[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] there is relief after a 16 hour hostage drama. Heavily armed police stormed a downtown chocolate cafe. There was an eruption of gunfire and flash grenades were used. At least three people died, including the hostage taker. , he was not unknown to her authorities. He was an iranian refugee and self acclaimed muslim cleric who was free on bail. Charged in connection with the murder of his exwife. We will go live to sydney in a moment. We will begin with how the siege played out and ended. After nearly 17 hours of siege and negotiation, police had decided the moment had come. Shortly before hand in number of hostages have left, dashing toward the heavily armed Police Officer surrounding the cafe. Many held their arms in the air as they ran. Then the police moved in. Explosions and gunfire were heard as they ran into the building. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the gun man and at least one of the people were killed. Of several people were injured, including one woman who was shot in the leg. The man said to be responsible has been named. Seen here talking to media after a court appearance, he is a selfdeclared preacher. He has been charged in connection with the death of his own wife. And he was sentenced to carry out Community Service for sending abusive letters to the families of australian soldiers who had been killed in afghanistan. With central sydney locked down for much of monday and police positioned around the cafe, fears happen raised that the hostages were being held by a terrorist group. A black flag was held up. The hostage taker also asked police to bring him a flag of the middle east terrorist Group Islamic state. His loyalties said he was a damaged individual and not part of any group. Many groups condemn the entire incident, and said their use of the declaration of faith was completely inappropriate. We were going to live in sydney but we will get to that in a moment. In germany thousands have gathered for yet another demonstration against what they call the islam eyes a show in the islamisation of e urope. It has attracted larger and larger crowds comprised of right groups. They are being met with counter demonstrations. One lawmakers call neonazis and pinstripes. We have a correspondent standing by. A look at what these protests are unleashing across the country. Christmas is traditionally a season of goodwill. Angela merkel would like to see more of that in germany. We have the freedom to demonstrate in germany. There is no place for slander and defamation of people who come to our country from foreign lands. There has been a remarkable unity that spans parliamentary factions, all coming together to condemn begin a. When you see the kind of people that are organizing these demonstrations, it becomes quite clear there is a close connection to the radical white radical rightwing. That has nothing to do with peoples concerns and mainstream society. The Justice Minister went further, saying actions brought shame to germany. I have no sub but he for what is happening at the moment. These people march to vent their frustrations and their hatred of foreigners. And they put it all on the backs of refugees who have already lost everything. Figures from across the political spectrum have called for counter demonstrations. They say the majority of germans are welcome to refugees, and ready to lend a helping hand. Our correspondent is in dresden and has been at the demonstration. Tell us about the turnout and what sort of people are taking part. Right now i am standing interest in, where there is a big festival going on. It is a peace demonstration that was organized to counter the other demonstration, which happens just a few kilometers away from here. I heard the organizers say there were 12,000 people in the crowd. That could well be true. It was indeed very crowded. If that was true it would be the ninth consecutive time that those the missed rations have seen a rise in attendance figures. What do they want . Their official program says they are in favor of promoting the christian jewish culture in the west and they are against parallel societies. What i saw when i went to the demonstration was a very diverse crowd with mixed posters. Some of them had out right at hatred slogans from representatives from other of representatives from more of the more established parties. There is a support process calling not to provoke russia. It is a very diverse crowd. I get the feeling that there is a lot of angry citizens left behind in a society that is becoming increasingly competitive and dont feel represented by the more traditional parties here in germany. The problem with the movement is i saw a couple of outright hooligans who were not scared to shout slogans that go against the constitution. Thank you very much. We want to get to our top story. That is the end of the hostage taking in sydney australia. It is a little after 6 a. M. In sydney. Jonathan from the Daily Telegraph is on the line with us. Lets start with the hostages and fatalities among them. We understand three people, including the hostage taker, died. Ring us up to speed. Police are concerned there are three dead. Two hostages died. It was a 38yearold man and 38yearold woman. They were taken to the hospital and were dead by the time they arrived. There have also been several other injuries, but none of them have been lifethreatening. His profile is becoming clear. Do we know if he acted alone . He was alone, we do know that now. There will be questions about whether he had any sort of assistance from outside, any sort of net worth. He was a man with a long history in ninth place. He was a 50yearold man. He wasnt officially qualified. He was an accessory to murder charges. He was also convicted of really offensive letters to the families involved in australia. There will be questions about why police werent having close enough surveillance of a man that was on their radar. A positive story that has spun off on this has been social media. The Hashtag Illridewithyou is being praised around the world. Attacks like this can often come with vigilante attacks and antimuslim sentiment when it is a politically motivated attack like this. Instead what we are seeing is a social Media Campaign where they use this Hashtag Illridewithyou. They will ride with fellow muslims on buses and trains. It is completely lawabiding. And they remain an integral part of the broader community. Thank you very much. The end of the year is quickly approaching. The European Union wants to make another push for peace talks. It calls for a meeting of thick ukraine contact group. Christmas is approaching. That is little cheer for the foreign ministers. A year ago people took to the streets to call for closer ties to europe. The conflict is still a huge concern. Though russia and ukraine is still at odds, they renewed kohls for the ceasefire plan to be upheld. We cannot give up on our efforts. The agreement is the only document to which all parties committed themselves. Part of the commitment was a Demilitarized Zone in the ukraine. This buffer between prorussian separatists and ukrainian troops have not been established. A permanent ceasefire is almost impossible. They are concerned about an economic plight. It is lagging behind where reforms are due. A government has a chance. They will be in brussels when they will be looking for a peaceful solution to the ukraine conflict. Now to the never ending saga the new troubled berlin airport project. Several managers are leaving that top post. The International Airport has been under construction for nearly a decade and has missed several deadlines. The new opening date is 2017. He has made a career as someone who gets things done. Now he has thrown in the towel. Construction began in 2006 amid great optimism. The opening has been pushed back multiple times. The latest projection is operating in 2017. It was supposed to bring fresh energy to the project. He changed contractors. Little happened on the ground and the problem started to look in tractable. He has caught the political establishment by surprise. He also surprised me. With the berlin airport he shouldnt have any more surprises. He refused to from external consultants. There was also some doubt about whether his contract would be renewed. For now he is set to stay in office until the middle of next year. Coming up after the break we travel to speak with a former member of somalias islamist terrorist groups. He talks about how terrorists are swapping information with allied groups in neighboring countries. Also much of belgium has been on strike this monday. An update on market action, and the trough for the Champions League is made. We will be back in just over a minute. Stick around. , the smalley a military cyst hen soldiers, including a senior commander, have died in an earlymorning assault. Fighters armed with rocket propelled renates, machine guns, and tanks attacked their army base in the south. The islamists who had only been driven out of their last major strongholds are now turning to guerrilla style. Two of our journalists will be filing a series of reports on the rise of terrorist organizations in parts of africa. We challenges faced in somalia. The smalley a government controls the capital and the Islamist Group has been pushed back. They are still operating and still launching rains. He hasnt always been a hairdresser. Just months ago he was an influential member of the terrorist group, trying to start a new life. It is worth it. He is happier to talk in a quiet neighborhood outside the city center. Near the heavily fortified United Nations compound, it is relatively stay relatively safe. Only here surrounded by Armed Security men it talks about the terrorist network stretching across africa. There are close links to different terrorist groups. This just isnt about this isnt just about shared beliefs. Fighters often traveled to yemen for training and vice versa. There are lots of connections. He joined the group out of religious conviction. Because he completed high school he quickly rose through the ranks. His final post was in the dem was in the administrative center. Is there he discovered how african terrorist groups share knowhow and fighters. It is not easy. They found out how to do so. One important method involves disguising fighters heading for europe. They joined the big groups of migrants that set out from somalia. They crossed several borders before reaching libya. They dont carry on to europe from there. Instead they vanish into the desert in the south. It means the youth in arabic. The group is considered an offshoot of al qaeda. It is responsible for many kidnaps. They also operate in neighboring kenya and uganda. The militants have taken advantage of the chaos left by 20 years of civil war. Somalia Central Government is struggling to assert its authority. There was little infrastructure to speak of. Ideal conditions to recruit terrorists. They should not be underestimated. They want to turn smalley into an islamist state. They have global ambitions. The former minister of information always said we have to keep fighting until we raise the islamist flagged over alaska. He will not fight anymore. He is still a devout muslim but he know over but he no longer believes. It is a band of criminals. We are joined by one of the correspondents who brought us that report. He is on skype. What was the atmosphere like when you traveled . You can feel the threat of fighters everywhere. We can only leave the hotel in Armored Vehicles in a convoy. This is acceptable. When you have to live with it on a daily basis, like our colleagues from somalia, this situation becomes unbearable. Where are they getting their support . What is motivating young men to join . It is very successful when it comes to influencing young people. Religious fanatics are now only a minority. It is a business in a failed state. A lot of them have the option. You have to fight or you die. Reporting for us. You can find the full interview with the jihadist featured on the report. Back here in europe, belgium is in the grip of a nationwide 24 hour strike. Public transits, schools, businesses, and public offices have been affected. The action is in protest to cut public services, extend working hours, and raise the retirement age. The fires are more to block the road, barring axis to an industrial state. Flights have been canceled and trains are not running. We felt we could have gotten out early this morning. It messes up our plan a little bit. There are no plans of brussels airport. It affects all belgian airspace. The centerright governments intent on implementing safety measures. These will affect primarily workers, employee pensioners, and the sink. On to the markets in europe. A pretty steep selloff. We have the summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. Traders do not believe in a quick recovery. Besides flooding the economy with money, not much has happened. The prospect is not so bad. The economy is in remarkable good condition. Saving consumers and companies about 30 billion euros per year. The German Market had a good start into today but the mood remains a very nervous. We can stay for a quick look at the number, starting with the dax. The finishing number was 9330 four, down by nearly 3 . The dow off by one third percent. The euro trading lower against the greenback. It has been a nightmare 24 hours for uber. Australians turned against the company after saying they were charging people up to 100 australian dollars to escape the city during the cafe siege. They are already banned in major cities around the world, like brussels and berlin. The french government has announced a ban as well. Operation escargot, or operation snail is what taxi drivers are calling their antiuber protest. Motorists had to be patient at the part at the french capitals busiest type of day. All the drivers were in agreement. Today what is important is the safety of our clients and that existing legislation be respected. The app is already under a cloud. The interior ministry has called for a ban on uber from january. After that there could be hefty fines or even prison sentences if it offers taxi rides with private drivers. They have ignored any legal doubt any legal challenges. Uber appears confident it can afford that Legal Protection to fight off the restrictions. Noun to the Champions League where the 16 best Club Soccer Teams have learnt today who they will face in the next round. A will be taking on an italian champion. Will be attacking the current titleholders. Will cross sorts with chelsea english. Manchester city will face barcelona. Londons arsenals will face monica. Thank you for watching. More news for you at the top of the hour. oox co via hello and welcome to focus on europe. Thanks very much for joining us. Im damien mcguinness, and weve got a great show lined up for you today. Getting their kicks underground. Moldovan children getting left behind, and chinese investors getting a golden visa in portugal. But first, to belgium, where there are concerns about the growing numbers of people opting for assisted suicide. 12 years ago, belgium became one of the first countries in the world to legalize euthanasia