>> this is "dw news," live from berlin. a warning from the u.s. president to islamic state leaders -- you cannot hide, and you are next. tough talk from barack obama, doubling down on his determination to destroy i.s., retake territory, until the group's leaders. we will go to washington for more. also ahead, the german chancellor and nonstop applause. angela merkel defies conservative critics of her refugee policy after the open door. now she is promising to reduce the number of migrants. and the galaxy far, far away is

about to return to a theater near you. "the force awakens." a sneak preview is on the way. brent: i am brent goff. it i good to have you with us. as if he himself were running for office, u.s. president barack obama on monday amid heavy rounds of rhetoric, saying the u.s. and its allies are hitting ice is harder than ever. the president is a commander-in-chief under fire, answering critics who claim he has gone soft against the terrorists. after a rare meeting with his national security council at the pentagon, obama said the military's hitting i.s. with an increasing number of airstrikes. he also announced he will be sending his secretary of defense to the middle east and russia to bolster international efforts to combat i.s.

now come in his comments, obama struck an uncharacteristically aggressive tone and had a clear message for i.s. leaders. take a listen. president obama: we are going after isil from the stronghold in downtown raqqa to libya, where we took out the isil leader there. isil leaders cannot hide. our message is simple -- you are next. brent: let's pull in our correspondent richard walker. he has been covering the story in washington today. good afternoon to you, richard. the president was quick to count the successes that the anti-i.s. coalition has or has had. he says the u.s. is hitting i.s. harder than ever. the question a lot of people will be asking, is that true? richard: that is the claim, with

barack obama point to a decision he made before the paris fact, before the san bernadino attack, two, as he put it, intensify the campaign. we have seen bits and pieces of that in the last few weeks, with, as you described, the number of airstrikes higher last month than at any month so far in the campaign. also, small numbers of special forces being sent into syria and into northern iraq. but we are still talking very incremental steps for the just 50 special forces going into syria, just 100 in northern iraq. wasn't really anything new to announce despite all of that slightly tough and rhetoric we heard there. this is more a matter of time to get across to the american people that this is a high-priority for the obama administration. brent: you know, richard, the president has been heavily criticized for not doing enough to combat i.s. did you get the feeling he was reacting to that criticism today?

richard: i think not just today, he has been recently in general. you will remember just over a week ago he made a much faded statement to the nation, sunday evening prime time, from the oval office. his critic would awful -- also point out that there was not much new there, either could he is sadly tried to react to the public pressure to do more without actually doing an awful lot more in actual fact. if you look at the other side of the argument, the obama administration would point out that very few on the republican side are really calling for anything all that substantially different. among other republican candidates for president currently in that race, only one is calling for a substantial ground force. that is lindsey graham, and he is currently pulling at 2% nationally. signs that the american public is not especially hard at its call for a massive campaign against the islamic state.

brent: richard, before related go, the president is sending senior officials including the secretary of defense to russia to bolster the international effort. what is the thinking there? richard: we have asked carter going to the middle east to drum up military support, john kerry going to moscow to in a way do the reverse, to miss the russians to tone debt -- convince the russians to tone down the bombing were directed away from what they see as moderate rebels and towards the islamic state. both cases are signs that the united states and obama administration want to see -- be seen as leaders in the fight against islamic state but they don't want to do everything themselves. brent: richard, thank you very much. more evidence that that the german chancellor angela merkel has earned a reputation as one of the most politically savvy leaders in postwar history. this weekend she went into her

cdu conservative party conference, facing an internal rebellion for her open-door policy towards refugees. two days later she is pledging to bring the number of migrants down and retake control of germany's borders. what does her party give her in return? i 10-minute standing ovation. reporter: while chancellor merkel had faced mounting criticism over her open-door migration policy, she was greeted with a standing ovation by party delegates could be adopted resolution calls for a noticeable reduction of the numbers of refugees entering germanym. merkel is calling for specific change the across the board. "we want to uniform european silences them with similar decision-making standards and measures across europe that can be implemented to fight effectively against the abuse of asylum rights."

merkel appealed to her party colleagues to remain optimistic. chancellor merkel: if we now doubt our ability to do this with regard to our humanitarian responsibility and to germany and to europe, then we would not be the german christian democratic union. but that is who we are, and that is why we can do this. reporter: despite delegates' support, some leading cdu politicians differ with the chancellor on the refugee crisis. >> we have to reduce the numbers of refugees, because germany, strong it is, cannot humanely accommodate unsustainably integrate such a large number of people. >> we don't have an unlimited capacity to take people in, whether in society or on the job market. there is usually no unlimited opportunities.

-- there are simply no unlimited opportunities. reporter: but the chancellor's speech generated such a level of these yes and that things could be difficult for her critics in the future. brent:: our chief political correspondent. she saw that speech. a lot of analysts were surprised by how forceful the chancellor was in her speech. do you think they are right or was the chancellor being extra cautious? belinda: it was a forceful speech from angela merkel. she was relaxed, confident, strong, certainly wasn't pleading with recalcitrant party members, nor was she threatening them. she was 10 -- challenging them and encouraging them. she is criticized for muddling through and taking a policy of small steps, but i think we clearly saw a different chancellor here. she challenged germans, saying

you can be open, you can be tolerant, you can be curious, you can be a little more exciting. that is quite unusual, unusual words from chancellor merkel. if you look at the course of the whole year, the different crises that germany and the europe have effaced, from ukraine to the greek debt crisis to the refugee situation, you would have to say you find that same quality of resolute determination on the part of angela merkel, and in retrospect, we may look back at this year and say that 2015 was the year she really found her stride as a leader. brent: but at the same time, melinda, she said she is going to reduce the number of refugees. we have gone from an open door policy to bringing down the number of people coming in. do you know how she is planning to make that happen? melinda: she would say the door is still open to those who are entitled to refugee status, but we need much better work here at home on registering refugees, on sorting out those who are

entitled from those who are not, much quicker processing of applications, and deportation of those who don't qualify. that is the national level. she talked about initiatives at the european level. she did not shoulder her party colleagues. she said it won't be easy, but we must get european agreement on registration and on disturbing those who are just -- distributing those who are entitled to refugee status. and the third prong of the reproach, international working with turkey. a dose of realpolitik there, saying we have to deal with turkey and rely on them to get the numbers down. a very resolute chancellor but also one who sees reality and ask on it. brent: melinda crane, thank you very much. a powerful typhoon has made landfall in the philippines, bearing down on the country's eastern coast and working its way across the country. typhoon mail -- melor

has forced the evacuation of 700,000 people. rain famous lines and storm surges are expected rains and -- rains and mudslides and storm surges are collected in the next several days. reporter: winds of 150 kilometers an hour or keeping his part in the philippines deserted pit the typhoon made landfall in the eastern philippines in the early hours of monday. schools are closed, flights are grounded. with storm surge warnings along the coast some 700,000 people have been evacuated. further in the path of the storm face possible floods and landslides. the deathly popular to countries hit by -20 storms and typhoons a year. loss of life is not unusual. just two years ago, typhoon came ashore, the strongest typhoon ever recorded bit it killed 8000 people in the cit -y. rescue teams are out in force.

they are working together with civilians in an effort to minimize damage. like here in the northern philippines, which is now bracing for the arrival of the typhoon. brent: truck drivers in russia are staging a rare protest against a road charge for heavy vehicles. the levy means they have to pay an additional fee for every mile they drive. the government says the money is needed to repair the damage that their vehicles due to the road, but the drivers say they already pay transport taxes. reporter: inside one of their own lorries, the drivers have set up a makeshift kitchen. here for the long haul, protesting against a road charge which they say is pushing them into poverty. nadia runs a small business. she has left her three young

children at home in a region outside moscow and is living in his car park, driven hereby desperation -- driven here by desperation. >> if they don't cancel discharge, i don't know what we will do. there is nothing else to do but lay down and die. how can i tell my child i cannot by her chocolates? i just don't have the money. emma: the government says the money raised from the charge will go towards improving the country's roads, and it has cut the fine for failing to pay the tax. but the drivers are unimpressed. they are also angry, they say, because the company collecting the charge is controlled by the son of a friend of blood in your prudent -- a friend of vladimir putin. this process comes at a sensitive time for the kremlin, as the economy is suffering from a low oil price and western sanctions. many of these drivers haulthingg

materials thousands of miles across the country roads, and they are warning of the price of these things could go up as the cost of the charge is passed on to consumers. perhaps because of that in ordinary russians are supporting them in the freezing weather, bringing things like medicine. >> the people support them. their living badly that they are living badly. --they are living badly. emma: protests like this are not political, they say, but they are questioning the leadership of the very top. >> there is no internal policy in this country. we think of everyone else like in syria but we for some reason cannot help our own people. emma: the worry for the government is that that few could spread with the driver's saying it will not move from their camp until the charge is canceled. here, nadia says, fighting for

the families is falling onto the bread line. brent: we will take a break, but still ahead, the force is strong this week. the world listed dissipated movie -- the world's most anticipated movie careers in l.a. -- premieres in l.a. we will give you a sneak great.

brent: welcome back. you are with "dw news," live from berlin. out of story this hour, tough talking president obama of the anti- -- ups the ante against the islamic state. he is talking progress in targeting the group's leaders and its biggest source of revenue, oil wells and refineries. he is sending a delegation to the middle east to secure more help. to south africa now, and just how many finance ministers can one country have in a single week? how many? reporter: they say three is the

charm. brent: got to be like you. -- lucky. reporter: the country's most developed at the continents most developed economy got his third finance minister and the rent is rising by 5%. very different picture last week, when president jacob zuma decided to replace his finance minister with the buddy was pretty much unknown. shares plunged and zuma backtracked. reporter: zuma, makes a u-turn. it reflects the political chaos in the country. at a hastily arranged press conference, new finance minister pravin gordhan tries to calm investors. finance minister gordhan: our country is aware of the impact this has on the economy. developments such as we saw last week, the government -- the

democratic the government has a duty to lesson and -- listen and respond appropriately. reporter: the country is burdened with debt and defense and foreign investors like automotive comedies to survive. it seems they did not trust zuma's personal favorite as finance minister. the currency fell to a record low, and so president zuma had to quickly withdraw his friend from the position. >> the market saw the appointment in place as a sign of relief, that at least we were going to have a person in as the minister of finance who would sustain fiscal discipline. reporter: pravin gordhan is widely respected as prudent and experienced, and is held the job for, from 2009 22014. -- held the job before, from 2009 to

2014. the move has damaged zuma's reputation among investors and the general public of south africa. >> he was not thinking about the decision as much and probably had altered your motives. i think he must go. reporter: it puts south africa in a very critical position. reporter: also feels are the biggest loser in the paris climate accord. world leaders have signaled a shift to a greener world with the pledge to keep global warming below two degrees celsius. will they back it up with hard cash in the future? the present looks different. who is producing more? iran wants to get back into the global oil market even had a heavy discount. the same goes for russia. moscow says their oil production cannot just be halted from one moment to the next. but it was the oil cartel opec which way on prices. earlier this month they failed to determine a new official

upper limit to production. since then, the oil price has plummeted. it is now below $40 a barrel, seven-year low. some analysts believe that oil could even hit the rock-bottom price of $20. it is mostly because production is way ahead of demand could shine in particular is consuming a lot less oil than it used to. what is needed -- china in particular is consuming a lot less oil than it used to. what is needed to turn it around? limits to supply and a boost in demand. while world leaders go about and limiting the landmark environmental record, scientists are keeping a close eye on another climate-related topic. last time the weather phenomena read real havoc, the damage reach tens of billions of dollars and countless steps. this time, the 9 united nations says, it could be worse. reporter: i heat wave hit her -- i see wave hit india

earlier this year. more than two dozen people died in the heat. not long afterwards come in the summer, people in chile faced massive flooding could meteorologists ascribe these extreme weather events as precursors to el niño, a temporary change in the climate of the pacific ocean in the equatorial region. occurring every few years, the effects can be see in the ocean and the atmosphere. the el niño phenomenon starts in the pacific, where winds normally push the warm surface water westward from south america. at the same time, cold nutrient-rich waters from the depths of the ocean rise towards the surface. in el niño years, the process breaks down and sometimes even goes in reverse. scientists still don't have an explanation for the phenomenon. the world meteorological organization anticipates an especially strong el niño this year.

it could be as bad as the el niño of the winter in 1997-1998. south america could be ravaged by torrential rains, hurricanes, and mudslides could unusually warm water along the coast would create a deadly environment for coral reefs, algae, and plankton, while fish migrate to cooler waters, destroying the livelihoods of local fishermen. on the other side of the pacific, in australia and indonesia, for example, severe drought is likely, and that could trigger forest fires and ruinmomomomomomostst powerful el niño ever recorded took the lives of 24,000 people, with financial damages amounting to $34 billion. now scientists fear that el niño could be magnified by climate change. reporter: let me take you back to brent and see if he can show

you up with better days. brent: let's go to sports now. german champions have been handed a mammoth task, facing the italian giants, the finalists last season. germany's other remaining side faced belgium team. elsewhere, are slow to faced -- barcelona face the english side. in the other games, and ukrainian club face manchester city. psg take on chelsea. roma have been drawn against real madrid. to the german bundesliga now. after playing their way into the knockout round, the europa league earlier in the week, they were on a mission to keep their good form going on sunday but the visiting team were in no mood to give up the points easily. with the game only decided in

the dying moments. reporter: after a poor start to the season, they are finally getting the right results, with three wins from the last four matches. after 30 minutes, the shot was deflected in by the korean defender, putting the hosts ahead with his first ever bundesliga goal that he struggled to a salvage themselves in the match, but they finally looked on course for a draw for the equalizer 20 minutes from time. then came the drama at the death. the ball fell to the powerful volley, delivering all three points. a controversial winner, as markets appeared to have handled the ball during the buildup. the 2-1 victory. they leave the drop zone for the first time since september.

brent: well, for "star wars" fans of all ages, the long wait is all most over. the latest installment, "the force awakens," hits movies means in los angeles. not a lot is known about the plight could everybody involved is staying tightlipped. it is the year's most anticipated movie. >> nothing will stand in our way. i will finish what you started. reporter: this much we do know. episode vii picks up where "return of the jedi" left off. darth vader may be dead the dark side is gathering new strength. it was not directed by "star wars" creator george lucas, but one of his biggest fans, j.j. abrams. j.j. abrams: the story incorporates new heroes and the

relationship, as the adventure continues, with characters we already know. reporter: "the force awakens" brings back chewbaca and han solo and princess leia. it also sets out to reinvigorate it with characters like the youthful heroine played by daisy ridley and the waiting hero played by john boyega. daisy ridley: she begins as a scavenger, very much alone, who meets fin, and they go and on incredible adventure together. john boyega: i play the role of a storm trooper who does not want to be a storm trooper anymore and he wants to leave the dark side. reporter: old hands like harrison ford are more tightlipped. harrison ford: i'm not going to -- i'm not going to ruin it for

them by talking about what happens in the story. not going to talk about the story. reporter: well, it is not long now before one of the best-kept secrets in film history is unveiled. what we can count on is a winning mixture of stunning special effects, action, and adventure. brent: all right, before we let you go, let's get a look at our top story. a tough talking u.s. president barack obama has upped the ante in the store to against islamic state, asking allies to increase their military efforts. see you again soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ christopher: a very warm welcome to "focus on europe," the programme that brings you the human stories behind the headlines and puts this fascinating continent into perspective. my name's christopher springate. this week, we find out, among other things, why climate change is threatening french wine. also coming up over the next half-hour -- the young syrian refugees who are falling prey to islamist radicals. the spanish village trying to shake off a history of nuclear contamination. and the us tanks causing irritation among pro-moscow bulgarians. when we ask our children about their dreams -- more often than not, their eyes light up as they paint an optimistic picture of th