>> hullabaloo and welcome to "the journal" on dw tv. >> will the cease-fire and syria hold it? >> and the european court of human rights makes a criminal offense. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

syria and is relatively calm this morning. while there has been no shelling, it is reported that six people were killed there today. annan has called on damascus to withdraw all troops and weapons from flashpoint city's. >> there have been reports of sporadic violations of the ceasefire by government forces and the regime. >> is a fragile truce, but it has brought a measure of calm to syria. troops should have been pulled back two days ago under the annan plan. this unverified video screens to show shelling in homs. the main syrian exiled opposition group says that the cease-fire holds, there should

be talks for a transition process. >> there should be, according to the plan, some kind of dialogue. it should be about the transitional phase. >> government is currently in control of most of the country. it denies it agreed to pull back the army, but it says is committed to peace. >> we want this mission to have an end to move to the political solution. we would only be responding to violence, like if they target government buildings. >> bond keenan it confirms the situation looked -- ban ki-moon confirms the situation looked calm. >> we are watching with the security council to settle the

violence as quickly as possible. >> the opposition has called for nationwide protests friday. as this online video shows, students do not believe the cease-fire will improve their situation. >> for more on this, we're joined by our correspondent in washington. the foreign ministers have been discussing the situation in syria. what is their position right now? >> i just have -- i am sorry. i spoke to the foreign ministers in washington, d.c. they are cautiously optimistic the cease-fire is going to hold, but they are also skeptical because they do not trust a saw -- assad. they will watch what happens on

the ground. russia and china repeated what mr. annan also said, the sooner the better. u.n. observers should be sent to syria to see what is really going to happen there. kofi annan also says urgent humanitarian aid should be brought to the people and refugees should have the right to come back to their homes. >> ok, and the cease-fire seems to be holding, but there have been reports of attacks on both sides. what will happen if it does not work? >> i think the security council is going to come together and possibly discuss more sanctions taking place against syria. i think the discussion is going to start again, whether countries like saudi arabia or qatar, those countries should or

should not give weapons to the syrian rebels. >> thank you very much. we will have more background an analysis of the situation in syria later on. >> the european court of human rights has ruled tomb -- that a german law to make a criminal offense does not contravene human-rights. >> a german man was jailed after he had four children with his sister. >> brother and sister and for a long time lovers. today, judges upheld the ruling. they said the german ban on was not a violation of his human rights. >> there is no consensus within europe as to whether the relationship between siblings is criminal. >> the ruling means every country can continue to determine whether or not to outlaw.

as well as in germany, relationships between siblings are a criminal offense in italy, greece, and the czech republic. in other countries, is a moral taboo, but not a legal. they first met as adults. they have four children, two of whom are disabled. the judges' unanimous ruling upholds a former ruling. he and his sister now lead separate lives. >> for more on this, we're joined by our brussels correspondent jeff mead. they said this is not violate the fundamental right to the protection of family life. tell us more. >> they said that this was a guarantee to the right of

private and family life. in europe, where the majority of countries do and, they said it was too early to change that moral code, and a german court said it plans to protect the family on the basis that and blurs family. the judgments themselves are blurred. the court saw no reason to change the overall position in europe and it allows those countries that do allow between consenting adults to go ahead and do that. for the vast majority, they will retain what has been a longstanding legal, as well as moral taboo against. >> you did mention the other countries. do you think this german decision will influence other countries? >> i doubt it very much. i think those that changed their

laws -- the most recent is france -- i do not think they are going to change. there is still a moral feeling about, whatever the lot is, and in many of those european countries where they officially ban and practice -- in practice, and that is often not prosecuted these days. it is a very great area and the european court of human rights has decided to stand back and allow the states of europe to make their own decisions. >> alright. thank you for that. >> in china, the economy may be growing faster than expected. that is according to a revised growth forecast. they cite weaker overseas demand for chinese goods. crows is expected to slow to 8.2%, the lowest rate in 15

years. >> let's turn to the markets now keeping our correspondent sent us this report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> at the end, the dax managed a plus. it was not a smooth the road until that point. italy borrow fresh money. it was at the cost of higher interest rates. and it was not a smooth up turning process either. there were some fears for a while. in yen, the interest rates looked ok, and -- onion yen, the interest rates looked ok. also contributing to the positive result at the end, hopes for better economic and corporate news from abroad. >> that is frankfurt. the world has a peak at market numbers now.

the dax close up over 1%. across the atlantic, the dow jones is now trading at over 12,978 and the hero is trading at $1.3893. sony corp. confirmed on thursday that it will cut 10,000 jobs as an effort to make the company profitable again. >> the new ceo and president's kazuo hirai pledged to revive the ailing electronics entertainment company. >> sony's court tv business has been turning a loss -- core tv business has been turning a loss for years.

but they confirmed it would remain the most important product. hirai was to make sony profitable again within the next financial year. >> there will be no quick fix is. we simply must confront the situation had on. we must devise solutions quickly. is the only way to change sunny. >> he also said that he was committed to changing sony's electronics business. sony also plans to expand into emerging markets like mexico. it will also look for new opportunities and equipment sector. >> the government wants to rely more on electric power. the largest energy companies want to build a huge dam.

a massive protest -- >> there was a massive protest against this project. >> thousands of people gathered to protest against a the project keeping the demonstrations began peacefully, but clashes later broke out with police. the protesters want to strip the huge venture in patagonia. the project includes the construction of five dams, flooding are around 15 hectares of pristine nature preserve. the government says it could generate 20% of chile's energy needs and insist the hydroelectric power will be crucial for the country's energy security. environmentalists oppose the

project. they say it will damage patagonia's fragile at the system and the population. -- at a system -- ecosystem the population. >> the use of greece are leading in droves. they're not the only ones who have given up in the crisis. >> it is barely five months after greek prime minister took over the poisoned chalice from his predecessor. there are angry protests that continue to this day's. -- to this day. >> greek bus drivers cannot in droves to protest government spending cuts. but they at least have a job. an increasing number of people in greece have lost theirs as a result of the debt crisis and the austerity measures it triggered. just over 11% of the working

population more out of a job at the beginning of the crisis in 2010. that figure has now shop -- shot up due to budget cuts in the private and public sectors. more than half of 24-year-old are without a job. that has led to a crisis among young adults, leaving their country in hopes of better job prospects abroad. >> some this -- some sports now. fc cologne have sacked their coach. they brought in stale solbakken. fc cologne said remaining in the

top is a priority. frank schäfer has replaced him at this weekend. >> we're taking a short break. we will be back in one minute with more on syria. >> to stay with us.

>> welcome back. the situation in syria remains precarious. we already have reports of violations on both sides. >> the country has been in the grip of an uprising. more than 9000 people are estimated to have been killed. >> the situation has immense repercussions for the entire region, which is why the diplomatic solution is of the essence, yet so difficult to find. >> a number of people are injured as syrian troops opened

fire on fleeing refugees. there are impacts on syria from neighbors. turkey's prime minister has been one of bashar al-assad's most outspoken critics. erdogan has warned that turkey could set up a buffer zone on syrian territory. not just to protect refugees, but to move against kurdish militants, who he accuses the assad regime of protecting. a lebanese cameraman was killed on monday at the border. the syrian uprising also has the potential to cause political waves with and 11 non -- witthin lebanon.

and it could have an impact on assad felt closest ally -- iran. kofi annan has reached out to iran. keeping assad in power means a key ally, one that is close to iran's archenemy israel. the two countries have provided 75 million euros of eight. -- of eight. -- of aid. for now, the prospects of a lasting peace and syria are uncertain. whatever comes out of this conflict, it is likely to have a long-term effect on the balance of power of any region. >> for more, we're joined by

middle east analyst peter sch tienbeck. how do you see this going. >> if the country accepts the cease-fire and the other conditions, that means regime change. they cannot accept the annan plan. >> there has been cross border firing. and this conflict go beyond syria? >> definitely. for the time being, they will not react with force, but there are some areas -- for example the kurdish areas, where there are a larger number of refugees entering turkey. and maybe prompted to intervene militarily. >> several countries seem to let us take on what is going on in syria. >> it is becoming a proxy war.

the assad regime is being supported by iran and to a certain degree by iraq. and the opposition is supported more and more by the saudis. is in the iran-saudi conflict that is emerging. if it breaks out, we will have more and syria and spill over into iraq, lebanon, and jordan. >> what happens at the cease- fire does not go into effect? >> there have been some politicians demanding more sanctions against the syrian regime, but i do not think the russians will agree. even if they do, syria has more supporters than russia and china. it has the army support, and that is decisive in a civil war.

>> thank you very much. >> in the u.s., fla.'s neighborhood watch it volunteer george zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the killing up and on arms black teenager -- for an unarmed black teenager. >> the case has sparked a fierce debate in the country, with demonstrations calling for george zimmerman's burress. >> george zimmerman and it himself into police on wednesday. he faces magistrates later on thursday. he told police after the shooting on february 26 that he acted in self-defense. after re-examining the evidence, prosecutors decided to charge him and emphasized that had nothing to do with public pressure. >> we do not prosecute according

to public pressure. we prosecute according to the facts of any given case and the laws of the state of florida. >> he said he was concerned he would not get a fair trial. >> i think he was troubled the state would not discharge him. the prosecutor knows the evidence. she is professional. she is doing her job as a prosecutor. she has made a decision and we will see. >> i think anyone who would be charged with second-degree murder would be scared. >> trayvon martin's parents welcome to the charges. they believe their son was shot for no reason and what justice. >> we asked for an arrest and we got it. and we say thank you. thank you, jesus. >> 17-year-old trayvon martin was unarmed when he was shot dead.

the shooting led to huge public protests. zimmerman and the police have been widely accused of racism. the charges is the search for justice into the courts and off the streets. >> and is democracy threatened by efforts to save -- academic and political figures say is. >> they call themselves "more democracy" and then wants to challenge the pact in the country's highest court. >> in march, european leaders agreed to a package of tough measures to stabilize the euro. the physical contact is the european commission the power to intervene in a country takes on too much debt. members of the core democracy group argued that curtailing the rights of national parliaments is illegal without consent of

the people. >> these are fundamental questions. the constitutional sovereign power is required to speak and the people hold that. >> the petition is confident and germany's highest legal authority will agree. one of the petitioners is the former german justice minister. >> if the judges are consistent with other decisions from the european rescue fund, then we have a very good chance. >> the appeal goes right to the heart of european -- the european question. , to power in brussels have opinion future -- how much power can brussels have in future?

>> and anti-western german state of westphalia, -- in the western german state of westphalia, they are monitoring a group of fundamentalists on the high streets. >> the action has been criticized by politicians of most major parties and many ordinary muslims to see this as a misuse of their holy book. >> free translations of the koran. they give away copies in germany. the handouts have garnered criticism and put the group on the radar of german authorities. >> distributing the koran is not the problem. the problem is the group. it is an extremely dangerous one. >> :-based preacher is one of

the -- the cologne-based preacher is one of those trying to convert people to the state. many see this as an this use of their holy book by the movement. >> this is a very fundamentalist movement and then is some. it is very backward-looking. they seek to establish a a social system that is antiquated. their view does not respond to that of most moslems. -- muslims. >> following the outcry, printers of the koran say it will no longer supply copies to the group. >> and a top tourist attraction gave a special show on wednesday. dozens of impersonators clashed with police.

must make their living posing for pictures with visitors. authorities say they operate illegally. they want to make them history. >> germany's international cultural organization is reporting at grove teen -- a growing interest in learning german. courses were up by 16,000 this year compared to the year before. interest to learn german is particularly strong in southern europe. there is strong demand for specialized labor, particularly fort medical professions and caregivers. >> that was "the journal." thank you for watching. >> do not forget, there's more on our website -- www.dw.de.