welcome back. i'm catherine nicholson. level's security threat raised as police hunt for suspected jihadists. a response to suspension. this is over allegations he has been blackmailing a teammate. time is ticking down at the united nations climate summit. there has been criticism of the worlds wealthier countries -- the world's wealthier countries.

first, police in geneva say they are currently hunting for several suspected islamist militants who are believed to have links to the islamic state group. the official alert level in the raised earlier on. catherine clifford reports. c.: more information is strictly through about the suspects. the swiss newspaper published this photo of four individuals thought to be linked to the islamic state group. they said the image came from the cia. security spokesperson said authorities have gone from awareness of a fake threat to a specific threat.

officials said the decision to close the french-swiss border could now be taken. this process can mean the total closure of the border, if necessary. it means taking back our control of the infrastructure, which were relieved from us as part of the schengen agreement. if necessary, we can barely -- very quickly retake control of the infrastructure and the resources within it. u.n.'sne c.: the european headquarters were evacuated wednesday night. theva also hosts headquarters of the likes of the world health organization, the u.n.'s human rights office, the unhcr refugee agency, and the red cross. the searchties say is being conducted in the context of the investigation following the paris attacks. several individual

security sources have said there is no direct link to the november 13 attacks. anchor: let's bring in alexandra, a security expert at the global studies institute in ipsca and a fellow at the institute. as someone in geneva, how concerned are you by this raised alert level? >> i think the geneva population knows that security measures are regularly instituted for very large instrument -- international conferences, so i would say most of the public has no awareness or very little awareness and very little scared about what's going on right now -- very little care about what's going on right now. catherine n.: it seems like swiss authorities may have been tipped off by the cia. does it seem like authorities were anticipating militant activity or attacks? >> there have been connections

made between the january, 2015, attack, and some people from switzerland. have issues of jihadists been followed very closely by swiss authorities and police, both in the federal government and intelligence services, and also the geneva police here in town. i'm not surprised. this is going to fuel a lot of discussion. there has just about against systematic controls over the border that had been decided today in bern by the swiss parliament. catherine n.: in terms of the four terrorist suspects that police are believed to be hunting right now, what kind of measures might the police be taking, and how are they organizing themselves in this kind of regular -- relatively unprecedented situation for geneva?

>> i believe there are now six people who are being actively searched. they are connected through different threats, but there are a total of six people who have been identified and who are being actively look for -- actively looked for. certainly, controls at the border is one aspect of the situation. the hardening of the protection of international organization headquarters -- there are about 170 different diplomatic representations in geneva, so the security levels in town are going to be substantially increased. catherine n.: just one brief, final question. france has been told by the islamic state group leader it was attacked over its role in iraq and syria. switzerland is present in syria and iraq, not on humanitarian -- but on humanitarian missions, not military ones. is switzerland really a target for the islamic state group?

>> switzerland is a neutral country and does not have a colonial path. it's not actively engaged in any military operation in that region for the purpose of attacking the islamic state or other parties to the conflict in syria. however, switzerland, of course, this is it extremely well -- switzerland, of course, is extremely well integrated in the international community. there is the conference on a syria peace deal that is going to be organized -- for that was scheduled to take place tomorrow. so, of course, there is necessarily a connection between geneva and the situation in the middle east. catherine n.: thank you for those insights, alexandre. while those talks on friday are ahead betweeno american and russian officials,

main opposition groups have been talking in saudi arabia. they have agreed to negotiate with bashar al-assad, but they insist the president leaving power would be step one of a political transition. talks are being hosted in riyadh, bringing together a vast field of personnel. international powers are hoping talks with the syrian government will begin later this month with a peace deal to and syria's -- five-yearia's nearly civil war by 2016. one of the top 10 most successful strikers of all time, but it seems he is off the national team until a court resolves claims that he blackmailed a teammate over sex tape. earlier today, the president of the french national football federation said he was suspending benzema indefinitely,

which meet -- could mean he misses out on the euro championship in 2016. reporter: heartbreaking decision to suspend -- a heartbreaking decision to suspend benzema. >> as of today, benzema won't be able to play. reporter: he scored a total of 27 goals in 81 international. he won't be joining france in there friendlies against the netherlands and russia in march. the 2016 squad is due to be announced in may. case isontent of the not in favor of benzema. i want to be clear about it. today, he cannot play. if the judge decides that the case won't go any further or if

empty -- s 3/4 reporter: while currently charged for blackmail over a sex involvement has not been fully determined, though investigators believe he acted as an intermediary in the plot. benzema risks five years in prison. catherine n.: he got a hat trick for his club side earlier this week in the champions league. let's go live to our correspondent in the spanish capital, sarah morris. this is a massive blow for ben zimmer -- benzema. how are real madrid supporters reacting? ah: they have put out a statement saying they regret the french federation's decision, they respect it, and they risk -- reiterated their support and confidence in benzema. real fans have given him their

backing. they believe time will tell that he had nothing to do with this blackmail. the club has been quite vocal in its support. as soon as he returned from their site, where he was -- from saille, where he was questioned by a judge, he was received by the club president, who listened to benzema's version of events and afterwards talked about unconditional support. he is supposed to be a favorite of the real madrid president. there are critics who say that this man had many brushes with justice in the past. the early part of last year, he was acquitted after a long investigation into the allegation that he had had sex with an underaged prostitute. he was acquitted of that, but some people feel that the club stands by benzema in a way that

it might not with other characters who have brushes like this. for the moment, he will be playing. as you say, hat trick at the game on tuesday. he is one of the club's key players, and they are sticking by him. catherine n.: thanks very much, sarah morris, reporting from madrid. than 24paris, now less hours to go until the deadline for a deal at the united nations' climate summit. publication of the latest version of the draft agreement has been held up twice today. we can see from these pictures on your screen right now laurent fabius, who is chairing the summit, making some statements now. we are going to see if there has been any movement on that draft deal. we will take a listen for you. of the world's richest countries have been coming in for this is an from green campaigners today.

is a bit of a tradition that these climate conference is now -- it is a bit of a tradition at these climate conferences now. the ngo's decide to vote on the country or countries that have been blocking the talks that particular day. we've had quite a few winners today. first prize went to the european union and the umbrella group, which is essentially the other rich nations. they are accused of lacking ambition in between now and the lead up to 2020. thats all 196 parties here were accused of having short-term, self-interested goals when they put forward their concerns at the plenary last night. there is some hope in there. there is another one known as the "ray of the day." it went to maldives and the philippines. it was seen as very encouraging in getting everyone in the table around -- everyone at the table

in 2018. catherine n.: we will bring you all the latest updates as we get them. right now, let's move our attention to argentina, a country that is officially entering a new political era today. the new president mauricio macri has now been sworn in, ending 12 years of dominance by the kirchner's. cristinakirchner -- fernandez de kirchner left office in a defiant manner. reporter: mauricio macri becomes argentina's new president, sworn in more than a fortnight after he won the runoff vote, ending 12 years of socialist rule. i, mauricio macri, swear in front of god and his saints to accomplish my duties as

president of argentina with honesty and loyalty. [applause] reporter: the son of italian amigrants, macri was successful businessman who entered politics after he was kidnapped by police for two weeks in 1991. he has promised pro-business reform, once to repair argentina o repair t argentina's international image. to reach zero poverty, we must create jobs, develop the economy, and take advantage of argentina's natural resources and human resources. reporter: the united nations ceremony was -- the inauguration ceremony was marked by a spat between the incoming and outgoing president. macri wanted to receive his presidential sash and sceptre at

the palace. macri took the matter to court. the court ruled in his favor. attend anyfused to of the ceremonies. it is the first time the outgoing president has not attended since the fall of the dictatorship in 1983. isherine n.: donald trump hitting out at british politicians, accusing them of entering to political correctness -- of pandering to political correctness. trump's popularity in the u.k. looks to be low. him to be calling for banned from entering the u.k. has gathered close to 500,000 signatures. israel -- mr. trump is canceling a trip there after recent comments which some say promoted jewish stereotypes. is calling. trump

for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. reporter: the backlash against donald trump's muslim shutdown proposal continues. the latest casualty, his planned trip to israel. he announced by tweet he was postponing the visit until after he becomes president of the united states. the visit to israel is a rite of passage for u.s. presidential candidates, and tron campaigned for netanyahu in 2013 -- and campaigned for netanyahu in 2013. but netanyahu does not feel the same way. trump admitted he canceled the trip because he did not want to put netanyahu in a bind. israeli prime minister rejected trump -- the israeli prime minister rejected trump's comments on muslims. muslim countries have banned his products. muhammad ali is but the latest

to join in. although he did not mention trump by name, he released a statement saying muslims have to stand up against those who use islam to advance their own agenda. >> there is nothing about killing muslims anywhere in the world. true muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion. reporter: trump said there would be exceptions for diplomats and athletes and that the ban might be short-lived. despite the outrage from both sides of the aisle, trump continues to lead the republican race by both digit -- by double digits. catherine n.: did your mother ever tell you not to play with your food? this is a tiger who did not get the memo. this is his friend, a goat.

-- liveintended as life prey, but they have become friends in lettuce. -- in vladivostok. they are planning to install webcams in the joint and closer. -- in the joint enclosure. they have replaced his usual ration with rabbits. let's move on with business news headlines. markus karlsson is here for that. we've got rabbits being eaten alive. markus: i'm having an issue following that story. catherine n.: volkswagen are going to get a bit of mauling as well. markus: we've seen them getting a mauling over the past two months or so. the german carmaker is trying to come to grips with the commission scandal that has rocked the carmaker for the past

two months. vw's chairman and ceo have been seeking about the scandal at a press briefing. a small it looks as if group of employees were responsible for rigging 11 million diesel vehicles to cheat on commission tests. they say the investigation -- on a mission -- on emission tests. they say the investigation could still take months. reporter: volkswagen's ceo and chairman provided updates into how thestigation of carmaker rigged 11 million vehicles to cheat emissions tests. chain ofted to a c -- mistakes. >> individual misconduct and neglect by employees in an individual segment of our company. weak points in some of our processes. thattitude in some area

the company could tolerate a violation of rules. the chairman says that the scandal began in 2005, when engineers were unable to find a technical solution for strict u.s. regulations within the allotted time and budget. so far, the investigation shows no board members were directly involved. more than 1500 laptops, phones, and other devices belonging to close to 400 workers have been confiscated. >> i'm not saying that all of these people are under suspicion. -- still believe that only a small number of employees was actively involved in the manipulation. it is a pr nightmare for one of the world's biggest fallakers that saw sales 25% in the u.s. in november. volkswagen says the scandal could cost 6.7 billion euros, though analysts believe that

number could ultimately be significantly higher. still, the german company insists it has no plans to sell units to offset those losses. markus: staying in the car sector, fiat chrysler has been ordered by the u.s. government to pay a $70 million fine. this comes after american regulators found the carmaker had failed to report safety data, which included details on death, injury, warranty complaints, and consumer complaints regarding chrysler vehicles. the company says it will accept this fine. we are going to take a look at the stock markets next. shares in the united states are snapping a three-day losing streak. we are seeing some gains stateside with the dow jones industrial average trading a little bit higher than just an hour ago, up around 9/10 of 1%. hannity's are rebounding after a string of week -- energy shares are rebounding after a string of weak numbers.

oil going below $40 per barrel once again thursday. the major european indices finished thursday's session mixed. the dax and the cac 40 pretty much 0%. the cac 40 just below the flatline, so to speak. the ftse 100 was harder hit. let's just say that. earnings weighed on the ftse 100. the bank of england kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 1/2 of 1%. that was not seem to be liked by investors -- not seen to be liked by investors in london. moody's has warned brazil that it could cut the country's credit standing to junk. the worlds seventh biggest -- it says the world's seventh

biggest economy has declined rapidly. as our team in brazil found out, small businesses and consumers are feeling the pinch. >> the locks are on and the shutters are down on this street in the sunday -- center of rio, embodying the economic crisis. in just six months, more than 600 businesses here have gone under. gilberto is managing to stay afloat. in the 20 years he has been running this shoe shop, he says he has never seen things this bad. >> sales have fallen, not just in my shop, but in the entire city center. shop owners are getting together to start a movement to call for help. >this crisis is really hitting s hard. reporter: small businesses, but also households. and it is brazil's emerging middle class that is paying the highest price. just ask the mendoza family. >> this is our living room, but

it is also where my wife does her sewing work. we made some small investments, and until last year it was going well. we were making a reasonable profit. but since the beginning of the year, everything has gone bad. this country is in functioning anymore. reporter: during the boom years, the family bought everything using easily available credit -- a television, the phone, and kitchen appliances. 10,000 with no work and euros in debt, they are struggling to make ends meet. that ite sold this idea is good to pay things back in installments, but in reality it is like a snowball. i can't cope anymore, and i have to try to sleep with this in my head. reporter: more than half of brazilian families are in debt, a situation with no clear solution, according to this economic expert. cost of borrowing money

in brazil is astronomical. for loans given through the government, the interest rate is 14.5%. for consumer credit, the rates start at 60%, 70%, 120%. paying with a credit card can even be 200% a year. whoever borrows money at that rate has almost no chance of repaying it. the countryd with in recession and inflation approaching 10%, the tough times look set to continue. economists are predicting a long and difficult road to recovery. let's bring you up-to-date with some other stories have been watching for you. the global airline industry is on course for solid earnings this year. its members to record profits to the tune of $33 billion in 2015. that is almost double the $17 billion that the industry reported last year.

that is linked to the sharp reduction in oil prices, which has led to lower fuel costs for airlines. the decision whether to build a third runway at london's heathrow airport has been delayed until at least next summer.

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12/10/15 12/10/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the u.n. climate summit in paris, france, this is democracy now! >> we gathered here and we took a look and it is completely acceptable. it is going to burn our planet and drown out pacific islands. >> if now,