And the social democrats edge closer to forming a new grand coalition. Made in employment and health policy. Hundreds of french chefs are hoping that their whisking, bea ting, roasting, and frying is enough to win a coveted michelin star. The newest restaurants in the guide will be announced later this monday. Security is tight outside of one courthouse in brussels. This is the trial of Salah Abdeslam gets underway. He is the only surviving member of the terror cell that carried out at deadly string of attacks here in paris in 2015. Bdeslam and one accomplice are on the docket for a gun battle in the belgian capital. Beenr, abdeslam has not going well. Earlier, i spoke to our brussels correspondent. She has this update to share. Just after 11 00 this morning, Salah Abdeslam was question for the very first time. Much to the dismay of many come he did not say much. He refused to stand and then said he would not answer any questions. Did not not but that mean he was a criminal or guilty. Came ife asked why he he refused to cooperate. He said because he was told to come. Then, in his or marx, he said the Muslim Community was badly treated and was never innocent until proven guilty. He said that he would put his trust in allah. Hasthe moment, the trial been adjourned until 1 30, but disappointment that Salah Abdeslam, in his first public appearance, is refusing to cooperate and answer any questions. Come holding onto his seat of power for a second term to the official and final results after a second round president ial runoff in cyprus has seen the conservative incumbent win. Astasiades hads an vowed to kick off talks about the mediterranean islands unification and is now full of promises about economic recovery. German conservatives and social democrats are hoping that the Sticking Points in health care and Employment Policy can be ironed out. Csu alliancels cdu and the sdp parties continue coalition talks. Both sides say in nerds have a made and that remaining teething troubles can be overcome. Martin schultz announced agreement has been reached on the Europe Section of these talks. With more from berlin, here is our correspondent. There are many issues in which these parties have reached an agreement, including the big Sticking Point of migration and to push back climate changnge goals by more than a decade. They also agreed on issues such as pensions and tax. They are on the path to reaching an agreement. Ththe issues, whwhich still neeo be ironed out, spilling over from sunday into this morning, include hehealth care e and labr laws. It is important that martin schulz, with h his social issue, makess his mark. He needs to prove to his social Democratic Party that he is rereally p pushing social isisss into this agreement. D docraticis social Party Members who will vote on the outcome of the agreement and whether or not to approve enteriri another c coalition gogovernment paid we have seseen another r a nber of socicial democrat membersrs rising. The deadline tomorrow is to come a member of the social democrats in germany and therefore have a say and vote in the outcome of this agreement. When anchulz, if and agreement is reached, will travel t the country, trying to convince social democrats to vote i in favor of an agreemenet and to enter the coalition government. O opponent iss leading a no grand coalition, traveling around the country, trying to convince social democrats to vote to block it. It is believed any outcome of this vote will be very narrow. Now, the turkish president has met with pope francis this monday. Security was massively tightened orth president erdogan with president erdogan arriving in a deserted square. Discussions range from the syrian civil war, discussions in iraq, and the global problem of refugees. Part of their agenda will be part of Donald Trumps decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. Ns visit toerdoga rome, we speak to our correspondent josephine mckenna. What do expect from these talks between the turkish leader and the head of the Catholic Church . Significants is a meeting, the first meeting between the turkish leader and the vatican in 59 years. The two leaders met this morning. They greeted each other with a cordial handshake. They turkish leader actually said thank you for your interest. The two leaders then went into a closed doors meeting, 50 minutes. There was probably some Common Ground on the issue of jerurusalem. Both have spoken out against Donald Trumps decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. That will be best they also the issue of refugees. Pope delivered an image of angel strangling demons, saying it was a simple of peace and jujustice. Not sure whether the pope raised the issue of the turkish offensive against kurdish militias, but certainly a significant meeting, one that is designed to strengthen relations between the vatican and turkey at this time. After that stop off this monday morning at the vatican, president erdogan has a yet more meetings lined up with italian officials pay what is the turkish president hoping to achieve in those discussions . He is having lunch, at the moment, with the italian president. Later today, he will meet with the italian prime minister. Turkey clearly wants to put you e. U. Remission back on the agenda. There is concern also about the strength of best t the state of libya at the moment and the flow of migrants coming from libya across the mediterranean. So looking at security. Certainly, tururkey will be looking to push that e. U. Issue. We have already had a strong statement opposing this from the antiimmigrant northern league, saying this is a shame that this visit is taking place, because of turkeys human rights record. And we are expecting a protest this afternoon. Thank you very much. The britishbased syrian observatory for human rights has aftered a foul smell helicopters bombed in the province sunday. Toxic gas was a panel used in those attacks. At least tenens of billilions ae killed in the airstrikes. The Syrian Foreign Ministry continues to deny the ongoing accusations that it does used chemical weapons. Use chemical weapons. American troops announced they have started to pull out from iraq following baghdads declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year. That is according to western contractors s at a u. S. Leled coalition base in iraq. We will bring you more on that story as soon as we have any more information. So africa now, and the kenyans kenyan governments decision to close three tv stations have sparked demonstrations. The government ignored a court order issued thursday demanding the trio of stations be reopened. They were shut down after they tried to broadcast live footage operationsficial and or money of the Opposition Leader secretary of state continues his tour of latin america with a stop off in argentina. Rex tillerson already announced washington will not rely sanctions on venezuela is best oilzuelas venezuelas indudustry. One of the aspects of issidering sanctioning oil what effect it would have on the venezuelan people. We are looking at options. In particular, we are looking at how to mitigate the impacts on u. S. Business interests. But also, there are other regional countries it would affect as well. Rex tillerson speaking in argentina. Staying with venezuela, president maduro vowed to seek a second sixyear term in office in aprils elections. It is unclear how many ballots he were actually bag. Many said his government is responsible for the worseningng economomic and social. Situation it has become a fact of life for many venezuelans. Like empty supermarket shelves, cacases of looting foror food he become increasingly commonplace. Governmenturos hunkering down to remain in power. Crime has prospered. One of the main motivators is turning out to be hunger. Aside from looting the food, they stole other items. They practically left us naked. Thats a the airconditioners, refrigerators everything. A hamburger on exchange for being on the lookout. Hungry mobs demanding food. And long lines at half empty supermarket. Food is sorely lacking. Shop lakers shop owners are wary of placing orders. The fear that the government will again slash prices. For truckers, delivering goods has become increasingly dangerous. They have attacked us a they have extorted us and taken everything. Everything. Less than two months into the new year, the sheer number of cases of lootingng has skyryrocketed. In 2018, t thereve been me ththan 590 incidents. 500 are of looting. Lawlessness spurred by hunger and political turmoil that has put venezuela at the very last place in the rule of law index. It will not hit the shelves in bookshops for another couple of weeks, but at least we know who the winners are. The food bible will announce which restaurants picked up a star and how many in this years edition at a lavish ceremony later in paris this morning. Clu when it comes to the michelin guide, it is different. T three weeks a month beforoe the verdict, people say i am very nervous. It is true that the michelin announcement in february always makes me wonder if it is worth it. He is not the only one. Even the most experienced chefs find the expectations of having a michelin star is hard. This acclaimed chef decided to relinquish three michelin stars after designing he could no longer put himself throughghhe ordealal. I want to carry all my job, just in a more calm and relaxed way. I am aware of the risk to that i could lolo customersrs. But it is a risk i am willing to take for the price of my freedom. For many chefs in the business, relinquishing the coveted award is unimaginable. A michelin star is the ultimate hallmark of fine dining and is consulted by millions worldwide. It has been in publication since 1900. This year, it is expected to hand out 621 stars. Scatola reporting. ,itime to go to thee business ns starting in south korea, where the heir of the samsung empire has been released from prison. Setn Appeals Court in seoul lee jaeyong free. The case is a commitment to south koreas ending what was seen as an inappropriate relationship between the government and the Business Elite. Walking free after almost a year in jail. Electronics vicechairman lee jaeyong expressing his room or spiritlee was the highest profile business figure in the investigation between business and critical powers paid he is accused of in and invest edition brought down the president , park geun hye. Withas originally charged using gets to curry favor with politicians in order to push through a memerger between two samsung affiliate in 2015. We express sincerest respect towards the wisdom and judgment of the panel o of judges. In regards to claims not accepted by the judges, we will do the best to make the truth come out in the supreme court. Guilty of the original verdicts have been upheld by the Appeals Court, but this has not hit business results. In 2017, some somes stocks climbed 41 . Samsung electronics posted a 69 billion revenue for the previous year, beating intel. Koreas new president has campaigned on an anticorruption message. This uturn in the verdict and the punishment for lee jaeyong raises questions about how the clinical and Business Elite will be held to account. Is move onto market news. Taking a beating amidst a global selloff. The European Index significantly in the red as markets follow wall street down. Share still down less than half a percent in the london puts on london ftse 100. The frankfurt dax down nearly 8 10 of 1 . Overhe nikkei closed down 2. 5 . Both europe and asia following wall streets lead off the u. S. Index posted its worst figures in two years. Dow futures pointing to a further slide when markets open monday. Ironically, it was a positive jobs report that set off the downturn. Wages and jobs. 2 rising inflation, with expected Interest Rate hikes making corporate borrowing more expensive. Analysts say it is sending investors to the relative safety of the bond market. When investors are worried with Interest Rates going up, it ofreases the substitution ability, which means that investors may go to less risky bonds. But also, the costs of doing business, especially if you borrow money, would reduce earnings per share. And for investors looking to discount future cash flows, the higher the Interest Rate, the lower the intrinsic value. Oflets take a look at more todays top business headlines. The u. S. Federal reserve gets its new chair monday. Jerome powell will be officially sworn in after taking over from outgoing chair yellen. Weaealthiest chair of the fed. A deal witheached french authorities to pay 200 Million Euros in back taxes. In 2012, france demanded the ecommerce giant pay. Agreed to report all french income locally in the future. Ryanair says its net profits rose 12 in the last three months, despite a scheduling crisis that saw thousands of Flights Canceled in the fall. It warned monday that staff disruptions could continue as it recognizes organized labor unions in countries it serves. The super bowl is a big business maybe a bit too big of a business for veterans with credit card debt. A personal finance site found that a trip to the game would if youound 11,500 put it on a cut regard and paid it monthly, that trip would take 17 years to pay off. Ifricans would were asked they would go to pay off the debt more than 80 would skip the game and pay the card. Thank you peavy move away from the world of his news to give you a spin through the newspapers in paris. We start with italy and the story of the manner shooting migrants the man shooting migrants. Six migrants were injured. Police say the attack appears to have been racially motivated. They have arrested a man who is actually a failed far right electoral candidate. According to one source, at the moment of his arrest, he was draping the italian flag across himself. Paper this is a story of a madman provoked by hatred and violence, the story of a disfigurement of our national flag. But the paper reminds us a recent crime committed by a nigerian its dutch immigrant also took place, it in which he killed and mutilated a young woman. The papers calling for justice for both men. Immigrants and racism have become predominant themes in italy with National Elections weeks away. We are looking at a rightwing paper called libero that attacks the left, zynga criminality of migrants is out of control, yet the left continues to bless the arrival of more migrants that is what the front page says here. As a result, italians are terrified, and fear towards foreigners is increasing. On the other hand, corriere della sera says the shows how easily g frighteningly easy it is they go from words to action, even comparing it to recent attacks by gunmen in the u. S. , saying perhaps that violence has arrived to the doorstep of italy. Theets move to a report by New York Times revealing secret alliance between egypt and israel. You may say frenemies. The New York Times revealed on mark israeli helicopters, jets, and drones have carried out air raids in the sinai region to root out the Islamic State. S not so much the it critiques this. The paper also wonders where israels ambitions go. Do they have other secret ambitions inside egypt. That remains to be seen. One israeli paper has a different take on the story. The Jerusalem Post is happy about this. They hail a new egyptian era. Is perhaps an essential in the fight. Lets cross the atlantic and talk about these super bowl yesterday, sunday evening over there. The president and his wife celebrated that match at their residence in florida. I am sure youre dying to know exactly how they celebrated the super bowl, but indeed, super bowl sunday is almost always about the parties just as much as it is about the football. The trumps held a party at clubld trump skull golf featuring scantily clad cheerleaders. Trump took aim at the nfl players who decided to take a knee during the National Anthem to protect racial injustice. Trumps team, the patriots, did lose. As soontedly left early as the patriots were down. The Philadelphia Eagles went on to historic win win the super bowl for the first time in their history. Lets look at their paper the inquirer. At long last, the eagles topple a dynasty. Are recent reports correlating american football to brain damage in players. You found a rather fascinating study on this issue. Scientists have been observing would packers woodpeckers, bearing in mind that the little birds slammed ahead and to treat at around 24 Kilometers Per Hour around 12,000 dimes times a day. This is similar to injuries in a wreck and footballers. Whyarchers are looking at woodpeckers do not get brain damage they have been around 25 million years, and they continue to slammed our heads into wood, so they are looking at why there is no brain damage in woodpeckers. It also left the door open to tod out how this could apply those suffering posttraumatic injury. For more on these interviews, check out our website. Www. France24. Com en. I am back in a few minutes with more world news and headlines. Stay tuned. Link tv presents alice walker. [applause] i have been thinking about whwhat i would likike to share y and somehow, Virginia Woolf kept coming to mindd because when i started out as a young writer many years ago, i had to face the daunting question of howw does one do that as a woman, a personon of color, someone who s not welltodo . I chanced d upon her book,