to germany's president meets the head of the country's oldest party but it's unclear if frank walter steinmeier can convince the spd's martin schulz. to re entered to a grand coalition with angela merkel christian democrat . we begin in zimbabwe with the. former vice. said mnangagwa are. sworn in as far. tomorrow he will lead a transition government before elections are held neck year. the opposition leader morgan china ryan meanwhile has been. france to a full a and he says he wast consulted on what comes next meaning the transition it could be more off the same take a listen. well i don't know even know when they're with a government of nanational uni is o on the cards. smoke away no greeting. some of us president. and if by now. . people live look discuss what full more. government tool inmates. then it's hizon vf extension of from the guy wasn't. i wasn't going to actress. . i don't want anything. and fix the. i was working better but forces who extent. now robert mugabe has been granted immunity from prosecution the condition is part of the deal the country's former president reached in or

later mrs merkel will meet the german president frank—walter steinmeier who could call a new electionin berlin for us. what went wrong with the negotiations? it was always going to be tricky bringing together these three very different political groupings, mrs merkel‘s conservatives, the green party, with their environmental stance, and the free democrats, the pro—business party. the main sticking points are immigration and refugee policy, but also environmental policies, warmer with a lot of toing and froing over, for example, coal powered energy production in germany. they are very disparate parties. but there was a sense that the leaders of those parties were' somewhat. there was an element of theatre to the proceedings. germany has been very surprised that christian lindner‘s decision to pull out of the talks, particularly as bit by painful bit, compromises were slowly eking out. there was a sense that a bit more talking could have resulted in a coalition government. it wasn't to be, and germany now faces a crisis which is unprecedented in post—war german politics and may represen

berlin the german president has made a new move to resolve the coalition crisis president frank walter steinmeier has invited chance to america will and martin schulz of the social democrats to talks next week on forming a coalition government steinmeyer his job may be made easier by the social democrats change of heart after a late night talks the party's leadership said it would work constructively to find a way out of the crisis the s.p.d. previously ruled out joining a coalition with medical. as p.d. party leader martin schultz is slowly backpedaling at a party had called a press conference he says because germany is in a complicated situation of his party will not refuse to talk about forming a new government. it's keep kind and. there is no fixed course in any specific direction but one thing is clear if talk show that we could consider taking part in a new government constellation. then the party members will vote on this. option in the s.p.d. is facing a crucial test at a meeting with s.p.d. leader martin schulz german president. reportedly pressed the social democrat to reconsider formin

leader martin childes arriving for his meeting with the german president frank walter steinmeier reportedly pressed a social democrat to reconsider forming another grand coalition with conservatives after the meeting however no indications of an outcome. earlier in the day schultz addressed protesting employees of tech giant zima and while there he hinted at what he thought of angular markets conservatives. mrs merkel and mr zero for can address siemens directly if they don't they may have a different opinion to mine. an opinion schultz is afraid will be drowned out in a grand coalition but within the s.p.d. itself there are other voices emerging than the. ones that if we have the right ideas and can really employment then in the grand coalition is the better option for germany. but with schultz as party leader coalition talks seem difficult he'd rejected the idea of the night that parliamentary election results became known rumors that he will step down as party chief have now been rubbished. the other party's couldn't form this to make a coalition and now you ask if martin schultz will re

germany have inaugurated their first joint memorial site presidents and the next ron and frank walter steinmeier travel to the alsace region on the french german border for the opening the vose mountains was the site of heavy conflict or rather heavy fighting during the conflict tens of thousands of soldiers fell on both sides the new memorial and museum is intended to symbolize the reconciliation of the former archenemies and their shared european future. a war monument a moment of remembrance here at the first franco german memorial in a sauce looking out over the graveyard known as man eater mountain german president frank. and french president emmanuel mccall paid homage to the people lost to the atrocities and devastation of world war one see that city to fit we have a shared past one that we must embrace and which at the same time forms the foundation of our common future buzz the ticket you don't have. the egg submission that the two presidents inaugurated documents the shared history. some thirty thousand german and french soldiers died gruesome deaths here in the trenches from nine hund

to germany's president meets the head of the country's oldest party but it's unclear if frank walter steinmeieran convince

coalition talks with representatives of angola merkel's christine union and the german president frank walter steinmeier in berlin on thursday now when it comes to talks on a grand coalition this really represents a one hundred eighty degree turnaround from martin sure if we compare what he said today to what he said last monday or you can have for yourself. be a nice you know we're not entering a grand coalition we said this clearly in loose room after the elections and we still stand by this. guy for shut out the s.p.d. party has confirmed that i should accept the invitation from the german president to take part of the took with the chairman of the c.d.u. c.s.u. passes next thursday. while somebody with far more insight than myself once said that a week's a long time in politics and it's also proved true for chancellor angela merkel a week ago she was well picking up the tatters from failed coalition coalition talks for the jamaica coalition she said that she would prefer elections over the possibility that she was facing a ruling a minority government she's now said that well new elections would rea

a political crisis after on the merkel's failure to form a coalition government president frank walter steinmeier hasn't called for further talks while the german chancellor has said that she would prefer a snap election to forming a minority government earlier. a veteran german diplomat and former ambassador to russia commented on the political climate in the country. this is a situation which we didn't have so far any time in post-war german history we always had a stable government and now we have to look that is the poppies the which have been newly elected to the goodness of federal parliament in september they have somehow to sit down and hammer out a new government and that can only be a coalition government because there is no party which has an absolute majority. with the greens alone she couldn't do it and this really now nst ritually immediately after the election result came out that they were not willing to new in government but they wanted to go into opposition now they're a strong voices within the social democratic party that they should reconsider and that is the option of the gr

germany's president frank walter steinmeier says his country is facing a situation not seen in seventy years merkel's party is at a crossroads after negotiations to form a coalition government failed steinmeyer urged all sides to form a coalition and snorts let down voters who cast their ballots in september's election. gets we are confronted by a situation that's not existed in the history of the german federal republic for seventy years this is a moment when all signs need to take. stock and reconsider their conduct all parties elected to the bundestag have a shared duty to serve their country i expect from all parties and a willingness to make possible the formation of a government in the foreseeable future those who seek democratically given responsibility must ensure a kuwaiti when they hold it in their hands. the german president made his statement following the fairly of coalition talks between angela merkel c.d.u. party and the free democrats the free democrats walked out of the talks because of opposing views on several key issues one stumbling block is the migrant issue in pa

president frank-walter steinmeier has been meeting with already leaders to find a way out of the deadlockanwhile, pressure is growing on the social democrats. they have so far ruled out joining angela merkel's conservatives in a grand coalition. but that position, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. have a look. reporter: the conservative cdu csu block working together with the social democrats and the federal government. will the old team also form the new one? there is already support for a new edition of the grand coalition. the conservatives want to stay in power. >> we need a partner who at the moment still refuses to go along. the spd needs to quit pouting. reporter: so far, spd party leaders have shown no interest in governing. on election night they ruled out joining a grand coalition, something they reiterated after the collapse of the recent coalition negotiations. >> we remain unafraid of new elections. in view of the results of this year's elections on september 24, we will not be available to enter into a grand coalition. reporter: but germany's president is in

later mrs merkel will meet the german president frank—walter steinmeier who could call a new election. after three terms in office angela merkel‘s hopes of staying in power rest on forming a coalition. an election in september left mrs merkel without a majority with some voters angered by germany's liberal policy towards refugees. translation: this is the day, at the very least, about deep thought about how things will proceed in germany. but i wish to tell you this, i, as acting chancellor, will do everything to ensure that this country is led well through this difficult weeks. to form a stable government, she needed to reach an agreement with the free democrats and the greens. it would step down from left to right in germany's political spectrum. —— it would spam span. they said the parties had no common vision for the country. translation: we will not abandon our voters from policy with which we are not convinced. it is better not to govern them to govern badly. fairer ways forward. negotiations could continue if mrs merkel can persuade the free democrats back to the table. without

in the grip of a political crisis after failure to form a coalition government president frank walter steinmeier has called for further talks while the german chancellor has said she would prefer a snap election to forming a minority government earlier ernst your students a veteran german diplomat and former ambassador to russia commented on the political climate in the country. this is a situation which we didn't have so far any time in post-war german history we always had a stable government and now we have to look back to is the parties to which have been newly elected to the wooden a stock of federal parliament in september they have somehow to sit down and hammer out a new government and that can only be a coalition government because there is no party which has an absolute majority. with the greens alone she couldn't do it and this is why it was a triangular negotiation period with the liberals in addition to that but as a matter of fact this has found it so now one has to look out for a new possibility and there are very serious discussions now going on in the is social democratic party

and in the afternoon in berlin, germany‘s president frank—walter steinmeier will holds talk with socialliance with chancellor angela merkel‘s conservatives. the much anticipated ashes first test has started at the gabba in brisbane. england won the toss and chose to bat. with 40,000 fans looking on — joe root‘s side have a lot to prove — england haven‘t won at the gabba since 1986. it was a bad start for the tourists though — australia claimed an early wicket — opening batsman alastair cook went cheaply in the morning session. england have steadied themselves. james vince has reached his half century — the team are now on 101 runs for one wicket. we‘ll have updates as the game progresses. now the rest of today‘s sport briefing. hello. welcome to sport briefing. coming up,jose hello. welcome to sport briefing. coming up, jose mourinho says manchester united could have scored five. a ended up losing by one. what happens when you are on a hat—trick but your wife is about to give birth? we will let you know. arsenal are flying high at the moment after are flying high at the moment after a 2

she faces the choice of leading a minority government or holding fresh elections president frank walter steinmeier has just been a giving a statement here's what he had to say. we're just going to listen in to what the. german president. have to say. good for him as it puts you in the mind of a situation when it's a big dog which we have never had in the history of the federal republic of germany that is he has never been around for almost seventy year old me i would say political parties. and act and of course to form a government is always a process of the baiting purposes and goals with a mandate to form a government is the highest mandate voters give to parties in a democracy. and that mandate remains valid on twenty fourth of september. parties applied. for the role of taking responsibility for germany. a responsibility which cannot be returned easily to voters following the provisions of the constitution this responsibility goes far beyond the individual interests and applies. particularly not only to the voters of your own party but. you know this is a moment for all participating actors to

martin schulz will discuss his plan with president frank-walter steinmeier later today.fficial said he won't offer to help form another grand coalition. for more, our governor -- our reporter joins us. when will we get more clarity? from berlin, germans believe don't like chaos. we have like -- from berlin, germans don't like chaos. we have chaos right now. we will have word on which solution will be preferred, which is either a minority or a grand coalition again or new elections. it is all open. francine: would angela merkel be willing to lead a minority government, even though she has ruled it out? arne: i have talked to people yesterday from the cdu and there are people saying she want lead a minority government. she is very critical of it. have single law that would had to be passed, she would have to look for a majority, and this is not what she wants to do. is this government crisis the beginning of the end for the merkel era? arne: there are many commentators here who say that. i would argue since there is really nobody inside right now also within her own party

the german president frank—walter steinmeier is to hold crisis talks with chancellor angela merkel, afterlled out of talks late last night, blaming irreconcilable differences with mrs merkel‘s christian democrats and the other party in the talks, the greens. talks have been going on for eight weeks following september's general election. police say there were no injuries to suggest "any other person was involved" in the death of the missing teenager gaia pope. the 19—year—old's body was found on saturday in a field near swanage, 11 days after she was last seen. dorset police are treating her death as "unexplained" pending toxicology results. the convicted cult leader charles manson — who orchestrated a series of notorious murders in the 19605 — has died in prison in california at the age of 83. in 1969, members of his group killed seven people including the actress sharon tate, wife of the film director, roman polanski. manson himself was initially sentenced to death, before the penalty was abolished in california. women are being advised to sleep on their side in the last three months of

saiddp secretary-general the party is ready to start the president, frank-walter steinmeier, signs uponhiphe last night in berlin. what is the outcome here. what do you expect to happen? >> we don't have an outcome yet. we have a sdp that is talking to the cdu, but there are two things that need to happen if an alliance is possible. get some support, some stable support for a minority cdu government. guy: sorry, i interrupted you. though, firstre, ghoug of all, the spb leadership needs to agree to it. secondly, they have to agree on a policy basis between the sdp and the cdu. and the sdp got so much under the previous grand coalition. they already got a lower minimum wage and lower pension age. i don't know what else they could ask for. guy: let's take a step back. if this doesn't happen, who wins, if there were to be more elections. b.'s go to option what is the outcome there? >> for the moment, i think it is still quite a probable option. it's unclear who is gaining int he polls. there was one much discussed poll where it was the greens and sdp who made gains in the polls. that is int

, frank-walter steinmeier, in this case, is in charge. he's prodding most parties into a coalition. he will meet with the sbp to force his party into a coalition, or at least coalition talks with merkel. it's very difficult and indeed come unprecedented. it has never come to new elections in germany post-war. what steinmeier has to do if he cannot form a new coalition is to name a temporary chancellor and allow parliament to vote. parliament then has to vote three times. if they can't come up with a new chancellor in government, then they go to new elections. this would take some time and indeed, some people are saying it would not be until april that we have new elections here. manus: thank you very much, matt miller in berlin. we will see you a little bit later. let's welcome our guest host for the next hour. bob, good to see you. there's a lovely line in the story we have written about the angela merkel being the queen of battles. it would appear that she will roll the dice. what is the risk here for europe? bob: um, i think the risk is you end up with indecision over the future

the president frank—walter steinmeier said the country was now facing an unprecedented situation.ew karnitschnig is chief europe correspondent at politico. the real problem is that the mathematics does not add up, the smaller parties, the greens and the fdp are no longer available in the constellation that angela merkel wanted and the social democrats, the other mainstream party in germany, say they do not want to re—enter a grand coalition which is what you have had in germany for the past four years. we probably will not have a government in germany until the spring of next year from the looks of it. i think she is going to have to think hard about whether she wants to push for new elections, because she may also end up having a somewhat worse result this time around than she did last time and she was already, you know, she had already been falling in the polls. we probably will not have a government in germany until the spring of next year from the looks of it. weeks of uncertainty, possibly months, nothing that the germans hate more than uncertainty. it is a country which is f