 years since the moon landing. Hard wired people was the 1st man to walk on the moon as a small boy he dreamed of the stars. As a pilot he flew no matter how dangerous it was to go to the pole. As an astronaut he took part in the greatest adventure in history of. Art by. Neil armstrong starts july 20 s on t. W. Hello and welcome to the latest episode of eco africa this is nelda coming to you from the foster park in Lagos Nigeria and if you ever wanted to know how you can make a difference in the environment stay tuned ok with me is my charming colleague from south Africa Felicia i know that hi everyone my name is felicia