♪ >> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw. i am meggin leigh. >> i am sarah kelly. coming up -- >> deadline day in greece. just a few more hours to sign up for a swap which will allow athens to get a new bailout and stay in europe and. >> no senior official in syria yet. the deputy oil minister resigned and joined the rebels. >> on international women's day, germany finds itself close to the bottom in the class in

europe when it comes to women bosses. for change? ♪ >> it is a decisive day for greece. private investors have until this evening to decide whether not it will accept a massive write-down of grease's debt. >> they are being asked to exchange their greek bonds for new ones. the swap would effectively erased nearly a third of what greece goes -- owes. >> the chances still looked uncertain as recently as wednesday, but newspapers expressed opposite -- optimism thursday. private investors must decide today to accept the terms of a complex deal that will cut more than 100 billion euros off greece's debt. major players have already agreed.

on wednesday, eu leaders met in luxembourg. they projected an assurance that the deal would go through. >> i am very confident with this. >> the great stock-market and the europe and were up thursday after some greek economists warned against the risks of default. >> i think it will be a disaster scenario. i do not think that the world now, as a it is, can handle a failure on this deal. >> yet again, down to the wire. a familiar scenario for greece as it waits for brussels to decide on its fate. >> let's get more analysis on this debt swap deal previously joined by a member of the european school of management and technology, an expert on the financial markets. thank you for joining us today. first, explain what is at stake.

how would this bond swap for? >> the idea was that private investors, private bondholders would take a voluntary cut. the emphasis is on the word voluntary, that they would accept a deal, accept a cut of more than 50%, 53% of their holdings. instead of getting $100 per investment money back, they would only get $53 back. that is not a very attractive kind of deal. that is the question now, how many investors would accept that reduction. >> do you think it is likely that greece will get enough investors to participate or will increase up to force this deal through? >> they aim for an 90% acceptance rate, which is very unlikely. however, that probably get past the 75% mark, which is the minimum mark that they try to achieve, which would basically allow them to force the other investors, the remaining ones,

it into also accepting the deal. however, this applies only for the bonds that are issued under greek law. there are some bonds issued under international laws, and then the deal is much more complicated. actually what we will probably see is a time of more uncertainty. for the greek bonds, it might be ok. for the other ones, probably not. >> if greece is forced to push this deal through, some say we could see another lehman brothers scenario on our hands. what to do you think? >> i think there is certainly nervousness in the market. as has been said before, the default is really a big risk for the market. on the other side, i think investors at a lot of time to digest all the bad news, all the risks and consequences that at the lehman brothers scenario is a rather unlikely. >> if this bond swap goes through, do you think greece will be left in a better

position? >> that would be great. no, actually, i again will be just another step. even if it gets through, it will definitely not be the final one. the cut we have is not sufficient. greece it needs much more help than it has received so far. >> ok, thank you for joining us from the european school of management and technology. >> if you look at the markets right now, you might think that the greek debt and deal has already gone through. stocks have and it sort of optimism that it will be completed. our correspondent stefan wolff joins us from the frankfurt stock exchange. what is the reason for the upbeat mood? >> there have been at rumors earlier this day that this debt swap will work out. this gave a boost to german shares here. the optimism is great, but there is of course some nervousness also here on the frankfurt

floor. but it seems that investors are very sure that this deal will work and that this will be a step to help increase and to help to solve the debt crisis. >> we had a news from the ecb moments ago. they're having their monthly policy meeting. they held rates steady. we will get a press conference as soon. what is expected from the ecb? >> as a few months ago, too, investors bought before that interest rates would be unchanged, would remain unchanged. of course they're very curious to know what mario draghi, the ecb president, has to say about his monetary policy. if he sticks to his monetary policy of cheap money for the financial sector and, of course, people will look very carefully to what he says. at the moment, also here they're very optimistic that the

quantitative easing policy will remain. this helps shares to rise. the dax is up by more than 2%. the euro stoxx 50 rises by 1.75%. the euro is but above $1.32. >> thank you so much. >> syria's deputy oil minister announced his resignation, saying he no longer wished to serve of the shame of bashar assad. >> the opposition has welcome to this news, which came as the u.n. humanitarian chief was allowed a brief tour of syria and areas in the military seized. to allow humanitarian assistance to a town's most in need. >> images of a war-torn city. this online video is tagged as homs, the site of weeks of battles between the syrian army and opposition forces.

the assad regime say that the opposition has been defeated. but footage still emerging from the city appears to show that the protest movement there has not been completely crushed. hundreds of people are still on the streets protesting against president bashar al-assad. and an internet video shows a man claiming to be syria's deputy oil minister. he says he is resigning from his post and the baath party, not wanting to end his life serving a criminal regime. the former u.n. secretary- general, kofi annan, is scheduled to arrive in a serious saturday. he will represent the arab league and the u.n. as a special envoy. in cairo, kofi annan said he thought it a military intervention from outside powers would make the situation worse. >> many countries around the world are marking international women's day today. for women in afghanistan, the day has special some of the kids.

the u.n. says violence against women and girls remains pervasive in the country. earlier this week, president hamid karzai endorsed a new religious code of conduct that activists say represents a giant step backwards for women. it allows husbands to beat their wives under certain circumstances and encourages segregation of the sexes. >> afghanistan is not the only country that has a problem with women's rights. here in germany, women are underrepresented in the top tiers of both business and politics. >> and they urged him to get less than male counterparts. germany also fares badly when compared to its european neighbors. the eu has suggested the only way to improve the situation across the bloc is by introducing quotas. but in berlin, this is controversial. >> germany's left party since only female members to the debate in parliament, while male colleagues spent the day on the job in typical women's

professions. the government and knowledge to much work remains to be done. >> equal opportunity for women has not been achieved in all parts of german society. even though it has been in the constitution for more than 60 years. but the constitutional right has given rise to decades of this driving toward achieving the goal. >> but while the government welcomes the struggle, the coalition remains opposed to mandatory quotas for women in business leadership positions. the eu has criticized germany's approach of relying on voluntary cooperation from the business world. >> we have seen that a balance between men and women in executive positions leads to a far better economic results. so women are not a burden for companies. they are an advantage. >> the eu says a agenda balanced

quota -- a gender balance " it is a working night about a third of member countries and the other two thirds cannot afford to be not taking action. >> we will have more on the situation of women in the arab world leader in the show. first, we found out other stories making news at this hour. >> rolling strikes by public sector workers in germany spread to lower saxony on thursday. public transport services have been brought to a standstill and many hospitals and kindergartens are also affected. the camp -- a computer trade fair in hanover has been particularly hard hit. >> police in at the chilean capital of sound yoko used water cannons and tear gas to disperse hundreds of activists protesting against what they say is state oppression in a remote province. demonstrations for better health care and education have been going on in the southern state for weeks now. >> sydney was thrown into chaos

on thursday after the city's heaviest rainfall in five years sparked widespread flash flooding and forced the closure of railway line to the dozens of roads. >> large tracts of australia's most populous state, new south wales, are under water. >> cindy's landmark bridge in the pouring rain. australia's largest city has been experiencing its heaviest rainfall in years. with streets under water, many residents are stuck in their homes. >> pouring rain. i know it will be flooding in the morning. i am trying to dry out. very scary. >> the situation is critical in parts of new south wales and victoria. thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes. authorities hope flood fences will hold back rising rivers. >> we have to make sure that the lead the works. in stays sustainable until the

water subsides. >> fourth -- forecasters contribute the heavy rain to the la nina system. it is to early to estimate the cost of the damage. >> tradition in germany to honor outgoing presidents with a special military parade. keeping with tradition, such as ceremony will take place later today for former president christian wulff. >> he stepped down as president a few weeks ago amid corruption allegations. several opposition members have been? today's event is the been taking place. other former presidents have declined to attend. >> german newspapers featured a list of political figures who have said they will not attend the military coup to send them off christian wulff. outreach grows here that is their money is being held at all. critics say the honors are inappropriate for someone who resigned in controversy and is still under investigation.

>> first you have uniformed officers searching his house, and then others in uniform have to give him a military sendoff. mr. christian wulff should show sensitivity and do without the military honors. >> but christian wulff can count on the backing of chancellor merkel. she and many other conservatives are all expected to attend on thursday. there is cross-party accepted the christian wulff is still entitled to the annual pension and other perks that former german presidents receive after they leave office. but there is growing consensus that that clause should be reviewed. >> in the early years, it was probably inconceivable that the german president to leave office while still relatively young. there is no attempt to cater for this possibility. but now one should reconsider what to do if a similar case occurs in the future. >> even after his resignation from the presidency, controversy

continues to surround christian wulff. >> we will have more on international women's day coming up after a short break. >> stay with us. ♪ ♪ >> dw in april. cologne cathedral, an architectural masterpiece, a monument to the christian faith, and the most popular tourist attraction in germany. cologne cathedral. famous views, favorite spots, and inside information. professional photographers showed europe's capital cities through their eyes. capital collections, the series on euromaxx.

>> they lived for art, freedom of expression, and their convictions. dedication that in many countries meet threats, persecution, and death. what life is like for persecuted artists. a brawl on dw. all broadcast * online. >> welcome back. greece is not only under pressure over its massive debt, but now eu countries are criticizing athens for its lose a border controls. austria's interior minister has described the greek border as open it like a barn door. >> at a meeting of interior ministers in brussels, germany and austria put pressure on greece to implement proper migration controls. there is the preferred point of entry into the eu for illegal immigrants. >> the austrian interior minister and her german counterpart both agreed that there to many illegal immigrants

in their countries. >> it is important to emphasize that the roots of this migration stream lie on the greek-turkish border. the border is open. a barn door. >> at the border between turkey and greece is the main gateway for illegal immigrants to the eu. an estimated 50,000 cross it each year. the majority of those immigrants end up in seven of the eu's 27 member states. the country's pressing athens to secure its borders. it that fails, a return to border controls should be a possibility, since germany. >> of the country fails to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, then there has to be the option of reintroducing border controls. >> but before resorting to that, the interior ministers say they want to help greece deckle its persistent migration and asylum issues. -- to tackle its issues. >> our dw correspondent has been

following the interior minister's meetings and joins us from brussels. nina, what more can greece due to police the border? >> it is true that greece has had problems controlling its borders for years now. it is not a new phenomenon. greece has always blamed it on the turkish authorities. greece says that turkey simply lets in it to many people. so it cannot do anything. now the europeans are saying, ok, you need to sit down and discuss with your turkish counterparts in the work more closely together so that you are in fact doing more. because it is not about money. it is about getting the structure is working, all the structures are in place but the europeans say you have to do a lot more. >> how likely is it that the eu would reintroduce border controls? we just heard germany says it is a possibility. but it sounds quite drastic. >> yes, especially if you hear

the comment made by austria's interior minister, but she is known for drastic rhetorical. observers in brussels say, yes, this is a way of increasing pressure on greece because the europeans are saying this is a major spot where it is possible for too many people to get into the eu. so greece has to step up efforts. that is why they're using this drastic rhetoric, but nobody here is really expecting the europeans to put up border controls. they're doing it occasionally already now, so it is not that much of a new thing. but observers are saying this is not likely to happen. >> where is greece supposed to get the money for this? >> well, i have hinted at it before. it is not a question of money. journalists have also asked this question today in a briefing of the european commission. the european commission was quite clear. they said all these structures are in place. there are structural funds which

the european commission has offered to greece. they're just not tapped, which mean that greece has not applied for certain amounts of money, and there's the question of 15 billion euros that are not used by the greeks. this is something where greece really has to sit down and get its administration in order. >> ok, thank you very much for that update from brussels. >> 100 years ago, more than a million women took to the streets of europe to demand equal rights. >> but today some of those basic rights are still not available to women. we look at how activists try to make their voices heard on what is known as international women's day. ♪ >> freedom, equality, democracy. women joining meant to demonstrate side by side for their vision of the future. on at tahrir square in cairo.

in tunisia. and in yemen, the home of 2011 nobel peace laureate. women also join protests in at syria. joining the frontlines in the hope that their presence would help prevent the violence. but that has not always worked, as images like these show. many human rights activists are concerned with how the rights of women continue to be compromised and the restricted. >> in egypt, we have seen a shift in issues regarding equal rights. we have seen at the club -- quota for female representation in parliament was dropped ahead of elections, with the explanation that it is a free country, egypt had no need to

give parts of the population special advantages. women also seem unlikely to get a fair representation in an assembly to draft a new constitution for egypt. it is feared that the conservative muslim brotherhood will dominate the assembly. in tunisia, where the arab spring began, an islamist party also won parliamentary elections. but it is given women a voice and the country's future. so far, tunisia has been taking women's rights seriously. polygamy and forced marriages are illegal. women may divorce their husbands and can legally get abortions. many in the west are concerned. but islamist parties and a parliament are not a serious threat to the rights of women, but there could be a danger of women's rights organizations and activists outside the parliament and not do their homework in this transitional phase. >> women in tunisia have made important progress. progress that women in syria, yemen, and even in egypt can

still only dream of. >> women in libya also want more progress, and some of them have taken matters into their own hands. libya is still a male dominated society despite having a well- educated middle class. >> breaking down traditional barriers can be challenging there, but that is not stopping one group of women and their quest for equality. >> you do not often lead women like this one in libya. the young entrepreneur is not afraid to speak frankly about the traditional division of the sexes at the workplace. she runs her own company in tripoli and employs some 50 drivers. with the country going through a phase of reconstruction, business is good. but even after the libyan revolution, she's still find it tough to break the gender mold. >> it is hard for women in leadership positions. men do not want to be told what to do by women. they think, who does the -- she

think she is telling us what to do? it is very hard for them to accept women as their boss. >> much -- she wants to change this male-dominated society, and she wants to fight the women's rights in the post-gaddafi era. together with friends, she founded the 12th of february movement. the date marks the day in 2012 when they first went out to demonstrate for a quality, because so many women contributed to the downfall of the gaddafi regime. >> it was the woman who encouraged the men in their lives to go out and fight. it was also women who treated the wounded. they provided food for the rebels and women even took up weapons to fight, too. >> the 12th of february group

meets regularly to discuss their concerns. many of the members are afraid that women's rights could be even more restricted by the growing influence of conservative islam. they speak openly about politics and planned protest campaigns. the group wants to see a women's quotas set for politicians and laws enacted to protect women from sexual assault and domestic violence. >> nobody is really interested if your father, your brother, or your husband beats you. and forget about it. to carry on but how can you forget? how can an injured woman play an active role in society or bring up children? >> libya's women's rights movement is still young, but this group says that they are getting a lot of positive feedback in tripoli and benghazi. in the west of libya, however,

they are struggling to be heard. >> some soccer news now. germany's bayern munich 7 points behind dortmund. >> the club is denying that the coach's job is on the line, accusing the german media of rumor-mongering. >> and discord among the teammates is palpable. livid at the performance since the winter break. but in a recent interview, he declared that he was taking out the lackluster form in stride, a trait he attributed to age and experience. but that has not kept the press from speculating that his days as head coach may be numbered. the ax could fall any day. management has moved quickly to dispel those rumors, condemning the media feeding frenzy and expressing full confidence in the coach. in a statement, the club said

would take great exception to rumor-mongering passed off as news reporting. we will obtain a legal opinion and of the proceedings in any future cases. bayern the counter six coaches in the past five years. it appears the coach will be in command this weekend in the match. but for him and the team, it will be a must-win situation. >> all right, if you want more news reformation, do not forget to log on to our website. it is relatively new still and has lots of information. the addresses dw.de. >> will have more dw after the break. stay with us. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪

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