this is news coming to you live from the new u.s. president joe biden gets to work reversing the policies of his predecessor. during the time of course. he's taken his place in the oval office signing a string of executive orders and making key appointments to put his agenda into action also coming up what does germany expect from the new u.s. leader from military bases to oil pipelines how the 2 countries might match up

a shaky relationship. and. talks to you about the availability of vaccines and whether germany will have to close its borders to prevent the spread of the new variant of the virus. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us a new chapter is beginning in the u.s. president joe biden has already started undoing some of the policies of the trumpet ministration on his 1st day in office he rejoined the paris climate accord and the world health organization he also ended a ban on travelers from some mainly countries in his inaugural speech he called for unity and a change in tone. i was a sea change in u.s. politics. this is america's day

this is democracy day. a day of history and hope are no i resolved through a crucible for the ages america has been tested a new america has risen to the challenge. in his inaugural speech as president of the united states joe biden appealed to americans to overcome their divisions without mentioning his predecessor by name he sounded the beginning of a new era in which he said truths would prevail. and recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson there is truth and our lives. lies told for power and for profit. your new jersey has a duty and a responsibility as citizens as americans especially as leaders leaders who have pledged to honor our constitution and protect our nation to defend the truth and

defeat the lies. what made this day truly extraordinary in the history of the us was the swearing in of come on how us the 1st black american the 1st asian american the 1st woman to hold the office of vice president. it's. knocking on was her previous s.-a mike pence unlike donald trump he had come to the ceremony to honor the new administration. former presidents george w. bush and bill clinton were there. and say to barack obama and biden served as vice president the stop are always intensified with lady gaga singing the national anthem.

jennifer lopez with a medley of this land is your land and america the beautiful. and country singer goth brooks asked everyone to join in amazing grace. but the future was heralded by 22 year old poet amanda goldman who took up the themes of biden's inaugural speech in a poem addressing the problems of the divided nation and offering help for there was always a light if only were brave enough to see it if only were brave enough to b.n. . and joe biden $46.00 president of the united states is taking up that challenge. and joining us now from washington is our correspondent stuff and siemens stuff and joe biden's inaugural address was all about unity but the united states seems more divided than ever and now how big of a challenge does joe biden face i don't think there's

a superlative for this to describe very how big this challenges this guy go enormous or whatever you want to say because remember there is of course still 75000000 people who voted for going to trump and they didn't change their mind overnight and just because this was a nice inauguration day number 2 there is the coronavirus of pandemic which is a huge challenge for mr biden that has of course the economic fallout of the pandemic here are states are running out effect seen the problems problems problems so there is no unity on a political level and here in washington there is none to him probably will never be really one and out of the country people again this country is split 5050 percent almost in what paul is policies and what policymakers they prefer in the white house. so if let's take

a look at biden's 1st day in the oval office as he took over the presidency of the united states. in a hurry to get to work you u.s. president joe biden arrived at the white house ready to roll back the policies of his predecessor within hours of taking over the oval office biden signed a stack of executive orders resetting the agenda on the coronavirus pandemic immigration policy and climate change. we're going to redo our bureau here. we're going to rejoin the climate of course. as of today. we're in a month's q ordered all federal employees to do so as well biden moved quickly to fill key positions swearing in nearly 1000 new appointees and staff virtually the

new white house press secretary jens saki heralded relations with the press instead of attacking reporters and spreading so cold a lot one of the facts i have deep respect for the role of a free and independent press in our democracy and for the role all of you play as i noted earlier there will be moments when we disagree and there will certainly be days where we disagree for extensive parts of the briefing even perhaps i believe a common goal which is sharing accurate information with the american people meanwhile vice president come out harris took up his post in the senate swearing in new members with the new lawmakers the senate is now split 5050 between democrats and republicans house's votes will tip the scales there meaning the democrats now have control over both houses of congress and the power to push forward with president biden's agenda. or correspondent happens he wants to stay with us in washington on president biden made good on his promise to sign

a stack of executive orders as he moved into the white house how important are these executive orders. absolutely important and made a mistake this was historic 17 executive orders memoranda and. other advice as he signed this is this is dismantling the legacy of your previous answer in warp speed and it has never been done before never ever had a president signed 17 executive orders another member i'm going to on the 1st day off in operation they however how important they are important course this is the united states not leaving the w.h.o. this is the us going back to the paris climate or court and there will be more coming of course in the next few days as we have said today thursday is a really really big day for the ministration the 1st day it will be focused entirely on the coronavirus pandemic there needs to be stuff down the system

distribution system in the united states for vaccine is actually letting is on a break on a break at a breaking point so to speak and by the ministration will fix this right away states are running out of that scene if you're a 63 year old now in new york as the governor just said he has to wait to be that the governor of new york just that is to wait 6 months to get a vaccine so those things are the focus today of course also more senate confirmations for critical members of his cabinet and every day in january that by then mr ation has designated to focus on one specific theme for one specific item to tackle one big problem to tackle. what about coming to harris there's a lot of focus on her as well as joe biden's vice president what is she expected to play in his presidency. leaving alone that this is also again this is that we're using a lot here historic that is a woman of color now vice president of the united states of america her role will

not be a dormant vice president role joe biden was never dormant vice president when he was vice president 2 of you in the obama administration come all heiresses expected not to be a dormant vice president she will make sure that she will be heard i think she was hired for that very reason that she will be hurt and of course she says she was a senator and she is now vice president that we said this in the report she is the deciding in the absolute deciding vote if the senate can come up and is on par 505050 republicans voting against something $5050.00 rig democrats voting for something that she comes in and is the decisive vote so there is a significant role for us and i could go on for another half an hour ok. the money is in washington thank you so much germany is

among the many countries hoping to see closer cooperation with the u.s. under the new administration in washington going to machall sent joe biden and coming to harris a message congratulating them on their win what was congratulations on your inauguration she said joe biden coming to harris a true celebration of american democracy i look forward to a new chapter of german american friendship and cooperation more on that we're joined now by neil and he's a minister of state at germany's foreign affairs ministry and going to talk member with the social democrats the s.p.d. thank you for being with us this morning was to in tell us your you've cultivated relations with the u.s. throughout your career how do you feel about joe biden becoming president. good morning and to be honest with you i have been waiting for that day for 4 years and i thought it was a marvelous celebration of american democracy but oh so was a very important message i think directed of course to the american people on

arraying also the suffering and the death in relation with the coronavirus which has not been done before by the previous president but also with a very clear message to us to american friends and allies around the world. speaking as a representative of the german government and parliament what are your priorities for working with joe biden. look we have to acknowledge that democracy of democracies all over the world are under threat and i believe you know looking at what happened at the u.s. capitol but also what happened in the german bunds talks he is a right wing populist tendencies are really creating a threat to our democracies and the cohesion of our societies so working together makes us stronger but there are obvious global issues and i am very happy that president biden signed the executive orders now to rejoin the paris club at the

court we have to work together to to attack what has been developed as a real author tarion tendency coming from several countries around the world we have to coordinate our economic measures to count as the economic impact of covert 19 and then of course i could go on and go on there are crises where german and europeans and americans are working took as i just want to mention afghanistan where we are in a crucial peace process that is under stret from an increased level of violence so there are so many opportunities that have been wasted over the last 4 years that we are determined to make that work happen and with the new administration. german foreign minister he has talked about to a new deal a new marshall plan for democracy phrases that resonate very much in the transatlantic speer what is he talking about in concrete terms. look i

believe there are at least 2 aspects one i already mentioned which is the threat to our democracies from within our societies and that is something where we need to work together as the other aspect is that if we look at the authoritarian tendencies human rights violations in china especially as there are many good reasons for cooperation over the last 4 years the felt a white left by the decisions of then president trump not to support for example multilateral agreements like the paris climate the cause but also cooperation within the united nations so our foreign minister set up together with the french foreign minister and initiative which we called the alliance for multilateralism and we we have prepared to work together with the new white house to to realize those important initiatives ok so there will certainly be

a change of tone in relations between early on in washington you see eye to eye on many issues what obstacles remain as well what are the main bones of contention between berlin and washington now. look i'm i'm still in the celebratory mode so i don't want to put the differences 1st but of course we will not always agree and we have ongoing discussion for example on the use of extraterritorial sanction which we believe it's a threat to our own sovereignty we don't agree on energy policies like nostri 2 but i'm sure that with the willingness and ability to talk to each other there is the possibility we need to talk about burden sharing we have to do our part we are investing more in our own defense capabilities which is suddenly not enough yet but we also expect from the united states to reengage in terms of for example humanitarian aid and assistance there we became global leaders so a lot to do a lot to talk and. still i believe that it was

a very constructive very important message coming from that marvelous inauguration ceremony yesterday mr under thank you very much for speaking with this is morning that was social democrat news on and of germany's foreign affairs ministry and with this time thank you. well former president donald trump awarded the reduction of u.s. troops that american military bases here in germany such as the air base locals there now hope president biden will scrap those plans our next report has more on that and other issues affecting germany's relationship with the u.s. . what the some u.s. troops will leave the base has been the topic of conversation in the local bakery for months with buy it and now an office hopes a girl in that they'll stay. with them we've grown so close together that it's natural they're here they just belong here. about $4000.00

troops are stationed at spangdahlem at base trump wanted to withdraw fighter jet squadron and half of the soldiers along with it the locals fear what that could mean for their jobs in the economically weak region. dave scholarship for example news of a looming troop withdrawal burke in samara amid the car washes construction. there was one of my we were shocked when we have the news americans our costs are being right to wash and take care of their cars so to some extent we were lying on them for business here. so this entire film with our lives and. the troop withdrawal is just one example of the damage german american relationship trump also imposed last minute sanctions on a company involved with the north stream 2 gas pipeline to russia germany's foreign

minister hiker massa's hopeful for more dialogue after all he said there are too many unresolved conflicts in the world. both full we're counting on the us to return to the international stage and to do so responsibly biden says he wants to be good partners for peace and security. and for climate change too biden has rejoined the paris climate agreement he also wants to get the u.s. away from its heavy reliance on fracking and burning fossil fuels climate activists hope his promises turn into action. if biden succeeds combined with a push for innovation in renewable energies renewable technologies and nature conservation it will give huge momentum to international climate protection over. germany can also expect to pay more germany's defense minister says the country and

europe should be ready to invest more in security. until now there was the possibility to hand of the old difficult tasks to the us that weren't happen any more we'll have to do ourselves and germany can't say we're happy to pay france can do it france will expect us to be there and take responsibility. back near the spangdahlem abbey the locals have hopes in the new u.s. president i'm not jeff because this bakery fails. well the u.s. president's inauguration is not the only story making headlines around the world of course stay there are some other headlines in china state media have reported that a worker trapped in a gold mine for more than a week has died as rescuers continue efforts to save 21 others still stuck deep underground rescuers have been in contact with 11 of the workers of the fate of the other 10 remains on the security forces in mali used tear gas to disperse dozens of

demonstrators in the capital bomb acoa on wednesday police also used roadblocks and motorbike convoys to stop people gathering protesters were rallying against the ongoing presence of the french military friends as deployed over a 1000 troops in mali since 2013 on an anti terror operation. hospitals in the u.k. are under pressure as daily coronavirus deaths there rise to record levels over $1800.00 people died of the virus on tuesday this comes as a variant of the virus believed to be more contagious spreads across the country. health trusts have converted cathedrals into mass vaccination centers as the vaccine rollout continues. new variants of the corona virus found in the u.k. south africa and brazil are causing concerns around the world as they appear to be more transmissible than the original they're also spreading across other countries including ireland france belgium spain and germany exact numbers are hard to

determine but experts say there are likely many undetected cases now many countries are imposing new measures to try to stop the new variant from spreading england now requires 10 days of isolation and a negative code test for all travelers arriving in the country france has imposed a nighttime curfew nationwide as have italy and the czech republic austria and the netherlands are extending lockdowns into february. well the number of daily coronavirus cases here in germany shows no sign of decreasing in the last 24 hours more than 20000 new infections have been recorded and more than a 1000 people have died chancellor i'm going to michael is expected to hold a news conference today to talk about extending measures to curb the virus ahead of that. caught up with merkel's chief of staff held up well. and with me now is i'm

going to medical staff. on thursday leaders will be gathering to discuss the next steps in corona will border closes and more border controls be on the agenda that. in the end that would be the worst way to go because what is it we're trying to achieve we want to bring down the numbers in germany we want our health authorities to regain control over the chains of transmission and then we want to reopen that is exactly what made us successful last year. after the lockdown we had incidence rates of 2345 a lot of people forget that now and there are people who are saying they can't believe it's possible to get the infection rate below 50 i believe it is possible. i believe that with the measures we're now taking we can do it and then we will

need to defend that success we need to make sure that it can be sustained that in conjunction with the effects of spring in the vaccine this allows us to return to normality and that we don't face renewed problems especially through a highly infectious virus mutation that is even harder to control and i believe we all want to avoid that and that's why stricter immigration measures when a neighboring region has become a host a mutation simply can't be avoided by now the united states has been following a america 1st policy also when it comes to vaccinations that goes back to a presidential order from the 8th of december it makes so that every american has to be off the vaccination before any of these vaccines leave the country so what will your request be on this issue to the newly inaugurated president joe biden. the european commission is currently in talks with the companies involved and if that helps us find a solution then of course we will discuss that with the. where said ministration

there is no question about that now the world health organization is criticizing that it's the rich countries who are getting access to vaccines fast what are you doing for poor countries we are. just as we ordered the vaccine through the european union so too we are taking part in a joint initiative together with the european union. the european commission will address this topic how to provide the vaccine to 3rd party states especially poor countries will be our top at the european council on thursday and clued in the question of how we can still do more beyond this kovacs initiative. was the. first half a dozen times that i am akhil thank you very much there. and finally a 12 year old freestyle footballer from nigeria is already in the guinness book of

records for his juggling skills he's now aiming to break his own mark and what's become a professional footballer what makes his style so unusual is that he does tricks with not just one but 2 balls. juggling one ball with your knees is hot enough but nigerian too numb so does it while balancing another ball on his head. he's so good at it that he set a world record 2 years ago. 111 took his in one minute and not a single wobble from the ball on his head it looks like it's glued into place. he's only 12 and learned his skills from some football greats. nobody. but me if i don't meet him part. of. it

so far. he is now an online sensation videos of his football skills have received thousands of views but not everyone talking seriously. his record changed all that. before with us was close enough not to me what. my friends say they want to be. and the king of multitasking is not satisfied he is now aiming for another world record 2000 touches all while balancing a ball on his head a career as a professional footballer is his ultimate dream you wouldn't bet against it. just reminder the top story we're following for you today joe biden has taken up office as the 46th united states president signing executive orders including 3 joining the terrorist climate accordant stepping up measures to fight the credit

virus pandemic and cuddle her as has become the 1st woman vice president she's taken up her post as head of the senate giving her democratic party control caucus . as if for me in the news team coming up next focus on europe looking at lithuania's role in protecting dissenters from neighboring beller roups.

she hopes the way she can. click obama supports belorussian activists who want to flee the country. their destination is neighboring lithuania. where they hope for a safe future far away from police violence and state oppression. some concern on her. next d.w. . conflicts between civil strife the e.u.

and britain you could still see trade deal for the post directly to you now at least in the u.k. there are some hard realities to deal with my guest this week from aberdeen in scotland is on to bali conservative m.p. and vice chairman of the conservative party who was forced old suso economic over the truth lucky break so many conflicts of. the 60 minutes to. the life of her. country and. gigantic coincidence. that tim previously the earth was just a messy chemistry lab a publishing. where the impossible. to

touch the creation of our solar system with our planet is a bit like winning the lottery comparison to the. earth. starts feb 11th on t.w. . a very warm welcome to focus on europe thanks for joining us today following your dreams and overcoming your fears that's what a turkish woman did she wanted to make it to the top and she succeeded nazli yelm as is a pioneer and she has to buckle up for her job she is the 1st and only woman in turkey who works this.