>> welcome to "the journal." here are a look at the top stories this hour. how the president repeated his warnings against the unilateral palestinian bid for statehood. in japan, 8-makes landfall affecting military deployed in the area. and greece waits for the next

installment of the bailout. the 66 united nations general assembly has opened in new york. world leaders are calling for action on the global debt crisis, renew efforts for boosting economic growth and ending a stalemate in the middle east. if the real showdown is expected on friday when palestinians submitted their bid for full u.n. membership. brazil, in keeping with tradition, kick off the annual debate. >> an historic moment as a result of the president became the first woman to open the general debate. >> this is the voice of democracy. [applause] i am convinced that this will be the century of women.

>> they will come to the newest un member states. she said she hoped to welcome the palestinians as well. she said it was time for them to be given full membership. but the u.s. and israel are strongly opposed. washington will veto any membership bid. president obama repeated his warning against unilateral moves by the palestinians. if he called for resumption of direct peace talks between the sides. >> i am convinced that there is no shortcut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. it peas is hard work. -- peace is hard work. if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. >> those fears were echoed by french president sarkozy.

they wanted to give observer status for one year and it could be used to negotiate a peace agreement. >> we ask our correspondent at the united nation, what are the risks for washington? should the u.s. veto palestinian statehood? >> what is on the line for the u.s. is their credibility in the region. president obama was saying that he was for a two-staet solution -- two-state solution. many people are having trouble understanding how that can work with a veto. it goes in the face of the palestinians, and the plan goes like this. the palestinians get their bid, but they postpone the decision indefinitely that could give all parties more time to negotiate

and prevent the u.s. from putting in their veto for the time being. that might be the plan to save face for everybody. but that remains to be confirmed. >> our correspondent, max hoffman reporting from the united nations. we will take another look at the palestinian bid coming up later in the program. forces have taken control of one of the last remaining stronghold of the ousted leader gaddafi. fighting continues in other towns held by loyalist forces. if there have been more clashes around the search. they are close to launching a final assault on khaddafi's home town. they announced an extension to the air campaign until the end of the year. syrian security forces are reported to have killed 13 civilians in a crackdown on

anti-government protesters. the latest came during army operations. reportedly shown in this internet footage. activists say that security forces moved against schools and retain the dozens of students. the european union has announced a seventh round of sanctions on syria including a ban on investment in the oil sector. typhoon roka is battering japan, including some of the areas hit hardest by the earthquake and tsunami. hundreds of thousands of families have been told to leave their home. roka made landfall at early afternoon and moved inland passing close to tokyo. it passed the site of the crippled fukushima nuclear power plant. they say the danger is not over yet.

>> home the storm and 30 japan will wind up to 160 kilometers an hour. they have made their presence felt in the capital of tokyo. this is 270 km west of tokyo. one of the worst hit. some neighborhoods flooded so quickly that residents were left stranded and have to be brought to safety. more than 1 million people in the region have been asked to leave their homes. >> the water rose right under the bridge. i ran home. that is when i saw there was an evacuation advisory. if >> many people were caught unaware by the earthquake and tsunami, i did not want that to happen again. i decided to get here as early as possible.

>> engineers tried to contain radiation leaks and had to abandon their work. operations said that the wind and rain caused no immediate problems. emergency workers are racing to shore up flood defenses along the projected course in a last- minute bid to minimize the damage. >> let's check in with some business news. greece is working feverishly to get the next installment of bailout money. >> of the citizens are paying the price, very tough for them and under intense pressure from international creditors. they have announced new austerity measures. their sights are set on new pension funds. 10 million -- pensions will also be reduced. they are putting civil servants on a labour reserve fund 60%

pay and a property tax will be extended until 2014. they will secure the next installment, needed to keep the country out of bankruptcy. let's talk with brian williams and athens. brian, how are the latest measures going down on the streets? >> greeks are still digesting the latest measures. already, the communist party which has a significant political force, the third largest party is following a demonstration outside parliament. tomorrow, there will be a total transport strike. traffic controllers will walk off and all unions are massing for a general strike october 6. >> they are in their fourth year

of recession. is there any way to get the economy growing again? >> this is one of the issues worrying the imf. during a conference, a senior imf official said that greece must not just rely on taxes to get its economy going. it has to make the economy more competitive. it has to get an entrepreneur wars and small businesses back into the business -- it has to get entrepreneurs and small businesses back into business. >> thank you for joining us. european markets had their doubts about what the greek government might actually, with. greece was not the only country in the spotlight. >> it seems that markets are still on a roller coaster this week after gaining by nearly 3%

on tuesday. down by 2.5% midweek, trading driven by concerns that austerity measures that increasgreece will take perhapst enough to save the economy. the british pound when down to the lowest of all -- went down to the lowest level. the bank of england wants to lower interest rates. this leads to fear of inflation and inflation is up by 4.5%. >> let's get a closer look at the market numbers now. the benchmark almost 2.5% down. across the atlantic, the dow

industrials closed down or 2.5%, and the euro is trading 1.3601. the u.s. federal reserve says it will twist debt into longer-term bonds in order to cut interest rates and stimulate more growth. the fed will reinvest payment for mortgage-backed securities to keep mortgage rates low. there is significant downside risk, but investment in equipment and software is increasing and that inflation has moderated. germany and switzerland has signed a controversial agreement that will seek taxes on secret swiss accounts. they are otherwise lost cash. the agreement still has to be ratified. the opposition holds a majority and they say they will reject it.

>> for decades, swiss banks were a safe haven for german tax evaders. as much as 180 billion euros are out of sight of the german tax office. but they will forward a lump-sum to germany. >> and they have taken a major step and have agreed to disclose information. and they have agreed to retroactively taxed german holdings in switzerland. account holders will remain anonymous and will not face any penalty. for the opposition in germany, the deal with switzerland is unacceptable. they say the agreement is a mistake. >> it doesn't make sense for germany to conclude a separate deal with such to lend because it makes any joint action by the -- with switzerland because it makes any joint action by the eu

impossible. >> the finance minister calls the deal a major step. if it takes the fact, it would generate 1.6 billion euros in tax revenues. others plan to stop the deal. >> a man is due to be executed in the u.s. tonight even though many people believe he may not be guilty of a crime he is allegedly committed. he was convicted of killing a policeman in 1989, but many questions have been raised about his trial. hundreds of thousands of people have backed his campaign for an appeal, but time seems to have run out. >> protesters in atlanta, georgia, are not giving up hope. but it is looking more and more

likely that troy davis will be dead by morning. in an attempt, they said davis will take a polygraph test. officials turned that down. human rights groups insist that it is -- >> i can't believe they are allowing a person to go to his death even the serious doubts about his guilt remain unresolved. >> he was shot dead 22 years ago. witnesses have since recanted saying police pressured them to make their statements. two others claim another man confessed to killing. calls for the case to be reviewed have come from all over the world including pope benedict and former u.s. president jimmy carter. the execution has been delayed three times. his battle for a fourth stay

seems doomed to fail. >> turning to germany, pope benedict will begin his visit here beginning tomorrow. catholics are preparing a warm welcome, but his visit comes at a difficult time for the catholic church that has been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse. security has been boosted ahead of his arrival. >> we are the pope. the famous headline reflected the pride that many germans felt when i countrymen was the elected pope for the first time in centuries. not everyone is enthusiastic about his forthcoming visit. >> he is welcome to come. why not his homeland? i could not care less. all this fuss about the pope. >> i am looking forward to it. it is nice that he is coming.

>> he will address parliament as his role of head of state of the vatican. half of germans of the jack -- object, and those from the left party plan to object. >> he gets to speak, but i don't get to ask him questions. like about aids, his stance on abortion or sexual issues. that is highly un-democratic. that is why i am not going. >> i think it is an historic event and the german polka is going to speak to the german parliament. i hope they give the pope the respect he calls for in these situations. >> the pope's other planned appearances are less

controversial. 70,000 people are expected to turn up for mass in the olympic stadium. >> we will be back after a short break with the in depth look at the palestinian bid for statehood. don't go away.

>> welcome back. we are taking a look at the palestinians' desire for statehood, what it means for the region and the world in general. despite opposition, president abbas is pushing forward for recognition that the win. he plans on submitting its application starting on friday. back in the palestinian territory, many ordinary palestinians are hoping for measures, even small, that will help improve their lives.

>> all letters bound for the west bank and appear in the central sorting office. for five years, they have been delivering them. every morning, he sort of the letters and parcels ready for the round. >> we prepare everything in the mornings, and each person sorts his own mail. >> despite the backlog, there is no guarantee that palestinians can either send or receive mail. the coastal system might be internationally recognized, but every letter is a opened and checked by israeli authorities. achan takes whea -- it can take weeks for a letter to arrive. >> we look at the dates. the israelis create many obstacles. they don't care when the letters get here. >> things are slowly improving

because of foreign investment. in 1994, the palestinian authority was allowed to issue its own stamp. they walmart their plan for statehood at the un. he begins his rounds. he couldn't imagine doing any other job. >> i like my job as a postman. i like meeting people and being outside as opposed to sitting in an office. >> in some neighborhoods, it is so unusual to receive mail that many shops and helms don't have letter boxes. he delivers the letters personally. he says that rama has benefited the most from infrastructure projects. >> you can fuel the development and the growing economy. -- see the development and the growing economy.

more and more people are moving here. here are the new roads being built and the new city close to ramala. things are improving here very quickly. >> palestinian postmen hope one day that the letters they deliver oil to be read by israeli inspectors. they long for the day when palestine is stamped on the envelopes. >> the high-stakes diplomacy is continuing unabated. palestinians needed nine votes for the security council. they say they have the necessary support. should they get the results they want, the u.s. and israel pledged to veto it. abbas can appeal directly to the general assembly. here is a look at the scenarios that can play out. >> un headquarters at new york,

the palestinians want their flag flying here too. this would mean that the palestinian territories could take part in the un general assembly. cable resolutions, and to be voted on to the security council as a non-permanent member. the territories would constitute a sovereign state alongside israel. it would include the gaza strip, west bank and east jerusalem. isreali settlement will end up in a new palestine, unacceptable for sellers. the membership seems doomed to failure. the u.s. will use its veto on the security council. the palestinians would look at the vatican option.

this would mean recognition as a nonmember states, not by the security council, but by the general assembly. that would give the palestinian territory enhanced observer status. this option would pass with a comfortable 2/3 majority. it would handle a political victory to the palestinian leadership. they could press on with full membership like unicef and membership in the international criminal court in the hague with far reaching implications, like the ability to bring cases against israel. along with the eu and the mideast quartet are trying to persuade the palestinians not to apply for full membership. saying only negotiations with israel can securities. >> some of the fiercest opposition in israel for

palestinian statehood is coming from israeli settlers. both ultra-orthodox and secular. they live in settlements scattered across the west bank and east jerusalem. most opposition is driven by fundamentalist religious views. israelis on the west bank are not ruling out that one day their home might be standing on sovereign palestinian territory. >> benny is a settler. he does not consider himself a fundamentalist, but he says a palestinian state would be a nightmare for him. >> no one would want to live in a palestinian state. >> he moved to the west bank and not for religious or ideological reasons, but because he can build a swimming pool there. it can cost 10 times as much. today, he regrets the move.

>> the house isn't worth anything anymore. why? because the world will not allow israel to hang onto this land forever. >> those pulling the political strings are the fundamentalists. these days, they focus on one subject. the absolute sovereignty of the jews over the state of israel. >> the powers of evil threatened to declare a state and our government has to threatened to declare sovereignty over judea. >> he isn't the only one that spent weeks feverishly fighting the diplomatic efforts. the settlers lobbyists do everything they can to urge the

government to take extreme actions if the u.s. recognizes a palestinian state. -- u.n. recognizes a palestinian state. >> they have 20 states, do they need another one? with the un resolution, our enemies will win a battle. we must win the war. >> it is the radicals that make the headlines, but 35% of the settlers would leave the west bank immediately if the state to offer them compensation. -- offered them compensation. >> give me a few hours to pack and i am out of here. >> the israeli government is not considering compensation. on the contrary, the government has ordered the army to supply settlers with teargas in case the palestinians use force to claim their stake.

>> that wraps up "the journal hose " at this hour. please stay tuned.