>> hello, everyone. welcome to "the journal." the headlines at is hour, new york prosecutors released a former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn from house arrest. prime minister has a -- has an ambitious agenda as they take over presidency of the e you. japan beat mexico in the world cup to make it through to the quarterfinals.

the former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn walked out of the new york court today freed from house arrest after being accused of sexual assault. he also will have his bail money returned to him. prosecutors in new york voiced doubts about the credibility of his accuser after she admitted that she had lied to a grand jury regarding details that followed the attack. the manhattan district attorney said the case against strauss- kahn will be cocontind -- will continue to be investigated. >> strauss-hn left the building with his wife and without a monitoring bracelet. the judge's decision to release him and returnrn his bail came s a relief to him and his lawyers. strauss-kahn is no longer under house arrest, but the judge said the case will proceed as planned for now. >> of course, the case is not over, as you heard.

you will be expected to appear here on the e date >> that date is july 18. until then, he will only be able to travel within the u.s., and lawyers again stressed his innocence. >> today is the first giant step in the right directition. the next step will lead to a complete dismissal of the charges. >> the alleged victim's lawyers said nothing changed. strauss-kahn tried to rape the hotel made. >> the only defense dominique strauss-kahn has is that this sexual encounter was consensuau. that is a lie. >> in france, speculation has begun over whether he will run for the presidency next year as the socialist party candate. >> i find it hard to imagine that i could be represented by a president who is constantly trying to seduce women and falls into traps. >> this shows that you have to

keep a levevel head and wait for the results of an investigation before condemning a person and ruining his life in seconds. >> on month and a half after his arrest and resignation as imf chief, strauss-kahn's fortunes are looking up. >> we spoke earlier to our correspondent in paris and asked her whether this marked a resurrection of's political career in france. -- of dominique strauss-kahn's career in france. >> it is premature and wildly over-optimistic. the forormer cialist prime minister has been hinting toward that tonight. for many in france, it has to be said hiseputation, despite the events today, is irrevocably tarnished. he has lost 10 popularity points

in thehe last six weeks, taking him to around 26% now, well behind the other declared cdidates for the socialist party for the presidential election next year.. his allies are celebrating, of course. you only need to look at the live page on the website tonight to realize how divided france still is about the dominique strauss-kahn story. all of the old conspiracy theories are being given another airing, of course. there are many voices that the only thing that really matters is what happened in that hel room, and that we still don't know. everybody is saying that we won't be able to come back -- that he won't be able to come back completely as a presidential candidate. >> she is talking to us -- she wawas talking to us earlier. nato has been threatened with a

catastrophe if it does not stop bombing libya. gaddafi spoke in an audio message b broadcast on state television to thousands of supporters in the mean green square in tripoli. he warned the european government they could face attacks and urged nato to negotiate with people. rebels have beenaking advances against his troops in recent weeks. moroccans arere voting in a referendum on constitutional reform.. the proposals were drawn up by the king following a wave of protests. the main political parties as well as the civic and religious leaders have backed the reform. the youth movements as they don't t go f enough. >> the monarch's cast his vote at the special polling booth in the capital. the matter the outcome, he will reta much of his power as head of the army, religious institutions, and the justice ministry.

many moroccans view the referendum as a victory in and of itself. a long way to concession from the king. voting is not only our duty but in the best interest of our nation. the changes are a necessity. they are real. we can feel them. >> of the moroccan reform movement began with a huge protest on february 20 as part of the a arabs to bring -- arab spring. supporteters called this the dan of a new era. many young p peopl say it is not enough. both sides held mass demonstrations ahead of their referendum. most people want to keep a strong monarchies. rereforms say this is just the beginning. >> germany's foreign minister

says he will use in germany's chairmanship of the un security council in new york to press for action against syria's brutal repression of protest. germany takes over the rotating chair for the next month and a resolution condemning the violence in syria has already been ppared. there is some concern amongst security council members that a resolution against syria could be the first step toward some type of military intervention. i will have more on germany's security council presidency coming up later. poland has taken over the rotating presidency of the eu for the first time since joining seven years ago. poland has set a wide-ranging goals for the next six months, wanting to introduce a unified energy policy, stimulate the economy, and make food safer within the eu. >> a sword was drawn. it was symbolic.

the polish prime minister assumed the mantle of the eu presidency. his predecessor proved controversial. nowow, donald as vowing to make solidarity his goal. he admits the coming months are crucial as the eu faces an uncertain financial future. >> we want to implement the basic lalaw th calls for a budget that is truly unified in nature. it must not be the outcome o ofa relentless struggle between national interests. >> poland says it supports the dui deal and hopes to have a renewed sense of optimism. warsaw -- supports the eu deal and hopes to have a renewed sense of optimism. >> with economic growth, with political growth, the political

energy and commitment to our project, and enthusiasm that poland brings to the union, this puts poland in a strong position to push forward some very challenging project. >> taking out the ceremonial baton, the prime minister has plged to tackle those challenges in the months ahead. >> denmark's parliament approved a plan to introduce perermane customs controls along its eu borders next week. copenhagen says the measures aimed at combating crime like drug trafficking and immigrgration. critics fear it could undermine the treaty that creates a borderless the zone amongst eu states. denmark says the plan does not violate the agreement allowing for the free movement of people and goods. it seems everyone is saving thesese da. >> slash and burn time. burning by the protesters,

slashing by the government. the portuguese parliament passed an austerity package earlier on friday. italy is not holding out its hand for money, but it has one of the highest public debt levels in the world. the government adopted a reform program. the rating agencies are warning of risks because of italy's weak growth prospects. >>italians have been -- there is minuscule economic growth. rom's answer is almost 50 billion heroes in cuts and tax increases. >> we have chosen an option that will promote economic growth, but we will not place undue hardship on the people. it is a sensible package that respects our commitments and market dynamics. >> berlusconi wants to cut pay,

pensions, and healthh snding. most cutsts will go into effect after his c curre term ends. portugal's new government announced belt-tightening on thursday, including a 50% tax on christmas bonuses and privatization of public assets, including the state-owned airline, banks, and utilities. the measures are a condition for fifinancl support from the e you. portugal has already gone to brussels for help. >> the passage of greece's austerity message -- austerity plan on friday. >> the european finance ministers will get the go-ahead for the payment of the next plan for greece rescue. they have lifted the mood of investors.

banking shares were very positive during today's trading session. deutsche bank is well-performing despitite the fact tt german banks contribute 2.3 billion heroes for a new greek rescue fund. that is according to investors. there is good economic data out from the united states that pushed the dax into positive territory. >> it is a solid and to an impressive week. the dax closed higher. euro stock 5050 gained 1%. the dow industrials gained 1.3%. the u.s. markets will reopen on tuesday after the july 4 holiday weekend. the former head of germany's's

central bank is set to take over the helm of swititzerld's biggest bank. it will formally nominate the person next may. >> he is known as a man who is not afraid topeak his mind. he publicly clashed with chancellor merkel on her policies on how to deal with the debt crisis. when he was a member of the european central bank's governing council, he disagreed with colleagues who favored buying debt issued by greece and other problem countries. he has his own ideas about how a debtelief plan should work. >> t theseechanisms muste aimed at restoring the focus to direct responsibility. it must not display solidarity. this is something we simply have to do.

>> the ideas did not sit well with the ecb and labour quit both at the end of april. hisxpertise and banking combined with his leadership eexpernce will enhance the stability of the bank and improve its outlook. >> women's world cup. japan made solid start in germananyarlier this week. the asian team has dealt a severe blow to mexico's hopes of making it to the next phase. >> fans of the japanese had reason to cheer early on. the captain hit in a free kick for the lead. two minutes later, mexico's 16- year-old goalkeeperer santiago s out-class. ono slammed across. there was more. sawa continued.

3-nil japan. in the second half, mayber -- mayer showed a sense of flair. japan kept up the pressure, and sawa got her hat trick. japan is through to the quarterfinals. >> the second game in group b ended with england beating new zealand. it was new zealand that got on the scorereboarfirst with a super effort. it took an hour until england even up the score. 10 minutes before time, just the court sealed the deal for england. new zealand has no chance of reaching the second round. tennis news nowow.

the defending champion spaniard nadal will face the s serb in e wimbledon final. murray was defeated in four sets. nadal eventually crushed him. jolavi -- jokavich has won 41 matches so far this year. the most royal -- the most eligible royal bachelor is tied the knot. prince albert married a south african, a former swimming champion. they exchangeged vows in a throe room surrounded by friends and family. on the palace balcony, they waved to the assembled crowd and exchanged a royal yes.

about 8000 people were invited to the rereceptn afterwards. ay tunedd for "in depth," coming up next.

>> welcome back. taking over the rotating presidency of the un security council. in addition to the pressing world issues onhe table, berlin will have to smooth some ruffled feathers. many members were unhappy about berlin's abstention during the vote on military intvention in libya. they did not understand the lack of support for the rebels seeking freedom from oppression under gaddafi. analysts say that damaged germany's chances of gaining a permanent seat on the security council, something it has been working toward for years. over the next month, berlin will have chance to prove itself.

the main focus is sure to be on the conflicts in syria, libya, and sudan. >> the work of the un security council influences world events, wars, crises, refugees. sudan. the united nations has concerns that a new war could break out in the divided country. there has been a resurgence of violence on the eve o the south's independence. the crisis will be a tetestf whether the security council can successfully organize a peaceful separation. >> next week on july 9, southern sudan will declare independence, removing the foundation of the mission of the united nations, so thehere will probably be a nw mission. >> i hope we will succeed in adopting a successor mandate for the south. of course, it would be best if the north cooperated, and i hope

that germany can make relative contribution to this mission. >> in syria, the situation is completely unclear. thousands of syrians have fled to turkey. syrian troops have attacked villagers in the boborderegion. more and more people are demonstrating against the regime. a libyan-style intervention is not l likel but germany intends to keep syria on the security council agenenda. >> it is scandalous t that the security council still has not strongly condemned the regime. the best thing would be sanctions, of course. the regime must be politically isolated. we cannot really intervene. it would be morere difficult. it is different from libya. >> libya is a constant issue and is likely to remain so until

gaddafi has been dealt with. >> gaddafi is indicted by the internationanal crinal court. when he is no longer in power, the international community will examine what it can do in libya. >> in the antime, the debate goes on. germany wants to help t the security council prepare for the post-khaddafi era to ensure therere is no power vacuum. the reputation was dented when it abstained on the security council of be e a relution in march. >> germany has really been in the fore of extending the responsibility to protect people, especially on protecting civilians. abstaining in that kind of situation was sending a difficult signal. >> germany had pushed harard foa seat on the security council. the bya abstention has caused political tensions. >> especially when guests,, the

question arises, is this the beginning of a german policy of placing ourselves outside the partnership framework? that has been the criticism in the media. we do think the government has realized that by abstaining, it did not position itself in a way that the international community unundersnds. >> germany wants to be reliable partner. it also wants to help to modernize the united nations. >> long term, germany wants to continue to pursue the issue of reform of the united nations. germany wants to show that it is also ready to take on international leadership responsibilities. it wants to have a good presidency. >> that means clearly needing a stronger presence in the mission. if you want to have a seat on the security council, you

actually have to show that you're ready to make a relevant contribution i in the main areaf activity. >> some think germany should focus on a longer-term leadership role in europe. >> i really think that since germany plays such an important role in the european union, we should try to make that voice heard. >> i think it really is the only way to make it clear that german foreign policy has to develop in the european context. germany r reallhas a responsibility to help the stl-somewhat under-developed a policy of the european union. >> for now, the main foreign policy priority is germany's work on the sececurit council ad the e effo to solve the current crises. >> as you heard, the situation in syria is anything but straightforward. by the consensus among security

council members won't be easy. china and russia oppose any resolution against the regime of president assad. dw-tv spoke to the foreign minister and we asked whether he plans to push through a resolution on syria. >> together with the other european countries on the security council, we are in agreement that we want to back a resolution in new york. we're currently holding talks with the remaining security council members as well. there are some reservations among others on the council. as europeans, and in particular, as germans, we will continue to urge a clear response from the international community through acts of repression against the syrian people and pieced-loving protesters. we i intento keep up our efforts. >> is chairman pose a presidency

of the council now more difficult after it abstained on the libya resolution? is germany reliable partner? >> germany is held in high regard within the international community. thee resolution on libya was passed by majority vote. we had our reasons for abstaining. together with india, brazil, china, and russia -- the decision has now been made. we continue to stand by our resolve that germany will not send any combat troops as part of a military mission in libya. >> germany's preing for a seat on the security council, is that realistic? >> it isn't so much about germany or europe's wish for a permanent seat on the security council. reforming the united nations is primarily about adapting the architecture of the un to

reality. the current makeup of the security council and of the united nations itself largely reflects the distribution of power and the political situation at the end of world wawar ii. the fact that latin america has no permanent representation on the security council, that africa has no permanent representative, that asia is so unr-represented, these things are no less significant than our offer as germans to take on more permanent responsibility on the security council.. >> the german foreign minister, thank you very m much r talking to us. that has been our "in depth." you can logon to our website for more news and information at www.dw-world.de.

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