♪ >> hello and welcome. this is dw news live from berlin. populism spreads in europe, two key votes this weekend could see a further shift to the right. in austria, there may be the first far right head of state since world war ii, and in italy, matteo renzi is facing deathly -- faci defeat in a referendum that could cost him his job. also, the downfall of the dictator gambian president yahya jammeh is defeated, people voting for change after 22 years

of authoritarian rule. and nico rosberg shocks the world of formula one days after winning the drivers championship, announces his retirement from the sport. we will find out why. my name is christopher, good to have you with us. all eyes are on sunday with two important votes taking place, one in italy, the other in austria. we start with austria first. voters are electing the new president on sunday in a rerun of a vote originally held last may. last may, the dependent candidate -- independent candidate for him, but it was overturned in court. and now the two candidates emphasize their pro-and

anti-e.u. stances. the race is too close to call. the presidency in austria is largely ceremonial, but the popularity shows how many austrians in beit -- embrace anti-immigrant rhetoric because of effective campaigning. reporter: hofstadter is an old-school politician. right now he is feeling very optimistic.% >> we are getting a lot of support from the people. everyone is saying, i hope he wins. that is what we hope. there is no one better. >> he is talking about that candidate of the far right freedom party who has his sights on the austrian presidency. it would be a major step forward for the party, and is paul

stadler who has blazed the trail. he was the first freedom party candidate to be elected as a counselor in vienna, to a district once considered a left-wing stronghold. those days are over. many of the residents of this housing estate are shunning the left for cabinets for the right, attracted by the migrants that would have been considered extreme. it all seems rather out of step with the other'-- vienna's hearts drawn carriages and coffee houses, but behind this, there has been 11 months of electoral wrangling and the decision to rerun the presidential election. voters are easily divided. issues like the refugee crisis loomed large. >> pensioners have to get by on 100 years.

in winter, they don't know what to eat. reporter: funny enough, there is plenty for the refugees. >> our district zimmerman will vote for the freedom party, but it will be a one off, when they see the freedom party has to stick to the rules, they will change their minds. reporter: the central viennese district is governed by the greens and is a stronghold of anti-freedom party sentiment. noise about -- neuebau is students, starkly different from the working classes of the other places. when the modern cafes and alternative scene, few people have warmed to the freedom party. >> his statements are so radical

and terrible, given our history in austria. i can't imagine. >> i don't think it is good. it is not if it all revolves around personal attacks. it is not about the issues. it is a real shame. >> freedom party campaigners have been reaching out for months, a concerted effort bearing fruit. >> i am a voter for him, i believe i have vote blue for a long time. it is the only party to vote for. i have six yugoslavs living in my building. need i say more? homeland austria and social justice are the maxims that resonate widely. it is rather vague. even paul admits. for a long time those in power

shunned him, but now he could be calling the shots. the freedom party could be on the edge of winning the presidency. after that, parliamentary elections before the end of 2018. do well in those, and the party could great -- could gain real power. christopher: from austria to italy, on sunday, people there will be deciding on -- just hang on a second. i have not got the right text. people are deciding on changes to the constitution. it is a referendum that could rock the country and europe. matteo runs a -- matteo renzi is campaigning for yes, but it is more about punishing him. parties like the far right league are not in the eurosceptic movement led by this actor, campaigning for no.

reporter: no to constitutional change and no to prime minister renzi. that is the frosty message from the north of italy. this lawmaker is on the campaign trail for his five-star movement, italy's biggest medical opposition group. for him, the referendum is a warm-up act, paving the way for new elections. across to say liberty, the political cabinet has failed us for so long. he is not referring to the italian politicians but also what he calls the european elite. he is a convinced eurosceptic who wants italy to ditch the euro as soon as possible. >> the european people are getting very tired of everything that is going on.

it is based on financial and banking institutions. to think about the european parliament, 90% of what they do is to save banks and find a way to make money, go around europe. reporter: this is the message they want to hear. after high debt and stagnation, italians are looking for someone to blame. >> euro looks after its banks instead of its citizens. reporter: on the campaign trail, destefano explains that the au is not the problem but that it needs change. he wants sanctions against russia to be dropped and hopes to get a better migration deal for italy. >> if you don't change the grid of this european union, it will fail. it was weak from the start. reporter: this man will go a step further. he is the head of the right-wing

northern elite. he is fishing for no votes on the local market here. he is a eurosceptic hardliner with strong russian leanings. he wants out of the euro and does not rule out leaving the block altogether. >> brexit, trump, no vote. reporter: these are for some -- four slaps for the establishment and victories for the people. this is a supporter of the yes campaign, but find it hard to believe the centerleft government could come under such pressure from populist movements left and right. >> they are the face of the same metal, people that don't try to change things through information and will, but only emotions and scaring people. reporter: in italy, rebellion is

in the air. they hope the winds of change blowing from the u.k. and the u.s. will help lift their campaign. christopher: the wind of change is also blowing in africa. there has been a shock election for one of the most controversial leaders. the gambian president, yahya jammeh. he conceded defeat to his competitor in what was a stunning and to his presidential election. he had ruled with an iron fist for over 20 years after seizing power back in 1994. human rights groups accuse him of crushing people and torturing members of the opposition. reporter: their joy is clear. these supporters of incoming president adama are outside his home near the capital of banjul. for this 22-year-old, it is a day he will never forget.

>> there is only one president in my lifetime. [indiscernible] i over happy. peaceful election. reporter: outgoing president yahya jammeh was confident of his own victory before the election despite mass protests. human rights organization have for years been critical of the climate of fear in the country. the opposition was often suppressed and critics in present. no international observers were allowed in the election, adding to the surprise of the announcement made by the electoral commission. >> there will be a change of government, and the incumbent had been there 22 years.

he is allowing us to accept it. [indiscernible] reporter: many gambians have been celebrating the results. >> the victory of this man comes as surprise to most ambience, not only that after 22 years in power, president yahya jammeh stepped back. also that he announced his defeat, then passed it over. the key question, what is his plan or the future? how is he trying to improve the country? reporter: what the country needs is clear to him. >> job, education, many, many things. we have a lot of plans for the young ones. it ifull of young youth because the young gambians.

reporter: there is great hope for the new president and gambians will now be watching closely to see if he delivers on his promise of greater freedom christopher: and more jobs. germany's foreign minister steinmeyer syria to allow humanitarian for doors to be set up to send supplies to people in cities. he has also been visiting in lebanon where the rescue -- refugees are fleeing. reporter: lebanon's valleys are cold and rainy, but it is safe. the bombardments of eastern aleppo, and the families who are here, that is where they have fled from. it is the third time frank-walter steinmeier has commented on this. his second time, in this particular refugee camp, and one thing has not changed in the two

years since he was last year. frank-walter steinmeier: all of the people want to go back home. they are in touch with those parts of the families still back in syria, even relatives and aleppo. there has not been unfavorably that said they would not go back as soon as the security intuition allows it. reporter: these children represent the future of a devastated country. syrian refugees in a lebanese school. there are so many they outnumber local schoolchildren. an afterschool session was set up to make sure the syrian children can have lessons. during the last three years, germany provided 125 million euros to secure education in lebanon. they want to get rid of conflicts with the new president in lebanon, now that he has

sharpened his tone towards refugees. there will be international attention and money and announced an additional 10 million euros to help lebanon cope with the effects of war th its main neighb of syria. christopher: we will take a short break. e ha binesews.

christopher: welcome back. our top story of the moment, austrian voters may be about to elect europe's first far right leader since world war ii, and in italy, matteo renzi is facing defeat by the electorate in an amply -- anti-establishment move. that could confirm the rise of populism. now it is time for the latest business news. >> we are going to talk about the other important election taking place or vote, the clock

is ticking for italy's referendum on sunday and potentially for matteo renzi's government. yes it paves the way for constitutional and economic reforms, but there is triumph of the no on the polls. italians are demonstrated disappointment with the economy and their leaders. reporter: there is its share of problems and italy. i told percent, it is one of the highest in the block. -- at 12%, it is one of the highest in the bloc. the economy is barely growing. over the past 15 years, productivity in the eurozone has risen considerably with german on activity rising higher than average. italy saw productivity remain flat during the same time. that leaves little move for prices and wages to rise.

still, the government in rome has accepted a public sector pay hike. the move may be necessary after years of public belt-tightening, but critics say it is an attempt to win over opponents for sunday's referendum. fabio: things into be looking better in america. the u.s. is positing economic data. unemployment dropped to the lowest level since 2007. it is in line with expectations from wall street. the current jobless rate is what most economists consider full employment. it is interesting if the federal rate -- federal reserve will hike. carmakers have been spoiled with consistently growing demand from china, but a new tax for luxury vehicles and other factors could reduce sales in the future. in germany, the industry is optimistic as the chinese are pushing forward a new market

segment, electric mobility. reporter: on chinese roads like this one, you find more and more german cars. automakers like bmw and volkswagen sold over 23 million bottles this year, an increase of 15%. might not last. china will slap an extra tax on luxury cars. in cities, there is a limit on how many new cars can be registered. that is why the german auto association is cautious about future sales in china. >> we can't expect to see 15% growth in the chinese market every year as we have in 2016. at the beginning, we were conscious with productions -- projections, and sales exceeded every month. we will be cautious for 2017 as well. reporter: the vda is forecasting

3% growth in the chinese market. there is a new opportunities with beijing's plans to promote electric mobility. >> you can understand the thinking of a country which has an environmental problem to put an emphasis on electric mobility. for us, it is important there is no discrimination, that foreign and domestic manufacturers are treated the same. reporter: germany and china of cooperating in production of electric cars. german manufacturers hope they are not just coming up with the know-how, but that their electric cars also have a future in china. fabio: a group of school kids in australia has served up a pharmaceutical industry. they managed to re-create a lifesaving hiv drug, but for far less money. they are having trouble with the original makers but our local

heroes for others. reporter: these 16 and 17-year-old high school students in australia have done a kind of breaking bad, they have hooked up a drug which treats opportunistic diseases caused by hiv malaria. without it, patients would die. the price was notoriously htte 5000% last year, and cost $7,000 for one pill. the students produce one for two dollars. >> it is a very expensive drug which was recently hiked up in price by the billionaire who bought this. it is very easy to make and cheap and reliable to do, even in a school of oratory -- school laboratory. reporter: he is talking about martin's grilli, a former hedge fund manager. he brought -- boston the company that had exclusive rights to distribute the drug in the u.s.

to get a new drug approved, they have to get his approval, which is not likely. but the australian students have proven the life-saving drug committee produced for a fraction of the market price. the cost in the u.s. will remain ridiculously expensive, but the students have achieved one tremendous goal. they have shown a light on the ethics of the pharma industry. now they are asking fellow high school students to challenge the industry and follow suit. fabio: and now back to christopher. christopher: many thanks. we will talk about an absolute bombshell in the world of sports, formula one world champion nico rosberg will quit motor racing, five days after he became the first german to win the formula one title in a german car. with the announcement, hours before the formal ceremony,

crowding him as this year's champion. reporter: nico rosberg spent the week taking a victory tour. now he has delivered a shock to his fans. >> i have decided to end my formula one career. reporter: he had been mulling it over for some time. the last three seasons have been grueling, marked by tensions between him and a teammate. he lost a title twice before finally coming out on top. >> the last two years, losing to lewis were extremely difficult moments for me, which fueled my motivation in a way i did not know was possible. this year was extremely tough because i put everything into it. i suffered a lot after that loss. so i pushed my crazy in all directions. reporter: he started the season with four victories.

his teammate came on strong midway through the campaign, but he managed to hold him off with a string of fine performances. this year's championship ended a career that began in 20 -- in 2006 when nico rosberg made his debut for williams, the same company has father one with in 1982. but this year, it has come full circle. >> one of the most special things for me is to have achieved like my dad, able to win the world championships. the first thing i saw when i saw the world champion trophy was, where is my dad? it has been amazing. reporter: after 206 races and wins, he will devote himself to his family, a wife and infant daughter who make sure he will not slow down. christopher: and now afghanistan

can be a tough place to be a woman. violence against women, frustratingly common. united nations are trying to change the minds of people using volleyball to do so. reporter: in a small gym in trouble -- kabul, teens lineup for the opening serve. a women's volleyball tournament, in plenty of places and everyday scene at a recreation center. but here in afghanistan, an event like this can be an act of defiance. >> my brother always encourages me, but initially my dad was very much against my playing sports. used to throw my jerseys away so i couldn't play. i used to bake him and tell him i could be a decent player. -- beg and tell him i could be a

decent player. reporter: when the families came to games to watch, many changed their minds. fathers and brothers got caught up in the action. mothers and sisters enjoyed themselves as well. some even joined the team. >> we organize these matches to encourage young people to fight violence against women through sports. we brought in women's volleyball teams to change people's minds and encourage the girls. reporter: the girls are taking the game seriously and having fun. a positive sign for a pot -- for a troubled country. christopher: you are watching dw news. we will take a short break. i will be back with the day for you. in the meantime, we leave you with a dazzling light display, niagara falls. even more breathtaking tonight with this. ♪

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