>> this is the journal on dw-tv. >> your business update coming up. >> greece reaches a deal on a new government. it is this the man who will lead

the country out of crisis? carlos the jackal goes on trial. and, the diva behind the hat, lady gaga cleans up. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> reports from greece say there is a breakthrough in talks to find a new prime minister. the center-left party and the conservative new democracy are said to have agreed on who will head a new unity government. they are not naming names yet, but a lot of speculation is centered on lucas papademos, the former vice president of the european central bank. no announcement will be made until tomorrow. for the people of greece, political instability cannot come a moment too soon. >> the news of the breakthrough in greek politics brought some relief to the capital on monday. in the streets of athens, there

are hopes that a new government will bring stability to greek politics and help the country result its crippling debt crisis. >> now there is going to be a government that will try to implement e you orders. for better or for worse, they need to be voted through. i am somewhat optimistic. you cannot expect much from these people, but now that we are in need, they are doing something. >> something good will come out of this. i am optimistic. >> the focus in athens has now shifted to former european central bank vice-president lucas papademos. he has been tipped as the most likely candidate to take over as prime minister. but rumors are just that. greek leaders have yet to confirm any appointment publicly.

antonis samarasa deal that willl february, when voters will elect a new parliament. >> silvio berlusconi was forced to deny rumors on monday that he is bound to resign. he faces a growing rebellion within his own coalition that italy will go the way of greece. it all adds up to a major headache for european finance ministers meeting in brussels. >> regardless of who heads the new greek government, it seems clear that the finance minister will keep his post. he was in brussels looking for support. >> we have a new government of natural unity and natural irresponsibility. -- of national unity and national responsibility.

>> crease urgently needs financial aid to keep the country -- greece urgently needs financial aid to keep the country running. athens will run out of money before the new year. the german finance minister is calling for a clear signal from the new coalition in athens. >> in the current situation, it is important that not just the government but also the opposition gets assurances that they will stick to the agreements. >> eurozone finance ministers want assurances from italy that it is serious about getting its debt under control. no fund would be big enough to bailout italy. >> i hope they can make their own way out of the debt crisis. >> the meeting of eurozone finance ministers is still under way.

>> let's crossover to brussels. we are talking about italy. when rumors came out earlier today that silvio berlusconi might be about to resign, the stock market actually shot up. it would seem that markets would like to see him gone. what is the sense in brussels? >> i think behind the scenes there will be that feeling for many reasons, but not right now. it is a repeat of exactly one week ago when people were saying george papandreou, a referendum would be wonderful, but not right now. for whatever people think about why silvio berlusconi should not be prime minister, they do not need this. it is a week we do not want to repeat. it is being repeated. it is groundhog day. it is all happening again. one eye on athens still and an eye on rome as well as this could be a much, much bigger

problem than greece could ever be. >> they are having to beef up the european bailout fund. are you hearing any talk of progress on that? >> no progress at all, but that is what they are doing. this summit is a bill that deal. this meeting is about how to implement that bailout. it will not be agreed at this meeting. some people are openly saying it should be $3 trillion to allow for any future contingencies. that is not in the picture at the moment. there will be no agreement today or tomorrow on how to leverage the existing bailout, as they call it, and find the extra money. no new cash has been added. that is the problem. they have to find a mechanism to apply the money, making it work,

that money. germany and france are at loggerheads again. this is an increasingly nightmarish situation. >> as many questions as ever. thank you for joining us from brussels. >> of course, the big word in this crisis is contagion. greece is affected. italy seems to be affected. one country desperately trying to not be affected is france. >> trying to get its house in order and defend that rating. the eurozone's second-biggest economy, france, has announced its second austerity package in three months. they have announced a new round of measures that will save an additional 7 billion euros next year and keep france on track to achieve a savings of 18 billion euros on -- over the next two years. the austerity plan will also include tax hikes.

>> payininininininininininininit to become more expensive. sales tax in restaurants is going up from 5.5%-7%. an increase in the earliest pension aid -- pension age from 60 to 62, will now come earlier. health and social security spending will also be capped. >> is a burden on everyone, but the poor will be hit hardest. >> the austerity measures are unpopular, but in a sign of solidarity, the salaries of the president and government ministers will be frozen until the budget is balanced. >> what we are experiencing today is not exclusively the consequence of the 2008 financial crisis.

that did nothing but aggravate already existing balances. this is the result of 30 years of living index. >> this is the second austerity budget in three months. it comes after ratings agencies threatened to downgrade france pose a aaa credit rating. they are hoping this -- france's aaa credit rating. >> president dmitry medvedev thopened a meeting by saying tht he was willing to discuss issues related to the global economy and the result of last week's g-20 summit. russia has said it is willing to offer up to $10 billion to help the imf's support the eurozone, but it has indicated it wants a bigger role in the global financial institution in return for that help.

turning to the european markets, shares started the week off on a negative note. we have this summary of action on the exchange. >> people are bracing for even more volatility, more insecurity among investors to decide on one direction or the other. the good news is that many companies here in germany still managed to top analysts' earnings forecasts. for example, the camera maker like your and a construction machine maker. -- lyca, and a construction machine maker. if we did not have the eurozone budget, many people in germany would have reason to be optimistic. >> stay tuned for a closer look at the closing numbers. the euro stock ended the monday session at 2275. across the atlantic in new york,

the dow closed at the top of the hour, just 10 minutes ago, after a bit of a roller-coaster ride, up just over 1%. the euro is trading at this hour at a value of $1.37. in a new twist that could and the saga of saab, the american partner has decided to end its partnership with the swedish car maker. gm says the proposed change of ownership to chinese hands would not be in the interest of their shareholders. chinese companies have offered a rescue plan for saab which would give them control of the company. any d.o. would still need

approval from gm. >> the arab league has called an emergency meeting to discuss the crackdown on protesters in syria. government forces continued their assault. this video from the internet purports to show fighting which has been -- fighting in a city that has been a hotbed of sids -- hot bed of dissent. we're joined by an analyst. last week the syrian government agreed to an arab league request to pull troops out of residential areas. this has not happened. what action can the arab league take about that? >> first of all, it has been quite an embarrassment for the arab league because it has put quite some effort into the issue, and now it is clear that the syrian government does not care about the deal. there will continue to put pressure on the syrian

government to change its policies. bashar al-assad seems to believe that he can persuade his own population to still follow him, and indeed, a large part of the country do still side with him. they do not know what is really going on in the country, and he is playing on that. >> take a look at his strategy. what do you think is his long- term strategy? can he really keep up with this crackdown for as long as it takes? >> he definitely cannot. he is under very strong pressure by the arab league and by the syrian opposition, and he is desperately trying to really regain control of his country, but i think he has no chance to do so. in the end, there are two options. bashar al-assad will have to resign and someone from the minority regime takes over, or there will be an ongoing civil unrest which might even end in a civil war. >> we will keep close tabs on

what is going on. thank you for joining us. he is already serving a life sentence, but the courts are not finished with him. the notorious terrorist, carlos the jackal, is on trial again, this time for bomb attacks that took place in the early 1980's. >> almost 30 years after threatening france with or, the man known as -- what are -- with war, carlos the jackal is back on trial. ilich ramirez sanchez has been linked to multiple crimes. this is footage of him 11 years ago. this time, authorities are keeping him out of the spotlight. he has denied the latest charges. >> he is in a fighting mood as always, and we will fight. there is no reason why, 30 years

later and 17 years after his kidnapping by the french state, the judicial system can get away with judging him to create propaganda for other interests rather than justice. >> in 1975, ilich ramirez sanchez escaped after leading a deadly raid in vienna on opec oil leaders and taking dozens of hostages. now he is on trial for a series of bombings that targeted a newspaper in paris, the main train station, and two high speed trains over a two-year period starting in 1982. the 11 people were killed and about 140 others were cainjured. >> we do not expect much 30 years after, but we hope he will not be arrogant and will have respect for the victims. we hope he will be humble and not put on a show. >> the paris court will hear the case put on by survivors of the

attacks and hear testimony from multiple witnesses. the hearings are expected to continue for six weeks. >> finally, the night belonged to lady gaga and the mtv movie awards. she came away with four prizes. one veteran star was clearly impressed. >> and the winner of the best female artist is lady gaga. >> lady gaga! >> lady gaga! >> lady gaga proved she is on her way to becoming the queen of pop. for the second year in a row, the 25-year-old new yorker stole the and tv show. >> until now, this is the single

most important. thank you, am tmtv. justin bieber won best male artist and best pop award. big bang one best world band. >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. the people of liberia go to the polls on tuesday in a presidential runoff, but not everyone will be a voting. opposition candidate winston tubman is boycotting over allegations of fraud. violence erupted over tensions in the country. still, the first round was mostly free and fair according to officials.

the woman tubman wanted to beat ended her campaign by calling for national unity. in liberia, most of the people are out of work. the landscape as well as the national consciousness remains scarred by more than a decade of civil war. >> liberia's past still haunts its present. the capital, monrovia, is still scarred with damage from the country's civil war, and poverty is rising. liberia has four million inhabitants, but the unemployment rate is 80%. the average income is less than a dollar a day. instead of robust state structures, the robust country has some of the worst corruption in the world. for 14 years, liberia was wrecked by a power struggle between militias, tribes and political parties. at least two hundred 50,000

people were killed. more than 1 million fled into neighboring countries and refugee camps. it was only in 2003 when the war lord president charles taylor was forced from power that killing stopped. shortly after, the un sent in peace keepers to provide security. they are still there. in 2006, ellen johnson sirleaf was elected president. she was welcomed as a new hope for the troubled country, but she is not without her critics at home. many say she has failed to rebuild the country and defeat corruption. opponents say the spoils of reconstruction are only enjoyed by a small part of the population. ahead of the first round of voting, many questions were raised about her contacts during the civil war.

>> johnson sirleaf made headlines around the world last month when she won a nobel peace prize. she was honored for strengthening the position of women. she has faced criticism for not doing enough to tackle corruption or build a basic services for the people of liberia. but for the country's women, she remains an inspiration. we have a report now on some of those who have joined her battle for equality. >> it is early morning in monrovia. >> good morning, good morning, good morning. >> eva is one of liberia's best known journalists. she is also a popular radio presenter, and many liberians tune in to find her take on the latest political developments. she was chosen journalist of the year, 2011. the presidential election campaign has continued to rumble

on toward the runoff vote. the main challenger, winston tubman, is threatening to boycott the polls because of what he says are irregularities. aware of the tensions surrounding the polls, eav is calling on her listeners -- eva is calling on her listeners to stay calm. u.n. peacekeepers are still in liberia eight years after the peace deal the close the darkest chapter in the country's history. before liberia's women's rights movement, eva worked on entertainment shows. now she hosts political programs. >> a lot of women have been encouraged by what they see. for me, in the media landscape,

i see that there is a changing now. before, there was -- this was a man's world. >> she has struck a chord with liberian women such as this 60- year-old market seller. she is an ardent supporter of the president and has seen changes to women's chances in the liberian society. many women are now able to earn enough to look after their whole family by themselves. >rebecca tells us how the president came to look at the market. afterward, some people came and renovated it. rebecca has been going to the city center to fast for peace. she says her grandson looks after hearst candid during school holidays, and at -- her stand during school holidays. rebecca is part of the women in

white, an appeal to end conflict. she was part of the famous women of liberia mass action for peace that brought an end to the second liberian civil war in 2003. sickened by the atrocities and destruction, the intervened again and again to force the men back to the negotiating table. their hunger and sex strikes proved the more effective weapons. >> now we really thank god that these changes are upon us. as women, we get together and pray for our nation. and we thank god for the changes and even for the award that was given to women. it gives us great pride as liberian women. >> the group is visited by one of its figureheads. at first, she was derided as a naive christian dreamer, but

recognition of her achievements culminated in the nobel peace prize this year, along with the president. >> we have broken all of these myths of the way a woman is supposed to be. it has opened up a whole new basket of opportunities, not just for us, but for our daughters and our grandchildren. >> the group intends to keep spreading awareness of their ideals. after all their country has been through, liberia's women are demanding a bigger say. >> men are angry among themselves. they go out for a day, they get talking, most of them have a problem with their legs and their hands. that is what they did in the war. we have seen that happen. they did not used to be like that. >> she says that the president's reelection is crucial to furthering the achievements that have already made. she -- liberia has still not

overcome the stars of its -- the president has done much to improve women's rights, outline rape, for instance. she says it is a positive affect and that public attitudes toward gender based violence are changing. >> a unit has been established in the ministry of justice. people know where to go. >> rebecca is also heartened by the changes are around her, but huge changes remain. even if the country's first female president has secured massive debt relief and welcome foreign investment, unemployment and corruption are proving hard to beat. >> i feel very happy about the new bridge, to see it rebuild when it was damaged, very happy. >> may be the incumbent

president will be able to personally declare the bridge opened in her next term. she says her job is not yet done. the company's -- the country's riches, diamonds and oil, must be better exploited. the children in africa as old as sovereign state deserve a better future. >> that wraps up our report as the people of liberia prepared to go to the polls.