>> and i have the business. welcome. >> a look at the headlines. >> spend issues another downgrade threat for the eurozone, but policymakers take it in stride. more violence in moscow as protests continued against sunday's parliamentary election results. climate summit. what comes after the kyoto protocol? ♪

>> german leaders are downplaying the latest threat by the ratings agency standard and poor's to strip germany of its top-notch credit rating. german chancellor angela merkel brushed off the news and said european leaders would make decisions later this week to restore confidence in the eu. >> the standard and poor's 11 step further today put the credit worthiness of the ems neff of negative watch. in the u.s., treasury secretary timothy geithner says the world is watching eurozone leaders but says he does see progress. >> the u.s. treasury secretary had positive words for europe. at the finance ministry in berlin, timothy geithner expressed optimism over the course eurozone leaders are taking with the debt crisis. >> i am very encouraged by the developments in europe of the

past few weeks, including the reform commitments made by the new governments of italy, spain, and greece, and the new steps we have heard this week about progress towards a fiscal compact for the eurozone. this, of course, will take time. >> earlier, germany's finance minister met with his austrian counterpart to discuss the latest plan to save the eurozone. s&p has placed both countries under a credit watch. >> the warning by s&p for aaa countries is not based on real economic data. it is based on the uncertainty in financial markets over the eurozone as a whole. so we see the assessment as added confirmation that we do all we can to achieve a good result on december 9. >> s&p certainly added to the pressure. the rating agency warned of high debt levels and the risk of recession for the entire area.

s&p is effectively serving notice to the entire eurozone. this includes the 15 euro nations whose bonds are not already rated junk status, including those with aaa ratings lead france, germany, and finland. downgrades would also affect the eurozone debt rescue facility, the the fsx, which cannot logically hold a better rating than the countries that finance it. that is why s&p has now officially warned investors on the credit worthiness of the efsf. >> european shares fell on tuesday. the warning from standard and poor's added to investor jitters. but it could have been worse. here is our reporter with more. >> many at the exchange were expressed about the relatively relaxed reaction of stock prices and bond prices to be skeptical report of standard and poor's. but apparently more and more market participants are having

more confidence that the eu summit this week and will produce positive results. but the markets also have a lot of confidence in something else, the power of the european central bank, which is expected to continue to lower interest rates. what is more, the ecb is providing the banks with more less unlimited funding, and it stands ready to continue to by eurozone government bonds in case of an emergency. that is a very comfortable situation for many banks, at least for the moment. >> let's have a look at the closing numbers in europe, starting with frankfurt's dax index, finishing 1.2% lower. euro stoxx 50 0.5% lower. in new york, the dow jones industrials higher, 12,123. the euro at $1.2412.

>> turning our attention now to russia. security forces have been deployed to strategic positions in the russian capital after thousands of people turned out to protest against elections that many there say were rigged. police arrested hundreds of activists in moscow and in st. petersburg. the parliamentary elections sunday were won by vomit it double-lettered to depose united russian party, but its share of the votes dropped sharply. >> protesters organized demonstration through facebook and twitter. but the kremlin was monitoring the social networks and sent security forces to a central moscow. a possible sign russia's leaders were getting nervous. russia without putin -- chanted demonstrators. many were arrested. >> we still cannot believe the audacity with which this

election was rigged. the way we're being treated is simply unbelievable. >> just a few meters away, things look very different. the orchestrated shares of vladimir putin's supporters drowned out the nearby opposition demonstrators. russia's president dmitry medvedev also entered the fray. in a meeting with russia's election supervisor, the president rejected foreign criticism of the election process. >> should there have been any problems with the election, it remains russia's concern to draw consequences from it. or else, international observers might as well dictate our constitution to us. >> russia's judicial system also played its part, fast tracking prosecution in court proceedings for demonstrators. opposition member was sentenced to 15 days in jail monday for resisting state authorities. >> afghan president hamid karzai

has cut short a trip to europe to head home following three deadly blast that caused the country that killed at least 59 people. two explosions took place outside insurance is people were observing a shiite holy day. another bomb on a motorcycle went off in the southern city of kandahar. the international community has strongly condemned the attacks and said that terrorism will not hinder long-term support for afghanistan. >> the attack in kabul was the deadliest for three years. hundreds of pilgrims had gathered at the shiite shrine to celebrate the festival of ashoura, one of the holiest days on the shiite calendar to the suicide bomber struck around midday. >> today's the day of mourning for the imam hussain, when muslims celebrate ashoura. this is an attack against humanity and against islam. >> the afghan president condemned the bombings.

he is in berlin for talks for how to secure a peaceful future for his country. >> this is the first time that on such an important religious day in afghanistan, a terrorism of that horrible nature has taken place. we all wish the best for those who are injured. >> it is unclear who is to blame for the attacks. a pakistani group is reportedly claiming it carried out both bombings, while the taliban deny responsibility and say the attacks were in humane. >> climate change the talks in durban, south africa are entering a crucial phase. negotiators from 190 countries have until friday to agree on a follow-up deal to the kyoto protocol. if they do not, there will soon be no binding global agreement on emissions reductions. expectations are low amid new calls for the world's biggest polluters to commit to cuts. >> german environment minister

meeting with counterparts from mali and grenada. he says poor nations did not cause climate change and suffer its effects more and more. and with time running out, mark andrews have to sign climate agreement. the kyoto protocol accounts for only 50% of today's emissions. >> if we want to help countries like mali, grenada, and others, than 15% is not enough. we need emerging tensions like china on board, but of course the u.s. as well. >> germany has donated 15 million euros to mali and grenada for environmental initiatives in dealing with climate change to these countries' debts need convincing that the problem requires action. unlike the u.s., india, and china. >> we ask our correspondent whether it looked unlikely that an agreement on climate change would emerge in durban? [no audio]

>> --kyoto protocol which is running out next year but i am expecting substantial progress on the financing of the effects of climate change. there is the green climate fund that is supposed to be operational by 2020. so we're taking steps towards that. there might actually be some road map -- that is what the german delegation told us today about the u.s. working for road map, at least, will pave the way for negotiations by 2020 are to have a final binding agreement by 2020 at the latest. >> that was the report from south africa. certain european countries might be in crisis, but germany's economy does not seem to be. >> it is very surprising. the crisis does not seem to be stopping eurozone countries from ordering goods from germany.

german factory orders soared in october, powered mostly by a sharp rise in demand from its neighbors. the official october monthly figures jumped 5.2% from september. orders had slumped. it is not all good news. overall economic growth from the eurozone was confirmed just 0.2 %. giant metro shocked investors by issuing a profit warning, sending its shares plummeting to a just a month ago, the world's fourth biggest retailer said it was hoping for a relatively healthy profits. now it is expecting to perform worse than last year. it is blaming slow christmas sales and low consumer confidence. europe's banking regulator, the eba, and bells its results to the latest stress test. it is clear that several banks may not have enough core capital on their balance sheet to weather the crisis. >> commerzbank chief has already

had asked the state for help once, something he's trying to avoid repeating. but commerzbank has already had to cut back its operations. it is only living in germany in politics now, for going profits elsewhere to preserve core capital. the latest eba tests were based on tighter core capital regulations. media reports say germany's banks have the total shortfall of 10 billion euros. commerzbank reportedly has the largest core capital shortfall amounting to some 5 billion euros. at germany's number one, a bridge bank, the shortfall is said to about 3 billion euros. the cooperative bank could be 50 billion euros down. the remaining 1.5 billion euros shortfall is on the balance sheet of two state-backed regional banks. the latter claimed in october that it would manage without outside help.

>> brazil's economic boom has come to a sudden end. the government said the economy was stagnant in the third quarter but up says brazilians have pared back private spending and companies that put off major investments. brazil is a major exporter. the eurozone debt crisis is making itself felt. experts agree plans of america's largest economy will be sharply lower for the year, at 3% in 2011. germany produces lots of high- tech industrial products, but when it comes to information technology, it is actually lagging behind. according to a study by the economics ministry, germany ranks sixth out of the world's largest i.t. markets, behind south korea and united states. at the summit in munich, angela merkel and an economic professor issued a rallying call, germany has to meet the challenge by accelerating its construction of intelligent powerful -- power networks and making broadband

available in all rural areas vital. we will be back with more on the opportunities and risks associated with the internet later. but now, more on that spd conference. >> financial policy takes center stage on the final day of the conference. delegates want to raise income taxes on high earners, which could become a cornerstone for the program in the 2013 elections here. as for picking a candidate, it could pose a challenge -- who could pose a challenge to angela merkel, party members still seem quite delighted. >> the social democrats are not used to this level of enthusiasm. the party conference voted unanimously to adopt a tax plan that includes major tax hikes. and the leadership was also able to keep divisions under control in other areas. something that party leader praised here -- >> the party conference and the debates and votes were all very

measured and centrist but a center-left, of course. that is also what we want, what we are. it was said, a left-and many peoples party, that is what this successful conference has been about. >> the spd has yet to settle on a candidate for chancellor. all three leading candidates support the decisions made at the party conference. observers consider the former finance minister the favorite, but he is also seen as something of an outsider. he, too, seemed happy with the conference results. >> we will face obstacles, but that does not matter, because we are social democrats. the main thing is that we move forward together. >> it has been a long time since the spd have shown such a united front at a party conference. the enthusiasm is giving the party high hopes for the 2013 elections. >> finally, is there life beyond

planet earth? nasa has found the discovery of a planet that there's a lot of similarities to earth. >> this could be the face of kepler 22b, a planet scientists have spent decades searching for and may now have found. >> the space telescope has been staring for the past couple of years that one particular area of sky containing over 100,000 stars. it has been looking for a very slight dips in the star's brightness as something goes across in front of the stars. >> if that happens three times in a row, researchers assume that it is a planet in the stars orbit. in our solar system, no planet besides earth seems capable of sustaining life. they are either too hot or too cold or have no atmosphere or water. kepler 22b may be bigger than earth, that it is is similar in many ways. it is about the right distance from the sun, so water there would be liquid, and life there

for possible. >> stage in. our broadcast continues with "in depth." i will be looking at the internet and if big brother is watching you. more on the way. >> stay tuned. ♪ ♪ >> this is a woman with a vision. development with women as economic drivers.

she produces high-quality seeds for farmers. she began small, convincing the bank to give her a loan. >> we have to get the trucks. we have proved to the banks that a woman can be equally competitive. >> get women opportunity, it is smart economics. >> worldbank.org.gender. >> for many people, life without the internet seems unimaginable, unlike before computers is now becoming a distant memory. we're all connected nowadays in some way or another, be it on laptops, smart phones, or ipad. but some serious questions are being raised about the technology in our devices and if it is invading our privacy. this comes after a security researcher recently said that a piece of software hidden on millions of phones was recording virtually everything people do with them. we went out to ask some people about the devices they use it if

they are concerned about this latest revelation. ♪ >> i have an iphone. i confer. i use social networks. >> lots of things, especially google searchers. >> plan appointments. at a university, we organize things in groups. >> my favorite is that you can write to blackberries and iphones. everyone can communicate with each other. ♪ >> last week, i did not have internet because it was not working, and my whole life just was not working anymore. >> for me, it is more important being able to fund. >> it is a phenomenon. very interesting, but it should not be blown up proportion. >> i have never used a mobile phone. constant availability is a curse.

>> my whole life is on life smart phone. i do everything on it when i have the time. ♪ >> i keep reading about spy software that is supposedly on a smart phones and that no one really knows what data is being transferred. >> i am trying to be careful, just because i do not want all my private stuff out there. >> i stay safe by not publishing any of my data on the net. >> i just used it occasionally and hope that these services to use our secure, but i do not really know. ♪ >> internet users in the west might not feel threatened by spy software, but those in developing democracies take it very seriously. pro-democracy activists in egypt say they found evidence the country's secret police under hosni mubarak accused spy

software from germany to monitor opposition activities. the program exploits a security flaw in apple's itunes to monitor e-mails, listen in on phone conversations, and perform video surveillance. it still appears to be a popular tool in certain middle eastern countries where rulers want to keep an eye on dissent. >> in march, egyptian democracy activists stormed the headquarters of the country's secret police. they found documents relating to spy software made by a german british company, gamma. it can be used to monitor the computers and smart phones of intelligence targets, including opposition activists. internet activist and this blogger was spied on. she found documents about herself containing copies of her e-mails and transcripts of phone conversations. >> this kind of software is not for freedom. this is helping the dictatorial and and other countries to spy

into our activism and to attack freedom. >> wikileaks released this product video, which shows how it works. it exploits a security loophole in the update procedures for apple's itunes music software. once the spyware is installed, whoever is using it can monitor all the data on the target computer. >> and that is a very serious problem. apple has some responsibility for this, because it is a known field where there proper ways to do this, and they did is improperly. as a result, they put all of their users at risk. >> apple needed three years to eliminate the problem. the product is still sold the software trade fairs, like this one in paris. other german companies also work in the sector. gamma group, a siemens, and nokia siemens networks are all thought to develop similar technology, along with others. spyware has been used by a number of governments.

iran, bahrain, and syria are all thought to have deployed german software. >> the issue has been raised by germany's opposition greens. for the first time, the government has admitted giving spyware export credit guarantees under a scheme called hermes. >> that means the german government gave direct or indirect support to exports of german spy software. we're worried some of those exports were to dictatorships or unjust regimes and using it to suppress their people. >> the german economics ministry declined to answer questions on the matter, saying i was not available. >> of being connected means we are never alone, even if we think we are. well, today when you do a search on the web, every bit of information you enter and access may be analyzed and stored. that explains why many of the ads popping up seem tailor-made for you.

now, you might appreciate this and even take advantage of some of it, but critics say this is manipulation. and they warn it could spell the end of the free information era. >> many users are not aware that google's algorithm delivers personalized search results. experts believed it looks something like this. the most popular sites are not listed first anymore. top results not factor in where you live, as well as your recent search history. a future, if you're looking for, say, an electrician, but likely a but if you're searching the financial crisis or the 9/11 terror attacks. >> my opportunity to educate and inform myself, to form an opinion, is getting smaller. even if the information out there keeps growing. i actively counteract that. if you do not, you're being manipulated by the algorithm to some extent. >> for some time, experts have been discussing whether the free

internet is a dream, held over from the early years of the web. they worry that only relatively few people know how to out- maneuver google. >> if you do not own a google account, for instance, if you delete your cookies regularly, is still the possibility of carrying out a general surge without individualized results. it is potentially dangerous, because google controls what we know in a way. >> the services keep encroaching on our privacy. google's mail service stands e- mails while they're being written in order to display relevant advertising. the company defends the process, arguing that it thinks customers are not bombarded irrelevant adds. a claim microsoft lampoons in this commercial. ♪ probing every sentence and your punctuation in every situation the gmail man ♪ >> i think the big commercial

operators are trying to create a context in which users do not necessarily do what they would choose to do on their own, but rather, act in a way that helps the commercial operators. >> facebook, for instance, recommends friends. amazon tells you what books you might like to preside -- surprisingly enough, these digital tools work quite well. users have gotten accustomed to them and even trust them. but they are not always trustworthy. a round a year ago on wall street, a faulty computer program sold a large amount of securities. other programs followed suit, triggering a chain reaction and the subsequent market crash. >> this kind of market crash, purely mechanical, triggered by computers, can occur again any time. it will certainly happen again. >> internet programs take a lot of work off our hands, possibly too much. in our digital world, people have to hold their ground

against programs that are becoming ever more powerful. >> the internet, spyware, and you, that has been the focus of our "on the trail" today it -- of our "in depth" today on dw- tv. thank you for joining us. stay tuned. ♪ ♪

♪