♪ >> welcome to the "journal" coming to you from dw in berlin. >> coming up on the show -- germany's top court makes a ruling that could hamper berlin's ability to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. >> help arrives for a drifting cruise ship with 1000 passengers on board, but it is still a long way back to dry land. >> another crucial primary looms large in the u.s. as voters in michigan and arizona are preparing to go to the polls. ♪

>> a warning shot from germany's highest court, and says fighting the eurozone debt crisis could come at the cost of the democratic process. have full control over decisions to channel money through the years and rescue fund. we will be getting analysis from our political correspondent in a moment. first, more on the ruling. >> the constitutional court has ruled that a nine-member parliamentary panel to fast- track decision on eurozone bailout money is in large part unconstitutional. the verdict means that only a full session of the budget committee can approve the use of the eurozone rescue fund. the constitutional court president said the ruling was justified. >> those parliamentarians not in

the committee are excluded from taking full part in the fundamental budgetary responsibilities of the german parliament. that results in an unequal treatment for those who, because of their status as members of parliament, have the right to influence parliamentary decision making. >> critics say the ruling hampers berwyn's ability to tackle the debt crisis. nevertheless, it has no impact on monday's parliamentary approval of a second 130 billion euro bailout for greece. that vote 3 grilled -- revealed growing dissent with then chancellor merkel's own ranks. 17 members of our coalition voted against the package, with " -- some questioning whether it is worth saving grace is a eurozone member. >> we have been following this story from parliamentary studios. john, let's have a look at this ruling from the constitutional court. what kind of an impact that have on the german government's ability to act in this crisis?

>> i do not think it will have any influence at all. because if you look at the constitution of parliament, it is made up of the fdp, chancellor merkel's on conservatives, the conservative party in bavaria, the green party, the social democrat -- all those parties are fundamentally in agreement with a large majority at the moment that it is sensible to continue making these payments to greece. that could change when the permanent stability fund, the fire wall, if you like, for the euro is in place. for the moment, they all think there is no reasonable sensible alternative to that. so that although the fast tracking that merkel wanted will not be happening, the parliament will be called into the constitutional court ruled that that was just as easy and could be done just as quickly. >> but there could be some problems, because in this vote yesterday, angela merkel suffered rebellion from within

her side. the popular press is against rescuing greece the second time around. is germany turning against the idea of continually bailing agrees? >> you have to make a distinction. there is a certain popular sentiment which was also quite strongly supported by the tabloid press in germany, which is against keeping greece in a the eurozone. it feels that greece should actually get out of the eurozone. i suppose the parallel would be a certain popular sentiment in greece, which is very anti- german. but the main political party, all of them in germany, main political parties, omelet -- all believe there's no reason alternative. even if there was an election tomorrow, the alternative for the voter who is not satisfied with the idea of angela merkel's policies of transferring money to greece would not have an alternate. >> thank you very much for that.

>> the european central bank has temporarily stopped accepting greek government bonds as collateral. the bank says its decision was in response to the latest s&p downgrade of grease's credit rating. the agency declared greece to be in a selective defiled after banks agreed to write down their holdings of greek debt. lawmakers in athens are meeting later today to vote on the latest package of cuts. for more, let's bring in our markets correspondent, standing by on the for the frankfurt stock exchange. dorothy, everyone is worried that this downgrade will trigger credit defaults swaps, and that could be potentially disastrous for the market. how big is the threat? >> the threat is clearly there. the decision is in the head of the international swaps and derivatives association to this association is likely to decide today if the cds' are payable. this is difficult.

it is the size of how many private creditors will accept voluntarily debt reduction. and this is due on march 9. interestingly, traders here are not so much worried. they do not believe that this event will happen. but they remember vividly what happened after what happened with aig. >> what else is driving trade down there today? >> two main things. it is very positive consumer mood here in germany. due to the positive situation in the german job market. german employees can expect a huge salary increase this year, money they can spin for sure. and a general motors is interested in buying a stake of about 7% of a french carmaker. they are at least in talks. those shares up 10% today. coming to the market numbers, the taxes of about 0.5%. same with the euro stoxx 50.

back to you. >> thank you. >> and we stay in frankfurt where management at frankfurt airport are seeking an injunction to prevent a strike by ground staff. it comes from the union representing air traffic controllers when they told members to join the industrial action. the controller stoppage is due to begin on wednesday morning at 5:00 a.m. local time and continue until 11:00 a.m. the strike by ground staff began on sunday, but the deception -- but there is a disruption. >> help has arrived for the cruise ship the day after a fire on board of the drifting without power in the indian ocean. >> a french fishing vessel has begun telling it and its 1000 passengers. it is another embarrassment for the costa cruise line, whose ship capsized off italy only last month. >> help is on the way for the costa allegra.

helicopters have been providing supplies, including food and satellite phones. the operator says no one was injured in the engine room fire and that the more than 1000 people on board are fine. a french fishing boat is currently telling the ship to land, but there's still a risk. >> we do have pirates in the western indian ocean. fortunately none were cited within the vicinity of this vessel. but it is a risk. we advise any ships that travel that far away from the main islands to have armed guards on board. this cruise ship would have those armed guards to respond if they were attacked. >> another ship, the costa concordia, capsized in the mediterranean in mid-january. 32 people were killed in that accident and the wreck is still lying off the italian island of

giglio. >> many fear that the big boom and the cruise industry can now go bust. now is the height of the booking season, that many would-be passengers are afraid to get on board. >> with the operators and is the major losses this quarter? we have a look of some of the other challenges facing the industry. >> cruises have become a mass tourism stable. on most cruise ships, you will find a number of restaurants, bars, and places to relax. in many supermarkets, the offer cruises for sale. 11 days and the mediterranean for 800 euros, for example. some observers are concerned these deep discounts could affect safety on board, since the companies have to save money somewhere. cruises have steadily grown in popularity. in 2005, slightly more than 14 million people took part in a cruise. by 2010, the number had risen to nearly 19 million. warships have been dropping

their anchors and european ports. -- more ships have been leading european ports. cities in germany are profiting from passengers going ashore. and shipyards are also seeing their order books fill up. a recent study estimated that cruises generate a total of 35 billion euros in sales every year. >> other news. there may soon be a candidate to join the european union. the eu foreign ministers are meeting in brussels to make a decision that some, like guido westerwelle, have been making positive noises. the one that the commission to resolve some of the differences with kosovo. so far, officials seem pleased with what they see. >> this is in northern costa vote of the road from here to the frontier with serbia was the scene of barricades and ethnic clashes but it is you begin a trade deal between the two countries was agreed last week. that has pleased the european

union and some eu foreign ministers say serbia is now ready to get candidate membership status. >> it is looking quite good. both sides, cause of low and serbia, made a lot of compromises. >> germany is also reassured. foreign minister guido westerwelle says he supports a green light for serbia's candidacy. he said belgrade played its part by mending fences with costs of vote. now it is tie for the eu to deliver. >> it is write that serbia should get candid that status and that promises made to kosovo will be kept. it is about contributing to the stability of the western balkans. >> other eu officials are upbeat about serbia's chances. if approved, eu heads of state will sign off on the deal later this week. >> ok, let's cross over to brussels, where nina is following those talks. as we saw in the report, it seems to be looking good for

serbia. is this a done deal. -- is this a done deal? >> it looked like a done deal until today. it looks like negotiations are continuing. that is a bit of a surprise. the official decision is to be taken later this week, as you just heard. but the foreign ministers were supposed to get the green light today. apparently, what we're hearing is that there are a couple of member states he were still reluctant to give their yes to this decision. you have to bear in mind that this decision has to be taken unanimously. >> do you know what the sticking points might be? >> we can only assume that there are the few smaller countries who are saying that they will not give their yes -- as i said, it is a unanimous decision that has to be taken, unless they get better negotiating positions for future agreements concerning completely different issues. but that is just a guess. we will have to wait and see what the talks will turn out to

be. serbia has always been a tricky issue, and countries like germany were reluctant to grant serbia candidate status. kosovo is a key issue, and german foreign minister guido westerwelle said that belgrade had actually made some progress in improving relations, and that was a vital issue. so countries like germany have given up their reluctance, but other countries are using these negotiations to put their foot down and make clear that even smaller countries can also have their say in what concerns eu membership. >> assuming they do get a deal, what is it out -- what is in it for serbia? >> serbia will get a lot of recognition. that is clear. there are financial issues. it is something which we will have to see. even if the decision is taken to do double- click ok, we have to leave it there. thank you very much. >> police in london have cleared one of the longest-running

protest by the occupy movement. >> people have been camped outside the cathedral in the financial district since last october, protesting against what they see as the excesses of capitalism. after a long-running controversy, police swept in last night. 20 people were arrested. >> it stood for months, but it took just hours to clear. police and bailiffs dismantling the remaining barricades of the london occupy protest. just days ago, the protesters lost their legal battle to remain in the heart of the city, close to the stock exchange. it is the end of the camp, but they say not the end of the protest. >> a lot of people are saying that to me as if this is it, this is over. it is not. this is just the beginning. this is just where it starts to kick off. a lot of these people, including myself, will be willing to stay here regardless. >> despite the clearance, the

protesters are claiming success, saying they highlighted what is wrong with capitalism and sparked a wider public debate on the role of the ethics in finance. >> to a private intelligence, we're going to have a report on that in a minute's time. >> stay with us. ♪ ♪ >> where do you prefer to use dw? let us know where you're taking us.

perhaps your snapshot will win. please send your pictures to mydw@dw.de. we're giving away 3 ipad spent 20 nokia 710 smart phones. for more information, go to dw.de/ >> welcome back. the workings of spies for hire are the latest target of the anti-secrecy group wikileaks. it has started publishing 5 million e-mails sent by u.s. private intelligence company stratfor. >> it says it will contain damaging revelations. but stratford's says it is an attempt to victimize the company. >> wikileaks is claiming another mountain a damaging material. 5 million internal e-mails. this time the group is shining the spotlight on a lucrative industry. >> the private intelligence industry is an extension of the public intelligence industry. but it has no accountability

mechanisms. freedom of information act does not apply. so it is the place where most of the dirty things are done. >> the u.s.-based company stratfor describes itself as a publisher of geo-political analysis, sourcing publicly available information. others liken it to the shadow cia. the founder and ceo had this to say about stratfor's is a clandestine tactics. >> we may or may not, as it suits us. this is the fundamental difference between journalism and intelligence. the source may never know he was a source, which is the definition of clandestine. the author says intelligence outsourcing has become a big business. >> it is clearly some kind of spying. i think that the list i saw of sources that strive for has in pakistan, to me it looks like a who's who, black book of any, you know, cia officer in the

country. >> stratfor has hundreds of resources worldwide. some of the information supplied is sensitive to the 1 e-mail de tells a close adviser to turkey's prime minister, who supplied stratfor with information about his health. wikileaks plans to publish more of the files in a daily badges on its website. >> lebanon, can you hear us? like the u.n. children's fund unicef says 300 million children are crowded into the world's urban slums. it has to change, according to a new report on children's lives. we will take a closer look at that later in the program. first, a look at what else is making news around the world. >> it gunman ambushed a bus in northwest pakistan, killing at least 18 people. the vehicle was stopped in a mountainous district. eyewitnesses said passengers were ordered off the bus and shot. the motive is unclear, but the victims were reportedly shia

muslims to the local authorities suspect a sectarian attack. >> in syria, activists say another 135 people were killed on monday. the syrian government has reported late that they sent elite troops to the monster break the resistance. a british photographer herb has escaped from syria to lebanon. he was wounded last week in an army attack in homes. >> an explosion at a chemical factory in china has killed at least 13 people. 43 people were hurt in the blast near the capital province in the northeast of the country. the explosion flattened a workshop and shattered windows two kilometers away. >> we had to the u.s. where there is a big test for mitt romney today in the republican presidential race. could the presumed front-runner for the nomination actually lose the state he was born in? >> michigan is one of two states voting a primary today, and it is the one everyone is watching to the polls are very tight.

if romney falls short, it could spell big trouble for his campaign. >> michigan was supposed to be an easy win for romney. it is his home state, and his father was once governor. now he is having to fight, emphasizing his court campaign message that he knows best how to jump-start the struggling economy. >> lower tax rates for corporations and for small businesses, to help them have more trouble to grow and invest. clamp down on china for cheating in trade and bringing products into this country well below their fair trade prices. >> the problem for romney is that the economy already seems to be improving, even without his help that is potentially good news for rick santorum, who has based his campaign on conservative christian values. santorum opposes abortion, even in cases of rape or. he is against same-sex marriage, and he rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. >> i did not buy into the

climate science of global warming. man-made global warming. because i knew from the beginning was political science, not climate science, that was motivating it. >> it is a message that has gone down well in michigan, especially with the many republican voters who never took a liking to the comparatively dull romney. his one sure victory here is looking less and less certain. >> growing up in the slums, that is the reality for 300 million children around the world, according to a new report from unicef. >> the conditions that face can be terrible. from the violence to a lack of clean water or any chance of an education. >> the biggest wave of urban growth in history, and for many children, it is simply going too fast. >> relatively few children in the world have playgrounds where they can play to their heart's content. and one reason is because an

increasing number of children are growing up in crowded urban areas. when unicef's survey began in 1955, 27% of all children live in cities. nearly 60 years later, it is almost half. that is some 1 million children worldwide. emerging in the developing nations have seen an especially steep rise in the city dwellers, but the dream of a better life for the poor has largely remained just that. i dream. about one-third of all urban children live in slums, such as this one, kenya's largest slum. malnutrition, poor sanitary conditions, and insufficient medical care mean children here are more susceptible to infectious disease. and child mortality is far higher in urban areas than in rural ones. unicef is particularly troubled about the lack of statistical data on children. street children often slip under the radar.

as many as one-third of city children worldwide are not even registered at birth. and without official documents, they will likely face problems entering school or receiving medical care. that also makes it difficult to protect them from child labor or abuse. the u.n. organization says that overcoming social inequality is key to improving the lives of children in cities. the report makes five basic demands. securing children's rights and basic needs. improving living conditions and registration. boosting their participation in society. more documentation on their lives. and linking up social projects. steep challenges lie ahead. if the international community is to succeed in building a better future for children. >> well, children here in berlin did not have to deal with slum conditions like those we saw in that report, but that does not mean there are not problems. >> we went to see one project is

trying to keep kids in a difficult neighborhood from running into trouble. >> he trained four times a week. for the 13-year-old, the boxing hall is like a second home. the sport is the most important thing in his life. >> you concentrate a lot. you think and reflect a lot. you do not use of violence. >> no violence. that is the goal of the project box ring in berlin. because here, in this neighborhood in berlin, youth violence is a problem. many of the kids to train here have difficult family situations. the boxing program provides a sense of structure in their lives that is often missing at home. some 200 young boxers are training here. >> we're trying to get kids with problems back on the right track.

discipline, order. and everything you need in life. >> the boy's family fled the war in chechnya when he was three. his parents barely speak german. for him, boxing is more than just a sport. the organization's director says a box ring provides support for refugee families and offers assistance in dealing with various bureaucracies. >> a lot of them are left on their own after school. for the kids who come here, this can be a jumping off point so they can go on to get an apprentice ship and did not become marginalized. >> she also organizes several tournaments a year. a chance for the young boxers to see how they measure up with others and get some recognition from their peers. on this day, 60 young boxes will -- boxer's work -- young boxers will enter the ring. he is falling confidence. >> i am going to win.

>> is full of ambition, and he has come out ahead in 17 of 18 previous fights. today, he is fighting in his own ring in front of his friends. they're here to cheer him on. their praise is encouraging and a key experience for the boy. the match consists of three rounds, each two minutes long. his opponent does not stand a chance, and he wins all three rounds. [cheers] >> despite winning, he's still not content with his performance. he wants to be perfect. boxing is supposed to be his path to a better future. >> i want to go to the sports school this year. and if it works out, maybe i

will become a doctor. >> a few minutes at her, his mood improved and he begins sharing on his friends. they may be alone warriors in the ring, but outside of it, they are a family. >> it looks like they're pretty good bet that hobby. >> i do not think i want want to be stuck in a ring with one of them. stay with us here on dw. we are going to have more news at the top of the hour. we will be following that crucial meeting in brussels. is serbia going to get the green light to join the eu? more on that at the top of the hour. >> stay with us. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ ♪