nikaya i don't want to. me number one and unanimous. because as you've read yes it's a. question i. put out i've only said what i thought going on with her being funded . by mackenzie it gets us into so yes it. is this d w news live from berlin u.s. president on one chunk backtracked on comments he made about russian election meddling trump has now said he supports u.s. intelligence assessments that russia tried to influence last year's presidential

election his comments in vietnam come a day after he announced he believed russian president vladimir putin when he said that russia did not meddle also coming up. the spanish prime minister mariano rajoy visits barcelona for the first time since imposing direct rule we'll find out what it means. plus a first for the arab world the live album dobby opened its doors to the public the billion dollar project promises to act as a bridge between east and west through the medium of art. by michel henery welcome to the program. president donald trump is due to arrive in the l.a. to attend the asean group summit it's the last leg of the president's asia tour the summit and the president's arrival have sparked protests in the philippine capitol

police use riot shields and water to disperse demonstrators angry about a range of issues from globalization to america's influence on their country's politics trumps this it is also being overshadowed by comments he made on saturday when he said he believed russian president vladimir putin when he insisted there'd been no russian meddling and last year's presidential election trump has now backtracked on those comments. a brass band and a military guard said the same for another carefully choreographed encounter on donald trump's diplomatic tour in hanoi trump medals vietnamese counterpart. but the meeting with i was shattered by the president's tweets trump bragged against north korean leader kim jong un and slammed quite high isn't food for criticizing his meeting with vladimir putin yesterday. trump had been mocked up to saying he believed the russian president when he denied meddling in the u.s. election today he clarified those remarks and signaled

a potential end to his feud with the intelligence community i believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election as to whether i believe it or not i'm with our agencies especially as currently constituted with their leadership i believe in our intelligence is our intelligence agencies i've worked with them very strongly in my not baby and they rekindled relationship he was asked if he could be friends with kim jong un so if i think anything's a possibility strange things happen in life that might be a strange thing to happen but it's certainly a possibility if that did happen it would be a good thing for i can tell you for north korea but it would also be good for lots of other places and it would be good for the world. this is the most ambitious trip to asia by u.s. president in decades but so far it's not who has met but rather what he has said that is again dominated the headlines. spanish prime minister mariano rajoy is

visiting catalonia today for the first time since madrid dismissed the regional government it comes on the back of massive protests on saturday hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to call for the release of political leaders jailed for back in the region from spain the protest organizers also hope to keep up the momentum for independence as the spanish government aims to quash it . by now a familiar sight in barcelona huge crowds of independent supporters on the streets of the capital on capital they're demanding the release of jailed separatist leaders and former catalan ministers. we have ten political prisoners in catalonia among them a vice president and the majority of our ministers there are also representatives from civil society we want to tell the world we want freedom for our prisoners and freedom for catalonia because the media. after catalonia has referendum madrid dismissed the region's government former ministers and separatist leaders were

taken into custody on charges of sedition others for that about including former catalan president karl has pushed him on madrid has issued a european arrest warrant that could see him extradited to spain he says madrid is wrong to prosecute him and his former ministers. you know to be treated like a criminal like a drug trafficker like a pedophile like a serial killer i think this is abuse this isn't politics this is using the courts to do politics. to schimmel has called on the european union to intervene. well the civil war it is very disappointing to see that the european union that we're all part of they can respond to situations of poland and hungary but cannot respond to the situation in couple or near the top but i look at the you know the situation came to a head on october the first as catalans went back to vote in what madrid called an

illegal referendum they were met with scenes like these. many catalans were outraged madrid's heavy handed approach may well have boosted support for independence. the question is whether that support has waned and whether separatists will triumph in catalan elections next month. for more i'm joined by d.w. correspondent michael arthur hanna and valencia michel roux who isn't barcelona for a pardon meeting ahead of elections in december what is this meeting all about more than just the meeting it's rather the kickoff to the regional election campaign of the partido people are not around all right hoyer will present the candidate of his party for the elections in catalonia it's the stereotype party event in

a sealed off location inside their selected journalist selected supporters the spanish flecks of course and the party to a populist music so it's rather. wealth as i said sealed off location compared to going to a public space and to do the election campaign and in public hundreds of thousands have been on the streets of barcelona for weeks protesting against the spanish government can rory win over voters there. i don't think he can expect a better turnout in the next regional elections of the snap elections that he himself has called for the last elections in two thousand and fifteen has proven to be very difficult for his party he dropped more than four percent down to eight percent so the moment we have a very bizarre situation where a party who is

a clear minority in the region of catalonia right now having imposed direct rule is ruling this region by all his harsh measures by second ministers fighting hundred of high officials in catalonia. did certainly not win over hearts and minds of catalan voters and as you say he failed to win over the hearts and minds of voters is there anything that he can do and if this crisis is to win then for any last ditch efforts before the election in december. i don't think so his strategy has been from the very beginning very much focused on spanish voters rather than cattle voters so his popularity that that was very bleak before this crisis started now it's increasing and the rest of spain and the event today his appearance in barcelona again will be probably more followed by his supporters in spain and under lucien and other regions rather than by public. by any

anybody really in catalonia unless the people who are already on the side of the conservative party michael at the head in spain thank you very much. you're welcome lebanon is calling for answers after it's prime minister hariri resigned unexpectedly he announced he was stepping down during a visit to saudi arabia last week lebanon has now called on the saudi government to explain why he's still there and has not returned home on saturday hariri appeared on state television with the saudi king the lebanese government believes hariri is being held against his will his surprise resignation has plunged into a political crisis and made it the new focus of the long run in power struggle between saudi arabia and iran. a european slot for the world cup is at stake when switzerland face off against northern ireland in the second leg of the

playoffs later today the favorite swiss one the first like in belfast thanks to a controversial penalty. northern ireland that its fans were left demoralized after a referee mistake gave switzerland a slender lead in the first leg in belfast on thursday night. coach michael o'neill said his side were very emotional after the game but should use that to their advantage in basel on sunday. what happened in the game. as we have to move ation for a while but it's gone now in terms of whereas in the players' minds and the focus is on trying to get the result that obviously could take us three. captain stephen davis sees the bright side and is determined to turn thursday's defeat into a positive display in the second leg. world obsession with all the pressures on switch from week in the us into louche so we've got to try and use as to our advantage with an away goal in hand switzerland other favorites to advance from this time but the hosts on leaving anything to chance coach vladimir pick of it

knows this game isn't a foregone conclusion yet the smile of him that's the cup every time we eased up in the first leg they became really dangerous and divide and federally switzerland were one of the best sides in europe during the qualifiers losing just one game if they say that form again only ninety minutes time between them and it take it to russia. there is joy in two african countries and despair in several others that after the continent's final two spots of the twenty eight hundred world cup were decided alton easy needed against libya was a draw to finish atop their group and they got it headed to russia next summer they'll be joined by morocco who beat ivory coast to nil switch their first cup final since one thousand nine hundred ninety eight. across morocco scenes of jubilation to celebrate a return to the world cup after two decades away the team they defeated ivory coast

had become a regular fixture at the tournament in morocco's absence young and old took to the streets in cities like flies america and i could hear as fans partied well into the night. formula one now and at the brazilian grand prix a mercedes driver but not the one you might expect has taken pole position for today's race in the fall terry brought us all start from the front of the grid after his mercedes teammate lewis hamilton crashed in qualifying the crash occurred after the newly crowned world champion to give that some members of his team have been robbed at gunpoint friday night here the track hamilton will start the race at the back of the field. the louve is one of the world's most famous museums and now it's opened a branch in abu dhabi thousands of visitors attended the opening in a spectacular building designed by french architect john knew that while the building like the museum itself attempts to combine eastern and western influences it's the first museum of its kind in the arab region here's more. thank you ing in

the thirty degree heat we're now name from the somewhat cooler paris is already pulling a crowd in the arab world for the opening of the louvre abu dhabi the five thousand tickets went quickly like the arts many visitors have come from europe the local seem to like it. we've been waiting for more than ten years so we're very proud to have an institution like this here the europeans took our artifacts and so the arabs are ok with taking the name at least and create also museums and bring part of the art back and also some european art so i think it's actually quite a good thing that. it's precisely what the rich immersive he wants the orient and the rest of the world comes together in art grand historical qur'an additions to vinci's belfair on the air way where a sculpture fountain of light. the shakes have left the structure of this arabian

louvre true a frenchwoman star architect john nouvelle in time spans one hundred eighty meters as designed it invites interpretation. just looking at this and thinking about how they did this based on like the palm trees the print of the palm trees at so creative like you know it's connecting that culture and modernism together so it's really nice to see that. i'm sure they're celebrating this in their own way as artistic expertise and name recognition come as a price the emirates has spent around one point five billion euros on the overall project including loan fees for the arts from the original in paris it gives a stronger exposure in terms of cultural associations with with france and with europe i think it's fantastic that the louvre opened a new branch let's say in the middle east it's for a limited time though the name louvre can only be used for thirty years in six

months they want to the opening has been long and ostentatious now it's time to see whether this temple of high art can help bridge the arab and western worlds. it looks spectacular from inside and out that's all for now but be sure to tune in for more news at the top of the hour in the meantime you can log on to d.w. dot com for more around the clock updates thanks for watching. every journey begins with the first.