♪ >> welcome to the "journal" coming to you from dw. >> coming up in the next half hour -- >> kofi annan says syria has accepted his plan to end the bloodshed, but is it an empty promise? >> the pope continues his visit to cuba, where he has urged people to build a better and more open society. >> hundreds of flights canceled in germany as public sector workers staged strikes. ♪

>> could this be the break through the world is hoping for in syria? international envoy kofi annan says the damascus regime has accepted his plan to end the crisis. >> there has been cautious reaction from world powers. the u.s. says it could be an important step, but ending the violence will be a long and difficult task. >> the assad regime say they do not trust it to stick to its word. >> kofi annan has traveled the world this month to build international support for his peace plan. news that syria's response came as he was in china. beijing has previously blocked u.n. security council action against damascus. but premier wen jiabao said he was confident kofi annan's media should would lead to a proper and a partial solution but after the meeting, kofi annan outlined his plan.

>> i have a six-point plan with the security council dealing with issues of political discussions, withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, humanitarian assistance allowed in the release of prisoners from a great -- prisoners, freedom of movement. >> but it remains to be seen how syria will comply with that plan. details of its acceptance of not been released. members of the country's opposition have reacted with skepticism. hundreds of them met in istanbul on tuesday to develop plans for the country's future. they say president assad cannot be trusted. >> we did not trust anything from the assad regime. we used to for many years and his father for 50 years. nothing about his speech applied.

so i am sure all this speech will not find any way. >> syrian state tv has shown fresh images of homs. this city, president assad promised to rebuild the bab amr are district recently retaken by his forces. under the peace plan, he is now obliged to stop the use of heavy weapons in such areas. time will tell whether the president can be taken at his word. >> that is the question. let's talk to an expert. michelle, as we saw in the report, there is a lot of skepticism from opposition groups about whether assad will hold to this agreement. what is your feeling? >> of course, the opposition wants to see him removed from office, but this is not going to happen in the near future. a shot -- assad and his regime are still very strong powers to reckon with. this is really an amazing development. for the first time, we see a diplomatic initiative being successful, at least on the

levels of promises. we have to see whether the syrian government is willing to implement these new rules. nevertheless, it is an important step forward. >> why do think assad did actually agree to this? >> mainly because the russians and the chinese sent a strong signal to him, saying they're willing to support the kofi annan peace plan. and it is a very smart peace plan in the sense that this plant does not talk about the political situation in syria, simply because for a stop of warfare. this is of course very helpful for the civilian population. the political issue remains open, and we have to see what is happening in the near future. but it is, at least in theory, a chance to stop the fighting. it is a clever move by the assad, because we do not see an uprising of the population any longer. also, we see foreign powers intervening through local powers. this armed does -- opposition has no time to fight back or start fighting. >> it could be a good deal for

assad. what about the opposition side? they were meeting in istanbul. how well are the coalescing? are they turning into a group that could form some government in the future? >> this is not happening. there's still some division within the opposition. we have to differentiate between these people we see in turkey. there many -- mainly intellectuals, individuals who want to see democratic changes in syria and above those on the ground who are really important are those forces that are being financed by saudi arabia, by qatar, to achieve regime change. they have a different agenda. >> thank you for joining us here in studio. >> thousands of people have been killed in tribal unrest in southern libya. >> fighting has spread to the center of the country's fourth largest city. the clashes between rival militias broke out on sunday. the national transitional council has deployed 600 troops to try to end the fighting.

but theepresentative on that council has stepped down, the transitional government is not doing enough to stop the violence. a court in kazakhstan has begun hearing the case against people accused of violence in an oil town. >> the 37 accused face charges of organizing mass disorder, attacking police, robbery, and arson. at least 14 people were killed in clashes last december. the deaths occurred when police fired on crowds of oil workers protesting about unpaid danger money. the riots were seen as the most biggest challenge to the president in his more than two decades of rule. the organization of economic cooperation and development is out with its annual report on the eurozone. it is predicting that the block and narrowly avoid recession this year, bringing in growth of .2%. >> but they say it is no cause

to celebrate. the group is putting pressure on the eurozone's ambitious economic reforms and a much bigger fire wall. >> the oecd says the years and it's to take urgent action to restore confidence in the single currency. and -- the head of the organizations as current plans for a 500 billion euro firewall are not enough. calling instead for a permanent rescue fund with at least one trillion euros to back it up. >> the mother of all firewalls should be in place. strong enough, broad enough, deep enough, tall enough, and all sorts of, you know, just big. to ensure that it does not need to be used actually, that people know that it is there and they will therefore not even attempt to either speculate or try to see if it is strong enough. >> on friday, eurozone finance ministers meet in copenhagen to decide on increasing the size of the rescue fund.

however, there are only expected to raise it to 700 billion euros from the current 500 billion euros. >> pope benedict has arrived in the cuban capital of on that. >> day two of his tour of the communist island. he was greeted at the airport by singing crowds. the pontiff was given an official welcome to the capital by local roman catholic leaders, include -- including the cuban archbishop. benedictus is due to meet with president castro later, and there's speculation he might meet the president's brother and predecessor, fidel castro. >> for more coming as it joined in the studio by our religious affairs correspondent. john, this has been a fine line for the pope to tread and cuba, between religion and politics. he insists the it is not about politics, yet he has been praying for those deprived of freedom and so on. how well is he navigating this line? >> absolutely, it is very fine line.

an even finer line between his support for the reforms that raul castro has introduced and his calls for more democracy. the vice president of cuba has already responded to remarks that the pope made yesterday, calling for a renewed society, the economic reforms that are being introduced will not be a comet -- accompanied by political reforms. the pau clearly believes it is not possible, that you cannot go, as cuba is doing at the moment, from a planned economy to a free-market economy, cutting 1 million jobs, government jobs, and planning within the next three years to have a third of the work force in the private sector without at the same time introducing democratic reforms. >> having said that, the pope is not meeting dissidents. there are groups that are desperate to see him. why is that? >> that is a very difficult issue. the pope is trying to encourage the economic reforms that the government is introducing, and at the same time, he does not

want to promote a backlash from the old guard within the castro regime. who would then stifled the process. but it is a very dangerous gamble, because many of the prominent dissidents are in fact catholics, and they could well feel deserted, left alone by the pope and alienated from their own church. >> what about the regime? looking at its motives, what does raul castro get out of this visit by the pope? >> he is hoping for an aura of legitimacy for his regime in a general way. specifically he would like the pope to come out and condemn publicly the u.s. embargo on cuba. it is known that the vatican opposes it on humanitarian rights. >> thank you for joining us. >> international airlines cancelled about a third of the flight's scheduled at germany's largest airport frankfurt on tuesday because of strikes by ground staff. >> it is part of a wider campaign of industrial action by

public service workers who are demanding higher pay. step at airports in munich, and also dorff, and cologne also joined the -- in dusseldorf, and code also joined in. >> a noisy rally outside frankfurt airport. the union has called for a 6.5% salary increase for its two million members. >> this strike will help speed up negotiations. it should clarify what the employers are willing to put on the table. you can see what the mood in the workplace is. >> german carrier lufthansa canceled hundreds of flights, a big inconvenience for travelers unable to find another way to reach their destination. but not everyone disapproved of the strike. >> it is and allowing for those people who have to stay here for hours or days are have to spend the night in a hotel. >> the strike is justified. is it from the public service

workers union, so i can understand it. i think that there are some good reasons for this. of course, it is still an inconvenience for travelers. >> the strike ended at 2:30 p.m. local time and is a normal service was running again by the evening. >> consumer confidence in germany took a dip in march, according to a mlk-survey by the gfk institute. but the decline was fractional. >> for the past six months, consumer confidence had been on the rise in germany, but now it is looking like higher energy prices are starting to take a toll. >> german consumer's biggest concern is soaring gas prices. and it is affecting consumer confidence. the gfk consumer research institute says the benchmark index has flattened out. >> consumers see a threat to their purchasing power. that means they become somewhat more pessimistic about their

incomes. >> but in coming worries have failed to actually slow consumption, and people are still on a spending spree. that is primarily due to positive labor market developments. rising employment here means people feel secure in their jobs and can plan for the future. >> if the labor market continues to develop welcome the chances are very high that we will have good domestic consumption. of course, there are still a few risks like inflation and external factors like the eurozone debt crisis, which is not over yet. >> and as yet, there's no end in sight to spiraling gasoline prices either. >> data from the u.s. showed consumer confidence of their darkening the mood on the markets. in frankfurt, the dax ended the day where it started. the euro stoxx 50 fell back by about 0.5%.

trading is still under way for the dow jones industrial average to a it is unchanged. the euro declining slightly against the dollar, $1.3335. oil company total says it is taking all possible measures to control leaks at a drilling platform in the north sea. >> officials say oil as well as natural gas is leaking from the platform which is seen here in file footage. the installation was about 200 kilometers east of scotland. it has been evacuated and a zone has been imposed for ships and aircraft. a huge and fast-living forest fire in the u.s. state of colorado has claimed at least one life and destroyed dozens of homes. >> authorities evacuated some 900 houses in foot hills and canyons west of denver and on tuesday. the blaze is believed to have been ignited by embers after a controlled burning operation last week. low humidity, minorities, and lack of snow falling most of eastern colorado has been put under a red flag warning for

high fire danger. >> so, we will be back in a minute's time. stay with us here on dw. >> keep it here. ♪ ♪ >> dw on the internet with a new address and a completely revamped online presence. and journalistic quality in 30 languages. inside full, diverse, and in multimedia format. -- insightful. visit us at dw.de. ♪

♪ ♪ >> welcome back. news channel al jazeera says it will not show footage of a gunman killing three children at a jewish school in southern france last week. >> nicolas sarkozy earlier threatened to jam the tv signal in france of any channel aired the footage. the gunman fell and the killings with a camera around his neck. al jazeera said it would also refuse to give copies to other tv channels. of violent extremists has been in the spotlight here in berlin today and the conference on how militant groups use the internet. >> from radical islamists to

neo-nazis, all kinds of extremist groups have been taking advantage of the web to communicate and spread propaganda. >> an online bomb making video. this was allegedly posted by islamist extremists. jihadist web sites are used to inspire, train, and recruit young men to engage in jihad against the west. >> neil not to videos from germany. hear, two extremist groups try to recruit young men. these videos are appealing to young people with few opportunities. the german interior minister is investigating the use of the internet by extremist groups. >> the radicalization of young people is a problem which is not limited to an abuse of these ideas but also political extremism but we have observed a growing trend of radicalization within right-wing extremist groups, for example. >> experts say the internet has

enabled extremists to evade the law and work under the cover of anonymity. >> it is possible for a single perpetrator to organized to spread ideology, and to radicalize others to offer in the privacy of their bedroom, without ever being active in a group. the internet has made that possible. it was not that easy before. >> the german interior minister wants to draw more to ginger radical groups and their online activities and offer new avenues -- avenues to fight extremism. >> a long name for a big problem, the southern african science service center for climate change and adaptive land management. sascaw. >> it brings together german experts with southern african nations in a common effort to tackle land and water management. germany's research minister is

funding the program to the tune of 100 million euros. on tuesday, she teamed up with the ambassador of namibia to germany to raise awareness of the problems. the group is planning to build dozens of weather stations in in zambia and and gold, as well as research centers to support businesses and farmers. >> we look at one project with as great a gentle to improve the food and water security for people living in the region. >> africa is a continent with many echoes systems -- ecosystems in fragile balance. in recent years, it has seen less rains. that means it deserts' are spreading and crops threatened. the organization aims to help countries better cope with the changes. these bean plants in a laboratory are growing in the sand from the river which runs across southern africa. beans are one of the most important food stocks for the people of the basin.

the researchers are trying to find the best growing conditions for the plants. they are particularly interested in the little modules on the plant's roots. they contain special bacteria which content nutrients in at the soil. the bacteria produced nitrates from air. >> we need nitrogen. we get it from peace. plans also need nitrogen to build their protein into biomass. when we harvest the plant material from the field, we're taking nitrates from the field. somehow we have to put them back. either we spread fertilizers or leave it to the bacteria. >> how to the bacteria and the plants interact? is it possible to improve that interaction? that is what the researchers are hoping to find out. their goal is to use the bacteria to make the ground more fertile, thereby increasing

harvests. that will also mean less what land being cleared for farming use. -- less woodland being cleared for farming used to the team also discovered a new strain of wild rice. it is not suitable for humans, but it might be useful as animal feed. now the researchers are looking at how it can best be grown without the aid of fertilizers. they also need to find out how the rice grains can be harvested without damaging the plants. sustainability is held high in all the projects. the researchers and to translate expertise into results on the ground in africa. that expertise covers a whole range of issues. >> we're looking at the ideal patchwork of nature reserves where elephants can migrate freely and agriculture, which is not pump out too much ground water believes enough for

natural ago system speed up and of woodlands with in the atmospheric co2 to take carbons from the air. these are a few examples of how things are interconnected. >> water is the natural resource at the center of everything. and sustainable use of water is a key principle at the organization. the hydroxyl -- hydrologists are working together with meteorologist to determine how groundwater levels have changed over the next 50 years. part of ever is to ensure the plans of southern africa thrive in the future. >> world leaders have wrapped up a meeting in south korea, discussing how to keep terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons. >> u.s. president barack obama called on the participants from 53 countries to work together, saying that the world's safety depended on a stepping of

cooperation. the south korean president says nuclear material must be properly stored to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. germany's new president jaochim gauck has had his first outing abroad. he went to poland where he called it a decision of the heart. >> the decision was welcomed by poland's president. he said the visit was a symbol of relations between the two neighboring countries getting better. >> the new german president's visit to poland lasted less than 24 hours. but that was time enough for jaochim gauck to establish friendly relationships with all those he met, including the polish prime minister. at the meeting earlier with his polish counterpart, jaochim gauck said he was aware of the neighbors sometimes troubled past. >> i am 72 years old and can look back in the history of german-polish relations that was not always good. indeed, it was often that.

i am all the more heartened that the dark history did not cast a shadow over my visit here. >> german and polish media agree that jaochim gauck's inaugural visit was a resounding success. on tuesday, the president laid a wreath at parliament in warsaw in memory of victims of the 2010 plane crash that killed the then-president. jaochim gauck suggested he would soon return to poland for the euro 2012 championship this summer. >> poland will be hosting a football festival and i expect is the duty of the german president to attend. >> so the new german president has revealed he is not only a friend of poland, he is also a great football fan. >> soccer news, clubs across europe have their eye on him. but mario says he is trying to shoot -- true to his team leader >> the talented germany mid- fielder cited new contract with portland. several top teams have shown interest in him, but he says his

heart remains hisdortmund, the club where he has played for a decade. now, most actors, whether they're amateurs or professionals, have to work pretty hard to remember their lines. so imagine what it's like in another language. >> that is what a young german actress has been dealing with since landing a role on one of turkey post most popular soaps. that was a year-and-a-half ago. >> now she has mastered the language and resent to stardom, applying an ice cold blonde who causes havoc wherever she goes. -- and she has risen to start of ludacris tuesday evening and another installment of the turkish show. the 25-year-old german actress has a lead role. she is a star in turkey. last week her appearance of one of the country's most popular chat shows confirmed her a-list

celebrity status. all this after just a year-and- a-half in turkey. >> i really wanted to be in a soap opera, to play one character for a long time but i also wanted to work abroad. along with my studies in islam and political science, it is the perfect fit. >> in metered the best a meteoric rise of fame. she plays the new dutch wife of a turkish sea captain. she set out to destroy his family and turned his life upside-down. >> it all happened so quickly and suddenly, becoming famous in getting recognized everywhere. people are surprised, even shocked. >> to transform into her role as them to tell, she has to undergo long makeup sessions. >> a lot of actors would love to play the villain. it is really exciting. normally i look quite harmless to make it gives me a more

restrictive look, and that is fascinating for me to be able to explore those characteristics. >> this weeks of the premier of the feature film with a german actress. she plays a french woman who causes a stir in a village. >> sometimes a joke that in germany, there are lots of german turks. and now i am gradually becoming a turkish german. >> a success story that is sure to be continued. >> all right, that is all for now. thank you for joining us for this half hour. >> stay with us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪