captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to "the journal" on dw tv. >> at our top stories -- the turkish prime minister says he can not confirm reports that syria has shot down a turkish fighter jet. >> the leaders of the eurozone's four biggest economies have a meeting. >> and germany versus greece in the euro 2012 quarterfinals. we get the fan reaction. >> a turkish warplanes has gone down over the mediterranean and

there is uncertainty at this hour as to whether syria may have played a role. >> the turkish prime minister says it is unclear whether the plane crashed or was shot down. he cannot refer -- confirm reports. >> it could create an international crisis. the two countries have not been on the best of terms since the fighting in syria began. >> the only details we have so far is that the plane lost contact with the air base soon after take-off. it plummeted into the mediterranean. let's see if we can get more clarity from our correspondent in istanbul. water you hearing, dorian? -- what are you hearing, dorian? >> we do know the plane went down at midmorning in the maturing in c.. from then, reports are

conflicting. -- which in the the plane went down at midmorning in the mediterranean sea. there are reports saying indeed the syrians did shoot the plane down. but the prime minister, who was returning back from brazil when all this was going on, when he did speak to the press, he said we simply do not know what happened. he had now gone into at a security meeting with the chief of military intelligence and senior government -- senior government millet -- ministers. >> does this incident have the potential to blow out into something bigger? >> that is the question everyone is asking. earlier this year, when there was a shooting incident, the turkish prime minister was furious and even tried to get his nato partners to intervene

and protect the borders. that rhetoric was reduced after word, but the prime minister does of our record of extremely fiery rhetoric against the syrian president. he is backing the rebels. everyone is waiting to see what happened to these planes. if they were shot down, then everybody will be watching very closely to see what the prime minister will do. >> ok. thank you very much. stain with syria for the moment, the u.n. says 1.5 million people needed humanitarian help. the escalating violence is creating a refugee crisis. activists say the government machine gunned protesters, killing at least 10. other video evidence shows that you of a tank -- video of a tank. the leaders of the euro's four biggest economies have pledged

new mothers to create -- new methods to create growth. >> they're hoping to pass the package at a meeting next week. >> the chancellor hailed the move as "an important signal." meanwhile, protesters took to the street saying it was not enough. >> these protesters are demanding a tax on financial transactions. and they say they will push to implement that. on other issues, there is less common ground. france wanted eurobonds. >> it is not about whether we allow eurobonds. what i said was liability and control belong together. >> the spanish prime minister was also keen for europe to push ahead with integration. >> more europe. we want political union. we want economic union. we want a fiscal union.

we agreed on the need for growth in the eurozone. at the next eu meeting, the four leaders will push for a package. that is seen as a critical test to see whether europe can do enough to get its financial crisis under control. >> our correspondent is following events of that gathering. here is her assessment of the meeting. >> at first it appeared that they presented all there old ideas in a new way. if we look at the banking union, fiscal union, those are already ideas we have heard. on the other hand, we can see it might be possible to have a common management of debts or it might be possible to give up some relative, but only if there's a political union. they give the signal that they

want more integration, and that is also a signal they want to give to the markets, that they have a vision to integrate europe further and that should be presented at the next summit in brussels. >> and there is new evidence that the financial crisis may be in germany fell doorstep. -- germany's's doorstep. >> so far, the german economy has performed strongly despite the debt crisis in the eurozone. the latest numbers show 7000 companies -- >> business sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in three years. prospects have deteriorated. >> it has to do with the great uncertainty over the euro area. this by the elections increase, we still did not see the

uncertainty initiative. the greek government is not all the stable. then there are problems with spain and its banks. >> until recently, german companies had seemed largely unaffected by the eurozone debt crisis. domestic demand remains robust and exports were strong. then in may, the stock market dropped three points and in june it fell more than expected. businesses say they are worried about declines in foreign orders, not just from the eurozone, but other troubled economies as well, such as the united states. >> the markets did not react well to that news on friday. sc of red. our correspondent has more from frankfurt. -- a sea of red. >> the german economy is

following weakening hard landing. business confidence is taken very seriously. german companies put strong pressure on the german dax, but overall it made modest gains in this turbulent trading wake. the situation for banks is a little easier, but everyone is waiting for the breakthrough. >> let's get a closer look at those market numbers for you. as we mentioned, the dax in negative territory. over in new york, the dow jones industrial average was climbing up after a big sell-off yesterday. many analysts said the markets were oversold and the u.s. bureau gaining against the dollar, trading for $1.2559. in just a moment, we will go to

rio for all the details of this year's earth summit. >> but first, more headlines around the world. >> pakistan's parliament has elected there prime minister -- thier -- their prime minister. it is not clear whether the election will and deep political crisis in pakistan. -- into the political crisis in pakistan. >> an attack on an afghan -- on the afghan capital of kabul. afghan security forces freed the surviving hostages after a 24- hour assault. >> in paris white, the president is facing impeachment for his role in -- paraguay, the president is facing impeachment

for his role in last week's event that left 11 squatters and six police officers ted. -- dead. >> week as water. that is the conclusion of activists at the summit in rio the janeiro. >> not to a story coming in just now. at least 20 have been killed in a hotel outside the capital of kabul. >> afghan security forces battled the gunman all night before killing all five attackers. >> gunfire and explosions echoed throughout the area as government troops, big but -- backed by nato helicopters, carry the offensive. dozens of women and children were trapped inside the hotel.

they described the situation by phone. >> my son said the situation was bad. they said they were locked in. >> the attackers, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, and other weapons, storm the hotel. it took until midday friday to kill the insurgents. this is the first major taliban operation in kabul since mid- april. it shows that the insurgents are still able to launch a significant tax despite efforts to neutralize them. >> protesters are back in tahrir square demanding the restoration of parliament. >> the former prime minister said he is confident he will be declared the winner of the elections, but his opponent is also declaring victory.

>> china is the most attractive destination for international investors. that is according to ernst and young's latest european attractiveness survey which ranks germany in 6 to place. >> emerging markets are offering better returns on there investments. >> china is no longer renowned for its low labor costs. wages have been rising. foreign companies want to share in the growing market. the blossoming middle-class is massive. and a ranking of the most attractive destination for foreign investment, china and india are still at the top. the united states and russia are tied it at the rankings and third-place. next, brazil and germany. >> germany has a very attractive domestic market, infrastructure,

and a high standard of training for workers. those are issues investors care about. >> many investors agree innovation is germany's real strength. but there is untapped potential. >> germany should put more effort into training, skill development, and certification of its employees in schools and universities. they should also encourage research and development with tax incentives like many of there european competitors to. >> according to the study, germany is seen as a pillar of stability and crisis-wrapped europe and a more attractive destination for foreign capital than its european neighbors. >> the markets have been reacting to moody's rating agency which has downgraded 15 of the world's most powerful financial institutions, saying the banks are all threatened by there exposure to the european debt crisis.

drudge bank, barclays, goldman sachs are among the -- deutsche bank, barclays, goldman sachs are among the institutions that saw there ratings/. >> especially ratings in europe. of course, we have all the football still to come for you. it is germany against greece denied. the score at the moment is -- >> 0-0. there are a number of different sayings popping up. >> it is more fun to talk about the football. there are good chances for the german team. they have missed there chances. we will see what happens, of course. stay with us. >> you can also check this out on twitter. keep it here. >> stay with us.

>> the trial of anders breivik has ended in norway with the defense trying to prove that his killing of 77 people last year is not an act of insanity. >> breivik wants to be ruled st.. >> victims'will to defiantly left the -- victims' relatives defiantly let the court room. breivik admitted it was a terrible act, but said it was necessary to protect against growing is,ization. >> we don't care at all for him.

we want him put away for the rest of his life. >> breivik's attorney spoke for two hours, describing his client as a politically-motivated terrorist to wanted to be punished for his crime. >> he chose to kill. it is typical of terrorists. they think the end justifies the means. he argued -- >> he argued that breivik should be acquitted or receive the minimum possible prison term. the prosecution called for breivik to be declared criminally insane. psychiatric evaluations have reached opposite conclusions. >> i would have wished we could have a definite answers of this trial could be decided one way or the other, but we have received no clear answers and we have to come to terms with this. >> norwegians must wait another two months for the final

verdict. >> as you heard earlier, the conflict in syria continues to escalate. despite a u.n.-brokered cease- fire with the regime of president assad, thursday was one of the bloodiest days of conflict. >> assad comes from a minority tribe in the country. but most tribes are still royal to him. he also has the support of other minorities, like the christians. >> we have more on why some christian still support assad. >> it is one of the serial's oldest cloister's. -- syria's oldest cloister's. it is one of the last places in the world where aramaic is spoken, the language jesus spoke. christians have allied themselves with the assad regime. they say outside secular ideology is the best chance for

religious freedom. christian patriarchs have allied themselves with the president and have nothing but praise for assad. >> he doesn't want to kill anybody. he is a very special man. >> to prove this, she shows a photograph of a group of orphaned girls in her care. bair posing with assad and his wife -- they are posing with assad and his wife at easter. she says without assad, the christians are lost. >> guitar -- qatar and saudi arabia -- we are afraid. we are afraid for the future. >> she says if this continues

she is afraid for the christian community in syria. she says the christians' main enemies are al-qaeda and the muslim brotherhood. both are opposed to the syrian government. we visited another christian village nearby. the robots were not very intimidating. old men searched cars while younger men watched from behind sandbags. -- the road blocks were not very intimidating. >> these bomb attacks were the acts of terrorists from afghanistan or libya. we live here in peace. >> then the mayor to best to meet a grieving family. there eldest -- took us to meet a grieving family. the eldest son was a soldier. he died fighting terrorists, as they put it. like many other questions here, they put the blame for the civil war on outside forces.

>> these armed terrorists. my son died for his country and for his president. these foreigners want to destroy syria because syria has everything. >> assad can count on these christians to feel he is there only protection in an increasingly dangerous country. >> alright. moving onto sports news. as we mentioned earlier, germany is facing against greece and in europe 2012 as we speak. our correspondent is at the sandstone at the brandenburg gate in berlin. the atmosphere looks pretty good. >> is certainly is pretty good. this is not out football now. the stakes are higher. the trauma is higher. the excitement is probable. the fans are and a great mood.

it is sunny. they have been royally entertained by a very vibrant german performance and they are looking to start up there weekend with a win. >> let's get down to with. and head coach joachim loew changed up the lineup. what do the fans think? >> there's certainly sympathy for the players to happen dropped. mario gomez has been doing well so for -- so far. i think there's also unquestioning trust here among stance towards joachim loew. 10 wins and a row in qualifying. the know he will make the right decisions. the evidence so far is compelling. the performance from germany so

far has been brilliant. >> is the tension there or do the germans think they have this one in the bag at this point? >> no one was to say that. no one wants to be complacent. there is tension in the air. this is a big night for germany. they think they are going to do it. it is looking really good for germany so far. >> alright. titus at the brandenburg gate four us. when you talk to fans, who did they think is going to go all the way? >> i do not think you will find many fans who will say anyone other than germany at the brandenburg gate tonight. they have every right to be optimistic. they have played fantastic so far. they are looking good again tonight. if they keep up this performance, i imagine they will be in the final. >> alright. it looks like he will have some

fun down there. see you later. >> yes, absolutely. thanks. >> time to move on to other teams in your 2012. portugal is one of those. it made the semifinals on thursday. >> the final score was 1-0 against the czech republic and a nail biting game. >> that goal was only scored in the second half. >> it took a full 79 minutes, but they got the job done. this picture-perfect header was a thing of beauty and made all the difference. reynaldo 's performance impressed. but there was a string of lost opportunities.

portugal dominated at the outset. the dream shot came in the last seconds. but nothing came of that. still, the portuguese captain seemed to be everywhere on the field, even on the fence in front of his own goal. as the match progressed czech republic threats diminished. portugal consistently applied the pressure, but was frustrated by it failed gordon -- golden opportunities. they still could not capitalize when it counted and it proved to be the undoing of the czech republic. for now, the world's most expensive football player and perhaps the best got the job done from portugal, having his team into the semifinals. >> and talking about moving into the sammy's -- semis, germany is

edging closer. >> they just scored during that break. >> the overall outcome of the tournament -- >> we do have a economists'. it turns out they have been pretty accurate in the past about figuring out the winner. >> and it is bad news for greece and germany playing tonight. neither hold the economists' top spot. >> the quarter finals of just begun. but a team of german economists say they know which team will claim the trophy on july 1st. namely the team with the players that have the highest market value. and that would be spain. germany is worth a combined 459 million euros with england and france close behind. greece is a true star course if

there ever was one. -- dark horse if there ever was one. portugal's star player is worth 90 million euros alone. without him, the team's market value falls dramatically. and the method is surprisingly accurate. economists were able to predict the winner in 2008. they admit anything can happen and probably will this year. so the forecasters have not fully written off germany -- at least not yet. >> that is it for now. >> stay with us.