♪ >> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw. we're coming to you from berlin. >> i am steve chaid. here is a look at our top stories. in egypt, a power struggle between the newly elected president and the military. >> kofi annan says he has had positive talks with bashar assad and agreed on a new approach to ending the violence. >> the world's newest nation, south sudan, celebrates one year of independence from the north. we will look at the challenges facing the country. ♪

>> a new power struggle appears to be developing in egypt. the country's powerful military council has warned the freshly elected islamic president mohammed morsi to respect the constitution. this after the supreme court in cairo said it was illegal for mohammed morsi to reinstate the country's parliament. >> the body was dissolved by the supreme court last month on constitutional grounds. the muslim brotherhood shares a two-thirds majority in parliament, along with other islamists. >> a muslim brethren spokesman said the deputies will reconvene on tuesday, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown with the country's generals. >> president mohammed morsi appeared side-by-side with the generals at a military graduation ceremony on monday. there's no outward sign of tensions, despite the confrontational course morsi has taken. he has recall parliament for tuesday, in defiance of the military and courts, and he has

also called for fresh elections. >> parliamentary elections must be held within 60 days from date when the people accept a new constitution in a referendum. >> but chances are slim that a new constitution will arrive before year's end. on the street, opinions were split over morsi's actions. >> if we do not agree with the law, we can object. but to just overturned the law like this? >> this is a good decision, and it expresses the will of the people and the well of the revolution. -- and the well of the revolution. >> the fight starts early, declared one newspaper. the moment, it is unclear whether it is the president or the military who is winning. >> we have our cairo correspondent on the line. is the new president, mohammed morsi, forcing a standoff with the military, and what is the likely outcome of that situation

if he is? >> there is certainly a power struggle going on in the background, but i think it is not art in the open. today, there was a military parade in the morning, and president mohammed morsi in the head of the supreme military council were happily sitting together side by side. of course, we have the conversation about who is going to run the country, the elected parties, meaning the parliament and the president, or the military council? >> how are the public reacting? whose side are they on? >> i think there is confusion going on. because the parliament was dissolved. then it was reinstated yesterday by the president. the constitutional court says no, the parliament has to be reelected. now we have another court decision. so there is big confusion with people on how this is going. it is like a roller-coaster politically.

>> the german foreign minister is visiting egypt today. what is on the agenda? >> basically, it is interesting, because for president mohammed morsi, it is important that he gets international backing against this military. he got international backing on sunday from the u.s. foreign ministry. he is going to saudi arabia to try to get some backing against the military. for him, the visit by the german foreign minister. >> thank you very much for that. >> western-leaning parties have taken early leads in libya's parliamentary poll. at the results hold up, they would counter the trend of islamist victories in egypt and tunisia. the final tally is not expected for days, but initial results from tripoli and benghazi show an emergent leave for the

coalition led by jabril, the former prime minister of the rebel government. the muslim brotherhood is in second place. syria now and international peace envoy kofi annan says he has agreed to a new approach with president bashar assad to ending what assad himself has called all-out war in the country. kofi annan describes the latest round of talks as positive, but there has been no the escalation on the part of the syrian regime. >> army tanks continue to shell opposition stronghold on monday, with reports of more than 30 people killed. and in a rare television interview, the increasingly isolated syrian leader lashed out at the international community and accused some foreign governments of trying to overthrow his government by backing terrorists. >> kofi annan's third meeting with the syrian president was a brief one, but as the u.n. special envoy returned to his hotel, he had optimistic words for the waiting reporters.

annan said the talks had been a "candid and constructive." >> we discussed the need to end the violence and ways and means of doing so. we agreed an approach which we would also share -- which i will share with the armed opposition. i also stress the importance of moving ahead for the political dialogue which the president accepts. >> annan has given little information on the nature of the new approach. the move sound encouraging, but there has been talk of breakthroughs in the past but no sign of an end to the violence. in a rare interview broadcast by germany's ard network on sunday, assad blamed the west for the bloodshed. he insisted he had the support of the syrian people and rejected calls to step down.

>> president should not run away from challenge, and we have national challenge now in syria. the president should not escape the situation. >> assad says the country is under threat from what he calls terrorist gangs. he insists that his response has to be tough. heavy fighting is continuing on a daily basis. these images are said to show government tanks firing on the rebel stronghold of homs. syrian activists say more than 16,000 people have been killed since the uprising started. but despite the ongoing violence, kofi annan says he is convinced that political mediation can bring about change in syria. so far, there is little sign that his mission will succeed. >> and we will be taking a closer look at the television interview with bashar al-assad later on in the program. but, first, eurozone finance

ministers are meeting in brussels with the aim of agreeing on a plan to reinforce the euro. a key issue is how to use the european stability mechanism to recapitalized banks directly, rather than funneling financial aid through governments. >> the meeting on monday is also expected to discuss who should succeed luxembourg's jean-claude juncker as head of the eurogroup. juncker is due to step down on july 17. >> and spain is high on the agenda. on monday, the interest spain has to offer on 10-year bonds rose back above 7%. that level is considered unsustainable. >> spain's economy minister got a warm welcome on a rival in brussels. but the meeting with his eu colleagues is bound to involve tough bargaining. >> we will be talking about two main issues, the memorandum of understanding setting up the bailout conditions and the level of prevacid that we are permitted.

>> france's finance minister said he was confident. >> i am optimistic that we will make progress on the difficult points with spain and the establishment of the esm. >> the key is cross-border supervision of banks, which is seen as a requirement for stricken institutions to get bailout aid directly. >> first, we need to create a european banking regulator pitta that is a lengthy and difficult process, and we will have to work at it. >> resolving the situation in greece also involves plenty of work. the recent election has sown the seeds of doubt over previous bailout terms. the new finance minister, yannis stournaras, will be hoping he can when his country more time on his first visit to brussels. >> our correspondent nina is in brussels with more. the finance ministers are looking at bailout conditions and what the deficit put-off point is. but did they make progress

today? >> discussions are still ongoing, but the spanish economy minister has already said that the control and the transparency of the banks will be reinforced. he has also said that the country is going to raise the value-added tax earlier than planned that was planned for 2013. that is coming sooner now. these things that spain is willing to give in return for rescue, for help from european partners, and these are things, when you look at the deficit- reduction, spain will probably get more time, but this will have to be decided by all 27 finance ministers. it will happen at their meeting on tuesday. we expect spain to get more time because nobody wants to risk that the recession in spain gets worse. >> any news on who is going to be juncker's successor? >> it looks like the successor of jean-claude juncker is going to be jean-claude juncker, and that has to do the different

personnel issue. but the position of one of the six members of the ecb's executive board and the eurogroup's finance ministers on monday said luxembourg's central bank chief will probably get a seat there, because this was the condition that jean-claude juncker said was important for him to agree was going to continue as the eurogroup chief because of the finance ministers said he can get the job, and now it is up to the 27 finance ministers. if they agree, it looks like jean-claude juncker will keep his job. >> thank you very much. >> well, let's look at market reaction. concerns about those higher yields on spanish bonds did weigh on investor sentiment this monday. but nothing too dramatic. here is the summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> investors seemed to see higher risks for spain and

politicians do. yields for 10-year spanish bonds went up above 7%, and this shows two points. there might be speculation that spain as a whole country may need a bailout. on the other hand, there's also speculation that the ecb might intervene if yields stay as high as they are. the dax has been flat lining nearly all day. traders are very nervous also because of the finance ministers meeting, and they do not think that the markets will calm down pretty soon. >> russia is observing a national day of mourning following the flash floods that struck the black sea coast over the weekend, claiming the lives of more than 170 people. >> heavy rainfall triggered the floods, but russia's emergency services minister has accused local officials of mismanagement. >> of prayer for the victims and

for the survivors. in moscow, the head of the russian orthodox church and tried to comfort mourners. a writing back from the disaster region, president vladimir putin promised both a for the survivors and answers from local officials -- a writing back from the disaster region. >> all the signs indicate that it was a natural disaster, but we need to examine how rescue efforts were carried out and how the warning in water supply systems worked. >> many in the region are still struggling to get by, and authorities have admitted that state -- that mistakes were made in rescue efforts. but the confessions have done little to cover those hardest hit by the flash floods. >> my son has not even in two days, not even a piece of bread. he is terrified of any kind of noise that resembles water since

the night when the floods arrived. >> russians in moscow and throughout the country are collecting food and clothing to help ease the suffering in in donate -- in an undated regions. but for survivors, it is a the first step along the road back to normal life. >> the flooding in southern russia is a human tragedy, but it is also potentially explosive for those in power. it shines a light on a deep lack of trust between people and officials. putin is making another appearance as crisis manager and a shoulder to cry on, but that will change very little. flood victims feel overwhelmed by two forces, the power of nature and of the authorities. >> after a short break, taking a closer look at south sudan one year after its independence. >> 12 months ago, there were big celebrations as the south seceded from the north following a referendum of the border region is still plagued by conflict. >> plus, more on an interview

with syrian president bashar al- assad. so do not go away. ♪ ♪

>> welcome back. south sudan is celebrating a very important anniversary. a gained independence at this time last year. the former autonomous region broke off in sudan after years of enter-ethnic warfare. >> the landlocked nation now has to share a border with sudan, and it is that sharing that is causing trouble, especially in the small oil-rich region of abyei. our coverage starts in south sudan's capital juba. >> the capital of south sudan, jean-claude juncker, was a -- juba, was awash with music on monday. one year on, tens of thousands of people gathered in the scorching sun to celebrate.

but many concerns remain, such as ethnic unrest along the disputed border, and oil. the south controls production. the north, the pipelines to the outside world. and the south has stopped pumping because the two sides cannot agree on how to split the revenue. >> these decisions have a huge impact on the economic situation in the country. therefore, a huge impact on people, on population. as of today, we believe that more than two million people in south sudan are in severe food insecurity. >> heavy border fighting in recent months has forced more than 100,000 people into refugee camps like this one, where living conditions are reportedly terrible. at monday's independence day celebrations, the south sudan president acknowledged that his country still faced many challenges. >> next year when we celebrate

the same location, we must be in better shape than we are today. because a lot of work is ahead of us. >> as long as south sudan fails to resolve its crippling economic dispute with its larger northern neighbor, however, it seems the fledgling nation stands little chance of progress in. >> in our efforts to ease tensions between the two sudans, journalists from both countries have launched a cross-border newspaper that will focus on issues of common interest. >> it is called "the niles," after the rivers whose waters flowed for both lands. much of the funding has come from the german foreign ministry, and berlin is also providing editorial assistants. >> when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. the saying on the front page of "the niles" newspaper sons of the concerns felt about the tension between the two sudans.

journalists from both countries have gathered here to share their vision of peaceful coexistence. the project is run by the ngo mict, with support from the german foreign ministry. >> our team of some 50 journalists from sudan sudan and the sudan forms a relatively large community with a discerning few of the situation. >> pictures of the project in sudan, the newspaper have to be a stabilizing factor in the region's landscape. >> both countries -- we want to counter that reporting style. >> "the niles" does not shy away from the big issues, such as sioux don's lost control over the oil reserves in the south. it is published in english and arabic and there is a growing web presence. to celebrate the launch, musicians from north and south have recorded a legendary song

which is a reminder of their shared heritage. >> ok, we returned to syria now and the television interview conducted by german domestic channel ard with president bashar assad. in a moment, we will be joined by a middle east expert for analysis on what assad actually said. >> first, let's have a listen into one section where interviewer jürgen todenhöfer asked the syrian leader about the opposition. >> a do you think that you still have a majority behind you in your country? >> if i have -- if -- if i do not have the public support, how can i stay in this position? the u.s. and the west is against me. many regional powers in countries are against me. and the people against me, so the answer is, of course, i still have public support. >> you can watch that interview

in full length on our media center online, dw.de. here to talk about shahzad's statements is our middle east expert. thank you for joining us double the share to talk about shahzad's statements. it looks like assad is not facing reality. >> that is correct. he lives in his own diluted world. he only sees those parts of reality that fit into his mind, so to speak. he believes that there is really a conspiracy going on in this country. he sees himself as the beloved leader of this country, whereas an opposition force consisting mainly of terrorist gangs try to get away with him, and he of course is resisting these evil the temps. of course, he has people around him to contradict him. >> what to do the statements assad makes reveal about his view of the world? >> he makes a clear-cut vision of the route courses for this rebellion in syria. he believes the u.s. is

responsible and is acting as the, well, chief troublemaker in the region. this view is shared by many people, it is true that the u.s. is supporting the opposition. but, nevertheless, the root cause is his unwillingness to share power with the opposition in his own country, and both sides, both him and the opposition, do still believe that they can solve this issue by military means. >> ok. next, we look at section of the interview where jürgen todenhöfer asks president assad about the role that the u.s. is playing in the conflict. >> what is the role of united states in this conflict? >> it is part of the conflict. they offer the umbrella and political support to those gangs to create this instability. >> you say the united states is politically supporting the rebels, is that correct? >> exactly. >> you say these rebels, who you

call terrorists, kill civilians. this means you are accusing the american government of being at least partly responsible for the killing of innocent syrian civilians, correct? >> of course, exactly. as long as you offer any kind of support to terrorists, whether it is armament or money or public support, political support, united nations come anywhere, any kind of support, this has implications. >> would you say that this is the concept of the u.s. as the bogyman, the enemy who is easily blamed when things go wrong in the arab world? >> yes, indeed, he does see the u.s. as the bogeyman, making them responsible for all evolves in his country and the region. nevertheless, it is true the but the united states, most western countries, plus turkey and saudi arabia do agree upon the necessity of toppling his regime. from this point of view, he is, of course, very concerned that these forces of evil, so to

speak, are not really helping him stay in power. >> ok, a final excerpt from that interview between german political of the earth jürgen todenhöfer and the syrian president bashar al-assad -- german political author. >> in the end, what is your solution for this country? do you think you have to fight this conflict out until the bitter end? >> we have two solutions. the first one, we have to fight terrorism. there's no question about fighting terrorists, no where in the world. but what if somebody kills civilians and innocent people, children, and soldiers? tilda soldiers, police, everyone. you have to fight for them. if you're not ready for dialogue. the other act is to make dialogue with different political components and at the same time to have reform, to participate with everyone.

and the people will decide who should be our president or our representative. >> can reforms come faster? >> there are subjective things did you think it is faster, i think slower. but in the end, you do it as fast as you can without paying a heavy price or without having a lot of fighting. that is not related to me or to the government. that is related to the objective circumstances in this area. >> now, president assad is talking about dialogue here. do you think a solution through negotiation is possible with him as president of syria? >> very difficult to foresee, because he wants to cling to power. we have to remember that this is a conflict to a certain extent, at the religious authority of the alawites that

make up this regime. and this population is very much afraid of losing power to the sunni majority. so if you reform this system, if you start to do this, one-man, one-vote, then the alawites would lose control of the government. >> as you mentioned, president assad is keen to go on to power, but he is becoming more and more isolated internationally. how long can he hold on? >> he is isolated in the western world but not necessarily in the region. he is very close friends in lebanon, iraq, and iran, which means he can survive for quite some time to come. could be months or years. >> thank you very much. >> finally, some sports news. tour de france favorite won the time trials and extended his overall lead, finishing 35 seconds ahead of his compatriot. things did not work out so well

for the german world champion, who came in at 12 after suffering a fractured. that is all we have time for right now, but more information is on our website, dw.de. >> we will have more news for you in half-hour's time. this is in dw life from berlin. >> thanks for watching. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ ♪