this is developing news live from both true nations one flag a step towards deescalation as north and south korea agree to march under one banner at next month's winter olympics they'll also be sending a joint women's ice hockey team if the international olympic committee approves. also on the program. a meeting of chancellors but was there a meeting of minds on st sebastian colson germany's angela merkel have been trying to find common ground on the divisive issue of migration political correspondent

will tell us how much progress they made. and catalonia is parliament reopens gearing up for further confrontation with the spanish government could lawmakers defy madrid once again invoke this man exam played a college pushed back into power. hello and welcome my name is christopher spring a good to have you with us north and south korea have agreed to march under one flag at the opening ceremony of next month's winter olympics it's a small step towards less tension in the region but it won't be the first time the two koreas have marched together at the two thousand and three world university games they entered the stadium under the so-called korean unification flack and since two thousand they've also much together at three some of the picket. at the. at the talks inside the demilitarized that separates the two koreas the two

sides also agreed to send a joint women's ice hockey team to the journal and if that is the international olympic committee approved the idea we're going to get more on all this now from one of our sports correspondents a lima hotel killing my thanks for coming in at such short notice will the i.o.c. will the international olympic committee approve this idea of a joint north korean south korean women's ice hockey team i can't really give you one reason as to why they shouldn't because the i.o.c. they all about the olympic spirit they all about they have all these values and ideas like peace bringing people together understanding building bridges so you know regardless of background so i am certain that the i.o.c. you will give this the women's ice hockey team the green light ok so we've got the green light from lima tech you know we have plenty more to talk about but just bear with me for a second because first we're going to get more detail on the day's events including

what wonder exactly one reactions in south korea. delegations from north and south korea met for the third time in ten days a sign of progress but on tuesday their plans for a joint women's ice hockey team got a somewhat frosty reception from south korea's coach sara murray adding somebody in north korean or south korea having somebody in supposedly on because it's a little bit dangerous on just written history because the girls have been together for so long. it's not just the sporting di lemma the political implications split opinion among south koreans. really a part of who would have thought i am worried about how the international community will react if we were to accept the north korean proposal for the olympics get there so i personally hope that we will not agree to it's nothing if you look at those things. and again it was up which it is can improve our image as the international community has been worried by the tensions that have had to go to

meeting them to talk about sports first provides a good platform for talks on politics and other issues that is going to come into. that sentiment is echoed by experts who feel the olympic cooperation may pave the way for comprehensive peace talks and now i'm gonna share point about building trust between the two koreas can make for six party talks possible and then one i believe this might also have a positive influence on the denuclearization of the korean peninsula and sets a foundation for peaceful talks which are beneficial for south korea and i think. whether or not they join forces on the ice the talks have already provided a tentative thaw in the strained relations between the two koreas i and still with me having the tacky from date of the sports. the two koreas have done this kind of thing with sports before tell us more about that yeah so what makes this so

different as that this is the first time that we see a joint korean and then pick teams of the. emphasis on a limb picks but as you just mentioned that in print they have been p. previous instances of joint korean teams at international sporting events we aside happened in one thousand nine hundred one in japan at the world table tennis championships and they were actually quite successful the women and of the coming ten years and that same via. a joint talk attained to the fee for youth championships in portugal and going to guess how far they went. they need he went as far as the quarter finals so we obviously know we know that if these two sides but their differences aside they can be quite the sporting threat ok you know does sport really have this potential to their world to have an effect on politics essentially and that's the question and that we if we put this all into context of two koreas have been giving each other the silent treatment for the past two years so what we just saw within the span of a week is quite remarkable now we know that they'll be marching together at the

opening ceremonies and they will pending i.o.c. approval they have a joint ice hockey team as well so yes for it does unite but let's not get too excited because the reality is that we've seen this happen before was so it at the sydney olympics in two thousand they also marched the two the two koreas also also marched together at the opening ceremony they did it four years later in athens at the turin winter games so and we all know was what has happened ever since and i think most of us have probably forgotten about the fact that they did march together in the past so i always say these big events everybody's always on their best behavior and for whatever everybody has their own you know motives but it's really after that is critical reaction is oh well we will be keeping her terms on the there after mausoleum of attack you're from to the sports many things. for and we are going to catch up now with some of the other stories making news around the world in chile pope francis has denounced the use of violence in the country's

struggle over the rights of its indigenous people his comments during an open air mass referred to recent violence including the burning of churches in the country south that's right indigenous groups have been pushing for the return of their law . officials in california have described the thirteen siblings freed from prison like conditions in the home as friendly and co-operative they're receiving medical and medical care and counseling right now people found the family off to being police rather from the family off to being alerted by a seventeen year old girl who had escaped the house the parents face charges of torture and child endangerment. now german chancellor angela merkel has been holding talks today with austria's new child so sebastian cortes the meeting was under close scrutiny for any signs of discord between the choosing it is called heads off by a controversial coalition with austria's far right and he himself has been

a vocal critic of migration policy as the two leaders were hoping to find common ground on improving the protection of europe's borders. the youngest government leader in europe meets the longest serving one and it's not just age that divides these two it's austrian foreign minister sebastien cortes sharply criticized refugee policy now however even the german chancellor favors setting a limit on migration court says that he sees other e.u. countries moving in austria's direction adopting positions he was criticized for two years ago. as in austria we made a disproportionate contribution we have the second highest number of asylum seekers relative to our population after sweden so i believe no one can accuse us of not showing solidarity. the contrary but if we want to solve the migration issue that it won't succeed via distribution but instead with aid on location and it still

inadequately functioning you external border protection that we urgently need. machall stress that it's not human traffickers who should decide who comes to europe as a club us it's totally clear that we want to reduce illegal migration and strengthen europe's external borders. but also strengthen the partnership with the countries of origin that in turn means that we must find new ways of working together with those countries certain when it comes to questions of the settlement or the office of cooperation. but then the. differences remain vienna feels there's been excessive focus on the use of quotas for purposes of distributing refugees entitled to remain in the e.u. austria in the past has sympathised with eastern european countries that refused to abide by such quotas. merkel feels that's wrong.

you know evil john ch the new austrian government is on its actions and that's what i've told the chancellor one side only if that's what counts c eight the tone of the two leaders debate may have been less harsh than in the past but relations between the two neighbors remain complicated. well our chief political correspondent lyndal crane has been taking a close look at that press conference belinda what sort of atmosphere did we see between macklin cause has this first meeting between the two helped to smooth things over. both were certainly at pains to downplay their differences but the words that you just heard from the chancellor certainly were measured and implied it kind of they failed warnings that germany would be watching his actions on the other hand both did say that they see a good basis for working together before he traveled to germany the chancellor of

austria said that germany is a very valued partner for austria that he views americal as a very experienced politician and he said you know neighbors will always have differences and the fact is we see other e.u. move countries moving in austria's direction and the chancellor for her part said that she saw very few divisions between the two but there were a couple that were evident in relation to both policy toward the european union they are courts would definitely like to see a lot more frugality while the chancellor said that she can imagine a need to invest more in indebted southern members of the eurozone and certainly there were a few disparity that is discrepancies on asylum and immigration. melinda or immigration on refugee policy all the divisions chamberlain in vienna as strong as they have been in the post. both leaders were trying to indicate that they're not

for example both stressed to their agreement on the need for stronger protection of the e.u. borders on the need for clear measures in the area of development policy to try to encourage people to stay in their own countries and not travel to europe and also on the need for resettlement of those who come to europe and perhaps don't have a right to stay to stay but where there was a clear disagreement was again on the issue of quotas that european union member countries should fulfill in terms of how many refugees they do take in of those. who are intitled to stay there mr court said that he still thinks the issue is very much over emphasized whereas the chancellor said that she expects e.u. member countries to abide by their obligations so i think that is one point where germany will be watching austria's actions as she said. but again there were. clear indications that the chancellor of austria is right when he says that

other european countries are moving in austria's direction as you know germany's two biggest parties signed up last week to a paper that could provide the basis for negotiations on forming a grand coalition between them and there they agreed to an aspirational upper limit on the number of refugees that germany might be willing to accept that is exactly what austria did last year so in that respect the chancellor of austria is right when he said there is an evolution in german policy toward perhaps a more stricter look at immigration ok melinda always good to talk to amanda crane there our chief political correspondent. in cash alone you know lawmakers from pro independence parties have used a slim majority to elect a leftwing separatist roger speaker that's a signal that the chamber is likely to continue its push for independence from spain yellow group of empty seats for much from congress and other separatist

figures bush remains in self-imposed exile in belgium while three others are in jail facing charges of rebellion and sedition. some sports news for you the let's catch up with some of the results from round two of the australian open in melbourne the men's number one seed rafael nadal through to the next round following a straight sets win but the day's biggest story came in the women's singles fifteen year old martha winning her second round match in straight sets that makes of the youngest player to reach the third round of a grand slam tournament in over twenty years meanwhile it was a bad day for german number one. who is out of the tournament off to losing two of these kahane in straight sets. turning to mexico now where a group of divers in the yucatan peninsula has connected to caverns revealing what is thought to be the world's longest underwater caves archaeologists say the

discovery could help shed new light on the ancient mayan civilization. the cave was identified after divers spent months exploring a maze of underwater. well from the top of the hour in the meantime to a very you can always follow us on twitter and on facebook you're watching t.v. being used to stay with us. for the twenty first century. unique interpretation or. dazzling concert the world of a young piano seen there. are twenty one presents. starting january twentieth d.w. .