>> welcome to "the journal" on dw. >> these are our top story is right now. >> germany's and israel's the and ministers discussed how to react to iran at's nuclear plant. >> and four people are killed at a jewish school at toulouse. >> and the search for the right strategy in afghanistan.

>> the german and israeli defense ministers have been holding talks in berlin over iran's nuclear program. israel has been threatening to launch nuclear strikes, -- launched air strikes, and germany has been arguing that a diplomatic solution needs time to work. >> ehud barak and his counterpart talked about the strategy, which would include naval strength. >> the israeli defense minister was received with full military honors by his german counterpart. both stressed the political relations between israel and germany are excellent. the main topic -- iran's nuclear program. the west accuses iran of trying

to develop nuclear weapons. barak has threatened strikes on iran if it does not a seed to -- >> all options should remain on at the table. all auctions. >> the busier called for a peaceful solution -- vizier called for peaceful solution. >> i am convinced a military solution would bring incalculable consequences for israel and the region. >> he added that israel could count on german support, but berlin is focusing on tougher sanctions for iran. >> the german defense minister said the that israel could count on german support. he was not just talking about political backing.

peter, there was a deal sealed for the delivery of new military hardware? >> that is right. there was going to be this signing of a contract for the sale for the six german submarines. it is a dolphin class submarine. is a little controversial. israel will argue, rightly so, that it will boost defense of capacities, there are some who would say this submarine can be used to launch missiles into the gaza strip or be equipped with medium-range missiles that could carry nuclear warheads. neither of those scenarios would be welcomed by the german government. i should point out the arms trade between germany and israel is not a one-way street. >> could you briefly tell us in on what else came out of this

today? >> of course, the two sides agreed to differ. barak saying all options were on the table, germany urging caution. i met with the former swedish foreign minister who will be the next deputy secretary-general of the united nations, ban ki- moon's next deputy. he says a pre-emptive strike could be disastrous. >> thanks so much. >> a major quake has hit mexico. the president says there is no serious damage in the wake of the tremor. the epicenter was 200 kilometers east of acapulco. the tremor was felt in mexico city where buildings shook and employees fled into the streets. more details are emerging in the killing of four people at a

jewish school in toulouse. the gunman shot them at point- blank range of in the head. is believed he acted alone. >> a data, a rabbi, and his two sons will be buried. they were commemorated in schools across the nation. >> schools across france joined in a minute of silence to remember the victims in toulouse. >> these children were 3, 6, and eight years old. it is so serious the entire republic is concerned. the teachers, the family's. >> police say the attack is linked to the shootings of three french soldiers last week. one of the guns used on monday was also used in last week's shootings and all seven victims were shot at extremely close range. witnesses say the gunman were a video camera during the attack.

>> all of the witnesses have noted he is someone very cold, determined, has shown a huge cruelty. the fact that he films is axed to see them again or broadcast them confirms this -- films his axe to see them again or broadcast and confirms this. >> there is a big police presence on the streets, but residents remain anxious. as long as the killer remains at large. >> to iraq now, where shootings across the country have less -- have left 46 people dead and hundreds wounded. the attacks have been reported from the north to the south. the wave of violence coincides with the nine-day anniversary of the u.s. -- of the u.s. invading, and it comes just ahead of an arab league summit in the country next week.

>> russia's move to end the violence in syria, not supporting a ceasefire plan put forth by the u.n. envoy kofi annan, but only if there is no ultimatum for the current leadership to step down. >> it includes access for the humanitarian aid and talks with the opposition. the u.n. council has been reviewing the plan. in syria itself, there has been more fighting. >> the violence in syria continues. this video, posted online, is said to show the city of idlib. the international community is still wrangling over a common approach to the conflict in syria. moscow will not support a u.n. resolution on syria based on the findings of the u.n. envoy kofi

annan. >> first, kofi annan's proposals must be made public. second, the security council must approve them -- not as an ultimatum, but approve them, taking to account ongoing work, as a basis for further efforts. >> the security council is expected to take up the issue in new york this evening in hopes of making an effort to stop the violence. >> for more on this, we spoke with our correspondent in moscow and asked if this is an about- face for russian diplomacy. >> what we see right now is a change of tone. russia says its strongly supports kofi annan's peace plan, that it wants to help to achieve an end to the violence.

so, the russian foreign minister lavrov criticized the assad regime for not implementing reforms. there could be a change in the russian position. moscow has not moved in substance yet. is still says what it did before, that it is ready -- it still says what it did before, that it is ready to support a u.n. resolution only as long as it does not contain any ultimatum for the syrian government and it has made clear that it will never approve had an intervention against syria. it seems the russian government is acknowledging there is increasing pressure to do something about syria and does not want to be seen as the last remaining ally of assad. at the same time, it might be a long way to go before we see that kind of security resolution

the west needs to say. >> thanks so much. >> turning to business now, traders moved out of auto stocks on tuesday. the worst performers were daimler-benz and bmw. these drops were partly caused by rumors that german car sales in china were being discounted more than expected. in the last year, germans car sales -- germans car sales were strong. >> premium car makers were offering rebates of 20% on a mercedes, bmw, and audi. in the past year, customers of had to wait several weeks for their vehicles. part of a record sales year for the auto manufacturers. volkswagen sold more than to

hundred thousand cars in china. bmw had an increase of 37%. mercedes-benz was up 35%. but the carmakers fear they will not follow up on last year's performance in china. they fear lower economic growth there will affect banks. >> gold has been a hot commodity in this uncertain environment, and deutsche obama is looking to cash in on at the bank -- due to bond -- deutsche bank. the vault is due to be built somewhere on the streets of the british capital london. it will be the center of the global world trade. >> to the markets now. stock markets retreated from our recent strong outlook on the

chinese economy, because the demand for iron ore was slowing. here is our summary from our correspondent at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the higher oil price on theds about the growth of china, especially in the chinese auto market, which is so important, especially for german companies, and so there was no wonder the german car numbers -- german car companies were among the biggest losers. still, theax at the end of the day, well over 7000 points. a good start into the new year 2012. and the optimism drove the dax over 12,000 points with many people still here. >> was take a closer look at market numbers now. in frankfurt, the dax closed up

down almost 1%. across the atlantic, the dow jones is going down. 13,188. the hero is trading for $1.2227. >> to egypt where thousands of mourners have packed a cathedral for the funeral of a person who has spent the last few years trying to comfort the coptic christian community. he cultivated religious harmony, winning the applause of the muslim majority. >> it was a case of hope for millions of coptic christians. a man who fought to defend the rights of the christian minority.

thousands of mourners gathered outside the cathedral in cairo for the memorial. >> that is the least i can offer him. i know he is in a better place and that he is praying for ofs. listen. >> he was the voice of moderation. even in response to attacks on the coptic community. he also served in the egyptian army during the israeli war. meanwhile, there was another battle for more respect. in the coming months, but they will be looking for a successor to carry on the fight. >> britain's queen elizabeth has served an unbelievable six decades on the from. >> it is the queen's diamond

jubilee throughout the year. should give a speech to parliament to thank her family for their support, in particular her husband, whom she described as a constant strength. >> is the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan on schedule? we will be back with more on that. >> to around.

>> thank you so much for staying with us. the commander for nato forces in afghanistan says the united states is sticking to its plan to withdraw troops from the country by 2014. he told the house armed services committee in washington the although the security situation in afghanistan had "improved," the afghan troops were not ready to take over patrol. >> he hinted at a quicker withdrawal despite public pressure to withdraw from afghanistan. there have been a number of recent incidents that have set

back the fragile u.s.- afghanistan relationship. >> on the surface at least,, karzai appears to enjoy a cordial relations with western leaders. that those relations have become frayed in recent weeks for several reasons. in february, at least 30 people were killed when anti-american demonstrations and riots swept the country, when u.s. troops burned copies of the koran dispose of them. u.s. officials apologized for the incident, but that did little to calm the outrage many afghans del. last week, u.s. army sergeant killed when an and civilians in a late-night shooting rampage. once again, public anger spilled over. the afghan government said it

reached the limit of its patients. >> this horrible behavior, this horrible activity cannot be tolerated. it is passed, passed, passed at the time. >> karzai has asked that foreign troops remain -- leave his country as soon as possible. there has been speculation that this time karzai has gone too far with his demands. >> he has got to understand that by the end of next year afghan troops will certainly not be in a position to take responsibility for the country's security. that means that he will be blamed for any problems associated with the rapid pullout of nato troops. this could put him in a dangerous position. >> so, karzai has to make concessions to his constituency and step up his criticism of west. but the mood of the people may

have already turned against him. more and more afghans are switching their loyalty from the government to the taliban. last week, karzai met with iran's president. is a move observers say was calculated to demonstrate to the taliban and other critics that he is not washington's puppet. >> it is possible karzai is looking ahead, passed 2013 and 2014. he may be considering the possibility that afghanistan me break up into a collection of ethnic territories. he has to ask himself what role he can play. it may be that he is a week president -- he is a weak president that is trying to win domestic allies. >> at one point, karzai was the best hope of the west to bring peace to afghanistan. he was a tribal leader who

favored moderate islam. he had studied political science and had lived in the united states. >> what needs to be done now is to maintain a constructive working relationship through the end of 2014 and see what happens. i think we will have to lower our expectations about the current president. >> president karzai and the west -- a relationship that faces an uncertain future. >> united nations security council has been formally i asked to renew the mandate for its military mission in afghanistan. that approval is necessary is a legal basis for continuing that international support. >> the mission has more than 107,000 civilians it stopped. most are trying to rebuild their country after decades of war. >> the united nations assistance

machine works in the country which has been devastated after decades of conflict. they do now participate in military activities. they provide support during the organization of elections and act as human rights monitors. they have death -- they have dozens of offices across the country where they distribute seed and fertilizer to farmers. but the u.n. also represents foreign interference, which at today's -- which agitates some afghans. there was a riot to protest the burning of the koran by a pastor in florida. they are expected to extend the mandate at a conference on thursday. >> staying in afghanistan, people in that country are celebrating the afghan new year. celebrathe crowds are smaller tr

on security concerns. in the capital, kabul, they have set up outside the shrine of the fourth colleagues of is lumpy been -- fourth caliph of islam. >> an international action to call for the release of a nobel peace prize laureate who is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion of power. his wife is also under house arrest. the u.s. tech giant apple is on all rolled. shares in the company's stock have been inching above the $600 a share mark. >> the company has also hit a sales record. more than 3 million of their new ipads were sold over the

weekend. the global launch was on friday. >> 3, 2, 1. >> apple has a loyal fan base, and each new launches a major event. the new ipad is flying off the shelves. growth in traditional pc sales a slowing in industrialized nation, but tablets are in high demand. apple is the market leader with 40 million units sold in 2011. samsung sold 6 million tablets, followed by amazon with 4 million. barnes and noble had sales of over 3 million tablets. the rest of the competition sold a total of 11 million tablets. that makes 65 million tablets sales worldwide. the market is said to grow in 2012.

with 3 million ipads sold in the first weekend, this is the most successful launch today for apple. >> coming up, news from soccer. >> first, we have the headlines. >> norwegian authorities have identified the five people killed in an avalanche in the country's arctic region on monday. they were buried under a massive wall of snow. one was taken to hospital and is reported in stable condition. >> north korea has invited the international atomic energy agency to visit the country. the iaea has not released details of the invitation because of the deal between north korea and the united states demanding the country halt its nuclear activities in exchange for food aid from washington. >> firefighters from southern china say they have controlled

by force fighters -- a forest fire that has been burning since sunday. 2000 firefighters were on the scene. huge and severe wind problems, along with a severe drought in the region, held that lays it to spread. >> and in german football -- be coach -- the coach of the red devils has been sacked -- marco kurz. kaiserslautern have gone 16 matches without a win. he is the sixth bundesliga coach to be fired this season. no word on whom he will be replaced by. and a top flight -- the lead in the 26 minute. they were set to win until they manage to equalize nine minutes

before the close. 3 points behind frankfurt. >> there is nothing like your 800th birthday, and who better to celebrate with then -- than the german president? the boys choir marked its 800th birthday by singing some of the hymns the faithful have loved for centuries. the new german president is a former lutheran pastor and an opponent of the east german communist. >> at the st. thomas church, the german president mingled with the choir and seem to enjoy himself. it marked the 800 birthday of the st. thomas choir. it was his first appearance outside berlin. the world famous st. thomas

acquired consist of boys between the ages of 9 and 18. johann sebastian bach's led the choir in 1918. base still play his works. >> we are very aware of what an honor it is that the president made his first appearance before being sworn in here in leipzig, the scene of the revolution. >> gauck's appearance was planned well before he became president. >> that is all it for now. thank you. >> thank you. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--