>> welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. i am brian thomas. >> i am steve chaid. >> more than half of the 33 trapped miners have been rescued, reunited families, and ending a 69-day ordeal underground. >> rescue operations at the san jose mine in chile are continuing at this hour.

21 miners are free, including the oldest of the group and several who have been struggling with illness. officials say the operation is proceeding more quickly than expected, and they hope to have all the miners out during the night. we are looking at live pictures from the mine, the latest person to be rescued emerged a few minutes ago. 33 workers have been trapped for the past 10 weeks. a rescue capsule has been wasting them up for the past 18 hours. not long ago, the 21st miner reached the surface. he climbed out of the phoenix rescue capsule more than half an hour ago. his 600 meter journey to the surface it took about 16 minutes. he has served his fellow trapped miners as a medic.

it caved in on august 5. the rescued miners are welcomed by their friends, loved ones, and families before medical services take them away for examinations. >> the 20th person to be brought to the surface was the 48-year- old. he began descending into minds at the age of eight. his father was once stuck underground for a week. never before has a group of people been trapped for so long and so deep. the president of chalet says the survival story an unprecedented rescue is a source of inspiration. >> the most important wealth of our country is not our natural resources. is our people. today, i think all the chileans and people around the world have learned a lesson, a lesson of unity, a lesson of faith, a lesson of hope. [applause]

>> the first person to emerge overnight was avalos. his 7-year-old son was overwhelmed after the long wait to be reunited with his father. the journey to the service took 16 minutes. the president of chile was also on hand to welcome avalos back to freedom and safety ahead. [applause] >> the rescue prompted jubilation throughout chile. crowds have been following the operation on large public screens. they celebrated through the night. the predicament has been followed closely by the entire country and most of the rest of the world. now, a dozen of the men are waiting to be brought up more than 600 meters to the surface in a specially built capsule. [applause] >> mario was the second man to emerge. he acted as a spokesman during the confinement. far from showing exhaustion, he

was overtaken by need to celebrate. >> i'm very happy. the truth is that i'm touched to be up here again. i intend to live a lot longer and start a new life. at the sight of my wonderful son, wife, and daughter, who i love. thank you very much. >> among the men who have been rescued so far, carlos, and the only non chilean in the group. the youngest miner came out sixth. the eldest of the group, a 63- year-old, is also out. with the rescue operations proceeding ahead of schedule, officials and leading families are hoping this can be wrapped up in the next several hours. >> let's go to our correspondent

who has been following the events for us today at the mine. it has been a day full of emotional moments. what stood out for you today? >> for me, personally, it was this moment when the capsule arrived at the miners room down 621 meters. it was fascinating. the must of been like when apollo a ride on the moon. it was incredible to see this. it was a special moment. the second special moment was when mario, the second miner made his dance on the surface. that was a really special and unforgettable. >> some of the miners have seemed exceptionally fit. how is that possible? >> they were trained for this

day. they had a psychological training to be really strong and be prepared for the next day when the media is coming around. they were also trained physically. they had to do their program every day and had to work. there was not the time to get annoyed and board. >> you mentioned the psychological training. will they be able to deal with the pressure above ground now? >> well, i think they will. what they've demonstrated today was really impressive. it was unbelievable. people coming down from 621 meters and looking flike normal people who just made a shopping trip. it was incredible for me and for all the other people here to see those guys in these conditions.

>> thank you very much. we will have much more on the chilean rescue later in this half-hour. in other news, the iranian president has received a hero's welcome on his first official visit to lebanon. the two-day trip is seen as a boost for the country's hezbollah organization, but has been criticized by the pro- western parliament. the united states and israel have expressed their concern. secretary of state hillary clinton denounced any effort to undermine lebanon's sovereignty. >> the iranian president received a hero's welcome as thousands greeted his motorcade. among them, members of the radical shiite muslim hezbollah, a group supported by iran. >> i'm here waiting for ahmadinejad.

>> hezbollah in lebanon received funding and weapons from iran, much of which goes toward carrying out terrorist attacks on israel. there are many who believe it is undermining the authority of the lebanese government. some politicians are wary of ahmadinejad's influence and his blood gangs in power. the war has been over four years, but unity seems far off. still, there's been no public opposition to the visit, perhaps for fear of reprisal by the iranian-backed hezbollah. >> rules for offshore oil drilling in the waters off the coast of the eu are being discussed today. >> yes, efforts to halt deepwater drilling off the coast of europe in the wake of the gulf of mexico disaster failed yesterday following intense lobbying pressure.

the european commission has instead proposed a tightening of existing rules. there are currently several hundred offshore oil rigs operating in eu waters, most in the north sea and the mediterranean. safety regulation has so far been in the hands of individual member states. >> after the devastating oil spill in the gulf of mexico, the european commission wants to prevent the same thing from happening in european waters. the energy commissioner has now put forward eu-wide safety standards for deep sea drilling. >> we want to tighten licensing procedures. we want checks to be more frequent and details. we want motives of those who carry out the checks. that guarantees maximum independence and safety. >> the proposed regulations would force drilling companies to provide more detailed emergency planning and to prove they have the funds to pay for the damage in an emergency.

environmentalists say this is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. >> the proposals of the energy commissioner fall short of what he himself demanded in july, namely an immediate moratorium on deep sea drilling. this ban is important for safety reasons. the gulf of mexico accident showed us what could happen when deep sea drilling spirals out of control. >> members of the parliament have also rejected the proposal. individual member states are likely to raise their own objections. >> germany has joined the list of major economic powers warning china to fairly align its currency with those of its trading partners. between a two-day trip to china, a german economy minister has warned that a trade war could result. instead, it is up to china to

prevent a damaging trade dispute with the united states, which has complained the yuan could be undervalued by as much as 40%. germany is benefiting from strong demand in china, but says a stronger yuan would be crucial to future trade relations. >> german ports are stacked with containers bound for china. there has been a clear increase in demand for german products, especially in the engineering sector. between january and july of this year, german exports to china increased 50%. the volume of trade between the two nations amounts to some 70 billion euros. r melowersathe atnan ed

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>> as the number of trapped miners reaching the surface inoo the impression thathe 33 men showed a profound foat me their survival and eventual rescue possible. the presence of mind under stssndheir faith are what they have said it kept them going through the dark the unknown. >> the siren sounds to indicate another miner is on his tth sur. he is the eighth to be rescued. [applause]

>> it is an extra special day for him and his girlfriend.thtwe was trapped underground. pp >> the minerwore dark glasses to protect theires from the daylight and the flashes of the ca brought up. rescuers and chose him to be the first,s ty liee had the strongest and nurse. the miner were trained by psychologists they knew the eyes of the road would be upon them when they emerged -- the eyes of the world wod up tm. >> the only bolivian citizen among the 33 miners -- the

bolivianpresident traled t che bthe when he was rescued. it was his cousin who told the journalists how happy the family was. i feel so emotional. i just want to tell him that we all love him. and that he should never go so r away again. he should stay with us. >> the rescue depends on this capsule. the narrow cages only 53 ntets de the rescue shaft it is only 13 centimeters wider. the capsule is fitted with a microphone, speaker a a nier the journey to freedom takes just 12 minutes. [applause] friends and family waited anxiously at camp hope

it stands for the hope tt they will be rescued alive. now that is becoming a bit dotty. is a major event. -- is now becoming a reality. it is a major event. each man is cheered with -- the operation is relate to public screens in the nearby town and in the capital of santiago. the entire country is following the events closely. the president ofche s been personally involved in the rescue operations. he has personally been on hand to greet eachrfreed miner. [applause] >> this mine has had a long history of accidents. therefore, it will not be opened

again until we securend guane e integrity, safety, and life of those who work in it. >> he is also creditedit siing that the search went on for the lost men after the accident that trapped them in the mountain. the president'sopularity rose dramatically on the news of the rescue. the second man to emerge was mario. he became a household name after he acted as the presenter in the video meages. his sense of humor in fact, he brought rocks as souvenirs for the waiting public. he was the first to make a public statement. >> god was with me and the devil was with me. god won. he took me by my best hands. i held on to him.

i never thought for one minute that god would not get me out of there. >> he also asked the world press not to turn him and the other 32 into media personalities. >> to the professionals who do all this publicity and television, the only personal thing i ask is for you to not treat us as artists or journalists. i want you to continue treating me like a worker and miner. >> the popular and media savvy man has already received numerous invitations to appear on tv shows. many are predicting a great media career for this rescued miner. >> i'm joined now in the studio by dw-tv's rodriguez, who comes from july. -- chile.

the rescu men are now celebrated as heroes. miners play a central role in the country. >> it is traditionally a mining country. most of the exports that chalie -- they come from the mining industry. 50% of the world demand of copper comes from the country. the miners play a bigger role in the country and the history. unions are very big and they have quite a say in the country. >> is ithere's a tremendous rese from the country. what does this rescue mean for the country? >> i think it gives it a sense of unity. chile is not a country that is really united in the sense -- you have a huge gap between the rich and poor people.

politically speaking, it is a country that still has not come to terms with its common history. this is an opportuni to find some sort of a common goal. it gives the country sense of unity. it is very positive in that way. >> a positive experience for the world, as well. you have relatives and friends in chile. what has been their response? >> basically, they're saying that this whole operation, this rescue operation, has been working smoothly. it has been working very well. it was very well planned and performed. they are also saying that the communications strategy the government has developed for this operation has been very good. they feel that they have been participating and that they have been able to follow step- by-step how the miner have been

contacted and then rescued from the bottom of the earth. everybody hopes that this will turn out to be a successful operation. >> the people of chile have a certain resilience, don't they? a less fortunate event, the earthquake in february, was the last time we spoke. >> that's right. they know what it takes to rebuild a country. they have been through a lot of earthquakes and tsunamis. basically, hard-working and a lot of solidarity. it's also important to have resources. the former government and the new government have implemented a solid economic policy that enables the country to put some resources aside. from that perspective, it is a good deal. >> thank you very much.

an thank you for joining us here at dw-tv as the chilean rescue efforts continue. thank you for joining us.