hi, everyone, welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv in berlin. the top stories at this hour, u.s. pastor terry jones leaves the world waiting as his career and burning plants sparks outrage in moslem countries. a massive blaze in golf's a san francisco suburb, killing at least four people -- involves a san francisco suburb, killing at least four people. and capping safety costs for nuclear power plants.

the united states is preparing to mark the ninth anniversary of the september 11 terrorist attacks on saturday. the pastor's threat to burn the koran on the day has but overshadowing events. he now says he will not go ahead with the burning as long as the new york imam moves at planned islamic cultural center away from ground zero. this has sparked outrage in the muslim world. in afghanistan, angry protesters lashed out at a nato outpost. >> the planned birding has seen thousands of people around the globe take to the streets, like afghanistan. shouting anti-u.s. slogans, they approach this database in the far northeast. the pastors and plans to burn at

200 karans has caused an international firestorm. the president and the pentagon have waded into the debate. >> this kind of behavior or threat of action puts our young men and women in harm's way. >> pastor jones has called off the event for the time being and is preparing to fly to new york to meet with the imam, who wants to build his element cultural center -- his islamic cultural center to a half blocks from where the world trade center once stood. i>> we plan to meet with him on saturday. if we meet with him on saturday, we will not burn the koran. >> the pastor is certain he will get the center relocated. and not my major concern with moving it -- >> my major concern with moving

it is that the headline would be that islam is under attack in america, striking the radicals. >> this threatens to overshadow the can murmuration of the over 3000 people who died in the terrorist attacks in 2001. >> i spoke earlier with our correspondent in washington, who told us more about meeting that pastor jones had set with the imam. >> at this press conference where he announced this, he had a spokesperson reading his telephone number and asking that the imam call him back. everybody in the world now knows his telephone number. they are reconsidering their plans to burn the karan tomorrow. they did not say exactly what they were going to do if the ultimatum runs out, but that is implicit somehow. from new york, we hear from of

imam himself who is behind the controversy all islamic center that he is not planning to meet with the pastor on saturday, and we have heard from her daughter saying about the pastor, i think he has gone mad. >> how much has this u.s. pastor from a very tiny convocation in florida managed to dominate media coverage on this anniversary of september 11? >> it was clear cents a couple of weeks that this 9/11 would be different because of the ongoing discussion about integration of muslims in the united states, but this episode with the pastor has a totally new quality, the pastor trying to blackmail the islamic community with the burning of the koran. that could hurt the u.s., although this is just one person with a combination of only 30 people, and we are very

concerned that there might be people who see this and say, hey, it is easy to get more attention. they are afraid there might be copycats. everybody agrees that this man is getting much more attention than he deserves and that he certainly does not represent the majority of americans. >> thank you for that update from washington. california firefighters are putting out the flames after a gas pipeline exploded in a suburb of san francisco. at least four people were killed, but officials warned the death toll is likely to rise. more than 30 people are being treated in hospital for burns, and hundreds of residents have been evacuated. >> aerial images reveal the full extent of the damage the morning after the explosion. the blast triggered a massive fireball that destroyed whole street blocks in this residential area. flames towered 30 meters above

the san francisco suburb san bruno. over 50 houses were reduced to ash. firefighters finally brought the blaze under control. one witness described the scene as hell on earth. >> i live up on the hill and i ran up the street. the fireball was 100 feet or more into the air. >> authorities believe an underground gas pipes leak caused the blast. they're ripped a massive hole in the ground. a state of emergency is still in effect. >> we know that a natural gas line ruptured yesterday around 6:24 p.m. but we don't know what caused it or what happened. we will find out soon. >> investigators are looking into claims that residents reported smelling gas days before the explosion. if europe has its way, we

will see more south korean cars on the road. >> europe could sign a huge trade deal with south korea as soon as next monday, this despite a hold up from italy, on fears that it will hurt the country's automobile industry. european union officials expect to fine-tune the deal this weekend to ease italy's worries. it would wipe out millions in duties between the eu and south korea. >> resistance to the agreement is coming primarily from italy's car industry, which fears that south korea could easily flood the market and overwhelm local carmakers. but the italians are isolated, and the e.u. is certain they will come on board. >> the commission is saying we are confident this will not be agreed today, but it is the biggest single free-trade agreement the european union has concluded with any country anywhere and they're desperate to get it done and they think will be signed by all 27 countries in october at a

special summit in brussels. >> companies are looking forward to a major boost from the free- trade agreement. one study says european exports to south korea could rise by as much as 73%, to 45 billion euros. at the same time, eu imports from south korea could meet a 52 billion euros, an increase of 32%. south korea is already the fourth largest trading partner of the union. the european union wants trade with pakistan to be easier to help them recover from devastating floods. foreign ministers met to consider a plan that would cut 200 million euros of tariffs from goods and pakistan. floods in the country last month killed the 1700 people and left 21 million homeless or displaced. the eu is expected to bring its plans to the wto for approval.

shares and deutsche bank were among friday's worst performers on rumors the bank is planning a huge capital increase to shore up its balance sheet. german newspapers are reporting that the to bank will sell 9 billion euros in new shares to prop up its reserves to meet new capital requirements. they are also rumors -- there are also rumors that deutsche bank will increase its stake in postbank. if deutsche bank this fall with a capital increase, it would be the biggest in europe so far this year. those talks weighed on european stocks on friday, bringing the session lower. we have a wrapup of the trading action from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the prospect of a capital increase is not good news for stock owners of deutsche bank. if the capital increase happens, the profits in the future will have to be divided by many more shares

nevertheless, not all traders are upset. soon, lawmakers will require higher capital requirements from all banks, so strategically it could be a clever move to do a capital increase now, ahead of all the other banks. getting a quick look at the markets. on friday, and frankfurt, the dax index closed slightly lower. similar story for the euro stoxx 50 index. on wall street, investors applauded the latest data on wholesale inventories, showing supplies went up more than 1% in july. the dow jones right now half a percent higher in late afternoon trading. on the currency markets, the is $1.3725. more money for germany's sickest bank. there are reports that hippo real-estate needs another 40

billion euros to get it going. the german governor took over hypo and has pumped it with 100 billion euros of taxpayer money. sources close to the banks say they are running out of money because of the high risks premium they have to pay on the eurozone sovereign bond. the german automaker volkswagen has reported positive numbers for august, deliveries up 1% compared with the same time last year. they sold a total of 4.7 million cars worldwide since the start of the year and the company is shooting for a record number of deliveries for the second year in a row. booming demand in china is driving all of this. sales in the chinese market have increased 41% so far this year. there is a new man at the top of a mobile phone giant nokia. the finnish company has tapped a microsoft executive, steven elop, to be their new chief

executive. nokia shares climbed 6%. nokia is still the global leader in the cell phone market when it comes to volume, but the new ceo has some challenges. they're popular smart phone models face strong competition from the iphone and research in motions blackberry. have you got a blackberry? >> no, my phone was stolen. in germany, details emerging on the government's deal with big energy providers on extending the life of the country's nuclear power plants. it offers utility companies protection against lawsuits. the opposition and anti-nuclear activists have accused the government of giving and to the demands of the nuclear power industry. >> this 10-page supplement the agreement between the government and utilities it regulates the

details of the plant life span extension for nuclear power plants. the opposition is crying foul, claiming the government withheld important affirmation from the public, including caps on safety costs. >> it is a scandalous turn of events. chancellor merkel has sealed the deal with the industry on a matter that must be regulated. >> merkel has made concessions to the utilities in the form of a 500 million euro cost ceiling should nuclear power plants need to be retrofitted due to safety concerns. should it cost more, utilities would be able to reduce investments in renewable energies. the government considers this to be a transparent arrangement. >> i reject accusations that the chancellor has not been forthright with the public. >> parliament is scheduled to debate the supplementary contract and a life span

expansions later this month. a new report has found the sexual abuse of children was widespread in belgium's catholic church, particularly in the 1960's. the independent head of the church commission said almost every catholic institution and school harbored abuse. the report recorded almost 500 cases and more than a dozen victims -- and a dozen cases where victims were driven to suicide. about half of the abusers have since died. charges cannot be filed because the incidents occurred decades ago. banca dmitry medvedev has vowed to destroy those behind thursday's suicide bombing in the north caucuses which left 17 people dead. they are observing a day of mourning one day after a bomber blew himself up in a busy marketplace. more than one half the people were wounded. the attack came as a leading islamic -- more than 100 people were wounded.

at least one person is reported missing after a mudslide flooded a tiny village on italy's coast. emergency services were called in in the middle of the night after the mud slide ripped through the village, overturning cars and gushing into homes. it was unleashed by heavy rains that caused rivers to burst their banks. the rainfall let up friday, but more is expected in the coming days. formula one, an impressive performance, topping the times after the first day of practice for the italian grand prix. the red bull driver and world cup hopeful age the competition and is the favorite to win it. the ferraris came in second and third. for muslims around the world, it is a time of celebration. the fasting month of ramadan has

and it -- has ended. >> it is a time of celebration and news pakistan and all around the globe, a time of good food at the end of ramadan. iraqis are celebrating their first holiday since the final withdrawal of u.s. combat troops. this specification is taking on special meaning as many pray for lasting peace in their world -- war-torn country. >> i hope safety and peace will return to iraq. above all, but we have a government that responds to the wishes of the iraqi people. >> this is traditionally a time to be with family and friends. presents a are exchange amid a festive atmosphere, a colorful and lively celebration, one of the most joyful dates on the islamic calendar. stay tuned.

we will be back with a look at the venice film festival and some of the films in competition. don't go away.

the 67th finis international film festival is closing this weekend. -- the venice film festival. in recent years, things have been stiff with competition from the festival in berlin and canne, but venice has a unique atmosphere and has been praised for its exciting program. it is the oldest film festival in the world, and the sheer has drawn big stars, strong films, and -- and this year has drawn big stars, strong films, and new talent. >> natalie portman and quit in

tarantino. -- and clinton tarantino. venice has received glowing reviews, praising the program and the atmosphere. >> it is a great festival this year, with all the world's stars. >> it is wonderful. am i am very happy to be here. -- >> i am very happy to be here. >> there are important films from all over the world. >> by contrast, the cannes film festival was widely panned for showing too many films of what critics say were of poor quality. berlin came under fire for what many said was a lackluster program. some believe that venice is out shining both. some films, such as this psychological smallethriller, "k

swan." it struck a balance between mainstream movies and art house there. some of the most popular films have been french. in this comedy, a trophy wife plays the wife of a board executive. when her husband becomes ill, she takes over the factory. the film, set in the 1970's, has an interesting take on the times. venice's festival is likely to be boosted further when they finished with the complex of seven state of the art movie theaters. the project is set to be completed in 2012. people from the industry are confident that will change of

venice for the better. >> venice has always not been set in stone. am i think they have a great lineup this year, very diverse. >> the most important thing is that venice exists and has a place at the top. >> perhaps the praise is also influenced by the surroundings, which seem like one large film festival. the festival aims to celebrate international cinema and its various forms as art, entertainment, and industry. 86 feature films were screened during the festival, 82 of which were world premieres. the venice film festival is known for sure casting john rau films, but this year's movies also had strong political messages. ithere is lots of competition, with several excellent films in contention. our reporters went around to

find out which were the favorites. >> and "some ewhere," the actor. stir life. after his 11-year-old daughter turns up, he slowly pulls and self together. >> hi, dad. >> the film deals with the artificiality of show business. the director, daughter of francis ford coppola, grown her own experience, including become a parent herself. >> it was on my mind about what a big impact it makes on you, and your parents. >> it is a favorite to win the top award, the golden lion. it is one of six u.s. films in

competition at the festival. as the weather in venice deteriorated during the weeks, the themes of the towns became darker. critics have claimed this film from china is based on a true story, set in a work camp in the gobi desert during the 1950's. 3000 alleged dissidents were imprisoned there. the high death rate and scarcity of food that led to cannibalism -- the high death rate and scarcity of food led to cannibalism. the director made his critical film it in secret, filming in a remote area to evade the scrutiny of chinese authorities. >> for ross, the ones who did not experienced it, it is something that happened in the past. for those who lived through it, it feels as if it were

yesterday. for me personally, it was in part to make it now. >> it is one of several films this year in which a filmmaker explores dark times in his country's past. waters hat -- others have told very personal stories. critics and public alike are saying this is a good year. >> another movie in competition that was shown on friday was "3" by a german director. he shot to international film with his first film and the late 1990's. his latest movie about three people who get involved in a tragic comic love affair is set in berlin. >> the directorate is in venice with the cast of his new film, "3," his first german language film in 10 years, an unusual

love story. anna and simon have been together forever, it seems, but then she meets another man. simon falls in love, too, with the same man that she falls for. >> what you never lose is the curiosity and longing and it urges. they don't go away, but somehow we are not supposed to have them, because we always have to have everything under control. that is a contradiction we have to live with as adults. that is the only thing that drives the plot of the film. the fact that it ignores that convention. >> this is the third time he has had a film and competition at the venice. 12 years ago he was here for the first time.

the low-budget production became and into a national art house hit and. german film making back on the world map. -- and put german filmmaking back on the world map. "3" marks a return to the native germany and also his native language. >> working in english, i would never be able to catch the nuances of language that give its humor. just a couple words said in a different accent. that is why i don't think i could ever move to another country permanently, because i would miss that. >> he has always been fascinated by the role of chance and events, and this film is no exception. it examines what happens when people's lives suddenly go off track. "3" is a sensitive study of three people approaching middle

age, of their doubts, desires, and hopes. >> ok. >> with that, we are out of time. thank you for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--