captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> this is "the journal" on dw- tv. >> and i have the business news. >> the headlines. israeli settlements possibly a sticking point ahead of peace talks. the catholic church in belgium acknowledges hundreds of children abused by pedophile priests, and here in germany, a debate about the future direction. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has flown to the middle east to support the latest round

of israeli-palestinian peace talks. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and mahmoud abbas will be meeting. both the u.s. and the u.n. have urged benjamin netanyahu to extend the stock beyond the deadline. -- extend a stop. >> construction work on new homes is already underway. recent reports suggest benjamin netanyahu has no plans to freeze all settlement building over the long term. local media are anticipating a new construction boma. >> there is no need for a partial freeze. there is no need for a total freeze. there is enough room for everyone to live peacefully. >> but not all israelis agree. some are critical of the

inconsistent stance of the government. >> the settlers can do without approval of the government, and this is an issue note -- is an issue. >> the palestinians are ordering a total freeze on construction. >> edd least 13 people and killed in a plane crash in venezuela. -- at least 13 people. it was going to a resort area. there were 51 passengers and crew on board the state-run airline. officials say 43 people survived the crash. fresh classes in kashmir have claimed at least 16 lives -- fresh clashes. they were shouting slogans against indian rule.

they burned in effigy of president barack obama and set fire to buildings and christian schools. it is the worst violence in the disputed region since protests erupted previously. the catholic church in belgium has pledged support for victims of sexual abuse by priests. this follows the publication last week of an independent report that uncovered hundreds of cases of abuse over the last 50 years in the country. >> at age 21, his brother took his own life, tormented by the abuse he suffered as a child. 19 years have passed. years in which the pleas of the family fell on deaf ears. >> we spoke to different cardinals. we told them what happened, but they did nothing. >> the belgian catholic church is at the center of a widening scandal of abuse, lies, and

cover-up. the report published last week unveils it being bigger than thought. catholic priests are accused of abusing at least 475 children in a certain period. >> these stories and the suffering they contain are frightening. they bring us face-to-face what -- with what never should have happened. >> now, they hope the victims will be able to speak up about the abuse and the process of healing can finally begin. >> the governing christian democrats in germany and their coalition partners are in favor of a decision, and that means a proposal should soon become policy. the decision came on the second day of the meeting of leaders, and some feel the party have poured -- has drifted from its

roots. >> conservative and christian. that is the philosophy that underpins the german cdu. some are urging a re-think. >> they have lost sight of everything, christian values, christian orientation. they are no different from the christian democrats or the free democrats. >> but some figures have rejected calls on the ideology. they say things are unfounded. >> we do not need another party to the right of the cdu. that is a needless discussion. >> the leadership says there are more pressing issues to discuss, such as barrett -- such as the reform of the armed forces. >> compulsory military service

will remain in the constitution, so it will not be scrapped in favor of a fully professional army. >> compulsory military service will be discontinued in its present form. the cdu had reached agreement on one decisive issue. many more remain. >> earlier, we spoke to our correspondent simon and asked about the problems the cdu is facing. >> you could call it an identity crisis. it has been overshadowed about protests and debate about what they really stand for, and the main problem is that many conservatives within the party feel after 10 years of angela merkel at the helm that they are no longer properly represented by the party. angela merkel, of course, in that time has moved her party much further to the left.

in winning those new center ground voters, she has left many conservatives behind, and, incidentally, they are not likely to be that impressed by this decision today to abandon compulsory military service, but there is also this work going around that someone might be tempted to set up a new political party to the right of the christian democrats. polls suggest that could get some support, and if that happens, that could be a big headache for angela merkel. the cdu has its conservative credentials intact. >> and that was simon speaking to us earlier. and there is a situation involving controversial comments made about muslims. one person has about it to remain in the party, any the

described muslims as unwilling to integrate. -- and he described muslims as unwilling to integrate. reports from the u.s. say the obama administration is preparing what could be the biggest arms deal in its history with saudi arabia. a u.s. defense official is quoted as saying that there could be an initial commitment of $30 billion from saudi arabia. fighter jets, other hardware. the pentagon has refused to comment on details. monica, we're talking about banking again. >> that is right. central bankers and regulators agreed to big reforms intended to help avoid a new global financial crisis. under this landmark deal, banks will be forced to hold greater capital reserves. the head of the european central bank says the agreement reached

in switzerland represents a fundamental strengthening of the global capital standards. >> the central bank chiefs from 27 nations agreed to the new bassel iii -- basel iii rules. the main change is that banks will be required to hold more high-quality capital, what is known as the tier-1 capital ratio, currently set at 4% of assets. it will raise to 6%. on top of that, regulators will have a buffer of up to 2.5%. this, however, does not need to be in place until 2019. >> this is what is necessary for all banks and a global level. -- at a global level. economically and financially.

we have got to get a level playing field at the global level. >> the new regulations have not weighed on bankshares. many traders have been the expecting a stricter regime. " >> in a way, i think we are quite surprised. this looks like a pretty soft effort by the commission. also, there has been enormous input from the central banks. and the imf and other is. -- and others. >> it will start gradually and will apply globally, and that means that the banks will have several years to adapt. >> response to basel iii, and we have this from frankfurt. >> basel iii losing some over

the weekend. a generous transition period and the measure is not quite as draconian as the year. that is helping the atmosphere. deutsche bank is going to ask for $10 billion note additional -- $10 billion additional. much of it will go to try to acquire postbank. most think that is good because they will be able to get a cheaper than expected. >> looking in the detail of the market, the dax closed three- quarters of 1% higher. the euro stoxx 50 blue chips finished almost 1% higher. across the atlantic on wall street, the dow jones closed up in positive territory. and the euro is trading at -- allianz says it is withdrawing

from the hedge fund business. it has sold its so-called alternative management section. they did not mention how much was paid, but they say the assets will be valued at about 1.5 billion euros after the acquisition. a spokesperson from the group explained it simply as a strategic decision. the european commission has upgraded its forecast for the euro zone, saying it is not expected to grow by 1.8% this year rather than the 0.9% forecasted in may. the report was released by the european commission in brussels on monday, and it is twice the economic forecast for the 27- nation eu, in germany was leading the way. >> german factory figures are going along in high gear as order books across the country fill up.

the latest forecast suggested the number of orders will be double the amount initially anticipated. germany's robust economic recovery seems to be taking many by surprise. the european union has almost tripled this year's growth forecast to 3.4%. growth in britain, france, in italy is expected to be below the eu average. in spain, d-con is expected to shrink. -- the economy is expected to shrink. >> there is no reason to shout or factory. -- for victory. we must remain vigilant amid the remaining uncertainties. >> the eu says the biggest threat is a slump in economic activity, which would put a damper on exports. >> international inspectors have begun a two-week review of

greece's debt. they are expected to grant them loans worth 9 billion euros. meanwhile, the truckers' union is talking about more protests. there are long lines at gas stations in athens, fearing a repeat of the july week-long strike. in addition, rail workers are expected to go on a 24-hour strike coming up. >> some have failed in an attempt to oust their major. he has been widely criticized for refusing to accept responsibility of 21 deaths in july. he has also rejected resignation calls pending the results of an inquiry. evoke among local councilors fell short of the two-thirds majority required to remove him from office -- a vote among local councilors fell short.

>> inside the city hall, it was his party's backing that blocked the opposition attempt to oust him. >> the issues up and put to rest. nothing will change unless the facts change -- the issues have been put to rest. >> 21 people were crushed to death during a stampede. since then, some have called for him to resign. but the mayor has categorically refused to step down, insisting he can only help investigations into the disaster by remaining in office. the motion to remove him failed to secure the required two- thirds majority. the opposition democrats and free democrats and others say this is bad news. >> i cannot see how he can possibly win over investors for our city, and i cannot see people trusting him to tackle the major challenges facing our city. >> he made his first official appearance in weeks on sunday.

though he hosted high ranking officials, he appeared isolation -- isolated. some fear the city may suffer the same. >> some fans are celebrating after the u.s. won their first championship in 16 years, beating the host nation turkey, 81-64 the final score. a 21-year-old was on target once again. he was voted most valuable player of the championship. media reports say the ex formula one star is about to return to the sport. the driver is ready to get behind the wheel in just two weeks time. just one month ago, he left mercedes, where he was a reserve driver, and joint bid tiremaker as a test driver -- and joined the tiremaker.

we have a short break. do not go away. >> a divided country has grown together, and so much has changed. germany, 20 years after unification.

we will present special coverage. join the celebration. 20 years of german unity. on october 3, starting at 5:00 utc on dw-tv. >> welcome back. early next month, germany celebrates the 20th anniversary. it took less than one year after the fall of the berlin wall for the legislation leading to unification to be passed, but in the process, leaders in both east and west wanted to be certain that many of the injustices of the east german regime would not be forgotten. a special institution was set up to preserve the archives of the east german secret police or "stasi" as it was college. one group is tasked with preserving them in making them available.

>> these used to be the stasi complex, a hermetically sealed complex in berlin-lichtenberg. >> this was the starting point of the persecution of people. decisions were made here about how to intrude into people's lives or to destroy their careers or to damage them in some other way, and i can never forget that fact when i stand here. >> she is the federal commissioner for the stasi archives. these days, it is housed next to the police of chief, who was investigated -- who was charged with investigating. he can get access to files. as a civil rights activist in the former east germany, he was under surveillance by the stasi,

but she does not see herself as a victim. >> in my experience of east germany from the inside, and i know what it feels like to be watched, but it would be wrong to say that i have any scores to settle. >> in 1990, she became education minister in the state of brandenburg. when it emerged that one man had worked for the stasi, she resigned in protest. she took over responsibility for the stasi archives from her predecessor in the year 2000. the east german secret police left behind plenty of files. they stretch 112 kilometers if laid end to end. activists played a key role in preserving the material. in january 1990, they stormed the stasi archives to stop them

from being shredded. -- the headquarters to stop them from being shredded. some have discovered there were being watched by close friends or relatives. sheep -- they were being watched by close friends or relatives. >> i often get letters from people who say they think they were spied on and do not know who they can trust, so i do not think that distrust is sown by the files themselves. the distrust was by the dictatorship, and with the help of the fios, it is possible to find out if that distrust was justified, who betrayed me, and in our experience, that is very important to a lot of people. >> 129 people work at the archives, examining and research in the material in reconstructing damaged files. -- and research in the material.

but some question if the information in the files themselves is truthful. >> you could say that the stasi files were the mail tool of the stasi police, and that could mean that they wanted to keep it is accurate as possible, but that does not mean that is correct. we are talking about people who did not necessarily see things as they were or were happy to embellish the facts when they wrote things down. but the stasi knew this and took that into subjective considerations, so if they were monitoring someone, they would have several people monitor and put together a picture based on the whole. >> her term in office ends next spring, but she knows there is still plenty to be done.

she thinks that the work at the stasi headquarters will continue until at least 2019 -- at the stasi archives. >> if stasi spies found what they thought was subversive, it could be fatal. many were tortured. one of the most notorious prisons was one compound. one man now tells his stories on tours to gives to visitors. >> looking at these walls for him means looking back at the worst time of his life, time spent at the stasi prison. he applied to leave the country and make contact with deployments, and that was tantamount to treason. after several days of solitary

confinement, he was put in a cell with three other inmates. >> in this section, there were two bunk beds. but you were not allowed to go into that part during the day. so the four of us could only go from the door to hear all day long -- to here all day long. >> guards patrolled, and they had to sleep on their backs with their hands and visible. anyone who turned over was woken. he spent only three months here, but it is a period that has shaped his life. he and other inmates had been working for years to ensure that the horrors inflicted by buthe stasi are not forgotten, and they have won their battle to have a memorial set up here.

>> i experienced many terrible things, and then i see what is happening today and people playing down what happened in east germany, and i consider it my obligation and duty by telling people. it was an unjust regime. >> but there is a dispute over how the history of the prison should be conveyed. he would want the building kept as it was as much as possible. with the help of witnesses from the time, he is believe that is the best way to convey the truth, but there are other proposals to widen the scope of the memorial to other aspects of the former east and so to provide a broader background to the history of the stasi. the head of the stasi archives in one. -- in one area. >> we wanted to be very

objective, very cognitive, without any emotions, because that could be too emotional -- we want it to be very objective. a history " could only work if the facts convey also have an emotional foundation -- the history could only work. >> and as an ex-inmate he wants to provide that emotional foundation. >> if you give a complete the generic theme to this specific building, then the whole character of it is blurred, and the only people who would be glad about that are those who we annoyed with what we do, the former stasi officials. >> so he is pressing ahead to keep it in its original state, to honor and remember the thousands of inmates who wished they had never been here.

>> and that has been our "in depth" this hour. thanks for watching, and stay tuned.