I am phil. Welcome to the show. Meeting for crisis talks after a report of a series of robberies and sexual assaults on new years eve, carried out by a group of up to 1000 men, and they are calling this a completely new dimension of crime. The mayor of cologne brought together people for an emergency summit. Their message was clear. Everyone should be able to party in cologne in safety, and they announced immediate measures. The steps include providing interpreters, and we also plan to set up a coordination body, as well as improving lighting and introducing mobile cctv units. New years eve saw a spate of sexual assaults at the main cologne station. Police have so far received 90 complaints, including theft and violent attacks. There were others from hamburg. We cannot tolerate the kind of behavior we have seen at cologne Central Station and elsewhere in germany. This cannot happen again, and the perpetrators must be punished. At the same time, it needs to be determined if this is a new form of organized criminality that we will now have to take legal steps against. Authorities are now keen to make sure they are better prepared for the imminent carnival season. Phil our political correspondent, thomas, is at the studio. We heard the Justice Minister talking about a new kind of organized criminality. What does that mean . Thomas that is exactly what they want to find out, if this is a new form of organized crime, and that is why authorities want to find out first and foremost who these perpetrators are, if they have this north african origin, and also how they were organized. Using social media platforms to organize, or whether they had any accomplices there that might have helped them, so those other questions that authorities are going to try to answer now. What we know is that there were a series of groups around the central train station, mostly young men between the age of 18 and 35 and are of arab or north african dissent. Phil i suspect that is likely to affect the immigration debate. Thomas it will affect the debate, the origin of the alleged perpetrators may be used by those against refugees in germany, those who want to stir up antiimmigrant policies. It should not be linked to the general refugee debate. The mayor said, for example, there was no indication that the traders were refugees that has been housed in cologne, and the Justice Minister said as far as the Justice System is concerned, they key aspect is not where a person comes from or what type of passport he has or whether he or she committed a crime. That is how they are planning to move forward. Phil how unusual is it for federal authorities to be involved in what appears to be a city or local matter . Thomas it is a local matter, but we cannot forget there have been other cases in germany. There were also reports in hamburg in northern germany, 10 cases there, and now they are trying to figure out whether those cases were connected in any way. That is the investigation at the moment, but people are really focusing on cologne and what happened to their new years eve. Phil thomas, thank you. Our social media desk has also been following this story, and elizabeth is here to talk about how reactions played out. First of all, lets talk about the police who said that new years eve had passed fully come but then they backtracked. Elizabeth that is right, phil, and there was a post from cologne, where they said everything was calm and peaceful , and that they were in a celebrating and festive mood, and they said they only had one incident in front of the main nation in cologne. They had to clear an area in front of the station because some people were shooting fireworks into the crowd, but despite all of that, everything remained calm, and then one day later, they went on and published a statement saying they are receiving these reports from these women. The actually have a tweet from an eyewitness who was there on new years eve. She said the police sent her away and that it is shameful they are only taking action now when everybody is reporting about it, and we talked to her, and she wanted to report that her phone had been stolen and that she and her friends had been attacked by this crowd, that people started crowding them and touching them everywhere. Phil this is stirring up antiimmigrant sentiment online. A list of yes, that is right, and we have a statement from a Rightwing Party that has been very vocal about limiting the numbers to come to germany, and this is what they have posted on their page. They say they are asking german chancellor Angela Merkel whether germany is now colorful enough for her, as it does she inc. That there are enough immigrants or enough migrants here, because Angela Merkel, of course, is welcoming immigrants and migrants, and some people are blaming muslims, but others say that crimes like these are carried out by people of all ethnicities. Phil all right, elizabeth, thank you very much. Investigators could be a step closer to solving the mystery of the who shot down the malaysian flight mh 17 in 2014. A britishbased group of citizen journalists have collected data on social media, and they say it implicates russia, and they deny their involvement. Report Malaysian Airlines flight mh 17 went down in wartorn Eastern Ukraine in 2014 with degree and metal spread all over. All 298 passengers on board died. Two weeks passed before they can access the site and gather evidence, but at the same time, a parallel investigation into the crash by an International Team began. In earlier findings, a group said that a missile launcher had been filmed before and after the crash and that after the crash, one missile was missing. Later, they presented evidence to the dutch probe, that they should reassemble the fragments. The Dutch Safety Board concluded that the plane was, indeed, brought down by a missile detonating to the left of the aircraft. Western nations and the ukraine believe the missile was fired from the prorussian separatists authority, but the russians are pointing their finger at the russian military, instead, and dutch officials are still debating who should have charges. The group has now identified 20 soldiers from the russian 53rd antiaircraft brigade it believes that were likely involved in the downing of the malaysian airliner. Phil earlier, we spoke to the founder of the group, elliott higgins, and asked him to set out his allegations about that russian units role in downing the plane. Elliott taken on july 17 and july 18, and from that, we were able to establish that it came from russia. We discovered footage in june showing it going through russian territory. Based upon that and other items that we found, we were able to track it back to the point of origin, which was the 53rd brigade. We then spent the last year basically searching for every single scrap of information we could find about the soldiers who took part in that unit, the soldiers in convoy, the command were, and they likely have the launch of shot down mh 17. Phil in the middle east, dangerous protest at the embassy in saudi arabia was attacked after the executed a top shia cleric. Concern is growing that tensions between iran and saudi arabia will have severe repercussions for the entire area. Reporter saudi arabia and iran have a deeply rooted rivalry, with a proxy war for greater influence in the muslim world, but these most recent events have raised tensions to a new level. The war of words backed by angry protest across the region is threatening to draw the rivals into more direct conflict, and fears are growing internationally that this added unrest could impact prospects in his syria. The United Nations is calling on leaders to soften their rhetoric. It is something the secretary is following extremely closely, and they would call for all leaders in the area whether political or other to avoid adding fuel to the fire by adding statements that would increase tensions between different religious groups in the region. Reporter but that seems unlikely in the short term, as leaders on both sides dig in their heels and accuse the other side of being the instigator. Phil u. S. President barack obama is planning to unveil his measure on one control that is expected to include tougher background checks and stricter rules on gun sales. He says he has the power to do so without congressional approval. Reporter lines outside a gun show in california before the regulations were announced. Reactions to the barack obama toughening of the rules on gun sales are mixed. So he has got to do something about it. He is tired of so many children dying every year, so i do not blame him. It affects the Second Amendment ability to bear arms, and i think it is unconstitutional and should not happen. Reporter the measures do not affect the estimated 300 million firearms already in u. S. Households. After congress refused to respond for tighter measures, he decided to act alone, using the president s executive powers. President obama these are not only recommendations that are well within my Legal Authority and the executive branch, but they are also ones that the overwhelming majority of the American People including gun owners support. Reporter obamas unilateral move is certain to become an issue in the election. Republicans are already vowing to overturn the measures if they win. Phil other stories around the world, in kenya, a University Reopening after militants massacred 148 people about a year ago. The reopening is being hailed as a victory over the jihadist. Over a dozen people have been killed in a bus fire in china that broke out during rushhour in once city. Officials suspect arson. Police say they are searching for a suspect. Turkish Authorities Say they have recovered the bodies of at least 34 migrants who were drowned off of the aegean coast. Their boat capsized in rough waters in two separate incidents. It is believing that they were trying to reach a greek island. This report contains images you might find disturbing. Reporter here, all that the locals could do was help the Police Recover bodies. Several children were among the dead. We came in our go. We heard that a boat had hit the rocks and say. I think these people died when they were trying to swim from the rocks. We came here to help as citizens. The migrant rubber boats apparently capsized as they try to reach the greek island just 10 kilometers away. More bodies were washed ashore nearby. The Turkish Coast guard dispatched to search for possible survivors and managed to rescue several. Despite the harsher winter weather, migrants continue to make the short but hazardous journey from turkey to greece. It has become the main gateway to the eu four migrants fleeing the civil war in syria and other conflicts. More than 3000 people died trying to cross the mediterranean last year, phil this is dw news live from her lynn. More in just a moment. Every woman and man knows that a child needs food. We had a lot of problems. They eat nothing when coming from home. Any one of us. Phil this is dw news live from berlin. Our top stories at this hour. Crisis talks are taking place in cologne after alleged sexual assaults involving hundreds of men on new years eve. The german Justice Minister described the attacks as a completely new item of criminals. And gathering new evidence implicating russian soldiers in the downing of flight mh 17 over ukraine. Dutch prosecutors say they will study the claims. And a reality check for volkswagen. Ben has the information. Ben the u. S. Is suing vw, and it is expected to reach 90 billion. The Justice Department says that is speculation. Lawsuits are often settled at a fraction of the cost, and the news has scared investors into another big selloff, six today, the biggest loss on the german dax. And we are joined now from the frankfurt floor. Conrad, tell me. Dont me know when or where this story will dont we know where this story will end . Conrad ben, it is something completely different to evaluate in numbers, how big the burden, the financial burden will eventually be for the carmaker. It is. Speculation at the moment. What i can tell you is the amount of money that they have set aside so far for costs related to the omissions and oh is a. 7 billion euros. That is right, about 9. 5 billion related to the emissions is billions of euros. Ben what would be a realistic outofcourt settlement if it comes to that . Conrad you know what . They are looking back, but i would say that they were looking comparably, and a 2003, there was a breaking of the clean air act, and eventually, toyota had to pay only 34 million. Whether or not a favorable nation like this will apply to volkswagen, of course, remains to be seen. Ben ok, what about its stock . Conrad it is down today, but if we look at the strong recovery of the share since the scandal came out, i think it is clear that despite the downswing today, many investors are out there that think that volkswagen is worth it. Thank you very much for joining us, conrad. Shares did not continue the massive plunge. In shanghai, shares lost nearly 7 yesterday. The composite index crept into positive territory, and analysts are warning investors to collect for more price swings in the days and months ahead. And a reporter joins us from singapore to give us more analysis. Tell us about the government measures that have helped it creep back into positive territory, as i mentioned there . Reporter first, if you notice, this is thanks to some shares bought using some state backed funds. Secondly, the China Central bank has announced it will pump in 19. 9 billion worth of shortterm funds into the countrys financial system, and thirdly, the stock market regulator has come for to ensure investors that more guidelines will be announced about the selling by stockholders. Phil ok, back in the summer when the ban was announced, more selling could be in the pipeline . Reporter it has already happened. Investors lost confidence in how china is going to stabilize the markets. But the ban is not the only reason for the sellout. Other concerns are about liquidity, even in action on stimulus plans that were put in place, so this looks like it could be a prolonged situation. Phil what is the government telling the people . Because this is not just about the trust of Foreign Investors that chinese investors. What is the government telling the public . Because their message so far has been to stay in the game and try to ride this out. Reporter that message has not changed. The government is saying ride it out. Do not get attached to the bulls and the bears or the rises and the falls. Take a look at the bigger picture. Hang on, and you might get rewards. There are other investors however, especially the smaller time daytraders, who have been swearing off investing altogether after such major losses in the summer last year, and there are some economists who said they should be cautious, because while we do not know what the year it lies ahead, volatility is still to be expected. Bill ok, you could not blame some of those traitors or investors, some of them losing tens of thousands of dollars in a equivalent. The big option in the tokyo fish market is part of a tradition in japan, and this year, a monster tuneup tuna, and the buyer is a big sushi restaurant. The big smile is about that pricey had to pay, over 1 million, and the savings is what he was smiling about. The sale is also important because this is the last year for the ancient market as they are moving to a new location. Reporter on the Central African state of zambia has suffered high rates of deforestation. Millions of hectares of forest land were lost. It is a country where most survived by his subsistence farming, but they are hoping to change attitudes. One of the worlds national wonders. My name is , and i am age 26. I am from livingston. I am so passionate about the environment. Reporter she wants to turn her passion into her profession. She studies Environmental Science at the university of zambia. You can see how beautiful this place is. It looks very beautiful. Why would anyone want to spoil that beauty . And what this can do to the environment or the damage it can cause. Reporter victoria falls, a World National heritage site, on the border. She wants to preserve their beauty. This kind of protection that i have started way back when i was young at the age of about 10. I always a clean and refreshing environment. I love to feel cool. There is peace and refreshment that you feel when youre in a good environment. Reporter she wants to inspire others about her knowledge for environmental protection. She teaches children and adults about the danger of allowing the destruction of the environment to continue. There is the grand old man of Environment Protection at the victoria falls. He is a figure of great motivation for her. He has thought against the distraction of the environment for decades. Whenever there is enough money, the two by trees and plant them. This time, they are doing it in the childrens village in livingston. Always better. You or the three. The tree is generously giving you the oxygen without asking. This is what we must do. We must appreciate the tree. Reporter they also have a weekly radio show to spread the message of protect the environment. The language used is english, since zambia has more than 70 dialects. Are we planting and up trees . We are having difficulty with this lifestyle. These are big problems. What can we do about it . We can go to solar. Reporter but something needs to happen quickly. They can see the effects of the ongoing drive period in the country. They say there is far too little water in the river. It would be a terrible thing to lose out on the benefits. Look at the beauty of the falls. It has dried up. Why . Because of the Climate Change we have brought on ourselves. We can reverse the Climate Change and check the environment. Phil an indian teenager has set a new world record in cricket by scoring more than 1000 runs in a single inning. The 15yearold almost double the old record, which dates back to the 19th century. He hit 59 sixes and 127 fours. Another players started batting on monday. It was 6. 5 hours. Here is a reminder of the top story we are following for you. The german city of cologne is holding crisis talks after mass sexual assaults and an alleged rape involving hundreds of men on new years eve get the german Justice Minister described the attacks as a completely new dimension of criminal is him. Criminalism. Your uptodate. We will have more at the top of the hour. Have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its ca euromaxx highlights. Here is your host. Welcome to our highlights show, bringing you the best picks of the week. Heres a look at whats coming up. Formula for success. How traditional fashion label Louis Vuitton stays on top. Christmas in stockholm. We take a tour of the swedish capital during the holiday season. And twist of fate. Refugees produce Designer Furniture for berlin startup. Its one of the biggest names in fashion, with signature handbags recognizable anywhere. Louis vuitton, in business for over 160 years. The luxury french label has long been associated with the creme