are losing patience the numbers are even worse for her potential coalition partners the social democrats germany center left party is looking at its lowest approval ratings ever. germany's social democrats need to regroup they're still the second largest party in parliament but their standing has been flagging since the party's poor election results last september the latest polls suggest if people voted now chancellor angela merkel's conservatives would score thirty three percent of the vote far ahead of the s.p.d. which would get only eighteen percent and that's just four points ahead of the far right alternative for germany party which would score fourteen percent the business

germany social democrats are expected to appoint under a nod as their first ever female leader following the resignation of former party leader cantor to boston shields this comes amidst a deep party infighting in turmoil over a new coalition deal but i'm going to conservatives. for over one hundred fifty years the social democrats have been led by men among them former chancellor but aren't now germany's oldest political party could finally get it but never female leader. is set to hand over the leadership of the party and they are not the historic changing of the guard. we thought about what would be best in this situation and i also had to consider whether i can and want to fulfill this task after these processes of deliberation we both decided that this is the best course of action you can open this is the best of. as leader of the social democrat parliamentary group now list was valued for her ability to bring people together and motivate them she also has a reputation for being outspoken some say it was her speech at the social democratic party conference that secures the votes nee

this is news live from berlin and on the blog and on employee germany social democrats ousted their leader marching schultz just days after you negotiated their return to coalition government what's more he will lose out on the post of foreign minister we will ask our correspondent why now and is the planned coalition in trouble. also coming up south korea officially kicks off the twenty eighth seed winter olympics fireworks light up the sky over host city two young china has almost three thousand athletes get in on the party there in south korea for two weeks of intense competition and the saloon picks brings the first ever visit to south korea by a member of the north swilling dynasty kim jong un sr what's behind her diplomatic trip across the border. plus so long farewell i'll either say goodbye to those words some brits just refused to say to europe the kind of new campaign convinced the u.k. spreads its weary public to back in a second referendum. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program thanks for joining us the long road to germany's new government has taken another twist today that i

keith this is due to all the news coming to you live from birmingham unloved and unemployed germany's social democrats oust their leader martin sure just deal's off to you to go see to their return to coalition government what's more he loses out on the post of foreign minister and ask our political correspondent why now also coming up south korea officially kicks off the two thousand and eighteen winter olympics fireworks filled the sky over the host city pyong chung but they do not bring cheer for everyone a final ruling bars dozens of russian athletes from the competition. and this olympics brings the first ever visit to south korea by a member of the north's ruling dentistry kim jong un's sister what's behind a diplomatic trip across the border. you. own a warm welcome to you i'm under thought she the leader of germany's social democrats martin schultz says he'll no longer seek the post of foreign minister in a future grand coalition government or any other post in the new cabinet on wednesday schultz a spot he struck a deal with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives should give up the s.p.v. l

this is deja news coming to you live from berlin unloved and unemployed germany's social democrats oust their leader martin schultz just days after you negotiated their return to coalition government what's more he lose out on the post of foreign minister i ask our correspondent why now. also coming up south korea officially kicks off the two thousand and eighteen winter olympics fireworks filled the sky over the host city kyung chung but they do not bring good cheer to everyone a final ruling baal's dozens of russian athletes from the competition. this olympics brings the first ever visit to south korea by a member of north ruling dinnerstein kim jong own sister what's behind a diplomatic trip across the border. last so long farewell readers in goodbye the words some brits just refused to say can a new campaign convincing you kids gregg's it be a republic to back a second referendum on europe. hello and welcome i'm under that chiba the leader of germany social democrats martin show says he really no longer seek the post of foreign minister in a future grand coalition government or any

news live from berlin from hero to zero in less than a week the social democrats here in germany are ousting their leader martin schulz just days after she negotiated there were turned to a coalition government what's more chill lose out on the post afford minister. also coming up south korea officially kicks off the two thousand and eighteen winter olympics fireworks fill the sky over the host city pyong chang but not everyone is in the mood to celebrate a final ruling bars dozens of russian athletes from the competition. this olympics brings a first ever visit to south korea by a member of the north's ruling dynasty kim jong il and sister what is behind her diplomatic trip across the border. and skiers are falling hard for these slopes the all time mountains in northwest china are off the beaten track but tourists are flocking here now to the land where some say skiing may have been. time sumi so much going to thank you for joining us the leader of the germany's the social democrats martin chill says he will no longer seek the post of foreign minister in a future of grand coalition

news live from our lead on the blog and unemployed germany social democrats ousted their leader marching shultz and just days after he negotiated their return to coalition government what's more he will lose out on the post of foreign minister we will ask our correspondent why now and is the plan coalition.

country would actually supported the numbers are even worse for her potential partners the social democrats germany sense of left party is looking at its lowest ever approval ratings. germany social democrats need to regroup there's still the second largest party in parliament but their standing has been flagging since the party's poor election results last september the latest polls suggest if people voted now chancellor angela merkel's conservatives would score thirty three percent of the vote far ahead of the s.p.d. which would get only eighteen percent. and that's just four points ahead of the far right alternative for germany party which would score fourteen percent the business friendly f.t.p. would score ten percent the greens and the left party eleven percent each the center left s.p.d. recently agreed to formal talks with chancellor merkel's conservatives with the aim of forming another grand coalition public opinion on the prospect is mixed and to do this means a standstill nothing will get done it's a lame compromise thing for i think it's crucial for germany that the two parties unite s

germany's social democratic leader martin resigns after having recently agreed to form a so-called grand coalition with chancellor angela merkel. and to another resignation in europe the foreign minister of the netherlands quits after admitting he lied about a meeting with vladimir putin and the russian leaders intentions to forge a greater russia. in an exclusive interview with r t the head of the court of arbitration for sports the friends of the olympic committee's decision to exclude russian athletes which the court itself had already declared cleared of doping allegations. the fact that the unable to show the guilt of an athlete's doesn't mean that he has nothing to do over the case but is totally innocent so. are broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is r.t. international and sean thomas certainly glad to have you with us. and germany's social democratic party leader martin scholtz has announced his resignation with immediate a fact his decision comes after he lost out in the german election to chancellor angela merkel and then faced criticism over agreeing to a

pose an old and own employees germany's social democrat these are marching shows abandons plans to take on a top ministerial post just days after a new goldstein's as his party has returned to government after the party's base acknowledged they could refuse to ratify it his coalition deal. i'm on a. north korean leader kim jong un has advice his south korean president in to pyongyang it would be first time of korean leaders meeting in more than a decade south korea saves kim jong un's sister kim old joe to live at the invitation of the presidential palace and sold she's visiting the site as part of a delegation attending the winter olympics president spokesman said the south korean leader had responded to the advice calling for both sides to build the conditions needed as for the business. oh more on this now we're going to cross over to our correspondent jason strawberry who is near the site thanks thing don noon and south korea how significant is this invitation by the north korean leader kim jong un are we going to have peace by the end of the olympic games. that would be very optimi

and in germany social democrats an absolute turmoil the resignation of the party's leader triggers uncertainty over a successor shortly ahead of a crucial vote on a new coalition deal with the conservatives who can revive this fractured party. plus the german journalist who spent the last year in a turkish prison turk is holding on terrorism charges but a year on there has been no indictment and no trial we'll take a look at how his case continues to affect relations between ankara and. i'm brian thomas' a warm welcome to the show israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is future is very much in doubt this morning police say there isn't enough evidence for him to be charged with bribery fraud and breach of trust israel's attorney general must now examine the police recommendation and decide whether to file charges in a live t.v. address netanyahu denied any wrongdoing. a little bit in my years as prime minister i have been subject to at least fifteen inquiries and investigations with the aim of toppling me from power to motion to those attempts resulted in nothing and this time too they will

hundred in germany the social democrats say they need to govern with the conservatives for the good of the country but that's a mistake because europe needs a common discourse we need to say we will no longer accept the status quo a europe that pleases the rich and crushes the poor. maybe chala himself grew up in a poor family but he worked hard in school and came here every evening to can't help with his homework so he was able to study law at seventeen he joined france's socialist party its been in power and leader for decades and is renovating the area maybe child grew up in though even that he sense well levelled the playing field for its residents. as a teenager it became clear how important this association was to me because no one could help me at home for kids whose parents are teachers doctors or lawyers it's a different story and that's simply not fair for the law. that if we get it he went into politics and moved to paris to work as an assistant for a socialist m.p. but his political aspirations were question. during the french parliamentary election of twenty seventeen the

germany social democrats start their make or break vote on whether to join chance on good marriage and a nother grand coalition well they're in danger of being overtaken by a party on the far right. as a whore king felix said as he usually hates film festivals but not the billion dollars where he's starring in a gus van sant movie don't worry you won't get far on foot stick around for all the buzz from our correspondent down at the red carpet. at the rock thanks for your company everyone. the war in syria is becoming even more fraught now escalating on two fronts reports just coming in suggest syrian government militias have entered the kurdish held northern enclave of our freen all that would likely put them in conflict with turkey which is preparing to besiege efraim in order to drive out kurdish fighters meanwhile the rebel held enclave of eastern ghouta is coming under heavy bombardment by syrian government forces monitors say as many as two hundred people have been killed. an air raid on. a suburb of the syrian capital damascus. scores of people have been killed according to the l

also coming up germany's social democrats start their make or break vote on whether to join chancellor merkel and another ground coalition but they're in danger of being overtaken by a party on the far right. and joaquin phoenix says that he usually hates film festivals but not to berlin though and where he is starring in the film don't worry he won't get far on books stick around for all the buzz from our correspondents down on the red carpet. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program thanks for joining us we begin in syria where government backed troops have entered a free and a kurdish enclave in the north of the country raising the specter of deadly confrontation with turkey columns of fighters were seen moving into the city. as turkey prepared to lay siege in the coming days turkey has now confirmed reports that its military shelled the area immediately in response the turkish president saying that those fighters have now been pushed back the region is controlled by kurdish forces turkey considers them terrorists. and for more let's bring in middle east analyst marcus climb from the

and historic change at the helm of germany's social democrats hundred dollars set to become the first woman to lead the country's largest center left party but this party is deeply divided especially over its coalition deal with the americans conservatives will get expert analysis. i brought in thomas great to have you with us the ukrainian opposition leader mikhail saakashvili has called on the e.u. and especially germany to support his anticorruption campaign against the government in kiev now this after saakashvili was the tamed by heavily armed men in kiev and deported to poland ukraine says he'd been staying in the country illegally saakashvili has described the move as a kidnapping. this surveillance footage reportedly shows the moment amassed men stormed a kiev restaurant to detain one of the government's harshest critics their target mikhail saakashvili the former president of georgia the ukrainian government insists he's trying to stage a russian sponsored coup here that's actually says president poroshenko should resign for failing to fight corruption his attorney blasted ki

stability for workers a real core issue for the said social democrats the second area is also of core importance for the social democrats it's health germany has a two tier health system in which some people are insured by private insurers and others by public insurers public insurers pay lower doctors fees meaning publicly insured patients also face off into a slower longer delays and sometimes inferior treatment the s.p.d. what's that system of what they call to class medicine to and and they're really pushing for visible gains in that area as well so those are the two areas that it has never taken this long to put a government together in in germany what about the patients of the public are they losing it. to some degree they are although one must say it's not the fault of the two parties that are negotiating here that it's taken so long in fact for these nearly five months of limbo much of it was spent attempting to reach agreement between three of germany's smaller parties and the conservatives and they didn't succeed these parties have actually achieved a pretty astonishing amount in eleven days nonetheless the general public is sayi

and the leadership of germany's social democrat party start a fresh push to persuade members to vote for the coalition deal the ongoing battles conservatives failure could meet a new connection for many prospects to die to come to a place. to the program for south africa's president is hiding his position despite an ultimatum from his party that he leave today or face a no confidence vote in parliament speaking on state television jacob zuma described the n.c.s. moves against him as unfair and said their arguments are wrong. president zuma remains defiant in a live television interview he responded to his party's calls to resign i need to be friendly. on what i have done unfortunately. no one has been able to provide what you say to that have done so i found it very strange that i'm going to be told by my organization knew now must go. because. we now have to know president who must come in. not to follow in any policy of the in c. there is nothing more that makes. early is in his party the african national congress agreed to remove him his refusal sets the stage for a no confidence

conservators kershaw for a coalition deal that could return them to power that's alongside germany's social democrats led by martin schulz expectations are rising here in berlin that eleven days of talks could be almost over also coming up power struggle in paradise tourist hot spot them all these faces a political craziness after the country's president imposes a state of emergency law now the opposition wants india to intervene and an exclusive report from kenya where victims of alleged police brutality are willing there will be more to do that we do see here is for one officer willing to speak out. thanks very much for your company everyone here in germany under america's conservatives and the center left social democrats are still working on forming a government and they're still far apart on several key issues leaders on both sides are pushing hard for an agreement as deadline after deadline passes. it's decision day in berlin again conservatives and social democrats arriving for day eleven of coalition talks and the day is not going to be easy health employment and foreign policy are still thre

the conservatives and they lost part of their their profile if you will the social democrats were seen as the home of germany's working class and that's something that's if we look at regional elections for example they have certainly lost to a certain extent so the key element when we try to understand the social democrats is precisely that they seem to have lost their profile they seem to have lost that key word of the name social according to many people who who look at the party very closely. political correspondent thomas fair reporting for us thank you thomas. to the winter olympics now were an ice hockey player has failed a doping test in chiang slovenia and yeah glitch tested positive for the prohibited substance and overall used to treat asthma and bronchitis now and in competition task who has been accept who has accepted the charge has been suspended from competing in the remainder of the games and will leave the olympic village within twenty four hours. reminder now of our top stories at this hour the united nations as war in syrian government forces to stop their assault on the rebel held enclave

terry but it's only one poll out of many that are conducted here in germany there are other recent polls that still put the social democrats in second place behind the conservatives but what is at least for many people alarming here is the actual trained situation that the traditional parties here in germany face not only the social democrats but also the concern conservatives they have been losing support and at the same time you see the rise of the act immigrant so these are two elements that have to be analyzed and understood together well there are two parts the story of course there's the fall of the s.p.d. but there's also the rise of the d. tell us about that how do you kill for the d's success well let's not forget that the f.t. enter the german parliament for the first time in september they became germany's the most important political force in the german parliament and they tap essentially into people's fears and we're talking here about immigration we're talking here also about this suspicions regarding be establishment the established political parties and that's one of the reasons why they have been able to t

an expert about the latest developments in syria's civil will also show poll results for germany's social democrats their numbers have been plummeting ever since september selection now they've been overtaken by the fall right alternative for germany for the first.

close only and on employees germany social democrat leader martin shows abandons johnson take on a top ministerial post just days after a new goes easy his party's return to governments to the party's base signals they could refuse to fight his coalition deal. on a welcome north korean leader kim jong un has advice that south korean president and to pyongyang that this would be the first meeting of korean leaders in more than a decade south korea says' kim jong un's sister can deliver the invitation at the presidential palace in seoul she's visiting the south as part of a delegation attending the winter olympics president moon spokesman said the south korean leader had responded to the advice calling from both sides to builds the conditions needed for the business. a home or in this town when it crossed over to our correspondent jason strawberry who was near the site of the olympic thing got none in south korea how significant is this invitation by the north korean leader kim jong un are we going to have peace by the end of the olympic games. that would be very optimistic but it certai

in germany of the leader of the country social democrats has been forced into a hue. nearly humiliating climbdown martin schultz has stepped down and renounced a role in the coalition governments that he helped forge that's after party members made it clear that they could reject the s.p.d. is agreement to enter government if schultz insisted on becoming foreign minister he led the party to a record low vote share in september's elections before reluctantly brokering a coalition deal with angela merkel's conservatives. in just three days martin schultz has managed to hit both a political high point and to low point on wednesday after a long and exhausting wrangling his pride announcement we have a coalition agreement in a marathon session of talks lasting more than twenty four hours the two parties had fought argued yelled at each other and finally agreed. because of i can see that we had a strong influence on this agreement and we are grateful that in the end we achieved some compromises that were hard for the conservative side to accept. shultz negotiated well for t

conservatives are pushing for a coalition deal that could keep them in power alongside germany's social democrats led by martin schultz after eleven days of negotiations could be the one also coming up an earthquake in taiwan kills at least two people and injures many more we'll get the latest on the rescue operation that's currently underway and there was a david versus goliath clash of the german cup with byron munich facing off against third division potter born could the underdogs sneak an upset result. it's good to have you with the will they won't they relationship at the heart of germany's political deadlock appears to be edging towards consummation. conservatives are thrashing out the last details of a coalition deal with the social democrats led by martin shoals it's a marriage four months in the making since voters left the chancellor at the altar waiting on a new partner and who are fourth term. at c.d.u. party headquarters in berlin reporters wait for information on the progress of talks to form a grand coalition one hundred thirty four days after germany's general election the countr

state media say turkish forces are shelling the prune goldman fighter is also coming up germany's a social democrat start their make or break vote on whether it's a joint chance og americal and a nother grand coalition but they're in danger of being overtaken by a party on the far right. plus destroying the weapons of the so-called islamic state in the philippines but some believe president all that he could do thursday is declaring victory too soon we have a special report. and more medals up for grabs at the winter olympics are france's most dumb forgotten takes his third gold of the games in the willing finish to the mixed by a blonde reeling over a new that and a whole lot more from day eleven and john shaq. and a lot of from the bruin international film festival we just saw the crowd go wild for joaquin phoenix we'll tell you all about it coming up. thank you very much for your company everyone we start our broadcast in syria where government backed troops have entered. a kurdish enclave in the north of the country raising the specter of a deadly confrontation with turkey columns of fighters w

martin shultz the leader of germany social democrats and former chancellor candidate has officially stepped down schultz has nominated andrea knowledge as his successor the move comes amid widespread disenchantment with shelters leadership within s.p.d. ranks party members are currently preparing to vote on a deal with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives to form another round coalition. martin short sleeves empty handed just a week ago it looked like he would become foreign minister and new government now he's given up that ambition as well as the s.p.d. leadership. the only people to have resigned from my s.p.d. post and from the government because i want to help and the debate about personalities in the party. members can focus on the coalition agreement. s.p.d. members will vote on the coalition deal between the social democrats and conservatives early next month it's fear that grassroots members could reject it out of frustration with debates about ministerial posts. many members believe could now rejuvenate the party the s.p.d. executive has endorsed charles schultz a successor. t

conservatives push for a coalition deal that could return them to power after the long side of germany's social democrat led by martin schulz expectations are rising here in berlin that eleven days of talks could be almost over also coming up an exclusive report from kenya where a victims of alleged police brutality are filling nairobi's more to be news hears from one officer willing to speak out.

the social democrats will have control of some of the most important ministers the deal still has to be approved by that party's francophile march and shows will be standing down as chairman of germany's social democrats will hand over to parliamentary party leader and not list if the s.p.d. confirms her as its leader should become the first woman to head germany's oldest political party let's take a look at her career. she's aiming to be the first female party leader of the s.p.d. the first in one hundred fifty three years she has a reputation for being outspoken some say it was her speech at the social democrats party conference that secured the votes needed for starting coalition talks with again america's conservative bloc. people we will not give up our s.p.d. party believes if we decide to govern in a coalition. it's inside me and i'm not so vague here andrea nala started out more than twenty years ago within the s.p.d. youth organisation a young socialists she became their leader in one thousand nine hundred five back then she was a student of political science and told georgia beller in one of her first interviews that she didn't plan a political career. sharpen it for you it'

germany's social democrats trying to rally their rank and file ahead of a party vote that will determine the country's next government. and a huge shock at the winter olympics as a snowboarder takes gold in skiing that and more of the best action from date coming up. welcome to the program i'm michel henery thanks for joining us we begin with the munich security conference taking place at a time when alliances that kept the world stable for decades are now under strain for its part germany is aren't sure about the direction that the united states is taking in syria the u.s. and turkey support opposing sides and in europe there is brics it and the rise of right wing populism. less armament fuel wars protesters want to make their message loud and clear to world leaders attending the munich security conference nolen its second day the conference is taking place under tight security a mirror image of global uncertainty. for us european said must be clear that in order to maintain our values our prosperity and our security in the world of tomorrow we have to stand united. and appeal against n

germany social democrats try to rally their rank and file head of a party that will determine the country's next government. french superstar is about to pair lights up the red carpet and she plays a high class prostitute in the french drama push thoughts wrote to me here in the berlin only. look at our latest from our reporter. welcome to the program i'm michelle henery thanks for joining us we begin with the munich security conference taking place at a time when alliances that kept the world stable for decades are now under strain for its part germany is unsure about the direction the united states is taking in syria the u.s. and turkey support opposing sides and in europe there's bragg's it and the rise of right wing populism. less armament fuel wars protesters want to make their message loud and clear to world leaders attending the munich security conference nolen its second day the conference is taking place under tight security a mirror image of global uncertainty. for us europeans it must be clear that in order to maintain our values our prosperity and our security in the world of to

in germany martine scholtz has officially step down with immediate effect as leader of germany's social democrats schultz nominated andre analysis as his successor the move comes amid widespread disenchantment with schultz's leadership within the ranks of the s.p.v. party members are gearing up to vote on a deal with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives to form another groundcover ration senior s.p. two members say that they will back as nomination of knowledges as leader. so what does this mean for the party what does this mean for the country let's bring in political correspondent thomas sparrow who is standing by outside of s.p.d. headquarters here in berlin welcome to you thomas so now under a analysis we've just heard is expected to be elected as party leader in april but what happens in the meantime thomas because this is a really critical moment for the party as it gets ready to vote on a new coalition deal which is very critical for germany well in the meantime the party will be led on an interim basis by all off shows one of the s.p.d. deputies in the current mayor of. this decision

the leaders of germany social democratic party are set to begin a campaign to win their party's backing for a coalition deal reached earlier this week with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives. and they have not less hope to convince nearly half a million party members to vote in favor of the agreement polls suggest a narrow majority will do so clearing the final hurdle for germany to form a new government but opposition to the deal has been spearheaded by members of the social democrats view swaying there calling it a betrayal of the party's values. was talked about a close enough she's the reasonable chair of the young socialists here in berlin as the youth wing of the s.p.d. party thanks for being with us today you we've talked just a couple of weeks ago about this i know you're a strong opponent of the grand coalition the party's future the future of this grand coalition is in your hands essentially because you get to vote on it all of the members of the s.p.d. get to vote on it how are you going to vote i'm going to vote against the credits and contract that's for sure because

you just mentioned that how concerned are you that the social democrats in germany will become politically irrelevant like the socialists in press that won't happen. i'm quite sure about that because i think people in here know that we need a strong social democracy even if they don't vote for it right now because we have to have a wrong program but if we have a program for the people who right now vote or who are going out of policy. not voting anymore if we regained these voters i think we can we gain power ten you all the best to you daniel right sick of the s.p.d. a brand new s.p.d. party member thanks for talking with us. well let's check out what's happening at the berlin film festival is going on right now yesterday saw a screening of gus van sant latest film don't worry you won't get far on foot it's based on the true story of a cartoonist battling disability and alcoholism it was a highly anticipated film at the belly knowledge but the excitement wasn't universal for what came phoenix and press conferences apparently not so good makes his media performance wasn't quite up to his a

in syria's civil war also the shock result as the far right old turn it took for germany overtakes the social democrats for the first time in a national opinion poll that says the s.p.d. launch a make or break vote and for another coalition government get analysis from our political correspondent. and by munich hit the champions league trail tonight the german giants have a tricky home game against. turkey. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us. the united nations says the syrian government is targeting civilians in the rebel held enclave of eastern and that it must stop syrian observatory for human rights says that government air raids on eastern go to close to the syrian capital damascus killed at least one hundred people on monday around four hundred seventy were injured suburb has been under siege by regime forces for more than four years. this as syrian media report that militias loyal to the syrian government will soon be entering the northern region of freen to help kurdish militias there repel turkey turkish troops. an entire town in mourning this is become a familiar sight in a free