>> hello and welcome. you are watching dw's "journal" from berlin. millions remain without power in new york as the region struggles to recover from the super storm sandy. >> syria and eu membership on the agenda and talks between angela merkel and the turkish prime minister. >> european and north african countries have kicked off negotiations on a huge solar energy project in the sahara desert.

u.s. president barack obama has arrived in new jersey to tour the devastation left in the wake of super storm sandy. >> obama was joined by new jersey governor chris christie, who is republican, but christie has praised the way the president has handled the crisis. they viewed storm damage by helicopter. obama will also be meeting with residents and emergency workers. >> cleanup work is in full swing on the east coast after sandy flooded cities, washed out bridges, and caused billions of dollars in damage. >> but new york city is making it clear it is back in business. mayor michael bloomberg rate in the opening bell at the new york stock exchange, which was closed for two days. >> the storm killed over 40 people on the east coast and caused unprecedented damage. >> life is slowly returning to normal in new york. on wall street, major stock

their first two-day closure ine- over a century. emergency generators provided the power. most of lower manhattan is still in the dark. an unusual event in the city that never sleeps. >> you look uptown, and you see lights. you look downtown and it is completely black. i was driving with a partner of mine, and i said that i do not think we will ever see something like this again. >> it is scary seeing new york like this, but i am happy to be alive. >> a little confusion, but it is still not so bad. you can get around and maneuver a little bit, and that is it. >> sandy also took out the subway line, which carries 1/3 of new york's workforce each day. flooded tunnels and miles of tracks will need to be cleared, but it was a new jersey shoreline that took the brunt of the super storm's wrath -- houses, boats, and boardwalks

along the ocean have been destroyed. the storm is now largely dissipated over the great lakes. it is still dumping heavy snow and rain from north carolina to west virginia, creating hazardous road conditions for motorists. >> we are joined now by our washington correspondent. how do americans feel about the government's response to the disaster so far? >> it has been generally applauded. unlike 2005 when hurricane katrina devastated new orleans, it seems all the relevant agencies were ready this time, up to speed, especially fema, the federal emergency management agency, that was criticized in 2005 being widely lauded now. the president himself was up all night from monday to tuesday in the situation room in the white house monitoring the situation. now he is touring the disaster areas, especially in new jersey, so he seemed very much concerned

and seemed to do everything he could to help the people. he has been applauded even by republican competitors for this. one of his harshest critics has always been new jersey governor chris christie, and this man said that obama was doing an outstanding job. >> elections are right around the corner next week, and campaigns have resumed. it is a difficult question to ask, but who has actually profited from the situation? >> for mitt romney, it is a difficult situation because national disaster times are times when politics are supposed to be put aside, so campaigning too early might hurt him, but it is the only thing he can do because he does not have any form of public office. that is why the campaign is putting him back up to speed on wednesday. he already had a campaign stop. for president obama, it is exactly the contrary because every day he seems to be commander-in-chief is better for him where he can do something as a president. his campaign management is

taking its time to put him back on the trail, but pundits agree that the whole situation probably helped president obama more than it helped mitt romney. to what extent is quite unclear still. >> thanks for joining us. we will have a report about the election campaign in a little bit. >> airports in new york and new jersey were also crippled by the storm sandy. only two are now a starting to get back to business. >> it will still take time until air travel is back up and running at normal pace. >> new york's la guardia airport remains closed. large parts of it are still under water, leaving flights grounded. tinbergen in new jersey is also flooded, but for other airports, the situation is better. the biggest airports serving new york is jfk. it is open but running limited services. international flights of beginning again.

newark airport in new jersey has also reopened. sandy cost around 19,000 flights to be canceled. authorities and airlines tried to minimize the chaos. most passengers were informed ahead of time, and many were allowed to change the bookings for free, but some were left stranded. >> it was only a two-hour layover at atlanta georgia, and now it is beginning to be a 28- hour layover. >> schedule should be back to normal in the next few days, but the flood is likely to take longer. >> german chancellor merkel has wrapped up talks with turkey's prime minister in berlin. anchor a's bid for eu membership was high on the agenda -- anchor a -- ankara's bid for eu membership. >> merkel pledge german support n the negotiation process. >> everyone came to the chancellery in a position of strength. in the last few years, turkey's

status as a regional power has grown. the prime minister is pushing his country's bid for full membership of the eu. merkel promised negotiations on the issue would be fair. >> germany is committed to the process and believes talks should be continued. in this respect, i think the prime minister can assume that eu institutions and new member states will conduct these negotiations in an honest manner. >> critics say turkey has failed to make progress on human rights and judicial issues. some 2000 protested the visit and accused turkey of trampling on their human rights. the prime minister also spoke of assyrian refugees, saying it is too early to call for a no-fly zone over syria but urged the united nations to create safe havens for civilians. >> as long as this decision is not taken, we cannot follow through with measures in the

north of syria. the no-fly zone in iraq was expensive, and that would not be the right step in syria. >> ankara has taken in more than 100,000 syrians. berlin has given 150 million in a bus as it could only take in refugees from syria in an international agreement is put in place. >> for more, we are joined by our political correspondent. is the prime minister satisfied with the response to the refugee crisis? >> he was certainly pleased with germany put down 50 million euros on the table very early on and also help with technical assistance. chancellor merkel today also assured the turkish prime minister that if the crisis continues, germany will put more money on the table and more technical assistance will be offered, but -- so i think he was basically happy with that. >> merkel has always opposed a tricky's exception into the eu

-- turkey's acceptance into the you. >> addition a stance that turkey is part of accessing talks. she supports the process. she insisted today, against what he was suggesting, that perhaps the eu was not being quite fair with turkey. she insisted that turkey -- that the eu is being fair to turkey. there are serious hurdles to turkey becoming a full member of the eu that go way beyond any pragmatic considerations of the euro crisis. the first one is that the monitors of the eu have just released their latest report just three weeks ago on turkey's progress or lack of progress in fulfilling the democratic requirements of the eu, and it is a devastating judgment, frankly. it particularly draws attention to the fact that it is quite routine in turkey for writers and journalists who oppose the

state in anyway -- quickly -- to be imprisoned, and there is a further huge obstacle for turkey right at the moment, and that is that he also said on his visit that he could not recognize what he calls southern cyprus. the republic of cyprus is a full eu member, and it happens to hold at the moment the rotating presidency of the eu. >> thanks very much for that analysis. in syria, the regime has boosted air strikes in recent days in a bid to win back territory lost to the rebels. >> there is renewed shelling in the northern city of aleppo where much of the violence has been taking place in the conflict. >> human rights groups estimate 36,000 people have died in serious since the fighting began, equaling about 165 people a day. >> an air strike by syrian government forces reduces this street in aleppo to rubble.

the strike comes suddenly and without warning in the middle of the day. in one house, people are looking for their family. they have just one small bucket of water to put out the fire. then they make a cool discovery -- cruel discovery. ibrahim helps to carry his dead parents outside. their bodies are so disfigured, he is no longer able to tell who is who. they set off for the cemetery. aleppo, syria's largest city, is going up in smoke. for centuries a commercial hub and today a world heritage site, now the ancient streets are being renamed. this one is called sniper's alley.

those who are not fast enough are killed. the city's hospitals are overwhelmed. wounded people are brought in every minute. some of the injured are rebel fighters. most, though, are civilians. there's no better place than the hospital to see who is bearing the brunt of the suffering in this war -- civilians and children. even the hospital is not safe. it has been bombed five times. >> much of our population is wounded by bombing, by shelling. >> in a city where bullets and bombs rain down relentlessly, there's nowhere left to take shelter. this man takes us to his neighborhood and shows us places

struck by missiles. he says the missiles were fired just as people were leaving the mosque. >> there were no ambulances. just one pickup truck. first of all, we put the dead and injured onto the truck. there were 12 dead and 20 injured. >> the cemetery is located on the outskirts of aleppo. the dead are brought here straightaway. ibrahim's parents are buried here less than an hour after they were killed. >> was my father a terrorist? nope. father, i will see you in paradise. >> death is everywhere in aleppo. in this war, there is no escaping it, and most of those who are dying are civilians. >> un special envoy lahkdar brahimi is calling on china to play a larger role in putting an

end to the violence in syria. >> china and russia have long blocked the u.n. security council from putting pressure on damascus. yang said the crisis in syria needs a political solution. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says that kosovo's independence is not up for discussion. clinton and the eu foreign policy chief met with the kosovan present. >> clinton and ashton are touring balkan countries currently. london's police may be selling their famous new scotland yard headquarters to cut costs. they need to find over 600 million euros of savings and help the complex can fetch a large chunk of that sum. >> city police moved into the iconic building on victoria street in 1967. with staff cuts on the way, they

will not need as much space. >> we will be back in one minute with more. >> stick around. we will be right back.

>> welcome back. it is deja vu all over again. florida and ohio are expected to be key swing states in determining the outcome of the u.s. presidential election. >> some are saying that romney must win florida to win the race. the southern state has a high percentage of latino voters as well as senior citizens, many of home are worried about their benefits. >> polls show the candidates are neck-and-neck. >> hold on tight. irene takes me on a fast pace

tour of the retirement community in her golf cart. florida is home to many retirees, and a high proportion of them vote. i asked her if they are aware of their influence. >> well, you know, we have people in here 94, 93, 99. some of them are still pretty sharp, and then you have others who are not near that age that do not know what day of the week it is. >> most residents in the community have healthy finances and can afford to pay their rent and purchase a home here. that makes them more likely to lean republican. that is the case with irene, who has supported the republicans for over 60 years. but now, she fears that mitt romney may cut her social security and medicare benefits or privatize them. >> i have never been torn like this in any election, and that's

the god's truth. i could have lied to you and said i will vote for romney, but i do not know if i am, and i am a republican. >> state pensions and health care are among the biggest contributors to u.s. deficits. americans agree that government spending has to be cut, but the question is -- how? the focal point senior center is just around the corner from coral k. it offers services to the elderly. for example, on this monday, they can receive health advice from an expert. and then, they can join in the fund and bowl with a wii game console. members of the center pay annual dues of just $5. the rest of the center's funds

comes from donations and public money. many here are concerned about the future. this man says romney does not understand the need. >> he wants to take away too much because he thinks they are all too lazy. may be some are, but there's a lot of people out there that need the assistance. i do not trust the man. he could be a very nice person as an individual, but as far as the government, no. >> opinion polls in florida are as close as the body games in coral k -- the bocci games in coral cay. many wealthy are not concerned about their benefits but are instead word about the economy. >> obama has had four years and really has not come up with anything to show the people that he did better than before, than the administration we had before, so i figure it is time

for a change. >> if the majority of retirees share this view on election day, romney may take florida, an important part of winning the election. >> in a minute, we will look at unemployment in europe. >> first, other stories making headlines around the world. >> tensions are high in the tunisian capital after clashes between police and salafist muslims left italy will people dead. >> russia has launched a rocket from the steppes of kazakhstan, headed for the international space station. the rocket is carrying a spacecraft loaded with supplies including hardware, fuel, and water. >> following the resignation of former german president christian wulff, opposition

leaders are calling for new rules on the president's salary. they say presidents should no longer be entitled to full salary for the rest of their lives if they leave office prematurely. >> eurozone economies are still struggling to pick up steam, and numbers do not appear to be getting any better. unemployment across the bloc hit an all-time high in september. >> latest figures show the total number of jobless in the eurozone edged up to 11.6%, more than 18 million people out of work. in spain, the situation is especially dire. >> luisa only wanted to stay in germany for a few months, to learn german, and to study, but then she saw an ad for a job this seemed right for her. she has been working as an engineer for three months now at a company in should guard. she says it is too hard to find a job in spain. spain has the highest unemployment rate in the

eurozone at 25.8%. greek jobless numbers are hardly better at 25.1%. but germany has one of the lowest unemployment rates at only 5.4%. only austria and the netherlands come in with lower percentages. this was her first summer in germany. she is dreading the coming winter, but has no plans to return home. >> turning to the markets now, and some good news for investors. our correspondence sent us this report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the german stock market is still in excellent shape, and this is mainly because of the fact that german companies are reporting results these days, and most companies report results that are far better than expected. for example, the balance sheet of one health care company looked very good today, but the

best numbers came from the funds it today. the airline reported earnings that have been far above expectations. further on, the cost-cutting program is not that expensive, as people expected. this may lufthansa shares the leading gainer on the dax, although later on this evening, some profit-taking started. >> taking a closer look at some market numbers now, the dax closed 1/3 of 1% down. euro stoxx 50 ended the day 0.5% down. across the atlantic, wall street has opened again. the dow jones is going up just a tick, and the euro is trading for $1.2966. >> general motors has reported a profit slowdown. the company has announced its third quarter results, and profits were down 12% on a year

ago. >> now gm is blaming its performance in europe for those results. it is planning to cut 2600 jobs to try to jumpstart its performance here. workers at opel, gm's german subsidiary, could be the first to go. >> opel's plant employs about five dozen people, and all of them could soon be out of a job. the assembly line produces the opel safira, which will go out of production opel in 2016 production -- out of production in 2016. opel lost just under 200 million euros in the first quarter of 2012. the downhill slide continued in the second quarter. in the third quarter, opel fell short by almost 370 million euros. industry analysts think gm

could soon put its foot on the break. opel is a big obstacle to their plans to roar back. >> good news for germany -- projections said the company will collect its highest tax revenues ever this year. the federal government as well as states and municipalities are said to take in a total of 602.4 billion euros, which beats earlier projections by almost 6 billion euros. the government says it will come close to balancing its budget next year. >> germany will pay out billions of tax reimbursements to foreign companies. that is in order to comply with a ruling from the european court of justice. >> the court found that foreign stockholders in germany paid too much in taxes on their dividends and ordered germany to rectify the situation. the payments are set to cost the treasury at least 3 billion euros. >> the german economics ministry

has confirmed media reports that european and north african countries have begun negotiations on a mass of solar energy project in the sahara desert. >> the desert tech project would see solar energy produced in north africa and exported to europe. according to a german newspaper, a treaty could be signed by early next year. the first solar farm would be built in morocco. >> could the saharan son soon be powering european cities -- the saharan sun? it could be home to a large new solar farm with the capacity of 150 megawatts. that is just one part of europe's vision to get renewable energy from africa. german-led consortium does it take wants to provide 50% of europe's energy by 2015, using wind and solar energy -- german- led consortium desert-tech.

it is hoped that current negotiations could provide a breakthrough, paving the way for plants not only in morocco, but also tunisia, algeria, and other countries. the biggest question is funding. companies would take on around 200 million euros of the investment. another 400 million could come from national governments involved as well as eu funds. >> certainly an ambitious but impressive project. that is it for now. thanks for watching. >> do not forget, you can find more on our website at dw.de. see you soon. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--