this is you know when he was going for a girl in anger and inequality spills onto the french streets major trade unions join yellow vest activists and want to spread industrial action in the latest challenge to him and when mcdonald's government they're demanding social justice and higher wages also coming up u.s. president donald trump is such a deliver his second to the status of the union address this evening as controversial plans for a border wall are expected expected to feature prominently in his highly

anticipated speech on revelers are grounded in the surest seat in the lunar new year they're hoping for happiness and prosperity in the year of the pete. thanks so much for your company everyone union strikes of cost significant disruptions across france says workers took to the streets to demonstrate against the policies of president and many are called the labor union incision today organized the action in response to what it called the country's social emergency and to call for a fairy taxation system while some key figures involved in the country's yellow vests movement which has been protesting against president mccollum since last november also joined the yacht rallies and correspondent to max hoffman is covering the strike in paris. for you when i asked him how the demonstrations unfolded today

it seems that at the end things got slightly out of hand again which is almost traditionally the case at the end of demonstrations here in paris cobble stones were thrown and we still have the with of tear gas here in the air and behind me you can see some of the police special forces blocking decided street where we are normally this demonstration should have been over but now people are returning in the other direction fleeing to tear gas so nothing special really in paris but many here say it's a shame because before that it was really peaceful all right now going to actually is this for us max why is this strike so significant it is significant because for the first time the yellow vests that have been making headlines all over the world in the last months have teamed up with one of the larger trade unions the c.z. tea before that the you'll of us always rejected the old institutions especially the political parties but also the trade unions but now they are joining forces at

least some of them and that's because they are at a crossroads many feel like the yellow vests in the traditional form have run their course many people in paris by the way are fed up with the violence that they experience every saturday some of the yellow bus want to go to the next level like i said join forces but also have maybe found some political parties to participate in the european elections so max would you characterize this as some people have as a turning point for the yellow best movement. it might be too early to say that but we do know that they are losing people on the streets every saturday now so the numbers are decreasing and as i said earlier people who live in paris say ok it's enough in the beginning i was sympathizing with them but i don't really like the violence and i think now it's enough because they are blocking daily lives a deadly life here every saturday so if they really are able to transition to the next level that is something that requires

a higher level of organization that they have shown so far but it is not impossible because they did have a lot of support in the population and what they are are rivendell heading what they want is legitimate for many and that is a higher standard of living what does this all mean for president and my current. same thing as with the yellow this also he is at a crossroads it seems like for the first time in months he might be able to regain the momentum he's reaching out to people in this big national debate that will be ongoing until the fifteenth of march that seems to have some effect on the other side he's trying to control these demonstrations every saturday just a reminder the yellow vests demonstrations are saturdays this is different because we have the trade unions organizing and by having a harder head by trying to limit the violence for example the parliament here the somebody nicer on tuesday is passing

a law to limit this kind of demonstration to be able even to forbit it just like with. their hooligan laws so that that's where it was inspired from so this is the it's the dual approach that immoderate michel has but we need to wait for the next weeks to see if it really if it really works right max hoffman reporting from the french capital paris thank you. our want to tell you now about some of the other stories making news around the world. officials in paris say a woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire in an apartment building killed at least ten people want to suspect as a resident of the eight story building in the capital's wealthy sixteenth home the small local media say the woman has a history of mental illness. and belfast british prime minister theresa may has reassured the people of northern ireland that she remains committed to preventing a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland all this is by

seeking to limit the so-called northern irish backstopped may will hold talks with the leaders in brussels on thursday agreement installment house of. a taliban assault on an army base in northern afghanistan has killed at least twenty six members of the country's security forces the attack in can do is province lasted for more than two hours the militants were eventually repelled when reinforcements arrived. russia's defense minister says the country must develop a new a land based missiles within two years and while sergei yet show whose comments come after russia followed the united states in announcing its withdrawal from a nuclear weapons agreement on saturday that agreement the i.n.f. treaty bans all short mid range missiles launched from the ground. u.s. president donald trump is preparing to deliver his second state of the union speech

later today is expected to challenge democrats to approve funding for the wall he wants to build on the border with mexico as they say he will also call for unity and optimism but critics fear it will be difficult to overcome deep divisions after the last two years of personal attacks and animosity exeunt of our nominee has this preview of tonight's highly anticipated speech. this state of the union address a grand stage for the u.s. president to speak directly to a national audience about what he has accomplished and what still needs to be done but what is the state of the union after two years of trump's president see my state of the union i think a pretty good shape you know i look forward to hearing what the president has to say. going to save the union in the conmen everything and hopefully to. focus a little bit more and bipartisanship working together and i think it's in. bad shape

at the top. in the white house and we have an incompetent. possibly insane person if they had to through executive order to say most stuff. you know money for the border. you know. and all the other stuff he wants can't afford. choosing greatness that's the official white health theme for donald trump's address to congress you as president plans to strike a conciliatory tone and deliver a cold for unity and he speech but in many ways it might be too late the country and congress are divided along party lines and the democrats are determined to make sure that trump remains a one term president rebuilding the country's infrastructure lowering the cost of prescription drugs these are issues both parties could agree on but instead they

fight over transplant border will the topic is expected to be front and center of trump's address to congress with no indication of either side giving an inch we will be looking. to emergency because i don't think anything's going to happen i think the democrats don't want borders secure and when i hear them talking about the fact that walls are immoral it was the work they know their work trump has suggested there will be a major announcement in his speech but then again he might be just trying to raise expectations i had of the address he's difficult to predict says elaine k. mark author and former aides to president bill clinton we don't know if he'll stick to the script and also remember that behind him sit the vice president who is by the constitution the president of the senate and the speaker of the house nancy pelosi so i don't know what kinds of expressions nancy pelosi might make as he is making this speech but that will be interesting to house speaker nancy pelosi

will be visible in nearly every camera shot her presence is evidence of the newfound power of the democratic party and a reminder of trump's struggles to adapt to a divided government in washington. and a programming note stephen hughes will have live coverage of state of the union address starting at two am central european time but before that it's still a couple of hours away i've got. here with me in the studio or you know a group craft who will be back for it for our special coverage along with our team from berlin and washington but you're here to give us a little preview what can we expect yeah well i mean the state of the union is always known for its political theatrics but it's shaping up to be a particularly theatrical moment coming right after the longer shutdown in u.s. history and maybe on the heels of another one coming up if the congress can agree to a budget and to this wall controversy that trump really wants to push you know we don't really know what he's going to talk about we have some good hints i mean just based on some of the guests he's inviting you know first time nonviolent drug offenders

who have been the community sentences victims of the tree of life synagogue massacre from a few months ago opiate substance abuse victims so we could see this shaping up to be immigration trade economy security prison reform and we'll be here to cover all night long starting at two am central european time at eight pm over on the east coast united states and you can tweet me w n blue cross blue cross on twitter if you have any questions or. things to add or want me to look into stuff we'll be doing that all night so check us out and we'll be here i hope you will be you got us coverage there so much looking forward to it ryan thank you so much are a year who are washing a d w a news still to come. the pope wraps up a historic visit to the united arab emirates with a powerful mass to local conflicts but will his message of peace and tolerance

influence the region once he's gone. now to germany which has unveiled a bold new strategy to protect its industrial sector in the face of new challenges economy minister peter of myer unveiled the so-called national industrial strategy twenty thirty in frankfurt well beyond the snappy title was a sea change in german thinking of myer once the state to intervene more in the economy to stop vital parts being sold off to foreign investors. com a german companies like siemens and thyssen krupp against hostile takeovers that's the goal of the german government's new investment strategy which elevates industrial success to the national interest after recent years or china by one company after another germany's economic affairs minister says berlin can't afford to sell its high tech peyton's to foreign powers. the flow but there's fear and i think

that when certain countries and specific companies use very aggressive tactics to expand their market share then we have the right kind responsibility to respond there's been none of this originally started to argue hugh economy minister sees a greater role for the state and greater relief for businesses in areas like energy costs or taxes mergers should be made easier but critics warn of too much government involvement with communications goats equivalent to guaranteeing the existence of individual businesses because there are some outstanding firms the rake in profits because there are others that are frankly pretty wobbly the guys from barclays and. mile also says german companies need to lead the pack when it comes to innovation in new technologies like artificial intelligence or driving systems for cars of the future and is planning to help kick start that development with billions in new investment which should also help protect german jobs. are all for more we are now joined by clemons first from the institute one of europe's

leading business set think tanks are very good to see you mr force i mean what i wonder with this investment plan is germany's economic situation really that bad that it calls for a plan like the one that's been presented today. it's not bad at all but this is about the future the question is how sustainable it is the position of german industry and here there are reasons for concern. there as the issue of the car industry the diesel technology may be phased out in the future so i think it is true that germany needs to think about the future the question is though what the right strategy is. this is you know by all accounts a massive intervention measure in the free market basically so you know without being too dramatic is this the beginning of the end of germany's free market economy. i hope it isn't i see

a number of problems in this crowd the tree one problem is the tendency to imitate what the chinese are doing so the china is an economy that is to catching up technologically in this situation it may be good to have some steering towards export markets to us a lot of companies japanese in different situations german industry is a technology leader and we know from research on investor policy that what's needed here is p.s. competition to make sure that these large companies innovate and change so i think a lot of the things we find in this strategy are problematic one example is the emphasis on size on lost companies if you look at the dominant. companies their competitive edge is often due to specialisation to being very inoperative but not to size germany is the country of the hidden champions self small companies

very specialized and very innovative and there is nothing that suggests that this model won't work in the future. all right well let's continue talking about the elephant in the room china which is the reason behind this investment plan how is staging likely to react. i think that beijing has its strategy they have the plan manufacturing china made in china twenty twenty five this is a plan for upgrading manufacturing for catching up in technology and what the chinese are doing is actually experimenting a lot they have to find ten key technologies where they want to be leaders about what they're really doing is experiment act very broadly. but we need to see what if what they do i think the german economy and the european economy needs to do to do to base its industrial policy on its own conditions and we are not like

china we are different at the same time it's true we need to keep an eye for instance on subsidies paid by china to chinese firms and we of course need to check is this of these subsidies distort in competition and then we can take measures but i think the chinese model is not a model for us for instance i don't think we should protect our large companies against foreign takeovers this will only make them lazy this will only prevent them from implementing the necessary changes from innovating i think we need capital market pressure on them at the same time i think are we not as joplin's as europeans should use our market power access to the european market not to keep the chinese up but to make sure we have access to the chinese market. clemence force from the i have no insight to it so i thank you so much for sharing your

perspectives on this issue. thank you all for france's has ended a three day trip to the united arab emirates by leading a mass attended by more than one hundred eighty thousand people while the event for these a its fourth stadium in the capital dopy all during his mass the the pope raise concerns about the plight of migrant workers in the gulf the pontiff also calls for more harmony and tolerance between muslims and christians. as the crowds cheer pope francis's cavalcade makes its way slowly into the zoe sports stadium in abu dhabi. all around the catholic faithful here to mark this historic occasion. for most of you by here for some reason you know which appears to be told me they would imagine that they will see the pope in this country you obviously you are but. i never

imagined leave. the. last three years with you. this the first ever papal mass in the arabian peninsula and what some consider to be the largest show of public christian worship in the gulf arab region public displays of non islamic faith and restricted but on the last day of the pope's visit tens of thousands openly celebrate mass with him. position images. for jesus on the other hand blessid of the poor the me very sternly those who remain just even at the cost of appearing in a bad line to those who read those who are persecuted or join in who is correct

here jesus or the world. but to understand this let us look at how jesus lived poor in respect to things but we'll see in love and a final message in a country famous for its riches and the end to allow month trip in which the pope has appealed for christians and muslim leaders to want together to promote peace. art want to tell you now about what's still ahead. asia's season the year of the pig with the lavish celebrations feasts and fireworks will bring peace and prosperity to the region. first though a new development in the so-called football leaks the whistleblowing platform that has revealed some of the murky aspects of the global football business group in tow a major source for the stunning revelations has now gone public for the very first

time after his recent arrest speaking to a german broadcaster in already. secret location in budapest it's here in this modest apartment building we're told wants to give his side of the story. on january sixteenth last he was arrested in the hungary in capital in response to a portuguese arrest warrant on charges of attempted extortion and cyber crimes. he's under house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor while awaiting a decision on whether he is a whistleblower who legally obtained the documents which could exonerate him or whether he is a cyber criminal. which could lead to extradition. war what matters for me and for football leaks is the documents are authentic i don't care about the origin i'm a whistleblower so i have i have to expose and we have to jordan only it's credible . the real deal and among those documents are details of confidential plans for an

elite super league or for president john yoo frontino helped top european clubs get around the financial fair play rules who also admitted to contacting sports investment company under a false name a meeting was organized which led to accusations of attempted extortion. i think i was naive. i did. i did something stupid i decided to play with them and basically said that yeah i have some documents. and they wanted i wanted to see their reaction i wanted i wanted to know. how. how valuable were these documents for them i want i wanted to know what for how far they were ready to go if you really really know no. zero point zero faces up to ten years in prison in portugal if convicted. and

beaten are both. because i'm a target. and i feel that at the moment i will enter portuguese until most we'll leave the bundle. i can end up and that. i'm aware of. a hungary and court times until march nineteenth to decide if pinto will be extradited to his native portugal. no happy ending perhaps for lindsey vonn of the alpine skiing world championship in are a sweden was supposed to be her pronouncement race the american skiing legend lindsey vonn crashed in the super g. and after medics rushed to her aid she eventually got back on her skis and somehow managed to finish the course on her own lindsey vonn announced that she will start

sunday's downhill event which will then be the final chapter of her glorious career while winner of the super g. was vase compatriots mikaela shiffrin. people across the world have been celebrating the first day of the lunar new year on many offered prayers in temples and sat down with family members for a special holiday meal it's the year of the pig this time around and people are hoping it's the beginning of a year of good luck. praying for good fortune in the new year a tradition for chinese communities around the world. here at beijing's by temple thousands flock to welcome. the year of the pig in chinese culture that zodiac sign is a symbol of luck and wealth hopes that were reflected in the new year's wishes. i wish for good health for my family and success in my career and of course i hope

for perspective pretty conventional. so for this year i'll be taking my college entrance exam so i hope to get. another custom to bring good luck temple go is trying to strike a bell hanging under a bridge it's a lucrative time for the monastery stuff needed shovels to clear the coins and a motorbike helmet for protection. but for the chinese and a growing international audience this has become a major part of the celebrations the spring festival gala. it's now the country's most watched t.v. show with an estimated billion viewers. to keep the millennial zope that's pitted with young celebrities like chinese boy ben boys. but the show stopper is a highly choreographed routines like this by twenty thousand shall performance.

for most people celebrating the lunar new year is about spending time with friends and family. and it's about food lots of it. hundreds of millions of people have traveled to be home for the feasts and festivities they're hoping that this year of the pig will be a lucky one. r. and a reminder of our main story that we're tracking for you this hour french workers have joined with yellow vests activists and widespread strike action together they're demanding higher wages and greater action on inequality as the latest challenge to the government of president in money right. here watching the debt we knew still to come news africa what internet censorship on the rise in africa we ask just how important cyber freedom is on the continent. plus

one of africa's great lakes is running out of fish we'll tell you why that's happening and what people are doing about it. and that and a whole lot more coming up next. and i'll see you again at the top of the hour.

if ready for something new on d w t w news office bringing you stories are cross the major stories that shape our well enough for the news feed every news africa. that the world over information may provide the opinions they want to express d.w. on facebook and twitter go up to date and in touch and follow us. every journey

begins with the first step and every language with the first word published in the . code is in germany to learn german why not learn with them simple online on your mobile and free to suffer from d w z e learning course nikos fake german mating newsy. once upon a time there was a young girl. with a burning ambition. to become a conductor. i was a very curious child and very excited and in love with music and i would go to concerts with my parents and i always. yearned for being on stage with the musicians and being part of that magic it wasn't difficult the first girl she was told to become a doctor but this girl had other ideas and one day she really

did become world famous. along the bank. eleven thanks. to w. . this is deja news africa coming up in the next fifteen minutes digital democracy with internet censorship on the rise in africa we asked just how important side the freedom is on the continent. and one of africa's great lakes is for running out of fish will tell you why that's happening and what people are doing about it. i'm christine wendell welcome.