>> you are watching "the journal." here are the headlines. a new offensive by the taliban, u.s. and nato buildings, their

attack. rebels advanced on the gaddafi's stronghold of bsanani walid. >> italy turns to china for help as its interest rates soar. >> the taliban have launched attacks on u.s. and nato buildings. police say that they are still exchanging gunfire with taliban members holed up in an unfinished high-rise. our coverage begins with this report from cobble -- kabul. >> nato forces battle with taliban from the roof of the u.s. embassy. four hours, it blasts and gunfire echoed through the city. nato helicopters were called and to target the insurgents who were holed up in this building

site overlooking the diplomatic quarter. this provided a well placed advantage for the attack. >> you could hear the explosions. >> the taliban raid poses another challenge to afghan forces as they gear up to take command of security in couple -- in kabul. >> we are witnessing the taliban trying to test consistently but they cannot stop it. it will continue. >> this is the third major taliban assault since june but one with a crucial difference, embassies and government buildings frequently come under attack but for the first time, the insurgents launched a coordinated attack on the various targets.

>> can be afghan forces really provide security by themselves? i put that question to our correspondent in kabul. >> that is the question that many people are asking themselves. they have lost a very aggressive counterattack today. -- that afghans have launched a very aggressive counterattack. for the first time this summer, the insurgents have managed to sneak through the defenses and launch an attack right in the heart of the city. it looks like plans to hand over all security to the afghan forces are ambitious. course we know that there has been talk of negotiating a cease-fire with more moderate taliban groups, how can that happen when we see an upsurge in attacks? >> that is a good question. there has been talk about possible negotiations.

at the moment, violence, certainly civilian casualties are at record levels. on days like this, it does not look like the taliban would like to negotiate. >> thank you very much. the taliban is claiming responsibility for an attack in pakistan that has left four children dead. this happened to the northwest. officials said that the attackers opened fire on a school bus. 18 people were wounded. it taliban spokesman says that the attack was aimed to punish a local tribe which has been fighting the taliban in the area. nato warplanes are pounding targets in a number of towns still controlled by supporters of the fugitive dictator gaddafi. on the ground, rebel forces in bani walid are urging civilians

to leave before a full assault. talks aimed at a peaceful surrender have so far failed. a short time ago, i spoke to a correspondent on the outskirts of bani walid and i asked about the situation there. >> bani walid is a ghost city. there are snipers everywhere. you don't know where the shooting is coming from. some rebels are talking about a possible cease-fire, others are talking about the fight continuing. what we know it is this is a heavy fight, this is not easy for the rebels to step into the city because there are troops of gaddafi resisting in a strong way. they have been dealing with bombardments here are around the city and that is what happens

here in bani walid. >> what do you know about the whereabouts of gaddafi? could he be in bani walid? >> it could be that he is still in bani walid, but he could also be in the south. we don't know, exactly. what we expect is that there are high ranking military commanders. maybe one of gaddafi's sons, maybe one of his spokesman. this would be a reason for the heavy resistance. if muammar gaddafi himself is there, we don't know. there are rumors that he was seen on thursday but we cannot confirm it. >> ok, thank you. in another sign that relations

with israel are getting worse, turkey is urging arab league countries to give their support of palestinian statehood. the turkish prime minister says that the recognition of palestine as a country is an obligation. he made those comments speaking in egypt on his tour of arab spring countries. >> the head of the egyptian military council gave the turkish prime investor a warm welcome. this is the first time a turkish leader is visiting egypt in 15a. this comes against a backdrop of the arabs spring revolution and the tense relationship with israel. since the israeli raid on a gaza-bound flotilla, erewhon -- erdogan has been stepping up

his criticism. >> as long as israel does not apologize and as long as they don't pay reparations to the victims' families, as long as they don't lift their naval blockade, turkish-israeli relations will not return to normal. >> he called for arabs support for the palestinians plan to seek recognition at the u.n. >> this comes at the right time. we are pleased with this man because he speaks the truth and he stands up to those who oppose the egyptian revolution. >> he will spend three days in egypt and then travel on to tunisia. >> there is more talk among lawmakers about greece. angela merkel says that speculation about a greek default can only hurt the eurozone. she's attempting to show

solidarity among the euro members. >> a united position on the euro crisis. this was the message that chancellor merkel wanted to send as the finnish prime minister makes his first visit to berlin. her economics minister suggested that europe could no longer rule out an orderly defaults of athens. >> we must be aware that everything we do must be done with great care, knowing the consequences. we are in a new territory for the common currency. otherwise, a situation would arise that none of us want and it could have very serious consequences for us all. i have no doubts over whether the german government shares a common position. >> as if to prove his independence, the economics minister, head of the junior

coalition partner, had his own press conference at party headquarters and he reinforced the very statement that had caused so much turmoil. >> we want greece to remain in the eurozone and for that to happen, we need to restore it to and efficiently functioning economy. that means really nothing out. -- ruling nothing out. >> some of these read these comments as a veiled attack on chancellor merkel's approach. this will not ease the tensions in the coalition government. >> the story about greek debt continues. >> you have to look at the markets to see what is going on. high volatility continues a missed ongoing fears over the european debt crisis. investors have mostly given up on greek bonds.

others looking for ways to stay afloat. italy has the biggest debt load in the eurozone and is considered far too big for a bailout. they had to get record interest rates to bring investors on board. now they're turning to china. >> the italian prime minister met -- had a last minute visit to brussels to discuss his multi-billion euro austerity find. despite the serious nature of the talks, critics have noted that for the prime minister, a meeting in brussels might be preferable to the meeting he skipped in order to go to brussels. he had been summoned to meet with magistrates in naples to answer questions in conjunction with a new prostitution candle -- scandal he is embroiled in. there were rumors that the

government is negotiating with china for a significant cash injection. >> we support the measure of eu countries in regard to this debt. we believe the eurozone countries can take joint action to resolve the relevant issues. >> china holds over 10 billion u.s. dollars worth of spanish, portuguese, and greek bonds. now it looks possible that they will invest in italy, although nothing has been confirmed. it is clear that russia needs a lot of cash to weather did debt storm. >> let's take a look at the market numbers. -- it is clear that rome need a lot of cash to weather the debt storm. >> the eurozone euro stoxx 50 ended the session at 2% higher. the dow industrials closed 4/10

of a percent higher. the frankfurt international auto show opened its doors to the media on tuesday. car manufacturers are celebrating a rebound in sales. that has allowed them to steer clear of the slowdown. as they look to the future, they are expecting growing demand for cars with less muscle and more efficiency at an affordable price. here is a look at what volkswagen is rolling out. >> small is the new big. volkswagen is hoping that their new vehicles will compete well. with prices below 10,000 euros, this is designed for developing countries and crowded western cities. a battery powered version is due in 2013 and volkswagen is

working on a diesel option, too. they have high hopes. >> we are noticing that the trend is moving towards small cars. young people in the inner city are opting for small cars. we have to offer something here, too. >> the german rival, bmw, is making a push into the small car segment. bmw hopes to show the shift is not coming at the expense of the top market segment. >> back to you. >> thank you. amid the recent turbulence, markets have been headed down. there has been short rebounds, but the overall trend is lower. this is having an effect on the real economy. the research institutes are lowering their growth forecasts. >> the latest news from the

north suggests the german economy might be in for a rough ride. two leading institutes have revised their growth forecasts for 2012 down. the hamburg institute for world economics estimates that the german economy will only grow by 1.2%. the ifw is forecasting growth of 0.8%. the two institutes are warning that things could get worse. european economies could be strangled by an austerity and massive budget cuts leading to less demand for german goods. that could make the german future even more rocky. >> monsoon rains have swept through southern pakistan, more than 200 people are dead. villagers establish what they could from their homes and

retreated to higher ground after heavy rainfall flooded their homes. in karachi, schools and offices were closed after flood waters close to the streets. the devastating sludge has left more than 2000 dead. nine people were killed when a commuter train collided with a bus during a morning rush-hour in when osiris. -- in buenos aires. the impact derailed the first carriage of the train. more than 200 people were injured. a poor report card for germany. they received a disappointing rate on the study of educational standards among the 34 members. germany is not producing enough by the skilled workers meaning that their share of the global

talent pool is shrinking, especially compared to china. investment in education is far below average. germany spends less of their gdp than any other industrialized nation when it comes to education. stay with us, we will be right back with our "in depth," report.

>> more and more people, the u.n. estimates that the world's population will increase from 7 billion to more than 9 billion in just four years. this has consequences for the way we live.

this will also demand a better distribution and a change in consumption pattern. africa will lead the way. asia will see a smaller increase. most of that depends on what will happen in china and india. >> birth rates for boys in india and china are the highest in the world. they are the most populous nations by far. the asian continent is home to over half of the people on the planet. if the world today were a village with 100 residents, 60 them would be from the asia- pacific, 15 would be african, a 11 european, nine of them come from south and central america, five from north america. population growth is strongest in developing nations, especially in urban areas.

many people moved to the cities in search of work. many started big families to make sure they will be supported once they get -- once they give birth. the mega cities have more than 10 million residents. the global population surpassed 1 billion in 18 05 and industrial development lead to better living standards and medical care. people were living longer and the birthrate is still high high. gradually, birthrates and industrial nations began to drop. if your children meant higher living standards. -- last children meant higher living standards. today, there is nearly 7 billion people on earth. it is estimated it will be 8 billion by 2025.

can the planet support that many people? scientists are skeptical and say there will be conflicts over food, land, and especially water. >> one of the significant demographic trends is the gender imbalance in the population. in countries such as china, india, and south korea, boys outnumber girls. researchers say there will be 10%-20% more boys than girls in china and india. the traditional preference has led to an increase of selective abortions. ultrasound scans are illegal in india, many continue to use them. we visit a village in the north of the country to see the ramifications of too many men, not enough women. >> these men are passing their

times. the chance that they will find a wife is not good. there are far less women than men in northern india. >> many of us are single. >> this is located -- according to the latest census, only 830 girls are born for every thousand girls in the state. >> that is correct. many people aboard female babies because they would rather have a voice. it is not just our village, it is a serious situation. >> this man spends 8 few houses

down. he spent a long time looking for wives for his sons. he arranged to have two women from a faraway state moved to the village. >> i was always worried that my boys would not find girls. i got my daughters in long through contacts. >> today, they have their own children. the younger of the two has a daughter. he knows that many parents do not want girls because they will have to pay an expensive dowry. his son that is seen as someone who can support the family. >> i did not care if i had a boy or a girl. i just wanted one child because you can care for one better than many. i am happy with my daughter. >> other indian couples think differently when it comes to kids, many would like a boy to

carry on the family name. selective abortions have not been uncommon. many offer ultrasound scans to determine the sex of the child in the womb even though it is illegal. >> they are not educated. nowadays, the people are more educated. the ratio is really low, there are less girls. >> that does not bode way forward to growing gender imbalance. and many provinces, and men will be unable to find women to marry. >> here in europe, improved health and living standards

increase lifespans. we're talking about the gray side. germany is a common example. >> the fate of the german future, the population is getting older, the numbers of germans over 60 is growing. scientists worry that this could lead to see -- lead to tensions. >> who benefits from an aging society? will money be spent on pensions, child care, education? we are looking at an aging society. politicians will be focusing on them. >> the sole security system faces a major problem.

there are not enough young workers to help the seniors. >> an effective measure would be to raise the retirement age. others recommend completely doing away with the retirement age and working as long as possible. >> the health-care system is feeling the pinch. as the number of elderly and sick patients grows, the number of young people paying premiums is shrinking. >> this pretty much goes hand in hand with age. health care costs for people over 60 are 10 times higher per person per year than for people in their 20's. >> to ensure that people can afford to stay fit and be healthy, policy makers will have to seek other solutions. some say that the aging society should invest in the on the

generation now. >> we need to invest in environmental technologies and renewable energy. this economy and society will be rich enough to provide for an aging generation. >> that will require major changes at a time where the age gap in germany continues to grow. >> population growth and demographic trends has been the focus of our "in-depth." thank you for watching.

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