i am sarah harman. welcome to the show. sarah: a clinton eyeing another six-year term in office. now he has been warmly endorsed. he is running as an independent jamaica most of his personal popularity amongst russians area more than six hundred supporters including prominent lawmakers and actors have gathered in moscow for the endorsement. this allows putin to take part in the march election as an independent candidate. if these young russians came to see the kremlin traits that were treated to a surprise appearance by vladimir putin. one of the children had encouraged to ask the president have you thought about the opposition. >> positively. the opposition has little chance of victory after the country's election commission barred alexei navalny from taking part in the vote. the opposition leader is considered the biggest potential threat to put in and he has called for a boycott of the election. but there is still plenty of support for clinton. more than 600 prominent russians including lawmakers, actors and athletes gathered in moscow to officially endorse him as their candidate. >> our country has changed from a devastated one without future prospects into a powerful country. vladimir putin is the only leader who says our health care isn't good and under him, clinics and cardiovascular and other things have turned up. you see how the army has grown and become stronger, it now has powerful new weapons at his disposal. the personnel are doing well. that was intense submit his documents to the election commission after his bid is approved, he will also need together 300,000 signatures to take part in the race. >> with post showing more than an 80% approval rating, who did is expected to cruise to victory in the march 18 vote. >> for more dw's emily sherman joins us from moscow. amalie, why his boot and running as an independent candidate and not for his own party? emily: putin officially announced the decision to run as an independent at his yearly press conference in december and he actually gave no official reason area there can be several reasons. different first one to be the polls, more people trust putin than to trust the government, for example, more people in the post trust putin than they do the theater. he may be trying to distance himself from the party. this could be a way of keeping a public interest. he is running to have a fourth term in office and is important for the kremlin to have a high turnout to show that these votes, these elections are legitimate. so perhaps experts here are talking about the fact that maybe putin is trying to present himself in a new light as a new putin and an independent candidate. >> the most outspoken putin critic, alexa novotny will not be permitted to run against him. when given a threat to put in? -- the most outspoken putin critic, alexei navalny will not be permitted to run against him. would he have been a threat to vladimir putin? >> he had 60 or 80% of public support. he is not a threat and that sense but navalny has been campaigning all over the country and there have been big crowds coming out to support his presidential election ahead of this decision. the also had -- he also called for big protests and organized big protests this year and it seems that that is what the government is really afraid of, a repeat of the mass protests that happened after the june elections in 2011. and this call for a boycott seems to have maybe spoke the kremlin, they are now calling to check whether that call to boycott the elections that came from him a legitimate and according to the law. >> 70's africa, audit and the other credible contenders that can challenge putin russian ma?k credible is the key word here. >> she said that navalny could join her campaign. but he has been rather scathing about her but people have also been saying that she might -- she might be in the sherman of the clock -- kremlin, her father was very close to putin and this may be an attempt for people to say -- legitimize these most likely lowered a real opposition candidate as she seems to be. so far, opposition candidates are pulling in the low single digits. so there isn't really a candidate that can really threaten putin. >> no competition inside. that is emily sherwin in moscow. thank you. the upper chamber of russia's parliament has ratified a deal to extend the lease of a syrian naval port i 49 years. -- by 49 years. sarah: the development is part of a deal between russia and syria which allows russia to boost its military presence in the war-torn country, as part of the deal russia will be able to maintain a permanent indefinite presence at the airbase. look at some of the other stories making news around the globe this hour. syrian revelry groups have rejected russian sponsored peace talks's plan for january. as a moscow is trying to bypass the un-sponsored peace process. the rebels have also accused russia of committee war crimes in syria and failing to put pressure on the syrian government. russian sergey lavrov has criticized the u.s. for its aggressive rhetoric toward north korea regarding its nuclear missile program. a long telephone call with rex tillerson, he said that he was unacceptable for washington to exacerbate tensions on the korean peninsula. >> memorials are being held across thailand to mark the anniversary of the 2004 indian ocean tsunami was left over 200,000 people dead. indonesia was the country hardest by the natural disaster. it is considered one of the worst in modern history. polls have now closed in the west african nation of liberia as presidential runoff -- need of the top two candidates gained the next -- 50% due to win outright. the vote was inspected to be followed by the first democratic transfer of power in library in over seven that. >> the day after christmas, voting off to a slow start, but the election appears to have been largely peaceful. an impressive achievement in itself or a country that is known decades of this. >> it is about but between former international footballer george way it and vice president joseph walk-on. joseph is a experienced longtime politician having served in government for the past 12 years, he has found it harder to convince voters that he will bring change. >> is this -- it is a test of democracy, we wanted one time, there were 20 of us. this is what the process has produced. >> the small country of just over 4 million people boasts 26 political parties, state institutions remain weak and corruption is deeply entrenched. born in islam in the capital monrovia, george has one the hearts of most young liberians through star performances for europe's biggest football point -- teams in the 90's. this is his second attempt of becoming president. >> i'm going to win. quest the outgoing president cemented piece in the west african country after civil war ended in 2003. but the majority of liberians still live in dire poverty. and she did little to improve that. whatever wins this election will be faced with a difficult heritage. and will have to prove that he can govern in a way that will benefit the country and its citizens. >> for more, i am joined by maria, she sheep observer for the european union election commission in liberia. she joins us from the capital monrovia. peggy for being with us, it is liberia's first democratic transition since 1944, how important is this election for the country's future? quest is really important because it is democratic transition now, it is important for liberian people and so they have to have a credible election day, a credible election process to show not only for liberia but for other reasons, they will have election in a few hours and the other countries in the region so it is really important to show that democratic transition with -- this credible election process. >> you are there to ensure fair playing in the country, humphrey and fair as the process ends of our? >> we are here for the european positive -- observation mission. we are here till september and we will stay here until january. , it is a very long-term observation mission. we observed the first run and second run for these elections, we can see it at all the processes, even if we had had some insurgency in different complaint that have happened between the first and second run. we can say that all institutions -- all -- the political parties and the delivery, that's take direct funds going to have this process. we have to wait now until the end of the process because we haven't had this election day now but we also have the end of this process some days. at the end of this, we can say that elections are credible but we have to make some recommendations for the future. >> too soon to say the election has been free and fair but we know you and your team will be on the ground observing the election. thank you very much. this is the sheep observer for the european union election commission and out in liberia. >> oil prices are moving up today and daniel is here to tell us why. daniel: the price is moving up because the prices is taking down, and explosion has ruptured a oil pipeline. military officials said that they liked exposes on the pipeline near that and loader. oil industry sources said the blast has reduced the north african countries output by up to $100,000 a day. they rose 1.5% of the blast, $266, 10 a barrel. >> pakistan and china are considering extending their 57 dino economic corridor. china is trying to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between pakistan and afghanistan, both on his since pakistan's independence in 1947. let's hear what wang ye had to say. question and pakistan are willing to look at putting afghanistan on the basis of a win-win, usually beneficial principle discussing appropriate means to extend the china, pakistan economic corridor. >> india is on the rise mostly due to the global digital revolution, the south asian powerhouse is set to overtake the united kingdom and france to become the fifth largest economy exterior. that is according to a report for the london-based center for economic business and research, currently ranked seventh, and if the growth of the number three spot by 2032. press in germany and japan. the top spot will then be held by china followed by the united states. now christmas may be done and dusted by retailers are still keeping busy, just tapered and where bargain hunters are lined up in front of shops for the country's traditional boxing day sales. this year, the day could disappoint as 37% of shoppers chose to bargain on black friday instead. that is according to a survey. more than half of survey takers also thought boxing day sales have lost their luster due to the increase in online shopping. staying in the u.k. in the east of london, smoking salmon has a long tradition, it stems back to the jewish heritage of the area where it one family firm is in its fourth generation stressed -- specializing in luxury cured fish products and now it has won the coveted eu protected origin status. surprisingly, the company's owner is pre-skeptical of the european union. >> smoked salmon from london's east end is a traditional local product, it just received the eu's protection of origin label, london cured. >> we have been producing soaps for 112 years, we are the older -- august producers of soaps. this tastes of salmon, not of smoke. >> performance smokehouse is a family business now in its fourth generation, he applied for the eu label four years ago. long before the brexit referendum. >> which when history and heritage of smoked salmon being produced in this part of town and the methodology demonstrated that it hasn't changed and so after two years they prevent and it had to put up over to europe and it had to go through a public consultation process and we are very proud to have this recognition here. >> although he has received recognition from the eu, company's head is convinced it is right for britain to leave -- leave the european union, he doesn't believe in the euro and ask that you too soon face another major economic crisis. he is certain britain is better off without the eu and without the eu's bureaucracy. >> two years ago, there was a new regulation was meant that we had to spend literally tens of thousands of pounds reprinting our smoked salmon packaging so that a packet of smoked salmon could have an eu warning signs in the back saying it contains fish. i do think we become to -- far too regulated. i would bet is good for business generally. x he is export of salmon to more than 30 countries. isn't he afraid his business to take a hit because of budget? >> mitigation has changed and so i don't think that the eu is fit for purpose in terms of -- the geography is irrelevant. if you want to have a trading arrangement with another country, it could be any country in the world. >> that is certain that china is the market of the teacher, not the european union. >> we have been in the eu for 40 years, we whinge about all the bureaucracy and the rules and regulations and i think we've become tired as a result and i think brings it will give us a really great, fresh opportunity to actually say what are the positives, what can we say? must you trade deals around the world area >> that is convinced it is important to move ahead with the times. but for the european union, he leaves the time is up. >> from the traditional to the futuristic now, we have been warned for years that robots will replace workers. apparently, they can also replace your pets as well. here is some of the new tech we have seen in 2017. >> these robot soccer players are doing well for rookies. maybe they will improve through learning. >> muro the robot dog can only -- already do that, he can learn the floor plan of an apartment and fetch help if necessary area he also makes cute noises and likes to have his\but without the inconvenience of will he feeding times. and see the 2017, pepper got a lot of attention with his copy service. he serves a hat trick of choice without bothering the client with smalltalk. >> you get it and you get back to work. he is pleasant, he talks to people. but he does in the late from work. >> the scope of jobs that robots are able to do is growing rapidly, pretty soon, farmers will be poor man's anymore to either animals. tennis clubs won't need ball boys, and pizza delivery will become a job of the past, even though this delivery robot has a top speed of just 15 kilometers per hour. >> 2017 brought us robots that could try to do the job that some people already regarded as on this is heard. how much better or worse with this rehearsal and gone if there hasn't been a metronome on the conductors podium. >> the robots are coming, that much is clear, the small high-tech helpers are stepping into our lives but some still obvious have a long way to go before they will offer serious competition to humans. >> as long as they don't invent robot newsreaders. sarah has sports now on the ongoing controversy in russia. sara: -- sarah: he is considering quitting as 2018 world cup organizing committee. this comes after the international of the committee handed him a lifelong ban over his election involvement in state-sponsored doping of russian athletes. he says he is stepping aside in order to appeal the back at the court of arbitration. >> at the beginning of december, the ioc's executive board presented with reports containing evidence of systematic doping in russia and they came to the following inclusion. >> the russian olympic comedy is suspended and it was for immediate effect, russian athletes and ill of the committee were not the only was to be banned area >> no official of the russian ministry of sports will be credited for the winter games in pyeongchang, 20 50 -- -- 2015. the then minister of sports and his then debbie administer will be excluded from any participating -- participation in all future of the games. >> since this decision was made on december 5, the position as the head of russia's football union has been under scrutiny and here sport present -- resignation. on monday he ceded to the pressure for the time being. >> i addressed the russian football union's executive board regarding the temporary possibility to perform my duties during the court proceedings. i'm asked to be relieved of my duties for up to six months, if i can return earlier that i will do so. i have not resigned, i have a mandate until 2020. >> he is still the chief of russia's organizing committee but he has not ruled out making the post if asked to buy vladimir putin. monday's interim resignation cast a dark cloud of uncertainty over the world in russia with just under six months left until the tournament kicks off in moscow on june 14. sarah: the former president of the football federation was found not guilty by ustr. he was charged with taking bribes for marketing firms and buy for lucrative commercial rights for major soccer term is controlled by people. he was tried along with one, the former president of the south american governing body and jose maria brennan, -- they are both convicted on several counts last friday following a five-week trial. it has been a dramatic opening to the sydney hobart got dressed, one of salmon is most ruling competitions. right now, blackjack is leading the pack, early on, it was a near collision as two of the service told headlines. they were too pleased with some erratic maneuvering from wild oats 11, the two yachts almost bumped into each other after leaving sydney harbour, comanche is secretly launching an official protest. that means the race record of one day and 13 hours could be about to fall this year. >> for centuries does have not just that man's best friend but they have also been trained to carry out a variety of different jobs for humans. now they have added a new skill to the lists. hoping children learn to read. the unusual idea involves children reading out loud to dogs and animal shelters as you'll see in this master port, it seems to be a win-win situation for both the children and their canine friends. >> when jonathan reads's story, he comes down visibly. the canine is normally how suspicious of people. but with jumping, it is different. the eight-year-old comes here once a week to read aloud and it is clear that jackie likes it. >> he lies down like that -- when exactly does he do that? when he likes what i am doing and feels relaxed. >> children who find reading a challenge that is on dawes an animal sanctuary. it's an idea that originated in the united states and it might sound strange but it seems to work. it has a relaxing effect on the animals. >> at first they get excited and curious and they bark even more but then after about 15 minutes that come down and get the required. all you can hear other gentle voices of the children, the dog sit or lie down, listening. sometimes they fall asleep. >> the dog stay in their compounds just in case but the kids are allowed to decide everything house. like which don't read to and what they read. many of the children have had that experience with reading out loud but having someone listen patiently to them can be transformative. >> they get more company because they are not being judged on what the reader how they read it. instead, they have a creature that visibly enjoys listening to them. they can make use of mistakes or invent words or sentences. none of that matters to the dogs. >> the children read for 45 minutes. afterwards, the dogs get a treat for being such great listeners. many kids now come regularly, plus to their canine friends delight. >> we hear adw dw thought we would put that to a little test and see if our newsroom dog when he enjoyed a story. what do you think? you are a good girl, give me a kiss, we tried. they did for being with us here on dw news, will see you again at the top of their run out. goodbye for now. óóññ is made possible by..." croplife america. and it's member companies and associations in the crop protection industry including: the american farm bureau foundation for agriculture. more information at: agfoundation.org. sacramento's proud to be america's farm to fork capital visit: farmtofork.com >>i'm rob stewart. coming up? a special edition of america's heartland, all about agritourism! >>you guys ready to milk a goat? >>let's go feed the cows! >>people are making a country connection all across the united states. >>look at the little cows! >>food's on! >>they're ca agritourists, explorers taking a vacation

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