>> a steve chaid with your business update. >> our headlines. four people killed. 75 injured in an attack in belgium. announces it is pulling out from the kyoto protocol. and scientists say they have narrowed the search for the missing link in modern physics known as the god particle. ♪

>> belgian police are trying to figure out how convicted criminal managed to gain access to grenades and firearms that left dozens of people injured and four dead in the center of the city of liege. officials say the assault was carried out by a man with drugs and illegal weapons convictions. the 33-year-old began his attack at a central shopping area. >> as the evening wore on, the downtown area remain closed off amid a massive police presence. belgian royal's couple arrived to get a glimpse of the crime scene. the horror began shortly after noon as a man sprayed gunfire throughout the crowded square. pedestrians fled in panic. a local resident recorded these images. >> i was in the center of town. all of a sudden, i saw a man pulled out a kalashnikov. he started shooting people with it. there were grenades that

exploded. the bus shelters exploded. it was general panic. >> two young people and a woman were killed before the 33-year- old assailant shot himself in the head. investigators say it is not clear what his motive was, that ad there was no indication that was an act of terrorism. >> he is well known to the police and the law. he was convicted. he is known for weapons, for buying and selling stolen goods, for drugs, for behavioral issues. but he is not in any way known for terrorist activity. >> more than 130 people were wounded, including a 2-year-old child who is reportedly in critical condition christmas market was closed on tuesday due to storm warnings. otherwise the death toll likely would have been much higher. >> the u.n. high commissioner

for human rights is demanding that the u.n. security council investigate syria for crimes against humanity. this is the estimated death toll of the unrest in the country, reaching 5000. despite the government's crackdown, syrian tv broadcast, wall-to-wall coverage of local elections taking place, but internet images show continued street battles. an estimated 23 people were killed tuesday alone in homs and other city centers. in new york, the german master westerwelle wanted to introduce further tough measures against the assad government. iran has rejected a request by the united states to return captured spite drone and says that plane is now the property of iran. the foreign -- the foreign ministry said instead of asking for the drawn back, washington should apologize for violating their airspace. iran's scientists are now analyzing the aircraft

technology. iran announced last week that it had downed the unmanned u.s. spy plane in the east of the country. canada still has a legal obligation under u.n. rules to cut its emissions, that despite the country's pullout from the kyoto protocol. that is according to the u.n. climate chief, who also called canada's decision both regrettable and surprising. the country became the first to withdraw from kyoto, dealing a blow to the treaty at the climate summit wrapped up in durban. >> the canadian environment ministers said signing the protocol had been a mistake. >> the targets for 2012 would be the equivalent of by the removing every part, a truck, 80 become a tractor, a blend of a police car, and vehicle of every kind from canadian roads. or closing down the entire farming and agricultural sector and cutting heat to every home, of is the hospital, factory, and building in canada. >> canada extract millions of

barrels of oil from tar sands, requiring enormous amounts of energy and requiring more co2 emissions than conventional methods. but canada wants to continue the process without risking being fined. the announcement drew immediate criticism from environmental groups and the opposition. >> our government is advocating its international responsibilities. it is like we are the kid in school knows we're going to tell the class, so we have been brought it before that happens. >> at the durban conference, activist for attention to canada's climate-damaging practices, calling for tough action against the country. the message appears to have backfired with canada turning its back on its fellow kyoto signatories. >> the russian parliament elected 10 days ago will convene as scheduled on december 21. despite accusations of voting fraud. in a meeting with leaders in the parties represented in the duma, president medvedev said they

have work to do. there is reported vote rigging, but rejected calls for the election to be rerun. on saturday, tens of thousands of russians gather to voice their anger at the election results would give the ruling united russia party an absolute majority. we will be taking an "in depth" look at the political situation in russia letter. uzbekistan has long been known as one of the world's leading violators of human rights. but a new report by human rights watch paints a picture of a regime that regularly tortures its citizens in pre-trial detention with extreme violence. the report adds that the u.s. and european union have been turning a blind eye to the systematic abuses in the nation it considers an ally and friend. >> protests in brussels earlier this year, the uzbekistan president was a guest of the european union, a visit aangered

many. activists say such visitations give legitimacy to the role of the dictator. now the organization human rights watch has gathered evidence of what it says are systematic abuses. it spoke to relatives of prisoners subjected to torture. the reported family members being subjected to beatings with the electric shocks. >> there are political prisoners in uzbekistan, and there's no independent judiciary. lawyers are not allowed access to their clients. uzbekistan is one of the few remaining dictatorships in the world. >> why does the west remain silent? human rights watch says that is to do with the bed -- with their huge reserves of natural gas. and the country's strategic importance. germany maintains an air base in the south of the country, which it uses for the mission in afghanistan. but calls are growing for western governments to look beyond their own political interests and speak out against

the human rights abuses in east pakistan. human rights watch says the time has come for sanctions to be imposed. >> you can say that eurozone economies are looking resilience on the markets today. steve has more. >> some encouraging signs. the european financial stability facility has successfully sold about two billion euros were the three-month bonds, which meant a solid demand as investors saw safety. the fact that successful in selling short-term debt tuesday. spain even saw its borrowing costs fall. the spanish treasury sold off nearly 5 billion euros of treasury bills. spain will be paying just over 4% interest on 12-month t-bills, almost 1% less than just a month ago.

greece has reached its limit in raising taxes and now needs to refocus its austerity program on long-term spending cuts. the warning came as the greek finance minister met in athens on tuesday with senior auditors from the eurozone, european central bank, and the imf to negotiate the conditions of its continued international bailout. greece has so far relied on the 100 and europe -- 110 billion euros bailout package from the countries since 2010 to stave off default. it has taken a series of debt reducing measures, including cutting salaries and pensions and opposing several rounds of tax hikes. on to the market, after trading higher for most of the tuesday session, german blue chips fell in late training. -- in late trading. here is the report from the spring for a stock exchange. >> the dax went down again in negative territory.

this time traders blamed angela merkel. the chancellor said that 500 billion euros are enough for the rescue fund esm. she does not want to discuss about more money for the fund, as rumors were telling. and this has been reason enough for traders to sell shares. not only the dax went down. the euro lost ground, under $1.31. there seems to be a clear sign that foreign investors seemed to leave the euro area. >> we will stay in frankfurt for a closer look of the numbers. the german dax finished the session down just about 0.5%. the euro stoxx 50 also trading lower, finishing at 2260. on wall street, the dow is pretty much flat, up by 0.1%. on currency markets, the euro is weaker, trading at a value of

$1.3039. the u.s. federal reserve's top policymakers have convened in washington, d.c., for their last meeting in what has been an extremely tumultuous year. they agreed to the benchmark interest rates unchanged, near historic lows of 0%. the fed also says the u.s. economy has grown moderately, as hiring and consumer spending have improved. as a result, it is holding off on any new steps to boost the economy, but the statement warned that unemployment remains high and confirmed that rains -- rates will remain exceptionally low through 2013. in corporate news, german carmaker audi looks set to overtake mercedes benz this year as the world's six largest manufacturer of luxury vehicles. audi is already ahead in terms of vehicle sales for the very first time, despite this year being mercedes' best ever. audi's sales are powering ahead

in china. >> the massive bruise in audi car sales is surprising. they sold 70% more vehicles in china compared to a year ago. no other carmaker here has seen that kind of increase. audi believes the chinese market is its ticket to the top. but right now, bmw is still the number-one premium brand. between january and november this year, bmw sold 1.25 million vehicles worldwide. audi's sales stand at 1.19 million, putting it ahead of mercedes-benz for the first time. that is even though mercedes has sold 1.14 million cars, more than in any previousa year a. audi is setting up in china for 2013. production will then rise to 700,000 vehicles. the goal is clear. audi once overtaken bmw by 2015

to become the number 1 luxury brand. >> german sportswear manufacturer puma as new opportunities in africa. after starting a clothing production in south africa for the 2010 world cup soccer tournament, puma is planning to develop permanent production sites on the african continent. until now, asia has hosted low- cost production sites for puma and other clothing manufacturers. companies are looking for more attractive alternatives. back over to brian. >> german politics, for some way germany's junior coalition partners, the free democrats, the decision to back the euro with more taxpayer money is against everything they believe in, and is being rejected due to the party rank and file has launched an internal referendum to put an end to more bank bailouts. it is a move that is causing headaches for party leaders and

in the chancellor's office as well. >> the fdp party leadership can do without the slightest bit about its policy on the euro bailout fund. leading free democrats are nervously awaiting the results of a referendum of party members, organized by him. the outcome will only be binding by party leadership at least a third of all party members take part. >> i hope the vote is 60% to 40% in our favor, and i think we will reach the necessary quorum or at least get very close. >> but the group backing the referendum feels hard done by. two different ballot papers and needed to vote, and they were printed on different papers of the fdp party newspaper. the issue has raised the pressure on the party leader, even if the opponents of the bailout fund did not get their way, a good showing would still undermine his position. his main rival is playing things

down. p>> i work together with fill up very well. we will analyze what the results mean when we have them and not before hand. >> the deadline for votes to be submitted is midnight. results will be presented on friday. >> european physicists say they have narrowed the search for the elusive subatomic particle that would confirm the way science describes our universe. experiments at europe's giant cern laboratory have reduced the window where scientists think they will find what they also call the god particle. such a discovery brings in a province with such major scientific breakthroughs of the last century. >> scientists believe the universe was created billions of years ago by the big bang. they created huge numbers of tiny subatomic particles. one kind of particle is believed to gain mass and become a matter. it is known as the higgs boson.

it disintegrates quickly, and no one has ever seen it. its existence has never been proven, but scientists say they have now come closer to finding evidence of it. >> the probability is already as high as 99%. we are almost sure but not completely. we cannot be definite. the higgs is headed in massive quantities of data, and it is difficult to find signs of it. >> physicists at cern nuclear research center have been on the particles travel for years. in a 27 kilometer long underground circular tunnel, they have been accelerating particles and allowing them to collide with each other to recreate the conditions of the big bang. and their experiments are proving fruitful. >> that we're close to finding it is a definite triumph of the work we have done over the past 20 years. if we find something new and can measure its parameters, it could prompt a revolution.

we will see. >> scientists say the particles existence could be confirmed by as early as next year. >> just how strong is vladimir putin? we will be looking at that question in one minute here on dw. ♪ ♪ >> everyone knows things are bad. every time we checked in news, we have been hit by a quake forced former financial disaster.

they are crazy. 1 billion suffer hunger. that is crazy. i want you to get up and yell i am mad as hell and will not let 1 billion people go hungry. you tell them. >> welcome back. campaigning is under way for russia's presidential election in march of next year, and opinion polls are showing vladimir putin has a strong lead. the race is heating up though, with a billionaire oligarch thrown his hat in the ring and with the opposition organizing resources. we spoke to two men who took part in reason and i-putin demonstrations to gauge the strength of a growing movement -- to depart in the recent anti- put in demonstration. >> he's protesting for a free and democratic russia. he is part of a moderate liberal opposition movement. the group is opposed to violence

and is seeking dialogue with russia's leaders. this man, on the other hand, thinks target to nothing. he is part of a radical left- wing coalition called the other russia, and he wants vladimir putin and medvedev gone. he says he's ready to take to the streets, even if it means clashing with police. this is a teacher, and he has been fighting for democracy for over 20 years. the internet has become one of his weapons. he says he watched as the kremlin crackdown on regime critics, abolished votes for certain political positions, and took control of tv channels. now he says he is happy to see tens of thousands of russians joining the battle against letter repeated online. -- the battle against vladimir putin online. >> sooner or later, this was going to happen. for a long time, i have wondered why people in a modern country were prepared to tolerate lies

spread by the government. and why they allowed their civil and human rights to be violated and trampled on by corrupt officials. >> this man says he sees the kremlin exerting its power over and over again. the other russian group is officially classified as an enemy of the state. just before the december 4 parliamentary elections, police stormed into his apartment and search through all his belongings. >> it was not the first time this happened. the police have raided our place five times already. when we are planning protests, they come around. it does not surprise me anymore. we already know that they take everything. so we remove all of our valuables a few days before the planned protests and leave only small step behind. >> it gets by with money he worked -- he turns washing windows. that leaves the i.t. specialists more time to dedicate to

political activities. his group wants to be -- seek russia's lack of gas and oil industries nationalized. they want the rich to pay more taxes. the one of social welfare system for the port. above all, they want to see a strong pressure in the tradition of the soviet union. >> for me, russia is like a third world country. the only thing we do well is exporting raw materials to the east and west. but we do not have any real industry. we just deliver the raw materials. >> at headquarters, this liberal and his fellow opposition leaders are planning their next step. they do not want is a rush to return to a soviet-style system. instead, they want the government to pull out of economic and social is use and read a free market economy based on the western model. but for that to happen, he says of vladimir putin has to leave office and the country needs

fair elections with the real opposition parties taking part. >> our demands are not that outrageous. all we want is what has long since been a part of this country's constitution. we want to be able to protest peacefully and take part in the political system. our government has bracingly refused to respect the rights we are entitled to. >> when the opposition takes to the streets, is always at the forefront. the recent demonstrations remind him of the protests against the soviet regime more than 20 years ago. he says many russians who have long been apathetic about their country's politics are now waking up to what is happening, making this group more important than ever. the group wants to act as a counterbalance to extremas them and violence. >> we do not want a revolution like in egypt. we do not want people to get injured or even kill.

we will sit down together with people in the kremlin and make sure that we find a common solution. >> sitting down with those in power is not an option for him. he and his colleagues are taking the words "russell louis freeh" on this matter. free from vladimir putin and his regime. they believe that free and fair elections will never be allowed from vladimir putin. >> the parliamentary election results have to be scrapped and all parties and candidates have to be about to take part in new elections. >> the other russia does not shy away from confrontation with the authorities. its members do not want to let the police tell them where and when they can protest. they gather in this central square in moscow, even though it is forbidden. main demonstrations are taking place at another location. >> why should we talk to the authorities? they are thieves.

it would not make any sense. >> it later, nicolai and his coalition made up with the other demonstrators who they are amazed to see how many people have turned out. snyder is happy that russia's a disparate opposition movements that finally come together, at least on this day. ultimately, the all share the same goal, a russia without vladimir putin. >> we spoke earlier with a german politician, a member of the green party, specializing in eastern european policy. she traveled to russia to serve as an observer the parliamentary elections earlier this month. we began by asking her what she thought about the russian opposition movement. >> well, it is a very, very various people coming together. the communist party on the one side. you have the nationalists on the other side. but in between, you have a big,

big number of young, well- educated people. they are linked to internet, and what they want is freedom and democracy, and they do not want to be cheated anymore. i think this is one of the main points. the disappointment and the anger started september 24 when vladimir putin and medvedev, public, showed that they treat the state as if it were theirs. telling the public, well, one is going to be president again and the other prime minister. it is our little game. and that really outraged many, many people in russia. and on top of that,>> well, we

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