christian wulff has said no. how do you read that?, i think there is a real conflict about the facts here. the president said in the interview that he had asked, his voice mail, for the paper, the tabloid newspaper, the bild, to delay a report that it was going to publish on his loans for the purchase of a private home. questions had been raised about whether those loans possibly subjected him to undue influence by the businessman who loaned the money. and he says that he only asked for a delay in this report that was going to be published. the papers is that is not true. they say he was trying to stop their coverage of this loan. as i say, that is a dispute about the facts, and the paper has said it, in the interest of the transparency that the president has claimed is essential, would like to publish the transcript. he has now said no. he possibly may be looking at taking legal action. it is unclear whether he would be successful in that. of course, this is all about the role of the press and about the president's respect for freedo

after a long silence, angela merkel has given her backing to christian wulff, who has been mired in a scandal that threreaten to bring him down. today, he tried to get back to the business of being germany's president. >>>> christian wulff pose a firt official appointment of the year was with a children's choir for me carol singing. this year, it was carried live on national television, and 150 journalists were waiting for the latest comments from the figure at the center of the affair. >> the past days and weeks of my life have been such that i would not want to relive them, so i think you will understand that i amam glad 2012 is beginning and that i can get on with my real worke. >> for the german pressss, a important question remains unanswered -- did w wulff try to stop a story about a questionable whole load appearing in a tabloid? the paper wants to publish the transcript of a voice mail from the president. wulff says no. chancellor merkel is backing the president. >> what will happen -- and the chancellor has complete faith it will -- is the chance of -- the president will resp

in germany, president christian wulff remain silent, despite calls -- claims that he allegedly tried to muzzle the press. 2012 presidential campaign for republicans. the german president is remaining silent, despite a barrage of calls on him to explain why he tried to suppress a newspaper story in december. his fitness for office, but have held back from demanding his resignation. the president is embroiled in scandal, stemming from a controversial loan he received. here is our report. >> the opposition takes an increasingly sharp recount in its criticism of president christian wulff. social democrats say he can no longer exercise his duties in partially. >> a president who threatens journalists in order to stop a critical report from coming out is acting in an absolutely unacceptable manner, and the chancellor can no longer look on and remain silent. >> before christmas, the opposition appeared to accept wulff's apology for covering up a loan he received from a friend, but now it is alleged he left a phone message to the editor of a newspaper, asking him to suppress a story. this ha

abbas was locked on to berlin by president christian wulff.e's due for talks with chancellor merkel on thursday. he is looking for international support to stop israel from building settlements in the west bank. that is the main palestinian condition for the resumption of full peace talks. meanwhile, lawyers for christian wulff said it will publish the catalog of answers to journalist questions of the president's personal loan scandal. some 240-pages of answers will be uploaded on the internet. the president has been under fire over a private home loan and vacation stays at the homes of wealthy business friends. he promised full disclosure in a television interview last month, but until now, his lawyers have blocked the move. the berlin fashion week has kicked off, and alongside the traditional mainstay in fashion, a lot of petition will be played to green where an ethical levels. it is a trend that more and more designers are falling. includes a sequim material, applying fair labor practices, and using traditional made by hand techniques. we

. >> christian wulff attempted to explain the loan in a speech before christmas. in the same speech, he praised freedom of the press. christian wulff and his lawyers say he has been transparent and the principal -- and the president and principal makes no disclosures of bows phone conversations. >> we ask why there was no confirmation the german president was trying to muzzle the press. >> certainly the president's office is not confirming it. they are only saying he is committed to freedom of the press. but we have seen partial confirmation from the tabloid newspaper that is involved. the editor in chief of the paper did indeed receive a phone call message from the president's. the president was not able to reach the editor in chief, so he left a message, saying he was angry that the paper was proceeding with stories about a questionable loan that had been made to them by a private businessman. the paper is not revealing details of that phone message, but we are hearing from other media here in germany that the president threatened war with the paper and said he

. >> yes, new developments surrounding the affairs surrounding german president christian wulff.n thursday, police in lower saxony raided the home of his former top aide. olaf glaeseker resigned as the spokesmen in december without giving any reason. state prosecutors say they are investigating bribery allegations against olaf glaeseker, who took vacation paid for by a wealthy businessman. president christian wulff faces similar accusations of improperly benefiting from public office. to the united states now, and there have been two major twist to the republican presidential contest. texas governor rick perry pulled out of the race for the white house and endorsed newt gingrich as the best candidate to challenge president obama. the other surprise came as republican leaders said gop front runner mitt romney did not win the iowa caucuses after all. after a recount, former pennsylvania governor rick santorum was named the official winner. wikipedia is back up and running to the website had shut down for 24 hours to protest a u.s. bill and at stopping copyright infringement. wikipe

it says christian wulff might have used miles earned on official business to of great personal flight in 2007. both lawyers -- wulff's lawyer initially denied the claim but later said the miles in question were from his private account. the state government has had little to add so far. >> he had a private frequent- flier account and an official account. that is all th information i have at present. >> the state chancellery in hanover where wulff used to be state premier said he is 150,000 miles from his private account for a business class upgrade. the opposition says wulff must make a decision. >> can this discussion be reconciled with the dignity of his office? he has like we missed the best time to step down. >> on wednesday, the opposition in lower saxony's state parliament will be demanding answers to over 100 questions regarding the former state premier's controversial private loan. >> art curators have put together a retrospective of a -- that they hope will help revive interest in a female artist the revive the women's liberation movement here is expressed in her works for qu

. >> here in germany, president christian wulff endorsed the first calls for his resignation from members of the some party. he is still under scrutiny for controversial home runs. so far he has the support of chancellor angela merkel. >> there has been great interest in the german media over the chancellor's reaction. how far does for support for the president of? at a new year's reception, she demonstrated that all was well and business was going ahead as usual. at this reception, german citizens were being honored for exceptional services to the community. but the media did not let the guests forget the wulff scandal . there were asked how the scandal affected their feelings for the president. >> it has already been damaged. he has had to face up to statements. >> the president should continue just as he has been doing. >> wulff seems to want to do just that, and chancellor martell -- merkel's presence in the case she thinks he should do just that. members of the anti-corruption group, transparency international, were conspicuous by their absence. >> stay with us. we will be going to s

. >>> german media have accused president christian wulff of trying to suppress a story about a scandal involving a controversial loan that he made. the "bild" newspaper reported in december that wulff received a low-interest loan of about 500,000 euros, or about $650,000, from the wife of a businessman in 2008. although the loan at 4% interest was not illegal, it was about 1% below market rate. on monday "the bild" said the president called its editor and tried to stop publication of an article on the loan. the newspaper says wulff later apologized. wulff became the president with the strong endorsement of chancellor angela merkel. the scandal could be a major blow to merkel, who is trying to deal with the euro zone credit crisis and gain cooperation from opposition parties. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by mkot thailand. the thai government has authorized $57 million to restore about 3,000 buddhist temples damaged in the massive flooding last year. a senior government official said in bangkok on tues