>> welcome to the "journal" live from berlin. >> coming up in this half-hour, barack obama goes on the offensive in his last live debate with challenger mitt romney. >> the german government pledges financial support for mali's embattled government but says it will send no combat troops. >> the plight of syria's refugees worsens, and the eu calls on countries to work

harder to resolve the crisis. >> the u.s. election campaign is gathering momentum in its final two weeks. u.s. president barack obama and his republican challenger mitt romney have had their final tv debate. >> they sparred over foreign policy where the president is perceived to have a clear evanish, but with the economy on the minds of most -- most voters, the candidates repeatedly reverted to domestic policy to win support. >> with two weeks until the election, the last debate between u.s. president barack obama and challenger mitt romney is dominating the news cycle. the topic was foreign policy, and viewer polls showed romney struggled to distance himself from the president. >> romney has pretty much to

reach his breaking point. he has no argument anymore, and he never answers questions straight up. >> i thought last night, it showed that both romney and obama are pretty much in sync with foreign policy. >> with a race that is still too close to call, both candidates refused to give ground. president obama highlighted his track record leading the u.s. abroad and said mitt romney lacks experience and has an out of date view of the world. >> the cold war has been over for 20 years, but, governor, when it comes to foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980's, just like the social policies of the 1950's and the economic policies of the 1920's. >> the romney appeared less aggressive than in previous debates, and there was no sign of his earlier saber rattling. the challenger even had praise for the president. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership of al

qaeda, but we cannot kill our way out of this mess. >> he also found room to criticize obama, especially when he claimed that the u.s. navy had fewer ships that in 1917. obama, for his part, was quick to counter. >> well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. we have these things called aircraft carriers with planes land on them. >> most viewers surveyed see obama as the clear winner, but polls across the nation showed a neck-and-neck race as the campaign begins its final two weeks. >> we will be visiting the battleground state of virginia to get some grass-roots opinions later in this program, so stay tuned for that. the ruler of the gulf state of qatar has made an historic visit to gaza. he is the first head of state to visit the territory since thomas took control five years ago. he pledged $400 million for

building projects and called for palestinian unity. >> he was greeted by the prime minister, and hamas says the visit in said diplomatic isolation. several construction and infrastructure projects and said he would increase aid to the territory. >> germany says it may provide assistance to the north african state of mali against islamist rebels. >> but berlin says it will not include military help. al qaeda linked islamists have occupied mali's north for the past several months and impose brutal regimes. the central government is hoping for support from abroad. >> what that help but look like was the subject of talks in berlin between the u.s. special representative to the region and germany's foreign minister. >> armed islamists have ruled northern mali since they seized

control of the area in march. all attempts by government troops to oust them have failed. the applications have failed at the german foreign minister and united nations special foreign minister to the area -- if islamists succeed in making northern mali a safe haven for terrorists, europe will be at risk. >> in europe, we should keep in mind that from northern mali, you only have to cross one border in your on the mediterranean. >> he said germany would support a peace transition, but he ruled out military intervention. he said responsibility for stabilizing the region lay with mali's neighbors, but united nations special representatives warned against relying on a military solution. >> we should prepare ourselves for the possibility of intervention, but at the same time, we should do everything

possible politically and ethically to avoid that situation. >> despite the seriousness of the crisis, he said he believed there was great willingness in the region to see mali reunited. >> the european court of justice has ruled that airlines must pay airline passenger compensation if flights are delayed for more than three hours. >> the ruling confirms a 2010 decision, which allows passengers to claim up to 600 euros in such cases. several airlines challenged that ruling and refused to pay claims and could now face hefty compensation bills. >> german automaker bmw says it plans to invest 200 million euros in a new factory in brazil. >> the company wants a stronger presence in the fast-growing latin-american market. the factory will be located in the south of brazil and is expected to start production in 2014 and make around 30,000 vehicles per year.

the facility promises to create valuable new jobs in the region, but the brazilian government still has to approve the plan. >> the european commission has given its backing to a financial transactions tax proposed by 10 nations, including germany and france. >> the new tax is aimed at generating billions in new revenue by imposing a tiny feet on the trading of stocks and bonds. 10 countries decided to go ahead with the plan on their own after britain and sweden blocked calls for a new tax. london in particular fear of losses for its finance industry. the spanish prime minister has softened his stance on fiscal policy, saying there is a case for easing budget deficit targets set by the eu as the deficit undermines tax revenue and overall performance. spain's economy contracted for the fifth quarter in a row

between july and october. >> the spanish economy, which is the eurozone's fourth largest, shrank 5.4% in the third quarter appeared to lift the country of the prolonged recession, finance minister say further spending cuts and a stern measures will be necessary, but an increasing number of spanish say they want a new approach, one more focused on growth. >> the spanish parliament continues to struggle to get its soaring public deficit under control. with the recession getting worse and tax revenues falling, the finance minister wants to drastically cut spending next year. >> we have to save more if we want to get out of this crisis. if we do not curb public spending, we will not beat this recession. >> thousands of students, parents, teachers in demonstrations throughout spain said they have heard enough talk about spending cuts. the government's austerity measures are losing support among the spanish people. also, analysts are saying simply

cutting the budget is not enough. >> to gain the trust of international investors, we need to have an effective economic policy. that is more important than the budget or growth numbers. spain's troubles also sent shares on the madrid stock exchange downwards, but the government was able to raise 3.5 billion euros in short-term bond auction, paying slightly lower interest rates on six-month bonds. >> more trouble for the european bailout fund. an independent member of the irish -- and as parliament has reached the end of the court justice. >> the highest court is weighing claims that the esm violates the law and should be banned in its current form. >> all 27 judges sitting on the european court of justice took part in a hearing, underscoring the case poses significance.

ayer's judges asked the court to rule on the esm after an mp claimed it violated international law. >> it is a way of making banking debt public debt. >> the european stability mechanism went into effect earlier this month. the political fallout would be huge if the european judges were to rule it illegal. the court's decision is binding. an irish play to says it violates basic eu principles. -- the eu plaintiff says it violates basic principles. revenue member state can resume the responsibility or liability of any other member state. >> experts are divided over whether those provisions apply to the bailout fund. it is unclear if it also covers voluntary aid payments within the currency union. the court will hear arguments from 10 eurozone countries including germany and from eu

institutions. a ruling is expected by the end of the year. >> on tuesday's market action. let's take a look at the number is kicking off in frankfurt where the dax -- it finished the tuesday session down by more than 2%, taking quite a beating there, done at 7000 -- taking quite a beating there. across the atlantic on wall street, the dow is currently down by 1.6%. the euro trading lower against the dollar at a value of $ 1.2976. we have this report of the tuesday trading session from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> not a good week so far. it has only been in one direction -- downwards. the positives accumulated in the before is more than used up. when you look at the dax individually, not a single shares in the green zone.

they are all in the red zone. the problem is from the companies themselves. not the german companies, but for the americans, companies that have reported so far in the past quarter have either reported in a mixed way, or they have out right disappointed, and that is a problem because now people are nervous. before the numbers are not true, the people here will be waiting. >> the german engineering industry has weathered the euro crisis remarkably well. the forecast coming out of this year's engineering summit remains sunny. the industry's expected to grow by 2% in 2012 and 2013. a member of the german engineering federation says he does not fear a recession. german companies have added more than 30,000 engineers to their

payrolls. the german historical museum in berlin is marking its 25th anniversary. it defines itself as a place of enlightenment and understanding. >> from the classical antiquity to german reunification, the museum has it all. >> the story of the german historical museum had a place in the german capital is mirrored in the interplay of the modern and historical facades. the idea for the museum came from west germany two years before the fall of the wall intending it for the western part of the then-divided city. for them there was no building, no collection, and a precedent for it. but there was the political will to create something new -- a german national history museum that was modern with a european orientation.

today, the museum occupies berlin's old broke armory, which reopened in 2003 after being completely restored and gaining a modern engines y -- entrants -- entrance. the idea is to present new perspectives. >> we are history, and what we make is history and stories. like the stories of everyday life in east germany. in a photo exhibition shown on the 50th anniversary of the building of the berlin wall. learning from history with a view to the future is the museum's mission. >> in fact, it is a sign of a modern and self combination that can portray events from different perspectives. these new viewpoints enable us to gain new understanding. >> at its inception, the idea

of a national disputed project, a 25 years on, the german historical museum has become a model for other national museums. >> do not go anywhere. we will be back right after the break, taking a look at what the american elections have in store for us over the next two weeks. >> all that and more. stay with us.

>> welcome back. the u.s. election is now in its final weeks. as we mentioned earlier, the two presidential candidates had their third and final tv debate. >> now, attention is back on the voters. president barack obama has released his final tv advertisement to try to win support for his second term as president. much will be depending on what happens in the swing states. >> our washington chief correspondent went to the state of virginia where he first countered supporters of republican mitt romney.

>> the u.s. state of virginia -- conservative, patriotic, and christian. those are the values out here in the countryside, and those are wayne campbell's values. father of five runs a horse farm in the heart of the state. he says he is voting for mitt romney. >> i think he is the guy that can run the country. he understands cash flow. he understands, you know, the bottom line, the kind of thing we need in this country. he understands you did not spend more than you have. >> the 66-year-old is unhappy with the obama administration. he says there's too much regulation, the new health care reforms are too bureaucratic, and the tax system is too complicated. >> they do not understand how the day to day operations are. they do not understand here on the farm that, you know, the

fuel at $4 a gallon mix it where it is not really profitable for me to cut hay and put it in the barn. >> just like wayne campbell, most people out in the countryside will vote for romney, but in the cities, it is a different story. we drove to the state capitol, richmond, to meet a 37-year-old who works for the government as an environmental expert. he and his neighbors will vote for obama as they did four years ago. >> obama has done what he said he is going to do. he ended the war in iraq. obama passed the stimulus. we need a president who cares about all people. >> people in the city vote democrat. obama can rely on the votes of and african-americans and hispanics here. these two voting blocs make up 1/3 of va's population.

>> four years ago, it was historical, in historical movement, but this election is more geared toward how we are going to take this country and move it forward, and we are going in the right direction. >> the democrats' campaign headquarters in richmond is doing all it can. people hope obama can win in virginia again with the same thing to 3% majority. argument -- the unemployment rate in virginia at 5.9% is far below the national average. we spoke with kim gray, who works on the local school board. four of her seven children in college. >> we see firsthand what the government can do to turn people's lives around. i am a mother of four college students. without a pell grant and opportunities for financial aid, my children would not have the opportunity for higher education. >> in many respects, virginia is a microcosm of the u.s. -- a state split into conservative

rural areas and liberal urban ones, and the polls here are all pointing to a close race. >> german and afghan special forces have captured a high- level taliban commander in afghanistan. >> was seized in the north of the country. he is alleged to have been responsible for the hijacking of two nato oil tankers in 2009 as well as the deaths of three german soldiers in 2010. nato later bombed the tankers, killing more than 100 people. dw-tv's political correspondent gave us this update. >> he was captured on friday in a joint operation lasting three hours involving afghan special forces and german special forces. he had been on the isaf most wanted list for quite some time. the official name of the list is the joint prioritized effect

list, and it is made above names of insurgents and terrorists that the coalition forces in afghanistan want to see captured or killed as part of their target killing operations in afghanistan, so he is clearly viewed as a serious threat and a big fish. this is indeed a big catch. apart from being blamed in the -- for being involved in the operations we mentioned, he has a considerable track record as a bomb-builder and bomb maker for the taliban and as a logistics manager. he is also the person who ordered taliban suicide bombers to disguise themselves as women by dressing up in purpose -- in burqas. the latest we heard is that he has been handed over to afghan authorities. whether you now stand trial remains an open question. >> in a moment, we will have an interview with the european commissioner for international cooperation on the refugee crisis in syria.

>> police in taiwan have arrested a man in connection with a fire at a nursing home in the south of the country. at least 12 elderly patients were killed in the blaze. another 60 injured. authorities say the suspect has confessed to starting the fire. >> at least six people have been killed and many more wounded in several car bomb explosions in the iraqi capital baghdad. the blasts are the latest in a string of attacks against predominantly shiite neighborhoods, coming ahead of friday's holiday. turkish media says artillery shells fired from syria had a health center some 200 meters from the border. no one was hurt. the situation remains tense, though, along turki's border with syria after a deadly incident earlier this month followed by turkish retaliation -- along turkey's border with syria.

>> catherine ashton says she is concerned about the stability of lebanon following the assassination of the country's intelligence chief last week. >> she condemns the killings after talks in beirut with the lebanese prime minister. she also said she thought unnamed people were causing problems in lebanon to try to divert attention from the situation in syria. syrian refugees on lebanon's border were also discussed. lebanon has asked the eu to help with shelter to displace -- asked the eu for help to sell to those displaced by the violence. we spoke with the commissioner for international cooperation and humanitarian aid and asked her first to describe the situation. >> the number of refugees, unfortunately, continues to grow. registered refugees of a 335,000 people, and of course, there's a huge number of on registered

refugees because of the instability in lebanon over the last days. we see a bit of even a reversal of this flow to lebanon. but no doubt -- no doubt -- the increase of refugees will continue because inside syria, there is no such thing as safe haven. fighting makes delivery of aid difficult, although i must stress, we have gained some ground in being able to get especially food and now in front of the winter, blankets to affected populations inside syria. >> is it safe to assume that those arriving in refugee camps come from different ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds? >> it is safe to assume that those who cross the border are in the vast majority people who really are fleeing violence, but among them, they are also those

who might have other objectives in mind. this has always been our worry, that the spillover impact of the serious crisis on the neighborhood could be very destabilizing. we see some of the signs of it. of course, it does not help that the heat between syria and turkey is not gone. we are, for that reason, very keen to advocate with the international community to do two things -- first, work harder on a political solution to this conflict. this is the only way to stop suffering of people. second, in the absence of a political solution, work harder to pressure all sides of the conflict to allow more access for humanitarian workers. more assistance, get inside syria to reduce the pressure on the neighbors. >> it has now been a week and a

half since the eu won the nobel peace prize promoting democracy and peace on the continent in the aftermath of the second world war. >> but the eu is still divided on many policy issues. recently, germany and britain clashed over berlin's drive for more european integration. >> what vision to the two countries have for europe? foreign ministers found the country's face-off at a forum in the german capital -- the countries faced off. >> the two countries may have arrived at the same time, but they are worlds apart. the germans want more europe. for example, in the firm of closer cooperation on national budgets. >> the road we're taking now must end some day in a political union. it will not only complete the economic and currency union, but

will realize our joint, foreign, and security policy in the full sense of the word. >> burton believes the units to be more flexible and have fewer responsibilities -- britain believes. and that its role as an economic bloc is most important. >> cooperation and the great global issues has allowed us to advance our shared interests and values, but that does not mean we should try to forge a single european position and voice on everything. >> staunch differences of opinion between london and berlin on national interest and beefing up the eurozone show why closer european integration could be difficult to achieve. >> that is it for now. thanks for joining us. >> you will find out more about the news on our website, dw.de. stay with us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--