♪ >> welcome to the journal coming light to you from dw in berlin. >> good to have you with us. our headlines for this hour -- a suicide bomb kills a turkish policeman in an attack in central is simple. >> republicans take control of the u.s. congress, but can they end gridlock and make promised changes? >> an anti-immigrant rally in dresden draws the largest turnout yet, as thousandsoin counter demonstration across geany. ♪ >> a turkish police officer has been killed and another one wounded in a suicide bomb attack at an istanbul police station. >> turkish authorities say a woman entered the station speaking english and reported a missing wallet before blowing

herself up. the bombing took place in the city's central district, popular with tourists. there was no immediate claim of responsibility for tuesday's attack although a leftist terrorist group has claimed an attack on a single police -- ist anbul police last week. our correspondent, dorian jones -- can you give us more details? >> what we understand, although the information is still sketchy, a woman believed to be in her 20's wearing a black hij ab approached the tourism center in the istanbul maine tourism area claiming in broken english that she left her waet inside the police station. we understand the police station guarding the entrance became suspicious and in the subsequent melee the woman detonated the explosives she was wearing, injuring police officers. one officer subsequently died of his injuries in the police station. this could have been far worse. because it was in the early

evening and the weather is cold here the street which is normally quite busy was empty. also we understand the explosives she was carrying only partially exploded. it could have been far worse. >> this is the second attack against police and two --in two weeks. >> the prime suspect is a fringe left-wing group that goes back to the 1980's, when turkey was ruled by the military. they have carried out similar attacks on police stations in the last decade or so. most recently, they carried out an attack on police officers guarding the prime ministry building in istanbul. in that case the grenade did not go off, and he was overpowered. the group play responsibility for the attack. all eyes are on the group for this attack as well. >> dorian jones on the suicide bombing in central istanbul. thanks so much. >> to the u.s. now. the republican-led congress has convened with party leaders eager to get barack obama's signature on bills, and to confront him on others. >> the stage is set for a real

showdown on key issues like health care and immigration. obama threatened to veto any bill that threatens to undo his landmark legislation. >> vice president joe biden opened the session on tuesday swearing-in new senators. the democrats are up against a hostile congress, with republicans now in control of both chambers. back from vacation, president barack obama faces major challenges. barred from running again he is now what is called a "lame duck." he is aware that many of his former supporters are disillusioned, as he made clear after last year's vote. >> to everyone who voted i want you to know that i hear you. to the two thirds of voters who chose not to participate yesterday, i hear you too. >> obama's chief opponent in the new congress is mitch mcconnell. he has put the burden on the president's shoulders.

>> the majority of my members would rather make progress on things they think the country needs to be dealt with than not. but in our system, the president is the most important player. >> obama still has a few cards of his sleeve, though. one is his right to veto legislation. if, for instance the republican controlled congress passes tax cuts, the president can block the measure. >> we are joined now by more from our washington studio. a senior fellow at the center for american progress. welcome to the program. first off how that is gridlock right now between the congress and the senate and the president? is barack obama a lame-duck now? >> no, barack obama is not a lame-duck. if you look at the president these days, you have a feeling that he is relieved. because he does not have to worry about reelection. he has to worry a lot less about his own party and he is in a strong position. presidential executive action offers him a lot of political opportunities, as he did in the

environmental field and with regard to immigration reform. if the republicans push legislation that is very unpleasant to him, he has the opportunity to veto. he's been a rather strong position. >> they could potentially override the veto. is there a possibility on obamacare, immigration, two areas where the republicans promised to fight with the president? >> that is a theoretical option, but it will be politically costly for the republican party. if you roll back obamacare which by and large is popular and has ensured millions of americans and many children for the first time in decades that is going to have a political price. the same with regard to immigration reform. president has not really and limited immigration reform. he has provided immigrants that have been in the country sometimes for decades most of them who have jobs and are entirely immigrated in american society, he gave them a greater sense of legal and political security. so to rollback on these issues might please some white voters in the south in the united

states, but it is not really a viable concept for the 2016 elections. >> if the republicans cannot deliver in these areas what can they do? >> that is a good question. they have the strongest majority since 1929. now for the first time, they have to prove that they can and will govern in this country. so it will be interesting to see. the problem is, the leadership of the republican establishment has not -- does not really have full control over the party, because there is a considerable segment to the extreme right that is pushing the gop towards the right fringes. the leadership does not seem to have a good recipe to deal with that. even john boehner, who is supposed to be reelected as speaker of the house of representatives, will face internal party opposition. which is something that is relatively on -- unheard of in the american medical system. we will have to see how the division within the republican party plays out in the next few months. >> a senior fellow at the center for american progress.

thanks so much for your insights. in germany, political leaders have been joined by dozens of entertainers and sports stars in calling for people to shun the new anti-islam movement pegida. >> a day after tens of thousands again took to the streets to rally for and against pegida 50 prominent figures issued a call for diversity in a mass circulation newspaper. >> the catholic and protestant church leaders also condemned the pegida movement. >> lights out for pegida. church officials shut off the cologne landmark's exterior lights in condemnation of islam a phobia and anti-foreigner sentiment. thousands of people took to the streets of cologne to make a similar statement. so many people turned out that the anti-islam pegida movement soon abandoned its march in the city. >> i think it is shocking that a movement like pegida can exist

in a country that has a history like germany's. i find it disturbing. >> right-wing ideology is widespread among the population, and it seems the fear of foreigners is especially strong in areas were hardly any muslims live. those fears may be justified but they are being directed at the wrong people. >> 18,000 people turned out for the first pegida rally of the new year in dresden. the anti-islam demonstration started out in october with just a few hundred people. since then, the monday rallies have pulled ever increasing crowds. but the ranks of counter demonstrations have also been growing, with many germans wanting to take a clear stance against pegida even in cities where it has no options -- offshootsalthough no pegida marches have been held in stuttgart thousands attended an anti-pegida protest. in berlin, a few hundred pegida

supporters turned out to demonstrate. but they were vastly outnumbered by counter protesters. >> it is wonderful to be here with lots of different people who say we are in the majority. that people who welcome -- the people who welcome refugees with open arms, and refuse to view islam with hostility. >> tolerance and solidarity with refugees and asylum-seekers -- that's the message spurring the pushback against pegida in berlin and other parts of the country. >> we spoke to our political correspondent, peter craven, about the continuing strength of pegida marches after very harsh criticism from chancellor merkel in her new year's address. >> it's interesting. certainly, there were forthright words from chancellor merkel in her new year's address that people should not attend the type of demonstrations we are

seeing in dresden. she believes there are too many people in these protests that, as she put it, "have hatred in their hearts." this was the 11th protest of its kind we saw in dresden. it began with a smattering of people. now we have 18,000 people. that number could rise, still. it's very worrying, given we just entered a political year where i think it is fair to say that internationally across europe and germany all sorts of tough questions surrounding issues like refugees and asylum-seekers migration and immigration, will be very close to the top of the political agenda. add to that that there was a survey in germany toward the end of last year, according to which as many as 13 percent of people in germany would attend marches like the one in dresden is a took place knew their homes. the fact is, although we saw 18,000 people out in dresden similar marches elsewhere have really failed so far to get off the ground. >> our political correspondent

peter craven. >> staying in germany, the free democrats were once a small but powerful political force. but the last election handed them a blistering defeat. they failed to win even a single seat in parliament. it was under this cloud that the business-friendly fdp held its annual conference under a new logo on tuesday in a move to rebrand the party that served in several governments, including angela merkel's last coalition. the leader made a defiant speech attacking the present coalition government. but it will take more than that to get power. the fdp is below 2% in opinion polls, below the 5% they need for parliament seats. bangladesh has arrested a key opposition leader as protests

enter a second day. this comes after four activists were killed and scores were injured on the anniversary of last year's disputed elections. >> police are cracking down on displays of antigovernment sentiment in the capital of dhaka. the opposition calls for new elections. >> violence has returned to bangladesh a year after disputed elections cast the country into political turmoil once again. prime minister sheikh hasina wanted celebrations to mark one year since her reelection. instead, clashes erupted between supporters of the ruling party and opposition activists. the main opposition party, the bnp saw the planned festivities as a provocation. bnp leader khaleda zia called for protests against the anniversary. her party boycotted last year's election because they said it would be rigged. zia says she has been confined in her office since saturday. her deputy has been arrested.

the government is holding the country hostage, she says. >> an election must be held to restore the people's voting rights. this is not only our demand, but a concern of the whole people -- whole world. the existing government was not elected by the people's vote. the last election was invalid. >> bangladesh's government responds by saying that seems like this are the opposition's fault. prime minister sheikh hasina seen here on saturday, accuses the bnp of stoking violence. on this basis, her government has arrested hundreds of opposition members in the last year. human rights organizations say that scores of bnp activists have disappeared. >> we are going to a short break. when we come back, falling oil prices -- what do they mean to the global economy? >> and does sebb blatter have a fight on his hands to head fee for -- fifa?

stay with us. >> welcome back.

oil prices just keep dropping like a stone. the cost of u.s. crude stumbled to less than $50 a barrel, almost half of what it was last year. >> a new record low. consumers couldn't be happier but it has been catastrophic for oil-producing nations especially venezuela iran, and russia. those countries need oil about $70 a barrel just a pay the bills. >> a glut of oil supply, including from new sources like fracking is just one region for the crash -- reason for the crashing prices. >> fracking has led to a huge upsurge in oil production in the u.s. but the extraction process is a costly business, and companies depend on high oil prices to break even. recently saudi arabia pushed through a decision to keep opec production levels unchanged despite increased u.s. output. together with weak demand, that helped depress the price of crude.

venezuela and russia have been hit hard. their governments need oil revenues to balance budgets and it is estimated that the slump is costing moscow more than $100 billion a year. global oil prices have fallen by half since the middle of 2014. oversupply, combined with weak demand is behind the drop. the main beneficiaries are manufacturers, who are paying less for oil. consumers also have the advantage of lower fuel and heating bills. some analysts believe that prices could bounce back before long. >> we expect oil to end higher by the end of 2015, because ultimately the u.s. will cut some supply. that should probably price of oil. but there are a lot of question marks surrounding it. >> predictions on pricing vary wildly from between $100 down to $40 a barrel in the current year. >> how has the plumbing price of oil been affecting the markets?

your answer -- >> the oil price below $50 a barrel. commodity traders are convinced this is an overshooting of the market to the downside. if we take into consideration the economic fundamentals, a fair oil price should be at $60 or $70 a barrel. that's why most traders are convinced that the current downswing of the oil price should be short-lift. still, the events on the oil market have made people here uneasy. high volatility, heavily rising and sinking prices -- that is a sign of extreme nervousness and uncertainty among investors. if prices are going to be volatile even more, this is bound -- not bound to create trust and confidence in the markets. >> here come the market numbers, starting in frankfurt with the dax, ever so slightly down for

the day. stoxx 50 there'd a bit worse 0.5% down. in new york they are still trading, but the trend is also down by over 1%. the euro is climbing slightly against the dollar. >> the plunge in oil prices underscores the declining consumer spending and the threat of deflation here in the eurozone. countries like greece, spain, and portugal continue to see record-high jobless levels. >> with the exception of germany, relief is not in sight for millions of unemployed europeans. >> spain is full of skeletons like this one. the country's building sector was booming when the bubble burst in 2007. jobless numbers soared, and mass unemployment led thousands of people to leave the country. last year, spain's economy finally saw an upturn and unemployment dropped. still, the overall situation

remains bleak. spain has lost more than 3.2 million jobs since 2007. in greece, the workforce has shrunk by more than a million. italy lost 870 million -- 870,000 jobs, and france more than 100,000. germany has seen its workforce grow by over two million. germany's economy has benefited for strong demand for exports from outside the eu. that has meant more jobs in germany, some of them for recent immigrants from spain. >> in the u.s., the economic picture is somewhat better than here in the eurozone. the consumer electronics sector is hoping its showcase in las vegas will help sluggish sales. >> at the annual consumer electronics show, the auto industry is showing

technological breakthroughs that could make the future of driving driverless. >> with its casinos and showgirl performances, the las vegas strip is famous for its flashing young lights. it can be tough to take them all in especially if you are sitting behind a steering wheel. but with this car no problem. daimler presented its driverless concept model at this year's consumer electronics show. it navigates using the internet, and even has a swivel chair for the driver. with autopilot, you can face any which way you like. >> 30 years ago i was seeing these pictures, dreaming about these kinds of cars. now to be part of the realization is fantastic but we have a responsibility. we are running a company which invented the car, so we should be the ones to prepare the vehement -- reinvention of the car. >> but daimler has competition. audi also presented a driverless prototype.

the consumer electronics show is a mecca for enthusiasts of all kinds. whether it is "souls, super high definition tv screens, or the latest smartphones, it has plenty of gizmos. >> an item of sports news, of sorts. controversial fifa chief sebb blatter is up for reelection in may, but he might face tougher edition then he might have thought. >> the head of jordan's football federation prince ali bin al hussein announced he would run for the top job of world football's governing body. blatter has been under pressure of late, but it is not known if the prince has enough support to unseat him. >> the race for world soccer's governing body has taken a new turn with the announcement by prince ali bin al hussein via twitter that he is running for the fifa presidency. he says that in talks with

colleagues he heard one message over and over -- it is time for a change. he said that the focus needs to pshift away from controversy and back to sports. marshaling support will surely be a challenge but he can count on the backing of michel platini head of european football's governing body uefgaa. europeans say fifa is a damaged brand. >> since the awardings to russia and qatar, seven executives have left, not to mention the honorary president. >> the europeans say blatt did damaged by breaking his public pledge not to seek a fifth term, but he still has 20 of support in the african and asian confederations. >> an attempt to launch the world's first-ever reusable rocket was called off and rescheduled for friday.

>> spacex's unmanned falcon 9 rocket was poised for lift off, to travel to the international space station. but a last-minute technical glitch left a grounded. spacex is investigating the problem. they plan to land part of the rocket on a barge in the atlantic ocean the first such attempted do so in history. >> to the u.s. now, where a storm has dumped a third of a meter of snow over large parts of the midwest and east coast. >> this is what the white house looked like early on tuesday. the cold snap cost transport chaos in the d.c. area, and the weather system also brought freezing temperatures and heavy snow across the midwest. icy roads sent cars and trucks veering off course. so far, there have been no reported injuries. >> christians around the world have been celebrating a very important feast day, the feast of tiffany. >> for western christians, it- commemorates

the visit of the wise men to baby jesus and orthodox christians commemorate the baptism of jesus. >> some traditional, and some not quite so traditional sites for epiphany celebrations in madrid. gold frankincense, and myrrh may have been absent, but there was plenty to enchant the crowd. >> the float i liked the most is from "master chef," because i like cooking. >> what i like most about the parade are the suites 0-- sweets. >> the german president met carol singers raising money for children in need around the world.

and in the vatican thousands turned out to hear pope francis celebrate mass. >> all around us we see wars. the explication of children, torture, arms trafficking, human trafficking. in all these realities, the least of our brothers and sisters who are enduring these difficult situations -- there is jesus. >> in eastern europe, the hardiest braved icy waters, like these men in bulgaria. after almost an hour a young boy retrieved a crucifix, a ritual believed to bring good health -- good luck. >> an austrian ski jobber has won -- jumper has won for the

fourth year in a row. >> even though his final jump was a less than impressive 132 meters. the start of the competition was delayed because of heavy snow, the first time that has ever happened in the competition. >> that's all we have time for. thanks so much fo joining us here at dw. >> great having you with us. bye-bye for now. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪

>> hello, and thanks for tuning in to the show. we have a festive start to the program today so let's find out what is on the way. la fete de lumieres lights up lyon. leap of faith. the daredevil stunts of scottish trials biker danny macaskill. ancient world -- we visit the roman town ruins of herculaneum.

the 8th of december marks a french, lyonnaise tradition that has become known as the festival of lights. back in the 17th century, when the city was struck by the plague, residents promised to pay tribute to mary, the mother of jesus, if the town was spared. and so, for centuries, locals held an annual candlelit procession in her honor which in