>> welcome to the world news. as we prepared to ring in the new year. >> we're counting down the hours. until then, our top stories. hundreds of syrian refugees are in italy after being saved from a runaway ship abandoned by its crew. the world starts welcoming in 2015. we will be getting in at a few of the parties. and the german chancellor take stock of the old year and assesses challenges in the new one. ♪ welcome to the show. italy'course -- italy's course

guard says it narrowly averted catastrophe by engaging a runaway freighter with hundreds of syrian refugees aboard. it had been abandoned by its crew. >> this was the second maritime drama in recent days after a fire aboard a ferry. more on that story later in the program. >> the italian coast guard was already working because of the ferry disaster, and they had to scramble helicopters after the blue sky m started heading for the rocks. >> hundreds of migrants disembarked in gallipoli after being rescued from a runaway freighter. officials say the ship control room had been abandoned and that the steering was locked on a collision course. the coast guard prevented a disaster. we are still counting the number of migrants. but if the ship continued the journey the way it was heading it would have ended up crashing

on the coast. >> the coast guard managed to unlock the engine just kilometers from the rocky shore. authorities set up makeshift hospitals to treat those on board who had fallen ill. the mayor of gallipoli praised the response of emergency services. >> they did a very professional and accurate job. >> the cold weather is causing problems and the snow is making it more difficult to organize everything. >> aid workers say most of the migrants on board were from syria. one man suspected of involvement in the smuggling operation was arrested on arrival. italian authorities are looking into what caused the fire on the other vessel in the adriatic

. >> 427 people were rescued but 100 are still missing. 13 people were confirmed dead, and the number is expected to rise. >> stormy weather is preventing the ship from being towed. many survivors are already recounting what is -- what happened. >> passengers are relieved to be back n land in italy. they continue to share stories of their frightening ordeal. >> it was 5:00 in the morning. there was a lot of smoke. we did not know what to do. everybody was panicking. everybody was running. >> if i had jumped in the water too soon, it would have been the end. those who jumped from 30 make -- 30 meters did not make it. >> amateur video has emerged filmed by passengers as they waited for help. many had to hold out on deck for more than 24 hours.

it was cold and wet as strong winds hampered the helicopter rescue. many criticized the joint italian-greek operation as slow and uncoordinated. one german passenger-side lives were put at risk by the lack of -- german passenger side lives were put at risk by the lack of information. >> we were standing there hundreds of people without information. there was no information. >> crews continue to search for missing people. it is not known how many migrants may have been on board and not registered. italian prosecutors have taken control of the investigation and ordered the vessel to be towed. they fear they will find more bodies once investigators begin examining the burnt out ship. >> for the latest, let's bring in philip. he joins us from southern italy. first off this vessel the

norman atlantic, what caused the fire aboard the ship? [no audio] >> villa? can you hear us, philip? ok. we can't get that up right now. but we will try later on this program to get philip back with the latest on what happened to the norman atlantic, and of course the migrant ship. >> [indiscernible] >> ok. we will be getting philip later in the show. palestinian president mahmoud abbas has signed a palestinian request to join the international criminal court7 . >> this comes after the u.n. rejected a resolution calling for a end to the israeli

occupation of territories. abbas slammed the resolution -- rejection. israel welcome to the resolution by the un security council. >> we're joined more -- by our middle east correspondent, tania kramer. what can we expect as a response from the netanyahu government? >> mr. netanyahu -- there is a lot of anger in israel about this. israel has tried repeatedly to prevent palestinian leadership, the palestinians from becoming a member of the international criminal court. the israeli prime minister has said that the palestinians as well would have to see consequences, since israel could press war crime charges as much as palestine could.

joining the international kernel court is a long procedure, and we could see other things happening with israel and the palestinian authority. >> the palestinians must already be extremely frustrated by the latest dramatic setback yesterday at the u.n. security council. >> there was certainly a real disappointment. it was a disappointing outcome for palestinian leadership after the un security council rejected this resolution to inend the occupation. palestinian officials in ramallah expressed their anger at the security council. it was expected the u.s. would veto the resolution. what we see right now, in the absence of peace talks a shift in strategy by the palestinians. they say they have tried for over 20 years to negotiate and have not achieved anything and

now they have to move forward to join international institutions to pressure israel and the international community the . >> tania kramer, thanks very much. >> in yemen, at least 24 people have been killed and nearly 50 wounded in a suicide attack. >> the bomber blew himself up at a celebration in the city of ibb organized by the shia houthis who control most of yemen, including the capital of sanaa. to indonesia. authorities have been recovering bodies from the fight the crash into the sea on sunday morning. >> research teams have appeared what -- recovered what appears to be the wreck of the aircraft. they will be looking for the flight recorders, which might give some clue about what happened to the plane. >> 162 passengers and crew were

on board the flight. most of them were indonesian nationals. >> these are the remains of victims number one and two. these first two coffins came to shore in surabaya containing the bodies of a woman and a boy. they will remain numbers until they are identified. seven bodies have been recovered so far but bad weather is forcing rescuers to stay on the ground. >> the weather is unfortunately not very good for the next two or three days. and that is slowing us down, but they did inform you that the ships are looking to operate 24 hours. >> the indonesian military was able to pinpoint the crash site quickly. several vessels are ready to take part in the search effort. the wreckage was found 160 kilometers southwest of central kalimantan province. that is just 10 kilometers from where the plane was when radio

contact was lost on sunday. makeshift morgues have been set up on land. authorities are collecting dna samples from relatives to help identify crash victims. indonesia'president has asked rescue teams to make every effort to recover bodies so that grieving families can lay them to rest. >> i feel a deep gloss over this disaster. and i pray for the families to be given the strength to face the disaster. >> at the crisis center at the airport in surabaya relatives can do little more than pray. images from the crash site give them no hope that they loved ones are still alive. >> greece's parliament has been poorly -- formally dissolved ahead of the snap election in

january. the outcome of the vote is being watched nervously by markets and international creditors, who fear a new parliament may try to reverse tough austerity measures. >> a leading conservative newspaper said that the concerns have prompted people in greece to withdraw billions from bank accounts. conservatives have warned that if the left-leaning syriza party wins they will attempt to renegotiate the terms of the international bailout that has stage of bankruptcy. meanwhile, lithuania has become the 19th nation to join the eurozone and adopt the euro. >> despite a couple really rough years for eurozone countries, we talked to some lithuanians to talk -- to learn what they hope to gain by adopting consumer advocates in lithuania want to make sure people are not worried about hidden price hikes. that's why they are carrying out inspections across the country to ensure that prices are given

in both litas and euros. they are publishing the results of the spotchecks. >> i would like to make it clear that stores are not exploiting their ability to take advantage of consumers. >> retailers have promised to be fair during the introduction of the euro. and they appear to be keeping their word. the effort to build confidence seemed necessary at first, but now lithuanians are more concerned about the danger posed by the russian neighbors. that's why most can hardly wait for the euro to arrive. >> the euro puts us in the common currency club, and allows us to better withstand the pressure from russia. >> russia is against the countries in eastern europe developing closer ties with the west. lithuanians are sad to give up

the currency they have used for the last 22 years but they feel now is the right time to adopt the euro. >> it is kind of a shame that we will lose the litas. but the euro will bring us closer together with the european family. >> being part of the improves security and that is something clearly on the minds of lithuanians after einga annexed crimea. they feel the common currency will help, so most people are looking forward to the new year and the new currency. >> stock markets are closed in most of your -- europe for the new year holiday, including at the frankfurt stock exchange. but trading is going on in new york. on wall street, the dow jones industrial index is off by about 0.25%. the currency markets never close. at the moment, the euro is slightly off against the dollar at 1.298. after a turbulent year marred by

islamist terror, ebola outbreaks, and horrific airline disasters, many could be forgiven by saying "good riddance" to 2014. >> many are gratefully ringing in the new year, hoping for more peace and love across the planet. across the globe, revelers have been partying away. >> let's take a look at how the world is celebrating starting down under. ♪ >> australia was one of the first countries to usher in 2015. over one million spectators data for the fireworks display over sydney harbour. it is one of the most spectacular celebrations in the world, with over one billion watching it on television every year. the display traditionally goes for 12 minutes one minute for every month of the year. australians are not allowed to set up fireworks themselves, for fear of accidents and forest fires. >> we will be back after a short

break with the chancellor's new year message. stay with us.

>> before we bring you the german chancellor's new year's address to the nation, we turn to the united states, looking at the top issues of 2014. many hoped the election of the country's first black president would help bridge the racial divide but most black americans expect relations to get worse. >> tempers reached a boiling point in august in the small town of ferguson, missouri. cars and shops were torched as protests turned violent. now, tens of thousands of people demonstrated peacefully. people are outraged there have been no repercussions for some white police officers who have killed unarmed black men, like the officer in ferguson who shot 18-year-old michael brown. or the new york policeman who put a deadly chokehold on eric

garner. >> i can't breathe! >> the issues are so difficult, even president obama had to search for the right words. >> when you're dealing with something is deeply rooted as racism or bias, in any society you have to have vigilance. but you have to recognize it is going to take some time, and you just have to be steady. >> but many americans one swift action on the issue of police violence. in baltimore i met up with a woman who last spring had a traumatic running with the police -- run-in with the police. >> i drove up to here, i saw the guy on the ground. the police was kicking him, so i recorded. they told me i could not record, they pulled me out of the car and taste me and -- tased me and arrested me. >> they confiscated her mobile

and erased the video. what the police didn't know, her mobile phone had automatically uploaded the video to a website. >> first we tried to go to internal affairs to expose the video to them and the police department but they would not respond. after several meetings we realize our last resort, the only remedy was to file a lawsuit. >> in the meantime, the police have dropped all charges against her. she still has not been told the names of the police officers. >> i mean, i'm very upset. i feel like they take the law into their own hands they go above the law. i mean, they could have easily killed me. my children could not have their mother. >> according to new poll's, many black americans have lost what trust they had in the police. >> perhaps the most ominous sign

in our polling is 52% of blacks who said they thought relations+ between police and minority communities would get worse. they feel like things are on a downward spiral. >> bleak prospects for 2015. it will be no small feat for the u.s. authorities to address this problem and retrain thousands of police officers. >> when president obama was arrested he promised to deliver unity between all races. now, as we approach the end of his presidency racial divides up your to be growing. >> the germans are taking stock of the last year, laying out their plans for 2015. >> among them, chancellor on polemical in her traditional address to the nation. she looked back, and forward to 2015 as well. we will say goodbye here, and listen to what she had to say.

>> happy new year from all of us here at dw.

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in the chinese capital of beijing, a seminar for entrepreneurs soon reaches its capacity of 300. the country is experiencing an unprecedented boom in people launching their own businesses.