anchor: this is "dw news" from berlin. immigration backlash. austria slashes the number of refugees it is prepared to accept and tightens border controls putting them at odds for those calling for more cooperation on the issue. german chancellor merkel has called for a europe-wide solution. and a major stock selloff, the falling price of oil send shares

plummeting on wall street and elsewhere around the globe. we have the numbers. anchor: welcome to the program, austria sends a wakeup call for europe. vienna is to slash the number of asylum seekers is prepared to accept after saying europe has failed to protect its borders. attempts to find a pan european solution to migration crisis seems to be faltering. our first report looks at the move. reporter: austria wants to reduce the number of incoming refugees. the government came to an agreement at a meeting. the measures must be humane, the

measures must have meaning and apply to european international rebel and each every individual country. one of the highest levels per capita in the entire e.u. with a population of 8.5 million, austria intends to cap the number of arrivals over the next four years. we're talking about an additional 1.5% of the population, 130,000 people in the next few years. we must be prepared to take them in and integrate them. austria will grant asylum to a maximum of 37.5,000 people. it continues to cause heated debate especially in germany. anchor: austria's decision has

major decisions. the chancellor favors a european solution but faces a revolt from within her coalition. her bavarian jool eyes are saying a cap on refugees. the sudden winter cold snap could be taken as the relations with her bavarian allies. merkel is trying to bolster support on asylum seekers. the number needs to be reduced effectively. we must pinpoint the causes for their flight and find a european solution. we will have open good discussions. merkel's proposal includes financial assistance for syria's neighbors who take in refugees and with that aid, they must keep refugees from migrating.

but the bavarians are skeptical. we don't believe that a rapid european solution. 3,000 refugees are arisk here every day in the middle of winter. if nothing is done, the number will rise and we won't be able to cope. the problems will escalate. c.s.u. leader continues to ratchet up pressure. they want an alternate policy on march one limits. there are many points of contention that need to be addressed. anchor: we have an expert on international law and politics of the migration crisis and we have a criminal lawyer who represents the refugees in europe. merkel under increasing pressure

. does she have to make a change and does she have to make it now? >> i think she does have to make a change because she is losing support from her own party and from the public at large and next elections are looming ahead. in march, there will be elections in three republicic and they were looking at the developments as they are unfolding and i think the original, emotional welcome to the refugees has waned and is evaporating day by day. anchor: how should she respond? >> it's not easy and very complicated because we have legal rules. you can't just say we will stop everyone at the border and i think a european solution should be found but it will not be

possible to distribute the refugees in european countries. but as far as the regulations are concerned, we can, i think, come to a european solution concerning the border regime. anchor: you are a supporter of chancellor merkel's open-door policy. it is coming under increasing opposition especially among the public here in germany that the initial desire to help and assist has waned. do you think her policies stand a chance? >> i don't think that is the question whether her policies stand a chance. she cannot stop the war in syria and it is the war in syria that is driving people here they are not coming because what is being called an open-door policy but coming -- they think their lives are better off trying to cross the sea than to spend to stay

back home and unless that's going to change, i don't see how we can change the refugee policy in europe or in germany and i think the rest of europe would do well to follow suit and not blame everything on the german chancellor. anchor: sounds like you are talking about a moral obligation. would you agree with that moral obligation and how can that be balanced? >> a legal obligation and only to the extent that this is feasible and germany has some capacities, but not unlimited capacities and germany cannot take in the whole population of syria. this is impossible. and won't be accepted by democratic institutions.

and we have legal opinions by former judges of the constitutional court saying that legal obligation to protect the borders of germany. >> that opinion is being rightly criticized and we have a current head of the constitutional court saying there can be no -- there is no top number to the right to asylum. and i think it is understandable that politicians have brought up the discussion but from a legal point of view, i don't think it's a moral obligation but a legal obligation that comes from the german constitution as much as it comes from humanitarian law. we can't tell number x of the applicants from syria -- we cannot tell them, sorry, you're the one too many anchor: we will come back to you in a second. we want to further this debate

because the migration issue has been making waves at the world's international forum. the german president calls on the e.u. to keep the borders open. let's hear what he had to say. reporter: the refugee crisis has reached the swiss alps. 200 people that have fled afghanistan are living in davos. president gauck has taken the topic to the stage of the world economic forum and it has divided europe much like the refugee crisis. hundreds of thousands of people seeking protection on our continent are putting the union union what is the biggest test in its history. and this is davos and an aid organization has set up a

simulation so business owners can experience what it is like to be a refugee and emotional way to get to grips with an issue which is normally just talked about. while the german president has expressed empathy for the refugees and made it clear that unlimited access could come to an end this year. limiting numbers helps to maintain acceptance. without acceptance, society is not open and receptive. and it's for this very reasons for governments in germany and other countries are looking to brussels for solutions to reduce the number of refugees. it's a message which will no doubt stimulate discussion and keep european states talking long after the forum comes to a

close. anchor: mark, b b b we left, we were speaking with you and you were highlighting some of the legal guidelines by which the e.u. you say should be accepting more refugees especially from syria, from countries. and as we have heard recently, there is a lot of backlash in the e.u. and germany. how can the e.u. be brought on board to have the comprehensive policy you would like to support chancellor merkel's open-door policy? >> the reactions we have seen from eastern european countries to the situation of the refugees i find depressing and i feel that we are much further away from european values in the e.u.

than we thought we were and this is a demonstration of that. anchor: what do you think we should see on the e.u. level? the prime minister says he currently holds -- he says we are running out of time and sharp reduction in the coming six to eight weeks and highlighting the increasing number of people who are coming coming by sea. what can the e.u. do? >> we can subsidize all these refugee camps in turkey and jordan so people do not dare to cross the sea to come into greece and then to germany. there are many possibilities. nothing is easy. but i think there is one fact, germany cannot take in the whole population of syria and it is not prepared to do so and there

must be some regional solidarity in the first place and the oil-producing countries should take part and do their share also in these complicated matters. anchor: what does that mean to do your share because the policies have absolutely failed so far? >> you need great efforts. germany, of course, cannot put an end to the war in syria. we are not a member of the security council and don't want to go in by military force. we cannot do that. it is a very hard task to engage in negotiations. and the first thing we have to address is turkey in particular because people should stay close to syria and should not all come to germany. they should go back to syria. >> while i agree with you we

need more regional solidarity within the e.u. but within the countries neighboring syria, the reality is support for turkey means supporting a country that is reportedly sending people back to syria and who is not letting the refugees work there. some of the people who come to germany have stayed in syria for one year, two years -- i'm sorry, in turkey, they're not allowed to work there. so eventually they move further into europe. and to this, i don't have the solution either, but it's a good way that merkel is saying we are trying to help rather than saying we can't help anymore. anchor: it is clear this crisis is going to have implications for decades.

will it cost merkel her chancellory? >> it's a big threat. >> i don't think that will be the deciding factor. anchor: we have to take a short one-minute break.

anchor: you are watching "dw news"." the top stories we are following, the issue of migration fuels division in europe. austria is cutting the number of refugees it is prepared to accept. it has announced a cap on asylum seekers and tighten border controls. at the same time, merkel has reiterated a call to a europe-wide solution and will be the focus of an e.u. summit in february. the other headline, gunmen in

pakistan opened fire and killing at least 20 people. police say all four shooters have been killed. security forcers stormed baca kahn university -- bacha khan. most were shot. reporter: hospital crews rushed to save and focus is saving as many lives as possible. others are in mourning and disbelief. the morning's dens fog allowed the gunmen to scale the walls and enter the university. about 3,000 people were on campus as the militants opened fire targeting students and teachers.

there was confusion as the attacks began. we heard firing from the back of campus. we thought maybe some people were fighting. then the firing increased, so we said get into the rooms and don't go out. then the security forces arrived and showed great bravery. the army soldiers showed great bravery. police arrived first followed by the pakistani army. some teams evacuating students and staff while others focused on hunting down the attackers. shortly afternoon, security forces killed all four gunmen. police say most of the victims were shot in the male dormitoryies. the region is a stronghold for the taliban. just over a year they attacked a

school in peshawar and killed 136 children prompting air strikes against the extremists. anchor: we are going to head over to business news. and what it day was for the markets. the selloff all around the world. in japan, they are in a bear market. reporter: that is a first. the financial markets are tumbling. this time the excuse is the lower oil price. in europe, it went down 3%. and companies like oil dutch shell or r.w.e. which lost 6% in market value. and sweden is having a hard time. analysts see a reaction to lower than expected growth numbers fom china. today, it fell in london to a

3.5 year low. all this is happening while the world economic forum is taking place. we continue our live coverage of the davos meeting. this is a very bad day for the stock markets and it is related to the topics of the world's economic forum. what are the reactions you have seen and heard there? >> these topics are being discussed naturally here at the world economic forum. the market turmoil and dropping oil prices and the economic slowdown in china and participants here are very worried about all of the above and according to the international monetary fund at least when we look at the markets, there is worse underway they warned here in davos there may be more market turmoil if the u.s. continues to raise

interest rates, there could be a dramatic drop in liquid witness and this drop, that scares everyone. reporter: the migration topic is a very important point on the agenda. what have you heard. you have talked to quite a lot of people of how europe is handling this. >> it is the dominating topic here at the world economic forum. the first day of the world economic forum and we heard the german president giving his speech today saying it is not unethical limiting the number of migrants coming to a country and austria capping the number of migrants it will allow and i attended a panel where the serbian prime minister spoke and was quite upset, serbia which is not a member of the european

yunnan wants to, would be ok to carry a quota system to distribute migrants among europe even though serbia is not a e.u. member. one precondition is that other countries like poland and hungary are carrying their weight in handling this question and the second pre-condition is that europe needs to have one common approach to handle this crisis and this with the news coming from vienna today shows there is no such approach at the moment. >> we need you for another show later on. thank you for the coverage for the world economic forum in davos. reporter: the special thing of davos it brings together people with different mindsets. it is not only for business leaders and politicians but

social interviewers. they bring them face to face about widespread inequality and poverty. they hope to find strong partners for their cause. >> the hotel is high up in the davos and social interviewers meet. one of them is a doctor from new delhi. back in india, she is involved in the fight against t.b. and this is her talking point at the meeting at the world economic forum. >> i want to achieve a lot. davos is where there is a lot of high energy. i want to utilize this for the benefit the poorest of the poor and make people away that there are things beyond our knowledge. reporter: she wants to play an active role in the debates and so does broad reach.

>> we are on the ground. we understand the situation and we can create solutions immediately and often in very low resource settings. what i think is very interesting is that we are almost a hotbed for research and development and finding new products and solutions. reporter: they are on on power with big companies and warming up to their ideas and starting to do business purely for the sake of profit is not just the only thing. >> if we have technology without social change, you would have people finding chinese food at 2:00 in the morning. if you have social change without technology, you will only get so big. this is the way to do scaleable work. reporter: the current refugee

crisis has drawn more attention to his work. of course you are only taken seriously if you insist i want this and everything has to be redistributed and come up things further and things that bring growth and give people a chance. social interviewers know it won't be an easy road to move. reporter: germany's flagship institution deutsche bank has announced a loss for 2015. the bank says it is related to the record fines and penalties that it faced last year in london as well as depreciation. the losses come as financial markets are in retreat worldwide with investors increasingly pessimistic about growth pros

pebts. that is it for now. we will continue to bring you coverage of all things davos. i'm off for today. the latest business news in the upcoming shows. anchor: in sports, golf has a big year ahead with the ryder cup. the game is trying to appeal to a younger audience. will scotters and shoots help? >> golf is a sedate game but things may be about to change. scooters or golf balls have been trialed at this hsbc championship. jordan speith found a way to knock out roary mci will roy. >> we were kind of going this way and i kind of slowed down

and bumped the back of his board and fortunately his ankle stayed on the board, so that was nice. >> trousers have been part of golf's tradition, but the european tour is now allowing shorts during practice. anchor: the scandal, the scandal all over shorts. we have more news coming up at the top of the hour. thank you fortuning in.

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