♪ >> this is dw news. germany is on edge as police evacuate a christmas market. evacuation in the town of pots dam just outside of berlin. authorities say it contained nails and possibly explosives. we will go live in just a few moments. also, fresh pressure on the trump administration as the fbi charges another official, this time senior national security adviser michael flynn. he's charged with lying to the fbi. the countdown to next year's soccer world cup in russia is on as officials did the group stage draw.

we will find out who plays who. and, an emotional meeting between pope francis and rohingyas refugees in bangladesh. myanmar stands accused of their persecution. welcome. good to have you with us. german police have secured and destroyed a package in potsdam, near berlin. they sayt containenails and a powdery substance, but it was unclear if it was part of an explosive device. it was delivered to a pharmacy, leading police to evacuate a nearby christmas market. reporter: the christmas spirit was halted friday evening. the discovery of a suspicious

package near the christmas market. police say a parcel was delivered by courier to a pharmacy near the market in the afternoon. the owner of the pharmacy alerted the police. >> with the support of the german federal police, we x-rayed the parcel and confirmed there was a cylindrical item inside and it contained nails. so far, no detonator has been found. police say it held a large firecracker without a fuse and with hundreds of small nails. >> it is too early to speculate because we really cannot say whether the target was the pharmacist or the christmas market. investigations are continuing, but the mayor of potsdam says the market will open as usual tomorrow morning. brent: standing by in potsdam,

our correspondent. what more have the police been telling you? linda: what we know right now is that they are trying to clear out the area. what they are doing right now is sending in dogs that are looking for explosives. they are looking over the whole area. they told us this is what is taking so long, because they found the package containing the screws, the powdery substance, the batteries. they found that a couple of hours ago. there are still a couple of people living in this area and they can't access. as you can see, this is what police put there. the mayor has gone through. normal people just have to wait outside and this is a very cold night here in potsdam. brent: we can see. you're wearing a heavy coat and gloves.

talking about the locals, what is the mood? linda: i just talked to the mayor of the city, who has been going around, talking to the people. he said they are rather calm. we really don't know who was behind this. it could have been somebody who just wanted to scare off the people. i talked to a couple of people and they said, this is not what we know as -- we know potsdam as. this is many people who work in berlin and want the quiet life here in potsdam. i think nobody expected anything like that here in potsdam. brent: memories --cristopher: memory is still fresh on the attack last year in relation at a christmas market. how tight is security here?

potsdam it is not as tight as security is in berlin. there are no concrete barriers around here that are trying to prevent trucks entering the market. if you look at it, and it's been like that, even concrete barriers could not have prevented anything like that. the mayor says there is no such thing as 100% can secure -- 100% security. brent: -- cristopher: linda, reporting from pots dam. turning now to our other big story this evening. donald's former national security advisor, michael flynn, has pled guilty to lying to the fbi after he was charged in a wide-ranging investigation into the trump administration and its relationship with russia. prosecutors say flynn lied about his contacts with russian

officials in the wake of last year's election. reporter: it was one of donald trump's earliest and most vocal supporters. now, michael flynn is facing a u.s. court, accused of lying to the fbi. >> lock her up! reporter: that is what flynn said about hillary clinton at campaign rallies last summer. michael flynn: exactly right. there's nothing wrong with that. if i did 1/10 of what she did, i would be in jail today. reporter: despite the emergence of his links to vladimir putin, flynn remained close to the presidential outsider. he went on to be rewarded with a senior cabinet position at the white house, only to be forced out after 24 days when it emerged he had lied to the vice

president, mike pence, about meetings with the russian ambassador. u.s. meeting -- u.s. authorities say inconsistencies in those meetings given to fbi agents are the basis for the charges. >> any comment on michael flynn being indicted? reporter: not even the president wants to talk about him. flynn on the receiving end now as he left court, having played guilty. u.s. media reports say that he will testify that it came from the trump campaign. cristopher: one of the interesting things about all this is that flynn has been investigated for a wide range of allegations, but is only being charged with a single count of lying to the fbi. how closely as he cooperating?

>> we don't know that for sure. robert moeller, the special prosecutor appointed by the department of justice, is keeping his cards close to his chest. many believe that they have much more on flynn then just this one charge of lying to the fbi. that implies that, indeed, general flynn has flipped here and is effectively a witness for the prosecution. brent: that would signal that flynn is possibly providing information on other suspects in exchange for leniency? >> we can expect that even though michael flynn hasn't said so publicly -- in a statement published today, michael flynn said that he assumed full responsibility, accepted full

responsibility for his mistakes and he didn't name anyone else. prosecutors have stated that they believe flynn was directed by the trump transition team when he met the russian ambassador after the election. court documents say that mr. flynn called a senior transition official who was with other members of the team at trump's mar-a-lago resort and asked specifically what to talk about with the russian ambassador, if at all. clearly, this might be the direction that the moeller investigation might go. -- that the mueller investigation might go. brent: the question, --cristopher: the question, how close could this be getting to president trump? carsten: the white house has been trying to distance itself from michael flynn. they said that he was only with

the administration for a short time and that he didn't implicate anyone with his plea. there is technically correct, he didn't name anyone yet. clearly, mr. flynn was one of the closest allies and advisers of donald trump during the campaign and after it. he was in the know, part of donald trump's inner circle. that make people around donald trump quite nervous. donald trump, himself, i think, so far, is not in the focus about the russian dealings, but maybe because of what he did afterwards, the way he has been handling this investigation. there are still the question of whether he committed obstruction of justice by first trying to get the then fbi director james comey off flynn's back, then eventually firing mr. comey

because he wasn't happy with how the investigation was going. cristopher: you are watching dw news in berlin. still to come, who will your team be facing at next year's soccer world cup? the group draws took place earlier today in moscow. that's coming up in a few minutes. first, helen is here with the latest scandal on uber. helena: two high-ranking executives are stepping down and a third is taking metal -- taking medical leaves after it emerged that they failed to notify regulators in the public about a huge dinner break -- huge data breach a year ago. the latest revelations followed a string of scandals that have caused a management shakeup at the company.

the european union is holding back the last installment of a $1.8 billion low interest loan to ukraine. they say they are not moving fast enough with reforms. they say they made progress in wide-ranging forms but not enough to release the last 600 million euros. ukraine is battling an economic crisis triggered by a kremlin-backed war to the east of the country. the announcement comes after ukrainian president petro poroshenko's artistic patient had a summit in brussels. -- participation act a summit in brussels. more time to revise plans to ensure offers comply with eu laws. air berlin's subsidiary, the austrian airline, could be up

for grabs. they are facing pushback over that part of the sale. it has prompted british airways owner, iag. lufthansa wants the aircraft's for a purchasing price of 210 million euros. the sharing economy is meant to make us feel so much better about ourselves. sharing workspaces, cars, bicycles. for companies, more about sharing and -- less about sharing and more about getting your data. is this your telephone number? is this your profile picture? yes. all this information can be seen on the internet. customer data made public. this is bike sharing. we asked a volunteer to test rental firm o-bike.

registration by smartphone is quick and easy, and just one euro for 30 minutes, it is a bargain. but what customers don't know is that their avail -- is that their data is available online. with just a few clicks, investigative journalists from bavarian broadcasting were able to find the names, numbers, and profile pictures of users from around the world. they even found movement data including an hour test subject. is this where you've just been? "oh my god, yes." what you think of that? "not good. i expect my data to be safe." o-bike says the security gap has been fixed. business is booming. almost all the big providers come from asia. with 2 million bikes, it is the

reigning two-wheelers in racing. this summer, germany got on the -- got in on the craze. suppliers underbid each other, offering lower prices. are the real earnings from customer data instead? "you have this data from customers and you can call the right data up at the right moment and match advertising to the customer. that's what makes this so valuable to advertisers. the movement profiles can be sent for a lot of money -- can be sold for a lot of money." many are concerned about the bikes flying around on land, in the water, or in the air. the largest ship ever built in the mediterranean has left the italian port on its maiden voyage to miami.

the msc seaside is the first of 11 vessels set to launch over the next few years. it is a brand-new experience for passengers. it is so big that it features its own seafront promenade and over 1300 cabins. it arrives in miami on december 21. back over to christopher now. i'm sure this was an event you were watching closely. cristopher: not only me. it has been a day of huge anticipation for soccer fans. the draw for the group stage of next year's world cup in russia, complete. all 32 teams know who they will be facing. the draw was conducted inside the kremlin in moscow. a glitzy affair as usual, featuring musical and dance

perforhost russia drawn first in bay along with egypt, uruguay, and saudi arabia, their opponent in the opening match. we will go through all the groups. let's start off with group a. we will have a couple the wall in just a second. as i mentioned, hosts russia along with saudi arabia will be the opening match. these teams, apart from uruguay, perhaps, are doable for russia. >> could have been a lot worse for russia. uruguay are a strong team but they are also not the force they once were. egypt are playing in their first world cup since 1990. saudi arabia not too strong. i think russian fans are expected to go through. christopher: group b, european

champions portugal fronting that group, but they have a tough opponent here. spain, morocco, and iran. we are looking for a group of death but that isn't really a group of death, is it? >> i think portugal and spain are the best teams in that group. i think you run could spring -- i think iran could spring a surprise, they were quite good in the last world cup. christopher: you are interested in group c, being one of our australian colleagues. the socceroos coming up against france, peru, and denmark. do they have a chance? >> i'm liking this group. i think france are the favorites, but out of australia, peru, and denmark, any of those teams can go in second. christopher: group d, argentina,

the runners-up last time, are facing iceland, croatia, and nigeria. this is a really tough group. >> this is the peak of the bunch. i think argentina are the favorites but they weren't that convincing during qualifying. they do have legal messy -- they do have leonel messi. iceland showed in qualifiers they were strong, croatia has a good squad, and nigeria has an all-around nicely balanced as well. christopher: i remember a game with croatia and nigeria, i think 1986, a fantastic game, 3-3, i think. group e, brazil against costa rica, serbia. >> brazil, one of the favorites in the tournament, and this is a nice easy warm-up. second spot, i think any team

from switzerland, costa rica, and serbia could snatch that. group f, the defending champions will be opening against mexico, then they take on sweden and south korea. south korea, a hard-working team, but i think the german fans will be pretty satisfied. >> not a tough group but a tricky group. germany should top this. they beat mexico 4-1 earlier in the year. sweden are a tough not to crack. south korea, not the force they once were. christopher: moving on to group g, the one that is interesting for england fans like me. belgium fronting that group joined by panama, tunisia, in my home country, england. panama in tunisia, probably doable. >> it looks like panama in tunisia will have early flights home. but you never know with england,

do you? they haven't made it past the quarterfinals for a long time. you would say belgium in england are safe in the top two spots. christopher: the final group, group h, headed by poland, rounded out by senegal, columbia, and japan. >> when you are first looking at it, it looks fairly evenly matched. poland was strong during qualifying. columbia has a nice squad, a lot of nice attacking players. senegal, maybe they will do a repeat of 2002 when they made the quarterfinals. christopher: many thanks for taking us through those groups. we're going to go to moscow now to get some reaction from the draw. yuri potential, our moscow bureau chief, standing by. >> first of all, russians can

exhale deeply, lean back, and relax. pressure will be joined in group a by saudi arabia. let's talk about saudi arabia. it's an easy rival for russians. the question, how much did moscow pay for this adorable result at the kremlin? drawn number -- saudi arabia is rich in oil, russia is rich in natural gas. who will be paying more to bribe referees? after a disappointing performance at the confederations cup last summer, russia's coach will be confident of progressing to the next 16. christopher: how important is next year's world cup for russia, for vladimir putin?

>> russia has been paying lots of attention to this show tonight and to the world cup in general next year. it is historical for this country, which is a norm is for russia's president. the message from vladimir putin is clear, yes we can. putin has been ceding respect internationally for a long time. russia will, for the next few months, be covered in the media not as an aggressor who must be punished internationally, but as somebody who is ready to welcome the whole world to its 11 host cities in russia. christopher: there has been some criticism about the preparations for the world cup. what are the critics saying? >> it's very difficult to say right now in december how russia will be next june, whether the

country will make a good host or not. after this so-called rehearsal, the confederations cup this year, russia can do everything to provide a safe world cup. don't forget, russia will be holding a presidential election three months ahead of the world cup. if protesters were to take to the streets, the situation here in the country could in fact change. the other point of critics is the high price for tickets. it's a luxury for many russians here to buy the tickets. christopher: many thanks for that. a short and simple sentence. the presence of god today is

also called rohingya. pope francis under the name of that minority for the first time during his trip when meeting with rohingya refugees that fled bangladesh. -- fled to bangladesh. friday, he held their hands, listened to their stories, and called for them to be respected. reporter: a gesture of acknowledgment, perhaps foreign to these refugees. they are recognized in their homeland, myanmar. one by one, they lined up to me the pontiff. this encounter long anticipated by pope francis's visit to the region. today, compassion took the place of diplomacy. >> we will not close our hearts.

we will not look to the other side. the presence of god today is also called rohingya. reporter: the small group of refugees traveled from bangladesh's border. >> the pope said to me that he will pray for us as much as he can. he said he will do all he can, and with allah's health, all my troubles will go away. he asked me not to lose patience. reporter: the refugees pope francis net came from sprawling, makeshift camps like this one. many have fled here to avoid persecution in neighboring myanmar. earlier in the day, thousands turned out to see the pope or day in 16 new bangladeshi -- the pope ordain 16 new bangladeshi

priest. it's a freedom that can't be taken for granted. christians are often persecuted in this region. it's for fear of their safety that francis did not come until now, refer to the rohingya by name. christopher:, news of the day.

steves: the dramatic rock of cashel is one of ireland's most evocative sites.

this was the seat of ancient irish kings for seven centuries. st. patrick baptized king aengus here in about 450 a.d. in around 1100, an irish king gave cashel to the church, and it grew to become the ecclesiastical capital of all ireland. 800 years ago, this monastic community was just a chapel and a round tower standing high on this bluff. it looked out then, as it does today, over the plain of tipperary, called the golden vale because its rich soil makes it ireland's best farmland. on this historic rock, you stroll among these ruins in the footsteps of st. patrick, and wandering through my favorite celtic cross graveyard, i feel the soul of ireland.

♪ >> hi there and welcome to our highlights edition, shaping up this time with the following top stories. treasure trove -- exploring an historical photo archive in london. night grooves -- a brand new music show comes to dw. moroccan experience -- sample traditional cuisine from the maghreb in berlin. ♪ the getty images hulton archive in london is a veritable treasure trove of photography and as its stock of pictures from the last century and a half is painstakingly digitalized to