captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hello and welcome to "journal," here in berlin. coming up on our program. officials in hungary say a toxic sludge spill could take a year to spill up. tensions rise in pakistan after militants stepped up their attacks on nato tankers. the art of marketing at the frankfurt book fair. hungary is scrambling to contain a flood of toxic sludge that is

now threatening the danube. officials say this bill could take months or a year to clean up. -- the spill could take months to clean up. hungary has declared a state of emergency in three counties. a criminal investigation has also been launched. >> heavy construction equipment has been brought in as the cleanup gets under way. visible signs of the catastrophe will be relatively easy to get rid of. it is the poison and heavy metals that pose a major problem. >> i don't think that anything will be able to live here. i am 99% sure that the way things look right now. >> this is the biggest chemical accident in high gear in history. hundreds of thousands of liters

spilled out of a holding reservoir. the dilution of poisonous chemicals spread quickly mixing with water from heavy rain. the government is trying to limit the damage. >> we have posted guards in the hopes of preventing another disaster. they are in constant contact with police and firefighters. they can sound the alarm immediately if the poisonous sludge begins flowing again. >> experts say a 40 square kilometer area has been contained. the officials are concerned that it will get into the water supply and reached neighboring countries. >> i spoke to an official in the capital of budapest and i asked if hungry was equipped to handle this long and costly cleanup. -- hungary was equipped to

handle this cleanup. >> they will not be able to do it on their own. this is an expensive operation. there is concern that the authorities have not done enough to prevent this kind of disaster. i have seen a report that showed in the late 1990's that the government was warned of impending chemical disasters. this was the national profile on the chemical industry. this was written by an advisory board to the government. the authorities are ill-prepared as far as we can see. >> a criminal investigation has been launched. who is responsible for this disaster? >> the government says that the plant should be held responsible. there is also a kind of fbi that operates in hungary that will investigate.

the authorities have said they want a criminal investigation the plant but there is some concern that to the authorities have not done enough to boost the defenses. there is now a blame game going on between the government and the plant. that description has begun. >> thank you for that. militants in pakistan have attacked made of tankers carrying fuel to afghanistan. this is the fourth and bush in a week. they sent -- militants and pakistan have pakistano -- taliban militants have claimed responsibility. >> the attacks took light at the first place on wednesday. this was as difficult for passing by the road.

>> at a key vehicles filled with armed men arrived, they fired in the air and the shooting cause people to stand paid. then they set the vehicles on fire. -- they fired in the air and the shooting caused people to stampede. >> pakistan shut one of its crossing. this is one of the major routes supplying nato forces. islamabad closed at the checkpoint in order to stop air strikes against extremists on their own soil. some of the attacks have claimed civilians. a number of pakistani soldiers for also killed. >> it is time for the americans to realize that whatever they are doing is a direct insult to

the pakistani nation. >> washington is sticking to their strategy. they argued that drones are the most effective way of destroying targets a remote areas. earlier this week, drones' killed a number of suspected extremists from germany near the pakistani border. they are believed to have been talking attacks in europe. >> we will see more south korean products here in europe. >> laptops, handsets. the european union and south korea has signed a historic free-trade agreement in brussels and this is going to take effect next july. this was given the green light by eu leaders despite concerns about opening european markets to south korean car makers. brussels expects trade to increase 19 billion euros.

the eu china summit took place in brussels on wednesday against the backdrop of a looming currency war in which the major nation and accuse each other of manipulating exchange rate. the major participants are china as well as the u.s. with europe caught somewhere in between. >> the federal reserve is expected to put more dollars into circulation. the policy of quantitative easing is aimed at boosting the economy. china is keeping their currency at an artificially low level which makes their goods cheaper abroad. they are not keen to allow their currencies to appreciate. the beijing government fears bankruptcy and unemployment. the head of the imf has warned against the dangers of using

currencies to boost economic activity. in the financial times interview, he said that there is an idea of beginning to circulate currencies can be used as a poverty weapon. the u.s. government has been urging beijing to take action. the house of representatives recently voted to impose punitive tariffs on chinese products. europe is stuck in the middle. the european union has urged china to let the yuan appreciate. european exporters would benefit from greater sales opportunities on the world market. analysts expect the european central bank to raise their interest rate slightly if inflation pressures increase. that could bolster the euro and to make european goods more expensive. currency issues will be high on the agenda at the annual meeting of the imf and the world bank in washington this weekend. >> earlier, we spoke with our

correspondent in washington. with the warning that currencies could be used as a policy weapon, i asked what was the actual worry. >> they are worried that what is already called a currency war could hurt the global economy because all of the economic interests -- tools that you use to keep your currency down such as protective tariffs, all this might be good in the short term but aid usually hurts the global economy in the long term. this means that it will also hurt the national economy and a long term. >> a lot of europeans are accusing the u.s. of keeping the dollar low so that they can sell more exports. there is an initiative to be balanced the currency, who will launch that initiative?

-- there is and initiatives to balance the currency. >> midterm elections are just around the corner and people want to see results. everyone is looking for a solution to kickstart the american economy. they are not looking at the long-term picture. they are pointing their fingers at china to say that their currency is evaluated. this is 40% lower than it should be so the chinese it should do something. i don't expect the u.s. to take any initiatives. there will be a lot of talk there were probably not be any tangible results. >> thank you for that update. the imf says the global growth will slow next year after expanding at a rate of 4.8% this year. they are forecasting 2% growth worldwide next year. they expect a margin economies to grow three times as fast as

industrialized nations. they have raised their forecasts for germany to 3.3% this year and 2% next year. stock prices continued to advance on european exchanges on better than expected german factory orders in the hopes that further economic stimulus package is in richer countries. -- packages in richer countries. we're joined from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> normally this would weigh on currency and shares when a rating agencies downgrades ireland but nothing like that happened. the euro started to rally. also, the share markets in germany continued their rally. they began yesterday mainly driven by new economic german data. industrial numbers went up by 3.5%.

if you compare this to last year so that they went up more than 20%, this shows that the german economy is in an excellent position at the moment which give a boost to shares. >> looking at several market indexes in a bit more detail. we see the blue chips dax closing 9/10 of a percent higher. new york markets were cautious following the release of private-sector data. the dow managed to advance toslash10 of a percent on the day. -- 2/10 of a percent. >> the british prime minister has artist the country to pull together while defending his government's plans for drastic budget cuts.

-- has asked the country to pull together. he said there was no other way to deal with the deficit than his austerity plans. cuts of 25% are expected in almost every department. four men have gone on trial here in germany in what is thought to be europe's biggest ever soccer match fixing scandal. they are accused of trying to bribe referees and players to fake dozens of games in germany, hungary, and slovakia. >> the case is taking shape. othe main defendant is reported to have provided investigators with extensive testimony. >> he has revealed several things that the police did not know about at all, especially in turkey. as far as i have not seen, this

has led to 70 arrests. -- as far as i know, this has led to arrests. >> there was some contact with the second division club. one man is accused of paying large sums of money to influence games. investigators believe that this referee was handed the biggest ride. they say he received 60,000 euro in return for making bogus calls in and under 21 switzerland-georgia match. it is hoped that this man will shed more light in the scandal. this man was convicted in another scandal six years ago. he is due to testify in this case. prosecutors say this was a complex scheme involving a large number of people. the expect to bring many more suspects to trial. o>> an american and two japanese

scientists have been awarded this year's prize for chemistry. the royal swedish academy of sciences on the them for developing a tool allowing the creation of complex chemicals used to make new medicines as well as agricultural and electronic products. the frankfurt international book fair as underway drawing more than 1000 exhibitors from more than 100 nations. there is more focus on e-books and multimedia content. many people think that books alone are not enough to attract readers. >> the cost teams are part of the show. you can no longer just simply present a new book. -- the costume's are part of the show. some higher acrobats to sell the

books. some do not need any publicity. some novels have been published with an initial 400,000 copies in germany for the more famous authors. >> you can afford large scale initial prince. you cannot do that with -- -- you cannot do that with a new writers. we are proud when they make it. >> one author who is native in germany is the danish writer. his thrillers are best sellers. the crime novel remains a hugely popular genre or almost anything goes. >> you can approach the book as a crime novel, so to speak. and it can also look beneath the surface and discover a philosophical and ticks.

-- philosophical antics. >> there is a growing market for nonfiction. >> stay tuned for "in depth," coming up next.

>> the world's biggest and most influential book fair has opened in frankfurt. this is the place to be for anyone connected with books. for people that market books, sell them, or love reading them. the director says the industry is undergoing profound change. there is a special section on digital books as well as multimedia. each year, at a guest country is chosen and featured at the fair. this year, the focus is on argentina. let's have a look now at some of the country's rising stars in

literature. >> 70 stories and novels from argentina freshly translated and never before seen in german bookshops. all of them by authors that most readers have never heard of before. unlike the great names in argentinaian and literature. the greatest of the mall is b orges. -- of them all is borges. now on new writers start coming out under the shadow of the giants. >> the theme of the immigrant is

the theme of argentinian literature. the chinese immigrants are new. hopefully, their children will write books for chinese people of argentina. >> new voices are addressing the years of dictatorship. the children of the disappeared and the other victims are telling their stories and writing about their quest for truth, shedding new light on argentina's darkest chapter. -- is one of argentina's biggest new stars. her best-selling novel which was recently turned into a film is a ruthlessly critical study of upper-class people in buenos aires. >> crises to not affect us like

they to other countries. in 2001, many people were made poor and the consequences were more serious than usual. >> with 70 new books and a handful of new translations of classics, german readers have an opportunity to discover and rediscover argentina's rich and thriving literary tradition. >> there is some concern within the publishing industry that people are reading less but others say that new technologies like e-books have actually increased demand for content. on germany's cultural organization set up a special exchange project involving writers from argentina and germany. five authors from each country were put in the program. they were asked to put out their experiences at impressions in an on-line diary.

>> a german author known for his cool perspectives. how can everyday life inspire a storyteller? another author is traveling around argentina. they write about their impressions of the other culture and choose the teams themselves. >> i find the things that have happened here interesting from a cultural point of view. the city is quiet and relaxed compared to the capitol where everything is electrifying and loud.

>> i went to patagonia because i did not have any idea of argentina and did not have time to do any research. i chose patagonia because of the sound of the word. this is a very attractive name and obviously very far away. >> another has been traveling from the coast to the south. he is not letting himself be seduced by the natural beauty of patagonia, he said that he was more interested in the ugly side such as the excesses' of tourism. >> every place has its dark side and this provides an example of that. there is a beautiful black drop, the blue lake. on the other hand, there is a horrible tourist architecture.

>> the author loves the industrial plant. they symbolize change. she is especially interested in the changes of the former cotton mill. the textile mill has become a home to galleries and studios. >> i find it fascinating to come here and see these unusual buildings and the impressive architecture. people here are obviously very active, lively, and dedicated to their creative energies. o>> each author is expected to write at least 8 log entries.

they are wrestling with what the dollar is considered art. >> i asked myself whether this is a reaction to decades of the communist ascetic. >> the experiences are reflected in the riding. she muses about a table that she sought in a museum and another injury. another piece of writing mach's tourism -- mocks tourism. >> this city is a typical tourist trap. it is a mishmash of the worst type of shock. garbage dumps, shantytowns, and winter recreation facilities circle the city like a wreath of orders. >> the offer applies to cynical

powers of observation to other places then he goes on his trip. places that the light of the visitors leave him cold. >> what is argentinian? what is the argentinian culture? i have not been able to figure this out yet. everything that is available is excluded. you will find all kinds of contrasts mixed up together. >> i did not have much experience of german culture before. i don't know where they will lead but at least the interests have been awakened. >> the project was an intense experience. both of the author's intent to write books about it. >> that wraps up our look at the

frankfurt international book fair. thank you for joining us.