♪ host: this is "france 24." time now for 60 minutes live around the world. today's top stories. media reports in the united states are saying that donald trump could be linked to russia both financially and that russia also has some personal intelligence on him as well. as the u.s. president-elect is due to hold his first press conference in six months. trump has called the allegations a political witchhunt.

an emotional farewell meanwhile for barack obama in chicago. that is where the u.s. president gave his last speech before leaving the white house next week. obama called his eight years in power the honor of his life and left telling americans, "protect our democracy." and the corruption scandal in south korea snares the head of samsung. he is due to be questioned later this week and the ever-growing web that could support the president from office. airbus wins the battle of the playmakers, beating its rival boeing with orders in 2016. the details on that coming up in our business update. as the cold snap leaves dozens of people data across europe, residents of the past are t stamp up a free coa to help those in need. those stories coming up, but first are top story live from

paris. ♪ genie godula.nni intelligence chiefs have presented donald trump about russian efforts to compromise him. has embarrassing information about the president-elect of both a personal nature but alleged assistance to trump from the russian administration for years. trump himself slammed the allegations as a political witch hunt. the story is sure to be brought up today by journalists at trump first schedule press conference in six months. more now on the explosive report that has been insider knowledge in washington for some time now. the controversial

report has been circulating in washington circles for months. it alleges that donald trump has received assistance from the russian administration for years and that the russians collected compromising evidence about the president-elect over that time. trump and his advisers have rejected it out right. the president-elect tweeted, fake news -- a total political witchhunt. his advisers point to specific details in the report that don't itnd up, for example, when talks about his lawyers and russian officials in pr ague. his lawyer says he is never been to the czech capital. one of the reports was prepared for one of trump's rivals. the senate intelligence committee asked the intelligence chief to tell america what they know. fbi director james comey did not confirm nor deny his services have been investigating and what they found. >> thank you, senator.

i would never comment on investigations whether we have them are not in an open forum like this, so i cannot answer it one way or another. reporter: intelligence directors did say that they discovered that russian operatives had hacked the democratic party and hilliard hillary clinton advisers accounts, but not the trump team. >> putin had a clear preference helped byand discrediting secretary clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. reporter: the intelligence chief said that the only republican emails that were hacked during the campaign where accounts no longer used by the partiey. host: the kremlin has already denied that it has compromising information on trump. thomas lowe has more. reporter: we talked to a

spokesperson for the russian president, vladimir putin. whoseo talk to the person secret documents that he was in charge of collecting the dossier , which was collecting information on president-elect donald trump in that time before he became president-elect and he will eventually become president. the main comments were that there were no compromising material collected by the kremlin. the kremlin is not in that business. that vladimir putin is engaged in improving relationships with foreign interestsboth in the of russia and the interests of stability and peace more broadly in the world. that phrase, a witchhunt, is one that has been bandied about in tandem between president elect donald trump and dimitri, the

russian president spokesman. he said apart from being a witchhunt, it's an attempt to harm relations between russia and the u.s. that is from the kremlin. we heard from inside the company of who used to be head of the ssp. he says there is no compromising material. he said, who is interested in getting that material from someone who is organizing beauty contests? donald trump is much more than that, a very successful businessman who has earned millions and millions of dollars. a general comment on compromising material -- it does happen in russia. video and audio tapes are secretly recorded and they do find their way onto state media channels or other media in russia .

of course, that does not in any way mean that these allegations are correct. int: meanwhile last night chicago, barack obama made his final speech before he hands the white house over to the trump administration. 20,000 people turned out in chicago to hear the president speak. on thepowell has more farewell address that tried to comfort and encourage americans already on edge. >> yes, we can. yes, we did. yes, we can. thank you. god bless you. for barack obama, it was a speech filled with messages of hope. tough donald trump has vowed undo a number of his policies, obama said americans should be proud of the achievements of the past eight years. citing economic recovery after the crisis, the iran nuclear deal, and the health care bill

known as obamacare amongst others. >> that is what you did. you were the change. because of you, by almost every measure, america is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. [applause] reporter: the 18,000 strong crowd booed at references to his successor, but he stopped them and promised a peaceful transition. they also tried coaxing him to stay on. >> four more years! >> i can do that. -- can't do that. [applause] obama says many challenges remain, including race relations and the fight to maintain a successful democracy. >> the future should be ours.

potential will only be realized if our democracy works. only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. [applause] us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now. reporter: he said being president has been the greatest honor and he could not have done it without his wife and kids. obama's next plan is to become a private citizen, take some time off, and write a book. host: dylan ruth has been sentenced to death for the massacre of nine black church members in south carolina. the 22-year-old self-proclaimed white supremacist of fire at a

bible study session in 2015. he is the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. sentenced to death by unanimous decision, after three hours of deliberation, the federal jury has sentenced to the death penalty for killing nine people in a church service in june 2015. for the victims family members, the verdict is a painful victory. >> it's a hard thing to know that someone is going to lose their life, but when you look at ,he totality of what happened it is hard to say that this person deserves to live and nine others don't. how do you justify saving one life when he took nine and in such a brutal fashion? > found guilty on 33 charges, roof expressed no

remorse during the trial ended not plead for his life. hours before the verdict, he said, "i still feel like i had to do it." the neo-nazi kkk sympathizer sat with the south carolina bible group for 45 minutes before opening fire and killing nine members of the congregation. host: the head of samsung is due this weektioned later in south korea. he is the latest big fish to be named a suspect in the ever-growing corruption scandal that could force the president from office. our correspondent told us more from seoul. reporter: the scandal has become a virtual vortex, sucking and figures not just from politics, including the president, but from education, culture, sports, and from big business. he is sometimes called the most powerful man in south korea. he is the defect ahead of the samsung business group, the sprawling corporate empire.

it is alleged he paid money to a pair of funds close to the president's confidant, at the epicenter of this mass i massive crisis in order to complete a merger of affiliates last year, which shareholders questions. they said it didn't make sense from a business perspective, but it was designed to ensure least control over this business empire. host: we have already seen senior politicians and located in the scandal and others in the past. does this targeting of the head of samsung suggests that big business is fair game in south korea as well? reporter: it'll be interesting to see if it is in the crosshairs, but as you alluded to, since democratization,

politicians have been accountable. the president himself can be in impeached. that has not been the case for business. these are very powerful businesses and business families. even though they have been embroiled in business crimes, they have served short sentences, have been pardoned, or let off with virtual slots on the wrist. the most seeing powerful business figure in the country named a suspect in this and actually going before prosecutors with a real chance of punishment, this could be a game changer for corporate south korea. host: that is andy salmon reporting from seoul. let us come back now to europe where more than 60 people have died in a matter of days as the harsh winter weather continues. many of the victims from across the continent are migrants in the homeless. in hungary, residents of budapest are showing solidarity by setting up coat stands were anyone who has warm clothing

going spare can donate it to those in need. in some places, the river danube has frozen solid. elsewhere, large blocks of ice float on budapest central waterway. the hungarian capital has been suffering freezing temperatures of up to -28 degrees for more than a week. now and am a spontaneous act of solidarity, coat stands full of warm clothing have started lining the roadsides, free to anyone who needs them. a pension ofave 100 euros a month, of course a coat is welcome. i cannot buy one myself except if i saved up for 10 years. reporter: and a country where the deep freeze has already led to a number of deaths, many people feel the least they can do is offer their unused winter clothing. >> sometimes i'm called that my house even after a warm bath and a hot cup of tea. i cannot even imagine how those

on the streets are surviving. the initiative has been widely shared on special media. -- social media. it was started by this young pianist. >> it made me feel good to see how gary has come together and promote this and that people realize they have to look out for each other. he hopes to keep the operation going until the end of the cold snap. dozens of codes have already been distributed to those in needs. host: time now for a look at the business news with stephen carroll. guest: hi. host: you are starting with airbus, which has come out in top in a battle of playmakers. guest: the aerospace giant came out in top in terms of orders with 731 planes ordered in 2016 compared to 668 for its arrival, boeing. they have reported a rise in deliveries last year with airplanes handed over to airlines. it's a record for the company.

now more to our correspondent into loose. reporter: i'm here airbus headquarters where the company announced record deliveries. gets paid when it actually gets these planes to its customers. that's really important because there is a backlog of around seven years and customers what those plans as quickly as possible. if they have to wait a long time, that could be a hindrance for new sales. the person knows about it is john leahy. >> this is a high-class problem to have, to have a backlog of seven or so years of production. we have managed it very carefully over the last 10 years. we are building up a production capabilities. our backlog of 600-9000 aircraft is not just a record for airbus but the industry. no other manufacturer ever has had a backlog like that. reporter: yet had a duopoly,

u.n. boeing -- you have had a duopoly, you and boeing. is it going to be a tougher market for you? >> it depends on the timescale you are looking at. if you ask me about competition five years from now, i would say no. if you say 10 years from now, i would say no. if you say 20 years from now, i would say the number three aircraft manufacturer in the world is going to be the chinese. i hope that their number three and not number two. guest: that is john leahy speaking to our correspondence. t. european shares treading water ahead of a press conference by u.s. president-elect donald trump. investors will be listening closely to hear any idea of policies from donald trump. in paris, shares of the energy company are down 3.5% after the french government announced it was selling part of its stake in the firm. the united states today, volkswagen is said to be close to a settlement over the

emissions cheating scandal. a deal withdrafted authorities which will see them pleading guilty to criminal charges and paying some $4.3 billion in fines. more than $17 of billion volkswagen has already paid to settle civil claims in the u.s. brian quinn has the details. reporter: $4.3 billion. that is the price of closure for volkswagen in the united states as it looks to put the dieselgate scandal behind it for good. the german automaker has confirmed its negotiated a draft settlement with the u.s. department of justice that would see it clean guilty to criminal charges in addition to the fines. that draft is expected to be approved by the volkswagen board as quickly as possible before a new u.s. administration takes over. in september 2015, volkswagen admitted to installing emission test cheap devices and hundreds of thousands of diesel cars in the u.s.. up to 11 million

vehicles worldwide may have them installed. >> our company was irresponsible with the epa and the california air resources board and all of you. and our words, we have totally screwed up. reporter: it had set aside the equivalent of $19 billion to cover liability for the skittle globally. criminalm the new penalties, it has already agreed to spend $17.5 billion in america on civil settlements, buybacks, and repairs, putting its total u.s. liability at a most $22 billion, significantly more than it had planned. that does not take into account ongoing investigations and civil suits in europe, south america, and asia. scandal and fall off in u.s. sales, bw hit a global sales record last year with over 10 million vehicle sold. it may be the number one carmaker for 20 72. host: fun news for those who

like shopping and france. winter sales are starting. guest: what are sales have an official start and an official end date. many retailers get around these rules by mailing off lists and secret deals beforehand, but it is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. some ofke a listen to the bargain hunters out and about today and paris. >> there are always great deals, but it's also interesting to check out private presales, shop online, compare prices. in the end, it's fun to get up early and come in person. it's an experience. >> often you just fall in love with something. this time i was waiting for a jacket i wanted to buy my size and i got a great deal. because i also shop online, i think nothing really compares to coming out and trying things on in person. i think it is still totally worth doing. guest: it's another expense i

want -- getting up early in the morning. [laughter] host: unless you have the very last day, you never know what you can find. thank you so much for that, stephen carroll. now time for the press review. ♪ we joined on the set to take a look at the headlines today. let's start with the story that is a bombshell coming out of u.s. the press is buzzing about intelligence reports, unsubstantiated intelligence reports, that russia says it has damaging information, embarrassing information about donald trump. guest: according to cnn's report, these classified documents were presented last week to president obama and president-elect trump. these documents include allegations that russian operatives claimed to have , personal, and financial information about donald trump. you can see the wording here is very careful. there are not too many details. the same goes for "the new york times."

they are talking about compromising and salacious personal information. you can see even in their title, they say none of this has been cooperated -- corroborated. host: some websites have gone so far as to publish the pages from this report. >> buzz feed is one of the media outlets that decided to publish highlighted pages from these memos. guest: i will not go into all the sordid details, but know that they are being called the golden shower blackmail memos. that might give you a hint as to what is being included. buzz feed said that allegations are unverified and the report contains errors. it seems like they were trying to put caveats around all this information. they argued why they were publishing this information. they said it is so americans can make up their minds. this has launched a whole debate as to whether or not the public should have access to these unverified documents.

it must be said that donald trump has rejected the report out right. of course, he did it on twitter. fake news -- a" political witch hunt." host: switzerland has won a case in the european court of human rights that will now forced muslim parents to send their children to mixed swimming lessons at public pools. guest: you can get all the details in "atlantico." they rejected a case filed by two parents in basel that one of their daughters to be exempt from mixed swimming lessons based on religious grounds. according to the court, the children's full education and successful social integration according to local customs prevails over the parents wishes. host: this is really a landmark ruling. what kind of reaction has there been out of switzerland? guest: let's look at a daily in switzerland that says the ruling is being applauded in switzerland, including by many muslims.

the article quotes one muslim association that says, "it's important for all children to follow the same school program and to learn to swim." that is part of the school program in switzerland. but look at another editorial. this applauds the decision as well. it says, "the integration of all children, regardless of their origin or religion, is a cardinal rule, as is gender equality, freedom of religion must come second." this editorial has an interesting point and that the ruling is coming outside of switzerland. is editorial is happy it outside of switzerland and hope it will be appeasing inside swizzle appeared -- switzerland. host: let's go to morocco where a burqa band is causing quite a scandal. guest: since monday, morocco has band the sale and import of the burqa. they gave businesses 48 hours to get rid of their stocks.

moroccan online website is talking about the war on the burqa. what is interesting is that there was no official announcement from the government, but a high-ranking interior minister official confirmed the van to this website, adding that bandits have repeatedly used the garment to perpetrate crimes. essentially it is for security reasons. if you want to know how people are reacting inside morocco, check out this. it has a very interesting look at the two sides of the coin. yet critics who are outraged, saying it is unconstitutional, but then there are defenders saying it is not a violation of constitutional rights and it's necessary for security concerns. host: you have reaction to barack obama's farewell speech in chicago. guest: "america will miss barack obama's decency." the article says "tonight of all nights, the difference between barack obama and donald trump was stark."

to what wasreacting said, what was inside, and who was there and wasn't there. one of them was barack obama's daughter, sasha obama. this women's online publication was wondering where she was. people on the internet came up with all sorts of theories and you can read some of them on this website. one says that "when the ticket is so hot that you can only get two tickets for the family." this other tweet i pulled out says that "osh obama be at one hell of a sleepover party right now." according to our correspondent philip crowder, the white house says it is because she has an exam today. best of luck to sasha. host: thank you for that look at the papers. you get a closer look at the press review on her website. the address is france 24.com. you heard her talk about that t farewell

speech by barack obama. we will have more on that speech. ♪

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