>> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. i am megan lee within news. >> and i have the business news. >> our top stories. protest against plans to raise the retirement age in france. >> eu finance ministers agreed to tougher banking regulations. >> internally is told it must try harder to create a more highly skilled graduates. ♪ >> french workers have taken to the streets to protest against

the government's pension reforms. they want president nicolas sarkozy to drop plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. the destruction caused widespread destruction in a number of areas, including public transport. >> the unions had aimed for a massive show of strength against the reform. police say hundreds of thousands took to the streets across france. many are deeply uneasy about seeing the retirement age raised to 62. >> the movement is so big that the message cannot be ignored. the reforms need to be changed. >> the strikes launched late on monday in mainly targeted the public sector, including rail transport. metro services in paris are only running every 30 minutes. commuters were packed into overcrowded carriages. there were long waits at the airport, too. still a majority of voters are against the proposed reforms.

>> we need to strike against the reforms and everything else happening at the moment. i agree with it completely. >> to take decisions like this without consulting anyone, that is not what i call a democracy. but we are in a democracy, so if people take to the streets, they need to be heard. >> despite the loud public opposition, french parliamentarians began debating the penchant. the prime minister said he wanted the law passed as quickly as possible. for their part, the union said it will continue their strikes until the reform is stopped. >> earlier we asked our responded in paris to tell us how likely it was that this strike would force the government to back down. >> i would have to say it is going to be very unlikely north dakota. and actually, 65% of the french admitted to pollsters that they knew the strike will not put that much pressure on the government, even as they acted.

despite what looks like a really massive turnout on the streets today, earlier, president sarkozy said he was not going to budge on the retirement age being raised to 62, but he would be sensitive to specific cases. his ministers have done the mathematics and the rounds at the tv studios and argue this reform will save the countries from 17 billion euros over the next 20 years. they argue that sooner or later, the french are going to add to take some tough love, and the sooner the better. according to ministers, the entire retirement system is currently at stake. and even with this reform, the french will still caught off earlier than the vast majority of their european neighbors. they're not saying to stop, but they're thinking it. >> that was from paris. in his first state of the union, the head of the european commission, president barroso, said all eu countries need to respect the law.

the comments were in light of moves taken by france, which expelled more than 1000 roma the last month. he did not mention the french press -- france specifically but said everyone in europe must respect human rights, including those of minorities. >> the european commission president was all smiles of a first session after the summer break. but things soon the series on the issue of the 1000 roma that have been sent back to bulgaria and romania by france. president barroso basel only refer to the development and directly. >> everyone in europe must respect the law, and the governments must respect human rights, including those of minorities. racism has no place in europe. >> social democrat, green, and liberal lawmakers questioned whether the actions of france of violate the eu freedom of movement in human rights rules. they're demanding an exclusive verdict from the eu executive speedup >> this issue has a face.

it is the government of nicolas sarkozy and others. i wish they would name names. the wicked see president barroso is taking on the challenge. -- then we could see he is taking on the challenge. what has happened to the aroma? it is the test to the credibility of the eu's charter of fundamental rights. >> the commission says it has not yet completed its analysis of the french government's crackdown on roma. isn't so far, there's no proof that discrimination was involved. >> in northwestern pakistan where at least 21 people have been killed and another 70 wounded in a car bomb attack targeting police. officials in the town said a powerful blast toward city residential area of the police compound. the wives and children of officers were among those killed. jkohat is between taliban insurgent stronghold in pakistan's tribal areas and has been the target of several militant attacks this year.

australia finally has the government after 17 days of political wrangling following an election which resulted in a hung parliament. the prime minister's labor party has managed a one-seat majority with the support of independence. she took over leadership just weeks ago in a party revolt ousting the prime minister. she is the first woman to be elected australian prime minister. >> julia gillard is to retain power by the slimmest of margins. it marks the end of two months of uncertainty which began. she said australia's worst political crisis in a generation was now over. >> labor is prepared to leave us stable, effective, and secure government for the next three years. hours will be a government with just one purpose. and that is to serve the australian people.

>> independent lawmakers or part of a trio of key makers love to decide who would govern australia. after securing a pledge by gillard address rule needs, the give the labor party control of 76 need site -- seats in the 150-seat house of representatives. a downbeat tiny abbott conceded that his liberal national coalition would remain in opposition. >> it is a disappointing day. it is a disappointing result. but nevertheless, i cannot have asked for more support from my colleagues, from my staff, and from the party at large. >> observers say that with such a narrow majority, gillard as our work cut out of labor is to survive the full three-year term in office. >> back here in europe, it looks like the eu is set for tighter budgetary rules. >> that aim to avoid double this

avoid a crisis later on. greek finance ministers have concluded a two-day meeting in brussels with an agreement on financial regulation. they also agreed a framework for making the budget six-member states more transparent. but there's still no agreement on penalties for breaching the stability and growth pact. it 3% budget deficit limits. >> of the german finance minister achieved one of his aims in brussels on tuesday, agreement on eu budget over said. his plan seemed to be in jeopardy several months, due to british opposition. but this time, britain was ready for compromise. >> from the beginning, george has played a constructive part. now we have a very refined structure to allow europe-wide regulation. >> from two dozen 11, 3 regulatory authorities will be separately responsible for banks

and insurance companies and stock markets. the bodies will have crisis resolution powers over national regulators, and there will also be able to ban risky financial products. the 27-member states also agreed on a tougher is is that some of budgetary control. also from 2011, national governments will have to submit their draft budgets to the e before they become law. the e will check them for conformity with budget deficit rules. but he was less successful with his call for the global tax on bank transactions, which continues to face resistance from britain and sweden. >> we do not want to see a new transactions act. we did it could be detrimental to tax revenues. >> most eu ministers agree on a principle on a banking levy, but there's still no agreement as to what form it should take. >> ireland's as eu watchdogs have agreed to an extension of the country's bank guarantee scheme until the end of the year. the guarantee introduced in september 2008 when ireland feared its financial system

could collapse includes all short-term liabilities such as personal and business deposits regardless of the amount. on tuesday, worries about the troubled irish bank hit european stock and bond markets. it no longer operates as a lender, and the ceo says the eu wants to shut down. dublin says it will examine options with the least cost to taxpayers. worries about the irish and associated government debt levels drag the entire european financial sector lower on tuesday. looking at the markets in more detail, which starred in frankfurt were the dax index closed down at 6117. the euro stoxx 50 blue chips ended tuesday down as well, 2727. across the atlantic on wall street, investors returning from the labor day holiday, also focused on european banks. the dow jones closed at 10,340. the euro was also hit by european sovereign debt worries

and is trading at $1.2699. afghanistan has frozen the assets of leading shareholders and our words of the country's biggest bank, kabul bank. kabul bank has lost enormous amounts of money through bad speculation and corruption. the news has seen long lines of anxious depositors wanting to withdraw funds. even the u.s. treasury department's support in the resignation of two directors have not restored confidence in kabul bank. >> there were long lines outside kabul bank's branches again on tuesday. the run on the bank began a week ago, and customers have withdrawn hundreds of millions of euros from their accounts. >> i have been to six branches of the bank since yesterday, but i cannot get a hold of my money. and today, i am number621 on the waiting list. the government is responsible for this crisis. the central bank should guarantee our savings.

that is why it should be illegal for them to speculate with our money. >> the kabul bank did speculate on the de by real estate market. it poured 125 million euros into the gulf state stands. president karzai's brother is thought to have been involved in the deals. journalists in afghanistan now has cut deeply politicians were involved in the events leading up to the crisis. >> it will be very difficult to talk openly on this issue. but anyway, i think that two -- the brothers of two of the top people in afghanistan -- >> have stepped -- afghanistan has dealt with many crises. and this could easily affect the outcome of the parliamentary elections due to take place in less than two weeks. things could worsen if kabul bank is unable to pay soldiers and civil servants their wages. >> the world's largest trade fair for shipbuilding and

maritime technology got under way in hamburg on tuesday. more than two dozen exhibitors from 58 countries are at the fair promoting their latest innovations. several new german products are on show including specialized as innovative drive resolution prevention systems. germany hopes to keep up with the tough competition from china and south korea. germany's second-biggest airline, air berlin, got a big boost from the summer vacation season. the carrier's passenger numbers in august rose nearly 9% to 3.7 million compared to the previous month. airline said tuesday that fleet capacity was lower during the same time spent two the airline teamed up with several tour operators to offer packaged tours, making the summer season especially lucrative for air berlin. >> you have some german news for us. >> yes, i do. the german police have raided buildings used by the country's largest neo-nazi group,

searching for evidence that it is acting in against the constitution. the organization known as the hng is believed to have some 600 members. it was founded in 1979 in frankfurt before moved. tuesday's police targeted 30 properties in nine states. investigators suspect the group is trying to strengthen germany's various far right groups by forging alliances among the organizations. and international service and education has found that germany excels at vocational training but is producing fewer university graduates than other countries. the report by the organization for economic cooperation and development also warned germany that it was spending too little on education compared to other countries. >> the new report says germany leads the way in vocational training and has relatively low youth unemployment as a result. vocational schools and on the job training give weaker

students more chances than systems in place in other countries. >> in vocational training is the flagship of the german educational system. it nurtures progress, and it provides us with highly skilled workers. >> but the education report says that germany's educational investment is below the international average. iceland expense must, almost 8% of its gdp on education. mexico and busts of 5.7%. germany trails behind on 4.7%. >> we have set an ambitious target to increase our investments in education and research to 10% of gdp. the economic crisis has made this more difficult. >> more fun it can help satisfy the demand in the labor market for graduates a higher proportion of school leaders are

attending university in germany but it still rest in other industrialized nations. >> finally, after lying dormant for four hundred years, a volcano in indonesia has erupted for the fourth time in 10 days. it was the biggest eruption of the volcano since it rumbled back to life in late august. ash reached villages of 25 kilometers away. tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated from villages on the mountain slopes. experts say the activity could foreshadow a former district of explosion in the coming weeks. but the amount it also settled down again after letting off some steam. look at -- after 400 years. >> i do not know if i would stick around to be honest. but you should stick around. i will be back after a short break with the "in depth, i will be looking at the integration of

minorities here in germany. so do not go away. ♪ >> one of the world's most unconventional orchestras. ♪ >> and then the next one -- >> its conductor. ♪ and their common dream. a musical marathon for a very special interpretation. [applause] ♪

>> the beethoven project, starting october 9 on dw-tv. >> welcome back. a fierce debate is underway in germany about the integration of minorities. it was resurrected recently by comments made against immigrants by the bank board member, thilo sarrazin. he got criticized after saying that germany's economy is being under bryant -- undermined by muslim immigrants will not end today. many describe him as racist and inflammatory. but some polls suggest that many germans also agree with his statements. one survey showed 18% of the people here would vote for a party led by him. clearly, fundamental issues on the integration of minorities remain unresolved.

german chancellor angela merkel says the issue will be the top of her political agenda. and on this, she also has the support of leading members of the main opposition, spd. >> at his latest public appearance, thilo sarrazin repeated what he said, that many muslim immigrants are unable or unwilling to integrate into german society. >> why is it that turkish mothers cannot communicate with their children's teachers? because it did not speak german. and wire turkish men so reduce female teachers? because it did not accept them as women. that is what we need to talk about. >> the decision, he is facing off against a politician who has been calling for modern immigration strategy for years. she warns the discussions must not become emotional. >> we are strong enough to withstand these new debates.

would criticize and degrade entire cultures. >> the central bankers statements of sparked a fierce discretion in germany on integration. the chancellor and all of germany's main political parties are weighing in on the debate. some say more education is the answer. >> the school attendance is obligatory in germany, and that must be followed by everyone. >> angela merkel's conservatives are considering proposals to cut welfare payments for those unwilling to a degree, it would be for the immigrants own good. >> it is because we want a better future for you. that is why we may have to ratchet up our immigration policies and introduce some penalties, to show you that we really mean it. >> turkish boren member of the parliament for the greens believes existing legislation

needs to be looked at and efforts need to be made to reach out to poorly integrated families. >> we need to speak out to parents. they need to get involved with their children's education at school and beyond. they need to attend school meetings and parents evenings. i think that should be made obligatory. >> but after years of inaction, it could be difficult to bring about change. however, political leaders now realize that the need to seriously address the issue of integration is becoming more urgent by the day. >> germany has made some progress in multi-cultural politics. guest workers arrive from yugoslavia, italy, and turkey after world war ii, and most state in germany and have contributed to the economy, society, and culture of the but for many people with immigrant background, the challenge of

achieved being their potential remains difficult. we take a look now one project that is helping young people get ahead. >> padilla hopes living in germany will offer him the opportunity for a better future. he knows it is important to work hard at school, and he is taking extra class is in mass. the lessons are provided by volunteer. a university student. the teacher and pupil share similar pasts. >> it is easy to understand a person when they have traveled the same path. >> of the seller receives the lessons for free. in exchange, he helps younger children with their homework. the deal is receiving assistance in providing it in return. the initiative was set up by a man who grew up in a neighborhood full of turkish people but notice that few of them made its university. >> their great products in

germany, and a lot of money is spent. but of these products do not reach my street, then i feel i should do something. that is what we did. >> despite all the education projects, the city performs badly in the piece as debt is a measure academic standards. but of the immigrants are removed from these statistics, the number is almost equal with the german average. there were gun early language skills. children who do not speak german and more targeted in kindergarten to improve their linguistic skills before they go to school. integration researchers agree with the principles behind the approach but doubts it can work. >> learning a language requires particular circumstances. the children learning the language really get the opportunity to use it each day? >> many do not.

40% of those living there are foreigners. they can survive speaking only in turkish. the well-intentioned education schemes are frank was unless the politicians also deal with what and to get -- education researchers term ethnic colonies. >> the situation today is that the never ends with the most immigrants are also the neighborhoods with the most part are the and the most children. it is a classic example of structures that do not promote integration. >> he is steering against the trend with his self-help approach. needs organization works with seven schools to provide extra class is to their students. soon the number will expand to 20. >> you feel more self- confidence. because you feel more useful.

>> i am filling part of a society, which is one of the key steps to integration. >> i spoke earlier to migration expert and began by asking him why this kind of project is not enough. >> primarily because it is taking a long time for germany to enologist is a country of immigration. and one of the main excuse is being that, primarily in the educational sector, an acknowledgement in the last two years that migrants structurally discriminate against. and other forms of academic studies and social analysis has become apparent that migrants need basis -- consistent form of support and development and to overcome structural discrimination and this advantage which they have experienced. at the local level, we have found these projects developing could often pioneer. it is pretty much against the head wind. we're finding that it is taking a long time for mainstream

society to a knowledge the fact that there's more across-the- board support needed. >> how do expect politicians to deal with this issue? >> acknowledged it far more than they have done of yet. there have been steps in educational integration, self integration, and acknowledgment with dialogue. these things have developed over the last three years, but denise to be far more of that. far less of the fear of the german identity or german blood. and this focused way of thinking that sometimes comes apart in public discussion. but gentleness is a far more acceptance of living like every day. nine people live longer together. with politicians, we need to push that. an image of how people are getting on, of how migrants are working in all parts of society with regular businesses and agents of the enterprise. and in many was, fully

integrated. >> ok. we thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, too. goodbye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪