Brent im brent goff. It is good to have you with us. Brexit, migration policies, and more sanctions on north korea, these are just a few of the hot topics in brussels where the eu leaders are holding a summit. Theresa may has come to the summit armed with proposals she hopes will move brexit talks along. Leaders say she has to match her promises with concrete details if any progress is to be made. I spoke with max hoffman earlier, he is covering the summit. I asked him what the focus of the discussions have been so far. Max migration is probably the biggest topic they talked about, because it is what it has been discussed so far. Brexit is on the menu for dinner. What is interesting about the migration part, the president of the European Council said they wanted to attack a subject they have not been able to resolve for years, lots of years, and it is a common asylum system. They want to have a common solution for that, a common system next year, which would be lightning speed compared to the usual speeds in the european union. And it shows you that donald tusk wants to change the way that the whole council works. Tusk wants to speed up things, if they cannot have unanimity on one topic, move ahead and so the rest are ready to join. He has laid out a leaders agenda for that, that is his plan. We will see how it works. Brent what about brexit . We know theresa may is there basically to put the fire underneath the bottoms of many people there at the meeting. Is it going to work . I mean, has there been a reaction . Max i have not felt any heat that would be sufficient for her to be successful. [laughter] max but things are not as bad as they look for theresa may, you have to give her that. We have seen the draft conclusions and in there there is a lot of hope by the rest of the leaders that they may move on to phase 2. That is what she wants to do, talk about trade relations at the next summit. And if they really keep that, then there is reasonable hope that this will actually happen. Theresa may was hoping it would happen today, but it looks like that is very unlikely. Brent i have to ask about the crisis we are seeing that is about to boil over in spain with catalonia refusing to take back their promise of independence. Spain says it will move in on saturday and take control of the region. Has there been any reaction to that at the summit . Max remember, you know who is here the Prime Minister of spain, mariano rajoy, and we would have loved to talk to him about that, but he rushed into the building so no chance. ,other leaders said they were worried, but they would stay in line with the european union, the only person they will talk to is rahoy, so it is a domestic affair in spain. But still, i think it is safe to say they will probably ask over dinner, what is your plan and what do you have in mind for catalonia . Brent if something is said, we know you will bring it to us. Max hoffman in brussels, thank you very much. Brent the crisis in catalonia is escalating as spain prepares to take control of the semiautonomous region. This comes after the catalan leader, the president has refused to give up demands for independence. The Central Government in madrid has said that he must now face the consequences. Correspondent the game is heating up. Cameras struggling to get a glimpse of the man who is refusing to back down. In his latest letter to the spanish government, Carles Puigdemont warned the parliament could vote on independence if madrid figures triggers 155, allowing them to suspend the regional government. The reaction of madrid, to double down. The government will continue with the processing of article 155 of the constitution, with a goal to restore the law in catalonia. Correspondent spain says it will hold a special Cabinet Meeting on saturday to activate article 155. This has never been used in modern spanish history, so what does it mean in practice . It would allow madrid to sack region officeholders, and assume control of all regional authorities. New elections would be held in catalonia. Until then, madrid could fill key interim positions. Once the article is triggered, it will not come into effect straightaway. It needs parliamentarian approval. Mariano rajoy needs an absolute majority for that and he only holds a slim one. In barcelona, residents are prepared for a standoff. Spain does not love us, they only love our money. They want our money. I am not sure if i am explaining myself clearly. All the things they have done for catalonia is not really for catalonia. They will not let us go. They are making people more proindependence with these games they are playing. Correspondent as the political crisis deepens, protesters have taken to the streets with more demonstrations expected in the coming days. Brent for more on the crisis in spain we spoke with our correspondent barbara in barcelona. Correspondent madrid has decided to enter into the next phase of the crisis. Mariano rajoy is making true his threats. On saturday, the cabinet will decide which powers to take away from the region. And the senate will finalize the measures. The ball is back in the court of the regional government, but Carles Puigdemont is playing for time and has referred the final decision to his parliament. The people in the palace behind us are not talking, neither to their people or to madrid. The platform for independence now calling for more demonstrations, culminating in a big show of force on saturday. Some are already talking about civil disobedience. Madrid is reacting and increasing protection and strategic places. At this time, there seems to be no exit strategy on either side of the conflict, and no remedy against further escalation. Brent that was barbara in barcelona. Here are other stories making headlines, in france thousands have taken part in a nationwide demonstration against the president s labor reforms. But observers say the turnout was lower than last months protests. The reforms, fast tracked by executive order, make it easier for firms to hire and fire employees. Macron says it will help to free up the energy of the workforce. And at least three people have been reportedly shot dead in togo as gangs clashed with Security Forces trying to prevent the opposition demonstration. The opposition in the west african nation is calling for the resignation of the president. His family has ruled the country since 1968. Pakistans former Prime Minister has been indicted on corruption charges. The charges stemmed from leaked documents known as the panama papers. Investigators say the documents have shown that his family have held unreported assets overseas. The family has denied wrongdoing. And Kurdish Female militias have about to fight to liberate syrian women from the role of the islamic state. The announcement was made today during celebrations to mark raqqa. But with the former stronghold in ruins, the hardships facing the civilians are far from over. And nearly a month after germanys election and the german chancellor is not holding talks with potential Coalition Partners. The parties from across the political spectrum say that the first meetings have gone well. Is known as a jamaican it is known as a jamaican coalition, because the parties of the political the colors of the Political Parties are black, green and yellow, the colors of the jamaican flag. The parties are warning it will take some time to bridge their differences. Correspondent all eyes on two parties that do not really fit together, but are now working together. On day two of exploratory talks, the business friendly fdp met the green party and tried to find common ground. The talks were lively. We listened to each other carefully and we managed to see things from the other partys point of view. Correspondent the jamaican colors still appear exotic in german politics, never before have the business friendly fdp and Environmentalist Green Party negotiated to form a federal government together. It is a challenge, as their positions could not be more different. Correspondent for instance, on the european union, the green party is calling for an end to austerity measures and wants a collective pact on taxes and investments. The freemarket liberal fdp, on the other hand, is against any kind of debt utilize nation utilization within the eu. And unclean energy, the environmental greens have very clear goals they want 100 Renewable Energy by 2050. They want to ban combustion engines in auto mobiles by 2030 a no go for the free democrats. Migration could be the one issue on which the fdp and green party could find common ground, both parties have been calling for germanys first immigration law. Both parties realize that we have a long way to go, but we also understand that if we want a common government, then we need to find common interests and not follow the conservative partys wellworn path. Correspondent on friday, the conservative cdu and csu parties will join the talks. Behind these walls, all four potential Coalition Partners will negotiate together for the first time. Brent the new Zealand Labour Party has completed Coalition Talks and formed a government with the new Zealand First party and the greens. A 37yearold becomes the countrys youngest Prime Minister. Here is what she had to say when she announced the coalition deal. Labor has always believed that government should be a partner in ensuring an economy that works and delivers for all new zealanders. We also believe in a government that looks after its environment, and that ultimately looks after its people. And i believe labor has found true allies in parliament to deliver on that. Brent that was the new Prime Minister in new zealand speaking. Former Soccer Player george where has taken the lead in president ial elections. The commission announcing he had received nearly 40 of the votes. According to the election rules in nigeria, he will need a majority. He will face off with the current president in a runoff. This will be the former football stars second attempt at the presidency. In 2005, he won the first round, but lost in the runoff. And scientists in germany are a buzz with the concerns of flying insects. Wasps and bees may be a bother at home, but they are crucial for the environment. The number of insects has dropped dramatically and scientists are racing to figure out what is to blame. Correspondent nature thrives on diversity, if it was not for bees and butterflies we would have no honey or fruit. But since 1989, the number of insects in germany has dropped by 76 . Volunteer insect experts have collected the data. Of course, the fact our findings are being publicized right now is good news for us. On the other hand, the results are worrying, because they show the negative developments are not restricted to only a few locations. Correspondent the bug followers have been observing the fate of flying insects for nearly 30 years. They collected data for over 60 locations in three German Federal states. But it is unclear why so many are dying. Studies have revealed the environment so impacts of agricultural practices are substantial. It includes pesticides that are supposed to be killing insects, but the effects go be on to the fields. Correspondent other likely causes are overuse of the fertilizer, too few green spaces, and climate change. Researchers are urging new measures before the environment suffers real damage. Brent you are watching dw news. The, book heroes the comic book asterix is back, this time the creators are sending the heroes on a mad across italy mad dash across italy. The timing could hardly be worse. Ahead of japanese elections, another corporate scandal is shaking up the system. They keep coming. The carmaker in japan shutting down factories in the country, because unqualified workers were put in charge of quality control. It is the latest in a litany of serious errors from the countrys biggest corporations. Correspondent another gesture of humility, and another apology from the company boss. The company boss admitting that the scandal at nissans worst man thought. Final vehicle inspections brought up by employees, coming to light a month ago. Over one million cars need to be pulled off of the roads. And many of the factories were involved. Now they are putting the brakes on production. Domestic factories will be closed for two weeks and the recall will be expanded. The string of company scandals in japan continuing. More than a week ago, the thirdlargest Steel Company admitting to falsifying product data and they did it for 10 years. Around 200 customers were affected. It could be the sun was cheated by this factory nissan was cheated by this company. Unscrupulous practices at the cost of safety. The industry is stuck in a deep crisis of trust. Whether the dow jones in new york or the market in frankfurt, stocks are rising. But on thursday, not exactly a feeling of optimism, but reflection. After all, it is the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest single day stock market crashes in history. On october 19, 1987, shares slid more dramatically than the western markets had ever experienced. One of the first robot traders in new york called it a chain reaction, a drop leading to selloffs, and the dow jones losing 23 by the end of the session. And jens has been on wall street for many years. You must be getting nostalgic scene those pictures seeing those pictures. We were talking about this earlier, the more things change the more they stay the same. Jens sure, yes life was different. I started in 99 and we had about 6000 traders on the store. One said back then he walked about five miles each day to get his business done, so that has changed. Also, with technology well, talking about traders, there are still some around to experience black monday and they said they did not see it coming. Nothing hinted at it. But some things remain the same. You lose some and you win some. Who knows, the next crisis oh is comes where you least expect it. We are getting one record after another, including today. His wall street worried about a repeated black monday anytime soon . Jens nobody really seems to be worried, and that is dangerous territory. Even if there are similarities, there are also differences. The market back then was much hotter. The s p 500 was in only two years, more than double, it shot up more than 100 right now. And the market itself up 25 , but it is not as hot as was back then. Food for thought. Thank you very much. Goldman sachs chief executives recent tweet has sparked speculation that more jobs are moving to germanys financial district, frankfurt, as the next round of brexit talks take place. He tweeted just left frankfurt, great meeting, great weather and really enjoyed it. I will be spending a lot more time there. He tweeted on thursday, Great Britain is currently home to most of Goldman Sachseuropean operations where it has over 6000 employees. Frankfurt is looking like the biggest beneficiary of the banks moving out of london. And the iraqi region of kurdistan is an important hub. Turkey, iran and iraq move goods through the a thomas region. The kurds are pushing for independence, still the regions location makes it difficult for the neighboring countries to make good on threats of closing the borders. But is the region so invulnerable . Correspondent business is humming at the Border Crossing between turkey and iraqi kurdistan. Three weeks after the vote for independence, little is changed. The shops are filled with goods, and products are waiting for transit. Turkey is threatening to close the coffee and leaders are angry over the vote and are worried about the Ripple Effect it could have on the kurdish population. Such a move would not be easy. Many of the goods are only passing through. About 7080 trucks loaded with commodities travel from turkey to iraq on a daily basis. About 90 of the trucks go to the iraqi cities like baghdad. So the greatest dan region is only a kurdistan region is really just a transit point. Correspondent it is the tricky part of isolating a region in the middle of the middle east. The neighbors cannot tolerate the independence bid, but if they close the borders they will block trade routes into and through iraq. But the region itself cannot stand alone. It exports pharma products and it relies on goods from neighbors, like iran, which has already closed one Border Crossing. Traders say they are feeling the impact already. It is certain that the closure of crossing points like this one is harmful. And in this case it is not just hurt the residents, it also harms the kurdistan region as a whole. Correspondent the region is already in the crosshairs. Iraq has put sanctions on their banks and they seized an oilrich city, so for their so for their Border Crossings could be disastrous. Denmarks participation of the 2019 womens world cup is in jeopardy. Brent we have a pay dispute between the Football Association and the Womens National team, and it has reached a deadlock with the players refusing to train. In response, the danes have canceled the qualifier against sweden, could and it could result in heavy sanctions from fief appeared correspondent business from fifa. Correspondent it looks like business as usual, but there is a strike. There is a disagreement on pay. After two sessions, the team met unofficially to prepare for the world cup qualifier against sweden. That is where they found out that the danish fa had canceled the match. It is a serious announcement. It is incredible that you want to cancel an international match. Correspondent the danish f. A. Said they had no choice after the operative increase investment in the team to 615,000 euros was rejected. The decision is quite sad, no question. We are to inform the swedish Football Association and fifa that we will not have players available on friday. Correspondent it is a turn of fortune for a team that was at the finals for the european championship. Now they will face fines for canceling the match and maybe expulsion from the world cup qualifying. If it leads to a penalty or if they lose the next two matches, it will have big consequences. The success may be forgotten. Correspondent wage disputes are not new for womens football. A new deal was made in 2015 after striking in the u. S. And earlier this month, the norwegian f. A. Introduced equal pay. At the center of the danish disput is a wage increase, but they also want equal conditions when it comes to training grounds, meals and accommodation. Both sides want to resolve the impasse, but it could come too late for the world cup hopes for the danes. Brent the football cessation has apologized to two team players for racial comment made to them by the formal coach mark sampson. An independent investigation concluded sampson had made the remarks to players but found he was not racist, during a fourhour parliamentary inquiry. He alleged the f. A. Had protected the coach and his reputation. Sampn was sacked last month for inappropriate behavior in a previous coaching position. Ok, a big day for comic book fans, millions of copies of the new asterix book are being released in europe. This time, the fans can follow the heroes as they complete the race across italy. Asterix and his sidekick take it up with the romans again. Correspondent it is ancient italy. We had italy in mind, then i had the idea of a cheery race, a rally from ancient times and a trip across the peninsula leading you from city to city. Correspondent this time, the two heroes do not just have to deal with pretentious romans, they have to win a race and beat peers competitors including goths and phoenicians. A challenge also for the cartoonist. There were lots of details. Chariots and horses and you need to fit them in the small boxes. Correspondent asterix and his sidekick make friends along the way, they team up with the tribe seeking independence from the powers in rome. And the story sounds all too familiar. Politics has caught up with us. Although we did not plan for that, with all happening in catalunya right now, our album has become more relevant. Do we want to win the race together, or sabotage each other . Correspondent maybe asterix and the race has some of the answers that europe needs. The new edition, only released today, is already a hot seller. Brent ok, you are watching dw news. After a short break i will be back to take you through the day. Stick around for that. Which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, this week on wealthtrack two highly rated investors, Rupal Bhansali and Andrew Foster discuss overseas opportunities and risks to avoid. Theyre next on Consuelo Mack wealthtrack. New york life along with mainstays family of mutual funds offers investment and Retirement Solutions so you help your clients keep good going. Additional funding provided by Thornburg Investment management, active management flexible perspective