>> hello and a warm welcome to the "journal " on dw. >> the most powerful man in the world soccer defensds fifa against corruption charges but says it is time for changes. >> kofi annan needs the russian president to save his peace plan for syria. >> the german government pushes for more action to slow down global warming. >> we began with corruption in

soccer. sepp blatter, the president of fifa, has been defending the way his organization deals with corruption. >> things have become so bad that some are calling for him to step down, but he is having none of it, setting out ways instead to reform fifa and set up an ethics commission. >> sepp blatter knows how to come through a scandal unscathed. in his 14 years as fifa president, he has weathered many a storm. the latest -- his presence -- his predecessor receive massive kickbacks on world cup contracts in the 1990's. blatter has rejected calls to step down over the affair, but he has announced a new independent ethics court with its own prosecutor and the power to reopen old cases. >> with this decision today, fifa has given up some of its

power, quite clearly. it means the conduct of officials will no longer be an issue to be investigated by the fifa president or executive committee. it will be investigated by an independent body. >> fifa hopes the charges will finally put an end to the allegations swirling around the organization, and it's defined president lives to fight another day. >> will on this, we are joined by our sports correspondent. how big of a problem is corruption in sports? >> seemingly pretty big. this is the latest chapter in ongoing rumbling scandals involving the collapse of the isl. what is terrible this time is that it just confirms that president both past and present at fifa have known about or were involved in bribery. it is terrible.

it shows what kind of culture reigns, and we are trying to encourage individual federations of around the world to spread better government. it is terrible for fans around the world. >> is fifa about to clean house? >> no, i do not think so. sepp blatter was keen to paint himself as a reformer today, but any credibility he had is long gone. remember in the autumn, transparency international, advising on the process, pulled out of a deal with fifa because reform committees were not independent enough. the chairman was not to be empowered to investigate any of these past allegations, it is more a case of smoke and mirrors than anything else, and i think it is blatter doing good pr but not really doing anything of substance. >> he did come up with some serious allegations this week.

is it the case that sometimes the best defense is going on the offense? >> quite probably. whatever the substance of these allegations, and they have been made before -- it just looked petulant and really absurd from blatter's part. if there had been any doubt in the process, it was on his watch. he would know about it. i do not know what he hoped to gain from that. i think it shows how out of touch he is with public opinion. >> bear with us for a moment. we will come back to you in just a moment's time. all right, soccer was also on the agenda in berlin today -- above all, the question of how to solve the question of violence in germany's soccer stadiums. >> politicians met with representatives from 54 professional soccer clubs on a new code of behavior that will see troublemakers' band more quickly and more money for fan

associations -- behavior that will see troublemakers banned more quickly. >> they may be banned, but they keep showing up. out-of-control fans are a growing problem. a low point was this game. fans stormed the field before the game was over in this playoff match. officials want to put a stop to this kind of access. the message at the conference was clear. >> we have to present a united front against violence. a zero tolerance policy from the new season on words -- onwards. >> the conference did not come up with any new proposals but did agree on a new code of conduct. fireworks remain banned, but the new head of the conference says a balanced needs to be struck. >> we support a consistent method of punishment when rules are broken.

actions must have consequences. at the same time, a dialogue with fans cannot break down. peaceful fans are fully welcome in this discussion. >> fan groups range from peaceful, ordinary people to extremists, including hooligan'' capable of violence, but despite the rules change, germany's interior minister stressed that fans are not the enemy -- including hooligans capable of violence. >> our message to the peaceful fans is this -- we do not want to take away your fund or the passion you feel for your teams, but fanned the altar and violence are incompatible. >> because standing areas are an important part of fan culture, they will continue to exist for now, but harsher measures could follow. >> why has this become such a big problem in german stadiums? >> i am partially not convinced

it has become a big problem. i think there has always been a part of society that wants to go out and cause trouble and has found the football stadiums are a good place to do that. if you look at stadiums today, dick lally in germany, they are safe places, fun places, certainly more so than they were 30 or 40 years ago. whatever the political priorities of the day, it is important not to attend all fans with this brush -- not to tan all fans with this brush. >> can these problems be resolved without involving fans? >> absolutely not. you cannot police a community without its consent. problem here is the credibility with fans is very low at the moment because of the pyrotechnics issue. last season, fans felt that they were misled by the dfb, who were negotiating with them about some safeway to have pyrotechnics, but rules

absolutely forbid that, so either they were acting in bad faith, or they did not know the rules. that has really damaged bonds between the two. importantly, you need to educate the fans and make sure they become self-policing and take care of themselves and marginalize the trouble makers themselves. >> thanks very much for being with us. >> and ethical challenge of another sort. tops compliant -- a top compliance official at hsbc announced his resignation today. >> several executives from the london-based bank appeared at tuesday's hearing and promised hsbc will clean up its act. the committee said hsbc has laundered funds for drug dealers and countries including syria and iran. hsbc still faces a justice department investigation and potential fines. an egyptian train has derailed

near cairo, injuring at least 15 passengers. the train derailed in giza some 20 kilometers southwest of cairo. some reports say the train burst into flames. officials say there were no deaths. that israel's government is in crisis. -- >> israel's government is in crisis. the biggest partner in benjamin netanyahu's coalition has split from the government over whether orthodox jews should continue to be excused from military service. the party says it is disappointed with netanyahu's failure to move forward with the ship here the prime minister now holds only a fragile majority in parliament. >> the united nations secretary- general traveled to china for talks with president hu jintao, with the situation in syria high on the agenda. >> kofi annan once china and

russia to get behind a united nations security council resolution aimed at stopping the fighting -- wants china and russia to get behind a united nations security council resolution. >> talks in moscow focused on measures aimed at ending the violence in syria and how to orchestrate a political transition there. president putin again expressed his complete support for the peace plan for syria. >> from the very beginning, since you were appointed united nations and arab league special envoy, we have been supporting your efforts aimed at restoring peace in syria. >> russian state television often provides detailed coverage and that's the line that kofi annan's peace plan is the best way to stop the fighting. annan told putin that it is

important for the security council to reach consensus on drafting a resolution for syria. >> i have to come back when i am not carrying such a heavy load, and i hope i will have the opportunity to. the serious crisis is at a critical time. >> russia's foreign minister says he sees no reason why the council cannot come to an agreement but still does not want assad to be forced to step down. -- the serious crisis is at a critical time. >> -- the syria crisis is at a critical time. >> president putin has vowed to support the united nations. >> putin obviously does not mean what he says. the russians are supporting the assad regime, and that has led

to the situation on the ground where both sides had decided to fight until the end. the russians are not looking for a diplomatic solution. >> a showdown is looming. what, if anything, will come out at the next security council meeting? >> nothing will come out of it. the russians have given no signs that they are willing to look for a diplomatic solution. they are supporting president assad and his regime, but the situation in syria is changing a lot, and this is probably a lot more interesting. rebels have entered central quarters of damascus, and the fight might be over earlier than most observers had thought in recent months. >> ok, thanks very much.

>> the organizing committee for the london olympics says security at the games is top priority. in recent days, there have been serious allegations of the number and quality of private security guards. >> meanwhile, athletes, officials, and media from more than 50 countries have been pouring into heathrow airport. >> the weather in london was, well, british. 16 degrees celsius and drizzle. traffic was not the typical london gridlock, thanks to the special olympic lanes set up to make travel to the stadium easier. that one of the first buses full of athletes got lost was taken with a typical pinch of british humor. >> that clearly, they would have been gotten -- would have gotten the opportunity to see more of the city. >> these olympians hope they do not get lost. they were among the first way to land at london -- among the

first wave to land at london's heathrow airport. the olympic canteen is also open for business. >> we can see about 5000 people at any one time in here, and on the busiest days, over 24 hours, we will serve about 60,000 meals in one single day. it is pretty large. >> organizers are proud that they have everything ready in time, and they believe they have thought of everything -- even the palates of their international guests. the brazilian team must have believed the rumors about british food. they have opened their own canteen. everything is ready for the greatest show in sports to begin. >> we will be back in just one

minute. >> we take a closer look at climate change, so stick around.

>> welcome back. the berlin conference on climate change has wrapped up with germany calling for more to be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. >> the talks were aimed at mapping out issues to be taken up at the next climate change summit in doha. >> 35 environment ministers in berlin, all aware that current efforts to stop climate change are failing. nevertheless, following the conference, germany's environment minister appeared confident, voicing confidence that the summit at the end of this year could be a success. >> there was more common ground found at this meeting that i have thought possible. and i think it is clear we are running out of time.

that is why it is so important that the doha conference becomes a milestone. >> but he says the german government may not meet its own target for a 10% cut in energy use by 2020, saying it could prove too expensive. >> it is imperative that throughout we keep an eye on the competitiveness of the overall economy. the change in energy policy has its price, but it has to be structured so that we keep that price to an absolute minimum. that internationally, he -- >> internationally, he is sending a clear signal that action needs to be taken fast, but at home, his message is somewhat more ambiguous. >> with the conference daily back expectations and goals, let's bring in our political

correspondent -- with the conference scaling back expectations in both spirit with the next climate summit coming up in autumn in qatar, what signal do you think the berlin round of talks has said? >> germany proposed this round in response to the frustrating experience of copenhagen in 2009. -remember, the climate conference -- if you remember, the climate conference was blocked, really, by the united states and china and india, who were opposed to any extension of the kyoto protocol. the kyoto protocol are going to run out at the end of this year -- the keel protocols -- the kyoto protocols. it looks as the climate protection will be unregulated. germany held this meeting of a kind of coalition of the willing -- 35 countries who are committed to protecting the climate and cutting co2

emissions -- to form a strong body before the cut are some -- the qatar summit. >> angela merkel came out saying much more needed to be done, but we heard her own government may not necessarily meet its own goals. is this a top priority, do you think? >> i think it is a very important issue. the german government was too ambitious in its goals. on the other hand, there's general agreement in german society, and that is reflected in all the major political parties, that we need to take climate change very seriously and reach as high a target as we possibly can, and that is across the major opposition parties. it is also in the business wing of angela merkel's own central right cdu party. >> thanks very much. or an example of what is at

stake as the global climate changes, we visited mauritania. 80% of the country is desert, and that figure is growing year by year. >> long droughts are killing off what little vegetation there is, and entire villages are on the verge of being swallowed by the ever-expanding sand. >> abdullah is trying to get his house out from the stand that has gathered overnight, but this daily battle against nature is hopeless -- get his house out from the sand that has gathered overnight. many in his village have already recognized this fact and moved away. >> the village population is getting smaller and smaller. everyone who does not have access to a tractor is moving to the city. the struggle against the sand is daily, and people just do not feel up to the task.

>> the main destination for villagers fleeing the countryside. the consequences are dramatic, and -- and intensifying housing shortage and slums popping up everywhere -- an intensifying how is it -- housing shortage. the government is trying to get slumdwellers to move somewhere else. >> we are working on special programs with the goal of making social housing available in all cities. we are beginning with a pilot project here where we are finishing up 175 housing units. >> but for now, he plans to stay in his small village. he looks after the abandoned houses and hopes that someday his neighbors will return. >> we turn to the markets now. the u.s. fed chief, then bernanke, statements to -- u.s.

fed chief ben bernanke's statements to washington did not really give the market confidence. >> people were very much looking forward to ben bernanke was a statement in washington in front of u.s. senators. they were hoping for some sign that the fed would become active sometime soon in order to provide stimulus for the ailing u.s. economy and also eight other economies to good, but bernanke disappointed. he remained quite bay, said the fed was ready to act if necessary but offered no time frame for that and no precise conditions for when the fed might act. so the share prices in the aftermath -- quite hectic, but there was a positive sign from spain. the troubled country was able to get financing here in the capital markets at better interest rates than the last time, so people saw that as a sign that things were a little bit more relaxed. >> let's take a closer look at

some of the latest market numbers. the dax closed just a bit up. euro sto 50xx -- stoxx 50 just a bit down. the euro is trading at $1.2279. general motors' troubled european unit opel has a temporary new boss, the third change at the top in three years at opel, which continues to lose money. >> gm is looking for a permanent replacement. >> this is the new caretaker boss at opel. he will be behind the wheel until a permanent ceo can be found.

he was named today at a special board meeting at the company's headquarters. he is an expert in restructuring companies. workers hope their jobs are still safe. >> the main thing is that the company keeps going, and that the product goes down well with customers. i am not worried. we will keep going. >> but opel is suffering from a serious downturn. the turmoil has tarnished the company's image. the job will not be easy for thomas sedran. the former consultant has a hard road ahead of him. >> and former heavyweight retailer remains on the ropes as well. >> the company has been struggling for several years. now after having already invested 160 million euros in store improvements, the chain has announced it is cutting 2000

employees jobs to reduce costs. >> management says it is the only way to save the company. >> the german gfk market research company in the river has taken a closer look at consumer behavior in europe and the u.s. >> the general trend is people are pocketing the money and are afraid to spend in the current economic climate. only germany seems to be bucking the trend. >> europe is groaning under the weight of the debt crisis. while government's scramble to find solutions, the people say. "tighten your belt" seems to be the model -- motto. >> the mood is really bad right now. it is affecting greece, italy, spain, but also portugal. >> things are especially bad in italy, where studies suggest consumer confidence is at rock bottom. never before have the italians

spend so little as this spring, but there is some good news, at least in germany, where consumers are still flocking to shops. >> it is mainly due to the good conditions we have here, for example, falling unemployment, and compared to previous years, incomes are increasing faster. >> it looks like high unemployment is beginning to worry u.s. consumers. retail sales fell for the third straight month in june. >> three new astronauts have joined the crew of the international space station. a russian spaceship docked earlier today after a two-day voyage. at a japanese, russian, and an american crew member bring the total number manifestation 26. the current crew have been on board the iss since may. >> turned to sports now, today is a rest day in the tour de

france, but we have is about one writer who has failed a doping test. >> he tested positive for a banned substance in a sample taken on saturday. radio shack said he will no longer be writing for them. that is all we have time for now, but you can always get more news and background information on our website, dw.de. >> stay tuned for dw coming live to you from the heart of europe. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--