>> welcome to "the journal." >> here is a look at what is coming up in the next half hour. the united nations calls for a buffer zone for tens of thousands of syrian refugees fleeing the violence in their country. >> in the u.s., a tropical storm is it revs up to a hurricane as it closes in on the city of new orleans. >> travelers beware -- a lufthansa strike is looming after wage talks for cabin crew failed.

>> the u.n. refugee agency says the pace of syrians and fleeing to camps across the border has picked up as the conflict worsens. >> up to 5000 refugees per day have crossed into turkey over the past two weeks, while the numbers are arriving in jordan has doubled. the united nations children's fund has called for extra aid, half the refugees are often kids. >> the refugee crisis is worsening for turkey. officials there want to set up a buffer zone inside syria to shelter those who are waiting at the border post. meanwhile, tuesday saw no let up of violence across the country. >> this is video says it shows a rebel attack on a military checkpoint in a suburb of damascus. the battle for control of the syrian capital is intense. the assad government has been

using fighter jets against the rebels. there is also heavy fighting in the north. and in the northwest. more and more assyrians are deciding to flee the violence. -- more and more the syrians are deciding to flee the violence. there is a sharp rise of people crossing into turkey, with peaks of 5000 people per day. there are more who cannot make it across. >> there are lots of people on the syrian side. they don't have passports, so they are not allowed to cross. >> from what we saw, there were more than 2000 refugees waiting across the border. we saw people sitting and sleeping on the ground. they had no toilets, water or food. >> turkey is already hosting

around 80,000 refugees and says it can't take many more. it has suggested the u.n. create a safe zone inside syria to protect people from the fighting. >> while the fighting continues at home, a syrian opposition officials are making plans for a post-assad syria. >> have drawn a road map of democratic reforms, drafted in secret over six months by the syrian national council and other opposition groups. >> syrian opposition groups called a product that day after. it is manifesto and road map for syria's future, free from the authority -- the authoritarian rule of bashar al-assad. >> the post-assad transition is not something to be feared, but something to look forward to add something we should anticipate in the hope of building a better syria for ourselves. >> opposition groups have agreed

on the following principles -- the syrian state should remain unified. all syrians should have equal rights, irrespective of religion or ethnicity. syria should be a civil state that respects human rights and is found on the principles of democracy and rule of law. the opposition says the free syrian army will fill a security vacuum left behind after assad's departure and that will prevent extremist groups from seizing power. >> of the civil and democratic states we want to build and syria -- in syria is inclusive of all syrians, without the religious extremism and zealotry. >> the executive committee says the day after program is only a suggested plan for political transition. what form the transition finally takes is a decision for the syrian people.

>> we spoke to a member of the syrian opposition and asked him about the possibility of assad and key members of his regime being granted immunity under a peace deal with how that would affect a democratic transition in syria. >> that is not something the document would address. i don't think community is something i would personally want. what the document does address is a transitional justice. it is the notion that when you have a transitional government and when the regime does collapse, there will be some sort of justice and this will be a justice based all will lot and not people taking matters into their own hands and of seeking revenge. that's what the document would reinforce and support. >> it has been almost seven years to the day that hurricane katrina devastated new orleans.

now, a new storm is brewing, hurricane isaac. >> that storm is bearing down on the u.s. gulf coast. president barack obama took a brief break to warn residents not to tempt fate and follow evacuation orders. >> the mississippi river in new orleans is still called and people are hoping hurricane is it won't inflict too much damage on their city. residents are making preparations, but there is no panic. >> we will probably get some street flooding from the rain and heavy winds. the lights may go out, we are prepared for all of that. i'm not in the mood for leaving. just put it that way. >> that relaxed attitude worries the authorities. president obama says is it should not be underestimated. >> we are dealing with a big storm and there could be

significant flooding and other damage across a large area. now was not time to tempt fate. now is not time to dismiss official warnings. you need to take this seriously. >> is it is currently making its way across the gulf of mexico. it has been upgraded to a hurricane and is expected to hit new orleans overnight as a category two. the city has to brace itself for another big storm exactly seven years after being pummeled by hurricane katrina. memorial events have been canceled. all attention has turned out to isaac. >> republican party leaders will be watching the storm especially closely as it coincides with the national convention. >> republicans are being cautious not to be seen as too celebratory as they come together in tampa, florida. mitt romney arrived on tuesday morning with his wife who is set to give a speech in his support. robbie is due to accept the

republican party's official nomination this thursday. >> it is still the peak summer holiday season in europe and major delays could be in store for germany's biggest airlines. >> talks to resolve a long- running pay dispute cabin crew at lufthansa have broken down. the union has launched an open- ended strike action in the first walk off could come as early as wednesday. >> the union representing lufthansa's cabin crew gave no concrete details about its planned industrial action but said warning strikes could be staged at any time with only a few hours' notice. >> in the medium term, we are preparing an open-ended, nationwide strikes. until then, we're keeping our options open and have temporary strikes at different locations.

>> the walkout could affect hundreds of flights. lufthansa hopes to guarantee long-haul services, but massive disruptions are living for passengers travelling within germany or europe. the dispute has dragged on for 13 months. around 19,000 flight attendants are demanding a 5% pay raise and into temporary contracts. they're opposed to cuts that could result in jobs shifted to a new low-cost airline. all of tons of is not budging. -- lufthansa is not budging. >> in light of the political climate, we wanted to arrive at agreement for possible savings, but the union showed itself unwilling to move in this direction. we would have incurred greater costs if we had given to the demands. >> despite the cost-cutting program, they reported a 20 million euro lost in the first six months of the year, a potentially expensive strike could only add to their

financial rose -- financial blows. >> of lufthansa is the dominant topic of conversation on the german market today. we have this report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> more than 6% shares of lufthansa have lost it last month alone, which is the time during which this strike became more and more imminent. the german stock market in general has gained more than 6% in the same time. quite obviously, not many investors are looking for to the prospect of a nasty fight between managers and staff at lufthansa. the stock market in general this tuesday, a bit reluctant, which also has to do with the fact that there is a lot of activity this week on the bond markets. both spain and italy are tapping the markets for billions of euros of fresh debt this week. >> but take a closer look at some market numbers.

the dax closed over 0.5% down. across the atlantic, the dow a tick. the euro is trading for $1.2562. >> the german foreign ministers as europe is facing a crisis of faith. at a gathering of german ambassadors and diplomats in berlin, he says the image of europe was on probation and newly emerging powers could sideline the european union. he said germany's economic power was a crucial factor in the political influence in the world. the government should do more to help the german exporters that have been hit harder times. earlier, we asked why he thinks the german investors need more help to cope with this crisis. >> when europe is doing poorly,

that germany does poorly as well. we have an interest in keeping our country stable and maintaining the european union as a cohesive community of culture and common destiny. but we will also abide by policies that have budget and policy discipline at the forefront. of course, solidarity is important to us. but we must ensure the countries affected by the debt crisis do their homework and implement reforms that will list some of the crisis. -- lift them out of the crisis. >> a belgian court has ruled that the ex-wife and her accomplice of marc dutroux can leave prison early. this comes despite pleas from

the victims' families and has caused anger. >> michelle martin served part of the prison sentence. he kept the girls a prisoner in a basement sexually abused them. she was found guilty of plotting to of the girl starved to death while he was in jail. >> michelle martin is one of belgium's most notorious prisoners and many are horrified at the thought of releasing her from prison. she served only 16 years of the 30 year sentence for helping her ex-husband with his crimes. >> it seems to me there has been no justice for the victims. >> i cannot forgive her. >> i find it really hard. even a 30-year prison sentence doesn't seem like much for a crime like this. >> but belgium's highest court ruled it differently. it says she can be released from prison on the condition she moves into a convent. she will soon be leaving her prison cell, free to come and go

from the convent as she pleases. she'll have to stick to a rehabilitation plan and has to keep away from the families of the victims. it is a bitter pill to swallow for the victims' families, like this man, his eight year-old daughter starved to death in her basement. >> we still don't know the truth of what happened in july 1995. we don't know what happened to the girls. >> the fight continues and he says he will appeal the release to the court of human rights. >> the supreme court in brazil has given the go-ahead for work to resume on a controversial dam in the amazon. onstruction was halted after protests by indigenous groups. >> once completed, it would be the third biggest them in the world, producing 11,000 megawatts of electricity. but it would also displays thousands of people and flood of

thousands of acres. conservationists warned of damage to the amazon ecosystem. >> we have more for you after this short break. >> you decide what you want to watch. all the images, all the programs, the whole package. dw on the internet. the media center. >> her mother is hiv-positive. he was infected at birth. she probably won't live to the age of five.

the program aims to prevent the mother to child transmission of hiv. the germinates foundation is supporting the project in mozambique. give a baby a future. make a donation. save a life. >> welcome back. in germany, the chancellery is holding a summit on the nation's energy needs. >> politicians, leading business representatives, and trade unions are gathered together facing a tall order -- the governor -- the government wants to phase out nuclear power in the next decade. >> the summit at the chancellor's office is to talk about the true cost of germany's transition to clean energy. the government has heavily subsidized investment in wind and solar power. but heading into the summit, the environment minister warned that the rising cost of electricity could jeopardize the move to renewable. >> i have always said we cannot

let electricity become a luxury good. we have to keep prices affordable. >> he admitted that wind and solar energy are not the only culprits. price surges in fossil fuels are also to blame. the opposition green party accuses the government of trying to wind back the energy transition by rehabilitating coal and nuclear power. >> the center-right coalition has decided to represent the interests of four major energy firms in parliament. we have decided to represent the interests of the 82 million people who live in this country. and their interests in a successful energy transition. >> most germans support a shift to clean energy and the cost of electricity has not changed that sentiment. >> for more on this, let's bring in our correspondent who is standing by for us at our parliamentary studios. admittedly, the energy grid is going to have to change in order

to get energy produced in the northern windfarms down to the industrial south. but germany is a fairly small country. why is it so hard to put the necessary infrastructure in place? >> you would wonder and you would wonder why we are suddenly not talking about the costs associated with this move. the fact is germans took this decision to shift out of nuclear and fossil fuels into rubles in the throes of a very emotional reaction to the fukushima crisis in japan and perhaps costs were not uppermost in their minds. while many may support the transition in a general way, that doesn't mean today want new power lines and -- doesn't mean they want new power lines and windmills and their backyards, so there are lots of planting delays and political issues associated with changing the energy grid in order to get power distributed from a renewable sources in the north

to the south. the fact is, politicians were cagey about what would be in store in terms of energy price rises. that's only becoming clear now as providers realize what kind of infrastructure investments are in store and look at how much of the cost they're going to be able to pass on to consumers. a whole range of political and economic obstacles here and that is why the government has called this summit to try to talk about these issues with the providers and the industry. >> back to you in a minute, but first, the critics have also been on the government's case over its support for a biofuel introduced recently made from crops and sounds like a green way of producing petrol, but it has activist up in arms at a time of food shortages and other parts of the world and rising prices.

>> do plants belong on the dinner plate or in the gas tank? should farmers raise crops to produce fuel while millions of people in the world go hungry? the german advisory minister supports the use of mixing gasoline and plant feels, but the german development minister says farming technology can't provide energy security and a secure food supply. >> we should stop producing the fuel until we can separate the and breach of the edible part from the inevitable part which would produce energy. >> to satisfy the german demand for biofuel, farmers planted an increasing number of field with field crops. e-10 gasoline has been good for german farmers' profits. they like to set up. >> we can do both, philip people's plates and gas tanks. we support keeping the fuel

blending quota. that is our clear position. >> but what works for germany is creating problems elsewhere. the u.s. is suffering a drought and diverting the corn for biofuels making things worse. but experts say it's premature to take by a few of the germany. >> i would be careful about saying we could fight world hunger by ending got -- by ending biofuel. everything that makes hunter worst must be on the agenda, including biofuel and e-10 gasoline. >> many factors are driving higher food prices, including commodity speculation and a growing demand for meat. in any case, experts say by appeal will not solve the world's energy problems. >> we are not going to solve the growing global demand for energy with oil, gas or energy from biomass alone. we have >> biofuel doesn't seem

to be convincing many climate change experts. they say to satisfy energy needs, and germany will have to continue to develop renewable energy. >> for more, let's head back to our correspondents. does it by a fuel still have a future in germany? there has been disagreement among the ministers and its launch last year was controversial. >> e-10's future is looking uncertain. the minister has received support from surprising corridors for his call for the suspension of the production and sale of e-10. several members of the green party signing onto is a petition and up to 90% of germans say there are convinced of e-10's merits.

the industry says this is all purely symbolic and the problems of food speculation and not biofuels. but that has not convinced a lot of germans. they say the plate trumps the tank and they would rather see scarce grains going to feeding the hungry. >> thank you very much. >> many people worked hard all their lives and look forward to travel and easy life once they reach their golden years. >> but according to recent statistics, many people are putting of retirement and continuing to work into a ripe old age. >> for some, the autumn years can make your feet life of rest and relaxation. but for others, it's a tough reality. in reality, more and more people are going back to work long after have officially retired. at the turn of the millennium,

about 480,000 germans that the retirement age of 65 were doing part-time work of art of to 400 euros a month. last year, that ballooned to 761,000. another 154,000 seniors are earning even more, enough to be paying the social security contributions. that is twice as many as in the year 2000. experts are still debating the reasons for the increase. welfare organizations say creeping poverty among the elderly is forcing them into the workforce. but the german labor ministry says many people are simply not ready to retire at 65, especially if they are highly qualified. and most of them are not motivated by the need for extra cash. >> in a moment, new piece of -- a >> to attacks in the russian republic of dagestan have killed 14 people, including the region's spiritual leader.

a suicide bomber broken to his house and blew herself up. >> a french court has opened a murder inquiry into the deaths of yasser arafat. his widow asked the court to open the inquiry. she believes her husband may have been poisoned by radioactive element. the former palestinian president died eight years ago in paris. >> egyptian president is in china for top-level talks. he was met at the airport by the chinese president. he is seeking to increase chinese and best but and that is looking for economic growth in egypt. he is scheduled to visit the united states next month. >> the rebels in colombia have not waged war for nearly half a century. >> in recent years, they have been losing their strength and is increasingly on the defensive. >> now the government says that scheduled peace talks with the rebels. >> at the fork in colombia has

been fighting to overthrow the government for years. iraq in the interest of the poor and downtrodden, but many countries column a terrorist organization due to their history of cocaine dealing, kidnapping and extortion. still, the president of columbia has announced he wants to reopen negotiations with them. >> exploratory talks have begun to try to seek an end to the conflict. >> the last attempt at peace talks failed. in the 1980's, the colombian government ceded the territory. they used the land for military preparations. >> first, we are going to learn from the mistakes made in the past so they are not repeated. second, and the process must lead to the head of the

conflict, not its prolongation. third, military operations and presence will continue on every centimeter of national territory. >> those operations, backed by the u.s., reduced the number of guerrillas fiat but analysts say there are still around 9000 fighters. their fate will be one of the topics on the table when peace negotiations begin in october. >> with that, we wrap up will be the journal." >> you can find more on our web site.