have successfully moved back to africa. are you watching the news so here's what's still ahead. so tells us that earnings are soaring and the german airline is using its might to go on a buying spree in europe. going to be telling you all about it when we are back the face on is up next with the latest business news and one and i'll be back at the top of the hour. every journey begins with the first step and every language with the first word belief in the. eco is in germany to learn german why not learn

a simple online on your mobile and free stuff from d w z learning course nikos big german made easy. g w true diversity. where the world of science is at home in many languages. on for thought of programming go in there you know may show you that you can show them with us our innovations magazine for in asia the us from every week and always looking to the future fund d w dot com science and research for asia. at. flying high tons of posts impressive numbers cashed up carrier pushes on with it's called. solid asian dr. that life is a debate drags on as a u.

member states wrangle over a weed killer and saudi arabia reveals plans to build a mega city on stand. by benefits all in let's do business lufthansa profits have surged sky high the german carrier has reported a thirty two percent rise in underlying third quarter earnings before interest and tax after years of cost cutting the group is back on the offensive it's also keeping its feet on the ground sticking to its annual forecast. business is going well for germany's largest airline looked down south in the summer the carrier increased ticket prices and its cargo unit is booming. the sounds i was able to boost revenue thanks in part to its increased market share following the acquisition of brussels airlines last year the carrier is also flying more people.

in two thousand and sixteen look downs of hussam one hundred ten million passengers nearly two percent more than in two thousand and fifteen the growth didn't come from its flagship carrier but from its german subsidiary budget airline you're always still for the first time if dances passenger numbers were overtaken by dublin based locals carrier ryan air the german airline now plans to retake the top position from ryan air in europe with its acquisition of a large chunk of rival air berlin and it's not stopping there if towns are also wants to acquire parts of italy's largest carrier alitalia but antitrust authorities could spoil the party they will be reviewing whether look tons or is gaining a monopoly position on too many routes. the hopes of thousands of berlin workers have been dashed many while hoping to keep their jobs despite parts of the carrier being sold off the government three german states and of tons a failed to agree on setting up a transfer company to keep them employed now with

a twelve hundred ground crew in berlin will be able to stay on authorities in the german capital say they'll set aside up to ten million euros to help out local stuff be a use put a decision on glyphosate on the back burner again member states can't agree on renewing a european license for the popular herbicide of a million people here have signed a petition against it wired the chemical causes cancer but studies prove otherwise . it's the most commonly used herbicide in the world in europe farmer sprague life is saved on around half of all fields used to raise commercial crops but the weed killer is highly controversial due to concerns that could have an impact on human and environmental health today the e.u. once again postponed a decision on whether or not to ban it activists in brussels hit the streets on wednesday to push for one they say its institutions have colluded with the industry

at the expense of the public so they want the commission to come out with a non-renewal of full band any number of years whether it's one year five years ten years as long as it's revenue it's not a ban and european citizens have been clear they want to ban studies don't agree on whether glyphosate is a long term cancer risk or not the world health organization has said it could pose a danger the e.u.'s food safety authority has proclaimed the chemical harmless but has also been accused of basing that opinion on studies sponsored by manufacturers like monsanto greens in the european parliament say that's not acceptable. we need to look at independent studies not just ones carried out by the industry we have to finally end this thing with life i say there are standard farming methods that work fine without the heavy use of chemicals. by standard farming methods mountain hoisting means organic agriculture but many farmers say those methods are too expensive and think it's enough to only ban use of the herbicide directly before

the harvest the battle will now continue as the e.u. committee responsible for making a decision was once again split at the conclusion of the meeting no vote was taken the commission took note of the position of different delegations often in the states and form which you could now reflect and really knows the date of the next meeting shorty. the commission is in favor of extending use for another five to seven years but it will have to reach an it. it soon life or so its controversial license in the e.u. expires by the end of december. let's get the view from our reporter in brussels catherine martens as well as our asia correspondent andrea hang you both catherine let's start with you should european consumers be worried well miyan the conflicting evidence the european member states indeed faith in providing a clear consumer. indication of whether life was and is harmful or not and this

added to or it only emphasizes a feeling of consumer insecurity in europe and probably fuel civil society protests in europe as well and how's the i recall troll industry in asia reacting to the news well there is concern and nowhere in awareness about the use of lesser sea and its potential harm to humans but not very conclusive studies has been conducted just yet not enough to create. these there's a study. that focuses on the. apparent evidence of like to see in pregnant women on the other hand sometime last year was had a clampdown on quick oh it's products which had traces of blood so there is concern just not quite a big enough one yet ok as far as the market goes in the asia pacific it's the biggest glaive to say i guess a bat in europe wouldn't stop asian projects treated with the weed killer from

crossing borders. not immediately at the a lot of countries in the asia are still very heavily dependent on like the sea especially in the far we hear the countries like thailand even taiwan as i mentioned earlier now these countries some of these countries are a little behind in adopting. alternative. equal statement it's also science and this is science and singapore one of them still is going to be a very slow process so anybody in the e.u. is not going to. it's not going to have an immediate ripple effect is asia well it's a similar case in europe catherine many farmers a heavily reliant on life and so traces have been found in french wine german beer why then is there so much confusion about its health affects i mean it's been used for quite some time now. well according to our sources here in brussels it is not

any more about finding new facts or finding new scientific evidence it is getting more and more a political power game with huge and powerful lobbies on both sides so the giant one center is threaten the threatening the european union to challenge any decision in court for example on the other hand the formal lobby is. without life to say that the agriculture sector would be really. having a really harmful impact there were there are threatening of food costs and watched in between the european member states who are definitely not keen to touch this hot political potato very soon again because there's something that's become highly politicized. given that when are we going to get a decision is this going to be on the back burner for months if not years to come or are we going to get a decision soon catherine. well this is already in the kind of

a joint game for already two years now because the european member states are not keen to be the ones who will have maybe for example a bad position and then they have a difficult difficult position back home so i think we can expect that there will be a decision by and of december this year at the latest when the european commission calls on the member states to convene one more time in brussels in order to finish their job and to make a decision on graph is it ok that if it will be a merry christmas for all those involved catherine for the european perspective in brussels there for us and andrea for the view from asia thank you to both of you for a vision or a mirage saudi arabia is planning to build a mega city on sand oil won't pump through the heart of this metropolis only alternative energies robots drones and driverless cars for dominate the cityscape

the price tag for the construction half a trillion u.s. dollars. if constructed as planned the saudi megacity neon will be the largest building site on earth covering more than twenty six thousand square kilometers that's an area of land half the size of switzerland it'll go up on the coast of the red sea not far from the hundreds of ships that head for the suez canal every year ten percent of the world's exports pass through the waterway saudi arabia wants to be a new global center for trade crossroads between asia africa and europe trade is just one of nine economic sectors planned for the city the saudis also want to draw companies from the fields of transport robotics biotech food science internet technology and energy with little for the difference between it and a city of today is going to be like the difference between these two phones. that

have. to be attractive for foreign investors and staff the country strict islamic based laws will not apply within the city's limits neon will have its own systems and regulations separate from the rest of saudi arabia men and women for example will be allowed to work together. it's an ambitious plan but throwing money at it is no guarantee of success there are still many vacancies in a similar giant project the king abdullah economic city. and dubai is planned for a large carbon neutral urban center must our city is still reliant on conventional energy sources for many of its power needs the new mega city is also supposed to be powered soley by renewable energy saudi arabia says it plans to finish the first phase of construction by twenty twenty five. and you have a lot of sat and sun business with here.

enjoying the conflict zone fronting the powerful. six years off to the overthrow of

total gadhafi libya remains unstable divided and very violent my guest this week is talk show me senior advisor to the government of national force can he ever imagine his country as a safe and fully functioning democracy. g.w. . my first bicycle was a sewing machine. where i come from women are balanced by this motion towards the middle something as simple as learning how to write them by side who isn't. since i was a little girl i wanted to have a bicycle of my home and it took me as the news might have. finally gave up and mentioned buying me on my side and returned with the sewing machine sewing i suppose was more appropriate for girls than writing advice and now i want to meet showers for those women back home who are bound by them duties and social rules and

inform them about the basic rights my name is them out of the go home and i work. need a. sustainable protection for the earth ideas designed to preserve our ecosystems they exist around the world. global ideas takes the next step protection for our planet's biological diversity trailblazing projects. d.w. dot com slash global ideals. six years after the overthrow of colonel gadhafi libya remains unstable divided and very violent my guest this week is a senior advisor to the government of national accord one of three so-called

governments but the only one.