this is deja vu news live from berlin crunch time for talks on forming a new coalition government here in germany forty eight hours remain for until america's conservative bloc and the social democrats to strike a deal or the country could be heading back to the full full can analysis from berlin brussels paris and london also coming down mudslides in southern california

leave at least thirteen people dead and carbon out of destruction through upscale coastal communities the towns hardest head had been stripped of protective vegetation in last month's wildfires. and former white house chief strategist steve benen stepped down as chairman of breitbart news that's after his explosive criticism of president trump and his family you know a controversial new book. the former. i'm sumi so misconduct good to have you with us here in germany the party's trying to form a new coalition government are heading into the final stages of their exploratory talks there's currently a news blackout on those talks but leaked reports suggest on america's conservative bloc and the social democrats are compromising on campaign pledges as they raced towards thursday's talks deadline reports say the parties have agreed on an immigration law that would allow highly skilled foreign workers to come to germany

earlier leaks suggested the parties would abandon germany's targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by twenty twenty. let's get more on the coalition talks we have our team of correspondents on the ground following this for us so we have michelle acosta for us in berlin in brussels barbara these all in paris lisa louis and in london. for us ladies good morning good to see all of you michelle and let's start with you in berlin and here we are again time is ticking how likely is it that we're going to see an agreement in the next few days. for that very much depends on what you see is an agreement you mention the issue of immigration there both parties who also are coming out of a so-called grand coalition of social democrats and i'm going to tackle c.d.u. c.s.u. they talked about immigration before now we're hearing that could potentially be a new push here to settle on an immigration bill but what will be the details of that that's what will all matter work very likely though to see at least some kind

of starting point for profit coalition talks if not by that deadline but certainly this week for the simple reason that there's simply too much at stake for all three parties who lost so dearly in support in those past elections but if you're talking about forming a government that would if it goes ahead at least take another couple of weeks so much at stake not just in germany but also elsewhere how are these talks being followed in brussels paris and london. in brussels of course these talks are being watched very closely however nobody is losing any sleep over it yet i need to at the european union is used to member countries taking quite a while to form a new government if we look back at the netherlands in two thousand and seventeen it took them more than six months to get something true together however everybody

knows germany is one of the key states of the european union and so there may be showing some nerves being there maybe some of those being shown in brussels at the time now. well she couldn't she talks very closely and bergen london. well london of london of course is dealing with its own egos the ations they have on their mind and this is what really occupies here in london but of course germany being such a big player in europe they have a strong interest to have a stable german government as soon as possible here in london as well you know barbara we heard there from bergen germany plays a big role in europe how how is the e.u. been reacting to this struggle to find a new government in berlin. the you basically of course does not react at all not officially really in that sense because the rule is strictly to keep out of the

governments of members of the elections of member states it's a democratic process brussels stresses again and again and the capitals just have to figure out how they will carry on and how they can come together in a coalition and form a new government and of course everybody hopes for stability we had a chance to ask e.u. commission president john clune juncker earlier and put the question to him was let's hear what he had to say. that's why you worry does taking too long in germany which i hope they'll hurry up but i don't think it will cause any problems for now . here this might be translated into take your time but hurry up really of course everybody here watches is quite clear during this year two thousand and eighteen there is a number of big questions coming up reform of the eurozone that's something that paris in particular hopes for reform of the whole immigration system there is

tremendous political pressure on that question and then of course there brics negotiations and everybody knows that nothing really can be decided in europe without much germany having a government in place that is capable of making those decisions so everybody's waiting was baited for us in brussels no more than in paris lisa you know it was a french president call who laid forward these proposals for reforming the e.u. and he's essentially waiting for an answer how is tara saying all of this. but that different aspects there's on the one hand a man in my car is obviously thinking it's good nice that he is not talking to the pro european activity that he has in the past clearly supported my cause plans to reform the european union also these could listen to a kind of window of opportunity from our current to be mr europe he's meeting international leaders he's leading international summits and he's in the hot seat

really but this shouldn't go on for too long because he wants chris through his plans to reform the european union and there is this window of opportunity ahead of the european elections in may next year and he needs a strong german government on his side to be part of that franco german engine in order to be able to reform the european union meanwhile in london buried here britain is set to leave the e.u. next year and germany will play a key role in those breaks that negotiations at how is all of this going down there . well there's one school of thought within the conservative ruling party that says well germany's weak this is maybe a point in time that we can exploit because they are not going to risk any damage to their business in this situation and going to give us a favorable trade deal this is one school of thought is nothing there to reason why the british prime minister has said i think overall the hope is that germany that

america will somehow still come to the rescue of the brits and will be seen as an ally somebody who will put her weight in when it comes to giving britain some favorable terms because that's really what britain is hoping for they need to hammer out their future relationship with the e.u. a lot is depending on trade the u.k. is a super important trading partner for germany most of german car exports go to the u.k. so they really hope that germany will pull their weight in these upcoming talks all right so all eyes are on berlin michelle let's come back to you throw this forward if i'm going our course conservatives and the s.p.d. fail to reach an agreement what happens next. well then there are two options really german chancellor merkel's c.d.u. c.s.u. could go ahead and form what's called a minority government where it would have to seek new alliances thematic lee

something many people hailed as reviving parliament as a key institution of democracy but sometimes on the macro itself is pretty much ruled that out she said that she doesn't really see that as a viable option particularly to have a strong and stable germany the other option would be fresh elections that could become a rather long drawn process that could take another couple of months here and money but there's also a growing creeping suspicion here that that stability that strong germany everybody's talking about isn't is no longer necessarily pegged to the name angle americal in the future if these this bid to form a coalition fails and that certainly is a risk for her that she clearly has in mind when she's going into these tools thank you to all of you michelle in berlin barbara vale of brussels lisa lewis in paris and in london good to talk to you. now to some other stories making news around the world prosecutors in mean maher

have charged two journalists from the reuters news agency with violating the country's official secrets act despite international condemnation the pair had been reporting on the military campaign in the northern state that has forced some six hundred fifty five thousand were hinge of muslims to flee over the border to bangladesh since august tunisia's main opposition party has staged a rally in the capital tunis calling for more protests against the government's austerity measures on monday one protester was killed when a demonstration turned violent more than ten cities nationwide have seen clashes in response to price hikes and new taxes. in south africa more than two hundred people have been injured after two commuter trains crashed near johannesburg one of the trains was standing still at a platform after a technical failure when the second train drove into it authorities blame tuman error for sending the second train to the same platform. which now he was one of

the architects of u.s. president donald trump election victory in two thousand and sixteen now steve bannon has stepped down as executive chairman for breitbart news network the announcement by the right wing news outlet comes less than a week after ben an explosive criticism of trump and his family were published in a new book president donald trump lashed out at steve bannon for comments made in michael wolff fire and fury inside the trump white house which questions the president's fitness for office bevan fell out of the president's five after it emerged he did tacked on a junior for twenty six day meeting with a group of russians in the book by michael wolff bannon is quoted as saying. even if you thought that this was not treasonous unpatriotic or bad blank and i happen to think it's all of that you should have called the f.b.i. immediately. as trump had called him disloyal and disgraceful the president

brand his former chief strategist sloppy steve an apparent reference to bannon's often unkempt appearance and declared that he lost his mind when he was pushed out of the white house last august the president launched a scathing attack on twitter saying. michael wolff is a total loser they made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book he use sloppy stayed bad and who cried when he got five and beg for his job now slippy steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone too bad. executive larry soul of said in a statement that batman was a valued part of our legacy and we will always be grateful for his contributions. staying in the u.s. and at least thirteen people are dead after a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides in southern california thousands fled from their homes as heavy rain sent modern boulders flying downhill

homes and roads in the upscale neighborhood of santa barbara were demolished to search for survivors is ongoing the mudslides followed a massive wildfire in the region last month which destroyed vegetation on hillsides leaving them susceptible to erosion the fire was the worst in california's history . let's talk to journalists valentino martelli's been following the story from los angeles i volunteered it good to see you so there were extensive wildfires now these mudslides bring us up to date on what the situation is at the moment well it's confirmed at least thirteen people have died in weather related incidents in santa barbara county especially as you mention in the month to see gold here at the school for early on the number as the sow their california first major winter storm triggered floating and months low that forced the closure also of their one on one freeway in the gulf coast firebird airport about thirty miles stretch as you were saying that call a cease fire was one of the several wildfires that have torched california just

a few weeks ago the fatality figure could unfortunately increase as at least two dozen people were consumed there are still missing as search and rescue efforts going peeing beside the thirteen fatality at least of the twenty five people were injured that's what out dorothy as said and crew rescue fifty people buy here and those and more by ground you've been talking to some of the affected people what if they've been telling you about their biggest concerns right now. well most of them were taken by surprise there was an about among the three of occupation for some of the year about what happened in moore the seat that was not predictable actually want to see it go were not that in the area there was none to thore evacuation caught so in just a few in a matter of few minutes the pounding rain have overwhelmed the south facing of the sea and floated a creek that has lead to the ocean sending mud and massive boulders in the roll

into residential neighborhoods so people is now staying with the red at the friends there are no real shout there because the weather conditions are getting better but of course many houses are still called for of mud and there is still fears for what could happen now what are authorities doing to help and is the risk of further much lights out already have been standing in the same area that was as we said earlier on torched by the fire many people there were saying. rescuing the teams and the people you're in the fire they are of course most of them taken by surprise as we sat that this was a well worn. a bad weather condition. the weather conditions was said several times to people that they were coming but nobody were

expecting something like that this a stake in the majority of people rescue team included by surprise they are there trying to help and reassure people but you know it's kind of difficult when mother nature as a strong power as we have seen in saudi california has happened in the last few weeks and months right thank you very much fountain of martelli for us in los angeles. thank you watching news still to come south korea's president says he's willing to meet north korea's kim jong un if denuclearization is on the agenda we'll go to seoul to find out what the chances are of talks. at first it looks like our robots and smart gadgets might take over our homes are rather sooner than we thought could be the impression is that you get if you visit the c.s. in those vegas the world's largest consumer electronics show robots to clean your house to do your shopping for your laundry even how do your make up and give you

a quick cobble on the side looks like the future has finally arrived it's all about progress of the c.e.o.'s one hundred seventy thousand visitors from around the world are getting updates on the high tech that could soon be transforming our lives self driving cars from china smart bathrooms where network mirrors scan faces and often make up tips. gigantor mania in the electronic entertainment sector the wall t.v. is true to its name offering a three meter twenty screen. robots could soon be joining the family voice or smartphone operated this butler brings drinks or hooves the floor paradise beckons. we can all your family members. or off to your home they can take the car turning. look no hands at the airport tomorrow a suitcase follows its owner like

a trusty dog. intelligent working boots sound the alarm when there whereas an accident but they also provide data on work activities does this. it's definitely a festival of technological progress we germans are known to have a few doubts about it because of the data collection and things like that but that's not an issue here and instead there's an attitude of can do it and worry about the dangers later when i'm with my not fold the maids makers say could soon be doing the family laundry inside four minutes consumers will have to decide themselves of all this tech really is an upgrade in living standards. and will be for me that's for sure it's going to be a wonderful the future seems to be just around the corner but is it really because when l.g. electronics david fund a voluntary dues the company's shiny new home robot chloe to an international audience at sea as this happened chloe am i ready on my washer and cycle

even robots have bad days. chloe what's for dinner tonight ok chloe is not going to talk to me chloe doesn't like the evidently it looks like we should use the chicken chloe are you talking to me what recipes could i make with chicken ok we're going to search recipes and we're going to. l.g. is worried about their job right now and it's not chloe we go long suspected high tech products all seem to have a built in break down day they always seem to malfunction just when the warranty isn't speier don't they it's called planned obsolescence and it's frankly quite annoying in france now prosecutors are investigating absalom for making its printer cartridges break and apple who has admitted to deliberately slowing down older why

phones via their regular software updates allegedly to preserve battery life. it's no fun when you i think grinds to a halt now french consumer protection organization is taking action after surveying over two and a half thousand apple customers a chippy has launched a criminal complaint against the company it accuses the us of deliberately slowing old gadgets down to boost sales of the next generation it's called planned obsolescence in industries i phone users are not happy. you know well they were forced to stay at least three or four years. what happened to your i phone six. to share. to find anything spiritual i do find that if it happens to be true that apple did this it's very bad it's not get it's really done to program obsolescence but they have become addicted to i phones and bought another one when mine was

stolen you know you were french prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into apple in france deliberately shortening a product's life is considered fraud and can be punished severely apple has denied planning obsolescence but it is now offering customers a discount on battery replacements for a limited time. planning a joint car factory in the u.s. state of alabama sources told the a.p. news agency the factory will employ four thousand people and produce three hundred thousand vehicles per year formal announcement by company and state officials is expected later today the comic is plans could give us president trump of the political boost to criticize toyota for selling cars that were not made in america bought about half of the year to sold in the u.s. are actually manufactured by contrast all masters in the u.s. are currently imported. and that's where your business more world news would soon

know if you get hurt south korea's president says he's willing. to meet his north korean counterpart kim jong un but moon added that a meeting could only be held a certain condition conditions were met moon said denuclearization of the korean peninsula is on the path to peace and his goal in any talks with the north his comments come a day after the first high level talks between north and south korea in two years north korea agreed to send a delegation to the winter olympics in the south next month but kyung yang said it will not discuss its nuclear weapons program. let's speak to reuters correspondent josh smith who is standing by for us in seoul with more on this story hi josh good to see you now south korea's president n.j. and says he is willing to meet kim jong il and how likely is that well i think the south korean government has made it clear that they do hope that

this small opening start by the of them there will lead to something more north korea has also said that it is interested in lowering tensions between the two koreas but has also said that its nuclear program is non-negotiable which is a problem not only for south korea but also for many international allies of seoul here including the united states which has said that any talks i need to include denuclearizing the financial of. whether again this regain they're able to turn this olympics agreement into something more is something that everyone is watching on the other side of the coin josh after months of tensions kim seems to offer an olive branch to the south which yesterday yesterday that talks what does he want to get out of this. well judging by his public statements kim jong un is very interested in the world accepting north korea as

a nuclear state in his in the same new year's day address in which he offered this all of the bridge to south korea he called on the world to accept the reality of north korea as a nuclear state and a responsible one at that and so analysts. expect that he is very likely trying to maintain his hold on this nuclear weapons program while also blunting the international pressure and sanctions that have been increasingly levied against his government holding on to that nuclear program program josh seems to be the problem because president moon as you said says denuclearization is the key to peace with that being said how can the nuclear standoff then be resolved. that is a very big question and obviously the one that's led to such a breakdown between both sides with the united states as well as south korea and other others saying that north korea must entirely give up its program and north korea saying that's never going to happen so most are hoping that at least even

these small baby steps on things like the olympics possibly some other attention reducing measures might again lead to just the kind of opening for both sides to make concessions right correspondent josh smith reporting there in seoul thank you josh for that analysis well with those interested to olympics in south korea on the horizon let's check in with one medal hopeful katie all rot she's one of the world's top snowboarders will be vying for gold in pyongyang but she won't be up against just her competitors as a british athlete she'll also be trying to shrug off the country's modest history at the winter games a challenge she says she is more than ready for. just four feet tall katie might not appear the most obvious olympian but her most surprising trait has nothing to do with sawyer's is that she's british former or head since appealing chang as a medal hopeful in smoke boardings big error event the first woman in history to

land a double court upbeat ahead of the games. i'm feeling really comforted feeling they say that i am but to bring back to the kids last season was betsy and i got quite a lot of play games and i like this world cup gold and it's going strong so i'm feeling like i did it again good and showed the world like what do you like to mention the fact that. whether she can emulate the success of dynamic duo torvill and dean who celebrated gold at the eighty four olympics and avoid a lovable loser type like eddie the eagle edwards who stole hearts despite finishing last eighty eight games remains to be seen. how the royals might have grown up with the advantage of wintery conditions but believe britain can be a force in winter sports great britain is definitely one of the top teams and it's joe biden which is raising his you know with me here which has led me to say they have the back. if the world number six can continue her form britain may have

a new winter olympic hero. minder now for our top stories at this hour on american conservative bloc in the social democrats are entering a decisive face in talks aimed at forming a new coalition in germany reports that just negotiators have reached agreements on key sticking points like immigration. and at least thirteen people are dead after a powerful rainstorm triggered mudslides in southern california model and rocks for downhill stripped of vegetation by recent wildfires. thanks for watching at the top of the hour.

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