>> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw. i am sabrina el ahl in berlin. >> and i am steve chaid, and these are the headlines for you at this hour. syrian rebels claimed the assad regime is losing control of the country. >> the german city of hamburg signs a contract with muslim groups to guarantee their rights. >> and while the german economy is still growing, the growth is slowing at an alarming rate. >> welcome.

the syrian government is collapsing, morally, financially, and militarily. those are the words of the former syrian prime minister who defected to jordan last week. >> in syria, fighting has intensified in two main cities, damascus and aleppo, after rebels claimed they gunned down a government jet and captured the private. the attack is said to have occurred in one of the more remote areas under complete rebel control. >> in aleppo, the battle for dominance and the truth continues. this unconfirmed footage claims to show a rebel fighter who says he and his comrades have pushed assad's troops out of all 0h's old town. he says they took out two regime tanks and killed 40 soldiers the day before. there is no way of verifying the claim, even if the former syrian prime minister, speaking in exile in jordan, also says the rebels have the upper hand.

>> i assure you from my experience and the position i used to fill that the regime is collapsing, psychologically, financially, economically, with the cracks in its military power. it is only in control of 30% of syrian land. >> the syrian government disagrees. these images, reportedly from rustan, shows the full force of the military offensive, and the violence is displacing more serious. the u.n. says it is looking at ways to step up its humanitarian efforts. >> we have a situation where there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis. three months ago, we thought that there were about 1 million people who were in need of assistance. we are having to revise the number to about 2.5 million. >> the u.n. says over 150,000

people have fled to iraq, lebanon, turkey, and jordan where refugee camps are growing by the day. >> in jordan, the german development minister has visited one of the camps. he announced a sharp increase in relief for syrian refugees and pledged 20 million euros in aid. >> we have this report from the turkish-syrian border on a wounded syrians who have been getting medical attention from the group of international physicians. >> traveling along the turkish- syrian border in the direction as aleppo. it is not tinges, these men tell me. three are members of the international relief organization wings of health, and the driver is from a turkish aid organization. the border is closed, but the driver gets out. still, there is no way to cross here. but surprisingly enough, there are spots where the border is wide open and where many cross and night. next, he takes us into a private

home on the turkish side. it is a hiding place for we did syrians, brought here by people like them. they are smuggled over the border in the dead of night. many have been operated on and are slowly recovering. some have been seriously injured, like this man. he was hit by five bullets and several pieces of shrapnel. he tells us he got caught in the midst of an attack by the syrian army. one of his brothers died, while the other and his father are in prison. he says he is a farmer, not a rebel, and that is important, he adds. but there's no way of verifying what he says. despite his wounds, he is not doing badly. but others are in need of immediate medical treatment. this is a doctor for wings of health. >> the wound is festering. we have to do something. we will talk to the pharmacist

here. >> the into a riot six come quickly. they will likely save the man's life. they have also brought emergency aid, water, and food supplies. here in this turkish town, some 400 wounded soldiers are hidden away in homes, receiving treatment from turkish aid organizations. >> i think everyone who has been here has seen something that needs to be continued, to give these people a chance. we will do it, but we will have to prepare ourselves differently. we know more now. >> germany has provided the turkish red crescent with 41 tons of humanitarian aid supplies to be distributed in refugee camps that line the syrian border. meanwhile, many will continue to cross the border as long as they can. >> syria is also facing pressure from fellow muslim nations that could be suspended from the

organization of islamic court in nation at a meeting currently under way in mecca. >> the host, saudi arabia, even invited its archrival iran, syria's closest ally, to take part in the talks. ahead of the summit, foreign ministers met in deraa and voted to recommend suspending syria from syriaioc. it is a two-day conference. and we will be taking a closer look at the strategic rivalry between iran and saudi arabia later in this "journal." >> afghanistan has been hit by one of the worst days of violence this year. officials are blaming the taliban for a series of attacks mainly targeting civilians preparing to celebrate the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan. "the worst incident of the three suicide bombers killed 30 -- 36 people at a market. hours later, a bomb at a market in kunduz killed 10.

and the district governor and four security personnel were killed in an ambush in the northeast of the country. tunisians have been out in the streets protesting what they say our efforts to turn back more than half a century of progress and the clock -- in equality and women's rights. >> the islamist-led government is pushing for constitutional changes that would degrade women's status in one of the arab world's most liberal nations. sell-off as hardliners in parliament when the government to go even further and impose sharia law -- salafist hardliners in parliament want the government to go further. >> demanding equal rights. they are afraid the draft constitution could turn back the clock for women. a landmark 1956 law granted women full equality in tunisia, but the governing islamist party want to replace its.

women fear their status will be degraded. >> our goal is to make it clear, women did not just complement men. they are independent and equal. we are hard-working citizens, and we will never accept being referred to as mayor lee complementary to men. >> -- complementary to men. >> after the revolution, everything is moving in tunisia, and we have many new political movements that were not here before. those movements threatening women's rights. so now we're here to defend them. >> some men also joined the demonstration. during their march through the capital, protesters called on the government to focus instead on more pressing problems like unemployment and regional development. >> well, with its growing islamic population, the northern german city of hamburg has

hammered out an agreement with muslim groups that is designed to promote integration. >> at the center of the agreement promoting respect for women, and in return, city a third is the promise to take into account the needs of hamburg's growing number of muslims. >> the call to break the fast. hamburg officials celebrate ramadan for representatives of one of germany's largest organizations. but there is another reason to celebrate. the major reached a historic accord with the muslim groups. >> i am happy that we have finally come to an agreement that defines how the city will get along with the muslim community. the agreement lets us officially recognize islam as a religion that is part of our local society. >> the agreement gives muslim workers and students the right to take time off on islamic holidays in gives muslim groups a say in religious education in hamburg schools.

in exchange, muslim organizations pledged to uphold the german constitution and respect women's rights. the accord is the first of its kind and a major step to incorporating muslims with germany's christian and jewish corporation -- groups. >> they always have to explain how their beliefs fit in with german culture. i think this agreement will be a step towards reducing that a little and incorporating is, in the german identity. islam is becoming a part of germany. >> both sides admit the agreement is largely symbolic, but many german muslims have welcomed the accord as a milestone into cultural relations. >> in a moment, we will be looking at how germany's economy keeps defying the eurozone debt crisis. >> but first, here is a look at some of the other stories making the news. the city in northern france has been cleaning up today r today youthiots overnight caused considerable destruction --

cleaning up today after youth riots caused considerable destruction. the president said the government mode -- the government would mobilize resources to combat the violence. >> in turkey, police and kurdish protesters have clashed during demonstrations in the southeast of the country. these couples came a day before kurdish rebels marked the anniversary of the start of their armed struggle for autonomy. since 1984, the conflict has claimed some 40,000 lives. >> and scientists in japan have found what they're calling severe abnormalities in butterflies collected near the fukushima nuclear power plant. the mutant insects that damage ties as well as abnormal legs and wings when compared to samples not exposed to radiation. scientists have warned that it could be decades before the contaminated area is again safe for humans to live in. well, germany has been defying

the economic problems gripping most eurozone economies, but signs are mounting that europe's largest economy is now also headed for a slow down. >> new quarterly numbers out today showed german growth slowing. neighboring france, looks like it might have avoided a recession in the second quarter. elsewhere, the picture remains grim with unemployment in portugal hitting a record 15%. >> those kinds of indicators are threatening germany's export- driven economy. >> the world still wants it made in germany label on many products. germany remains in the top league of exporting nations. munich's institute says the trade this year stands to be the biggest in the world, but german companies are starting to feel the global slowdown. german gross domestic product had contracted 94 quarter 2011, but in the first quarter of 2012, it recovered to grow by 0.5%. that has now weakened.

in france, the picture is somewhat beleaguered. although it was still growing slightly in the last quarter of last year, french gdp has stagnated ever since. french consumers are not spending their money. now some economists say france could even slide into recession. economies in the whole of the eurozone are being dragged down by the ongoing debt crisis of its southern european members. hopes are that the tide might turn by the year's end. in 2013, the entire your son to be able to get out of this recession and recover. -- the eurozone should be able to get out of this recession. others are predicting the german economy will even see growth of more than 1% next year. >> while the economic data in europe is certainly nothing to cheer about, it was not actually as bad as expected.

that prompted investors to buy on it tuesday. here is the summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the turn of -- the german economy is still performing very well in the eurozone. that is no small feat because of the sovereign debt crisis. that was positive news for the equity market here. the dax reached 6995. not quite 7000 points. but traders are quite sure that with fundamental data like this as the basis the dax can climb over 7000 points sometime in the near future. still, there is some doubt that germany can escape the downward tension that is created by the sovereign debt crisis in the near future. the euro was also stimulated briefly but then came back because of a stronger than expected u.s. economic data. >> that was from frankfurt. >> coming up, the organization of islamic corporation is holding a summit on syria.

we will bring you that story. >> in german athletes return home from the olympics. more after a short break. stay with us.

>> thanks for staying with us. >> the organization of islamic cooperation has been meeting today at a summit in mecca, and syria has been topping the agenda. it includes 57 member states and represents more than 1 billion muslims across the world. it is discussing a saudi proposal to suspend or even ban damascus from the organization. >> the pressure on syria comes as no surprise, but what is surprising is iran's attendance at the conference. tehran has repeatedly rejected moves to expel syria. >> for practicing muslims, the

pilgrimage to mecca, the holy city, is a religious duty. saudi arabia, where mecca is located, is also the wealthiest country in the region and a heavyweight in the arab world. the oil-rich nation sees itself as a protector of sunni islam. iran, a shiite stronghold, has long been saudi arabia's fiercest rival in the region. tehran and riyadh are both struggling to gain an upper hand. their conflicting interests have taken center stage in syria. the shia crescent describes the influence on the middle east. i have circled that reaches from iran and iraq from syria and into lebanon. >> iran does not want to see this shiite access destroyed. syria is iran's most of for the arab world. so to iran does not want a change in government there. >> saudi arabia and qatar are supplying the syrian rebels with money and weapons and cooperating with turkey and the united states.

washington, too, has repeatedly called for assad to resign, a step that would be a major blow to iran. >> the west and its allies are hoping that a new regime will take over in this area that promotes pro-western policies and alliance itself more with saudi arabia. but russia and china does not want to do the west a favor by giving up on bashar assad and watching syria go to the west, so to speak. >> the intense saudi arabia and rivalry makes mahmoud ahmadinejad's visit to the summit in mecca especially surprising. >> the u.s. and israel are heading down a road that could end in war with a view towards iran. saudi arabia wants to distance itself from that event, and that is why it invited iran to the summit. and iran's leadership was happy to accept to ease the tension in

the region a little. "but despite appearances, the saudi king and president ahmadinejad are still stark foes, not friends, and the battle lines in syria have been drawn. >> wildfires that have raged for more than a week on one of spain's canary islands have eased that the winds changed direction on tuesday. the blaze on the island forest 5000 from their homes and ravaged more than 4,000 hector's of land, including part of a rare nature reserve. >> regional officials say that the evacuees are starting to return to their villages, but some of them have been confronted with a heartbreaking site. >> residents are picking up the pieces after a week of wildfires. emotions are running high as many discover that the fires left a little behind. >> someone should have stopped this. what is happening here is negligent. many of us have been affected. the only thing i wished for when

my house burned down was for my son to be safe because he stayed to fight the fire. >> on tuesday night, the fires were still raging on the island. it has been turned into a tinderbox by a dry winter and a scorching lee hot summer. >> the wind changed directions and the police took all the people to the capital. many people were running frightened. we were very nervous because the flames were coming nearer. >> many have taken refuge in makeshift shelters in schools and public buildings, but there is some good news. there is an expected drop in temperatures that will help firefighting efforts, but it will still be several days before the fires are completely under control. >> london has already passed on to the olympic baton to its

successor. the olympic flag has touched down in rio de janeiro, the host city of the 2016 games. the arrival of the flag marked the official start of four years of preparations ahead of the opening ceremony there. >> well, germany's athletes will be hoping to do better in rio. they did not quite live up to expectations in london, finishing sixth in the final medal count. still, 44 athletes are heading home with their well-earned medals. >> some cars are too small for freshly baked olympic champions. germany's athletes here are celebrating their beach volleyball victory in cologne. partial credit goes to germany's sports' sponsorship that gives each athlete's about 1500 euros monthly, but that does not cover all costs. >> it is very important to us had to have the additional support of private sponsors.

that lets us put the sport for us. it gives us the freedom to will their training camps in locations we believe our best, and we do not have to back out to financial restrictions. -- do not have to bow to financial restrictions. >> and now, their training hard for the 2016 games. if martina makes the great, it will not be down to financial support. she receives 400 euros a month. >> we do not get nearly as much as a beach volleyball player, but the federation pitches in to make sure we can pay for our troubles. we usually have to pay part of it ourselves, and we have to choose which training camps we attend. >> a look at the medals table is revealing. in 1992, a british athletes won 20 of your to 82 for germany. but in 2012, the brits were

ahead. not surprising since britain has invested much more money in its athletes. the german sports clubs are also having deval the finding young talent in the grade school age bracket -- having difficulty finding young talent. >> the demand on school aged children have grown immensely. that is making it all the more difficult to find kids who will commit to such a high level of training. >> but, according to germany's olympic sports confederation, money alone is not the answer. sports clubs also need to do more. >> sports clubs need to go to the schools. offer activities and try to work together with the schools. that will lead them scout boys and girls to see whether there are talented ones that they can support. >> where will germany's next demint -- next generation gold medalists come from? a new concept has yet to be

developed. >> and looking ahead, brazil will certainly be on the global stage in the coming years. the country will be staging and not only the next olympics but also the 2014 soccer world cup. >> the president of brazil has upped the ante, brazil will do a better job than london. here is a closer look at rio de janeiro's olympic plans. >> baja beach is a kite-surfers paradise. this is the champion in kite- surfing. she trains here every day and has been added since she was 9 years old. her goal is to become the first woman to win olympic gold in kite-surfing, which will have its premiere at the rio games. >> this is the widest part of the bijan is perfect for assembling and kites. we had winds, waves, everything

we need. we have been truly blessed by nature. >> most other venues still have to be built, like the 750,000 square meter olympic village complete with an amusement park for the athletes. all the news, say organizers, will be within 15 minutes of the olympic village. for rio, this means serious investment in infrastructure. a new freeway is being built through the middle of the city. new tunnels and cable cars for the tourists. whole neighborhoods are being torn down and rebuild. rio is also aiming to raise the bar in respect to sustainability, claiming there's will be the first co2-neutral games. an initial symbolically move as the city's new sustainability- focused museum of tomorrow. >> for us, it is important the city draw long-term benefits from the olympics. we do not just want to tear down and rebuild. we would much rather use and develop what we already have.

>> a prime example, rio's legendary soccer stadium which is slated to host the opening ceremony and the soccer matches. it seats nearly 80,000, and the olympic committee wants to see it sold out. >> we know how to organize large evens for big crowds. our last rock festival attracted over 200,000 spectators. that will set apart from london. >> average ticket prices will be 30 euros. rio wanted to be a huge celebration. she hopes to do her part by securing dold for a result of for the next four years, her days will be devoted to wind, waves, surfing, surfing, and more surfing. >> back in europe, the belgian capital just got a big splash of color. brussels may be better known for its chocolate -- >> but every two years, the city welcomes what may be the work -- the world's biggest flower

carpet. this year's was modeled on patterns from around the african continent. normally, it is made up entirely of begonias. the lack of sunshine in belgium this summer man bringing in some dahlias from the netherlands. >> still looked incredible. >> definitely. >> do begonias smell nice? they look like they do. >> i am sure they do. if you want to find out more on all our stores, you can check out our website. that is dw.de. >> thanks for watching. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--