this is d.w. newsline from berlin tonight who holds the power in venezuela is the opposition now on the verge of forcing president out hundreds of thousands of taking to the streets across the nation to demand his resignation the opposition leader has declared himself in its way this interim president we'll get the latest from caracas on a fast moving story also coming up the man who would make peace in syria for his president heir to one says he and russia's vladimir putin have agreed to set up

a security zone in northern syria and germany's chancellor she doubts about the future of our world order until america says that change and reform will help counter what she calls the fragmentation of the most high louder old world. i'm bring golf it's good to have you with us we begin tonight in but it's way below where the picture of power is unclear at this hour hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets of the capital caracas and in cities across the country demanding the resignation of president nicolas maduro they say that maduro is government is illegitimate and they are demanding that he return power to venezuela's national assembly of the opposition leader one quiet though has declared himself the country's interim president the united states and several self the mirror. i've

already officially recognized him as president why go has sworn to end what he calls the usurpation of power by the majority government. i believe on this now we want to go to our correspondent oscar schlager he joins me now from caracas going to do you are so opposition leader won. he has declared himself president what more can you tell us about that you know one way to go is a congressman in our own well that was elected in two thousand and sixteen and this month these just last month he became president of the national scene we now are going to declare to us all a democratically elected body and many countries and they are asking to be the next in command after their. mother won't serve now they. get a law calling other rights or early next year but it wasn't he sworn in and the

new term president that you could actually name and you sir it does were i guess the election celebrated name and a lot of failures and a lot of the call it brought so right now we are seeing ourselves in a conundrum of whom to call president here at this level i mean there is impossible to say who actually holds the power in the country i mean who is in control of the military right now. when you were asked whether it was intentional or the high military how did you manage the military and we've seen that there has been a breach of command. because we've seen uprisings rondell it's very just this week and throughout the past couple years we've seen a presence from the military in lower commands home however the government and yugoslav the government has

a good control over of the military and that's what worries me here in minutes where that a small i mean you know you've got movement here we've got canada the united states the organization of american states recognizing the new interim president but you've also got mexico saying that for the time being it is not changing its policy on been its way and if this is not a unified front in terms of foreign powers and their relationship with venezuela is that going to hurt or help madeira well i it's really hard to tell it's just very complex the china and russia will surely not do well we have the european union back in the national assembly hall us canada and other countries are recognizing why won't go it's really. really difficult to say this moment what's going to happen here without knowing.

who or what the government is saying about this new the swearing in of the president when president of the national assembly want to go and we know that people were killed overnight protests i mean what is the situation right now i mean are we looking at an escalation of violence. definitely there will be an escalation of violence in the us whether. here or whether we are dismantling that's your yes. there are various needs being put out by different opposition groups throughout the city and all the countries we will see an escalation in violence in this weather all right our forces on the flick of their joining us from the capital of and it's where the caracas where it is unclear tonight who the president is or who is in control of the country oscar thank you are listening to a story now into the u.s. capital washington d.c.

our correspondent my a sweater is on the story for us good evening to you miles so what is being said in washington about the situation right now in venezuela. well this is something that president trump took a very hard line on from the beginning of his and mitt and ministration much harder than even his predecessor barack obama did he started handing down sanctions against venezuelans and brought more broadly the venezuelan economy really from his first year within the first couple months of his presidency all but encouraging venezuelans to try to overthrow their own government in response to the venezuelan economic crisis and what they saw as at the very least the last election being extremely fraudulent so what we saw coming from the president today was surprisingly a rather normal sounding statement for a u.s. president coming out in support of the new what he called interim president and saying that the venezuelan people have been courageous in their actions and we've

got reports right now moyo that madeira is waving to groans of supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace that's what state television is really is showing right now in that it's way. we know u.s. president recognized one. as venezuela's leader just moments after he declared himself the interim president i mean it was almost instantaneously what do you make of that. well it's definitely a big victory for one of president trump's signature foreign policies again he has taken a very hard line on this and the thing we have to remember about the venezuelan u.s. relationship venezuela is one of the top three producers of oil in the world this is why venezuela is relatively important to the u.s. it also up until this crisis started was one of the few stable relatively democratic countries in that region someone that the u.s.

could really depend on and this was seen as trying trying to pull venezuela back from this abyss that that's been tumbling off of sense the economic crisis started spiraling so true this is something that trump is really going to be able to point to and crow saying look the u.s. has supported the democracy in this country or corresponded my ears were on the story for years in washington tonight maya thank you. school several when american leaders are in davos for the world economic forum b.w.'s manuel custer clarridge got the reaction of three of them plus the canadian foreign minister to tonight's news and the events that are happening in minutes where you live their countries have all recognized the self declared new president of its way to take a listen so let me say on behalf of canada that we recognize and express our full support for the interim president c event is assumed by the president of the national assembly one quite though in compliance with the constitution of venezuela

and we the members of the lima group are preparing a fully written statement which we hope will come out very soon it's an important day for venezuela and i'm grateful for the solitary of the lima group in speaking out on this that i was going to are there was the foreign minister therefrom. canada with representatives from the lima group they are saying that they support the new interim president or self declared president in its way the right here's some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world u.s. president double trump's former attorney michael cohen has postponed his planned testimony to the u.s. congress cohen had been due to testify early next month lawyers cited threats against his family by president trump as the reason for the delay the acclaimed zimbabwean musician oliver m two could sing has died at the age of sixty six now in a career that spanned forty years and sixty seven albums he became the most

successful artist to emerge from zimbabwe. as he was known had been suffering from diabetes. was in bubbly is facing fresh unrest after government employees said they would go on strike beginning friday the council representing half a million civil servants announced that the action would take place after paying to go she agents failed in follows president emerson and then god was pledged to investigate what he called unacceptable violence by security forces during a crackdown on protests against an increase in fuel tax twelve people were killed hundreds injured but medical sources say the published death toll may be just a fraction of the real figure. victims of the army crackdown are being treated in hospitals in the capital harare. this man was shot in the leg. he says he doesn't want to show his face because he's

afraid of being targeted again he will merely having been a harare resident far i'm a posse also suffered injuries after being attacked by the security forces. of i don't go to new orleans take started beating me with metal rods logs and barbed wire my hand was broken twice and i have a crack on my left leg after beating me they left in a hurry. the violence erupted just over a week ago after the government dramatically increased the price of fuel. the army and police were deployed in harare and other cities to disperse protesters and prevent looting. but the security forces were accused by zimbabwe's human rights commission of using extreme violence and in some cases torture.

they seem to resort to use of brute excessive and disproportionate force in most circumstances thereby causing upgradable loss of life and also always in this situation. the opposition m.d.c. is also accused the government of deploying the military and its heavy handed tactics to intimidate and silence its critics. to spread unfortunate and very tragic that we are back to the past what is clear is that is part of victimization on the basis of freedom of conscience or we are having these m.d.c. members m.p.'s being victimized. the president still to chip a brute to deal with the crisis he's promised a national dialogue and an investigation into the alleged abuses that mistrust and tension in zimbabwe remain high. what turkey's president richard tell your paranoia

one says he and russian president vladimir putin are on the same page regarding a planned safe zone in northern syria of that zone would be a buffer between turkey and kurdish fighters who everyone sees as terrorist speaking after talks with putin in moscow everyone said that it was of crucial importance that the plan the u.s. withdraw from syria did not leave room for terrorist groups to roam freely in said more action by both unger and moscow is needed to liquidate the actions of terrorist groups as he puts it. all right i'm going to have the big table now by marcus com he's an analyst at the german institute for international and security affairs it's good to see you again mark i let me ask you if donald trump the u.s. president if he had not been said that he's going to withdraw all troops from syria would this meeting between ariel want to put it would have even taken place maybe it would have taken place but highly likely with a different agenda i mean we see the repercussions on the u.s.

withdrawal from the from the from syria which has been announced in december i will all expecting me to do political implications and now we cede the united states has left behind always going to leave behind some kind of strategic meet. the countries of the players in the region and from from from the international scene russia turkey and iran what does this buffer zone tell you regarding turkey's willingness to attack the kurds knowing that washington has told it not the buffer zone to guarantee that there will be no attack no i don't think so or think you made the right point in turkey was constrained tain by the us and by the united states siding with a y p d a go to make it very very clearly that they were some kind of military alliance that they were already useful and fighting i still and they should be some kind of protected from the from target attacks and with the united states having

announced that they withdrawal that they would through withdraw their forces i think nobody could expect they took their side to be tamed any longer so it's difficult to say if and when the talks will take a total militia what i expect this to happen in the next couple of days so you think it's just a matter of time absolutely and what about the kurds themselves who are they going to turn to they build the basic to make a little story or loses out the situation they have for a couple of years to. the year of the syrian civil war if you seem to be some kind of witness of this duration and any advantage from the situation gaining some kind of autonomy status within syria even more even more and now they're reduced to some kind of ethnic tribe within syria having to turn to to the syrian government and as a person kind of the autonomy and do you think the united states would let these turkish or these kurdish forces be slaughtered. it knowing that i mean you know

trump had that issued that warning saying that he would destroy the economy of turkey if that happened do you think the u.s. would stand by that have it strong this threat and given the. community to put it difficult u.s. position and it's true we can weaken the u.s. position of the nuns but no one. has any interest in engaging militarily. expect free and for the. markets kind with the german institute for international and security affairs as always we appreciate your insights thank you. for the search for that missing footballer milly young sala has been called off for the night so far rescuers have failed to find any definite trace of his plane in the english channel though an identified debris is being examined authorities say there is little hope of finding him or the plane's pilot alive the argentinian striker was on his way to join his new team cardiff

city when the plane disappeared his family has revealed that in his last message salo said the plane looked like it was about to fall apart. hope is rapidly fading here in the cold waters around the channel islands. this search and rescue aircraft is one important cog in the team's afeard to find the light aircraft carrying and. if they're in the water will said the chances of. a diminished to almost zero because it's very cold in the water has been rough even though it's as well if they're safely in a launch for oft. the chance to survive much greater because the flights from the cold to the piper malibu aircraft with santa ana pilot on board took off from the french city of nanda on monday evening headed for cardiff but the plane disappeared from radar on passing guernsey in the channel islands and only saw it as

a cardiff player from now on saturday he said he couldn't wait to get started but it returned to france to say farewell to his team mates. media reports have revealed the last wats up messages silas sent to friends and family i'm on the plane it looks like it's falling apart if an hour and a half you do not hear from me i don't know if they'll send someone to pick me up because they'll not find me i'm scared non funds have been honoring twenty eight year old son in want to become his adopted city. back home in argentina solace father was crestfallen. i spoke to him on sunday. but he was very happy that he was moving to cardiff to an even bigger club that he liked he was doing well he was playing well and this news when these things happen there are no words that. sila is the most

expensive player cardiff ever bought the club's funds are in shock still hoping to be found in life. stephen here now with a look at the world economic forum in davos switzerland a big address from a big world leader today. german chancellor angela merkel in this case telling the world economic forum that global institutions need to be reforms not downgraded to avoid what she called the fragmentation of the multilateral world americal told the gathering of political and business leaders in the switzer the swiss resort town the compromise cannot be seen as a dirty word. she's been hailed by some as the leader of the free world. today at the world economic forum in davos german chancellor i'm going to appear to live up to this title a subpoena for cooperation among nations is. it desired i think we should understand our national interest in such a way that we always remember that others have their own vested interests and

factor them in and then shape a win win situation that will guide us in international politics. no a global architecture will only function if we're able to compromise as a whole. it was a rebuke to the isolationism of us president donald trump who at the last minute made his point by counselling his trip to davos to reinforce her point michael also called for stronger global economic ties. you know obviously when you win in the european union we've always been a champion of free trade i'm delighted that starting the first of february we'll have the e.u. japan free trade agreement. and we're also in favor of trade talks with the united states. we've been able to complete trade talks with canada and i think others should follow. but michael's plays down in shop contrast with actual events britain's exit from the e.u. is just one example of international ties being said it. didn't stop her from

addressing the subject of cricket i want you miss ali if we all have to deal with the shock that britain wants to leave the union all my efforts go toward trying to see this happen in a well ordered manner we want to have a good future partnership and. the future of that partnership michael says it's now in the hands of the british. government on this let's talk to correspondent javier are good as he is joining us live from davos where he's trying to stay warm i'm sure. defending multi-lateralism can't really be a hard sell at davos where globalization is hardly a dirty word so what in this speech actually made the davos crowd listen what perked their ears. well stephen of course it's not difficult to defend multilateralism as such but it is difficult to defend institutions that represented

like the international monetary fund the world bank or the world trade organization and that is because they have come under fire because they are not really. being able to deliver the results and the functions that they were supposed to and that is the message of i'm going to medical when she says she needs or she sees a need to reform them it is not about giving up multilateralism but reforming it in order for other countries and powers not to create similar institutions that can become an alternative instead of all countries and all regions working together. now another one of the key speeches today coming from japanese permissions oh hey how did his remarks compared to miracles. well it was quite remarkable that both leaders seem to be in line when it comes to their priorities. specifically mentioning the digital ization process and how it affects it both countries share a demographic problem with aging populations which of course implies

a challenge and he also made a very important emphasis on climate change and i'm going to merkel actually said that she was glad that she is obvious will make these two points of very important ones and a priority during the tenure of japan as leader of the g twenty group of countries so we can see that both leaders seem to be in line just after that free trade agreement of course that japan also signed with the e.u. . of course dad of course is one of the big topics there big data in the its requirements in a lot of these advanced technologies that are coming merkel has said that europe has to find its own way to deal with big debt in a world where china and u.s. the u.s. represent two polarities what exactly does she mean by that. well she probably means the fact that the e.u. still has to find its own way and its own path to dealing with some of the scandals that we've seen in the recent years let's not forget that the e.u. had big trouble with the an s.k. n.s.a.

spy and espionage scandal with the united states and now in recent months we've seen repeated efforts to counter some of the chinese state owned companies like y. way that are also under fire for apparently stealing data and all of these efforts have to come from the european union in a unified way that's another of the big challenges stephen so as usual plenty of big challenges in there in davos how do you get us there for us live thank you havea. sony is moving its european headquarters from london to amsterdam to avoid possible disruptions caused by brags that the company said the move would help avoid customs issues tied to britain's exit from the e.u. at the end of march as despite the move sony said it won't shift staff and operations from existing u.k. operations it's the latest japanese company to relocate to the continent in response of the referendum result last year panasonic also moved its headquarters in the world to the netherlands due to potential tax issues that might result from

brussels. and over a lot america mexico's president has announced a series of social programs for poor communities measures he says he hopes will stop people from stealing fuel you made the comments after dozens of people were killed in a pipeline explosion last week. this was the aftermath of last week's deadly explosion in the state of pitt algo in central mexico. it occurred after hundreds of people rushed to collect gasoline gushing from a pipeline ruptured by suspected thieves thank you it's hard to imagine a more devastating representation of the country's fuel crisis. mexico's president lopez obrador swept to power on the promise to crack down on years of fuel theft which he says have cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue but his decision to close pipelines topped by criminals led to shortages

and long lines at gas stations across the country. despite the crisis operatory received a warm reception in the town of our company in the state of mexico where he announced an almost ten million dollar investment in social programs for locals. referring to the tragedy of doubt go he said. that no mexican will have the need to take part in such an activity. because they will have work and support from the government their wellbeing will be secured. a few theft is over. that. gratitude from the crowd in our combat. but elsewhere in the country relatives have been laying their loved ones to rest. for them the promise that fuel theft is over has come to lace.

and here's a reminder of the top story we're following for you in venezuela hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to demand the resignation of president nicolas maduro opposition leader won why though as declared himself the country's interim president. you're watching news from berlin after a short break brett will be back to take you through the day as always thanks for watching.

oh. entering the conflict zone confronting the powerful. back six relief fossey jang it's come to mean a more united kingdom on the moon damaged week a government i guess this week here in london is in the jenkins and meeting breaks it campaigning for the conservative m.p. how did britain get into this crisis and how's it going. get out of it.

kill me something nice friend fires came from jurors or dealing with any unit alone they killed many civilians it was an international company clearing my father says i was a student because i wanted to build a life for myself like this the president my life became alledge the kind of sob. providing insights global news that matters d. w. made for mines hey listen up. that's what video game music sounded like thirty years ago. today's tracks take the experience to another level ok sense to him talk composer.

featured in many games just music is bound to get comes to his fans he opens doors to. sounds good. oh sure that's so much more than just background music video game music starts february twenty fifth on d w. the german chancellor angela merkel yesterday she was the states woman and friend to france lending her signature to secure the core of european peace today before business and politics global elites she spoke as the pastor's daughter offering the golden rule as a twenty first century going to geopolitics do on to others in a world with presidents who promise to do for themselves first i burnt off in berlin this is the day.