♪ >> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. i am meggin leigh with the news. >> i have got the business. >> our headlines -- resident of hundred cases his critics in the european parliament as the eu says his government is violating basic freedoms. divers at the shipwrecked costa concordia suspend rescue work after the cruise liner shifts ground again. >> the german government cut its growth forecast but rules out

recession. ♪ >> the prime minister of hungary, viktor orban, has met with eu parliamentarians to defend his country's new constitution which imposes government control over key institutions. critics say the changes by late european law and democratic principles. the eu commission is now pursuing legal action against budapest and given the country 30 days to make changes. orban is now trying to show that he is willing to compromise. >> the hungarian prime minister travel to strasbourg to face skeptical european legislators. the president of the european commission questioned hungary's commitment to democratic values. orban tried to downplay the crisis. >> i sent a letter to the

commission president in which i stated that the problems listed by the commission can be corrected quickly and easily. >> many parliamentarians were not convinced. >> you are headed in the same direction as men like chavez, castro, and all totalitarian governments. the positive example is havel. he always fought against communism and fought for freedom. orban did get some support from the federal conservatives. >> what counts for the members of the european people's party and the majority of this parliament is respect for freedom and democracy. mr. orban, i am sure that you will prove that you back the same values. >> pressure is mounting on orban. next week, he will hold face-to- face talks with the commission chief. the chief wants a clear sign that his message is getting through. >> we will be taking a closer look at the political shift in

hungary and the eu's reaction later in the show. in italy, authorities have identified the first of the bodies recovered from recoveredwrecked italian cruise ship costa concordia. he is the hon. man who worked as an entertainer on the ship. the current death toll stands at 11, and 22 people are still reported missing. but emergency workers were forced to suspend certain operations on wednesday after the liner shifted again. >> rescue workers were forced to hold their efforts as the ship shifted position, threatening to slide into deeper water or sink completely. officially, divers and firefighters hope to continue their search for the missing. anxious relatives are still holding onto hope that there will be able to find survivors. >> five days have passed and my sister has not been found. i feel desperate because time is running out. >> once the rescue effort is a

declared over, salvage workers will begin pumping some 2,000 tons of fuel from the vessel's tanks. the ship's captain, francisco schettino, is under house arrest. he told prosecutors that he accidentally fell off of the ship on to a lifeboat and was unable to climb back on board. a coast guard officer who berated schettino to return to his ship is being celebrated as a hero by many italians. urologists say a storm is headed towards the region, which would complicate the rescue operation. >> guido westerwelle has confirmed that two of the five foreign tourist killed in an attack in a remote region of ethiopia on monday were german nationals. the group was targeted while on a track in the north of the country. the cuban government spokesman said two hungarians, an austrian, and two germans were killed. ethiopia has blamed the attacks on neighboring eritrea. the government there has strongly rejected those claims.

further, two german nationals have been kidnapped. >> a stunning natural spectacle. ethiopia's erta ale is located in the desert, one of the most inhospitable places on earth. armed rebels attacked a group of foreign tourists in their camp, killing five and a double and four others. several more were wounded. in berlin, foreign minister guido westerwelle expresses condolences to the victims' families. he confirmed that some escaped harm. >> i can tell you that 12 people were evacuated to safety, including several german nationals. but i must also inform you that two german citizens lost their lives in the attack on the tourist group. >> the foreign ministry has set up a crisis team to investigate the circumstances of the attack. german officials are turning investigations in ethiopia.

>> i have sent my liaison officer from kenya to the region. we will also be flying officials from germany -- from germany to the region to provide support to the german consulate. >> the survivors arrived back in the ethiopian capital on wednesday afternoon. the region says neighboring eritrea is to blame for the ordeal. ethiopia regularly accuses its archenemy of supporting separatism groups and says it trained and armed the gunman responsible. >> russia is warning of a catastrophe with the most severe consequences if the west carries out a military strike on iran. the foreign minister also said new sanctions against iran could harm, rather than helping, efforts to solve the nuclear standoff. the u.s. recently extended its sanctions on iran, and the european union is considering an oil embargo. they want to pressure iran into rethinking its nuclear program,

which the west sites is a bad let's get the top business stories. >> no. >> you better be. a new phase of uncertainty and danger, that is what the world bank is warning of in its global economic outlook. it expects worldwide growth 2 to a slump.5%. for the eurozone, a contraction of 0.3%. the german government had its own growth forecast again, from 1% to 0.7%. but brolin is putting a positive spin on the uighurs. dep -- berlin is putting a positive spin on the figures. >> philipp roesler exist there's optimism. more jobs, higher wages, solid growth. that is what the government backer of stability. >> we have put the crisis behind us much more quickly than most other industrialized nations.

but growth has slowed significantly since last autumn because of economic factors abroad. slow, as is the u.s. recovery. and developing countries are losing steam. >> germany recorded strong growth last year, 3%. this year, that will slow to just 0.7%. in 2013, it is expected to bounce back. the picture could still be clouded by the financial markets, and any escalation of the eurozone debt crisis, but of those threats do not materialize, berlin expects employment to hit record levels. it is is forecasting 220,000 new jobs for this year. >> germany is a leader in the labor market, not just in europe, the world. we're seeing the benefits of star sheryl reforms and the agreements reached by unions and employers. the labor market is much more flexible than in the past.

>> berlin expects domestic demand to be the main motor of growth. that is a change from recent years when exports were the prime driver. >> the international monetary fund wants to boost its lending resources by about 400 billion euros in the face of global financial problems. emerging economies like china and brazil are expected to pump up their credit guarantees, something they have been reluctant to do. the imf hopes to come to an agreement by the end of february when the g-20 finance ministers meet in mexico. shares of commerce bank sold off today as the way to hear the german under plans to close a gap of almost 6 billion euros in its capital reserves. our reporter has more from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> suspense is rising here at the exchange. on friday, the banks which had not passed the stress test here in europe have to tell the supervisory authorities whether there now fulfilling the new

stricter capital requirements. this deadline in a site, and must be particularly bad news for commerzbank that the ratings agency, moody's, lowered its ratings for some of its debt. morrell looks are making the assistance rights here in frankfurt -- more looks are making the suspense here. there is renewed government bonds in france and spain. at least the euro-dollar exchange rate is quite resilient ahead of these options. >> let's have a look at just how resilient it is. starting in frankfurt, the blue- chip dax gained 0.3%. the euro stoxx 50 ended the session down 0.25%. in new york, the dow industrials is up by over 0.5%. the euro at $1.2835.

at the core of comerica bank's problems is a large amount of greek sovereign debt it is open and how much it will have to write down. the leaders of greece said private creditors are returning to the negotiating table in hopes of an agreement over their contributions to help ease the country's debt burden. a deal would open the way for more funds from the imf and the eu. they would also calm market fears of contagion. what ever happens, there's a lot at stake for the banks. >> as of the end of october, commerzbank was carrying 1.4 billion euros in greek sovereign debt on its books. analysts think a further write- down of the greek debt is unavoidable. negotiations to join the greek government and private sector lenders over voluntary writedowns have been stalled for months. at the crisis summit in october, european leaders agreed that banks and insurance companies would have to write down the greek government bonds they hold by 50%.

that would relieve greece of some 100 billion euros of debt burden. if the talks fail, default for greece would loom. and it that would mean an even larger hole in, or its bank's capital reserves. >> to last year's last year's biggest banks -- bankruptcy and germany, the maker of printing presses will now be broken up. officials have agreed to its biggest plant going to a conglomerate. two smaller plants said to be restructured in a management buyout. it was a world market leader in the press is used for newspapers. the downfall is attributed to the crisis and the printing industry. 4500 jobs were at stake. what else is at stake in the world? >> we have a major visitor here in berlin, the palestinian authority president, mahmoud abbas, is in germany for talks focusing on efforts to resume the middle east peace process.

abbas was locked on to berlin by president christian wulff. he's due for talks with chancellor merkel on thursday. he is looking for international support to stop israel from building settlements in the west bank. that is the main palestinian condition for the resumption of full peace talks. meanwhile, lawyers for christian wulff said it will publish the catalog of answers to journalist questions of the president's personal loan scandal. some 240-pages of answers will be uploaded on the internet. the president has been under fire over a private home loan and vacation stays at the homes of wealthy business friends. he promised full disclosure in a television interview last month, but until now, his lawyers have blocked the move. the berlin fashion week has kicked off, and alongside the traditional mainstay in fashion, a lot of petition will be played to green where an ethical levels. it is a trend that more and more designers are falling.

includes a sequim material, applying fair labor practices, and using traditional made by hand techniques. we caught up with a green show >> wild german luxury labelin.- escada kicked off fashion week with this new sports line, there was a different take on cool down the street. rather than clever, the the golf fashion show presence styles for eco-fashionistas. recycling is key for labels like this one from amsterdam. >> this is made from recycled coke bottles. mid used to be a coca-cola bottle, and now it is a button. >> it also stands for fair trade practices. members of label sewn into the clothes that are assigned to the source and nepal. buyers can find out more about the person who made their clothes on the labels website. the head designer lives in

katmandu to keep tabs on work conditions. >> we tried to go places and say how much rent is and how they're treated and that children go to school. and they are making salaries. >> over 60 labels are presenting collections, including these high-end brands. >> this is a growing sector of the industry. we can say that because more labels are popping up, but also because consumer demand is growing. >> at the clothing, be it berlin fair wants to show that to the truly fashion-forward. >> eight-time world champion sebastien loeb is out in front on the first of the monte carlo rally. the frenchmen saw the checkered flag in three of the day's four stages. he was able to build up a significantly over spain's dani sordo. the norway contest and came in close third in his ford fiesta. >> millions of internet users are being left in the dark

today, and some of the biggest sites on the web are censoring themselves in protest of anti- piracy legislation being debated in the u.s. wikipedia is leading the protest. users trying to access the english-language version are directed to a black screen and the message -- imagine a world without free knowledge. wordpress is also censoring itself. the proposed legislation would allow u.s. authorities to block access to web sites that violate copyright laws. here in berlin, many people are still waiting for winter's first major snowfall. but one of the hottest places on earth, the western sahara, is getting down to with snow. meteorologist said the winter wonderland will not last long. i have promised that things will warm up again soon. no need to worry about those palm trees. turns out that they're pretty hardy. experts say the snow may even help them by killing parasites.

if it were only that easy when we catch colds. "in depth" is coming up next. do not go away. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> we continue with a look at hungry and a potential showdown it is facing with the european union. hon. prime minister viktor orban and the eu lawmakers on his government pushed for a new constitution with laws that many claim rob the central bank of its independence and threaten basic rights such as freedom of the press. critics say this latest action puts hundred young course of becoming more authoritarian. on wednesday, orban address the european parliament, promising to respond to eu concerns about the threat to democracy. more in a few minutes.

first, this report on how orban's governing party is making life difficult for those in hungary who were not in step with his nationalist conservative outlook. >> he is frustrated -- she is frustrated, the democratically elected mayor of the city in northern hungary. but it is almost impossible for her to govern. >> my problem is that i do not have a city budget at my disposal. >> and that is not because hungary is broke. the hard-line conservatives like everything the mayor does in the local council. her staff work for nothing. they even bring in their own laptops. lunch looks like this. >> we receive these apples as a donation from another district. in support of my voluntary work force. >> she is non-party affiliated

and came to power when the residents wanted to get rid of the sitting mayor. many regarded him as a living the high life at the expense of the taxpayer. his luxury office has been kept untouched, a conservative like a museum artifacts, a shrine to political decadence. in 2010, the conservatives won the city election by a landslide. they now have a huge majority, causing the mayor countless problems. last november, the electricity company cut off the street lighting. she was left in the dark -- the town was lupton in the dark for three weeks. the conservatives a block to the money to pay the electricity bill. finally, the citizens had enough. the besieged the council chambers in support of the mayor against the conservatives. the council members needed a police escort to leave the building. millions have been invested into the town, and now it is pro. the debt runs to 26 billion, 84

billion euros. everything is affected, even the public bus transport. >> the council simply did not pay for the local bus service. >> the residents imagines things differently when they elected the independent mayor one and a half years ago. >> i think it is good that our mayor is independent. she is doing a great job. >> the problem is the counselors. they are pursuing very aggressive politics. and that is not the way to lead a city. >> further south, along the danube, is the capital budapest. the party led by prime minister viktor orban currently governs contrary with a large majority. he introduced a new constitution on january 1, strengthening his powers and limiting democratic freedoms.

many observers fear the conservatives are heading towards autocracy. thousands demonstrated in budapest at the beginning of the year. they were furious that the new constitutional measures to curb press freedoms. outside the headquarters of the state broadcaster, laid off workers and government opponents are holding a constant vigil. they called themselves solidarity, like poland's former anti-communist movement. this tv journalist was fired from his job. he said the government suppressed support -- reporting of the anti-orban demonstrations at the beginning of january. >> you could see the other television, the commercial one, that's appeared the same kindpo. >> more than press freedom is at stake. >> i think it is too early to say. i think it will be kind of half democracy if we continue this way. >> the protesters are also making noise online.

♪ >> i do not like the system, saying these activists. >> offline, it is becoming more difficult to criticize the government. this is the founder of a forum for critical discussion. but his station is under pressure. the station has been refused a new license by the prime minister's allies. the government of hungary is under pressure, and it does not like talking to international media about its problems. one man agreed to speak to us. the minister of state in the economics ministry. he denied that the government is creeping toward autocracy. >> it is a very simplified story. very black and white. now a country where they are --

[unintelligible] just look at hungry here and now, if you read the hon. newspaper, you can see it is critical on the government, ntc normal and should be that way. >> determined to hold onto power in budapest and otherwise. but people here want to keep their independent mayor. >> i was born here, and it troubles me that the city is having more and more towards ruin. >> that is unlikely to change in the immediate future. the next elections are not until 2014. in the meantime, the party will continue to tighten its grip. >> speaking at the european parliament in strasbourg on wednesday, viktor orban pledged to amend some of the legislation that has prompted the eu commission to threaten legal action for breaching european treaties. our eu correspondent followed the debate, and i asked him whether orban did enough to

appease its critics. >> i think the european commission is taking it with a pinch of salt. he has had one trip to the european parliament. of course he was conciliatory. that was to be expected. but he's does not show signs of accepting that what he has done so far in setting up this new constitution breaches any human rights laws under the eu, in the democratic rights, freedom of the press, and more. he is prepared to talk, we believe. he is prepared to talk about the technicalities. but the commission is being cautious about suggesting that this situation is resolved. they're waiting for this one- month deadline to expire and see what happens by then. meanwhile, he was a the president of the european commission in brussels next tuesday. >> how worried should europe be about what is happening in hungary right now? >> i think it does show a sense doesrenationalization. many states are retrenching

because of the economic crisis. they're watching with interest is illegal position is for hungary. is that a sovereign state with the right to decide on its judiciary and how to make its central bank functioned independently or otherwise? or is this something -- everyone will watch with interest, either because they want to go down the same path or because they're concerned or becausehungar -- if hungary gets away with it, some other countries might go down the same path. >> aside from taking legal action, what else can the eu commission do if hungary continues to centralize power? >> it has already acted in a sense, because it suspended talks on a massive bailout because of the precarious economic situation, saying that until the independence of the hungarian central bank is a short, the discussion on giving hungary may be 50 billion -- 15 billion to 20 billion can go ahead.

that is a big incentive to act. >> we thank you very much for your assessments in brussels. that wraps up our "in depth" look on hungary. i am meggin leigh. stay with us here on the "journal." stay tuned. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪