>> live from berlin, this is the "journal" on dw. >> a bomb blast in damascus leaves the syrian defense minister and three top officials dead. >> be aware of more neo-nazi crimes -- a warning from germany's domestic intelligence agency. >> germany's highest court finds that asylum seekers are entitled to more cash, but where will the money come from?

>> it was an attack on the inner circle of syria's president. four top military and security leaders are dead after a bomb explosion in the heart of damascus. >> among the dead, the country's defense minister and a brother- in-law to assad, who was viewed as the architect of the government's crackdown on the opposition. >> it has the international community reevaluating the chances of a peaceful end to the conflict in syria. a u.n. security council vote on more sanctions has been delayed until thursday. >> our coverage begins with this report. >> this footage from syria's nw shows people celebrating the attack. there were even impromptu celebrations in the capital, damascus, but there was also continued fighting.

syrian state tv says these images show government forces are rounding out the rebels in the capital. the suicide bombing struck at the heart of president assad's inner circle, killing key officials. syrian defense minister daoud rajha is dead, as is president assad's brother-in-law, one of the most feared members of the regime. top officials were meeting in the security building when the attacker struck in the busy square. the government vowed to punish what it called the terrorist attackers. the freak syrian army, many made up of army deserters, has claimed responsibility for the attack -- the free series army. so has an islamist rebel group. the commander of the rebel army says the attack marked the beginning of the end for the regime. meanwhile, diplomatic wheels continue to turn, albeit slowly. turkey's prime minister called

on assad to step down. russia remains at loggerheads with the west over the wording of a possible security council resolution that would impose sanctions on the assad regime. >> for more on this, i am joined by representative from the german institute of security and international affairs. are we looking at the beginning of the end of the assad regime? >> we do not know, but it is obviously a hard hit. assef shawkat was a central personality, probably the most important personality besides assad in the crackdown on the country. the fact that the rebels are now fighting on the streets of the capital is, of course, a major sign of weakness on the part of the regime. >> exactly. the rebels are calling this the liberation of damascus. they appear very emboldened.

is this not prove that they are being supported by outside forces? -- is this not proof? better they are supported by the americans, by the u.s., by qatar, by saudi arabia -- >> they are supported by the americans, by the u.s., by saudi arabia. >> you save the regime does have loyal forces, does have supporters. namely russia, for example. the vote at the u.n. security council has been delayed. it could possibly happen now on thursday. are you expecting any change in that vote because of what has happened in damascus? >> no way. nothing will change in the security council, and even if they did change, the two sides have decided to fight it out.

>> russia has decided to use its veto power? >> yes, it will. even if it did not, the two sides would continue fighting. there is no diplomatic way right now to stop the country from entering a civil war. the only question is -- how long will it take? >> the white house says it now does not know the whereabouts of bashar al assad. what does that tell you? is it possible he has left the country? >> i do not think so. he will remain in the country. he has no place to go. his family has no place to go. he has so many supporters in the country that he american governt simply does not know where he is. the information that the americans and western allies have on the situation on the ground is not very good, and that is frightening. >> we have to leave it there. as always, thank you for coming

in to talk with us. much of the diplomatic efforts in syria have been focused on moscow. russia says it will veto any resolution at the united nations. let's go to our moscow bureau where our correspondent is standing by for us. is there any chance that moscow will change its stance based on the fallout from this attack? >> after today's escalation, moscow seems to remain quite and faced -- and faced -- u nfazed. russia said it will not back any serious resolution against assad because they say it would be supporting the rebels. if it is a revolution, they say the united nations must stay out of it. we have to keep in mind that russia has interests in the

region that go back to soviet times. assad has been a good client of the russian arms industry, and russia has ties to the syrian arms business. it seems to russia above all is flexing its muscles, wanting to show it is a global player that has to be taken seriously. >> can we expect russia to do anything to end the violence in syria? >> the question is what moscow can do at this stage. russia probably could put pressure on assad, but now, where the rebels are fighting for all or nothing, it is unlikely they will go for any sort of compromise. in busy even if there will be peaceful negotiations, it is unlikely they will choose russia as their broker after russian authorities were so long at assad's side -- even if there will be peaceful negotiations.

really, there are no fresh, no new ideas from the kremlin on how to end the violence. >> thank you very much. at least six israelis have been killed in bulgaria after an explosion hit a bus full of tourists. >> the bus was at the black sea airport. more than 30 people were injured, most of them young israelis traveling in a tour group. bulgarian authorities confirmed a bomb caused the explosion. benjamin netanyahu has branded it an iranian terror attack and has promised a tough response. >> official results from libyas election showed a secular alliance has taken first place -- official results from libya's election. >> the national forces allianc won 39 of the 80 seats reserved

for political parties. the muslim brotherhood's justice and construction party came in second with 17 seats. the remaining seats in the 200- member national assembly our reserve for independent candidates. -- are reserved for independent candidates. >> afghan officials said taliban and surgeons were behind an attack that took place in the early hours of wednesday. vehicles were en route from northern afghanistan to deliver supplies to the south. one person was reported injured. >> be aware of neo-nazi copycat crimes -- that is the warning from germany's domestic intelligence service. >> the service published its annual report on wednesday. it is the final report from the president who resigned on embarrassing reports his agency had failed to stop a neo-nazi

terror cell for 10 years. here is more -- >> for years, the nsu got away with murder. the near not a terrorist cell, which targeted foreigners, which -- was never caught, despite being under surveillance at various times. the authorities have had the mistakes. now they want to get things right, especially since the number of potentially violent neo-nazis has risen, as has the number of copycat crimes. >> we cannot rule out the possibility of individuals using these neo-nazi crimes as an example and imitating them. >> the report warns of a real danger from the solophists, who believe a state should be based on ultraconservative islamic law. they attacked the police for the first time in 2012, which suggests that now pose more of a threat. >> we have already banned eight

islamist organizations based on information from our domestic security agency, and the large- scale operation targeting solophists this june would not have been possible without preparatory work by security officials. >> germany's security apparatus made a hash of the neo-nazi case, but the interior minister has stood by it. still, he plans to table a comprehensive reform plan by august, which is expected to include some new faces at the top. >> for more on this story, let's cross over to our political correspondent. the new head of germany's domestic intelligence agency has been named. will he be able to turn things around? >> he is considered an expert in his field. he has been working in the interior ministry for 10 years, the last four with -- of which i and the terror network, so he is an expert in dealing with

terrorism. however, he is facing enormous challenges, and those were very clear from the statements from the outgoing head of the office for the protection of the constitution. he said he was not sure he could trust his associates. we know the incoming head of the office will face enormous challenges. >> very big issue there. should we expect to see a reorganization of germany's domestic intelligence services in the wake of this scandal? >> many are calling for a reorganization of these offices, but there are big conflict between the federal authority and the various state authorities -- there are big conflicts. people in the government say we need to consolidate different state offices dealing with the protection of the constitution, particularly some are saying we

need a more streamlined, more functional system in germany for dealing with anti-terrorism, domestic terrorism particularly, but there are big forces also lining up against it. the german interior ministry seems to be against it. it is not supporting those reforms. we have heard this debate before. we do not know where this debate will go. but the pressure is large. >> as always, thank you very much. germany's highest court has ruled that 130,000 asylum seekers are entitled to more money. >> the decision answers a suit which challenged the current allowance in place since 1934. >> the ruling comes at a sensitive time for eurozone countries, which are slashing social services in order to

lower their budget deficits. >> the decision in favor of asylum seekers and refugees is a slap in the face for politicians. the court found germany's current policy violates human dignity. monthly stipends are too small, and the approximately 130,000 asylum seekers must now be treated the same way as welfare recipients. >> the court finds that monetary payments established under the law clearly do not meet the standards for basic human existence. lawmakers must immediately establish a new policy in line with the constitution. >> the court ruled that in light of a 30% increase in prices since 1993 when the monthly stipend was fixed at 220 euros, the state has failed to meet their needs and ordered a raise to 330 euros, backdated to january 1, 2011. it is a significant extra financial burden on the state at

a time of increasing economic uncertainty. >> we are going to take a break, and when we come back, we will have an in-depth report on life in germany for asylum seekers. >> that is right. stick around.

>> welcome back, everyone. the issue of asylum seekers attracts a lot of media attention not only in germany but also across europe. but what is life really like for people who flee war and conflict and starvation in search of a better life? is it the case, as the constitutional court says, that what they receive fails to respect their human dignity? >> our correspondent that two men from africa who have a lot of dignity but also a lot of problems trying to live under the system here. >> they might live right behind a junkyard, but they are not just passing through.

the asylum seekers have spent years living in the industrial district of the berlin suburb, crammed into the cramped space with women and children and refugees, fleeing the horrors of war in their role lands. more than 400 of them. and as many as five to a room. -- fleeing the horrors of war in their own lands. >> we did not like to expose our privacy. someone not from here, not your family, you have to dress in front of them. you have no dignity, no privacy. >> since 1993, the government has given each asylum seeker a grant of 220 euros a month, a figure that has not changed since then, in spite of the cost of the rise -- in spite of the rise in the cost of living. the budgetary support comes in the form of coupons that can only be redeemed at the more

expensive shops. >> this is the most expensive. we have left our jobs behind. >> this is much cheaper. >> at the checkout, they have to sign for their goods and even showed their identity papers. >> you can imagine the time it takes. people behind me do not scream at the cashier. they scream at me. i really hate to use it. if i have to choose death or this thing, i choose death. i would die. >> they have few rights, have to live in state accommodation, and shop in pre-approved stores and can even go into berlin itself.

the threat of deportation is constant. their lives are in stark contrast to those of their german neighbors. >> we are human like them. we are breathing the same air. we have the same blood. i do not see why they are trying to give us -- or to deny us all those things that they have. >> more money alone would not solve the problems of the asylum seekers, although it might go some way towards making life in a country that tolerates but does not actually welcome them just a bit more bearable. >> nigerian officials are demolishing a large waterfront slump in the economic capital this week, a move that leaves tens of thousands of people homeless. >> the settlement consists of rose ashantis perched on stilts in the lagoon of lagos, one of the world's largest cities with

an estimated population of 50 million -- the settlement consists of rows of shanties perched on stilts. >> where citizens are meant to go instead is unclear. >> this was once a woman's home. using chainsaws and gas burners, authorities have destroyed the slum. authorities say they gave residents 72 hours' notice, but many say they never heard anything. now they are in shock. >> i came back to find the children missing and things thrown in the water. i am still looking for my children. >> the reasoning behind the demolition is unclear. city officials say they want to clean up unsanitary living conditions, but the slum and habitants have nowhere to go, and authorities are providing no answers -- the slump

inhabitants -- the slum inhabitants have nowhere to go. an estimated 100,000 people lived here. tens of thousands of them will soon be homeless. >> eu officials have sharply criticized romania's commitment to democracy. in a report released today, the commission accused the iranian prime minister of abusing the country's constitution and legal system. >> the eu will now extend its monitoring of romania. the country has been under scrutiny since it gained eu membership in 2007. >> romania's government has sparked international outrage for moving to impeach the president and restricting the powers of constitutional courts. the prime minister has agreed to make sacrifices and comply with the report. >> how committed is romania to

eu guidelines, and is there a democracy deficit in europe's east? we asked our correspondent how far behind bucharest really is when it comes to fighting corruption and establishing the rule of law. >> according to the european commission, it is way behind. romania and bulgaria, which joined at the same time, never caught up with the requirements of membership, which is a criticism an embarrassment for the european commission. they allowed these countries, and we are concentrating on romania really, to a joint the eu, knowing they have not achieve full respect for the law, democratic institutions, and fighting corruption -- they allow these countries to join the eu. they thought they could help them by allowing them to improve from the inside. that is an excuse because the political imperative was to make the eu a bigger club. there is a parallel with the eurozone crisis.

some of these countries are not ready to be in the club. people were keen to get members into the eurozone just to solidify the club, and that is what happened with romania and bulgaria. this is the price the commission as having to pay, having to use threats to bring these countries into line. >> all the latest business news still to come. >> first, a look at other stories around the world. >> a ferry with more than 280 passengers on board has capsized off the coast of zanzibar. officials say at least 15 people died when the vessel sank after it left tens india today. preliminary reports suggest the very got into difficulties after it was hit by strong winds. >> prosecutors in hungary say they have arrested an alleged nazi war criminal. the 97-year-old has been accused

of involvement in the deportation of jews during world war ii. >> nelson mandela has been celebrating his 94th birthday. the hero of south africa's anti- apartheid struggle spend a quiet day in his home village. he was imprisoned by the country's's whites-only government for 27 years and became south africa's first black president after his release in 1990 and was rewarded the nobel peace prize three years later. on to business news now. with the london olympics just around the corner, 2012 is a big year for sports, but it is turning out to be a trying year so far for the sportswear industry. >> german giant puma has cut its earnings forecast for 2012. the company says profits fell in the first half of the year due to sluggish sales in europe. they are about 13% lower than

the same time last year. >> to the markets now, share prices in europe made pretty big gains today, at least once the stock exchange in new york opened. >> it was a funny day at the frankfurt exchange and, for that matter, across europe. for a lot of the day, share prices just meandered around back and forth, and there was not really all that much news that would have pushed them either way, but then suddenly, they took off at the same time the wall street set in with its trading. there was no real explanation on either side of the atlantic why that should be the case. no really good news to fuel that. sometimes, there are just days like that. the fact that a lot of investors are still nervous is being shown by lots of money still going into german public bonds. they still have a reputation of being a safe haven in troubled

times. >> let's take a closer look at some of the latest market numbers. the dax closed over 1.5% up. the euro stoxx 50 also closed exactly 1.5% up. the dow jones is currently going up, and the euro is trading at $1.2273. one of the world's most famous race tracks is being forced to close. >> formula one drivers will not be putting the pedal to the battle any more on germany's reign. the state government had already invested hundreds of millions on building an amusement park on the site. >> 16th stage of the tour de france, the crushing mountain

stage, that has already decided this year's champion. >> bradley wiggins is on track for his first crown. >> all right, that is it for now. thanks for watching. >> do not forget -- you can find more on our web site -- website at dw.de. we'll see you soon. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--