♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight coming u.s. president donald trump on his way home headed for the next big problem. trump bidding farewell to asia only to fly into a domestic storm of controversy. fresh allegations that his attorney general may have failed to tell the truth about ties to russia. also coming up -- anguish in the areas hit by sunday's earthquake in iran and iraq. thousands of people have lost

everything and are now facing an impossible future. and the people worst hit by climate change are often poor. now wealthy nations and other groups are giving a boost to a strategy that aims to ease their plight. ♪ brent: i am brent goff. it is good to have you with us. i never lied -- that is what u.s. attorney general jeff sessions told members of congress today. he rejected allegations that he deliberately misled lawmakers earlier this year about his knowledge of possible communications between russia and trump's presidential campaign. sessions told the house judiciary committee that he doe now recall a meeting with former trump campaign manager is her george papadopoulos in which

russian connections were discussed. in previous testimony undergrowth, -- under oath, sesame -- citizens -- sessions denied those contacts. >> i do now recall the march 2016 meeting at the trump hotel that mr. poppa topless attended -- that george papadopoulos attended, but i have no details of what he said. to the best of my recollection i believe i want to make clear to him that he was not authorized to represent the campaign, the russian government, or any other foreign government. brent: that is the u.s. attorney general jeff sessions. our correspondent kerley niche and more is on the story for us. -- our correspondent kerley

niche a morning. is this man credible or is he not? carolina: apparently we have seen at least three -- the words we just heard come after his statement this year also in the investigation into russian meddling in u.s. elections last year. sessions denied once and again he had key medications with anyone connected to the russian government during the 2016 elections. even of the attorney general began saying, my story has not changed, today his story changed. they very moment he said he did recall the meaning with george papadopoulos. this happened after the court

records reveal that mr. sessions not only was part of a meeting but he was even leading a meeting discussion -- discussing his russian ties and discussing sending up a meeting with trump and vladimir putin. saying one thing and then recalling a different thing makes the statements impossible plausible and it definitely raises questions about his credibility. brent: and of course it leaves us to ask the next question -- what does it mean for donald trump? carolina: well, it does not affect him directly now. but this is one more step forward in mueller's investigation into russian meddling in the u.s. elections last year. but for sessions it could mean he misled the senate, which means he lied to congress and thereby he could have committed perjury. brent: all right.

our correspondent in washington. thank you very much. the u.s. president is on his way back to washington after a packed visit that took into japan, china, vietnam and the philippines. the president said he made progress with his agenda on trade and he also claimed to have made friends at the highest levels in asia. reporter: demo trump may have written the ark of the deal, but the art of diplomacy has not always come easy. so this would be an ambitious tour any measure. >> should i put it on? reporter: confront pyongyang's provocations. >> north korea is a worldwide threat that requires worldwide action. reporter: and do some deals. trump's bid to shore up the

pacific alliance began in japan, where nuance was in short supply. not that his host, prime minister shinzo abe, minded. the reception was going to be frosty or in south korea. -- frostier in south korea. but his speech confounded his critics. >> if you want peace, you must stand stronat all times. reporter: at a beijing banquet, the commander-in-chief headache diplomatic trick up his sleeve -- had a diplomatic trick up his sleeve. if video of his granddaughter singing in mandarin. trump had cause to celebrate as he later claimed president she -- xi would move to allow for an companies access to the country.

it was a casual, some say cozy encounter with vladimir putin that threatened to derail the grand tour. trump was again dogged by questions of russian meddling in u.s. democracy. by the end of his odyssey, he was getting used to the red carpet treatment, even if it meant embracing filipino president rodrigo duterte, a man accused of mass extradition killings. this was trump's turn to be entertained. >> and three. reporter: at the end of this final summit is trump's relationship with new friends that may raise concern among old allies. brent: i'm joined now by annelise riles come a professor at cornell university in ithaca,

new york. she's is an expert on relations in asia. professor, it is good to have you. how successful do you think trump's tour of asia really was? annelise: i think for u.s. interests it was a disaster. i think we will look back on this trip as a moment in which the u.s. seems to has advocated -- abdicated its traditional leadership role. leadership is about more than economic and military how your -- power. it is about values and expertise. unfortunately our president did not live up to those qualities. brent: on air force one earlier today, trump told reporters that he had forced, if you will, countries in asia to respect the u.s. again. was there a deficit of trust in asian countries to begin with? annelise: no. i think he is quite wrong on

that. in asia in general, there has long been quite a lot of trust of the united states. in fact the u.s. has played a very important leadership role in asia since about world war ii. but you know, asian peoples on the home -- whole really respect education, they respect preparation, they respect expertise, and they frankly do not understand the shoot from the hip sort of style that president trump displayed on this trip. the fact that the u.s. did not have -- did not come to the table with a clear proposal, did not move the ball forward on any of the important issues of the region from trade to security, i think is going to contribute to a loss of respect, not a gaining of respect. brent: professor joining us from cornell.

thank you very much, we appreciate your insights. annelise: thank you. brent: police in the u.s. state of california say at least five people have been killed in a shooting. i witnesses say a gunman opened fire at a home near red bluff, then carried on shooting at several locations including an elementary school and a kindergarten. officials say no children were killed but a number were wounded. biblical assistant sheriff spoke to reporters a short while ago. >> i am told at this point the suspected shooter is deceased by law enforcement bullets. we have about 100 law enforcement personnel here right now with multiple scenes. i can think of at least five scenes that i have been told about. so we are spread thin, but we had a lot of resources right now.

you can see that we are still requesting ambulances and still doing our work. brent: from north america to africa. witnesses in zimbabwe say they have seen tanks moving near the capital. video posted on social media appears to show armored personnel carriers and a convoy heading towards an army barracks just outside the city. this comes amid heightened tensions in zimbabwe between the army and president robert mugabe. less by the head of the army threatened that the military could step in after gotti -- after we got a sank the country -- they haven't -- they have accused the army chief of treason. iran is scrambling to help thousands of people harmed by an earthquake. the previously reported more than 500 were killed but that figure has been revised down to 432. 8000 people were also injured in

the region bordering iraq. the iranian president has been visiting one of the worst-hit providences. emergency workers save have ended their efforts to rescue survivors. they see there is hope of finding anyone else alive. -- they say there is no hope finding anyone else alive. reporter: amid the rubble, the frantic search for the living has turned into a recovery effort. as rescue workers retrieve the dead, the bereaved are left to grapple with lives and homes ruined. among the worst-hit places, much of the town has been destroyed. >> we still had to pay off our debts on this house. i was already jobless and could not pay them. now it is totally destroyed and our furniture is gone.

[please stand by] reporter: -- money to help those affected. >> i wish to assure all people have suffered that the government will do everything in its power to resolve the problems in the shortest possible time. reporter: the disaster has left an estimated 70,000 people homeless, and battling the cold in the mountainous region as winter gets closer. brent: here are some other stories making headlines around the world. the european union is facing fresh criticism over its policies on migrants from the united nations human rights chief.

he condemned the eu for helping libya's coast guard intercepted people making illegal crossings. after intersection the migrants are often dictated libya. there, the chief says they face quote, unimaginable horrors. rex tillerson has held talks with myanmar's leader on the sidelines of the az on summit. to listen flies to libya-- suu kyi is under global pressure to take action. thousands have fled to neighboring bangladesh. thousands of women protested in brazil over moves in parliament to criminalize abortions without exception. terminations are currently allowed in limited cases including rape and life-threatening pregnancies. the proposed total ban would need a majority in both houses to become law.

volunteers in indonesia have managed to save six sperm whales stranded on a beach. hundreds of locals looked on as the massive mammals were pushed out into deeper water. the beached pod was discovered on monday. four whales died before they could be rescued. you're watching "dw news." still to come, italy misses out on the world cup after they failed to beat sweden in their qualifying playoff. so what went wrong with italian soccer? representatives from some 200 nations are currently working on implementing the details of the paris climate accord that is going on in bonn, germany. one major issue on the agenda -- insurance against climate change. droughts and heavy rainfall are rising and the poor are often the hardest hit.

they may lose their property, livestock or crops. as a result, an estimated 26 million people fall into extreme poverty every year. countries in africa and the caribbean can now insure themselves against the consequences of extreme weather. in africa, over 30 countries have joined to form an insuranc scehe -- scheme. each government must decide how to use the insurance payments before a disaster takes place. the aim there is to help people quickly and effectively. mauritania offered one example of how the insurance could work. in 2014 the country experienced its worst drought in over a decade and received insurance money just one year later. that money was used to provide food for 1.3 million people and it helped save at least one

million animals. in bonn, germany today, germany pledged 125 million dollars to boost the work of an international insurance partnership that aims to cover 400 million more poor and vulnerable people against disaster risks by the year 2020. reporter: destruction wherever one looks. a small town in colombia after the storm hits. these are the effects of climate change. few people in developing regions like this have insurance. when the weather turns violent, many lose all they had. in africa, trouser becoming more common with their own -- droughts are becoming more common. germany, britain, france and several other countries are trying to help. at the global climate conference they are offering insurance against these risks. >> if you have lost two straight harvests to drought and your

third is also looking bad, you should not have to wait until it is a full-blown famine. you should have the opportunity to invest, to buy seeds, for example. reporter: the goal is to have some 400 million people insured by 2020. this delegate from fiji made it clear how pressing the issue has become. in his homeland, only one person intent has any insurance at all. -- in ten has any insurance at all. >> it should not be voluntary. it should be that whoever pollutes the atmosphere has to be involved. we're not seeing that right now. the rich countries have not gotten involved in discussions about providing compensation for the damage their actions have done to the atmosphere. reporter: pledges totaling some $700 million have been collected so far. compared to the billions

countries facing disasters, it is a drop in the bucket, but at least it is a start. brent: a lot of economic figures were revealed today. javier: we're going to start right here in germany because we have more good news for the german economy. it has been growing faster than expected, propelled by strong exports and investments. europe's biggest economy expanded by 0.8% in the third quarter of over the 0.6% in the previous quarter. it joins a space as the fastest growing economy in the eurozone. the average rise in the gdp of the 19 categories in the eurozone in the third quarter is a comfortable 0.6%. in contrast to that, we all knew it was coming in now it is finally here. venezuela find -- failed to make payments on monday and is now been declared on selective default by standard & poor's. it is also pretty more shortfalls.

president nicolas maduro had promised a new -- to renegotiate an apparently the answer he got was thanks, but no thanks. reporter: is venezuela running right out of money? the much hope -- must-awaited answer, ended abruptly after only 30 minutes. afterwards participants talked after having no concrete proposals for restructuring the country's massive debt. instead they were offered chocolate and coffee. as recently as sunday, president nicolas maduro said his country would never default and promised investors a good deal. but venezuelan feiss president -- but the venezuelan vice president had nothing firm to say about his country's future. on state-controlled tv, rather than laying out a plan he blamed the u.s. for venezuela's quandary, talking of an economic

war against the country. the u.s. had imposed sanctions on venezuela. the eu had not followed suit but did have an embargo. the eu does not want to worsen the plight of venezuela's people. inflation is running at 50%. food and medical supplies are scarce. yet venezuela still hopes to pull through. >> there is of course a little bit of news on the horizon that venezuela could see a restructuring with russia. perhaps that could be announced later in the week. reporter: an agreement with russia could keep the venezuelan debt cliffhanger one for another few days at least. javier: some corporate news. volkswagen is hitting the headlines again, but this time it is not about the dieselgate scandal. it is far worse.

volkswagen is being accused of actively contributing to the military dictatorship that brazil had but the carmaker -- the reaction from the headquarters is silence. reporter: brazilian federal prosecutors say german carmaker volkswagen worked hand-in-hand with the country's military dictatorship. they confirm her rent is accusations that vw helped suppress regime opponents and they say the company was not under duress. an investigator summed up the testimony. >> it was active collaboration. vw supply details which they were not -- on their own initiative. vw passed on documents which the company considered to be subversive. reporter: he went even further. he said the brazil subsidiary also saw a black list of government opponents with other companies.

it also bears responsibility for rests on volkswage premises. they were tortured in jail by the military. in volkswagen headquarters, the company has so far not commented on the substance of the report. but they do say it is time for action. >> we will be holding an event in brazil in december where we will approach the affected people. there will be a meeting with high-ranking volkswagen representatives. we will also put a package of sustainable measures into effect. reporter: they over compensation after 40 years. javier: back to brent for sports news. there is no dolce vita -- brent: mamma mia is what they are saying in italy tonight. it was italy's worst nightmare -- not qualifying for next year's world cup. italy failed to beat sweden and they are out of the world cup,

leaving the nation stunned and disappointed. reporter: italian football's worst nightmare has come true. a lack of firepower against sweden leaves gianluigi buffon and company moving out on only the third world cup in the team's history. fans were understandably dejected and blaming everyone for the defeat. >> this is everyone's fault, not just the coach. it is the federation president's fault, the federation's fall. the match mirrors the country, which is falling apart. reporter: italy is still trying to accept their earth shattering loss to sweden. >> we are all in tears because we did our best. this will haunt us forever. is a huge dispoinent that we willtruggle toomprend. rerter: it is a tearful farewell for gianluigi buffon.

his 10 year between the -- one match shy of boming the ly goalkeeper to play isix world cup's. without him, italy's few -- football future is in question. brent: in switzerland, what of the largest flawless diamonds ever cut has been auctioned off. you see it right there. the massive diamond fetched a final press of nearly $30 million. it is a whopping 163 karat jule and the auction price includes the emerald necklace in which it is set. the gem was cut down from an even bigger diamond found last year. here is a remder of the top stories we are following for you.

rescuers in iran have ended their search for survivors from sunday's earthquake. the country has observed a day of mourning for the more than 400 people were killed. u.s. attorney general jeff sessions has told members of congress that he did not lie. he rejected allegations that he deliberately misled lawmakers earlier this year about his knowledge of possible communications between russia and trump's presintial campaign. don't forget, you can knows get dw news on the go. just download our app from google play from the apple store. that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world, as well as push notifications for any breaking news. you can also use the dw app to send us videos and photos when you see news happening. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. tonight we're going to have an in-depth look at the washington that is waiting for donald trump .

an even bigger political storm. we will explain coming up right after the break. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

is made possible by..." croplife america. and it's member companies and associations in the crop protection industry including: the american farm bureau foundation for agriculture. more information at: agfoundation.org. sacramento's proud to be america's farm to fork capital visit: farmtofork.com hi, i'm sarah gardner, we're heading to the buckeye state to introduce you to a farm family whose focus in agriculture goes far beyond providing food that lands on your dinner table. their farm, here in ohio, takes a more global approach to providing feed and livestock. hi i'm jason shoultz. coming up i'll take you to one of our nation's busiest seaports to see what's being done to protect american agriculture.