headlines at this hour. world leaders say it is time for president assad to step down as the u.s. imposes broad sanctions. the israeli military launches air strikes in gaza after deadly attacks in southern israel. >> shares tumbled as investors worrybo t gbal economy falling back into recession. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> the united states has demanded that the syrian president step down, and has urged his partners to impose crippling economic sanctions to foe him out. the call was echoed by the european union. washington announced the strongest sanctions to date against the syrian government. >> u.s. president barack obama has said for the first time that the syrian leader should go, and

it is too late for him to make the changes needed. secretary of state hillary clinton underlined the message. >> for the sake of the syrian people, the time has come for him to step aside handled leave this transition to the syrians themselves. that is what we will continue to work to achieve. >> the u.s. is introducing further sanctions banning syrian oil products. the tough line was echoed in europe, with leaders in britain, france, and germany calling on the president to leave power. they were not convinced by the claim assad had ended the military crackdown on opponents. human rights groups said the crackdown was continuing. the u.n. says syrian government forces have killed at least 1900 people since protests began in march.

>> our middle east analyst joins us in the studio. why are western countries choosing this point in time to call for a sudden -- for assad to step down? >> there has been mounting pressure to do something regarding syria, but we have to be realistic. this is not much more than an exercise in rhetoric. there is no country in the western world willing to intervene in syria militarily. there are too many interests involved. there is israel, iran, saudi arabia, turkey. he is a bad guy, but we know how to do business with him. most observers, most states man in the west, but also in the region, are also afraid of what might happen in syria once this regime topples. would it be a second iraq? would it mean turmoil, civilian strife, civil war? nobody knows.

most observers and states in the region and the west continue business with assad, although they criticize him for good reason. there will be no military intervention, for sure. even if the military intervention in libya appears to be successful on the right path, and gaddafi toppling in the near future -- nevertheless, it is too dangerous, too many actors involved, especially israel and iran. >> could reforms be successful? >> so far, these promises have not been more than lip service. they have not been serious reforms undertaken since the beginning of this uprising. assad is promising these reforms and trying to calm down syrup -- syrians. religious minorities and the

sunni merchant class are fearful of the barack scenarios. assad knows he still has strong support, no tahrir square in damascus. >> thank you for the analysis. a series of coordinated attacks in israel has left at least seven dead and dozens wounded. gunmen targeted government and private vehicles traveling a highway in the south of the country. the israeli military retaliated with air strikes in southern gaza, killing six palestinians. it is the worst day of violence in israel since 2008. >> the assailant struck along the road close to the border with egypt. according to israeli defense sources, the open fire on a passenger bus around midday local time. shortly afterward, at least one explosive device went off when a military vehicle rushed to the

scene. an hour later, two more civilian vehicles were targeted by a group of gunmen. >> our initial idea was that a terrorist has caused multiple attacks. >> the government said it had information that terrorists came from the gaza strip. hamas, which controls gaza, denied responsibility. >> we had no involvement in what happened today. >> israel responded by turning its attention to another militant palestinian group, the prc/ its commander were among those killed in air strikes on gossip hours later. >> i asked our correspondent in jerusalem to give us more information. >> what we have seen tonight was a targeted air strike on the

southern gaza town that killed a top commander and several militants of the so-called popular resistance. this group is seen as more radical than hamas. hamas denied involvement in the attacks. but israel holds hamas responsible for whatever comes out of gaza. that could be an indication for further escalation. you might expect more during the night. we also just had unconfirmed reports about rocket missiles fired from gaza toward israel. >> what about the casualties? were the military or civilian? >> these casualties are all from the popular resistance committee because the top commander, a palestinian sources tell us -- there was also a 9-year-old child killed. >> the attackers seem to have come from the egyptian side. does this raise new security concerns for israel? >> it is certainly a concern for

israel. there was a strong statement by the israeli defense minister blaming israel for failing to secure the border. egyptian security has denied the militants infiltrated from the sinai desert. but that border region is hard to control. it is a long border, a big area. since the fall of the mubarak regime, israel is concerned there is a security vacuum that military groups might make use of. just recently, they stationed more troops there. that has to be coordinated with the israelis under the peace treaty. there is a major security issue israel has to deal with. >> thank you for that update. there are echoes of 2008 on global markets. >> major losses in asia, europe, and the u.s..

there are concerns on the global economic outlook. american stocks did not escape a global markdown. by the time trading ended, the dow jones industrials were over 400 points down. it kept the market under pressure, as well as comments by investment bank goldman sachs that the global economy could slide back into recession. let us take a look at what level u.s. stocks finally called it a day on thursday. in new york, the dow jones closed at 10,990. that is down 3.68. european stocks tumbled also, taking their cue from asian markets. put tokyo was down. shares in frankfurt plunged 6% on the day. it was the biggest one-day fall

for the? in almost three years. >> traders in frankfurt were nervous as the dow began its steep descent. shares continued downhill after wall street opened lower. the dax ended the session almost 6% lower, marking the biggest one-day drop in almost three years. renewed concerns about liquidity of the banking sector triggered thursday's sell-off. financial shares were among the leading losers. the mood remains grim. a sustained rebound is not in sight. >> all in all, a horrible day for european markets. here is a close-up of what was happening on the frankfurt stock exchange. >> concerns about the economy and concerns about the sovereignty of the banks. this gave an extremely explosive mixture, which caused the stock market to slump this thursday. nearly all the economic data coming in from the united states

was weaker than expected. in some cases, the prediction and reading of the data diverged so much there were doubts about the quality of economic predictions. also very much disturbing traders were reports that banks are getting more and more reluctant to lend each other money on the interbank market. one bank in europe is even said to have lost the confidence of the others so much it had to return to the european central bank for an extra emergency loan. shares in frankfurt lost more than 10%. the biggest losers were society's general -- societie generale. >> germany's dax lost 5.82%. the zero stocks 50 ended the day

down 5.34%. the euro is treading for one u.s. $4336. -- the euro is trading for $1.4336. the former head of state owned real -- rail operator is set to take over the airline as joachim honold steps down. he founded air berlin with just two planes, and the company rapidly expanded. it bought competitors on its way to becoming germany's second- biggest airline. but its expansion strategy went off course during the economic crisis. air berlin has not been profitable for three years. to turn things around, the

country is rich -- the company is restructuring. it is cutting less popular routes including london-hanover. it plans to reduce its fleet by eight planes. jobs will go, but how many of the 8900 employees will be shown the door is not yet known. the designated interim ceo is the former head of deutschebahn. the company hopes a new boss will make it easier to carry out the austerity plan. >> vice president joe biden says global economic stability rests on the u.s. and china working together. he made this comment on a trip to china, where he is trying to shore up confidence in u.s. bonds. biden is spending five days in china, which has the largest dollar reserves in the world after the u.s. beijing is seeking reassurances that dollar assets and treasury bonds are safe.

standard and poors recently downgraded the sovereign credit rating of the u.s. china has accused washington of reckless fiscal policy. >> pope benedictus 16 has received eight joyous -- a joyous welcome in madrid. it is to promote open less -- openness and tolerance. he encouraged people to rediscover their catholic roots as a strength. over 2 million catholics are attending the four days of worship, study, and celebrations. >> an adoring crowd gathered at madrid airport to greet pope benedict. he was met by the king and queen of spain and the prime minister. the pope is visiting a country in economic crisis. over 45% of young people are out of work. many spaniards say it is no time

to be spending an estimated 100 million euros on the paul's visit. -- pope's visit. before leaving the plane, the pope commented on the situation. >> the economy should not be measured by the maximization of profit, but whether it serves the well-being of all. >> he warned of the dangers of hedonism and consumerism. he said young people know they need got to face the challenges ahead. the government says almost a million people have converged on madrid for the pope's visit. more are expected on sunday, when he will hold mass just outside the city. >> at least two people have been killed at a rock festival in belgium. a storm brought down trees and couple stages at the event. the mayor of the town said 40 people have been injured, some seriously. the storm hit late thursday afternoon. as many as 60,000 people were expected to attend evening

performances, but there were count -- were canceled. the organizers have not yet announced whether the rest of the event will go on. a funeral service has been held in the english city of birmingham for three men killed in last week's riots there. more than 20,000 people came to pay their respects. three died after being rammed by a car while protecting their homes and shops with looters. police charged the man with murder. it was the deadliest incident during britain's worst civil disorder in decades. some german soccer. a surprise setback in the playoff for your trouble lead qualification. they lost their first match against finland. one man scored both goals for the home team. they will need a big win at next week to qualify. germany has made a huge turnaround in its plummeting birth rates.

statistics show the number of newborns is up. the government says the average number of children for a woman was just under 1.4 in 2010. that is about 13,000 more babies than the year before, and the highest rate since 1990. the report also said more women are choosing to have a second or even a third child. it might be a terrible summer here in germany, and there might be a lot of problems with the economy around the world. nonetheless, many germans are especially optimistic about the future. we will be looking at that question in a minute. >> stay tuned.

>> if you ask most people in germany, they would say that the weather this summer has been a great disappointment.

too much rain, too little son. politically, this has been a hot summer, with leaders equipped with the euro crisis and turmoil on the financial markets. what has been at the mood in germany in the summer of 2011? we start in a town in the south. it has a mayor from the green party. we go to the former industrial heartland of the rural valley. and we look at berlin. what attracts so many tourists to the capital? despite the various problems, people living in these cities, are surprisingly optimistic. >> berlin in the summer of 2011. there is so much more to the german capital than politics, as many tourists are discovering. the unofficial slogan is poor but sexy, a phrase coined by the mayor.

>> what is sexy about berlin? it is diversity. the nightlife -- that is sexy. >> there are so many different people here, different projects. i like that. >> the city center in east berlin has been heavily redeveloped. but this building is still in the hands of the artist to squatted it 20 years ago. it was recently sold to an investor. the artists do not know how long they can stay. >> a few things like this have to stay. it is important for so many reasons. >> but such places are becoming increasingly rare in today's berlin. people have been witness to changes for years. they fear for the neighborhood should it go.

>> over the next 10 years, berlin will lose its special qualities. it will look like every other city in europe, with the same chain stores, the same fast food places. everything will be the same. it is a consequence of the market economy. it is happening in berlin right now. >> art versus commerce is a quintessential berlin dilemma. for the time being, artists are continuing their work in the studios. this artist remains upbeat. >> i would say things are still wide open, but i am an optimist. i think life will go on. right now we are in a bit of a deadlock. it could be the same in five years. >> unreasonably optimistic. but could also be a slogan for berlin. >> berlin is berlin. it has this flare.

who cares if things aren't going well? it is still great here. >> it is unlike any other city. it is unique. look at the people here. berlin is berlin. >> which neatly sums up the mood in the summer of 2011. 600 kilometers southwest is a sleepy town. it is one of the greenest places in germany. 32% voted for the greens at the last regional election. the mayor is from the green party. >> i don't have an official car, just this official bicycle. it has an elected motor, so i get around town as fast as people in cars. it uses the equivalent of 0.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, just what a green mayor needs. >> economically, the town is

doing well, with unemployment at just 4%. people are well educated and concerned about sustainable life styles. ecology is important. >> a lot of people vote green. we think a lot about the environment. >> it is the lifestyle, the way the city looks. >> that is definitely the case in the french quarter. the city guide shows as a run the district that has become a test case for urban ecological living. >> i tried to live as sustainably as possible. i do not get obsess about technology are dashing around all over the place. it is easy to do here, because i live and work in the same place. my office is 150 meters away.

i do not need to create a load of co2 to get there. >> that sort of attitude meets with approval in a district where 50 percent -- 57% voted green, almost twice the city right. almost every roof is equipped with solar cells. citizens are proud of their own brand of ecology. >> we have a tradition of conservative environmentalism. our state premier would probably never get elected in an alternative place like berlin. we have always been as concerned with the economy and medium- sized businesses as with traditional values. that is probably why we now head the state government. >> it does not seem like a place with many worries. from the prosperous south, we move to the former industrial

heartland of the valley. there is not much a green here, and the town has clearly seen better days. the city center is run down and the buildings are in poor condition. many shops are empty. >> look at our streets. they never used to be like this. it is a joke. >> unemployment is high, and the local economy is stagnating. one of the last big employers is carmaker poel. -- opel. people cannot count on keeping their jobs. nobody will speak on camera about it. they say tv crews always show up when there is bad news. still, people are determined to put on a brave face. >> i think the region is doing well. of course unemployment is high, but so is the quality of life. we have a good life here. >> the man standing at the grill

used to work in fancy restaurants before he opted for a less stressful life. >> people in the ruhr valley are used to change. from cold to industrial production, we have seen many changes. but we have never lost our courage and our optimism. >> you could say the model could be things will get better again. fans of the local football team embrace that philosophy. they have spent most of their history moving between leagues. >> i have been coming here since 1968. it is always ups and downs. but that is life. >> so far this season, they have won 1, drawn 2, and lost 2.

>> suffering is life here in the ruhr valley. >> the team will get better. definitely. >> the eternal optimism of a true football fan. germany in the summer of 2011. a country as the verse as it is large, and with big hopes for the future. >> thanks so much for joining us for a snapshot of germany in the summer. we leave you with the latest news headlines. see you next time.

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