Trump administration. Also coming up wall street celebrates of very happy new year that as the dow jones hits a record high of twenty five thousand just four days and twenty eighteen. And south korea says it will hold talks with the north next week these are the first high level negotiations between the two neighbors in more than two years. Also on the show when is germany getting another government is on the macro tries her hand again i creating a new coalition this weekend a new poll shows most germans do not want another government of merkels conservatives and her old social democrat partners. Plus egypts mohamed sala is african footballer of the year the liverpool forward takes on his over the Top Players Like dortmunds pierre im. Our brian todd has a warm welcome to the show lawyers for President Donald Trump are continuing their push to hold the release of an explosive new book that scrutinises the inner workings of his administration the president has ripped into the work of journalist Michael Wolff which is set for Early Release later today now it portrays a white house steeped in intrigue and betrayal its all but certain to be a bestseller just days into the new year the spork betraying the us president as a net unprepared for office as throwing the white house into a frenzy some of the harshest commentary in the book has come from steve bannon a right wing firebrand and Donald Trumps form a strategy chief ban and has attacked a Donald Trump Jr for a twenty sixteen meeting with a group of russians in the book by Michael Wolff bannon is quoted as saying even if you thought that this was not treasonous theyll run patriotic or bad and i happen to think its all of that you should have called the f. B. I. Immediately to which the president hit back steve benen has nothing to do with me or my presidency when he was fired he not only lost his job he lost his mind. Its a spectacular fall out between the two former allies banner was the one who helped carve out trumps nationalist agenda that helped him win the i have a lot. Despite the furor over his quotes ban and told the president a great man on his right to go ashore. In the present state is a great man you know i supporting day in and day out. The patrol has in wrights trunk. Anywhere it has seized and i dont really know me a great man last night so you know you have easily changes to pretty quick thank you all very much. Thank you i dont i dont go. To. The white house is trying to cost down on the books accuracy again this book is mistake after mistake after mistake as for the bombshell book the publishes have brought forward its release to friday despite cease and desist threats from Donald Trumps lawyers. Have to be careful so how accurate is this book for more lets bring in ethan behrman whos a radio talk show host and a political commentator in los angeles good morning isnt. The president trying to says that author Michael Wolff had no white house access and you know were even seeing some top journalists and a former Obama Administration official slamming wolf as quote a sleazeball and a writer of fiction you know how credible is he and this book. Well i mean were weve yet to find out where i dont have my hands on the book yet were going to find out a few hours how do how accurate it really is but heres what we do know is that this administration has had the highest turnover in its upper ranks in any administration in recent history thirty three percent turnover in the highest ranks sixty people of the senior staff in the first year in office so we know theres been chaos we know theres been challenges between personalities writes priebus the chief of staff was out very quickly and read almost record time we had Michael Slinn with so many scandals happening with this Administration Whether or not mr wolfe is entirely accurate its the narrative of what we the American People have seen this first year of the Trump Administration ok now a new element here and something really outside the narrative completely is trump and bannan in a political my fight right now are we going to see a civil war and a split inside the make America Great again movement i dont think its going to be a full on civil war i think steve bannon automatically loses the president is the person in power hes in charge of the Republican Party weve seen the republican establishment line up behind President Trump with the recent tax reform bill steve benen is the guy thats on the outs i dont know thats going to be a full on civil war i think bannon is just going to be the big loser in all of this ok now what about the democrats is this a late Christmas Gift for the democrats and their chances in the midterm elections. Yeah i think that the twenty eighteen in the midterm elections the democrats if they get their act together have a strong chance of both taking back the senate and the house of representatives putting a real big crimp into Donald Trumps plans for his presidency this is something that theyre going to add in to their plans and their political attacks on the republicans no question about it ethan berman thanks very much ethan for being with us this morning from Los Angeles Brian thank you well meanwhile the u. S. President is celebrating in a story first and historic high on wall street indeed brian its been a very happy new year for wall street the Dow Jones Industrial average has surged past the twenty five thousand points mark for the First Time Ever thursdays new milestone comes off the back of a rapid rise for the blue chip index boosted in part by an overhaul of u. S. Taxes which substantially cuts the Corporate Tax rate u. S. President donald trump was quick to claim responsibility for the new doll record and already has his sights set on yet another. We did in fact break twenty five thousand for a substantially break it very easily so i guess our new numbers there he says it but what they what it means is every time you see that number go up on wall street it means jobs i mean success. So is the us president right saying it were his policies that brought about this historic rally lets have a look at the dow jones over the last decade now after the financial crisis u. S. Markets hit a low of about six thousand six hundred points in march of two thousand and nine after barack obama had been elected to the white house since then the market has seen quite a steady rise the longest bull market in wall street history in fact now the dow jones had almost tripled in value by the end of twenty sixteen when donald trump won the election it has continued to rise since then and our wall street correspondent sees several factors playing a role here. Its really breathtaking it just took twenty three trading days for the dow of fraud to go from twenty four to twenty five thousand points the fastest pace that weve seen in the history across things such as a thousand points the reasons are all the same there is the techs reform meaning there is the look for lower taxes for corporations and higher profits for Corporate America then there is growth not just in the u. S. But also worldwide and what we shouldnt forget is that Central Banks around the globe are real still rather hesitant to really start increasing Interest Rates and heavily so the cheap money is one of the main drivers for this rally and not necessarily so much of the policies of the current u. S. Administration. Yes quite a reporting from new york there ill have more business for you later on in the show for now back to brian and a possible breakthrough in the korea crisis it is shaping up to look like that right now christophe north and south korea have agreed to hold their first formal talks in more than two years next tuesday now the dialogue will pave the way for north korean athletes to attend the upcoming Winter Olympics in the south the announcement came hours after the u. S. Agreed to delay joint military exercises with south korea that until after the Olympic Games now this meeting is expected to be held at panmunjom thats in the dim old rhizome between the two sides and that was the site of past talks with very latest lets go straight to seoul and reuters Senior Correspondent josh meth josh what can we expect from the meeting coming up on tuesday. Well officials from both sides are expected to talk about at the minimum the north turkish participation in the upcoming Olympic Games which up until now had not been clear that they were going to attend but both sides have also said that they are willing to talk about reducing overall tensions here on cream. The question is whether that will also consider addressing the norths Nuclear Weapons program which is obviously drawing a lot of International Pressure and which has increased sanctions on the north ok now is it fair to talk of a breakthrough here with the north Korean Olympic Team apparently on its way now to the Olympic Games in the south you know and is that going to defuse tensions. I think a lot of people here in south korea and a lot around the world are approaching this fairly skeptically but also hopefully by itself the participation of north korean athletes at the olympics is not expected to be any kind of breakthrough but i think many people are hoping that you know if this goes to a cause in weapons testing by the north and as you mentioned the delay in these. Drills by south korea and the United States that it could provide of a little bit of breathing room for some reduction in tensions and possibly talks about her resolution down the road you know the u. S. Announcing that this delaying these joint military exercises that that is unusual isnt it can you characterize that for us. South korean president mugabe had said that he requested this of the United States specifically to send a signal that he was interested in reducing tensions here around the Olympic Games the pentagon meanwhile has said that its more a matter of practicality around the games but the reality is no matter what it does potentially lower tensions here again. Having these very public displays of force by the United States and south korea at a time when these talks could be crucial ok josh thanks so much for that josh this for us in seoul now for a look at some of the other stories making the news today the former peruvian president. Has been ditch was discharged from hospital a little over a week after receiving a pardon from the current president pablo pedro called. The pardon for the seventy nine year old who was convicted of rights abuses had caused nationwide protests some four hundred firefighters on the frenchmen to train island of corsica have been battling blazes fanned by winter storm eleanore isnt sweeps through europe at least three people been injured a number of houses destroyed meanwhile the french alps are on maximum avalanche alert with own or forcing the closure of a number of ski resorts. While another massive winter storm has roared across the east coast of the u. S. Forecasts indicate it will dump about half a meter of snow in some areas and then send a blast of face stinging cold air thats likely to break records were all just of called the storm quote bomb cycling. All in around the countrys elite revolutionary guard is trying to stop antigovernment protests in a number of problems as new amateur video. Indicates that Security Forces aligned with the guard for raiding down the streets of the city of sala about one hundred twenty two on the wrist southwest of the country on the other there to put down the protest label sedition by the head of the room. Rannells blocked access to a number of social media platforms after more than a week of demonstrations. Well later today will be talking to one of irans most vocal activists. The woman behind powerful campaigns like my stealthy freedom and white wednesdays will join us live on facebook at two pm u. T. C. So go to our Facebook Page at news and post your questions and comments there this is still to come on the show egypt a most a lot wins africas footballer of the year prize that after powering his nation to the world cup with a nerveless penalty more on this brilliant year from our sports desk. First christophe a back with more on intels security woes my goodness thats right brian were talking about serious flaws in computer chips potentially affecting billions of computers and smartphones around the world now security researchers discovered the problem with computer processors built by intel and other chip makers some time ago now the scrabble is on to find a fix. Intel c. E. O. Brian cranston it sold thirty nine Million Dollars in Company Stocks in options in november months after learning about the flaw and well before the problem was reported publicly intel says the stock sale was unrelated to the chip problem it said it planned on going public with the flaw soon and it was working in the meantime to find a fix the bug is a nightmare for the u. S. Tech giant but also for consumers millions of computers and devices are affected and one basic fix for the issue the socalled kaiser patch comes with the caveat as one of its developers explains. It might have economic impact. For cloud providers because now they with the kaiser patches they might have Higher Energy costs. Also. For regular customers and they will also have Higher Energy costs because of these patches daniel groups was among those who informed intel of the design flaw in its chips he thinks intel was right not to disclose the problem immediately. I think its a good idea to not publicly disclose this from the start because these are very c. V. Attacks and nonce offis to cater to tech or could immediately use this attack to leak Sensitive Data from you know mary now the whole world knows but because the kaiser patch uses more energy it slows down devices hardly an incentive to get the fix thats why some researchers would rather change how computer chips are designed but that wont happen over night. To turkey now and the countrys economy has proven surprisingly resilient despite turkeys political uncertainties but there are some dark clouds on the horizon the countrys g. D. P. Growth took a big hit back in twenty sixteen after a failed coup attempt but then roar back a surge in construction and Government Spending puts turkeys g. D. P. Growth on track to exceed six and a half percent for twenty seventeen that pace exceeded only by china and india but inflation remains a major problem at the end of last year annual Consumer Price growth reached almost twelve percent a half percent rise in Interest Rates in december was criticized as too meager to get ahead of rising prices and thats had an impact on the turkish currency that there has been on a long slow decline for years worth over fifty u. S. Cents five years ago now down to around half that amount the recurrency helps make turkish exports cheap but it reflects a lack of confidence in the economy and its making it increasingly difficult for many turks to make ends meet. Activists suddenly had to get used to serving tea for the last four months hes been working as a temporary waiter in this stumble coffee. Hed never imagined things could come to this only last summer had was the proud owner of a small hotel he was the boss but the economic crisis room his business he went bankrupt was forced to sell up. Because if you do it and only. It feels awful to crash like that its just such a huge difference between what i was and what i am now. I hosted mainly european tourists in my hotel. But they stopped coming and i started to lose money on much healing and the last two years my business collapsed completely. Lots of turkeys businesses have gone the way of movements on the stumbles main shopping boulevard the lively istiklal the signs of economic malays are everywhere turkeys inflation rate has hit a fourteen year high the lira is constantly losing value creating problems for many. But to me to look thats all we now know that i do not search for us to go out a lot to eat but thats become a luxury for us as there was a. Reasonable were always comparing what we were able to buy and what we can buy now but thats not much use. We only lose money because of years of bad policies. We are not in the discontent is rife even though officially the economy is booming skyscrapers a sprouting up in istanbuls financial district thanks to state subsidies the week earlier on has seen exports increase president reggie one claims that the economy grew by as much as seven percent in twenty seventeen the main in you economies dont even come close to that. Economist. Doesnt trust the glowing figures he says turkeys economic miracle is built on sand we do have an investment boom the structures as you know istanbul is now covered with this skyscrapers but thats that investment it doesnt add productivity growth it is what they condoms call sustainable we cant go like that who had active has his own crisis to deal with after hes finished his shift in the cafe he often walks past the hotel he owned not so long ago. But more thats already given up hope it might one day be his again. Now for more lets bring in Gareth Jenkins he is with the Nonprofit Research institute for security and Development Policy in istanbul karratha come to the program now we just heard in the report an economist saying that the growth in turkey the Economic Growth is built on sand and not sustainable whats your take on that i tend to agree i mean certainly in the extraordinary high growth rates we have seen for the Third Quarter of two thousand and seventeen eleven point one percent thats not sustainable thats necessarily mean thats going to be an economic collapse but i think everybody expects the pace of growth slowed considerably in two thousand and eighteen and a lot of business is already complaining about squeezed Profit Margins and things like this so were not going to see a sustained growth of these kind of levels what would present data on seems to enjoy these growth figures do you see any attempt by the government to steer towards a more Sustainable Growth its very difficult for him because he faces president ial elections in two thousand and nineteen after moments that show you from november two thousand and nineteen theres the expectation he may try to bring them forward and he knows that a lot of voters are going to be looking at the state of the economy. In order to have the Structural Reforms to if you really need the economy its going to be some time before they pass through two terms of people being out to feel the benefits in that daily lives he doesnt have enough troops to do that before november two thousand and nineteen or of course if the elections are held. What are these Structural Reforms that seem necessary here. Well one thing of course as mentioned in your report is that you have to have you have you have to have some changes to the way that the central bank operates it has to be allowed full independence at the moment its independence is only on paper it has to be able to enter raise Interest Rates etc in accordance with the Economic Conditions there also needs to be an overhaul of the legal system were still under a state of emergency here with lots of rights to spend it i dont think anybody seriously thinks and its actually rule of law in the country at the moment because investors need to know when they invest their investments could be safe so has to be a lot of very major reforms in the economy like this and gareth bravery meanwhile one of turkeys allies iran is facing a political crisis how will that impact things when not sure at the moment i mean turkey is a relationship with iran has always been highly compartmentalized you have it has quite a lot of trade with iran with of course their sectarian libels to a certain extent as to teach it rivals even have a short term Tactical Alliance at the moment weve seen the economy the economic relations picking up this year with iran not such a good year last year were expecting around about twelve million. In bilateral trade twenty billion dollars sorry bilateral trade two thousand and seventeen. But its the butyl not to the turkish economy i mean the balance of trade is two to one in irans faith. Jenkins of the institute for security and Development Policy interest of all thank you so much. Back to brian now and a worthy winner for africas top footballing prize. Africa has a new footballer of the year in a ceremony in ghana on thursday night mohamed sala was chosen as the continents top player Sports Reporter max merrills here to talk about that about the big winner who tops some very stiff competition sabio money and p. R. America balmy young where are the other two finalists first before we talk with max lets look at the event. We. Will have. A big moment for Mohamed Salah the egyptian winger has scooped up several awards already following a fantastic year and hes still hungry for more i think this one is helping me a lot but i want to win it for a second time for a third time for thought and if it can win it twenty times that would be i mean. Thats what the book and i think it. Is solid played a leading role in helping egypt to qualify for the world cup after a twenty eight year absence. But its not just his quality at the National Level thats attracted attention in june salamu from roma to liverpool for a fee of forty two Million Euros so far he scored twenty three goals for the english side making him one of the standout players in the premier league this season. For maxwell we previewed this yesterday you said sala was going to be the man you proved right but he wasnt expected to do so well when he joined liverpool yet he had a lot of douses i mean members of the English Press fans of liverpool expos and i myself thought it wasnt really a necessary transfer of forty two million a big price to play for a player that arguably liverpool have many of but we couldnt foresee how good he would be the season i mean he plays on the wing but hes contributed to the most goals of any liverpool player to the campaign the second highest scorer in the league and i think a lot of the doubts stem from his time at chelsea where he was before his Previous Club roma that was his first stint in english but will and he didnt do too well they couldnt really find his feet then at roma he had two great seasons earlier this year as well he was playing really well at roma played well for the Egyptian National team but then what hes done to liverpool since joining in june has just been incredible guy hes really a chance to shine there and you know he was up against a stiff competition who was a right to give him the award and not a bomb young i think so i. I mean for instance his Liverpool Team mate sunday or monday is a good player but hes not great hes had his moments certainly last season and this season but he just hasnt been as consistent and hes been shown by Mohamed Salah liverpool and obama and youre right in saying a fantastic player whose numbers look and credible but when you watch him play at the moment you just get the feeling hes not quite at his best hes averaging about a goal per game which is incredible for a strike and you take that any day of the week as a coach but hes just not playing to that potential that he could reach lets look at sol again hell be traveling to the world cup with egypt thats coming up this year how far can he take them well i think hes the central figure that mean he contributed to all their seven goals in qualifying two assists and five goals he scored himself and its the first world cup theyve reach since one thousand nine hundred so expect patients on massively high but when the well cup draw came out i think expectations just increase a little bit because theyve got a tricky but doable group with hosts russia who arent that strong saudi arabia who are a mixed bag and europe why who are probably the strongest in that group so i think they could get through to the knockout stages max thanks so much for bring us up to date on mohammad sol and his big win as the african footballer of the year thank you so much for joining us as well were back with more news of the top of the hour and dont forget theres always our website e. W. Dot com where you can get the latest news around the clock. Cant go. Wrong. Because shes done some. Stuff experienced this time what makes this encounter. Sixteen. Double. Sure you see the people of the world over information they provide the pins they want to express g w on facebook and twitter up to date and in touch follow us. When im traveling to be comfortable. But i also want to stay up to date on the latest news and events. And e. W. Makes that part of traveling easy just because its available and thousands of Hotels Resorts and cruise ships worldwide. Have you found the domain signing send us a picture that shows the w. In your room you can win a great prize go to d. W. Dot com travel quiz thousands of children come missing every kid in china they all sewn on the back market. Town jingjing is searching for her son in the line sounds. Without any home from the owner intense shes core to try and distract the she finds from others trying. So time changing such is from her some. Reports on d w. Welcome back your news live from berlin our top stories at this hour the white house has dismissed a new book about the Trump Presidency as law is that despite also trying to stop the publication of the book which includes explosive remarks from former chief strategist steve bannon. Where i have time. Now for our monthly look at what germans think about politics and their politicians and we have the latest survey by pollsters in for test for germanys public broadcasters they are d. First and foremost the question on most germans mind right now when is the country going to get a new government well after the september elections delivered an inconclusive result Coalition Talks began this sunday will begin the sunday rather between on the americans conservatives and her old partners the social democrats ever test imap asked how determines would view another grand coalition and it is a mixed picture forty five percent say their view of it is good or very good but a majority fifty two percent are less positive or theyre even saying it would be bad. Im here now with our Political Correspondent kate brady for some analysis of these findings first and foremost were looking at these sunday talks kicking off their crucial talks previously on the socalled Jamaica Coalition failed if these talks break down what is next from the macro because of the two main options available because we have to remember as well that these talks which begin on sunday only exploratory Coalition Talks are not even that negotiations yet so merkel would either have the option also of a minority government which she has also said that shes against so that would be quite a grueling process having to get a majority in parliament if every single piece of legislation and the other option as well would be a snap election of course thats how we found ourselves in position that were currently in. That would have to be called by the german president from walda should die in maya and he actually called on the social democrats to go back to the drawing board and speak with merkels conservatives in the hope that germany can finally fall misstate will government or new government ok that is the hope right now now posters in for does the amount also has german voters what they think about chancellor merkel staying in office for another term a clear majority fifty three percent of respondents said it was a good were very good idea forty five percent were opposed to the macro remaining in office as chancellor. Merkel still has considerable support you know out there when you look at these numbers but the trajectory for her peers to be downwards right now could she face a mutiny in the christian democrats good her own Party Members moved to replace or well its unlikely at this stage that were going to suddenly see a rebellion from the conservatives across directly after the election. Of a no prize against merkel especially after how successful the f. D. A. Were particularly in the eastern parts of germany. But of course as well you know the c. D. U. And the pot in the system party the c. S. U. And the various environments patched up their relationship recently and of course we have to remember as well that in the c. D. U. Muggles conservative party there is no real successor at the moment and the other members of the cd you know that so over to moscow they have no idea who that going to replace it with ok now forty nine percent of those surveys are surveyed are saying that she should serve a full term forty five percent that she should step down if talks succeed will she serve out the full term well it really depends on what comes out of these talks if we move on to a coalition and go stations and then a grand coalition its likely that she could. Have that full full year in office but of course one of the main focus is during that term is going to be finding a successor and shes slowly going to have to give away some of that power but of course in her interests not too soon ok so its always all about building up the the second road to see to you leadership right now lets take a detailed look at what voters think about merkel and see you in for just the amount asking germans whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about all america lets take a look at this seventy percent of respondents saying americal stands for political stability but merkels best days as chancellor are over now that is a statement two thirds of germans agree with us and about sixty percent of germans surveyed said that she also macros conservatives neglect peoples concerns over refugees. Has only mac ols popularity slumped mainly because of her stand on refugees is that a fair appraisal well it certainly did slow since the two thousand and fifteen socalled refugee crisis but she did manage to gain ground last year even ahead of the election in september and that was mainly due to High Performance on the International Stage dealing with the us President Donald Trump and also at the g twenty summit and we have to bear in mind as well that two thirds of respondents to these polls said that we have said that angle america is still a good chancellor and so its very clear that many germans are still separating the chancellors stems on the refugee refugee policy from her overall performance as chancellor ok dont know what youre saying is borne out by another question that the pollsters looked at what is the most pressing issue for the next German Government in twenty to twenty teams above all respondents are saying refugees immigration integration a total of twenty seven percent putting that way ahead of the next two issues social policy on ten percent and education with just seven percent of those you think are some surprising numbers with german traditionally germans traditionally supporting education as a top priority twenty seven percent outpacing everything by a wide margin whats changed because the number of refugees arriving in germany has dropped dramatically so when we compare that to last year when around forty percent of germans were agreeing on the refugees being a main issue for germany that think a house has the number of refugees has also decreased now one of the but the main issue now moving on from that is family reunions of refugees they have a forty one percent of respondents to this poll in favor of family reunions and forty eight this. Again now this is also going to be a Sticking Point for the conservatives and the social democrats as they go into these exploratory Coalition Talks on sunday absolutely if you have the say yes you have very much in favor of absence of an absolute end to automatically unions and then the social democrats insisting that it happens they want absolutely no blanket restrictions on family reunions octal ok the classic question always asked by pollsters of course how would you vote if there was a general election this coming sunday only americans conservatives taking what thirty three percent up one percent last month the social democrats unchanged twenty one percent the right wing populous they have been third place with thirteen percent environmentalist greens there eleven percent the f d p probusiness party level with the post communist left party both at nine percent kate those figures show one thing if they dont show anything else and theres been no change basically since the elections right you know how will this affect exploratory talks coming up on sunday when both parties sit down and look at these numbers and say its unchanged since the elections that what these figures clearly share that frustration from the vises is still that theres no other alternative suddenly appeared on the horizon at least on john hughes political spectrum and it certainly gives the conservatives on the social democrats much food for thought as they go into these talks but its a long road ahead and we have to remember of course that these are exploratory talks and not Coalition Negotiations so we still have a long long way to go it is a big path ahead is and i keep brady things a very much for breaking this all down for us this morning thanks drew. Well on to european politics now and twenty team is confronting the European Union with plenty of challenges but a number of opportunities as well if germany can get a stable government in place it could along with france lead an effort to reshape the bloc deeply shaken by the brics and now in our series this week of what twenty eighteen as in store brussels correspondent max often looks at whats at stake for the e. U. These three have big plans for two thousand eight hundred s. Specially were guarding migration. The reform of the euro zone and of course correct. Thing to see today you can think of that whatever the bit of. The e. U. Institutions see a window of opportunity to resolve many of your ups most pressing problems but the window of opportunity you might not be as large as many people are hoping for and thats mainly due to that woman that you can see behind the flags the german chancellor are going to back home in many ways shes still the queen of europe of course but as long as she doesnt have a governing coalition in berlin her hands are pretty much tied to. The man whos blowing wind into the sails of a reformed European Union is french president michel going to fit in a few hes given many speeches and express many ideas and grand visions for two thousand and eighteen effect and beyond that if you put it only one of them establishing a real European Monetary Fund to support countries that need help to avoid bankruptcy like greece in two thousand and ten. Another one giving the eurozone its own budget to invest and absorb economic shocks overall my call is calling for much deeper european integration. But not everybody is on board with that at all there is resistance in germany among others for example and it seems like some of the old fault lines are becoming visible again. And for the fault lines between spending and austerity but also between west. And east especially on migration the e. U. Institutions want a comprehensive deal on asylum and relocation until june but hungarys victoria is still unwilling to accept refugee quotas and he has allies that. We should concentrate on issues where we feel that the ready to reach an agreement it would be a big mistake to continue into open issues the red we feel that these issues. Divide the boss again European Union as seen the past on the basis of what us think i mean frankly. Poland undermining the rule of law and its ongoing quarrels with brussels could increase this east west divide even further in two thousand and eighteen. But of course there is one thing unifying the European Union at least twenty seven of its Member States and thats well this woman thats walking towards us right there theresa may of course its not about the person herself but its about what shes trying to do leading her country the United Kingdom out of the European Union brags that. So far the e. U. Twenty seven have shown remarkable unity on braggs it but it will get tougher in two thousand and eighteen because with the second phase of the negotiations starting soon future trade relations between the twenty seven remaining Member States and the u. K. Are on the menu including sectors like the german car industry thats when National Interests in the e. U. Might collide. The clock is ticking. Migration. Euro zone reform and brags that the e. U. Needs to agree on all these topics in two thousand and eighteen to take advantage of this window of opportunity to do. Well will they be agreeing on them for more on that im here with john wirth a pro e. U. Blogger advisor to a number of global organisations good morning john morning thanks for being with us today you know lets focus on what were looking at is the biggest challenge to the e. U. Certainly to german politics right now the migration situation hung garion Prime Minister viktor orban is in germany today hes going to be talking to a very insistent party the c. S. U. As a pro e. U. Blogger are you concerned that he will succeed in moving german policy on migration to the right hes been trying to do that already for a number of years and indeed his relationship with the very interesting democrats as largely being a good one so what hes trying to essentially do is to try to make get some allies in germany to to defend his anti migration position so its possible tactic hes been playing for a number of years already so i dont welcome his presence at this this meeting in bavaria wrote today i must say he said that he has the momentum right now with austria backing his approach strong borders following the success of the elections and i think that but ultimately this is a government that this is an ultimate be a solution because bear in mind that in the end. None of the old band nor current so indeed machall of the german christian democrats can do that much about those migration boats coming across the mediterranean the question is when those people reach europe how do you manage to deal with those flows of people coming to the European Union and do you essentially say were all in this together European Union countries all together we can find a way for distributing the refugees or alternatively even the problem where those people come in are you leave the problem with italy. Leave the problem be oh yes exactly right and so and so therefore oh absolutely the answer to all ban is essentially to say well i understand why you might have some concerns but what is your solution you cannot essentially people dying in mid to try to use think the use going to come up with solutions well the European Commission is doing its best to put Forward Solutions but of course theres quite a lot of determined position to those from the likes of obama and could answer that for you but youve got to find youve got to ask open you have to ask what they actually want to do instead i understand why theyre concerned by what the European Commission is saying but what is the onset what do they see back how will you actually going to deal with these crises whats the European Union going to do to stop the flows of refugees in the first ok lets move on to break now immigration of course driving much of the vote there tony blair has joined other remainders and trying to rally the room the remainer side do they have a chance will bring. The brics it is not a done deal by any means so far and in two thousand and eighteen the whole negotiation is going to get more complicated than its been to date so tony blair is right in the sense that he says that still all too old to play for in two thousand and two thousand and eighteen the challenge is of course is blair is such a divisive figure in british politics these days that whenever he opens his mouth or me he annoys more or less anyone and so therefore hes not a my view someone whos whos a good person to need to remain campaigning to be they who would be or let your choices every need a very few characters but there are a few labor politicians in the u. K. Maybe a bit better placed theres a member the house of lords andra done is hes been very outspoken or the labor member problems in Tottenham David Lammy these are people who are who are a new generation of politicians who have less baggage than the ok what about germany and france coming together and actually moving the e. U. Forward in the vorm berlin paris of the dark right so. My point is very determined while his presidency is still fresh to do something about the state of European Union particularly the future of your resign and hes been very outspoken about this and very very determined he genuinely wants a partner in berlin he can really talk to at the same level and hopes very much that there would be there will be proposals on plans coming forward from berlin that hes not been able to get yet because germany hasnt got a government so hes got a solid ally in scholtz the leader of the of the social democrats and he hopes i think for a stable government in berlin relatively soon meaning that these discussions about the euro zone can happen already in springtime i hope for his sake that germany gets government soon to allow him to do that john worth thanks so much for coming in pro e. U. Blogger joining us today in the studio thanks very much our next report takes us to the Irish Capital dublin where that country has changed the way it debates sensitive issues the Citizens Assembly established in twenty sixteen has already dealt with same sex marriage and abortion both of which have now been legalized. Ireland is one of the European Union smaller members and the scene of a revolution in democracy. Can borrow brian a sixty two year old postman explains what that means all his life he says politicians were the ones up there i didnt know he about politics i never discussed politics i had no actual interest in politics. Up until today i was just sitting inside the restaurant and this lady came up and asked me what id be interested. In the Citizens Assembly debates the big issues facing Irish Society three years ago the environment devote on arlins introduction of same sex marriages it was a hard task you often heard of priest peta fights. So many similar to the effort to me on. Live person and. But years ago i used that item all under the one that i was. Given all to seem to me that all paedophiles again our lives being whatever they were the same type of people and i just heated and i just displays them. For the past few years this hotel near dublin has hosted this experiment in grassroots democracy now arlens fourth Citizens Assembly is meeting here in bar took part in the First Assembly in two thousand and fourteen the concept is for ninety nine ordinary irish citizens to debate politics for one year young Old University graduates farmers even a bouncer there chosen by lottery. This group is debating Pension Reforms they pore over statistics listen to experts and consider details everything is broadcast live on the internet no closed doors actions here sort of experience that our country went through with from about two thousand and eight on words serious crisis and a lot of anger on the streets about the into the mess that our economy was in and a lot of blame to touch to all politicians so there was a strong sense from two thousand and eleven on the words particularly that we need to try something new we need to do with our citizens and debate constitutional future they take a vote and pass their recommendation on to parliament the representatives are not bound to vote according to the recommendation but they do give it serious consideration. The legalization of same sex marriage seemed inconceivable in ireland with its conservative population and the powerful influence of account for the church. But the Citizens Assembly discussed this previously taboo subject for three years objectively and finbar brian changed his mind. And it taught me no i be destiny and i learned a lot by doing that and in that key is to know israel to distinguish and to gay people are no had and are just that own people they just want to live down there you know and to children that you know and talk to people and asked may i stood up at the above and said my patten i said that id be avoiding the morning and be half agape of gay people to get married the majority in the Citizens Assembly voted yes that led to a referendum and that led to predominantly Catholic Ireland introducing same sex marriage participation and having a say in things in bar thirdly approves of the idea. Caught everyone into or new people into it so i shortened it to the people who did nothing but it did get a pain in the people and their opinions were listening to. Verses politicians just need to have the courage to give some of the power to the people. While every country in the world has its own National Dish the street for street food rather syria is one of nigerias c. A is of a thin slices of meat on a skewer coated in a special spice then baked in its own oven its usually popular as fans ac is delicious to give you a taste of what its like a reporter young Philip Schultz went to law goes to sample the best city in town. The sue your skewers at this snack bar are the best in lagos at least according to the owner ibrahim the sizzling beef skewers with onions and tomatoes originated in Northern Nigeria but su year is now one of nigerias National Dishes and there are numerous legends surrounding the spice mixture. Preparing sulia should definitely be left to the experts ive heard that some people add animal feed to the spice blend thats completely unacceptable and also certainly unhealthy. So here is a popular street food in lagos one portion costs less than a year ago so its a snack that even poorer nigerians can afford from time to time but in more upscale restaurants there is hardly any space for traditional nigerian dishes here youre more likely to find sushi or paster on the menu. Tina share wants to change that her newly opened restaurant serves traditional african cuisine but with european influences. African beings are turned into delicate waffles plantings they used to make crispy croquettes. Share was inspired to start her own restaurant after she returned from her studies in europe. She was happy to enjoy nigerian food again but found that it was often poorly presented. So i wanted to see it done in a different way not really different from how we used to be different style different served in the night so we see that he appeals to my eye because you first look in like share growing numbers of restaurant chefs in lagos a trying their hand at socalled fusion food a combination of african asian and western cuisines but persuading nigerians to try it will be a challenge people here tend to be traditionalists especially when it comes to food. To do so if i missed a week then i could foresee and thats one thing that i love to boast about when it comes to. Food is is something that you could never finish researching where you look at. What is this broadway you. Know you know you feel like wow this really does you know is my kind of will for his part to bring him says hes open to new calorie influences there even a number of nontraditional ingredients in his so yes spice mix he reveals but what exactly days ingredients remains a secret. This is live from berlin we have more coming up at the top of the hour and dont forget you can always get the latest news and information as well around the clock at our website. Dot com and now were going to leave you with some impressions from the last preparations for the world famous Ice Sculpture festival in china starting today. I am i am the is the body to to a. To above. The boxes to a. Girl to the be. The best. The alphabet. The be. Thank us objects are. Gentleman saw. Stuff experience this clash of the titans what makes this encounter. Enter the conflicts confronting the powerful i test the convictions and the power of confronting them with. I would draw all those people other peoples life in the. Sense of. How good my guests. Are just excuses. Conflicts on confronting the powerful. Freedom of expression. Of values and ways has to be defended anew. For the work. Of Freedom Freedom of art. A multimedia project about artists and their right to express their views freely. To freedom. Some kind of a. Whats a way out the my view. On the. Situation which is. After a few hundred. Years its very important to. Me. I think this is something. Scientists should then develop scientists should be explained and should be treated to describe and then society should shut. This is deja news live from the book the white house wants to ban gets an Early Release later today lawyers for president are trying to stop the publication of the controversy only right up which includes explosive remarks from former chief strategist steve bad