♪ >> and this is a dw news at live from berlin. deadline for a deal. we are expecting more tonight on a new government negotiations. a political leaders just have a few more hours last to begin talks it to start a new government. what happens if they don't? ousands at rally in pakistan to protest thehe rape and mumurr of an eight-year-old girl. they want to know why police

were so slow to react to the child's abduction. also, tunisia to poison army to quell unrest. price rises. is the cradle of the arab spring on the verge of a crackdown? digging out the survivorors of a devaststating mudslilide in soun califofoia. this woman is lucky, but rescuers are still searching for those trapped, buried, or swept away. at least 17 people are confirmed dead. ♪ >> i'm bright golf. it's good to have you with us. tonight, time is running out. political leaders in germany are bracing for a long and difficult night of negotiations.

angela merkel and her conservatives in the central left spd are trying to see if they have enough common ground to enter formal coalition talks. as the exploratory talks enter their final day, the chancellor said that the stakes are high and the outcome is far from certain. >> there are still big h hurdles to overcome. speaking for my party i can say we will be as coconstructive ass possible in our seararch for compromises. but of course, we are also aware that we want to deliver the right kind of deal for the country. that means it's going to be a tough day. brent: that was the german chancellor there. let's go to our correspondent. she is at the social democrat's headquarters. she has been covering the talks all week.

our understanding is they left the most contentious issues for last. walk us through some of the major obstacles how tough it's going to be to meet halfway as the clock is ticking. >> the clock is ticking and they left the most controversial issues for last. in the past days they agreed on a few issues such as new immigration law, for example, for skilled workers to come to germany. but today is the day of the contentious issues as chancellor merkel just said. one of the issues is certainly migration, a topic that has been controversially discussed ever since the so-called refefugee crisis of 2015, especially the issue of family reunification. that is an issue where the social democrats may have to sacrifice a get -- a bit and that could be the case. there is another issue of

budgeting. 45 billion euros available for domestic projects. the question is, who is going to get it. and of course the issue of europe. he's see that as a priority, but the question is -- they see that as a priority, but the question is how far is that the financial integration going to go. from what we have been hearing today, the atmosphere of the talks is good. we are hearing they are quite optimistic and confident to reach a deal at some point tonight, probably in the early morning hours, though. brent: we are going to be burning the midnight oil, but if the feeling is optimistic, then where will we go next? if the talks are successful, what is the roadmap going to look like? >> it is going to be a long and complicated road, the leader of

the social democrats is going to tour germany and the next week and basically campaign for the issues that they have agreed upon in these talks. he has to convince the social democratic delegates meeting at a party conference and they will vote whether to start formal coalition talks. at the moment it looks like the grassroots is not very much behind that. they are against that, so that could be a hurdle. but even if it could mention is unsuccessful, we are not seeing the end of it yet. it may be weeks or months before germany sees a new government. brent: so we have our work cut out for us as well. you'll have the story for us tonight in berlin, thank you. the german president has called on political party leaders involved in talks to reach a

deal reminding them of the weight of the responsibility on their shoulders. he made the comments after welclcing memberers of the diplomatic corps to bellevue palace. he said they s should nonot only think of their careers, but their decisions could have far-reacaching implications for europe and the rest of the world. and we are not talking about politics, we are talking about money. daniel is here to talk about what this means for the mighty economy. daniel: it is punchy at the moment, brent. but imagine the frustration for german businesses if there were new elections. the other side of the coin is brighter, europe's economic engine, germany, saw a two point 2% -- 2.2 percent search.

a conclusion tonight would be the cherry on the cake. journal meet -- germany's economy is thriving and forecasters expect a 5% growth this year as well. there is money there which the bdi once used to modernize the country. >> we have to invest more, which means public i investment, but also means private investment here it is so, preparing the conditions for more intense private investments in the sector o of digitization, public transporortation. but also in different sectors starting from schools and universities, etc. >> other problems are also waiting for discussion.

trade barriers and increasing state interventionism. germany's -- site china in particular. >> china is a very important especially for the industrial part of our economy. on the other hand we see china has a very strict, strategic agenda and we see an increasing influencnce of the political pay into the individual businesses. >> even the u.s. and britain are become increasingly unpredictable trade partners. the bdi says it is high time for a new government to take office to start making the necessary decisions. >> i have more news on how the economic crisis in venezuela is punishing -- >>

two processors have died in clashes with release. she is the 12th child to be sexually assaulted in killed in that area in the last year. the killer tonight, still at large. demonstrators are accusing the police of being too slow to act. >> anger boils over at the death of another little girl and investigators failed to find out who killed her. officers opened fire and chaos ensues. protesters attempt to carry away the injured. the girl's family is outraged over the response to the protest. the father says he wants justice for his daughter. >> we demand that the government take steps to ensure the safety and prorotection of all girls in

this country. i would likike to appepeal to te army chihief and the chihief jue thatat steps be taken t to avoid such tragedies. >> this is a community and grief. she vanished on the way to a koran class last week. this is the last image of her alive, a man leading her away holding her hand. police discovered her body in this trash heap on tuesday. she is believed to have been raped several times and then strangled to death here at family once a thorough investigation. >> we are demanding that the murderer be arrested alive. the police shouldn't look to lift the burden from themselves i killing an innocent person and saying now you have justice. >> the police have been ordered to take swift action in this case, but with residents furious

at what they perceived to be failure to investigate previous incidents, there could be more to come. >> an emergency meeting is planned between the political party and the businesses. the last three days have seen clashes between protesters and security forces. demonstrators are angry about austerity measures and growing inequality. as many as 600 people have been arrested this week. >> not even threats of a clampdown could keep them away. hundreds of disaffected tunisians classed with riot police. both sides trading teargas and rocks. some coming off worse for wear. i was trying to talk to one of the policeman and suddenly one of them hit me witith his baton.

seven years ago tunisia was the cradle of the arab spring, after a revolt against rising costs. that revolution may be history, but its spirit lives on. for many in the rural heartland, economic frustrations and fury go hand in hand. >> we had to endure these clashes after a day of work. even our bus was attacked with tear gas. we need to find a solution for our youth. >> politicians raise our l livig costs,s, but why don't they taka pay cut? we have to take two buses to the factctory to earn 100 0 euros. >> earlier this week, one protester paid with hisis life d dozens more have been injured as

economic hardship leaves its mark on tunisia. brent: let's get a sense of what is happening tonight on the ground in tunisia. i am joined by our correspondent. good evening to you. we know there that is this -- we know that there is this meeting scheduled, what can we expect betwtween now and then? >> i suppose it wiwill continue like it was for the last weeks, the last couple of days. the clashes have mainly taken place at night. or also demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow in different areas of the country's by the protest movements. we will see how many people turn out, but i don't think it will come down anytime soon. brent: we said there's going to be a big meeting on saturday here in has that been the extent of the government's reaction so

far? what is your sense of how the public views the government's sensitivities to their anger? >> so far it's s only the prime miminister who hasas tried to -e asked them to be patient and promomised 2018 will be the last -- year and the economy will be picking up. we mentioned 600 people had been arrested, but it seems it's troublblemakers. but a lot of people that have protested peacefully have also been arrested as well. so, people are a bit skeptical of the security crackdown. brent: the world looks at tunisia as being the birthplace of the arab spring, a transition to a stable democratic nation

has worked relatively well, but what about the people there? have they been told by their leaders about the realities of this transition? have their leaders and said this is going to b be toughgh, it may even hurt for a while? >> that's exactly the problem. the government have not communicated well. people have the feeling that they like strategy, they change policies every once in a while, there is no clear strategy how to get tunisia out of this. there are also more and more fears that tunisia is lacking guarantees to combat an on press of a fallback into old structures. this is being -- by many observers. brent: that's a big fear around the world as well that tunisia

will go backwards instead of going forward. thank you. we will hear some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world. ram's foreigngn minister has met with european powers to discuss its nuclear deal. british, french diplomats reinforce support for the pact. president donald trump is expected to decide whether later today to impose further -- on iriran. that would torpedo t the deal. julian assange has been living in the london embassy to avoid arrest. ecuador says they hopes britain will recognize assange as a diplomat and give him legal immunity. a turkish court has ordered the release of two journalists from detention.

they were jailed along with thousands of others in the wake of a failed coup attempt in 2016. stilill to comome, digging out survivors. more than a dozen people are still missing in southern california after deadly mudslides tour a path of destruction through towns already hit by wildfires. british prime minister theresa may theresa may'y's office says the coununtry will not hold a secocond referenendum on brexit. this after promiminent brexit supporter, nigel farage, said the second referendum might be a good idea. many politicians are called for a second poll saying the consequences of the decision were not clear for voters at the time. farage says a second vote would end the debate. earlier we talked to our london

correspondent and asked her why farage is posing a a second referendum. is i it a stunt? >> i thihink it is a bit of a stunt. not many would dare to call for a second r referendum, because th havave lot to lose. they won the first referendum and not many remain to dare to call for a aecond refeferendum, becacause soar pubublic opininis not soso clearar thatt they woud actually win it. there is not a lot of momentum behind the second referendum at all in the u.k.. brent: we will have more on that coming up later in the day. that was our correspondent from london. i'm going to go now again to business. daniel is here, venezuela's economic crisis deepening. people are hungry. daniel: they are hungry and

hurting. the economic collapse is grinding down on the poor. the past year has seen inflation topped 2006 hundred percent. in any other country, consumers would just buy cheaper, inferior goods, but for the majority of venezuelans, there aren't alternatives. a sad sight. shelves have never been so empty in venezuelala and it is getting worse. whatat is the point of reducinig the price when none are availablble anyway? >> it's painful to see the shelves, because there isn't anything to eat. i bought three things, a like a get and honestly, , my heart hus because lowering g prices is not the way ththe governmentnt shoue acacting. >> this seems c critical to me because honestly we are going through a very serious crisis right now. i d don't knknow what to do, bee i can't get any basics.

i have never seen the shelves like this. there is little or to a you can see our juices, cookies, but otherwise nothing. but even if shelves were stopped decently w wages barely cover th cocost of necessitities. every day offers fresh evidence of venezuela's bankruptcy with no currency available to import food or other basic products. >> despite the supply crisis, some industries are doing whatever they can to struggle on. and there is demand for relative luxuries like shock l lit, but prproducers have t to look abroo keep theheir business afloat. -- like chocolate, but producers have to look abroad to keep their business afloat. >> she spreads coco on the counter to make c chocolate bar. ththey will be sold for $.50.

that is a week wages, but there are still a few people able to spend that on candy. she is focusing on france where a kilogram of chococolate could fetch around $100. >> i carried my chococolate arod in two suitcases. i have beenn to paris three tims that w way. i don't even spspeak french, bui know my product andnd i know who is willing to buy it here i was able to sell my chocolate over the course of around a month. >> she could probably sellllany times ththat if venezuela's sovt style bureaucracy toto make exporting almost impossible fofr small companes. there have been constant shortatages of food and ingredients. this is highgh-quality cocoa frm a a family farm.

>> in terms of the quality of the grains, their variety, and their yield, i would say we are in the presence of the best cocoa in the world. >> foror now, the chronic shortages are probably the image most have of venezuela's of economy, but as the chocolate makers show there are still entrepreneurs doing their part to boost their country. brent: two -- to the united states, walmart is going to pass along the benefits of its tax cut in the form of a pay rise. they will also and the most loyal staff bonuses, $1000. number is rolling out more automated checkout technology

meaning fewer employees will be needed. and staying in the uninited states, back over to brent. brent: going to california. rescue workers in that state are still searching for people after devastating mudslides and flooding hit coastal areas this week. 17 people have died. around 100 homes have an destroyed. the devastation struck early on tuesday after the winter storm struck hillsides burned bare by wildfires last month. >> the hills came crashing down on montecito early on tuesday morning. two memeters of rain fell in 155 minutes.s. t that unleashed d am of m mud and sent boulders careening onto hillside mansions. residents describibe it as anan apocalyptic scscene. >> the sky lit up because the

gas mains blew up as it turned out. there is fire going up and in coming down, you wonder what is happening. >> more than a day later the skill of the devastatition is becoming clear. this is one of thehe u.s.'s isis used f free ways. now it is a cesspool. at the city beach, dotted with cars. firefighters have been searching here for those buried in mud. they have been searching in montecito's neighborhoods, too. there are just 10,000 residents, many have lost tens andnd neighbors -- friends and neighbors. >> in a neighborhood the small, every name that turns up is somebody's dad, neighbor, teacher. we are just happy for everyone that makes it. >> this 14-y-year-old is lucky o have survived. firefighters pulled her from the wreckage of her home in the mudslide's aftermath.

on wednesday, they rescued three more survivors, but more than dozen others are reported missing. brent: the winter olympics are just four weeks away and some athletes still don't know if they will be going to peel john -- pyeongchang or not. one of those athletes competed in five alpine skiing events at the last olympics in sochi, but this time around he's hoping to try his hand at a more adventurous discipline. >> the winter olympics are just around the corner in preparation time is running out before the games begin in february. bulgarian nicolae -- he has been training hard. he made the move to ski

cross as he feels it better suits his rock 'n roll style. but he couldn't get official backing for his n new adventure, so he turned to crowd funding insteaea he hasn't reached his goal, but he is sure e he can hold his own if he qualifies for pyeongchang. >> i have ststarted to get intno shape and i'm gegetting better d better. i have reached another much higher level. >> still, there's plenty of climbing left to do. it is a long way to the top if you have only ever tried your chosen event three times. he is racing the clock and the bank, but he is determined to be the first bulgarian ever to compete in ski cross at the olympics this february. brent: rock 'n roll on the snow. here's a reminder of the top stories, political leaders in germany have a few hours left to

reach a deal on starting talks to form a new government. angela merkel's conservatives and central sociaial democrats e facing a deadline tonight to wrap up exploratory negotiations. both sides say many issues are unresolved. thousands of people are rallying in p pakistan to prototest the rarape and murderf an eight-year-r-old girl. they accuse the police of being too slow to react to her disappearance. i will be back after a short break to take you through the day. stick around for that. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] rules are

charges in a. funding. also is. the european eight is a calling on you as president donald trump not to staff in international agreement with iran over its nuclear program. form this is from the e. u. france germany and the u. k. met with iranian officials in brurussels tody on a declared that the deal was working if trump doesn't sign off on it on friday something failed today backing outside the. whole agreement could collapse