captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hello, welcome to "journal." our headlines at this hour, heavy rains in southern mexico lead to a deadly mudslides. the mayor of moscow is fired after a power struggle with the russian president. germany unveils day controversial energy strategy for the next four decades. we start out in mexico, where a landslide has buried hundreds of

houses and may have killed up to 100 people according to authorities. authorities say the bad weather in the area continues to hamper rescue efforts. the southern states is also struggling with the aftermath of two tropical storms in the past week. thousands of people have been forced from their homes as parts of mexico suffered their worst rainy season on record. local authorities are saying that up to 1000 people have been killed in the mud slide. for more we spoke earlier to our correspondent in mexico city and asked him about what he was hearing from the affected region. >> at this point we have confirmed that in the affected area they have seven-and 400 people missing. it is a very mountainous, rural area.

families of 10 to 12 people living in one house. which is why the government says that there could be up to 1000 dead people. at this point is all speculation. >> what more can you tell us about the situation in the region in general? >> at this point they have not requested help from outside. we were able to talk to some people in the neighboring villages by phone. they have told us that they have seen the red cross and rescue teams on the way to this small village. but getting there is a logistical problem, a permit -- apparently. bridges have collapsed on the way, gravel roads have become muddy, the best way to get there is by helicopter, but it is still raining in the area, making flying not very easy. >> can the mexican relief workers cope with this on their own?

will they be asking for outside assistance? >> at this point they have not done so and it is still very early into this disaster. we do not have a clear picture. i think that the authorities are struggling to make a clear picture of what is happening on the ground. >> thank you for that update. meanwhile, in colombia, officials say that it could take more than one week to bother the people buried by a landslide there. >> an engineer was filming the scene when the hillside suddenly gave way and began to slide into the valley. the debris swept over a road that was already blocked by an earlier landslide. houses and cars were swallowed by the wall of earth. residents and rescue teams immediately start looking for

victims. >> we just learned that people were changing vehicles when it occurred. so, in order to be more concrete and to know what resources we will need, we are trying to verify approximately how many people are in the mud slide. >> rescue teams are working in extremely dangerous conditions. the hillside to remain unstable after days of heavy rain. >> the russian president,medvedf moscow. he had criticized dimitri medvedev, saying that the country needed a stronger leader. the kremlin pressured him to resign, but he refused. dimitri medvedev said that he would decide on a predecessor. vladimir putin said it would be a joint decision.

>> the power struggle has dominated the russian news four weeks, now the mayor of russia has been -- the mayor of moscow has been fired under order of the president. >> when the president does not trust one of his colleagues, did is grounds for dismissal. >> he has been the mayor of moscow since 1992. calls for his resignation have increased after accusations of nepotism and corruption. his wife, making billions since coming office as a construction empire leader. >> the operation comes from vladimir putin. he has effectively cleared the political stage ahead of the election. >> those elections in 2012 will

decide the next russian president. it is still not clear if vladimir putin or dimitri medvedev will stand off. >> north korean state media reported that the youngest son of kim jong il has been named vice chairman of the central military commission in the ruling workers' party. appointed to the post at the first major party conference since 1980. this comes after being promoted to the rank of four-star general. the news was announced on north korean state television. observers have been speculating that he could be named the successor to kim jong-il at the conference. the navy has intercepted another vessel attempted -- attempting to bring supplies to the blockade in gaza. a group of 10 activists were aboard from israel, britain, germany, and the u.s.. they had set sail from cyprus on

sunday. israel came under criticism in may after they stormed a flotilla killing nine turkish activists. the police in paris have reopened to the eiffel tower, forcing the evacuation of one of the world's busiest tourist sites. there is an official warning that the country might be a target of a terrorist attack. monday a major train station was cleared after a warning that proved to be a false alarm. the police evacuated 2000 people from the eiffel tower that was also a false alarm. we are going out to steve, who has business news in ireland. still trouble? >> not looking healthy. there are big worries that if ireland continues to sneeze, the rest of europe could get very sick. the news continued to rattle the nerves of investors today, ratings agencies reporting that the debt is at risk of being

downgraded even further, setting off another raised in borrowing costs. ireland is battling to convince investors that they can steal -- they can steer their banks through the crisis and tackle the biggest deficit in the european union. >> the anglo i alert -- anglo irish bank has become a nightmare for ireland. billions of heroes have gone into keeping it afloat and -- billions of euros have gone into keeping it afloat. 23 billion euros of taxpayer funds have been pumped into the bank. add in their budget deficit, it is the highest in the european union. on top of everything else, the irish economy is contract in where others are growing. can ireland turn things around? there is great skepticism among some financial markets where

risk premiums are at their highest. meaning that the irish cost of servicing debt is rising, creating a downward spiral that can only be broken by regaining investor trust. >> on to the markets, european shares managed an impressive rebound after steep declines during the trading day. our correspondent sent us this summary. >> a very exciting trading day with a swinging back and forth between gains and losses. economic data spoil the mood. consumers are losing faith in the economic strength of their come -- of their country. traders have been worried about the crisis in the euro zone, especially ireland where situations could get worse. the euro could profit from the disappointing u.s. data.

>> frankfurt, where we will stay for a look at tuesday's closing numbers. after the wild ride, dax finished flat. a similar picture for the euro stock 50. in new york, the dow jones managed to bounce back from a weak start to the session. on currency markets, the euro traded higher at this hour. a wildcat strike by the belgian air-traffic controllers closed down belgium airports on tuesday, forcing over 100 flights to be canceled. thousands of passengers were left stranded after the strike began on tuesday afternoon. it could last well into wednesday, but no one really knows. the strike, coming without warning, apparently provoked by personnel changes, but the

striking workers have made no clear demands. other flights that are not affected down from traffic hours outside of belgium. the german economic recovery continues to gain momentum with the economic research withdiy saying -- economic research institute diy saying that there would be record numbers of people with jobs next year, exceeding all statistics in the postwar history of turn me, some economists are predicting a strong growth of 3.4% this year. the strong jobs market is firing the german economic recovery, of course. the latest consumer confidence survey is out, showing falling unemployment and low inflation helping people to feel more optimistic about economic prospects. >> german high streets are becoming crowded these days as people spend more. consumers have not been this

upbeat about the financial situation in 10 years. mostly because more people are back at work. >> conditions on the job market are very important for consumer sentiment. one unemployed person makes three other people nervous. when unemployment goes lower, people naturally feel more secure. fere is counterproductive for consumption. security is good. >> the german index and pleasures the willingness of people to buy each month. with another job thanks to the country's improving economy. consumers seem to believe that the financial crisis is over, and others are expecting salary increases. researchers say that private consumption will probably be higher than originally forecast. >> 1 million ships had passed through the panama canal since

it first opened in 1914, allowing both to transport themselves between the pacific and atlantic ocean without having to sail all around the equator -- south america. managers of the canal managed to make the announcement yesterday. 5% of the world's total trade passes through the panama canal every year. 1 million, quite impressive. back to you. >> one of the top ministers of angela merkel will be taking a leave a lot -- leave of absence. he was shot and almost killed in an assassination attempt in 1990 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. the 68-year-old underwent an operation earlier this year and suffered an adverse skin reaction to new medicine. previous experience shows that he can run his ministry from

hospital. the german government has approved plans for what the chancellor is calling a revolutionary new energy strategy. under the proposal, most of the german electricity is supposed to come from renewable sources by 2015. the strategy also involves extending the life of nuclear power stations, unpopular with opposition parties and the general public. >> nuclear energy is bad for germany, that was the message that greenpeace activists projected on to the cooling tower north of munich. but the government is fighting its corner. ministers defending their concept as a necessary strategy for meeting the needs of german energy. >> this is a comprehensive plan that as long term and takes in all sectors of society. and it is designed to safeguard our future. >> the strategy focuses on

boosting environmentally friendly energy forms like wind and solar power. 80% of electricity is foreseen to be generated by renewable sources by 2050. the government's plan to extend the life of nuclear power plants is coming under increasing criticism. opposition politicians say that the energy concept will have a negative impact on the sector. >> what effect does expanding this life span have? it puts the pressure on the development for renewable energy. >> environmental groups are planning a huge nationwide demonstrations in autumn. >> beijing has warned the nobel institute that bilateral relations would suffer if the peace prize is awarded to a chinese dissident. he is serving 11 years in jail

calling for -- ford co-authoring a manifesto calling for democratic reform in china. he will be named don october 28. the new trial against the four operators of the file sharing site, pirate bay, begins in sweden. films and music are allowed to be swapped for free. they were accused of operating an illegal fire share -- file sharing site last year and said that they should damages of 2.7 million euros. they said they should be acquitted because there website never store the material. restrictions on carrying liquid in handbags will be lifted after 2013, that by that time airports will be equipped with new security scanners that can distinguish between explosives

and harmless materials. unprecedented restrictions were put in place after the failed attempt in advance -- failed attempt to use live with explosives in britain and canada. stay tuned, we will be back with our in-depth report. >> october 3, 2010. a day to celebrate. 20 years of german unity. the anniversary this schedule.

24 extraordinary hours. featuring the official ceremony and the big celebration in berlin. 20 years of german unity on october 3, starting at 5:00. >> the comeback. the german government has come up with an ambitious new energy policy in that ensuring that most of germany's power comes from renewable sources. all of the political parties have agreed on that goal but they are deeply divided on how loud -- how long atomic reactors should be allowed to run. they want them all shutdown within 11 years. angela merkel says that the only way to meet co2 reduction targets and satisfy projected demand is to keep the plants running longer, pledging that two-thirds of the profits generated during the extension will be invested in renewable energy.

>> these demonstrators are upset that the chancellor's new energy plan proposes to delay the closure of some of germany's nuclear power plants. but the nuclear component is just one part of the chancellor's energy strategy. the proposal was aimed at creating a mix that is heavy on renewable sources of energy. governments around the world have expressed concern about the threat of global warming and are taking measures aimed at reducing it. germany plans to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 2015. this is how germany's energy mixture looks right now. 23% from nuclear power. 14% from natural gas. 22% from coal. 7% from renewable sources. that fourth element will have to be expanded to 80% if they want to meet their 2015 goals.

experts say that by then as much as 60% of their requirements, including heating and transportation, should come from renewable sources. but it will take a lot of work. another important element is biomass, organic material from plants and animals. it makes up 40% of the german renewable energy right now. that number will be increased in the years to come. the country's electricity grid must be made more flexible because supplies of wind power and solar power fluctuate regionally and the generate electricity must travel long distances. germany will continue to use some nuclear power until renewable sources become more fully developed. germany has 17 nuclear power

plants that are to be taken offline one by one over the next decade. older plants will be kept for eight more years, a newer plants up to 14 years more. the government also wants people to use less energy around the house. one way to do that is to make their homes more energy efficient. the government's energy strategy is ambitious and most people seem willing to go along with it, all of that except for extending the life of nuclear power plants. >> let's go to our political correspondent for analysis. looks like the opposition is going to make this the centerpiece of this policy. looks like the government will face a lot of resistance? >> that is right, there is resistance to the energy strategy plan on many levels but

by far the most controversial element is the plan to extend the operating life of german nuclear power plants. polls show that a majority of germans do not want to see those power plants operating any longer than they are currently scheduled to operate. there is a great deal of opposition and the parties have been digging up on that, making the social democrats to a large degree the centerpiece of their opposition policy. right now the social democrats said they are planning to challenge the plans in constitutional court, threatening to block it in the upper house of parliament if the government's strategy has to be passed near. they say that the oppositionf they get into power in 2013, they will overturn the policy and nuclear energy. >> the government wants to have 80% of german energy coming from

renewable sources by 2050. how realistic is that goal? >> we are talking about electricity. 80% by 2050 sounds ambitious and it is ambitious. it depends on a couple of factors. money and technology. billions will have to be invested in the infrastructure to get those renewable energy sources up and running. having that technology working by 2050 willie quite stories technology there. renewable energy depends on the sun, the wind, so there is a matter of capturing the energy and distributing it when the sun is not a shining. >> how does the german situation

compared to that of other european countries? >> germany, as you pointed out, with targets of 80% electricity production by 2050, very much and he wants germany to maintain that position. germany is going out on a limb to some degree with that direction by shutting down its nuclear power plant no later than 2036, going against the trend. >> terry, thank you. big changes. the first and payout -- has drastic with a core of numerous it when harm's.

-- wind farms. >> when the wind blows hard, the turbines move over into high gear. 60,000,031-40. >> it is enough to supply the entire district with three- quarters of the energy that they need. >> the wind park supply is all of the energy excess electricity is fed back into the grid better than the bank. the other thing is that we have found serving the community.

we can improve roads, for instance. maybe you have seen it in our design. there's a lot happening. >> of the renewable energy project is one of the most advanced of its kind in germany. people with electric cars can recharge them right here. now the village is looking for a way to directly store the excess energy produced. >> there are various solutions. it could be used in combination with in the electro -- electric vehicles as mobile storage devices, power by regenerative energy but they are already certain that the feature would

include more renewable energy. >> that was our in-depth report on german energy. thank you for watching.

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