>> welcome to "the journal." i am in berlin at the news desk. coming up, pakistan intelligence says a u.s. drowned killed german militants. >> protests in germany over a takeover bid for a construction company. >> the nobel prize for medicine is awarded to britain's robert edwards, whose research led to the first test-tube baby. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> pakistani intelligence

officials said a number of german islamic militants were killed in an american missile strike near the afghan border. it seems the german citizens were in the north waziristan region for terrorist training. unmanned drones fired missiles at a mosque late on monday. no. was there a stand is in the northwest of pakistan, near the afghan border. it is seen as an al qaeda training ground. for more analysis, i am joined in the studio by our terrorism expert. thanks for being with us. let us start with this region in pakistan. you have travelled there. what makes this interesting for islamic militants? >> and north waziristan is northwest of pakistan which is very inaccessible. it is almost impossible for the central government to control.

some of them hide in that remote part of pakistan, the border region with afghanistan. it for terrorists of all colors, breeds, and backgrounds. they go there to receive military training. >> germans and other europeans joining al qaeda is nothing new. do you think there is an increase in europeans joining the group? >> not necessarily europeans. we have seen an influx mainly from central asian countries like this pakistan. -- like uzbekistan. should it be true that americans have killed several germans in their missile attacks, that would be a severe blow to the terrorism seen in germany. >> that was our terrorism expert. the german expert is playing down warnings of possible terrorist attacks in europe.

berlin says there is no sign of an immediate threat to germany. the u.s. issued a travel alert to europe, followed by similar warnings by britain and japan. germany's interior minister says there is no reason to overreact. >> berlin's central station. some u.s. media reports say the terrorists have been planning an attack here. the city's iconic tv tower was also named as a target. germany's interior minister has warned against a lamaism. he says there is no new evidence to justify higher security in germany. >> there are currently no concrete indications of imminent attacks in germany. we do however face a danger of a more abstract nature. german interest at home and abroad have long been a target

for international terrorism. >> this hotel near the brandenburg gate's should also beware, according to u.s. broadcaster fox news. most of the tourists seem unfazed. they are not letting the report spoil their holiday. >> i am not concerned about it. i have confidence in german security. it is a part of life now. you are going to get these threats and just deal with it. >> embassies in berlin have now -- have long been on high security alert about potential terrorist attacks. >> the nato secretary general has expressed regret over the death of three pakistani soldiers who were killed last week. he said he hopes that supply routes through pakistan and afghanistan would soon reopen.

afghanistan closed the border crossing after the attack that mistakenly killed soldiers. nato transports around 80% of its equipment along that route. the taliban are targeting military supply convoys. an attack on a fuel depot left three security officers dead. the trial of the controversial right wing dutch politician geert wilders has been stopped for a day. he is being tried for inciting hatred of muslims. he was in berlin on the weekend urging people to combat the influence of islam in germany. his freedom party made big gains in june's national election and will support the new minority government in the netherlands. >> geert wilders told the court he had said what he had to say and would not take one word back. he then invoke his right to remain silent.

he had denounced the proceedings on the internet, saying the whole thing was politically motivated. geert wilders is an outspoken politician. on saturday, he gave a speech in berlin in front of 500 guests. the event was hosted by a former politician who recently founded his own up freedom party. geert wilders said, "despite my tight schedule, i felt it was important to come to berlin. you need a movement that will create a german identity and oppose islam in germany." geert wilders is charged with five counts of inciting hatred towards muslims in comments to the media and in his 2008 film, "fitna." if convicted, he faces up to 16 months in prison. >> let us check in with peter at

the business desk. it seems spain's largest construction company is trying to gain ground here. >> it is ruffling feathers among managers. workers at the german construction group op are protesting this takeover by spanish building company acs. it describes it as a hostile move. the fight for control of the group is now entering a decisive phase. >> the managers of the spanish company acs were made to feel uncomfortable as they arrived and the board held a meeting to discuss the takeover bid. the board's fear is that the spanish company, which is highly indebted, could break up the company before selling it and flushing jobs. work councils are determined to stop the plan from going ahead.

>> we want to carry on in the jobs we have done up to now, and not for the spaniards. >> they have a global work force of 60,000. major international projects allow the company to escape the recession. last year, profits jumped almost 25%. the board said it will fight for the best interests of the company, a stance welcomed by workers in germany. acs already owns 29.89% of the company. the germans say the bid presents no value to shareholders. but if the spaniards managed to increase their holdings to about 30%, there will be in a stronger position to acquire a majority stake. >> it is now official. the opel plant in belgium will close by the end of the year.

none of the investors were able to come up with a successful business strategy. the plant once employed 2600 people. the closure is part of general motors' plan to slash capacity at subsidiaries throughout europe and cut 800 jobs in a bid to return to profit. european stock prices drifted lower among profit-taking. banks and automobile makers were the leading decliners. stefan has more on the day's trading from frankfurt. >> it drove down the market, although german car makers are very successful in the u.s., especially mercedes, audi, and bmw. but registration numbers in germany still go down. this is because of a bad effect in germany. there was also some profit-

taking going. car sales went well in the last few weeks. after the golden months of september, october started off with losses. >> we are looking at market indexes in more detail. the blue chips dax close of 1.5% lower. the bureau stocks -- euro stoxx 50 closed in negative territory. the dow industrials closed the trading day down about 0.72%. the euro is trading for $1.36 86 cents. there are meetings in brussels for bilateral talks on strengthening ties. at the top of the region are a reform of the imf and policies to strengthen trade. talks will focus on new ways to

boost global economic growth. >> the 46 european and asian nations gathered at the belgian king's palace expect more than pretty pictures from their meeting. together, they represent more than 60% of world trade. they want to expand that trade and learn from the mistakes of the economic crisis. >> we have the asian economic upturn to thank for our own positive economic development. we have largely overcome the economic crisis, and i expect to focus on how we can generate lasting growth and job creation. >> while many european governments are focused on getting budgets under control, asian countries want to give their economies more stimuli. china will also have to fend off charges that it deliberately keeps its currency undervalued to give its exporters competitive advantages.

>> we must also resolve issues regarding currency reserves and exchange rates. but above all it is important that we preserve economic stability. >> it remains to be seen whether the summit provides the economic impetus both sides hope for. the european and asian leaders face difficult talks behind closed doors. >> the nobel prize for medicine. >> it was awarded to the british scientist robert edwards. he and a colleague were pioneers of in vitro fertilization, or ibf, which made it possible for millions of infertile couples to have children. the first test-tube baby was born in 1978, and was one of the first to congratulate edwards for his achievements. >> it was a medical sensation.

july 25, 1978, louise brown was born in britain, the world's first test-tube baby. today, she is a mother herself. her birth was made possible by this man, a british scientist robert edwards, known as the father of in vitro fertilization. for more than 20 years edwards and his late colleague worked to develop ivf. in 1977, they successfully fertilized egg cells outside a woman's body and implanted them into her womb. since then, 4 million babies have been born things to in vitro fertilization. the nobel jury said edwards' work has brought joy to infertile couples around the world, calling it a milestone in modern medicine. the 85-year-old is too old to grant interviews, but his wife says the family is delighted by the honor.

>> there was another award. the winner of the german book prize is eight serbian-born author whose novel "dawkins" -- "falcons" is based on her own experience. her family fled the balkans to a new life in switzerland. >> she learned about being an outsider at a young age. so does the book's author. she was born to a hungarian- speaking family in serbia, but they moved to zurich when she was 4. >> i could not speak any german when i arrived in switzerland. that is one of my earliest and strongest memories, being speechless, not being able to express myself. >> the family that features in her novel open a restaurant in switzerland. they work hard to blend in. but to locals there remain

"those foreigners with their odd habits." the yugoslav war breaks out. >> my cousin will shoot dragon air -- dragoner's cousin, or maybe there will be blown up in no-man's land. >> she brings together the personal and the political to discuss displacement and the search for identity. >> in gulf, europe has won the ryder cup, beating the titleholder united states. after days of rain in wales, the sun was out for the decisive event. the europe team captain clenched the competition for 0.5 to 13.5 to regain -- 4.5 to 13.5 to regain the cup. the soccer coach will have to do

without his key midfielder, bastian schweinsteiger, in the next two qualifying matches for the euro 2010. germany take on turkey in berlin on friday. bastian schweinsteiger is suffering from an ankle injury. it is unclear whether he will have to miss more matches. finally, the results of the first ever global census of marine life have been unveiled in london, revealing an unprecedented portrait of the creatures living beneath the waves. it took a epic -- a decade to do the inventory, which includes thousands of new species. scientists also mapped stretches of ocean floor and documented the effects of overfishing, pollution, and global warming. much of the ocean floor remains to be studied. the estimate another 750,000 species to be found. that is quite a number.

we will have more on that coming up in "in-depth."

>> the first ever global census on marine life was released in london on monday. it estimates there are more than a million species in the ocean. it took a decade to assemble the inventory. researchers went to oceans and seas all over the world. they discovered many new species. yet they say their work is far from over. the profound depth of the oceans and seas continues to hide many secrets. >> the variety of ocean life is almost endless, and breathtakingly beautiful. the census of marine life has revealed that mollusks and

crustaceans make up around one third of all species. research ships took part in more than 500 expeditions. they studied life in all of the planets oceans. from the tiniest single cell organisms to giant wales -- whales, the question the were seeking to answer -- what lives where? larger fish and mammals were fitted with sensors which gather data on their position and surroundings. that was tracked by satellites. in this way, scientists were able to map the movements of the marine creatures in the ocean. some of the results were surprising. sharks are not growing loaners as once thought. they have fixed meeting points they often returned to.

new processes are helping to make a genetic classification of the many species discovered. dna and bar coding -- small samples of genetic code are deciphered. it has led to the discovery of some 5000 new species. the diversity of marine life is especially great in the seas of southeast asia, the of tens of thousands of species. these bizarre looking creatures are jellyfish in the atlantic ocean. another big surprise was the discovery of an unknown species in the waters of both north and south poles. these winged mollusks are an example. it is not known how the creatures could have traversed the warm and equatorial waters, one of many new puzzles the census has brought to light. >> an amazing number of people worked on this project, more

than 2700 scientists. the project involved almost 700 research institutions. one of them is the german center for marine and biodiversity. a scientist their shared his excitement in identifying new species with us. >> he spent 10 years on the deep sea project, documenting the diversity of life forms. the harvested a vast number of species, most of which are still unknown. his team was delighted when they studied creatures like this anglerfish. >> there was a commotion on board when the net came up with such a big fish. we would consult our literature to find out whether it was a known species. sometimes there was a big celebration. >> the marine biologist and his colleagues carried out research in the atlantic, the

mediterranean, and the antarctic. the captured microorganisms in sediment sample tubes like these. barely visible to the human eye, the creatures were often less than 1 millimeter in length. identifying each of the life forms the brought to the surface was no easy task. he and his colleagues sifted through and tried to identify each of the creatures contained inside. he says the work paid off. there are many previously unknown species among the world 's the sea organisms. >> it is exciting to discover all these new creatures and beings. i can find some bizarre and strange animals at times. >> in the lab, researchers extract the dna from the creatures. he and his colleagues saved the genetic information the collect

in a giant database. when the unearthed a different genetic species -- a different genetic sequence, they know they have found a new species. >> we have several thousand more waiting to be cataloged. >> he carefully sketches every detail, every feeler, every part of a creature's body. >> despite our state of the heart technology, up from laser microscopes to genetic sequencing, we still have to sketch the creatures. we can learn a great deal from looking at their shapes, whether it is what they eat or how they live. it is a real font of information. >> his work is far from over. in the coming years, he will be heading back to the deep sea to

collect new samples of marine life. >> while these researchers try to unlock the secrets of the oceans, the underwater world is also acutely endangered. pollution, oil spills, and overfishing are taking their toll on diversity in the oceans. the damage caused by human activity can also be seen on a huge underwater mountain ranges that formed a series of underwater plateaus. when scientists went down to observe the biggest atlantic sea mount, the great meatier bank, they were shocked by the impact fishing -- the great meteor bank, there were shocked by the impact fishing had. >> they were on an exploratory mission, 250 meters beneath the sea. the summit of the biggest sea mount in the atlantic ocean.

researchers were taken aback by what they saw. there was little evidence of life. just 12 years earlier, they had found a diverse ecosystem full of fish and crustaceans, bunches of coral. the researchers used robots to scan large stretches of the plateau. but everywhere they found the same thing, and underwater wasteland. >> in recent decades, it has seen intensive fishing. it is a lucrative business as long as the fish populations are there. that is the result of a series of positive circumstances. >> nutrient rich water from small life forms rises from the depths, providing food for bigger species. this abundance of fish and other marine life makes see mountains

a prime fishing ground. with giant dragnets, trollers scour the underwater plateaus. they leave behind a wasteland, stripped bare of all life. many immature fish also get caught in nets, endangering the remaining fish stocks. whether the fishing activity caused these conditions at me teateor bank remains to be seen. but it is clear dragnet fishing has devastating results. at the base, marine life is thriving. this area has not been fished with dragnets. researchers hope that the fish and marine fauna will return to the plateau and repopulate it. but first, the fishing nets will have to go elsewhere. >> that wraps up our in-depth,

as the first ever census of marine life was released today. i am mcginley. thanks for joining us.

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