♪ >> welcome to the "journal" come into from dw in berlin. afghanistan demands for the takeover responsibility for security a year earlier than planned. reexamined tunnel safety after a bus crash with killed 28 people. >> one year after the start of the syrian uprising, where now for the assad regime?

it is the latest fallout from last week and a rampage by a u.s. soldier in afghanistan. president karzai has told the americans, "hand over control of security next year." >> karzai told a visiting u.s. secretary of defense that he wanted afghan troops to take full responsibility in 2013, not 2014, as currently planned. >> in the wake of those killings in an afghan village, karzai said u.s. troops must soon be confined to major bases. >> leon panetta was dispatched to kabul to ease tensions over the weekend. karzai use the opportunity to demand that forces for security be handed over the afghan forces. the image of the true sense of a tarnished by the shooting spree. panetta promised karzai justice would be done. >> i again pledged to him that we are proceeding with a full

investigation here and that we will bring the individual involved to justice. he accepted that. >> many afghans are angry that the perpetrator was flown out of the country and will not face justice in afghanistan. >> the killer was taken to kuwait. that is not acceptable for us and we condemn it. he should have been put in prison here and face trial here in afghanistan. >> meanwhile, the afghan taliban announced they were breaking off talks with the u.s. they blamed washington's ever- shifting position for the move. >> let's go straight to kabul. first of all, looking at karzai's demands there from the americans, how much of that as bluster, and how much does it mark a serious deterioration in relations? >> it certainly caused a lot of surprise here. people are still trying to get just exactly what it means.

i think it reflects that the afghan government is increasingly frustrated. it said that it wants to take control of security responsibilities next year rather than the year after, which is the original reason, and nato says that that is not necessarily any different to what it was expecting, but there is a feeling that the afghans are really fed up with the difficulties which nato's basing else to take charge as quickly as possible. >> the taliban have suspended these nascent peace negotiations involving the u.s.. any idea if they had already achieved anything, and how significant is the break of? >> i think the breakup is very disappointing for anyone who was helping a public -- hoping for a political settlement. although the talks have not achieved much, that the best

sign of progress there has been in 10 years for people looking for a political settlement. the sticking points were a transfer of prisoners from guantanamo bay to qatar where they might be able to join the peace process, and also an american demand that the taliban speak for the government. in a statement today when they broke off talks, the taliban said that they absolutely rejected any prospect of talking for the kabul regime. >> thanks very much for talking to us. for reaction from the states, we go to max in washington for us. what is going on here? does it look like obama's whole strategy is beginning to crumble? >> it certainly looks like it. only yesterday, wednesday, british prime minister david cameron who was here on a visit and barack obama tried to put a lid on it, saying they would stay the course, stick to the plan, no matter what, but of

course, karzai's words cannot be ignored, especially with 60% of americans saying it does not make sense to stay in afghanistan any longer. this opens up the whole can of worms again. >> as you say, this definitely has an impact on public opinion. how important is it in this election year for obama to shut down afghanistan as an issue? >> obama has two choices basically. he does not stick to the plan and tries to bring home as many troops as possible as quickly as possible -- it would make him appear weak. it would acknowledge failure in a sense. the strategy is that what he's doing at the moment is it to the plan to try to highlight the positive aspects. compare the current situation in afghanistan to the 110 years ago, thick of the reasons, if you will, and highlighting the 23,000 troops are going to come home in september of this year faugh. but no matter what he does, afghanistan does not make him look good, that is for sure.

he is trying to keep it under the rate up. fortunately for barack obama, this is also true for his republican contenders, so no one looks good on this topic. >> thanks very much for that. moving on to two swiss nationals are free after being held by the pakistani taliban for eight months. that -- >> after turning up at an army post, the couple has been flown to pashawar. there are conflicting reports. the taliban says ransom was paid, but this was government says the couple managed to escape and no money exchanged hands. belgium is to hold a national day of mourning on friday for the victims of tuesday's bus tragedy. the pope has offered his prayers for the families of the victims. >> 22 of the people killed were

school children. investigators are still searching for the cause of the crash. >> relatives retrace their loved ones final moments. visiting the tunnel where the accident occurred. many carried flowers and letters to leave at the scene of the crash. the less seriously injured survivors are being treated at the hospital. the doctor says the children are doing well and can probably be moved home to belgium in the coming days. >> we do not know if it is going to be tomorrow or the day after. we will probably need to use two hospital planes. because they are injured in such a way that they cannot be transported sitting down. >> hope and loss exist side-by-

side here. meters away, ever read relatives have to identify the bodies in a hospital morgue. most of the victims came from two belgian schools, and the tragedy has hit the local community hard. >> the whole society is affected. it is just terrible. >> a national day of mourning is scheduled in belgium on friday to remember the dead and those whose lives have been shattered by the crash. >> for the latest, we can go now to zurich. we are hearing that some of the survivors are about to return home, but four are more seriously injured. what are you hearing about their condition? >> the latest i have here is there are three patients in critical condition. most in a hospital near geneva. initial reports said they are in a coma, and two of those in

critical condition are dutch. that is according to the dutch foreign ministry. one patient in a hospital is well, considering the circumstances, one spokeswoman said. altogether, the medical operations were needed to be performed on these 24 children. eight of the less seriously injured students are on their way back to belgium tonight. >> we hear that the swiss may revisit tunnel safety as they search for progress on the cause of this crash. what more can you tell us? >> that is right. the federal roads office is taking a look at this particular spot. maybe things have to be changed, but it must be said that this is a safe,. it has the best rating possible, and the investigation really continues, looking for a possible defect in the bus, perhaps a health problem of the driver or perhaps human error. there is a lot of speculation about the driver being distracted, but police are urging media to be careful.

nothing has been confirmed, and this is a very delicate situation. >> a lot of questions still to answer. thanks very much for that update. >> the council of europe has condemned the refusal by the lesser president of the chicago to pardon two men convicted of a bomb attacks last april -- by belarussian preside lukashenko. >> the arrest was with, and so was their trial. they were found guilty of carrying out last year's deadly metro station bombing. their sentence -- execution but his shot to the head. on wednesday night, state television announced that the president had refused to grant

clemency, and this, in spite of belarus' continued use of capital punishment. >> belarus does not orientate itself on europe but countries like the united states. it is demonstrating that it is a sovereign, independent state and with a right to determine its own laws. >> the two men's guilt was reportedly backed up with video evidence, but relatives claimed that they were framed and tortured into confessing. now that the last clemency has been denied, the men may be executed at any time. >> onto some economic news, and the jobless rate in greece has hit another record high. >> officials say about 21% of the work force was unemployed in the final quarter of 2011. young people have been hit

especially hard with nearly 40% without work. as the government continues to implement tough austerity measures, analysts say the economic situation is bound to worsen further as ever more greek firms battle to survive and continue cutting jobs. german airline lufthansa says it is preparing for another turbulent year. >> profits at the firm dive by 18%, mainly blamed on high fuel costs. now, they are worried that business will slump even further due to overall economic weakening as the results of the euro increase the crisis. >> strong u.s. jobs and manufacturing data added to optimism that the recovery in the world's largest economy is gaining momentum. let's look at some of the numbers starting off in frankfurt where the dax finished up by nearly 1% at 7144 points. nice to see the green on the

screen there. euro stocks 50 also up 5.75%, finishing at 2593. across the atlantic, the dow also trading higher, up by nearly 0.3%. the euro strengthening, trading at a value of $1.3093. >> germany is about to get a new president on sunday. a special assembly will gather to elect a former pastor and civil rights activist to campaign for freedom in former east germany. >> one of the big issues is far right extremism, after revelations that a neo-nazi group conducted a spate of murders targeting immigrants. >> it is an issue they seem determined to take on. >> he is due to be confirmed as germany's new president this weekend. on thursday, he made his last public appearance as a normal citizen, promoting a campaign against racism in sports. the fight against discrimination

looks set to be a central theme of his presidency. >> we have to combat detestable attitudes and offensive propaganda, but we mustn't delude ourselves by thinking we can turn everybody into an enlightened citizens. that is not possible. >> he wants sports clubs to help fight far right extremism. he is promoting two new web sites designed to show young sports people how to deal with racism if they encounter it in their daily lives. the future president wants to germans to play an active role in fighting the far right. says the problem will not be solved until individuals make a stand. >> we will not be scared of the people who hate our democracy. we confront them with our bravery.

>> once he has been voted on as president by a special assembly in parliament on sunday, he will be able to draw attention to the issues close to his heart. he is already getting used to being the center of attention. >> time for a short break. we'll be back in a minute's time with a look at the situation in syria. >> stay with us. >> ever when those things are bad. everytime we checked the news,

we hear about a storm or a financial did. we know things are bad. worse than that. they are crazy. 1 billion people suffer hunger. 1 billion of us. now that is crazy. i want you to get up right now, stick your head out the window and yelled, "i am mad as hell, and i am not going to let 1 billion people go hungry." you tell them. >> welcome back. it is one year since the first protests began in syria. >> it was march of 2011. the arab spring was well under way. leaders of tunisia and egypt have already been deposed. in libya, muammar gaddafi opted for violence over capitulation. forces were preparing an onslaught over a rebel city, but foreign forces intervened. >> in this case, for an intervention looks unlikely. the crackdown has intensified

with every passing month. today, the army has been continuing its offensive in the north pier the material distributed on the internet appears to show fighting. meanwhile, human rights monitors say the bodies of 23 torture victims had been discovered. >> meanwhile, the united nations says well over 8000 people have been killed during the last 12 months and thousands more have taken refuge in neighboring turkey. and at a refugee camp in southern turkey. syrians have been pouring across the border for 24 hours, and more are expected to follow as the violence in their homeland continues. >> assad's army has seized the city. no one can get in or out. the situation is dreadful. >> an entire year of protest, violence, and death. this was the scene a year ago -- protesters take to the streets of damascus, inspired by the

eritrean rebels across the region, they come to, call for more political freedom. the government responds with force, trying to crush the unrest, but the demonstrations continue. >> assad denounces the protest as a foreign plot, saying terrorist groups are operating in the country. >> we will win against this conspiracy without a doubt. we will make this phase the end for them and their plans. syrian opposition activists accuse the government of directing the military to target on time civilians. the besieged city of homs becomes the center of the battle. the opposition waits in vain for western intervention. finally, sanctions are imposed and the arab league dispatches a group of observers to syria, but the mission fails to end the bloodshed. meanwhile, a united nations

agreed council acted to end the violence collapses with the nose from russia and china. -- vetos from russia and china. as opposition crackdown continues, the country still appears to be on the verge of civil war. >> for some analysis, we are joined now by and middle east analyst at the german institute for international and security affairs. thanks for joining us. when you're on, how secure does bashar al assad look? >> he still has a few cards in his hand here and military apparatus seems to be holding up. he has some left to strike and as we have seen, concord. on the other hand, you have defections going on. you had defections on higher levels in the civilian and military structure. you wonder how long the system can sustain that. you have the economy tanking.

you have the currency going down, but again, you have the chinese and russian still standing. it is a mixed bag. >> let me pick up on that -- on the international stage, the syrian regime is ever more isolated. what are the prospects that china or russia could be persuaded to change their position? >> as long as they have russia and china, they are not so terribly isolated. it is a catch-22 situation. russia and china will draw him when they think he is going to fall, but he may stand as long as they keep him standing. i think what should be done is something that might convince russia and china back their midterm interest cannot be served with keeping the guy in power but rather that we have to work together toward some sort of security partnership in that region. that would have started a few years ago and in other places as well, but it is never too late to try. >> as you indicate, the whole region is a concern at the

moment. with israel and concerns over iran's nuclear program, how great is the risk that this could erupt into a region-wide conflict? >> the world is explosive, and everybody knows that, which is one reason why everybody is so careful to not get too much involved in all of this. could think about the spilling over to lebanon or iraq or the kurdish areas in turkey. hezbollah in lebanon, which is allied to syria, which is allied to iran as well. all of this converges, but for now, it is mainly iran which is the concern, and the iranians want to keep their powder dry, so we are waiting. >> thanks very much for joining us. >> the world water forum is currently under way in the french city of marseille. delegates are discussing possible solutions for water shortages around the world. >> on the agenda, both long-term

issues like climate change and immediate problems like for sanitation. >> water quality is a major worry in the brazilian city of rio, especially with future events like the world cup soccer tournament and the olympics just around the corner. >> rio's legendary beach is 8 tourist hot spot, but it's what since engen don't fidget gentle surf also wore local residents, and yet, riding the waves carries a risk. he says, "i often get the impression that the water is very dirty, very polluted. the government should take action because it does not just pose a health hazard. it is also dangerous for surfers in the area. >> the water quality is so poor that rio [applause] environmental institute issues

dating morning's 140 days out of the year. sewage canals are the main source of pollution, often flushing untreated waste into the sea. for a city its size, rio fails to meet sewage treatment standards. >> the plants still do not have enough capacity to treat large volumes of water. undiluted sewage and waste water from the city's shantytowns is simply discharged into the sea. the environmental institute takes water samples from all the city's beaches twice a week. the samples are sent to a laboratory to determine whether the water is clean enough for swimming. >> there is this image of rio with its heavenly beaches and excellent water quality, but in fact, that has nothing to do with reality.

that is why we have devised a program to improve the quality of water at the beaches. >> rio's city government wants to get a grip on the problem by 2014, in time for the start of the soccer world cup here until then, it is going to have its work cut out, improving its sewage system and upgrade wastewater systems. >> the country goes oppose the soviet history has been some turbulent years with the knowledge revolution here disputes with russia over energy supplies and a political class at war with itself. >> we went to meet two riders who are trying to make sense of it all. >> these women are rehearsing songs with lyrics written by the ukrainian writer and poet. she has been described of the voice of the country's women's

movement, and she speaks out against the ingrained sexism in ukrainian society here in >> when our president and by its investors and other guests to visit our country, he tells them how beautiful it is when the chestnut trees began to blossom and ukrainian women start to take their clothes off. that sort of thing can drive you crazy. >> another famous face on ukrainian literary scene, his novels describing post-soviet society are known for their black humor and biting political criticism. in his book, cassette and the president's last love," the head of state has a heart transplant. the heart is donated by one of the country's oligarchs. he sees a parallel between his character in the current ukrainian president. he also receives while donations from the country's rich elite. the economic situation in our

country is so dire that foreign loans alone cannot save ukraine. parliamentary elections are coming soon, and presidential elections are due in three years. if he wants to stay in power, he will need more money from his oligarchs. he says ukraine is riddled with corruption. he also writes for newspapers. he is concerned about the recent rise in tension with the european union, especially since a main rival was sent to prison for seven years after a trial that was widely criticized by the west. if ukraine really want -- really does want to become a member of the european union, it will have to accept your of interfering with its affairs. it is like with your relatives -- they are always interfering in each other's business, and that helps the family get along. >> there were great hopes for democracy in ukraine during the

orange revolution in 2004 when hundreds of thousands of people came out to protest a tinted presidential election rigging. >> what the orange revolution gave us is a civil society in ukraine. our country's process of growing up and reaching maturity may not be as visible now, but it is still going on here about a says elections in ukraine are now relatively free and fair, and there is little press censorship. she hopes ukrainians will continue to exert pressure on those in power as they did during the orange revolution. >> that is all we have time for now. thanks for joining us. we will have more news in half an hour.