captioned by the nationalaptioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to deutche welle. danish authorities say five men arrested on thursday were planning an armed attack against a newspaper. on the ivory coast, regional leaders failed to persuade gbagbo to step down. what is being called the worst flood in 50 years hits queensland, australia.

investigators in denmark say five terrorism suspects arrested wednesday appeared to have ties to international terrorist groups, and may have been planning a major assault like the 2008 terror attacks in india. the men arrested in denmark and sweden on suspicion of plotting an attack on the danish newspaper that published controversial caricatures of the profit mohammad five years ago. >> police arrested four of the men at apartments in the suburbs of copenhagen. denmark's intelligence service believes the suspects were planning an imminent attack on the "jyllands-posten" newspaper. the editor says he was not convinced by the threat. >> of course i am concerned. right now it is unpleasant.

i am worried about the company and the employees. but it will soon get back to normal. >> in 2005, "jyllands-posten "published cartoons of the prohpet. under islam, images of mohammad are banned. since then, one of the cartoonist's has faced numerous threats from islamists. a man broke into his home to attempt to kill him. please disable the man and arrested him. in a coordinated action, swedish police arrested a 37-year-old tunisian citizen in stockholm. anti terror units in denmark and sweden have had the five men under surveillance for some time. >> for more on the situation, i spoke earlier to our correspondent in copenhagen and he gave us this report on the latest development. >> we can confirm that four men

were arrested in denmark today, and a fifth was arrested in stockholm, at least in sweden. they theorize that they were going to mount a terrorist attack before january 1. two of the men arrived from sweden a day and a half ago in a car that was rented in stockholm. the two men who were already in denmark were under surveillance. the police arrested them as they were getting into this car and they found a machine gun with a silencer and ammunition. that also found plastic strips which are sometimes used as handcuffs. they may have been thinking about taking hostages. these four men that will be arraigned tomorrow at 9:00 in the morning, and will be formally charged with terrorism. >> what details to you have on the suspects who were arrested? >> it is a little bit sketchy. one man was an iraqi who was

seeking asylum in denmark. another was a tunisian citizen. two swedish citizens. one was born in lebanon. the other one, they are not sure of his ethnicity. >> is this related to the december 11 bomb blast in stockholm? >> police are not eliminating that possibility. they said there is a probability that there is an international link. but they did not specify sweden. >> what has been the public reaction? are people worried? >> people are shocked. the prime minister said he is both anchored, but thankful, the police did such a good job. >> we are going to leave it there for now. thank you for that update from copenhagen. tensions are growing in ivory coast as the political stalemate continues there. west african leaders say they will be back in the country next week for more talks on persuading the disputed president, lawrence gbagbo,

stepped down. leaders from a regional bloc tried to convince gbagbo to leave or face removal by force, but their efforts left little impact. in the capital, u.n. peacekeepers are facing angry protest from gbagbo supporters. >> newspaper headlines focused on a single story -- the mediation efforts on the economic community of west african states. >> ecoqas is the perfect body to find a solution. it is aware of the situation in ivory coast, and will be africans sorting out an african problem. ecowas has to get involved because all members are affected. >> the leaders have not yet found a solution to the political stalemate, and gbagbo seems unimpressed with threats

to remove him by military force if necessary. on the streets of the capital, protesters continue to unleash their frustrations on u.n. peacekeepers. several soldiers were injured as the angry mob brought a convoy to a halt. and many civilians are concerned at the growing threat of violence. >> as far as i am concerned, they should have acted earlier, before the situation got out of control. no one knows how it will and now. -- will and that now. >> neither the rightfully elected president, ouattara, nor gbagbo have shown a willingness to compromise. the longer this continues, the more chance of a further escalation of violence. >> 2010 has been a good year for german business. will that continue?

>> the numbers are very good for german industry, particularly exports. the economy is recovering from last year's deepecession. much stronger than expected, according to a survey by the cologne research institute. german companies are optimistic about the new year. while the international economic situation remains volatile, the outlook for germany is bright. >> in its i.t. laboratory, staff are busy hunting down warms, viruses, and trojans, and inventing software to combat the militias programs. the internet security company grew by 10% during the global recession. it also continued growing throughout the whole of this year. like most of the german i.t. industry, they are confident about the prospects for 2011, an attitude echoed by 46 of the country's largest business associations. 76% of germany's companies

expect to increase sales next year. 13% think things are likely to get worse. 11% expect no significant change. the overall improvement will be reflected in the country's labor market, with a majority saying they will be taking on new staff next year. the cologne economic research institute says that will help produce average economic unemployment to below 3 million in 2011. >> european stock prices squeezed out modest gains as most investment houses sealed their books for 2010. confidence remains high, with investors convinced the pace of economic recovery will accelerate into next year. our correspondent has more on the day's trading from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> it was not an extraordinary day, but it was not bad either. it was in between. those days i have to happen in the stock market as well. the? tried to go above 7000 points.

-- the dax tried to go above seven dozen points but did not. it has been a very good year. even at these levels, one can be satisfied. maybe it is something for the last day of trading in the year. interestingly enough, a volkswagen was the day's favorite. they are digesting the bad news from china this week. dimer in the- -- daimler in the negative. >> let us begin in frankfurt. we see the blue chip dax index to end up about 0.3%, just shy of 7000 points. eurostoxx 50 was up. investors in new york are shifting to riskier assets amid confidence the global economy is on the mend. the dow industrials are up 0.3%.

the euro is trading for $1.3216. as the german economy recovers, inflation remains in check. consumer prices rose at a base of 1.1% this year. that compares with an average 1.9% annually since reunification 20 years ago. prices of gasoline and heating oil as well as fruits and vegetables rose sharply in value this year, but analysts warn that consumer prices are likely to rise in a faster pace in the coming year as germans receive significantly higher pay raises. a german construction group has moved to protect its credit with lenders as it prepares to lose its hostile takeover battle with spanish builder acs. they need to control at least 30% before they can buy more shares on the open market.

this takeover offer is set to expire at midnight tonight. >> the battle for control has ended -- has entered the final stage. acs needs just 0.6% of shares to climb above the 30% threshold. once they do, they will be able to move on to a gradual takeover. analysts say there is so much in stake for acs that it cannot afford to fail. >> it is likely they will make two more phone calls today and quickly secure the shares they need from someplace so as to pa the 30% threshold by tomorrow. >> management and employees oppose the takeover, but are prepared for the scenario. the company has altered its loan agreements to protect its creditworthiness in the case of a change of control. unions have reached agreement with acs, but the work council says the deal is only worth the paper it is written on.

>> in the long term, we believe they will do what they did in the past -- namely, break up the company and cut jobs. >> the deadline for the voluntary offer expires at midnight german time. should they fail to pass the 30% barrier, the will have two additional weeks to buy shares. the fight could drag on into the new year. >> air travel in and out of moscow is beginning to get back to normal after icy weather and freezing rain brought everything to a standstill. thousands of travelers are still stranded. emergency workers at moscow's two main airports say there are not enough cots or meals to go around. scuffles have broken out among frustrated passengers. the airline aeroflot admits it is critically low on de-icing fluid. the major medvedev has ordered top prosecutors to review

operations. australia's prime minister has warned that flooding in the northeast part of the country could get worse after entire towns were cut off. soldiers had to evacuate hundreds of people by air. heavy rains from a tropical cyclone have left vast tracts of greenland -- of queensland underwater. water levels should rise further in the coming days. >> water as far as the eye can see. large parts of the state queensland look like a huge lake. settlements have been evacuated, with many residents lifted out by helicopter. no one can say how long they will have to live in emergency accommodations. >> today's flood waters are likely to remain high for a long time. in some cases, that might be measured by weeks rather than days. >> the flooding will also affect the economy. the australian prime minister promised immediate help.

>> we will not know until floodwaters receded the total amount of damage done. but what this does mean is that the queensland and federal governments will work together in those areas in partnership with the rebuilding of critical infrastructure. >> early assessment suggests the floods have cost over a billion euros of damage. farmers are especially badly affected. the irony is many had failed harvests because of drought. >> australia may have too much water, and parts of northern ireland do not have any, at least not running water. the winter freeze left tens of thousands of people without water for over a week. people are standing in line at emergency stands to fill up bottles. drinking water has been shipped in to alleviate the problem. the french fashion model who once called herself an ambassador of anorexia has died.

her family announced she died in november. she was 28 years old. three years ago, isabel caro appeared in a controversial ad campaign to raise awareness of the eating disorder. at the time, she weighed 31 kilos. the book does help grow public debate on the pressure on women to keep their weight down and prompted some fashion houses to stop employing dangerously thin models. a fifth ski jumping vtory of the season in the opening event of the annual for her roles -- for hells tournament in germany. the austrian team is in a class of its own this season. >> the austrians continued to dominate, with five team members placing in the top 10. manuel fedner placed third, barely edged out by finland. his second jump was right behind thomas morgan stern, who chalked up the longest jumps in both

rounds, 138 meters on his second attempt. he has been a heavy favorite at the second four hills event. severin put in a surprisingly good performance for germany after a first jump of 127 meters. his second attempt -- 130.5 meters, good enough for sixth place, a career best. the coach was also pleased with the eighth place finish. one of the team's veterans, he first jumped 10 years ago. >> there are still a couple of days to go, but some new yorkers have already said goodbye to 2010. members of the public were invited to jot down their least favorite moments and memories as part of an event called "good riddance day." and ex-boyfriend, financial statements, or even a boss. all the paper was thrown into

bins on times square, loaded into a truck, and shredded for recycling. stay tuned. we will be back after a shor break.

>> welcome back. call it climate change or just a harsh winter in germany. no matter what, the next few days are forecast to be some of the coldest of the year, and the snow is not letting up. it is making every day a challenge. snowplows and salt trucks are stretched to their limits. many people have been forced to abandon their cars and find another way of getting to work or going home. germans are used to cold weather, but a winter like the one we have been expeencing so far this year is quite rare, especially in western germany. >> the main roads are clear

again. traffic is rolling. drivers who have made it onto the streets have no problems, unlike those who remained parked four days. the owner of this car has given up hope of digging it out from a wall of snow deposited by snowplows. they are only just arriving in many sidestreets. he is in charge of coordination at the city's logistics center. 65 snowplows and 200 workers are out from 5:00 in the morning until late at night. >> we saw a lot of snow come down, but it is only now we are seeing the ramifications. we have never had a similar situation here. >> winter in germany's westernmost city is normally so mild restaurants do not even

take in the tables and squares on the market square in december. now, the city and residents are struggling under the blanket of snow. >> on christmas eve, i spent six hours shoveling snow. today, i am here for the fifth time. as a winter sport enthusiast, you adapt, and i have no trouble driving. >> i think people are dealing with the situation really well. monday, i got to work and could not get into the parking lot, but no one minded. we all grabbed a shovel and started shoveling snow. >> everyone is managing, somehow. >> a few kilometers away, on the a4, snowplows have been working almost around the clock on this key east-west artery for the past week. if they manage to keep it open. the highway maintenance agency made arrangements for such

exceptional circumstances. >> we have crews on standby. the standby roster is prepared ahead of time in summer so that all that needs to be done is to activate it according to the weather. we have activated everything possible, which means we have all our vehicles out in service. >> the highway maintenance agencies are well equipped. their scks of road salt are quickly replenished because highways in germany have priority status. this agencies depot produces its own salt solution against freezing rain and black eyes. the snowblower takes care of the rest. after an eight year sabbatical, they are back in use on a daily basis. >> this snowy weather is great news for fans of winter sports. you do not have to travel far to go skiing or sledding. in berlin, lots are taking

advantages of the park cross-country skiing. in the western part of the country, germans are enjoying winter sports activities very close to home. the highest mountain in the region stands at 840 meters and is covered in snow. this is something the local ski resorts are thrilled about. >> it may not be the alps, but it is almost as good. the 840 meter high mountain in western germany -- thousands of skiers, snow boarders, and sledders are hitting the slopes every day, thanks to persistent winter weather. >> this is our first time in a ski area. i like sledding best. all the snow is great. >> it is hard to believe the resort had to use artificial snow in recent years. this year, the snow is courtesy of the winter weather. for visitors, it is much more

affordable than alpine resorts. >> we are an exclusively family ski area. families with children up to 15 or 16 years old. some are able to ski really well after learning here. then they go to the big ski resorts. >> the region is home to more than 50 ski areas, with over 140 lips. it is one of the biggest winter sport regions north of the alps, and just an hour and a half journey by car from the river valley. even more skiers could be hitting the slopes here. meteorologist are forecasting more snow. >> once you are home after the dangerous driving conditions on the road, or after an invigorating winter holiday, it is a pleasure to arrive at a warm and cozy place of your own with something hot to drink and delicious food to eat. but for people who do not have a roof over their heads, the

freezing conditions can literally be a matter of life and death. that makes the drop in projects and organizations like the railway missions here in berlin of crucial importance. the mission at berlin's zoo station is run by the protestant church, and aims to help people who are living rough during this cold winter. it offers them a brief respite from the icy temperatures. we went out on the streets with a homeless man who relies on that mission. >> he has been living on the streets for eight years and has survived as many winters. the world he and his friends live in our vaults around the train station,h the emergency shelters, and the homeless drop- in centers. >> we hang out all afternoon inside the station. we ask people for handouts.

we can buy something to drink. >> the braley mission is a regular stop for 600 others a day. for all of them, it is a life saver. >> i can tell you if there was not something like this, every homeless person in germany's streets would die. i take my hat off to those who run it. >> more than 170,000 people have visited the railway mission in berlin this year. that is a quarter more than the previous year. last winter was severe. this year, icy conditions set in very early. >> homeless people in berlin do not know where to go during the day. the situation at night is more or less taken care of with emergency shelters. but come 9:00 a.m., our

colleagues are faced with hundreds of people who do not know where to go. >> vitors to the mission have just under an hour to warm up. then the have to go back out into the cold to make room for the next group of freezing homeless people. this belongs to the group of homeless who only use emergency shelters in exceptional situations. usually, he looks for a place to sleep out of doors. >> when it is stormy or wendy, i just profit and sleep outside, even in this type of weather. >> despite sub-zero temperates, he is not afraid of freezing to death. but some homeless people have died of exposure this winter. the real mission is doing all it can to prevent more math's -- the railway commission is doing all it can to prevent more deaths. >> you can always look at the

latest news headlines on our website at www.dw-world.de. thanks for tuning in.