that was a peak correspondent eric randolph in tehran speaking to us earlier to sports now the second round of the tour to ski is one of the most prestigious cross-country skiing events in the world and it took place on sunday in lends a high to switzerland in the women's ten kilometer classic norwegian. posted the best time beating out her compatriot heidi vang and saviors cent of the united states meanwhile in the men's fifteen kilometer classic colonia set the fastest time ahead of alexey pole to run in kazakhstan and the region martin fruits and be . tennis fans know that the new year brings the first major tournament of the season the australian open and germany's angerly kerber won that tournament in twenty sixteen but her star has fallen dramatically since then here in germany newcomer you legere guess has taken over the number one spot in the country and she nearly broke into the world top ten this year alexander's verite is already there on the men's side and he has his sights set on his first grand slam title here is more on the stars of german tennis. it was a year to forge

correspondent eric randolph in tehran eric protests have been going on for four days now what's happening today. where the protests overnight were a little smaller than previous nights sporadic reports of government buildings clerical buildings in the northwest and then a few different towns. caught the people out of the seizing and crashing a fire engine reportedly but verifying any of this is tough because of the restrictions on social mobile it now authorities have threatened to come down hard on protesters i mean what do they mean by that any is there any sign that that's happening. no so far the police are taking a very softly softly approach we did have a couple of people who showed a couple of nights ago in a small town very hard to get any information on that but they've been keen not to come from to strongly but everyone knows that if it gets out of the revolutionary guards in the waiting in the wings to crack down as they have done in the past where the protests go from here and they have to support of most sections of iranian society but it's notable that in the wealth and midd

eric randolph in tehran thank you. north korean leader kim jong un says his country's nuclear program is now fully developed and that pyongyang will soon begin mass producing nuclear warheads and missiles the comments came in his annual new year's address but came struck a more conciliatory tone toward seoul saying he was open to talks on sending a delegation to this year's winter olympics in south korea. flowers from north korea's past leaders kim il sung and kim jong il a gesture of reverence repeated on every holiday in the capital pyongyang and those who turn out can also pay homage to their current president kim jong un during his new year's address. his speech included a range of threats against the u.s. but also unexpectedly an offer of dialogue with neighboring south korea. you will the winter olympics to be held in south korea will be a good occasion for the country and we sincerely hope the day will be a success we're prepared to take various steps including sending a delegation officials from the two koreas

correspondent eric randolph in tehran eric we're days into these protests people have died and the government is suggesting it will crack down on protesters how much of a threat are these demonstrations to the government. all those insurgents. and radical. reason ignition and learning that some don't. need any further than you can trust one of the people who will be contingent on. the middle east the key to making. any killing. he didn't. manage to be. significant economy. in the trucking running down and making sure those serving over eric randolph in tehran unfortunately the connection is not as strong as we would have liked to thank you for speaking to us now absent the other stories making news around the world hundreds of protesters have gathered in ukraine's capital kiev to demand an investigation into the death of a prominent lawyer arena was found dead on new year's day she'd face threats for helping to convict a well connected man in a case that was seen as a test of the ukrainian justice system. at least nine people have died and more than a dozen real wounded after rival gangs clas

correspondent eric randolph intent on eric nice to have you with us as we've mentioned there have been deaths in the latest protests is this a sign of the government is beginning to crackdown on demonstrators. well it's very hard to know that tonight fresh protests out broken out and tear up downtown with restricted or no movement there's a very happy of these present style so while the government is trying to tell you to read it the soft approach to this is not to directly confront protesters for fear or so more arrests but the fact that we're getting reports of deaths and some small group trials suggests that there is something of a crowd out yes ok and president rouhani says that foreign enemies have been provoking these protests what does he mean. by that stuff and it becomes a law i probably go although there are legitimate economic reasons driving these protests being exploited by foreign opposition groups by iran's enemies in the united states particularly to destabilize the regime and it's going to be the government uses in order to justify the commas in the coming days. there

correspondent eric randolph who is joining us with the latest from tehran and eric as we've heard iranian state television reporting nine more people killed overnight more than one hundred protesters arrested what are we to make of the authorities response to the unrest and how big of a threat are these protests to the regime well this is the biggest test the regime has faced since there were mass demonstrations back in two thousand and nine the difference this time is that they. consider the more although it is very difficult to confirm the reports we're hearing for problems says she's restrictions on trying . to know the six protesters that showed us what on store the station is. several other people were killed in various schools and cities over the country recent days. well there is a start of crackdown was just been told that four hundred fifty people have been arrested in tehran the last three days with protests that's a good road to this move and we don't know how many you're being arrested in other parts of the country and we understand that among these protesters there are host o

correspondent eric randolph in tehran and asked how much of a threat the protests are for the regime. well this is the biggest test the regime has faced since there were mass demonstrations back in two thousand and nine the difference this time it is that. considerably more though it is very difficult to confirm the reports we're hearing for problems is due to restrictions on travel we do know that six protesters were killed last month on school these ocean. several other. very small towns and cities. all over the country these days. there is a start of crackdown was just been told the four hundred fifty people in the rest of iraq last three days were protests actually rose at least we don't know how many you've been arrested in other parts of the country. that was eric randolph speaking with us a short while ago to germany now we're on member of parliament and a leading figure in the far right party may face charges of illegal hate speech for her angry tweet on new year's eve beatrix launched ranted at police in the city of cologne for publishing a new year's greeting in arabic she s

correspondent eric randolph first in iran's capital tehran welcome to day w we heard there the general has announced that the sedition has been defeated what does it look like from where you are well aaron to ron it was pretty quiet overnight and we've seen a pretty heavy police presence of you revolutionary guards out on the streets in the center of the city. but for the most part it looks it does feel like the wind has come out the so of the protest movement today was really about the regime. seizing back control of that narrative reasserting itself. and getting news things under control well we don't want to rule out the possibility that more protests or a flare up in the nights to come but now it does look like they are there it is a rush to get things done to control eric randolph into her thank you. if you o.p.'s prime minister has announced the country will release its political prisoners and close its notorious that make prison camp the announcement comes after months of ime the government demonstrations the protests led to a state of emergency that is since been lifted it's th

while iran is still reeling from the protests after correspond eric randolph isn't errani can tell us more about the your current situation there around us it's clear that the government is eager to change the narrative of the year pro-government demonstrations helped save that goal. well there has been an impressive show of force by authorities today hundreds of thousands were released tens of thousands of people marching in cities across the country. relies very quickly and very effectively. show what you know there is going to do they want to bring people out of the strips and in the last few minutes just have the head of the revolutionary guards and i'll say that today is the end of the sedition and total zero only fifteen thousand people took part in the rest entirely across the country last week so what does that mean they have effectively cracked down on all the anti-government protests but it's very hard to tell information is still very hard to get from about what was happening out in the provinces this was focused more on outlying areas not so much in toronto but it's sad to

correspondent eric randolph in tehran eric thanks for joining us we're days into these protests now people have died and the government is suggesting it will crack down on protesters how much of a threat are these demin demonstrations to the government. well it remains to be say we've seen violence picking up in the last couple of days although it's art you know protesters were talking police stations and other symbols of the regime we've had twenty one dead now in the five days but rest of it does appear to be coming to radicalize the same time that could present an opportunity for the regime that are now able to take this as a vital role rather than people economic grievances and they are rallying around each other pointing out this argument i'm sorry if this is directed by foreign elements in saudi arabia and the united states ok you mentioned that there is economic concerns that are legitimate that's potentially against the rouhani government but is that this dissent go even higher to the supreme leader well does a sense in which people feel they've tried all the different political fa

correspondent eric randolph was joining us with the latest from tehran welcome to you eric pro-government demonstrations that we saw last night is this a sign of a changing tide in favor of the regime or is it propaganda. it's hard to say exactly what's happening outside in the provinces protests to go protest always happening in smaller towns and cities that are in tear up but we can all see your force of violence out night that is that this morning we've seen a very impressive show strength from the regime tens of thousands of people who take pro-government runways and several ages it's not yet in tehran that it's coming from. so it does appear that the government. when the top is yet and when we look at the causes for example of these anti-government protests we know that for example the uprising has been the biggest since two thousand and nine but with that crackdown underway as you mentioned and hundreds already arrested how strong would you say is the will for those protesters to continue and how big a threat are they posing to the regime at this point. we're better than two thousan

correspondent eric randolph eric the head of the revolutionary guards has said that the anti-government protests had been defeated what are you hearing well. from the nation on any. protests there are coming from the provinces it was definitely a commentary on last night's presence does. seem to be i would just get reports now we're just just coming of another series of major. rallies very large very prestigious in ten different cities around the country including. ok now i know when you talk about these a pro-government rallies does it then seem that the regime is actually turning the tide against the anti-government protesters. well i think it's important to remember the protests would never end all this revolutionary guard say there were fifty thousand people who vote nationwide even if the number was a bit bigger than that it's certainly nowhere near the hundreds of thousands or millions the streets back in two thousand and nine against other kinds of election rigging. especially the fact that these protests at times violent at times of the types of government buildings i think that

but well will it for the very latest from tehran let's bring in the correspondent eric randolph eric we're getting reports of dozens or scores of arrests where you are in tehran nine people killed overnight what's the latest. yeah there were just recently after all some states. region including six protesters tried to stall a police station as well as a police burn in another town in a row which got another town most of these protests focused out in the provinces this isn't sporadic presence or on last night but almost always go elsewhere and we do have reports of hundreds of people being arrested in various parts of the country over the last few days now if these protests continue in the way they have so far to date are we likely to see a crackdown by authorities could we see the republican guards stepping in suddenly protests grow seriousness government has closed ranks and record that there are legitimate grievances and house try to take a relatively salt. you've got have been waiting in the wings though these things do start off early how to fish was talking about seditionist ele

phil: our correspondent eric randolph is in iran's capital tehran. welcome to dw. eard general jafari has announced the sedition has been defeated. what does it look like from where you are? eric: : here in tehran it wawas pretty q quiet overnight, , ande have seeeen a pretetty heavy poe presence and quitete a few rerevolutionary guards in the streets in the center of the city. but for the most part it looks calm. it does feel like the e wind has come out of ththe sails of the prototest moveme.. today was really abobout the regime seizing back control of the narrative, reassessing its authority, andnd getting thehese things u under control. while we do not t want to rule t the possibility that more protests or unrest might flare up in the nights t to come, but now it does look like authorities have been able to get things under control. phil: what effect have today's pro-government demonstrations had, if any? eric: well, yes, this s was part of the regime showing that if it wants to it can bring a huge number of people out onto the streets. these protests were impre

as a more on this now we're joined by athey correspondent eric randolph in teheran eric will protest as has been killed what more can you tell us about that. but we are quite limited information they were shot. because. the material media coverage and travel restrictions we don't know exactly how do you know that. were reportedly turned down of protesters stolen fire and drink in another town quests. but again with social media. it's quite difficult to verify information. it was hurt those warnings from law thorson's threatening to come down hard on protesters what does that mean and is that the sign that's happening but so far from what we can sell the police have taken a relatively soft approach to the protesters the government does accept the president except on the chance of economic grievances driving the. rest so they want to see taking those serious leave of obviously drawing the line when it comes to using the islamic system as a whole out carrying out by that or damaging public property did our ports or government buildings religious asunder is being attacked in some places

as a more on this now we're joined by athey correspondent eric randolph in teheran eric and two more protesters have been killed what more can you tell us about that . but we are quite limited information we know they were shot dead certs because of limited media coverage and travel restrictions we don't know exactly how you died we also know that two other people were reportedly burnt out of the protesters stole a fire drill in another town west. heard certainly get rid of social media to many senses it's quite difficult to verify information that was heard those warnings from law thorson's threatening to come down hard on protesters what does that mean and is there further sign that that's happening. but so far from what we can sell the police have taken a relatively soft approach to the protesters the government does accept and the president did except on the jets of economic grievances driving the. rest so they want to see taking those seriously even obviously drawing the line when it comes to using the islamic system as a whole out carrying out by that or damaging public propert

will not be tolerated all right eric randolph thanks very much for the update from tehran north korean leader kim jong un has delivered a new year's address with a warning for the united states he said he has a nuclear button on his desk at all times to be able to respond to any u.s. attack kim said the u.s. would be unable to wage war against north korea because it was within range of pyongyang's nuclear weapons but is more conciliatory toward south korea saying he was open to talks and hoped to lower military tensions between the two neighbors. for more on that let's bring in correspondent josh smith he joins us from solve josh kim seems to be sending some mixed signals what is the south korean government making of his statement by the south korean government has a lot riding on the next few months especially the winter olympics in february which they hope could be a kind of catalyst for tensions so it seems like they definitely saw a bit of. what kim had to say let's hear what they had to say after the speech on monday. so the new south korea's presidential office has always stated

overnight although the government is going to have to show some responsiveness to those grievances eric randolph in tehran thank you. north korea is reopening a is suspended communications line with south korea in what may be a sign of funk tensions north korean leader kim jong un ordered that the hotline at the country's border be reconnected the two koreas have been making overtures to improving ties since new years that is when kim signaled that he wants to see north korean athletes cross the border to join next month's winter olympics in the cell. let's get a quick check now of some other stories that have been making news around the world rescue crews have been working to recover the bodies of forty eight people killed when a bus careened off of a cliff in peru officials say that six survivors were found but other passengers are still missing the vehicle collided with a truck before plunging off of the highway north of the capital lima many businesses and schools in the indian financial hub of mumbai have been forced to close as protesters from a low pass community blocked traffic and sit i

will not be tolerated all right eric randolph thanks very much for the update from tehran we can move on now to some other stories making news around the world catholics are celebrating the world day of peace at the vatican pope francis celebrated a solemn mass to mark the occasion he warned the world one billion catholics to be aware of gossip and what he called the banality of consumerism and to focus on what really matters. protestors in hong kong have accused the mainland chinese government of violating the territories autonomy. this after beijing said part of the hong kong train station would come under mainland law ageing insists the move will make travel more convenient it will not impinge on hong kong's special status people in the indian capital delhi woke up to dense fog this new year's day it's said to be the thickest this season commuters were left stranded after flight operations from the city's international airport were suspended delis air pollution levels are many times the global safe limits. well fast and furious chess moves were on show over the past week at the wor

will not be tolerated right eric randolph thanks very much for the update from tehran fast and furious chess moves were on show over the past week at the world rapid and blitz chess championships with saudi arabia playing host to most of the top players on the planet alex and human rights controversies were also an element of the competition. they use the german word blitz as in lightning quick but there is no thunder in blitz chess it was quiet in the massive hall that saw world number one magnus carlsen power through more than a dozen opponents to win for the women it was not. of georgia taking the blitz prize but she acknowledged that the favorite had skipped the event ukrainian and music czech said saudi arabia's record on women's rights was the reason she would not defend her blitz and rapid chess world titles she wrote it's a fight for being myself for my principles for the dignity of the women but the saudi royals have recently pushed for social openings even moving to permit women to drive cars in twenty eighteen they reportedly were granted hosting rights after paying one poin

attack over time across it first to try to spur business interest but no no no easy solutions there eric randolph with the latest from tehran thank you thank you kate. an extreme winter storm sweeping across europe has left four people dead and caused wide scale damage and destruction violent winds of up to one hundred forty kilometers per hour caused scaffolding to collapse at paris two hundred thousand homes in the french capital were also without electricity the storm has also caused chaos here in germany with powerful winds downing trees and power lines firefighters in the city of cologne worked to clear debris from the roads. and the u.s. east coast is bracing for heavy snow as a winter storm intensifies into what is called a bomb. the first time in almost thirty years snow fell in the florida capital tallahassee elsewhere in the sunshine state freezing temperatures turned one man's pool into an ice rink. drivers on the eastern seaboard battled high winds and blizzard conditions a state of emergency has been declared in four states and hundreds of schools have been closed in expectation of r

attack over time crowd to focus to try to stop business interest no no no easy solutions there eric randolph with the latest from tehran thank you. to some sports news now where world football spotlight will be on the game and capital of across the night as the twenty seven team african player of the hero award gets handed out three attacking superstars in the running for the prize let's take a look at the chances. will this man be celebrating again thursday night emerick obama young is among the contenders to be named african player of the year even as dortmund have struggled to keep pace at the top of the table the gabba nice hitman has struck thirteen but as the goals to confirm his status as one of africa's best players now he's hoping to win the award for the second time in his career. yes. i'm off. but obama young faces stiff competition for the prize egyptian forward mohamed salah has taken the premier league by storm since joining liverpool in the summer he was also part of the egypt squad that finished runners up at the africa cup of nations in february and his liverpool team mates

away any time soon so dressing those problems is going to be a very big task in the coming weeks eric randolph into herat thank you. reigniting refugees with their families is likely to be one of the more contentious issues and talks to try to reconstitute germany's coalition government the process is politically charged complicated and expensive and even if german authorities approved family reunions red tape in countries where refugees first arrive in europe such as italy or greece can prolong the wait so what does it mean for people caught in the middle who often see themselves as victims of broken promises. more yard and his younger brother abdul rahman like living in cologne their new home but they say they can only be truly content when the rest of their family joins them the two brothers traveled along the balkan route from syria and arrived in germany two summers ago they've been waiting for their parents to join them legally ever since. the people here told us it would only take about a month or two but two years have gone by in the meantime muata has been raising his little brother o

let's go straight to tehran now and in correspondent eric randolph eric these are the biggest protests since two thousand and nine are they a threat to the islamic regimes power. well i must say that actually overnight. but it's very difficult to get reports from the provinces but from what we can see on social media from what i've seen and there are does seem to be dying down a bit i think it's the fact that the establishment really closed ranks yesterday blaming foreign enemies for starting the spots of seeing on the heavy police presence that we've see seems to doubt down some of the on rest of there's no question these protests have shaken the islamic rule those who require some street actually there's a great deal of action in the coming weeks eric you mentioned tehran they're accusing foreign powers of being behind the unrest have they produced any evidence for that. well they point to the fact that messages and by hashtags and so did primarily coming from regional rivals saudi arabia from exile groups in britain and america. on the phone to the president was also fired his frenc

will not be tolerated all right eric randolph thanks very much for the update from tehran. with korean leader kim jong un has delivered a new year's address with a warning for the united states he said he has a nuclear button on his desk at all times to be able to respond to any u.s. attack kim said the u.s. would be unable to wage war against north korea because it was within range of pyongyang's nuclear weapons but he was more conciliatory toward south korea saying he was open to talks and hoped to lower military tensions between the two neighbors . for more on that let's bring in correspondent josh smith he joins us from solve josh kim seems to be sending some mixed signals what is the south korean government making of his statement by the south korean government has a lot riding on the next few months especially the winter olympics in february which they hope could be a kind of catalyst for abuse texans so it seems like they definitely saw a bit of hope in what kim had to say let's hear what they had to say to the speech on monday. so i think south korea's presidential

problems with the high cost of living in iran all right eric randolph reporting from tehran thank you are at it like to tell you now about some of the other stories making news around the world. a suicide bomber has killed at least eleven worshipers in a mosque in northeastern nigeria the bomber attacked a mosque in the town of gumbo there has not yet been a claim of responsibility for the attack. a canadian man who was held hostage by taliban linked militants for five years has been arrested in ottawa social boyle is facing fifteen charges including assault and making death threats the alleged offenses took place between october and december just after the thirty four year old his wife and three kids over skeered. many businesses and schools in the indian financial hub of mumbai have been forced to close as protesters from a low caste community block traffic and staged sit ins for a second day daal it's called a strike in protest against attacks by the right wing hindu groups in the city punic on monday. north korea has reopened suspended communications line with south korea in what

attack over time across it first to try to spur business interest but no no no easy solutions there eric randolph with the latest from tehran thank you thank you kate. chris october is here for us now with more on those economic woes that iranians have been facing the try to stare as international sanctions on iran were lifted two and a half years ago many people there hope to their economic situation would improve that trade would flourish fearne investment flow in and create jobs and that consequently living standards would improve twenty fifteen foreign companies invested some two billion dollars in iran you can see it right there once sanctions were lifted foreign direct investment increased to almost three point four billion dollars french and a giant total was quick to arrange a deal worth billions with terror on to pump natural gas carmakers peugeot and dental build plants there and german companies are also vying for business in the country with a population of eighty million now that all adds up to sixty five percent increase in foreign investment but the economic upswing left may be beh

certainly not going away any time soon so dressing note is going to be very big in the coming weeks eric randolph into iran thank you . and a sign of thawing tensions north korea has reopened a suspended hot line just south korea north korean leader kim jong un ordered the reconnection of the phone line of the country's border north and south of been making overtures about improving ties since new year's eve and kim jong un said he wanted to see north korean athletes at next month's winter olympics in the south. one of the more contentious issues in coalition talks between germany's hopeful ruling party is likely to be reuniting refugees with their families the process is politically charged complicated and expensive and even if german or thought is approved family reunions red tape in other countries where refugees first arrive in europe can prolong the white so what does it mean for people quarter in the middle who often see themselves as victims of broken promises. moore yod and his younger brother abdul rahman like living in cologne their new home but they say they can only be truly content w

attack over technocratic focus to try to spur business interest but no no no easy solutions there eric randolph with the latest from tehran thank you you thank. and kristof is here with us now with more on those economic concerns that is right sara as international sanctions were lifted two years ago many people in iran hoped their lives and their living standards would improve nine twenty fifteen foreign companies invested some two billion dollars in iran once sanctions were lifted foreign direct investment increased to almost three point four billion dollars now french energy giant total invested heavily in the country as did french carmakers and german companies are also vying for business in the country that all adds up to a sixty five percent increase in foreign investment so money is flowing in but apparently it's not impacting as many as iranians as people had hoped. now for more let's bring in ami or ali's adays the deputy managing director of the german iranian chamber of commerce in terror on good to have you on the program i mean there many of the protesters say they don't feel any i

earlier on i spoke to eric randolph a.f.p. media's deputy bureau chief who's in teheran he says that while the protests may be using revolutionary slogans they are rooted in economic grievances. well for now it seems relatively calm but i have to say that it's very difficult for us to report from aaron i mean there are very tight restrictions on what the media can do and so ron we know there's a heavy police presence but around is actually not in the focus of much of the oppressed unlike the last major demonstrations in two thousand and nine it's mostly been out in the provinces we had only scattered protests the last few nights but it does you slightly calmer as far as we can talk now as much as people want to see this revolution in terms of some of the slogan certainly have been revolutionary in terms of attacking the as i wrote regime in soho these have been driven by economic grievances bread and butter issues such as high unemployment soaring prices things that have been bubbling away in iranian society for her a long tim

protected and infiltrators will not be allowed to sabotage them through violence and destruction well eric randolph is a paid media is deputy bureau chief and is currently working in tehran he says some media outlets are in problems trying to report on the protests. well for now it seems relatively calm but i have to say that it's very difficult for us to report from aaron i mean there are very tight restrictions on what the media can do in seron we know there's a heavy police presence but around is actually not in the focus of much of the rest unlike the last major demonstrations in two thousand and nine it's mostly been out in the provinces we've had only scattered protests the last few nights but it does you slightly come as far as we can so now as much as people want to see this revolutionary terms and some of the slogan certainly have been revolutionary in terms of attack in the years i mean regime and. these have been driven by economic grievances bread and butter issues such as high unemployment soaring prices things that have been bubbling away in iranian society program read on time and pe

eric randolph is the deputy bureau chief for the news agency france press he joins us via skype from toronto taking the time to speak to us what can you tell us about the situation there in teheran why you are and elsewhere in the country well for now it seems relatively calm but i have to say that it's very difficult for us to report remember that i mean there are very tight restrictions on what the media can do and sharon we know there's a heavy police presence around is actually not been the focus of much of the at rest unlike the last major demonstrations in two thousand and nine it's mostly been out in the provinces we had only just got to protest the last few nights but it does seem to slightly calmer as far as we can talk now. and in terms of the response of police we've had about a c.g. militia and others who else on the streets how would you describe the response of government forces to what is happening sure so far they haven't unleashed the revolutionary guards and the best seats in full force they've been conscious of the fact i think that they don't want to confront to f

well will they for the very latest let's go now to tehran and the correspondent eric randolph eric what can you tell us about the fifth day now of protests. well it does seem slightly common based on the number of years we've seen being shared on social media but that have been. stray shien's other nights we have reports of one policeman being killed in a shooting incident three others interests in one town in central iraq it is going to be hard to their eyes on the internet is being shut down there is something of a media blackout understructure and even if it's on a smaller scale it's. spreading quite fast continuing across the country now how are authorities likely to respond will they use persuasion or will it be force. we're starting to see a bit of a top of the line the revolutionary guards of. seditious elements warning that they have identified people hundreds of arrests are going to fight. from various parts of the authorities so far they haven't confronted the violence as much as the. much of the major but the tide is definitely getting stronger ok what about support in the la

the next thing to show you are the thoughts of afp's tehran correspondent eric randolph.te a bit. it is obviously very difficult for us to get verifiable information from the provinces and even to move around very much in teheran during what the government calls illegal protests. what we can see and from what we're getting on social media and from contacts around the country, the anti—regime violence we have seen in recent days seems to have calmed down. today is about the authorities showing their own show of strength with these quite impressive and huge rallies in various cities around the country. we have been surprised several times in the past week with how things have continued, but it does seem that the wind is up, up the cells of the protesters for now. asa the cells of the protesters for now. as a result i think the security forces have ta ken a as a result i think the security forces have taken a wait—and—see approach to the unrest, did not want to come from people too strongly. there were a large number of arrests, a50 people in tehran alone, but they did not u

government has its job cut out for it if it wants to address the grievances the root of these protests eric randolph a few correspondent in tehran thank you. all right i want to tell you now about some of the other stories making news around the world. in berlin the party leaders of germany's conservatives and center left social democrats have agreed to start exploratory talks on forming a new governing coalition well those talks are slated to start on sunday and the two sides remain far apart on issues to do with refugees military spending education and health care. the prime ministers of poland and hungary have criticized e.u. migration policies and called for a bigger say in the blocks future the two leaders said austria's new conservative government showed that anti immigration positions were gaining support in europe they were checked you quotas for redistributing refugees and say the bloc should focus on preventing migration. a seventeen year old palestinian has been killed in clashes with israeli soldiers in the west bank israel says soldiers opened fire on a protester who appeared to be carr

protests the visit by his foreign minister to teheran planned for later this week has been postponed eric randolph is a.f.p. media's deputy bureau chief and is currently working in teheran he says some media outlets are having problems trying to report on the protests well for now it seems relatively calm but i have to say that it's very difficult for us to report from aaron i mean there are very tight restrictions on what the media can do. around we know there's a heavy police presence but iran is actually not in the focus of much of the rest unlike the last major demonstrations in two thousand and nine it's mostly been out in the provinces we had only scattered protests the last few nights but it does you slightly come as far as we can talk now as much as people want to see this revolution and some of the slogan certainly have been revolutionary in terms of attacking the islamic rebel regime and. these have been driven by economic grievances bread and butter issues such as i am employment soaring prices things that have been bubbling away in iranian society for a long time and people are simply

president he's also postponed a trip it was due to make to teheran this week earlier i spoke to eric randolph a.f.p. media deputy bureau chief who is in teheran he says that while the protests may be using revolutionary slogans they are rooted in economic grievances. well for now it seems relatively calm but i have to say that it's very difficult for us to report from aaron i mean there are very tight restrictions on what the media can do and surround we know there's a heavy police presence but around is actually not in the focus of much of the rest unlike the last major demonstrations in two thousand and nine it's mostly been out in the provinces we've had only scattered protests the last few nights but it does you slightly calmer as far as we can talk now as much as people want to see this in revolutionary terms and some of the slogan certainly have been revolutionary in terms of attacking the islamic rather regimes i hope these have been driven by economic grievances bread and butter issues such as high unemployment soaring prices things that have been bubbling away in iranian society for