♪ brent: tonight on a presidential election built on consensus. local parties in germany say they want this man, frank-walter steinmeier, to be the country's next president. conservatives of german chancellor angela merkel have given -- why are they supporting a candidate from a rival party, and how will it impact next year's general election? also, the impact of a trump presidency on global affairs. discussions around the world as the u.s. president-elect outlines his priorities and

reveals some controversial new appointments. it's with his prosecutors are questioning wikileaks founder julian assange at the ecuadorian embassy in london. he is accused of raping a woman in 2010. he denies the allegations. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff, it is good to have you with us. tonight, a presidential campaign that is not turned the country apartment chancellor angela christian democrats have agreed to back the social democrat frank-walter steinmeier as the country's next president. angela merkel says steinmeier, who currently the country's foreign minister, is an excellent choice to be the country's new head of state we will have more on the thinking behind his decision in just a moment. we begin with this report. reporter: just what many had

given up hope that angela merkel's grand coalition government could agree on anything at all, and managed to find a joint candidate for president. frank-walter steinmeier is known to most as germany's chief diplomat. in the middle east, ukraine and iran's nuclear program, he has worked on defusing many crises. german chancellor angela merkel has never left any doubt that she trusts and listens to her foreign minister. that is also likely to have tipped the balance when she decided to back the social democrat, handing the coalition partner a political victory yes in a year at a general elections. >> especially in times of worldwide unrest and stability, -- on stability -- instability, it is an important signal. reporter: the leader made sure

to hide his jubilation. >> it is good they grade on a candidate for the people of germany considered to be qualified to become our president. reporter: the opposition was less restrained, spotting weakness. >> i believe this once again shows how deep the rift within the cdu party is, that it was not able to find a candidate of them from the spd. reporter: as germany's most popular politician, frank-walter steinmeier was the obvious choice. merkel herself described it as a commonsense decision. it could avoid greater troubles down the road. brent: let's pull in our correspondent standing by in our parliamentary studios here in berlin. from that report, chancellor angela merkel describes the agreement to back steinmeier as

a signal of stability. who is that signal directed at? rupert: this is the first major decision angela merkel took after the election in the united states. it clearly is influenced by the grim electoral campaign -- or let me say the electoral battle we have seen during the last month in the united states. angela merkel struggle lee -- strongly believes germans want to have political stability, especially when it comes to the post of german president. by agreeing to frank-walter steinmeier from a rival party, by backing him, she also gives out the signal that the germans will have a president who has a high integrity who stands for democratic values and who is very popular here in germany. she also sends out the signal to the european partners that germany is capable of finding

difficult -- finding answers to difficult questions. although there is a general election around the corner. brent: the general election, it makes the question, what does this mean both for the chancellor herself? does this tell us anything about her possibility of running for another term? rupert: what angela merkel just did was she tried to avoid to get her party into a race which it was bound to lose because the german president is being elected in a federal convention. in this type of convention, angela merkel's conservative block does not have a majority. the odds for frank-walter steinmeier were already pretty good. he would have been elected there with the votes of the greens and the left party. this will send out a signal that the grand coalition with the social democrats would have been over and this was a signal angela merkel wanted to prevent. brent: all right, our

correspondent following the story from our parliamentary studios here in berlin. rupert, thank you very much. frank-walter steinmeier is among eu foreign ministers 11 meeting in brussels. they haven't discussing worries but some of the campaign pledges made by u.s. president-elect donald trump. there especially concerned about his calls for higher defense spending from -- for u.s. allies. there also worries about his ties with russia. don't trump has started filling some of the key posts in his new administration. he has now named in man by the name of preibus chief of staff daley steve bannon has been named chief strategy advisor. help the president cap -- tackle his -- the team will help the president. reporter: rice primus has been

named as -- a sharp contrast to stephen bannon, a radical outsider. he was trump's campaign manager and has condemned established politics. he will be chief strategist. it president-elect appeared with his family on the cbs show "60 minutes" where he gave a glimpse into what a trump presidency could actually bring. >> are you really going to build a wall? >> yes. >> they're talking about a fence in a republican congress. would you accept a fence? >> for certain areas. for certain areas a wall is more appropriate. >> what about the pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants? >> what we are going to do is

get the people that are criminal with criminal records, gang members, drug dealers -- a lot of these people, it could even be 3 million and we are getting them out of the country or we're going to incarcerate them. reporter: trump appears to be moving away from his earlier pledge to the poor all 11 million illegal immigrants in the u.s. brent: let's bring in our washington correspondent. good afternoon to you. what more do we know about the two appointees? >> there probably -- they probably cannot be more different. on the one hand we have reince priebus. he is very well-connected within the republican party. donald trump gets a lot of applause for this decision. on the other hand we have steve bannon who is standing for the opposite. he has been running breitbart,

which is known for really racist remarks. once they posted something about the birther issue and president obama and illustrated it with a picture of a gorilla. this is where he comes from. the big question will be whom donald trump is going to announce next. as the no they are right now sitting in trump tower discussing whom he is going to appoint as secretary of state and secretary of defense, which matter really to the rest of the world. brent: the rest of the world is your earning for clarity about what the truck administration is going to do and be about. what do these appointments tell us about the likely direction of the trump administration? >> it is still hard to say. many people fear that priebus is kind of the nanny who shall keep

the bridge open to the republican party, and bannon will be the whisper into trump's ears. we really have to follow the news tightly. whom trump is going to appoint next. these huge positions like secretary of state or secretary of defense. brent: our correspondent on the story tonight. thank you very much. election of donald trump has also raised fears that the u.s. might abandon its commitment to fight i'm a change. trump has called global warming a hoax and has promised to withdraw from the paris climate deal. that is wearing delegates -- worrying delegates. data shows 2016 douche --

2016 to be the hottest year ever. reporter: donald trump does not believe in climate change. he has promised to roll back environmental policies introduced by the obama administration. they're discussing how the u.s. can help poor countries adapt to climate change. >> business as usual here. behind closed doors there is one big debate. it is about donald trump. will there be an international u.s. climate change policy in the future? reporter: morocco does not want to be blown off course by the news coming out of the u.s. they have been experiencing the effects of climate change and they are making big investment in solar and wind energy. trump does not have any supporters here.

>> i don't think it is a good future for america. >> maybe if he can find he can make some money he will change his mind. reporter: many of the conference are to many that china and europe take over leadership in halting climate change if the u.s. reneges. the bears treaty has already become international law -- the paris treaty has already become international law. each country has its own goals and will likely carry them out with her without the usa. as the world's second-biggest -- brent: the founder of wikileaks, julian assange come is being questioned over rape allegations bidding data 20 2010. a swedish prosecutor travel to the ecuadorian embassy for an interview. is expected to take several

days. he took refuge at the embassy four years ago and has been there ever since, fearing extradition to the u.s. >> the swedish prosecutor left the ecuadorian embassy in london without making comments. the surprise in a case that has been shrouded in secrecy from the outset. they spent the day interviewing wikileaks founder julian massage via an ecuadorian intermediate. that is a step forward in an investigation that has installed for so long. >> after six years, he has been in the embassy for 4.5 years. this is potentially a big evolving. is not the end of the story but it is potentially the end of the allegation against them in sweden or possibly even the beginning of a new chapter if the swedes decide to charge him in something. reporter: he thought refuge here when u.k. courts upheld a swedish restaurant. he has -- arrest warrant.

he has always denied the allegations. legal wrangling between ecuador, sweden and the u.k. have delayed the swedes from stepping foot inside the embassy until now. the whistleblowing platform wikileaks has published masses of classified government material, much of it relating to u.s. military involvement in iraq and afghanistan. assange has refused to travel to sweden for questioning because he feared he would be handed over to u.s. authorities. wikileaks has most recently drawn attention over its decision to publish hacked e-mails relating to hillary clinton's campaign to the white house. observers say that may have influenced the outcome of the election. he denies any such intent. the wikileaks founder still has many supporters. some of them have now created an online petition calling on president elect donald trump to

pardon assange. brent: still to come, the days business headlines with javier. he will be looking at debt worries plaguing the economy. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back here with dw news. here of a top stories. germany's main political parties have agreed to back popular social democrat frank-walter steinmeier for the country's next president. he is currently foreign minister but would take on a largely ceremonial role as president. into trump administration is taking shape with reince priebus named chief of staff and stephen bannon as a senior strategy advisor. the president-elect says he plans to move aggressively in pursuing a conservative agenda which includes his promise to deport millions of undocumented

migrants with criminal records. it is time now for business news. javier is here. javier: it is not greece, although it is a similar case. rising debt, no growth and declining productivity -- italy sounds like the new greece. but a far bigger impact if it's economy crashes. now its prime insert wants to ask you partners for her to increase public debt even more. they will possibly have no choice but to accept. reporter: the rubble of the cathedral. it is a miracle that no one died in italy's most powerful earthquake in 30 years. but be ruined church could stand as a symbol for the state of the entire country. italy's economy has fallen apart. government debt ballooned last year by 46% to 2.2 trillion euros.

yet the economy is growing at a meager 0.8%. all the while, unemployment is over 11%. just like germany and france, italy has a strong industrial sector, but its competitiveness has been hammered, in part due to mismanagement and corruption. as a result, some banks have been dragged down by the economic slowdown. above all, the venerable montevideo ascii -- bishop sure of the country is contributed to its weakness. in december, the at times are set to vote on constitutional reform. a slimming down the public-sector has faced stiff opposition. the prime minister wants to get out of the current crisis by going further into debt, pleading for understanding among eu partners amid the ongoing refugee geithner -- refugee

crisis in devastation caused by recent earthquakes. chances are good the eu will let italy off the hook. he country does have the third largest economy in the eurozone, responsible for 16% of the union's economic output. it is simply too big to fail. if italy fails, it could bring down the rest of europe with it. javier: pilots at germany's largest airline lufthansa threatening to strike. the pilots will give just 24 hours notice. the carrier has offered mediation to resolve the dispute, which is in its fourth year. in that period, lufthansa has faced multiple strikes over pay and pensions. the airline is in the midst of a restructuring process under two compete against budget carriers. you need government abolished the two highest in nomination banknotes last week in an attempt to fight the black

market. but they make a pretty -- 85% of the circulation. it is now causing chaos. they are desperately trying to get cash from atms in the government is struggling with solutions. reporter: they have been waiting in line for hours. millions were left high and dry with the government abolished india's two most widely used banknotes. now i will have to take their 500 and 1000 rupee notes to the bank. that has triggered a cash shortage. >> i been looking for an atm since 11:00 p.m. i could only now find one and it is almost 4:00 in the morning. >> i'm distressed, i have not eaten anything. i hope i can get cash somehow. reporter: the indian government increase the limit from cash withdrawals from bank accounts. what of thousands of atms are out of operation since they need to be reconfigured for the new series of 2000 rupee banknotes

with new security features. ended the chaos, india's prime minister -- amid the chaos, the prime minister says he will do all in his power to make sure citizens to not suffer. they say they are working on a solution. >> it was decided that a number of micro-atms will be deployed and they will dispense cash against credit and debit cards. reporter: when he came to power in 2014, the prime minister promised to bring billions of dollars in unaccounted for cash back into the mainstream financial system. the size of india's black economy is estimated to be around 20% of gdp. he also said the new measures will impact the financing of terrorist activities in india, which often use black money channels. javier: that's all for business,

now onto sports. brent: england and spain will face-off in an international soccer friendly on tuesday. but the england captain will not be starting the match due to injury concerns. the coach confirmed that the liverpool midfielder will be the replacement. it will be the last of the four match audition as england's interim coach. the spaniards have one four of the six friendly's since then. in tennis news, the opening game at the world tour finals proved to be a walkover for number fi ve. the japanese player made light work of his opponent. he lost the opening set 6-2. he maintained pace in the second set despite best efforts.

game ended in little more than one hour. 6-2, 6-3. windfursing's world cup off the hawaiian island of maui. after the trade wind took a break, they return for the final day. an aruban native won the championship. hometown favorite kevin came out ahead with his last one. but the spanish competitor is world champion. there you go. for most people come across in the lead six igo be a huge challenge. but not nearly big enough for this former british police officer. he set off from senegal to

brazil. his goal is to swim across the entire ocean. reporter: the last few strokes of warm-up after three years and 12 million meters of training. the day has finally come. ben is ready to set off on a history-making adventure that no one has ever attempted -- to swim across the atlantic. >> that's the way it goes. i will not be as tired now as i will be in two to three months. that's it. it's a bit nervous. i am a human being. reporter: the route goes from senegal. he will swim up to eight hours again -- a day, eery day, for four to five months. it should end in brazil. but the hot waters are not without dangers. whether being the biggest then

are jellyfish and cloak -- je llyfish. and closer to brazil, sharks. >> we have shark repellent, electric shields. in theory i have more chance of being struck by lightning than i do being eaten by a shark. reporter: fortunately, hooper will not be alone. the nine person crew includes a paramedic and the support vessels are packed with medical equipment and food and importantly -- a bed. it presents a new challenge. >> i'm used to cross need -- crossing the atlantic in a few months. this will -- a few weeks. this will take months. reporter: it was when battling depression he came up with the idea. he hopes to raise over one million euros for charity.

>> it has been a long time coming. reporter: time to go. next stop, brazil. brent: we wish him luck. you can track his amazing swim on his website, swim thebigblue.com. the brightest moon in almost seven decades is lighting up the night and exciting sky gazers all around the world. the so-called super moon appears both bigger and brighter than normal. it is the closest the move has been to earth since 1948. people all across the globe have been getting outdoors. the next time we will see anything like this will be in the year 2034. we will be ready to retire by them. here's a reminder of our top stories.

germany's main political parties have agreed to back popular social democrat frank-walter steinmeier for president. he is currently the country's foreign minister but would take on a largely ceremonial role as president. the detroit administration is taking shape with reince priebus named chief of staff and stephen bannon named his senior strategy advisor. the president-elect says he plans to pursue a conservative agenda. after a short break all be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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