captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> welcome to "the journal" from berlin. >> coming up on the program, the german government prepares for a showdown over executive power. the high-profile trial in the killing of a munich businessmen has two convictions. germany says the will go on the offensive in the qualifier. >> opponents of nuclear energy

in germany are battling to stage a massive demonstrations in protest of the government decision to allow nuclear plants to operate for longer than originally planned. members of the coalition agreed to extend the life of the nuclear reactors after weeks of heated debate. the chancellor defended the move as a revolution of energy supply in germany. >> after months of disagreement over the future of nuclear power, the coalition parties have finally reached a compromise. they agreed that the newest nuclear plants in germany will operate for 14 years longer. other plants will operate for a. chancellor of angela merkel said the plan is to change them out eventually. >> the plan is to not use nuclear power any longer than necessary. it is a bridging technology. the companies will be required to invest large amounts of money into ensuring the safety of the facility. >> a special payment will be

levied on nuclear power operators as part of the deal. it could raise as much as 15 billion euros. it will be used to invest in renewable energies. the environment minister is satisfied with the package. >> our program has a concrete route to an age of renewable energy within a 40-year time period. >> the opposition and environmental groups oppose the government's plan on the phase out. >> this is a black day for germany. the government is selling out to the business interests and blocking renewable energy. >> this compromise between the conservatives and others is an example of a conservative policy. it is irresponsible, lacking future perspective, and guided

by lobbyists. >> the social distracts -- democrats and greens say they will challenge the government's decision in the course. >> the decision and had an impact in frankfurt. >> investors are concerned about renewable energy. shares in major german energy companies rallied in response to the government proposal to extend the life of nuclear reactors. in contrast, green stalks did not fare as well. investors are concerned about how much support the government will continue to give the seller and wind power industries. some see the older power plants as a gold mine. >> at least 1 million euros per reactor per day, that is an estimate of what nuclear power will generate in revenue for the utilities. it is a roaring trade for eon and the other energy giants in germany. some of the profits will go towards the government levy.

the government hopes it will raise as much as 30 billion euros by extending the life span of the nuclear power plants. there are 17 reactors left in germany. their life span will be extended by a minimum of the years, depending on when they were built. -- eight years, depending on when the rebels. this old reactor would have been decommissioned next year. now the plant could stay on line until 2019. more recently built plants could be operational until 2026. the renewable energy center sees this as a setback. before the government extended the life span of nuclear plants, renewable energy was supposed to be providing 30% of germany's energy by 2020. >> german energy shares kept a lot of investors busy on monday. we have this report from the frankfurt stock exchange.

>> the decision of the german government to allow nuclear power plants to produce electricity for 12 more years has been welcomed on the trading floor from frankfurt. both shares of the big german utilities were heavily traded. they ended the trading day about 2% on the upside. concerns that the renewable energy sector might suffer are not preoccupying the trading floor. only a very few shares of this sector came under pressure this trading monday. >> it is time to look at some closing market indices in more detail. we stay in frankfurt. the dax closed up at 6155. the u.s. markets are closed for the labor day holiday this monday. the euro is trading for $1.28.

it is back to you. >> we will be checking back with you shortly. at least 19 people have been killed in more than -- and more than 30 wounded in the bombing attack in western pakistan. the bomber rammed a car with explosives into a police station, destroying the building. moments before, the car struck a cold -- school bus and killed several children. in recent weeks, pakistan has seen an increase in attacks by extremists. almost 100 were killed last week alone. the united nations atomic watchdog says iran is pushing ahead with the nuclear worked in defiance of tougher sanctions. the latest report expresses concern about possible activity in iran to develop a nuclear payload for a missile. there are concerns about

granting access to relevant sites. washington calls the latest report troubling and says it shows the islamic republic is still trying to develop nuclear weapons capability. iran has consistently denied accusations that it is trying to build nuclear bombs. north korea's ruling workers' party has called a rare condition in the capital. there has been speculation that the leadership has been grooming his jaundiced son as his successor. analysts believe the meeting could be used to appoint his heir key party posts. this would publicly signaled his desire to extend the family's role of the communist country to third-generation. back in germany, a court in munich is handed down lengthy prison sentences to two teenagers in connection with the killing last year of a 50-year- old businessman. the two teenagers attacked him after he tried to defend a group

of schoolchildren being bullied and a local real way station. >> the defendants identified simply by first names for legal reasons were tried and a juvenile law. they were only 17 and 18 at the time of the attack. the court sentenced a the main attacker to more than nine years detention for murder. the prosecution said he acted from base motives, continuing to kick the victim after he had fallen to the ground. his accomplice received seven years. the court said the sentence was milder because he had not continued to attack him when he was lying on the ground. the defendants' lawyers had been seeking much milder sentences. >> we believe the verdict and conviction are wrong we advise our clients to appeal.

>> dominic was attacked at this station outside a unit when he came to the rescue of a group of teenagers been harassed by the assailants. the defense lawyers say he threw the first punch and was partially responsible. the courts rejected this and held that he had been trying to prevent the attack. his death triggered outrage and sorrow across the country. the businessman was posthumously awarded the medal of merit for his courage. >> there is a big meeting happening at the moment. the finance ministers of the e.u. block met in brussels on monday to discuss rules to eat -- changes to e.u. budget rules. they want to avoid other issues like the one in greece. the stability and growth pact allows for 3%. the ministers want to make sanctions more automatic.

>> three years, and greece gave the appearance of running a sound budget. that was not the case. when the truth be merged, the euro came under massive pressure. the european finance ministers want to refer prevent a repeat of that. the german finance ministry warned against complacency. >> it leads to the fading of the sense of urgency needed. to draw the necessary conclusions from experience. >> the finance ministers see themselves as a task force on economic reform. they have already agreed that a new budgetary surveillance system should be treated. they will have to prepare budget drafts for approval before they are approved by their parliaments. some countries including germany want stricter sanctions. these could include freezing e.u. funding or retracting voting rights.

>> we intend to find a direct and indirect means of achieving that goal. >> that would require the support of all eurozone members. country's most likely to breach limits are unlikely to vote for the sections -- sanctions. >> barack obama has announced a $50 billion infrastructure plan in an attempt to jump-start the u.s. economy. the money is earmarked for improvements to aging roads, railways, and airport runways. speaking on labor day in milwaukee, he promised 150,000 miles of road would be rebuilt along with railroads. it comes amid signs that the u.s. economy is faltering. the obama administration said the plan could be financed by scrapping tax breaks for oil and gas companies. france faces further traffic disruptions from strikes planned for late monday. the cause is the presentation of

a pension reform bill. the state aims to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 with a full pension available at 67 instead of 65. the government says that without changes, the french pay-as-you- go pension system would run up annual deficits of 50 million aroseuros by 2020. the plan to mobilize millions of protestors. >> the latest cease-fire declaration from the separatist group has been met with skepticism in spain. the interior minister said the announcement was insufficient because it did not include a permanent renunciation of violence and the dissolution of the group. according to video released on sunday, they decided to end defensive armed actions in favor of the democratic process. it has been blamed for hundreds of deaths over the past quarter

decades. strong aftershocks have continued to rock new zealand. authorities in christ church and extended the state of emergency after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on sunday. the police and army have been enforcing a no go 0 in downtown. an estimated 100,000 homes have been damaged by the quake. the civil defense ministry has begun to tear down the worst hit buildings. relatives of the 33 men trapped underground in northern chile and held a ceremony to mark one month since the mine shaft collapsed. sunday, rescue work took on new momentum. the cruise began drilling a new shaft to reach the men. the work is expected to take up to four months. >> families and friends gathered at the mine to mark one month since the cave in the sealed the miners inside.

each of the 33 miners' names was read out along with shouts of "alive" from the crowd. they hope to have them out by a national holiday, but that may not be realistic. >> our scenario shows we will reach them some time of the beginning of november. we will try as hard as we can. people must not think we will have results by september 18. that is impossible. >> the minister was able to give an update on progress being made in rescue efforts. he said the miners to been receiving food, water, and medicine through supply shaft. the work is continuing on two additional shops. which ever one breakthrough first will be used to lift them out one by one. at the same time, families and friends continued to keep vigil at the mouth of the san jose mine. >> a federal police in germany

and warned of increased security breaches with online banking in germany. they say the number of people falling victim to internet scams has grown dramatically. one recent study suggests that the incidence of online fraud will increase by 70% this year. this could lead to losses of up to 17 million euros. analysts are revising consumers to keep their anti-virus software up-to-date. germany introduced tougher laws to be able to prosecute online fraud. we have sports news. the german national soccer team is in cologne preparing for the first home game since returning from the south african world cup. the team has their sights set on 2012. on tuesday, they play ajerbaijan in the second qualifier. the coach says a strong offense will be the order of the day. >> when a squad faces ajerbaijan, they will be expecting opponents gathered around a bill to prevent the

germans from scoring. to overcome that offensive posture, he wants his team to play fast attacking soccer. this midfielder is hoping to play despite a bruised thigh. the germans will be looking to score early. >> of course it would be a disappointment if we did not win a game like this. we're counting on three points ajerbaijan. >> they also expect a better performance from this player at his home stadium. he disappointed on friday against belgium. >> i think is normal at the beginning when you have had not not had time to prepare and have not done your rhythm. when i have found my normal form, it will be hard to ignore me. >> they know the fans will be expecting fireworks from the team that played such attractive soccer world cup. >> stay tuned. we will be back after a short break with an in-depth look at whether east and west germans

have really grown together in the 20 years since german reunification. >> stick around. ♪

>> welcome back. we continue our series marking the 20th anniversary of german reunification. it is a process that brought together people who had grown up in very different political, economic, and social systems. over the years, many of the obvious signs of division like the berlin wall and the watch towers of disappeared. but have east and west really grown together since reunification or are there still differences to be reconciled after decades of division? to find out, we asked people around the country for their views. ♪ >> are we really together? >> east and west are now 1 and

so are the people. ♪ >> the world cup produced a feeling of unity. >> maybe the shared financial crisis, that has brought people together, a bit like the world cup. ♪ >> we're in a band and traveled through germany. there are other differences between east and west. >> the gap between north and south is greater. there's hardly a difference anymore. ♪ >> east germans are not different from west germans. >> i feel at home in the east. in the west, i feel almost like a foreigner. >> with express last 20 years of social change together. -- we have expressed -- experience the last 20 years of social change together. >> our language. another common thing is our

culture and shared history. ♪ >> definitely love. my wife is from the east. we've been together for 12 years. >> i can only speak from experience. i was born in west berlin. after the wall fell, i went straight to the east and started a relationship with an east german man. ♪ >> the whole situation and that typical east-west team has abated a bit through the contact we have had and business relationships. >> it is only the politicians who keep telling us there is a difference between east and west. ♪ >> quite a variety of opinions there. the reunification process has not always been easy. the difficulties of also been

reflected on a personal level. when people from the east have met and started relationships with people from the west and vice versa. it seems even 20 years later, only 4% of marriages are east- west partnerships. we accompanied one such couple along the walk across -- around the former border the once divided them to see how they're getting along. ♪ >> she grew up in an east german village. he was born near cologne. they have been together for 17 years. before meeting, most of what they knew about the other germany was through cliches. >> people from the west are usually considered to be arrogant, full of themselves, and not the friendliest. >> i thought all east germans spoke the saxon dialect. it took me awhile to realize that is not true.

>> in 1993, those cliches were put to the test when the couple first met in prague. >> i knew he was from west germany. he was very talkative. i had never met a man before. enjoyed talking so much. but i had never met a man before who enjoyed talking so much. >> i did not realize it first she was from the east. it took some time. she was not speaking in dialect. it took me some time to work it out. i liked the way she came across as so natural. >> they have been living together in berlin since 2001. they are expecting their first child next month. they say their different backgrounds with a divided germany hardly play a role anymore. >> i do not have a vastly different way of thinking and she does. it is not like we have completely different opinions on certain topics. in fact, we really sue each other. >> despite the similarities,

there is less unity when it comes to friendships. >> sometimes it is easier to hang out with my east german friends. a lot of things simply go without saying. >> i do not really have any friends from east germany. i suppose there is a slight divide their. >> just why that is the case is a source of discussion. >> i do not have a problem with your east german friends. >> i do not either. but there is a limit. sometimes i find your friends are a little different. >> otherwise, they would not be my friends. [laughter] >> but lingering east-west divide or a clash of personalities? they cannot say. like other couples in unified germany, they have accepted their differences and are simply getting along. ♪

>> and more of general level, most of the world to stop thinking in terms of east and west germany. there is a great deal of cross flow within the country. one of the most visible areas of that is an art. various cities in east germany are thriving centers for creative activity. one of the most prominent is leipzig where the leipzig school movement enjoys international attention. even though it is based in eastern germany, it has produced art that many feel is anything but an eastern phenomenon. >> this printer is one of the leipzig school's best known women artists. -- from this converted cotton mill, she and her colleagues oversaw the beginnings of a unified german art scene. rosa is known for her figurative works. it is a recognized trademark of the leipzig school, drawing on

the tradition of social realist. she resists the label. >> the school leipzig symphony is that the people who exhibit here have studied in leipzig or were a stranger. they were not all born here. -- or were trencher. there were not all born here. they need different kinds of art like abstract, a figurative, were wildly colorful. it is a trademark that comes from outside. >> it is also helped artists become enormously successful. collectors discovered his works 10 years ago. they now regularly that six- figure sums. the classical style has been a major influence on young artists from east and west. other successful artists also studied in leipzig and were made internationally famous by local galleries.

few outside germany and view them leipzig school as an east german phenomenon. >> there is a concept of german art. painting and photography are right alongside each other. i think the technique is less relevant to the label and the working approach. >> the visually powerful and often arresting works of the artists attracted an international following. her works draw collectors from all over the world. >> the collectors like it here. they come here. they can eat well. there's a beautiful city center. they come to the mill and look at the exhibition's or the open house at the academy. it is fantastic. >> it is helped to make the eastern city of leipzig one of the new creative centers in the reunified germany.

♪ >> we will have a whole day of special programming for you on the day officially designated as unification day, october 3. thank you for joining us. ♪