Welcome to the program. Following the funeral of the saudi king, the white house says president barack obama will be speaking with the new saudi king in the coming days. Its a sign of the strategic importance of saudi arabia, a key regional ally. The long reigning king died yesterday and was very today in an unmarked grave following friday prayers. King solomon king salman has promised fairness from the ruling dynastys thirdgeneration. The body of King Abdullah was brought into the main mosque in riyadh for a simple ceremony. Leaders from around the gulf joined in prayer. Even the regional rival iran is sending its foreign minister to a ceremony. He came to the throne at the age of 81, but he had already been to factor region for nearly 10 years before that, presiding over the holy city of neck as well as the economic might of one of the Worlds Largest oil producers. Saudi arabia is a powerful ally of the united states, supplying america with oil in return for u. S. Weapons. The u. S. And saud arabia also share a common rival in iran. Their alliance was tested in 2011 with the onset of the arab spring protest. When demonstrations broke out in saudi arabia, the king launched a violent crackdown on protesters. But the nation soon united again in the battle against al qaeda. Last year, they also agreed to fight side by side against Islamic State. On the domestic front, abdullah introduced cautious reforms intended to modernize his kingdom, introducing local government elections and opening the way for women to serve on the council, but saudi arabia continues to be extremely conservative, and strict sharia law remains in place. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has taken over. He is seen as a conservative and has promised to continue the policies of his predecessors. We will continue with gods grace and strength committed to the rightful approach followed by the state since its inception at the hands of the founder. King salman has a lengthy political career behind him. He served as defense minister and deputy prime minister. He will have to call on that experience as he faces numerous domestic and Foreign Policy challenges. One of the Biggest Challenges facing the saudi kingdom is the rise of radical jihadists, even within its own borders. Lets bring in our security analyst from the German Institute of international and security affairs. First of all, will this new saudi government increase its health of the west in its fight against the global jihad, and is it raising its own insurrection. The kingdom, i think, has shown that it wants continuity in its domestic and International Relations or years to come, and in fact, it cannot do more than it does right now. It is against the will of a great part of the population. It is taking part in the air war in syria against is. S. S. , and that is part of the problem against the kingdom because theyre so much resistance. The saudi government wants to show that it is really an Islamic State, and that is why we have seen the government cracking down on the liberal opposition in the country in recent months. Certainly, saudi arabia is itself a radical sunni state that executes blasphemers. We had the flogging, of course of the blogger there. Might any of that change under the new king, or is what you just said basically a plane no way . It is, and we might even see a radicalization of saudi religious policies because they are under pressure by i. S. To show that they are the Islamic State and that the caliphate up there, and that is why i expect this conservative backlash to go on at least for a couple of months. Moving forward, a more conservative saudi arabia. Thanks so much for now. Just to the south of saudi arabia, neighbor yemen is threatened with little chaos following battles between houthi tribesmen and government forces. There was political of shia muslims from the mountainous north of the country. They taken over large parts of the capital effectively deposing the westernbacked president , who they say has been acting against their interests. An emergency meeting of the parliament has been called for this weekend to put together an interim government. These are the men now calling the shots in the yemeni capital. The houthi rebel fighters have set up roadblocks throughout the city, celebrating their victories. But their power grab has not gone according to plan. Earlier this week, they squeeze concessions out of the president after overrunning the president ial palace. The next day, the government resigned, leaving a sudden power vacuum the rebels had not reckoned with. The president followed suit, but parliament refused to accept the resignation. Yemen is the poorest country in the middle east, and problems political and economic are mounting. They are not all homegrown. Experts say the shiite houthis are supplied with weapons and money by iran while saudi arabia has provided support for yemens sunni president. Its a proxy war with dire consequences. Many here have had enough. On thursday, hundreds protested. Was happening here is a farce, a crew that has complete that is completely unconstitutional a coup that is completely unconstitutional. There are fears al qaeda could exploit the power vacuum. Thats a worrying prospect theory the groups offshoot in yemen is considered the most dangerous in the world. Lets return now to our middle east expert. We were just talking about saudi arabia, now were talking about yemen. How dangerous is the political vacuum in that country, and could yemen be staging ground for jihadist attacks on the west . Yemen has already been a staging ground for jihadist attacks, most recently in paris. The two brothers who attacked satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were most likely trained by al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in yemen in 2011. Thats why the situation over there right now is so dangerous. The president has been a staunch ally of the west, and now the u. S. Has lost its last reliable ally in the country. I cannot imagine how they will go on fighting al qaeda successfully without the help of a strong local actor now. Who is supplying the rebels and the government with weapons and money, and besides al qaeda, stands to benefit the most from it alien and . I think that currently, iran is benefiting from the situation. Theres a competition going on regionwide between iran and saudi arabia and how the arabia has lost its former influence in the country. Most importantly because it had a fallout with the local Muslim Brotherhood ever since it began fighting the brotherhood in the wider region in 2012. That is less saudi arabia is supporting some tribes but that is why saudi arabia is supporting some tribes, but without much success. On the other hand, the tribe houthis have taken over the capital. They will most likely govern north yemen in the coming year. A possible division of that country once again. Its very likely, yes. Thanks so much for your insights. Islamist terror playing a role on the agenda at the World Economic forum in doubles, switzerland don vos davos switzerland. The french president calling on leaders to do more in the fight against terror. He urged big businesses to Work Together to choke off terrorist funding. He said internet firms could play an instrumental role in identifying websites used by terrorist groups. His comments come two weeks after paris suffered terrorist attacks that killed 17 people. Our correspondent was listening very carefully to what the french president had to say. Here is his rap of todays talks. Rise to the challenges thats the dramatic plea from the french president. He says that politicians and Business Leaders need to recognize the source of extremism, cut off funding flows, strengthen border patrols, and the economy providing education and security to avoid the type of despair that can lead to extremism. He also says the wars in iraq and syria need to be stopped now and the consequences of war have been a big topic here. The refugees as a result there are now more than 50 million refugees worldwide, a staggering a year, and there has been a plea for europe to take on more of these asylumseekers and share the burden. There has been public backlash. Its a costly process. It can take years for an Asylum Seeker to have his or her application process. It should only take a matter of days, so a speedier response is what is needed and more action. They are the pleas from davos in regards to dealing with terrorism and conflict. They advance of the i. S. In syria and the ongoing conflict continues to send thousands of people fleeing for their lives. This is putting, of course, a massive strain on the resources of a small country with a population of just 4 million. The crisis is making life hard not only for Syrian Refugees but for the lebanese as well. Just 20 kilometers run the Syrian Border lies the valley where half a million syrians have fled. Most are put up in provisional camps, which offer little shelter from the icy winter. She arrived here two years ago from aleppo with her three daughters. Her husband stayed in syria to look after his sick brother. For the tent electricity and water, she has to pay about five euros a month. Everyone here is paid a food allowance of 24 euros a month, but its nowhere near enough and often the family has to borrow money. Still, they are relieved to be here. Hunger we can bear, but not the death of a child. Here we are hungry and thirsty. But for a mother, the most important thing is not to lose a child. My daughters are nearly grown up, but they are still my children. We can take the risks here, but not the risk of being killed in syria. Before the war i was in the extreme. When the fighting started, they sent us home. Then they threatened to kill us if we stayed in our village. First, we fled to aleppo. Then they would not let us go back to our village. Thats why we ended up leaving for lebanon. But there are dangers here, too. The gas for the portable heating is expensive, so many families in their stoves. Many children have died from the fumes. The icy winter months are especially hard, but they are not the only ones who are suffering. The vast number of refugees in the country has put the lebanese people under increasing pressure by causing unemployment, prices to rise and the cost of infrastructure. Without more help from the international community, lebanon will not be able to cope with this humanitarian catastrophe much longer. The head of the nearby village surrounded by caps says people here used to work for 26 euros a day. Now theyve lost their jobs to syrians charging 4 euros. Thats not the only problem. Today, our village uses three times as much electricity as before the crisis. The same goes for water and sewage. Our Sewage Systems cannot cope. The refugees dump their brotherton the rivers or on the streets. The caps set up on the fields are destroying the local farming. His are out of control. We need a strategy. Desperate times for both locals and refugees. Over those mountains, 20 kilometers away, is syria. It is so close but for us, it is simply unreachable. During the day, at least temperatures have recently risen, offering some welcome back to the show. To africa now with a number of new ebola infections continues to fall. The emily on has lifted quarantines in most areas. Is the outbreak began last year more than 3000 Sierra Leoneans have died from the disease, and the country has had almost half of the total 21,000 infections. Lifting quarantine measures is a sign of huge progress, but sierra leones president is warning the battle is far from over. Its encouraging news for the people of sierra leone. Authorities report nook and friend cases have dropped from 60 a day late last year to just nine authorities report new cases have dropped from 60 a day late last year to just nine. We are now entering a transitional phase. Given the progress being made against the disease, we must take action. Travel bans imposed to curb the spread of the virus have been lifted, and the government has eased restrictions on trading hours in the capital. Apart from the human toll, ebola has crippled the economies of the three worst affected vest african nations west african nations, but they warn the people should not let their guard down. The fight will not be over until we have had zero cases for 42 cases for 42 days. Despite the positive news there was a sobering message from the World Health Organization in geneva. The United Nations agency warned friday that the campaign against ebola could warrant cash before february. Ukraine now where the official death toll in the crisis has risen above 5000. Thats according to the United Nations human rights office. In the past few days and the past few days have been the most deadly since the declaration of a ceasefire back on september 5. Its estimated that an average 29 People Per Day have been killed, many of them civilians. The violence has centered in and around the eastern city of donetsk which sought a bloody attack on a bus yesterday that left over a dozen civilians dead. It almost looks like business as usual in this relatively quiet part of donetsk, but a ceasefire is a distant reality with fresh clashes still being reported on the edges of the city. The situation is threatening to get worse. The prorussian separatists have rejected truce talks and announced a major new offensive. We decided not to wait until the Ukrainian Army starts and offensive and moves battle formations and let them hurt us. Instead, we will push the front line back to the border of the donetsk republic. The announcement comes just a day after the shelling of a trolley bus internet, which both sides have blamed on each other. The attack was the latest incident in a number of heavy clashes in recent days. Kiev claims that prorussian separatists were responsible for the incident and ukraine president Petro Poroshenko has vowed to take action. But russian president Vladimir Putin says kia kiev was to blame. He says the Ukrainian Government ignored his ceasefire proposal and therefore has fueled the violence. Sadly we did not receive any clear response to our proposal. On the contrary, the Ukrainian Military have strengthened their operations on all fronts. The result has been dozens killed and wounded. The United Nations high commissioner for human rights says the civilian population in Eastern Ukraine is paying a heavy price in the conflict. The agency puts the overall death toll in ukraine above 5000 with more than 260 killed since midjanuary. The European Central banks massive Bond Purchasing Program is still driving the markets as is the upcoming greek snap election on sunday. We have more from the frankfurt stock exchange. A day after this historical ecb meeting, traders were still hungry for more and were still in the mood to buy shares. The german dax going through the roof reaching a new alltime high above 10,700 points. There was also a lot going on at the bond market. Yields fell on a record level but for how long this party will go on, some of the traders were getting very nervous with regard to the greek election because nobody knows what will happen afterwards. Heres a quick look at the numbers for you now. The dax ended the day up by more than 2 at 10,649. Eurozone euro stoxx 50 also ending the day on a very strong note. The Dow Jones Industrials currently in negative territory down by about. 5 . The euro still losing ground currently at 1. 1233. We just heard about greece, and its time now for the latest installment on a series weve been running all week focusing on greece ahead of elections on sunday. In previous installments, weve had a look at how the economic downturn has impacted citizens and businesses. Today, we focus on corruption. Thats right. Despite the deteriorating economy, there are those who use their connections to be a mass financial gains and avoid the slate of financial taxes. In athens marina, Luxury Yachts are lined up. Despite the crisis, there is money aplenty in greece, but its all help write a few superrich and not the state. Hoping to change that, the government recently brought in a luxury tax. Anyone with a yacht like this has to pay that tax. So do the owners of private pools and fancy cars. Tax inspectors rarely come down here, and many wealthy greeks end up driving their way instead of paying taxes. Anticorruption laws are said to be stiff but are they really . That question takes us to the heart of the capital to a district showing few signs of the economic crisis. Weve seen a surge in smallscale corruption. A large part of the workforce has lost a great chunk of its income. To retain a living, they resort to corruption and its particularly rife among civil servants. To help change that, his agency is developing a new strategy aimed at strengthening the authorities hand through increased cooperation. We put in place powerful laws against corruption, and they are being implement it but the legal system moves too slowly. The Police Worked well, but whats missing is cooperation. Thats what we want to improve to tackle corruption. He wants to see regular meetings of all those involved in the right, including eu representatives. He hopes that will stamp out shady deals. The question remains how that can be achieved if the circumstances here do not change. Lawyers and economists working for the government Anticorruption Agency barely get enough money just over 1000 euros a month. That means they have to seek additional jobs to supplement their official pay. Some things, though, are changing. Organizations such as Transparency International say there are signs of a shift in greeks mentality on the issue. The government has arrested quite a few people. Thats a lot of good news. We have seen a lot of people going to the public prosecutor, but that is a wave which is only a wave. If you dont make it a soon army it will not help. Indeed, things are unlikely to change if that wave does not spread to greeces superrich the ones who could surely afford to do without corruption. Downhill skiings toughest race gets under way in austria saturday. Skiers will be testing their metal on the legendary race in hong kong in austria. A film has now been made to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the prestigious event. It documents some of the races most extreme moments. The race is the ultimate test for the best skiers in the world. The athletes risk at all for a chance to join the ranks of skiing legends who have conquered the circuit of the mountain. The risk you take is that you have to be 100 percent focused. Otherwise, you will be thrown off course, and that is dangerous. Serious crashes prompted organizers to make the circuit easier in some spots in recent years. For the 75th anniversary the race is back to being as tough as it ever was. I high jump once again awaits skiers on the final stretch. New approach you approach the final jump at 140 kilometers per hour. At that speed, when you are tired, even the smallest mistake could be disastrous. Celebrities from all over the world come to watch the gladiators on skis. The race down the mountain has become an important economic factor for the region. Each year, the event becomes more and more glamorous. The best lead in the world so for me to be here this weekend is a privilege. Its the monica the formula one of skiing. Its the most exciting, most dangerous downhill peace in the world with amazing athletes, and its a huge party. This years party is just getting started. Crowds of up to 90,000 people are expected. A further 500 million fans around the world will although the race on their television screens. Hard to imagine 75 years ago without helmets imagine that. What a race. Thanks for joining us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] t the king of saudi arabia had died, a number of foreign leaders gathered for a Funeral Service and burial. The late king was wrapped in a simple shroud and was then placed in an unmarked grave, signifying that all people, even kings, are equal in death