i can continue my work for lower saxony. i can continue to serve lower saxony. together with my team, together with my delegates. >> it is an election that could seal the fate of the deputy chancellor i of his free democrats fail to into the legislature, as polls suggest -- if his free democrats failed to enter the legislature, as polls suggest. he could be history. peer steinbrueck is looking for a boost to his campaign. latest poll numbers do not make for pleasant reading. again, angela merkel's conservatives, 42%, the highest level in 17 years. steinbrueck also quashed rumors that he could be replaced as the spd candidate for chancellor i of lower saxony's election does not go their way. >> my opinion poll results have been much better. we got to get back. we have enough time, and i'm going for it, and i will make it. their choice on sunday.ny make- the result could have far reaching consequences. >> all right, well, the wait is finally over for fans of german soccer. the bundesliga swings back into action after a winter break. >> but the season is really all

i can continue my work for lower saxony. i can continue to serve lower saxony. together with my team, together with my delegates. >> it is an election that could seal the fate of the deputy chancellor i of his free democrats fail to into the legislature, as polls suggest -- if his free democrats failed to enter the legislature, as polls suggest. he could be history. peer steinbrueck is looking for a boost to his campaign. latest poll numbers do not make for pleasant reading. again, angela merkel's conservatives, 42%, the highest level in 17 years. steinbrueck also quashed rumors that he could be replaced as the spd candidate for chancellor i of lower saxony's election does not go their way. >> my opinion poll results have been much better. we got to get back. we have enough time, and i'm going for it, and i will make it. their choice on sunday.ny make- the result could have far reaching consequences. >> all right, well, the wait is finally over for fans of german soccer. the bundesliga swings back into action after a winter break. >> but the season is really all

the cdu is edged out of power in lower saxony.uropean markets edge towards their lowest in two years. and republicans attempt to break the budget stalemate in congress. investors pulling back in japan as the boj begins its two-day meeting. it's wooik widely expected to back a new 2% inflation target. >>> and heavy snow bringing travel chaos across northern europe. hundreds of flights canceled in the uk, france and is germany with disruption s expected to continue for days. >>> any minute now, we're expecting the trends in lending report from the bank of england. let's get a quick check ow how we're trading. adding gains across the board let by the xetra dax which we haven't seen in some time. the ibex doing its part up about a third, as well. the ftse adding about .2r5%. and swiss luxury giant richmont in the news. it has missed analyst estimates with a 5% rise in quarterly sales. it's cautious on its outlook for 2013. previous buoyant asian pacific region reported no growth in the quarter. that's been plenty to spook investors. a

there will be a cliffhanger of an election in lower saxony, for david mcalister and angela merkel. >>> and the united kingdom, heavy snow has caused widespread power disruption with more than 4000 flights grounded at heathrow. there were similar disruptions in france. winter conditions have prompted severe weather warnings. opel road accidents have happened, including a bus crash. >>> the u.s. president has begun three days of celebrations for his inauguration. barack obama will be sworn in for a second term in a private ceremony sunday, but the official public event take place monday. >> thank you. >> when he publicly takes the oath of office for the second time, barack obama will already be officially 24 hours into a second term. under the u.s. constitution, the president must take office at noon on january 20. when that falls on a sunday, the ceremony normally comes 24 hours after the official swearing-in. >> these are public holidays and ceremonial functions. the public celebration is usually delayed about a day. it is part of our religious condition. >> barack obama will take the

great state premiere so, do all you can do to ensure david can say i can continue to serve lower saxony together with my team. together with my delegates, thank you. >> polls say it's still an open race. a lot hinges on whether the junior partner can meet the 5% hurdle it needs to stay in parliament. >> sports news now. we begin with the lance armstrong confession, part two. the second sequence of his interview with u.s. talk show host oprah winfrey, the disgraced cyclist said yes, he is guilty of cheating but he doesn't want to be banned. >> he spoke about the moment he decided to come clean. >> when this all started, i saw my son defending me and saying, that's not true. what you're saying about my dad is not true. it will. goes this question of, why now? and he can't -- that's when i knew i had to tell him. >> in the first half of the interview armstrong admitted to using a range of performance-enhancing drugs. part two he expressed remorse for his actions and spoke of their financial toll. he said the loss of sponsors would cost him $75 million and called his life ban from sports a

election later the here they've been defeated in a key regional vote losing by one seat in lower saxony this is appointing result potentially puts merkel in a vulnerable position ahead of september's general election in which she seeks to win a third term in office r.t. peter oliver now reports on the fragile support for the german leader both at home and abroad. it's the thirteenth setback in local elections that angular merkel's christian democrat party and their coalition partners the free democrats have suffered it's also more importantly the fifty the fifty states government which they've lost to the social democrats since two thousand and nine this vote in lower saxony which is the fourth most populous state in germany it's seen very much as a bellwether of opinion and it was incredibly tight well it was by one seat and what it does mean though even by the smallest of margins the social democrats well they smell blood heading into the general election their candidate for the chancellorship steinbach said this well this shows that a change of government and power is possible piece

government which they've lost to the social democrats since two thousand and nine this vote in lower saxony which is the fourth most populous state in germany it's also spread over a huge area about the size of the netherlands from the border with the netherlands over to the old east german border now it seemed very much a bellwether of opinion and it was incredibly tight setting us up perhaps for an incredibly tight general election towards the end of this she had put down just how close it was the s.d.p. and they green partners the green party partners of upon picked up forty six point three percent of the vote just ahead of the c.d.u. and the democrats with forty five point nine percent of the vote if you think that's come down to being very very close indeed well it was by one seat and what it does mean though even by the smallest of margins the social democrats well they smelled blood heading into the general election their candidate for the chancellorship steinbrück said that well this shows that a change of government and power is possible here now the s.t.p. if they had a few proble

government which they've lost to the social democrats since two thousand and nine this vote in lower saxony which is the fourth most populous state in germany it's seen very much as a bellwether of opinion and it was incredibly tight well it was by one seat and what it does mean though even by the smallest of margins the social democrats well they smell blood heading into the general election their candidate for the chancellorship steinbrück said this well this shows that a change of government and power is possible this year what's interesting when you look at this particular particular local election is the eurozone debt crisis really didn't come into it this was a local election where people were voting on local issues now it's in that area where mrs merkel is starting to show some weaknesses as it were and her christian democratic party and their coalition partners but she still has this personal appeal as the leader because of what she's done for the eurozone crisis but of course that isn't mirrored when you look around the rest of europe particularly in countries like greece where we'

>> if they are ejected from the state parliament in lower saxony in the elections there, it will certainly mean that philip will be replaced as party chairman and it will raise serious doubts at the national level. if the party does not make the 5% threshold needed to get in the bundestag in the elections, we do not know exactly when the date will be, but it will amount to a political sea change in germany. they will lose the preferred partner and will almost certainly be forced into a coalition with the social democrats to stay governing. it would transform german politics and they have been in power since 1949. >> thank you for the insight. to brazil now where torrential rain has been drenching the state of rio de janeiro. >> it has triggered heavy flooding in the region killing one man leaving hundreds homeless. what's the hardest hit is the mountainous region north of the city. >> what was once a street is now a raging torrent. flash floods causing misery 4000 in the north of the state of rio de janeiro. within minutes, the downpour triggering massive mudslides a sweeping away entire h

the regional german elections of lower saxony is busy choosing their parliament and the result is looking extremely close. it is being seen as a dress rehearsal for several elections in september and a verdict on chancellor angela merkel herself. david mcalester represents her party and is close to her. the poll suggests is neck-and- neck with the opposition social democrats and the green party. with go live now to hand over. what is the latest you are hearing there? >> the latest we are hearing is that it's going to be a long night. we will have to wait for the regional polling stations to be counted. the parties are really neck-and- neck and it could be angela merkel's christian democratic union or it could be the greens and social democrats. this is a bellwether region. this has farmers, big industry, europe's biggest automaker, volkswagen is located here. the religious split is catholic and protestant. what happens here is will what happened across the country generally speaking. that is why angela merkel made seven campaign stops here along with david mcallister, the christian democr

it has a lot to do with the election victory in lower saxony. it was part -- in part because they have strong elysian partners. -- coalition partners. that is a bit of a plus -- strategic fuss. the man they want to send into the ring to challenge angela merkel, peer steinbrueck, he has had his back against the wall not too long ago because of the indiscreet comments he made, also because of his extracurricular activities on the lecturing circuit, earning hundreds of thousands of euros. it was very controversial. he looks like a more -- more formidable challenger. >> what will the campaign issues be? >> social justice, minimum wage. they are talking about greater tax equity, a campaign against tax havens and tax evasion'ns, a clawing back against the prices we have seen rising, and more measures to rein in the financial sector. will it be a winning formula? we will have to see what the voters say. >> one of the world's richest man and a philanthropist, bill gates was -- bill gates, was there. what did he have to say? , he pointed out that germany

. >> with an important state election coming up this weekend in lower saxony, the campaign rhetoric is getting hotter. reporting on the condition of germany's economy, the economics minister was keen to take as much credit as possible for record employment numbers, rising income, and falling debt. >> it is no accident that our economy is in good shape. it is no accident that new jobs are being created every day. they were created by the efforts of the german people, but they were also created by this governing coalition from >> but the opposition social democrats promptly pounced on the economics minister's claims. >> if you had anything to do with economic growth, then you have heard growth even more than you have hurt your own party's election results. >> the man who hopes to take chancellor merkel's job later this year accused her of failing to recognize the dangers of an unrestrained financial system. >> for too long, the government has tried to pretend it is all just a debt crisis of other individual countries, but that is only part of the story. now the truth is going to hit you

. >> with an important state election coming up this weekend in lower saxony, the campaign rhetoric is getting hotter. reporting on the condition of germany's economy, the economics minister was keen to take as much credit as possible for record employment numbers, rising income, and falling debt. >> it is no accident that our economy is in good shape. it is no accident that new jobs are being created every day. they were created by the efforts of the german people, but they were also created by this governing coalition from >> but the opposition social democrats promptly pounced on the economics minister's claims. >> if you had anything to do with economic growth, then you have heard growth even more than you have hurt your own party's election results. >> the man who hopes to take chancellor merkel's job later this year accused her of failing to recognize the dangers of an unrestrained financial system. >> for too long, the government has tried to pretend it is all just a debt crisis of other individual countries, but that is only part of the story. now the truth is going to hit you

elections with a center left opposition and winning a thin victory the outcome of the ballot in lower saxony is seen as a file rehearsal for the harlem and reelection and september merkel is seeking a third term in office and despite the setback still enjoys popularity in the country's other polls. courthouse has been set on fire in the egyptian city of alexandria following day long clashes between riot police and protesters demonstrators were demanding justice in the trial of former security officers accused of killings during the two thousand and eleven uprising violence first erupted when the presiding judge abruptly resigned without carrying out his duties . as well and president hugo chavez is reported to be gaining strength and recovering well following respiratory complications after cancer surgery that's according to vice president nicolas maduro but during says he met with the leader and discussed important issues of state. should have taken his oath on the tenth of january bot has not been seen in public since his latest operation in middes amber prompting our rage from the opposit

elections with the center where opposition is winning then victory the outcome of the ballot in lower saxony is seen as a final rehearsal for the parliamentary election in september marco is seeking a third term in office and a spy the stand back still enjoys popularity in the country as the polls. courthouse has been set on fire in the egyptian city of alexandria following day long clashes between riot police and protesters demonstrators were demanding justice in the trial of former security officers accused of killings joining the twenty eleven uprising violence first erupted when the presiding judge abruptly resigned without carrying out his duties. catching a train a became a matter of life and death for one russian man who fell from his carriage in subzero temperatures in a forest in russia's far east earlier artist on barton told my colleague sean thomas the story. if we picture the scene we've got forty two year old valarie mel cough a lorry driver in this train clickety clack in its way through the forests in the a more region in russia's far east at night they decide to go for a cig

elections where the center left opposition with a thin victory the outcome of the ballot in lower saxony is seen as a final rehearsal for the parliamentary election in september merkel is seeking a third term in office despite a setback still enjoys popularity in the country's other polls. as well and president hugo chavez is reported to be gaining strength recovering well following respiratory complications after cancer surgery that's according to vice president nicolas maduro the tour of says he met with the leader and discussed important issues of state it was obvious that i should have taken his oath on the cans of january but has not been seen in public since his latest operation in mid december prompting our rage from the opposition demanding new elections. out catching a train became a matter of life and death for one russian man who fell from his carriage and subzero temperatures in a forest and rushes far east earlier artie's dumbarton told my colleague sean thomas the story. if we picture the scene we've got forty two year old valarie mail call for a lorry driver in this train