prussia -- >> russia agrees to help you grained stave off issues. that is coming up. -- russia agrees to help the ukraine. and dozens of soldiers killed in south sudan.

program,ng up in the surviving violence in the democratic republic of congo. why they are still fearful of rebel groups that roam the countryside. a special report in tonight's africa news. and let's go straight to our top story. of dollars in loans. the ukrainian president has financial support from russia following talks with vladimir putin. that themass protests government is moving closer to russia at the expense of its ties with the european union. he may tower over his russian counterparts, but after a meeting in moscow, it was clear who was in charge and who was being brought back into line.

the ukraine in the full meaning of the word is our strategic partner. we spoke of this during our recent meeting, and we have witnessed in the last year a certain decrease in the exchange of goods. it comes down to hard cash. in exchange for signing up for closer ties to russia, moscow has thrown ukraine and economic lifeline. by onewill be slashed and while they will have ukrainian government bonds in russia. >> so i think you and i will not get in the way of an agreement, and we will do this on the principles of mutual benefit. >> the most controversial issue is off the table. they did not discuss a union. pro-european demonstrators continue in the streets of kiev,

calling for the ukrainian president to resign. there is a debate on tuesday. time for talking is over. now that this deal has been partially realized, the sentiment will likely be even stronger on the streets of kiev. >> our international affairs editor is here with me in the studio. good to see you. now, on the face of it, it looks like a pretty good deal for the imports,cheap gas loans. but others do not see it that way, do they? >> they would like us to have another look at those images of the two presidents from this morning with the ukrainian president sitting upright, looking attentive, and vladimir see a wider shot of him in a minute, slouching there.

the body language was very stark in the contrast. barely disguising his contempt for the ukrainian president. he has long been fed up with his playing off of russia against the european union, so here is the image of a somewhat disdainful vladimir putin and a rather more eager ukrainian president asking for help, and he did get help. he got the loan that you mentioned and a big cut in the price of gas, but, of course, ukraineprotesters, coming under more russian influence is really the story of this. >> what kind of power does this give the kremlin over the ukraine? >> vladimir putin said both the loan and the gas price cuts are temporary. in other words, russia could

up the price of gas deliveries, and it could also pull its money out. also bear in mind that the ukraine needs to come up with $17 billion in gas arrears to russia next year. now, the kremlin could call in that dead or not. it did ask for the money back. i saidd also raise, as before, the price of gas up again, all of that depending on what the context is next year. the ukrainian president has clearly pulled away from and brussels has suspended talks on the free trade agreement, but would he again start cozying up to brussels further down the line? that point, he will obviously have the shadow of the kremlin over him, with russia having a financial hold on him as a result of these deals today.

away, yet, they did pull so he got something out of it, it shortly. >> he has got something short- term, and the russians must have realized it would have put the ukrainian position in an impossible situation to ask them to sign this customs union today. >> with future ties with the eu, right? >> it probably would have made the protesters either go moscowely ballistic -- will now wait and see what happens with these protests before then perhaps putting the customs union back on the official agenda, but, of course, the issue of the customs union is not going anywhere, and we have heard it is not going anywhere, and we heard it was very clear on the remarks of vladimir putin that ukraine is absolutely fundamental to the russian strategy.

>> ok, thank you very much, indeed. now, germany's angela merkel has been sworn in or a third term as chancellor and will now rule over the grand coalition of christian democrats and her former rivals in the centerleft spd. 462 votes in the lower house. >> i swear that i would dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the german people, provide their harm,e, or tech them from uphold and defend the constitution and the laws of the federation. with that oath of office, angela merkel began her third term as german chancellor, what is expected to be her final term. in parliament, 462 votes for angela merkel, nine yearstions, but the four ahead may not be easy sailing.

it took weeks of the glaciation's to form the grand coalition. has been new vice chancellor who has learned from the party's earlier mistakes. thee were massive losses in federal election, so before positioninto federal now, he pushed for items like the minimum wage and pension reform. there is still some tension between the parties. the spd wants a public spending boost at a time when angela merkel says she is for austerity. she will not be able to have things entirely her way. her third term may be her most challenging yet. some soldiers have been killed when there was a foiled coup attempt, with at least 10 senior politicians arrested along with the former finance minister. it is said that the vice

president that was sacked in july was responsible for the rest, and thousands are seeking shelter. the french foreign minister says other countries from the european union are prepared to send troops to the central african republic. france has deployed 1600 troops to its former colony to try to stop the fighting between christian and muslim militias. tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the violence in recent months, and last week, two soldiers have been killed. belgium has already agreed to send reinforcements. >> in the central african republic, they were to distribute food to people who have had nothing to eat for days. >> this crisis is far from over. presence of african and french troops have not succeeded in stopping attacks.

even ministers and official tosonnel have appealed evacuate them to safety. warming -- roaming the neighborhood. they kidnap people, and they tried to kidnap me twice. some of the displaced are seeking safety at the u.n. compound. treated -- expat riated back to their countries. >> we do not want to stay here anymore. we want to be evacuated from this country, and we do not want to stay. >> some are luckier. cameroon, most of them women and children, arrived overnight.

their experiences were terrifying. theyey killed men as if were meat. it was very bad. iran away to escape being killed. >> a center has been set up to assist the returning people. for a train to take them to safety. >> peace talks with syria i now just over one month away, and secretary of state john kerry said he could meet with members of the syria islamic front, and am b group now shaping up to be more powerful than the traditional opposition. we have the story. the u.s. abandoning old allies in the fight for syria? the u.s. secretary of state has opened the doors for talks with ae islamic front, organization committed to an islamic space. >> it is possible that it could take place. among all offfort

the supporter nations of the opposition torian want to broaden the base. >> traditionally, the u.s. has supported the mostly secular free syrian army, but last month, the usa suspended aid to the groups in northern syria after fears of the equipment falling into wrong hands after aly have lost some ground to qaeda related groups and one group that is black listed as a terrorist organization. said this lacks legitimacy, and though young, the islamic front may have the credibility the fsa now lacks. the islamic front was formed just last month from several opposition groups, reportedly

making up the largest rebel coalition to date. radicalnsidered less than al qaeda, but with the introduction of sharia law, the u.n. conference on syria coming up in january, washington must aside which opposition group it brings to the negotiating table. it is a choice the u.s. has to make quickly. >> crowds have been gathering in a city that is symbolic of the air revolt. it has been three years since a man set himself on fire in the town, a move which triggered protests nationwide, later toppling the president and inspiring similar movements across the region, but for many, the anniversary was tinged with anger. tunisia is mired in political crisis. some call it the true success story of the arab spring. today, tunisia is indeed a different country compared to

years ago. key political freedoms have been gained, and despite these civil liberties, the economy is still struggling, tourism has not yet recovered, leaving more in tunisia who are young looking for work and before the revolution, and many of them is alivehat corruption and well in a new administration. >> they do not want to change the country for the better. they speak of clinging to their posts, their power. it is not what is best for the country. on december 17, 2010, the man set himself on fire in an act of protestion and in against police harassment. his death sparked an uprising that toppled leaders in less than a month. nine months later, the country went to the polls, and yet the death throes of the old regime were painful. hundreds died in clashes.

the rise to power of the islamic power was a concern for those who feared the country was taking an excessively religious direction. political instability has seen issues this year, factors that some analysts say could prevent tunisia from reaping the benefits of its revolution. lyrical class in seem paralyzed in their petty interests with no respect to the magnitude of these events, and despite the goodwill in tunisian remain. certain things as they are. we are in a dangerous situation, frankly hopeless. with only a draft constitution for now and no date set for the upcoming elections, tunisia still has serious obstacles to overcome in this, the first chapter of the democracy.ascent >> russia has agreed to help ukraine stave off bankruptcy, but the united states says the

deal will not go down well with protesters in kiev. and some say the president there has sold out his nation. troops will soon be deployed to the central african republic. confident oft is support from its allies, with ,elgian sending 150 soldiers and troops killed in south sudan one day later. the u.s. says it is pulling people out from the city. well, let's get an update now on the day's top business news, and we are looking at the economic impact of angela merkel being sworn in for a third time as chancellor. >> as a leader of europe's powerhouse, perhaps her biggest challenge will be nurturing the economic recovery. seen as that both at home and in the eurozone. they have vowed not to create any new debt and also not to

raise taxes. she was forced to concede on some issues, most notably installing a minimum wage. outlined reforms, including retirement at the age of 63 for employees who have had very long careers, and better pensions for those earning low salaries. chancellor will need to sustain the position cap germany as the strongest economy -- sustain the position of germany as the strongest economic entity. staying in germany, online shoppers may start worrying that santa will not bring their gifts on time as workers added amazon warehouse went on strike for a second day. about 1000 striking employees called for better pay and better hoping thatitions, with christmas around the corner, the amazon management

would buckle under pressure. just eight days before christmas, workers at the amazon german logistics center enter a second day of strikes this tuesday. here in the town, the employees are calling for better salaries. they say they receive lower wages than other retail workers, and they are looking for an agreement on better working conditions. unwilling tostill enter into negotiations with us. christmas clear that is eminent, and we are ready to continue our strike. >> amazon employs thousands of warehouse staff across germany plus 14,000 seasonal workers. strike, but they say deliveries have not been affected, but the question is, for how long? germany is amazon's second- biggest market behind the u.s.,

$8.7 billion, one third of its overseas total. over four million articles were bought in just one day last december. joined bykers were american trade union representatives. they protested outside the amazon headquarters in seattle in the united states. they said solidarity may be taking place some distance away, but the demands are the same. treat workers equally across the border. take as turn now and look at how the markets are doing. the major indexes closed down. is down as a closed this tuesday, and we have been seeing a similar trend over on wall street. is happening as investors look to washington, with the federal reserve kicking off their last policy meeting of the year. there is continuing and increasing speculation that

following some solid economic data, the fed may start tapering back its stimulus measures. about confirming or denying that speculation on wednesday. we are going to move on now to some of the day's other is this news. a boost for the struggling automotive industry in europe. demand for new cars in europe rose for a third month in a row this november according to trade figures. sales were up 15% in spain and seven percent in the u.k., with over 900,000 new vehicles registered. german volkswagen and french the mostere among successful brands. and after exiting its international bailout program, ireland has outlined its plans for economic growth, with an emphasis on creating jobs. unemployment remains stubbornly high at 12.5%. a government is looking to replace all of the jobs that were lost during the economic

crisis with new ones, and they also call on the irish banking sector to become contributors to the economy rather than a drain, and finally, some news for greece as officials say the country will finally emerge from six years of recession in 2014. a predict the economy will grow by about half of a percentage point next year. it was confirmed on tuesday that athens will qualify for aid. and that is all for this edition of france 24 business news. back to you. >> thanks very much, indeed. recovery in greece. i thought he would be a long before we would talk about that. when we come back, survivors of the violence in the democratic republic of congo. is told about rebel groups roaming the countryside. we have a special report in

african news. all of that, still to come. >> hello, and welcome to today's news, a show where we take a look at what has been hitting your main headlines. , theday's show humanitarian emergency in a central african republic. and helping a little girl with bear, and- lost teddy an american extreme wheelchair athlete. clementine took her children and fled the violence in the to this, and according tweet from unicef, they have been living under the wing of an airplane ever since. donationsppealing for to help deal with the large- scale humanitarian needs across the country. the united nations estimates nearly 600,000 people have been driven from their homes in the

last weeks, with escalating violence between muslims and christians in the central african republic, and there are refugee camps across the country. the situation there is alarming. from the ngo international howcal corps, one described shocked she was by the living conditions in the camps. people sleeping on mats or even on the ground. medical explains centers are overrun with cases of malaria. there is a lack of shelter, water, food, and basic medical care. village, they were seeking refuge in the bush. there was this open letter put online last week. donenited nations has not enough to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis, with an insufficient response to the refugee camps, for example. they were asking them to

mobilize their resources immediately because it is a matter of emergency. and the flu and stomach pain, .ome keywords it helps identify outbreaks of nor rogue that causes vomiting and diarrhea. encouraged to describe the conditions on social media platforms, so the government can share advice on how to treat the stomach virus that affects people every winter. and in cairo, egypt, snow on friday, the first time in over 100 years. social networkers have been busy commenting and sharing photographs, and they have identified some of these online pictures as hoaxes. in particular, they are showing . snow colored sphinx

they were actually taken a few years ago in a theme park in japan. and thanks to a remarkable social media appeal on the british twittersphere, a little girl has been reunited with her favorite teddy bear after leaving it on a train last friday, a happy ending for all of those who helped track down the owner. when there was this tweet to a micro-site on friday along with a photograph of a now ted, askingous --tter users -- usurers users to help find the owner. she then posted a series of photographs, showing the cuddly

toy in a number of places over the weekend. there were thousands of twitter urging fellow micro bloggers to follow suit. now, it is back where it belonged.

12/17/13 12/17/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! comes to surveillance for this is an issue that cuts across traditional political divide. there may not be a whole lot of issues that me and my cato institute allies on these issues agree on, but this is one of them. that is really important because it shifts the dynamics. >> almost orwellian. that is what a bap