♪ >> hello and welcome, you are tuned into live from paris. these are the top stories we are following. after marathon talks, germany's conservatives and social democrats agree on a deal which will end months of political wrangling. south africa -- the leader of the ruling african national congress. -- prepares to give details on jacob zuma's future. rerescue teams and taiwan n are trying to locate survivors trapped in the rubble after a

6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on tuesday night. program, a up in the major court case underway in san francisco pitting two tech giants against one another in the race to self driving cars. all of that coming up in business. -- snow suitesr across northern france, causing chaos in the french capital and far beyond. we will have all of that and plenty more. you are watching "live from paris." ♪ first, our top story after marathon turks, angela merkel's conservatives and -- talks, angela merkel -- form a coalition government. the talks end months of

political wrangling following elections last september. let's bring the latest on this, jessica is in berlin. jessica: we are getting more and more information about what exactly this agreement contains and also which of these politicians from the conservative side and social democrats will hold which post in which ministry.y. so cold -- social democrats have cleaned up. they managed to keep the foreign ministry and also get family ministry and environment as well as the much coveted finance minister and we are having some names coming out as well. democratic mayor of hamburg may become finance minister. there is strong evidence that will be the case and martin, the head of social democrats will become foreign minister. the cd you are holding onto the defense minister with one

parliamentarian tweeting out sarcastically "i guess at least we will have the chancellery." joking that it seems conservatives gave e away a loto the social dememocrats i in this game of dividing up p ministrie. the main sticking point that governs the last twowo days of time of negotiations into ththis morning were health care and short-termrm workers contrtract. we see political agreement that comproromises have beeeen reachd brady'y's socialal democrats hae been c critical of t the heah ce system i in rmany, whahat they call a a t-class s system tween private and ste hehealthare in which doorors are paid more whe theyreat p prite patieients, meang theyre more lily to prefer treating private patients anand ose with state hlth h ca hahaveonger waiting lists. now docts will be e paid the same. it wilill be fairer, ultimately. this is quite a big win for

social dememocrats. side,he labour conservatives and social dedemocrats agreed to limit thte amount of fixed term contracts. --servatives believe workforce is better for the economy, but social demococrats prototect workers, , so there wl be limimits on fixed term contracts a company can have. for r a companyy of 250 employe, onlyly fe of thosese employees will be able to be on a fixed term contract. fofor companieies over that, on% of the workforce will be on fixed teterm contracts. the social democrats did not manage to fully abolish fixed term contracts across all industries, but we did see a bit of a compromise. rochelle: thanks for bringing analysis on that deal that has reached -- been reached in germany. -- joins us now. thanks very much for speaking to

france 24. our correspondent said social have essentially cleaned up. what do you make of the compromises made in this deal? >> i think it is some kind of very reasonable agreement, but it is nothing overwhelming. ushing that really makes excited. it's just a regular compromise. that means all the partners have done what they had to do and everybody got something, but none of them is some kind of leader -- has some kind off victory or something like that. rochelle: these were nonstop talks. we saw nobody giving way. eventually they did. despite, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, isn't there? emanuel: yeah. the proceedings following that, -- sbdl have this s spd

member position. that means all the members of the social democratic party have the right to vote, to have a ballot about this treaty and these negotiations and it is still on for seeable what will be -- unforeseeable what will be the result because if we look back to the party delegates meeting a few days ago, 10, 14 days ago, the party demonstrated to be split, split between an agreement that we need a grand coalition and refusal. it is still very open and it also depends, not only on the tweety -- treaty itself and the in negotiations, but the role of martin shorts -- martin schulz, is he going to be foreign minister in this new cabinet?

there are still some questions and doubts about his person and his role -- very strong and very broad. rochelle: there's still a lot of uncertainty on the horizon. let's think about the opposition for the moment. where does that leave them in all of this? emanuel: the o opposition, you mean the other parties which are not involved in the coalition? rochelle: absolutely. emanuel: well, they already criticized to the whole coalition negotiation's because they said that is nothing that is really -- that really provides some really new ideas about what germany needs -- what needs to be done and the - -- in the particular area. that is just known that their position is dissatisfied with the's negotiations. --ould say it's sustainable

and reasonable. the reaction of opposite parties. all of them are waiting to get a andrnment that is stable leads germany into the next four years.s. dissatisfied, but in officially, i would say satisfied that w we finally gota proceeding that might lead into a coalition government in germany. richter, ok, emanuel you are a professor, thanks for a much for your time today. emanuel: thank you. rochelle: in other world news on a two day visit, president emmanuel macron told -- try to accommodate demands for moral autonomy and keeping them in a republican fold. the trip to the mediterranean island is being closely watched on the mainland where some fear

they are giving too much to corsica demands and it could trigger break away bid. macron will deliver a speech later this afternoon on his vision for the island's future. africaner of the south ruling african congress is expected to give details on president jacob zuma's future later today. that comes according to the country's parliament speaker. zuma is under pressure to resign -- held talks in kate out on tuesday. his office has rubbished allegations that he's preparing poised to takeis his job. let's get analysis on the ongoing situation in south africa. catherine norrison trent joined us in studio. good to have you. there's a huge amount of speculation coming out of south africa today, what is going to be announced? catherine: we are looking for concrete facts here because

there's an awful lot of rumors flying around. we are hearing now that this is a waiting game. more of question of when jacob than if. resign he is a great political survivor, so watch this space. we know the speaker of south africa's parliament has gone on the record saying we will know more about jacob zuma's future probably wednesday and that will come from the deputy president and leader of the ruling amc. onwill outline "progress zuma's future." we also know there was a urgent meeting of the national executive of the amc wednesday night. that has been postponed for now for a couple of weeks and here is where we get into rumor bill -- rumorville. south african media are reporting it's because a deal has basically been struck to allow jacob zuma to resign, to step down in a dignified position as possible and what is

being negotiated now are the preconditions of that resignation, the terms on which he will leave. they are finalizing those details. it's not officially confirmed so we have reports coming out. on the other hand, we also have reports completely contradictory from the south african communist party sang jacob zuma is refusing to -- saying jacob zuma is refusing to resign and he will sack cyril ramaphosa. you can see this swirling rumor mill. the reason these reports are so divided as we have these two entrenched camps in the ruling party. rochelle: those inside parliament at the moment are very tightlipped. we are hearing no news whatsoever is coming out from there. where does this leave the amc? this is the first time the party has faced internal divisions. they keep on going, don't they? catherine: absolutely. these are very damaging splits

and the amc's image has deteriorated over the years. in 1994 postapartheid, there was a huge amount of hope and optimism. they were africa's oldest liberation movement and the amc was incredibly strong. since then, its popularity has really under jacob zuma, with these myriad corruption allegations and deep splits between wings of the party. in terms of electoral support, the amc has gone down 15 percentage points in the last 8 years and it's looking somewhat vulnerable. it's never lost an election since the end of apartheid. augustl elections, in 2017, it lost 53.9%. perhaps,oking now at are the parties coming to the -- other parties coming to the floor as the population that never knew apartheid look for other possibilities and these splits and corruption

allegations really tarnishing -- not only internally, party support, but outside of that, the larger image within south africa itself. we will be crossing live to our corresponded to get the latest from input -- in front of parliament. for now, thank you. news, rescued teams in taiwan are desperately trying to locate e survivors trapped in the rubble after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck late on tuesday night. the powerful quake killed at people for p people -- for people and injured more than 200 others. simon harding has this report for us. reckoning -- a rude awakening, devastation greeted residents. 6.2 magnitude earthquake dealt extensive damage to roads and

infrastructure, security services have been working through the night to save any stranded citizens. -- people remained in trapped buildings. >> the door wouldn't happen. -- wouldn't open. we had to climb out. where are you, mom? >> have all your family managed to escape >? >> no, mom is inside. >> the floor collapsed. i did not see where it fell to her he did there are people stuck there. simon: official said hundreds of people have been injured and many are reported missing. taiwan's president visited the popular tourist hub on wednesday and reassured residents everything was being done to save those who remain stuck in the debris. >> racing against time, which is in its crucial phase. we hope we can quickly install to the building so the emergency team can go in and inside -- inside and rescue

people who are trapped. this is the most important task for now. simon: the government said the island had been hit by more than 100 earthquakes in the past month. taiwan's position on the plate makes it particularly vulnerable. rochelle: freezing temperatures have sparked travel chaos nationwide. in paris, bus, train, travel, airport services are facing delays with the weather causing major gridlock on the capitals roads. to bring a clearer picture of what's going on, we can cross life to -- at the eiffel tower. i understand that many tourists have been turned away from the tower today? some haven't gone home, have they? absolutely. some people were turned away from the eiffel tower because it's closed the with -- because of the weather conditions.

closed since tuesday, but they stuck around to get a selfie under the tower with the snow. even on the south side or the north shore -- inside. some people decided to bring their skis down to ski down the steps. mood is not ruined by the fact of the eiffel tower is closed. rochelle: fantastic. i would not have thought about bringing my skis out. more concerned about trying to make it into work on time. you can see people behind you clearly having a good time. on a more serious note, it's really disrupting transport in the capital, isn't it? charles: absolutely. over the night between tuesday and wednesday there were about 800 kilometers of traffic jams in the paris area. some major gridlock. some people spending the night in their cars in the west of paris. authorities have told people to

try to avoid driving and paris, so the roads have cleared up and they put a band on trucks over 700 tons to go on roads. the transport system is also not working today. traffic amall this all these people have moved onto the rail network and the metro system, which has been over the used this wednesday morning. the suburban paris trains, the rer, has been heavily delayed and the metro as well in this scenario. as for the national french rail operated, -- operator, they have announced -- asked people to postpone travel plans because they are expecting heavy delays on national lines. it seems, however, the airports have managed to stay open. they will have more on their plate because it's expected to be more snow today and overnight and as well, another episode of

snowfall friday night. tooelle: i hope it's not cold for you. i will leave you to get your skis out just in case you brought them with you. thanks for now. time for the business roundup. i am joined by brian. i am glad we are in the studio. look, we are starting in -- with our business roundup in the u.s. where a major trial is on the way and it could decide who takes the lead on self driving cars. >> two of silicon valley's biggest names going head-to-head with google claiming ober broke the law to catch up with competitors. -- explains. -- traviscolin it colin it taking the -- taking the stand. a battle over self-driving car technology. the case hinges on former google employee, anththony lewanandows,

who allegedly downloaded 14,000 documents from his then -- oyer, waymo, google's anthony lewandowski oh went on to -- went to an autononomous lo ri company. they need to decide whether the documents constitute trade secrets and whether uber improperly acquired them, used them, and benefited from them. ceo -- massivee secrets.trade filled with big names and high drama, the trial is likely to be the decider of who comes out in front in the self driving car race. >> check on the markets.

on a rebound from a major selloff, european markets climbing back from major losses on tuesday after -- followed wall street over fears of interest rate hikes. major indexes in europe down over 2.5% at tuesday's close. the ftse 100 managing to gain back nearly 100% and the frankfurt dax up .7%. many analysts predicting a period of increasing volatility on the markets in 2018. >> 2018 has the potential for surprises coming either from interest rate front or the inflation front and this is really different from 2017 where we had a very calm environment when it comes to inflation, to interest r rates, very gradual increases in inflation rates. this is higher volatility from this sector leads to setbacks in the equity markets. >> let's take a look at some more of your cap business headlines. ceo steve wynn has

resigned. he has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by walt women -- multiple women. one of those cases leading to a settlement of $7.5 millioion. he is facing investigation by gambling regulators in nevada and massachusetts. in france, lafayette has found a buyer for 22 of its locaons. -- reporting the department store giant will sell the retail outlets to a real estate firm. retainl estate firm will employees for three years. this will keep the gallery's lafayette name. -- is reportedly selling the los angeles times. the billionaire -- the l.a. times is one of california's leading news outlets and estimated to account for 30% to 40% of the revenue. tough times for the american newspaper. rochelle: thank you very much

for our business roundup. time for our press review. ♪ what ise for a look at making news around the world. i am joined by --. good to have you. starting with this political crisis in the northeast. >> it's a political crisis. you might say there's trouble in paradise. with thes started supreme court ruling to free all political prisoners. that was overturned by the president, who moved to shut down parliament and arrested a key judge and political figure and the clarida state of emergency. what's interesting today is it is sort of being played out as a proxy in the geopolitical war between india and china. the opposition has called on china to intervene in the situation and they say the president may be acting under

the influence of china. even more interesting is the island is crucial to china, which has a free trade agreement with maldives, and india because india shares of british colonial past. they also have cultural similarities. there's a feeling this crisis will be the opportunity for india to reimpose itself on the political situation. rochelle: we found a lot of opinion pieces in the indian and chinese press. >> let's start with indian papers. the indian express -- a former maldives president and key figure of the opposition now -- he penned a piece urging india to act soon and firmly he says "unless india intervenes to uphold the supreme court ruling" he fears the maldives will be island by islanders sold to the chinese. in the pro-government chinese

paper, the global times, they argue india is -- has always manipulated the maldives as it tried to manipulate other countries in southeast asia to keep control. says new delhi has no right to intervene because this is a question of national sovereignty. rochelle: as the winter games begin in pyeongchang, there's a lot of anticipation over what benefit is likely to bring to the >> >> local situation. political benefit, you might even say good. the feeling is any goodwill that comes out of this united showing or united gathering between the two koreas would be temporary. the christian science monitor explains that young south koreans may not even be interested in a reunification with north korea, especially after seeing the economic toll taken on west germany in the 1990's when they were to absorb their neighbor east germany. maybe the koreans do not want

that today. perhaps the games are an indication what kind of future they could have. rochelle: in any case, the winter games are shaping up to break records before they even begin. dheepthika: these games are set to break the record for the coldest on record since 1994 at the norwegian games. it doesn't necessarily mean there will be more snow, it just means temperatures will drop to read at a rehearsal on the weekend, it was so cold people walked out and they are promising to bring legates and heating equipment to the opening ceremony. it is certainly a stark contrast to the sochi games when temperatures went up to 16 degrees and some ski jumpers landed in puddles of water rather than snow. rochelle: that's talk about something gripping all of france, the weather. everyone is talking about it. specifically, the snowfall in paris. haven't seen it and quite a long time. dheepthika: france is assessed

with snow. we have been talking to our colleagues and everyone had trouble getting in to work this morning. typically, in these kind of cases of extreme weather, french infrastructure tends to break down, unfortunately. certainly the case in this cartoon. perhaps our tendency for the hyperbolic, you see this person on the bottom saying as it as there is a bit of snow, we are all going to die, everything stops working, it's a total mess. snow should not be an anomaly. the huffington post interviewed a meteorologist that set at the turn of the last december, it was not every winter. that was normal. it's almost a foreign concept today because of, of course, .lobal warming and urbanization for this expert, it's rather the absence of snow we should be panicking about, not the presence of it. rochelle: persians have been really optimistic about the snow.

finally, let's head to the u.k. for the last story. scottish police were left red-faced, you could say, after a particular phone call. dheepthika: a local farmer called the cops this weekend after

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