>> hello and welcome to "the journal." france approving a marriage and adoption by gay couples. >> bayern munich and the what had been a week of down news for the club. >> in german engineering diamond -- giant siemens facing troubles in and out of germany

with high-speed trains. france has become the 14th country in the world to legalize gay marriage. a strong majority voting to pass in the national assembly. >> protests breaking out moments before the result of broke out. the passing allows gay couples to adopt as well. outside the parliament building, gay-rights campaigner celebrating the law. >> q joins us on the line. this has been extremely controversial -- hugh joins us on the line. >> one reason is because this touches on the historic divide in france between the right and

left. this division goes back to the revolution between conservatives, the catholics, and this conflict with what we would call the more progressive, republican, anti-religious. this has always been in france. we have a very unpopular government now. they are hitting back at the government they see as being at the root of the issue. the whole of the game marriage debate is that there are divided families some of whom are very, very neangry. >> the lot could still face a

challenge in the french constitutional council. tell us more about that. >> the opponents do have a last chance to take the long before the constitutional council, the senior court ruling on the constitutionality. the general feeling is that it is unlikely to succeed because they have already, in effect, given a ruling on this that was a procedure already put in place under which the constitutional council at its opinion and they fell broadly it was a matter for the legislature. society is changing and therefore, it is up to the people and those represent the people, the parliamentarians, to rule. it is not a question reconstitution itself. they felt that would probably constitutional council. it is theoretically possible they could say the law needs to be adopted. >> we will probably have a

follow-up on that one. thank you very much. >> a big week for bayern munich. they have packed the arena in the team is on the pitch. >> the first game kicking off 20 minutes ago and it's a huge game for them. it has been knocked out of the headlines by a few other stories. >> it was revealed the club's president is under investigation for tax evasion on an apparently grand scale. first, good news for the fans. >> bayern has poached goetze from their archrival dortmund. many are handing the timing of the announcement have to do with the president's legal woes. >> he was the darling of the dortmund fans, but that has now

changed. news of his defection came just had the champions league match. >> the timing is not good. everyone can picture why this has happened. that's just the way it is. >> he is the player of choice. i guess it's my fault, but i cannot lose 15 centimeters and learn spanish. >> taking over as the coach next year, he was reportedly so keen go to get keenetze on board-- keen to get goetze on board is paying to release him from his contract. supporters understand the resentment the fans feel. >> the mood in dortmund must be pretty bad. here, everyone is euphoric because we got him.

>> dortmund this still left hoping the fans will come out in force when they take on madrid. >> for more, we're joined by our sports correspondent. the crowd in munich tonight looks electric. what kind of reception will he beginning tomorrow night? >> dortmund fans are very unique, very loyal. in last thing they're going to do is to try to jeopardize their teams chances against real madrid. i do not think that will happen. it could have some catcalls here and there, but it will be a very positive atmosphere for dortmund, and the fans are very disappointed and shocked. many soccer fans around the world. basically, very positive support even though this is negative news for them down the road. >> what do make of the notion

that people are saying it's kind of fishy this announcement is being made right now? >> you are referring to the statement in the piece we just saw. we wish this perhaps would have been differently handled. it is suspicious. who is writing the script here? you have had a weak year where he is under the gun for legend tax evasion and, all of a sudden, news coming out about a german team of taking the focus off of him, partially so. who else beside bayern munich that he was coming over? it's quite possible the news came out somewhere else, but it is suspicious. >> there's a lot of talk head of the game that barcelona's injury troubles might hurt them. how are they coping with the high-powered offense? >> the game being played right

now against barcelona is putting the game to the spanish. they are pressing forward. their coach has made no secret about the fact that he will not let the stars from barcelona dictate the game. they will push forward and keep on attacking. already, it should be 2-0 from bayern munich. there was an amazing shot and they were denied a penalty shot. >> thanks for speaking with us. >> right now to some off pitch developments. it was revealed today the club president was temporarily wrested back in january when he gave himself up for tax evasion. he was released on 5 million euro bail. >> it has sparked a heated debate on how to deal with taxes. they're accusing letting the rich and famous getting away too lightly. >> the nation was shocked when

the head of the football club confessed he he evaded paying money and would in his swiss bank accounts. >> many millionaires in germany are getting nervous after a tax agreement with some excellent fell through and many german tax authorities obtained information on secret accounts, more and more people are turning themselves in. over 3300 people voluntarily showed their foreign accounts. >> sometimes they need convincing. often, they have to make a declaration in a hurry before the authorities find out. >> one of the officials have started an investigation and it's too late to make a voluntary declaration. those to make the deadline pay what they owed plus punitive interest and it's all done anonymously. they are collecting hundreds of millions of euros under this

program, but there are still holdups. the german taxpayer association saying agreement to share in formation with switzerland is necessary. >> to these only come with specific cases. we need a broader tax agreement. >> he pinned its hopes on a german-swiss agreement. when that failed, he turned himself in. it is unclear if he did it in time to avoid a potential prison sentence. >> terry, thank you so much for being with us. quite a dramatic development in this tax evasion case. tell us more. >> dramatic indeed. it seems the president of the most successful soccer club, bayern munich, was arrested in connection with the tax evasion scandal you mentioned. one of the main paper is says he was arrested on march 20th, just

briefly, and then released again after paying a bailout in the amount of 5 million euro. it was said he was arrested in connection with a search of his home on the same day. again, march 20th. down now the size of the bail has suggested that if the charges stick, if he is charged, tried, and convicted, he could avoid going to jail. >> is trying to keep his tax evasion case separate from his professional side. >> he is facing allegations of tax evasion on a massive scale. if they stick time it is hard to imagine they would be able to maintain the integrity needed to maintain one most prestigious of clubs. if he goes to jail, he will

obviously not be leading anything. >> good talking to you. >> business news now. we have a report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> a very sad day for dortmund stands -- fans. the transfer to bayern munich taking the stocks down. the shares could be profiting from their recent successes. the general mood was very good despite the negative news in april. germany will no longer the major economic driver. this disappointing data field on the other side of expectations of another interest rate cut. traders are eagerly awaiting for

the ecb meeting next week. >> a look at the markets by the numbers now. in frankfurt, the dax up 2.5 points. the euro stoxx 50 up just over 3% to 23662. -- 2662. the dow jones has about a 1% gain in the year rose slightly down to $1.2989. >> disappointing news for business travelers looking to speed up their trip from frankfurt to london. they're not to write longer for that direct cross-channel real connection. siemens will not be able to deliver the 10 high-speed trains by next year. >> the german engineering giant a admits they underestimated the complexity of the system. it only adds fuel to the fire.

>> they're waiting for trains that siemens promised them years ago. euro star was due to receive 10 trains at the end of 2014. that date has been pushed back and a new one is yet to be announced. siemens is blaming the delay on the number of different safety systems used by trains travelling internationally. from amsterdam to london, trains have to switch back and forth between six signaling systems. train travel in germany has also affected. 16 ice's that should have been running by 2011 remain stationary while siemens carries out testing. the trains have been blighted by technical problems. the lengthy delays are damaging the company's earnings.

siemens says the fiasco has cost at least 230 million euro in the the first half of the year. >> we will take a short break now. >> stay tuned. keep on watching dw. we'll be right back.

>> the white house says the u.s. is not yet convinced that the syrian government has been using chemical weapons despite a senior israeli intelligence official saying he believes the syrian regime has used them on a number of occasions. >> france and the u.k. have also said that president bashar all assaad's government used chemical weapons last month. it was high on the agenda at a nato meeting in brussels. >> it was his first foreign nato ministers meeting. worrying reports from israel

that the syrian regime started using chemical weapons prompting kerry to telephone and benjamin netanyahu for more information. >> he was not in a position to confirm that in the conversation that i had, so it is up to and and their process as to have when and how they do that, not for me to make any other announcements except to say that i don't know yet. >> months ago, described the use of chemical weapons as a red line that would transform the conflict without saying how the u.s. would respond. nato said they would not prompt it to intervene. >> there's no call for nato to play a role, but if these challenges remain unaddressed, they could directly affect our own security. we will continue to remain extremely vigilant.

>> they will be stationing patriot missiles there. the alliance is still hoping for a diplomatic solution, likely to determine whether moscow keeps the telling the regime. john kerry held a one-on-one talks with his russian counterpart, but moscow remains supportive of bashar all assaad. >> they believe the two boston marathon bombing suspect work "self-radicalized extremists." they have been questioning the surviving brother in the hospital. >> he says his older brother, tamerlan, was an avid reader. he has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction. >> japan says they will forcibly

expelled any chinese land and on islands at the center of the territorial route between the two countries. this comes after a chinese government vessels entered the waters around a group of islands claimed by both countries. >> the dispute recently flared up after hundreds of japanese lawmakers sailed close to the islands. what the japanese coast guard moved in to the avert a potential crisis. a group of 80 nationalists had been sell -- sailing close to the disputed islands when they report in encroached on their territorial waters. the activists were persuaded by the japanese coast guard to turn back before a clash could occur with chinese ships.

>> we could eventually see the island becoming subjected to an illegal takeover by china. that is what we're really worried about. >> the conflict surrounding this uninhabited rocky outcrop in the east china sea is heating up. there are incidents involving japanese and chinese vessels on an almost weekly basis. beijing also lays claim to them as well as tokyo. the surrounding sea bed is believed to harbor large reserves of oil and gas. tokyo is serious about them that sending ships there. prime minister abe has promised swift action. >> they will make sure they will all be swiftly dealt with. >> international concern is growing that further provocation by either side could lead to an escalation of the disputes resulting in a military conflict.

>> coming up, a street sweeper to help clean up space. >> a car bomb has exploded outside the french embassy in tripoli wounding two guards. it's the first attack in libya since four americans including u.s. ambassador chris devens was killed there in september. no group has taken responsibility. >> 27 sunni muslims have been killed in northern iraq. two ministers have resigned from the government in protest. it is the worst fighting since the sudanese began protesting against what they call it discrimination -- since the sunnis begin pros testing against the shiite government. >> two bishops kidnapped in syria have been released.

the archbishop of the syrian orthodox church and a greek orthodox bishops have arrived safely in the northern city of aleppo. they went missing one day earlier when the car they were in was seized by gunmen. >> men in the city of belgrade, but the incident took place in a haunting shop. >> a regional interior ministry is offering a reward of almost 80,000 euro to find him. >> there is a huge manhunt reminiscent of the search for the boston marathon bombers to find the perpetrator. >> they have been searching for the gun man. his motive is thus far on noun. authorities are on alert in the region and in the neighboring ukraine as well.

>> police are patrolling schools and other public institutions. this will continue until the suspect is captured. >> that have been warned that the suspect is armed and dangerous and have been told to stay inside. some still stop by the crime scene to leave flowers. >> they travel at astonishing speeds up to the to 6000 kph, causing considerable damage. what are we talking about? space junk. >> a group of german scientists have come up with a kind of space>> there are 200 million discarded objects circling the

planet. it is definitely a dance where the communications satellites orbit. they move through space at very high speeds, which makes them very dangerous. >> if a chunk the size of your fist hit a satellite it would be like a car crashing at several hundred kilometers per hour. it would be catastrophic. >> dead satellites and burn down rocket stages posing the biggest threats. in 2009, an american and a russian satellite collided and the resulting cloud of debris spread in the atmosphere increasing the risk of further collisions. researchers at the german aerospace center want to remove the debris from space and they have developed a robot to do it. it is a mobile service station

moving through space catching satellites. if they need fuel, it fills them up. broken satellites are propelled back to work so that they will vaporize in the atmosphere. this allows them to simulate how it would approach a dead satellite in orbit. but before it can grab hold, the robotics based janitor needs to get close and gathered information. >> you need to take pictures to see how the satellite is moving and whether it is tumbling out of control. you have a robotic arm, but you have to know exactly where to grab the object and there are really photos of what the satellite look like. >> year, engineers are running zero gravity to practice catching objects.

initially, it will be guided by hand. >> engineers on the ground will be using this information to guide the process by remote control. >> the scientists say it could start tidying up space junk in four years under one condition, that the cost is split between all the major countries that are sending things into orbit. >> micro blogging web site twitter is making bigger in rose to the business of traditional advertising. "the financial times" is reporting their teaming up with one of the biggest ad buyers, starcom group.

>> they will look at ways for companies to integrate the micro blogging services with television. the partnership will last for several years and grants smg clients preferred ad slots on twitter. >> just to bring you up to speed on what's happening in bayern munich-barcelona, no sooner did our sports correspondent talk about missing chances, bayern munich scored. a close range pattern. >> that set for us for now. things for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--