♪ >> this is "d.w. news" from berlin. france and iran hail gnaw relationship. the countries' presidents have met in paris for talks and huge business deals worth billions of euros. also in paris, police stop a 28-year-old man carrying two handguns and a koran as he tries to enter a hotel at the disneyland paris amusement park. and the world health organization raises the alarm over the zika outbreak. it's as four million people in north and south america are at risk from the virus. which has been linked to birth

defects. sarah: welcome to the program. rouhani has hailed a new relationship with france. rouhani was speaking at a palace in paris where he met with french president holland. the two oversaw the signing of around 20 trade deals that are said to be worth around $30 billion euros. this is a historic visit for rouhani who is on the second leg of a four-day european trip, meeting leaders of government and business for the first time since sanctions against his country were lifted. let's bring in our correspondent who is standing by for us in paris. break down these deals for us. what exactly was agreed to today? reporter: there were a lot of different deals really.

in different areas, in agriculture, in telecommunications, in transport and the overall volume of them was tens of billions of euros. one of them, for example, iran is going to buy more than 100 air bust planes worth more than -- airbus planes worth more than $20 billion euros. these are very important for france. the french economy is ailing, almost not growing at all. high unemployment here. so everybody's hoping that iran will bring in new business. and also, iran is obviously the largest untapped developed market in the world. so the french really want to get in there. sarah: this wasn't all about business. there was very much a political element to all of this. reporter: that's true. france has been -- the french president and the iranian president, they have been talking about international conflicts in yemen and lebanon, in syria. and the french president has said that he wanted iran to play a constructive role in this, in

finding a solution, in these conflicts, especially in the war in syria. and there's also been a cultural element to it. there has been a new deal concluded between iran, france and these three partners will bring cultural goods from iran and syria into a safe place. because the french president today was saying, you know, terrorists are not only attacking people, they're also attacking cultural goods and we want to protect them. sarah: france and iran have historically had not the easiest of relationships. sanctions were lifted just recently against iran. how are the two countries moving forward? it seems that they're moving forward on the business and the political level, but some concerns still remain, especially with regard to human rights. reporter: well, that is correct. only half of the population is in favor of rouhani being in

france. the other half is saying, we really shouldn't be dealing with that country, with such a bad track record with regards to human rights. since sunday there really have been numerous demonstrations against these human rights violations and they're asking the french government to speak out against that and ask iran to have a better human rights record in the future. sarah: thank you very much. we want you to stay with us because we want to ask your perspective on another developing story in france. because in paris, police sources say that they have ruled out a terrorist background to the arrest of a man at the disneyland paris amusement park, just outside the french capital. police arrested the man after it was discovered that he was carrying two hand go ups. police say the 28-year-old male did not resist arrest and claimed that he was carrying the firearms for his own safety. the weapons were concealed in a bag. they set off a metal detector as the man passed through a security control point.

france has been under a state of emergency following last november's deadly attacks on the french capital when 130 people were killed. back to lisa who is standing by for us in paris. so, what more can you tell us about the details of this case? the french capital definitely on high alert. especially in the wake of those attacks. that were just two months ago. reporter: well, that is true. we have been hearing that this man was actually traveling with a woman, hotel staff has told that to police. and the police are now searching for that lady. in the meantime, they had arrested one woman but it turned out that was not the woman he was traveling with. so they're still searching for her. and also, police are still interrogating this man who said, you know, you want to just protect -- he wanted to just protect himself against terrorists because he was afraid. now, we don't know who he is. we have no confirmation yet of his identity. and we don't know if what he

says is actually his real reason of carrying around weapons. sarah: thank you. we turn to some other news now. refugees in germany may have to wait two years to be reunited with their families under new asylum rules hammered out by government leaders in berlin. the package also adds algeria, morocco and tunises i -- tunisia to the list of safe countries of origin. that makes it easier for authorities to send asylum seekers back to those nations. germany has been coping with a million migrants who came to the country last year. state leaders say they need more help from berlin. reporter: germany's 16 state premiers agree on at least one thing. they want more money for the integration of refugees. now they need to take care that the people who have a good chance of staying, that the more

than one million people who arrived in 2015, now also get an apartment. so that they leave the emergency accommodations, the tents, the gymnasiums. they must ensure that the children are offered an education, that kindergartens are set up, that the german language is promoted and that language requirements are improved. municipalities in germany are struggling with the growing problems arising from the sheer number of refugee arrivals. the state remeres say the states are at their limit. it should therefore be very clear that without a significant reduction it will be unmanageable this year. after their meeting in the chancellory, the three party leaders agreed to put the question of refugees bringing their family to germany on hold. vice chancellor announced this and said the asylum package too should be implemented as quickly as possible. further details are now being hashed out between chancellor merkel and the state premiers.

sarah: give us a sense of what exactly is in this new package. reporter: like you said, the biggest bone of contention over the last three months was the issue of family reunification and it's now been agreed that for a specific group of refugee, not all the refugees, but those who are not granted asylum in germany, nor refugee status, those who are just not turned back for humanitarian reasons, and that group comprises about 100,000 syrians alone, this group will have to wait to have their family members join them for two years. that was the original demand by the conservatives. especially the c.s.u. another big -- well, point now, is the fact that the three north african countries, morocco,

tunisia and algeria are supposed to be declared safe countries. this is something that cannot just be agreed by the party heads. also the state premiers have to agree to that. so we'll have to see if that really becomes the law in germany. sarah: so it looks like people who otherwise would have been declared refugees might be declared economic migrants and sent back there. this whole issue of migration in germany, it has revealed some cracks within chancellor merkel's governing coalition. in this particular package, who came out the winner and who gave in for this compromise? reporter: i think with every good compromise, everyone had to give something in order to return something. the conservatives, like i said, they managed to actually stick to their points, to have this family reunification suspended for two years. but the social democrats, who had been adamantly opposed to this, they got, for example, the

decision to have contingents that are, like they say, con deuce to have family reunification. that means that over the next years there will be contingents. there's no number yet. but family members are supposed to get to germany after all, but not over the next two years. sarah: thank you. and now to another change in the migration crisis. germany has also started issuing i.d. cards for refugees. the cards are being introduced to speed up the registration process and to enable authorities to share information about asylum applications. the new i.d.'s list a refugee's name, age and the country of origin. they also feature fingerprints. that makes it harder for those who have been rejected to simply reapply with another identity. the cards are due to be rolled out across the country in the coming weeks. and more tragedy today for migrants trying to reach europe. at least 25 people had died,

have died, offer the greek island of samos after their boat sank on the crossing from turkey. among the dead are 10 children. the greek coast guard rescued 10 others. one man who managed to swim ashore said there were around 40 migrants on a wooden boat when it cap sitesed. the search for survivors continues. a historic trial has begun at the international criminal court in the haig. the former president of the ivory coast is charged with crimes against humanity. he pleads not guilty for his role in the west african country's civil war in 2010. the trial is seen as a test for the i.c.c. he is the first former head of state to be brought before the court. reporter: not guilty. that's what he told judges at the international criminal court this morning. outside, hundreds of his

supporters from the area gathered, hoping to see their former president walk free. the road to the hague began in 2010. a presidential election ended with both him and his rival claiming victory. authorities declared him the winner. only to change course the next day, handing him the election after finding, quote, irregular larities. he had ruled the ivory coast for a decade and still had the army's support. he was sworn in as president. but his opponent didn't back down and had international backing. violence broke out between supporters of the two camps. some 3,000 people were quill killed in the unrest. accusations surfaced that to retain power, gbagbo was willing to risk civil war. the situation was resolved in april, 2011. when forces loyal to his

opponent captured gbagbo and declared him deposed. he was transferred to the international criminal court to stand trial. today he has pled not guilty to four charges of crimes against humanity. facilitating murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts on a mass scale. his lawyers and the prosecution in the trial have both pledged that it will reveal the truth of what happened in the ivory coast. sarah: let's get a quick check of other stories making news around the world. syrian government forces are gaining ground against rubbles -- rebels in the south of the country. dozens were killed close to the jordanian border. it's a key victory for the assad regime. severing rebel supply lines in the area. seven gunmen from the palestinian militant group hamas have been killed after a tunnel collapsed close to the gaza strip's eastern border with israel. hamas said the men were

repairing the tunnel. the spanish coast guard has rescued all 22 crew members aboard a ship in distress off the country's northern coast. the ship has leaned sharply to one side. apparently due to strong winds and high waves. southeast australia has been hit by flash floods. over the space of just two hours, the town just south of melbourne received twice its average rainfall for january. over 150 houses were flooded and dozens of cars submerged in what weather experts describe as extraordinary. many people dream of seeing the northern lights, but a spanish acrobatic paraglider has gone one step further. he has actually flown under the aurora borial ills. check this out. this is absolutely incredible. he fulfilled a life long dream by flying under the northern lights in norway. he said that flying in the dark

in subzero temperatures was a considerable challenge, but his efforts did produce some impressive images. impressive to say the least. we have to take a short one-minute break. the latest business news after that.

sarah: welcome back. a quick reminder of our top story. ivory coast former strongman gbagbo has gone on trial in the international criminal hourt in the hague. he's facing war crime charges. the world health organization is raising the alarm. the u.n.'s health watchdog has called for an emergency meeting to determine whether the zika virus outbreak is a global health emergency. the moss kitow-borne virus is linked to serious birth defects in newborns and neurological problems.

the w.h.o. expects between three million and four million cases of the disease in north and south america. the organization says the epidemic is affect -- has affected 23 chris already with the head of the w.h.o. warning that the disease is spreading explosively. and has become a threat of alarming proportions. >> bath time for the baby. reporter: he was born with an abnormal small head. the condition is now behind a global health scare after being linked to an outbreak of the zika virus transmitted by mosquitos. his mother's days are now spent shuttling in and out of doctor's offices in northeastern brazil where the outbreak has hit hardest. her son is one of at least 3,800 affected babies born in brazil since october. their mothers are hoping in vein that their children's -- vain that their children's heads are grow. the world of the health

organization -- world health organization warned that it's spreading in the americas. the w.h.o. expects up to four million cases in the americas over the next year. the disease has no known cure or vaccine. the w.h.o.'s convening an emergency committee on monday to decide if the zika outbreak should be declared an international emergency. it stressed that whale the link between the virus and birth defect has not been confirmed, it's strongly suspected. >> the possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of zika from a mild threat of one to alarming proportions. the increased incidents is particularly alarming. as it places a heartbreaking burden on families and communities. reporter: any help will come too late for veronica. but despite doctors warning mothers that their babies will never develop normally, she's keeping the faith that her baby may one day get better.

sarah: a chaveng pace now. we're going to head over to the price of oil. there might be at least a little bit of hope for oil yet. guest: there was. it's down to something somebody said. the russian energy minister stifled the markets today with a claim that saudi arabia has proposed to reduce oil production by opec states by up to 5%. saudi arabia has not confirmed the russian minister's comments. nevertheless, it would be a measure that opec member states have not been able to agree on so far. just the prospect of a slowdown in the global oil supply was enough to make the price of oil jump, initially gaining more than 5% following the comments from russia. now to make some sense of that, let's bring in claudia. she's an energy expert at the german institute for economic research. and should be here now. what's behind these remarks from russia?

guest: russia intends the other opec nations as well that the oil price is increasing and it happens already. so there is a direct speculation affect on the oil price right now. if the oil supply will decrease, then the oil price goes up and that's especially the strategy of russia right now. whether it's realistic depends crucially how the opec is reacting. in the past, it do could not happen that the opec really decides an oil supply shortage or reduction of expiration quotes. it looks a little bit unlikely that this will happen right now. anchor: all oil producing states are suffering at that price. why can't they just agree to produce less? guest: this is what we have seen in the past as well. they could not really agree to produce less oil because they have all different kinds of strategies. although they are suffering heavily now from the lower price. because they all want to sell as

much oil as they can and this brings up a very difficult situation on the oil market. so the opec country could not agree in the past. anchor: the russian minister mentioned a figure as well. 5% less production. what affect would that have? guest: the russian proposal would bring the oil price to up a level. because the oil supply exs or the oversupply of oil which we have right now in the market would decline about this proposal. and that would indeed bring the oil market to a more balanced level and the oil price would increase if all opec country, including russian, -- russia, also agree on this proposal. anchor: many thanks. 6.8 billion euros. that's a lot of money and that's the loss that deutsche bank's c.e.o. had to explain to investors today. it's worse than anything germany's biggest lends heir reported since the financial crisis. it's the biggest loss in company history. it used to be one of the big

boys in european finance and their stock traded at around $ 100 euro. just look at this dismal picture. after deutsche sold a lot of dodgy mortgages to kick-start the 2008 financial crisis, the share prices gave investors plenty of reasons to jump off the next cliff. it's currently trading at just 16 euros. down another 5.5% just today. main reason for the record loss, the bank had to set aside more than 5 billion euros for an endless litany of litigation. they've been taken to court for rigging interest rates, infor instancing commodity prices, manipulating currency market and cooked mortgage transactions. just to remind you, 6.8 billion euros. that's a lot of zeros there. speaking of zeros, the bank's top executives were in for an unpleasant surprise as well. reporter: the worst results in the history of deutsche bank. record losses of almost 7

billion euros. the disastrous numbers were posted a week ago. now the big question is whether new co-c.e.o. will be able to bring germany's biggest lendser back from the brink. his job is unenviable. he has to do whatever it takes to save the company and that may include more mass layoffs. no one wants the bank to continue to generate red ink. but it's impossible to completely rule it out. because restructuring costs big money. billions for litigation, for i.t. investment, for severance packages. we all know that restructuring can be very challenging. it takes time, resolve and patience. i'm aware of these kinds of situations from personal experience. he feels capable of getting deutsche bank back on the rails, but no one knows how long it will take for the bank to become

profitable again. anchor: had -- he's been trying to reinsure investors in that press conference, haven't they given up on deutsche long ago? reporter: hi. they have definitely, if you take a look at the picture that you showed us. it is very clear that investors are getting rid of the deutsche bank stocks. that we saw further plunge today of about 4% when that press conference took place. investors want to believe him and he's definitely a capable man. but the numbers are just not speaking for themselves yet. we will see if he manages to somehow get that bank running again as it was in the past. anchor: is he just trying to get the bad news out of the way? reporter: he probably is. that is a very common practice when a new c.e.o. comes in. he tries to get rid of the garbage, if you want to say. in a time frame, well, this is not me, it was the guys before

me. so that is a very common practice and we possibly are seeing that as well. investors knows that -- know that. however, the task is a huge crisis and the company -- in the company and it's not going to be an easy task. anchor: thank you very much. that's it for me. back to sarah with tennis. sarah: thank you. as the -- at australian open, germany continues to make waves. kerber will face serena williams in saturday's final. the german took down britain's in straight sets to book her place in her first ever grand slam final. >> her winning strategy was simple. reporter: a strong baseline game. waiting for kanta to make a mistake. that's just what the britain did. making 36 errors to her opponent's 11. after 80 minutes, concerner was the victor. she's germany's first female australian open finalist since

1996. she will face off against serena williams. the reigning champion made easy work of her semifinal against her opponent. her polish opponent stood little chance. losing 6-0, 6-4. with a win on saturday, williams would claim her 22nd grand slam singles title. sarah: the general secretary of european football has been backed by the influential south american confederation to take over as president of the world's governing body fifa. the swiss is only running as one of the five candidates in next month's election because his boss cannot. platini was banned for eight years in december along with the fifa boss. media reports on thursday say a whistleblower is helping swiss police in a probe against bladder. a quick reminder of our top story before we go.

the world health organization is warning that the zika virus may affect as many as four million people. it's calling an emergency meeting about the disease which has been linked to birth defects. you're up to date on d.w. we have more news coming up at the top of the hour. join us then. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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