>> this is "the journal" on dw- tv. our headlines. violence in greece as anti austerity protesters clashed with police outside of parliament. >> turkey launches an incursion into northern iraq after militants killed more than 20 turkish soldiers. athens rocked by violence again as ride police battled anti-

government protesters across the greek capital. the clashes, as lawmakers decide on another package of austerity measures. parliament has given its initial approval. unions have called a strike to protest the cuts. that has brought much of the country to a standstill. across greece, tens of thousands of people joined in the protest. >> violent clashes broke out as greeks came out to protest another round of government belt-tightening. hundreds tried to storm the parliament building. stones and fire bombs were hurled through the air. the police responded with tear gas. with much of the country shut down for the strike, greece has been experiencing the biggest protest since the outbreak of the financial crisis. many of the tens of thousands on the streets were demanding that the government stepped down. at the same time, members of

parliament debated further austerity measures ahead of the vote. >> we must make it clear to the citizens who elected us that it is necessary to pass through this difficult phase. this is the only way to avoid an even worse fate. >> greeks what none of it. they are facing job losses for 30,000 public sector workers as well as new taxes. that is why they send a message the only way they can. the package of cuts are a precondition for greece getting their hands on the last amount of bail of funds they need. >> major unions promise even bigger protests for tomorrow. for more, we spoke to our correspondent in athens and asked what we can expect. >> well, there is a call by the communist union to actually surround parliament in order to keep mp's from being able to make their way there and cast a

vote on a very controversial new round of austerity that the government is desperate to vote through parliament tomorrow. the unions have vowed that they will try to circle parliament to prevent the mps from voting this. rallies are expected at the capital throughout the capital. there is anger on the streets of athens. >> is there a fear that worst violence might erupt after the clashes that we saw today? >> well, we have seen it repeatedly here. only the violence is fresh in memory of greeks. we can expect what the greeks will want. many protesters were trying to contain the violence and try to sideline, if you like, the

normal troublemakers. >> thank you. we have a high-level meeting in frankfurt tonight, talking about this debt crisis. >> it has to be high level considering the french president left his wife and hospitals to have a kid and he has arrived here. there are a lot of greeks who are not happy about this and a lot of germans who are probably not happy about this. the french president says differences with the germans over a new bailout mechanism have jammed talks. the leaders of both countries and their finance ministers held an informal meeting with members of the ecb, the imf, and the european commission. france would like to turn the stability fund into a bank, germany is a post. >> president sarkozy made a surprise trip to frankfurt. talks between france and germany have stalled and pressure is

mounting to find some kind of agreement ahead of a make or break eu summit this weekend. many big hitters in the financial world were already in germany's banking capital to attend a farewell ceremony for outgoing ecb president, jean- claude trichet. the event has turned into a crisis meeting. chancellor merkel says there is no time to lose. >> if we want to turn the crisis around, if we are determined to promote europe, we must grasp this as a chance and be prepared to act and conventionally and fast. i believe that the topic of a treaty amendment should be on the table. >> the two leaders are expected to discuss ways of restoring confidence in the financial market. one idea is to leverage the eurozone rescue fund, pushing it to over 2 trillion euros. the fund would be used to guarantee bank losses and

prevent contagions two bigger european economies. with the occupied wall street protests have been spread to frankfurt, pressure is mounting on the german pressure. these protesters hope that she will have a solution to the spiraling prices. >> we are looking ahead. the head economist told us about how leveraging works and what advantages it has for the bailout program. this is similar to a joint move made by the u.s. treasury department. >> and americans were much smarter. they have this already in 2008 -- 2009. they did it successfully. they leveraged and the fact that only 30% of the bond is guaranteed and that weighs the quantities that can be guaranteed. those are much higher. that is the leverage affect. the efsf does not need to be

enlarged. that means for the german taxpayer, the maximum risk lies at 211 billion and that means we don't have to pass new legislation. >> we will have more economic news in a minute. >> both do you and the u.s. have condemned a series of kurdish separatist attacks early wednesday that left 24 turkish soldiers dead. -- both the eu and the u.s. have condemned a series of kurdish separatist attacks. turkey has vowed to take great revenge for one of the deadliest attacks in decades. >> turkey sent more than 500 of the soldiers, along with heavy artillery, several kilometers into iraqi territory. their mission, to take out workers loyal to the pkk.

they have been targeting locations in the mountains. turkey believes that the attackers are hiding there. the turkish prime minister was scathing in his condemnation of the guerrillas. >> whoever supports terror, feeds it and helps it, whoever tolerates it and ignores its two main attacks and tries to cover the bloody face of terror, i want to let all of them know that turkey is breathing down their necks. >> in the early hours of wednesday morning, the pkk launched attacks on army bases in the southeast of the country. dozens were killed and one of the deadliest attacks ever. more than 14 million kurds live in the region that straddles iran, iraq, and turkey. the pkk has been fighting for more uncommon me since 94,

really attacking -- has been fighting for more autonomy since 1994, regularly attacking government forces. >> security forces and protesters clashed. activists say six were killed in the city of homs when syrian forces fired on protesters. this video shows government tanks patrolling the city. the state-run news agency said that the authorities arrested what they say are terrorists. syria has barred journalists from reporting. canyon and somali forces say they are ready to close in on forces in southern somalia. paris announced the death of a french woman whose kidnapping spread -- whose kidnapping sparked the action. she was seized several weeks ago

and she was taken to somalia. kenya blames the islamist militias for the kidnappers. the militia leaders say that they did not do it. more than 300 people have died in thailand in the worst flooding in decades. the prime minister is appealing for solidarity as the government deals with the natural disaster. nearly 9 million are affected by the flooding and more than a quarter of the country is under water. officials are warning that the capital might be affected. whole towns and are said marriage in cambodia as well. -- are submerged in cambodia as well. coming up later in this half- hour, we will go to cambodia to gauge what the flood damage means for the country. first, researchers might at last have developed a vaccine against malaria. clinical trials have shown that an experimental vaccine from

glaxo smithkline cut the risk of children getting infected by about half. nearly 800,000 people die from malaria every year, most of them are small children in africa. if testing goes well, the british drug maker says they could have the drug on the market in three years. german growth not looking as good as we would hope. >> no, the sluggish global economy as a whole is starting to take an effect. the german government is expected to announce thursday that they are cutting growth projections for next year. reports say the german government will grow by only 20%. -- reports by the german government say the economy will grow by only 20%. more market expectations, we go to the frankfurt stock exchange. it was a mixed platter of news to digest this wednesday. >> the german government lowered

their growth forecast for the next year after the current year seems to be even a bit stronger than anticipated so far. this is enough for many investors to go for stocks this wednesday. adding to this were a few encouraging and his reports for example from software ag which is germany's second-biggest software firm. they reconfirmed their profit targets for this year. this pushed the stock price up 12%. >> let's give you a look at the market numbers starting off with the good ones, the blue chips dax finished over half of a percent index. the euro stoxx 50 went up just over 4%. the dow industrials took a dive and close to well over half a percent down. the hero, $1.37. -- the euro, $1.37.

in north korea, the regime is oppressive and spends billions for military hardware while allowing millions to starts. here is a glimpse of the otherwise siccative country. >> there is no talk of north korea's problems here. officials lining up to open up the international trade fair and they are presenting their country as open for business. exhibitors are showing off the products that north korea has to offer, like medication. >> they started with pain relievers. we produce large amounts of aspirin and very low cost. now we have brought out a new product, a family health care kit that is very popular. >> visitors are interested in electronic devices which sometimes include products made in north korea. this player, for example.

the fair's organizers say companies from 16 countries including germany are represented but the vast majority come from neighboring russia and china, north korea's two biggest trading partners. >> back to you guys. >> the german parliament has been debating a controversial spy war that can be used by police to monitor suspects hard drive. this is illegal for police to use the software which functions like a trojan but only under certain strict conditions. -- this is illegal for police to use. new legislation is necessary. not even members of the governing coalition can agree on just how far police should be allowed to go. -- this is legal for police to use which functions like a trojan. >> this is a controversial product the police can use. one parliamentarian has taken a

hard line. she warned that the use could have disastrous consequences. >> if thithis technology should not be used until we know exactly what happens. >> german authorities are accused of using a trojan virus to eavesdrop on voice an instant messaging traffic. they can gain access to files stored on computer hard drives and secretly monitor users through web cam and microphone devices. it was denied that it was used to read the files or monitor computer users. >> the software is designed specifically for each individual case and it is checked before hand so it cannot anything more than it is allowed to do. >> the spy where scandal has sparked renewed debate on just how far authorities should be allowed to go in order to fight crime. >> britain's kreme elizabeth has

arrived in australia for a visit. -- queen elizabeth has arrived in australia for a visit. she and her husband were met by the australian prime minister. the queen is expected to visit four city and meet with representatives from commonwealth nations. she is also going to meet with workers to help with the flooding in queensland. archaeologists say they have uncovered the remains of a viking chieftain buried in his boat in scotland. the 5 meter long boat is mostly rotted away and it has the bones of the viking warrior. the remains of his broadsword are part of the remains dug up by scientists. 1000 years ago, norse men raided scotland. many established settlements there. "should we bury you in a boat, too? >> [laughter]

>> we will be back after the break.

>> across southeast asia, the worst monsoon in living memory has brought torrential rains to cambodia, laos, thailand, vietnam. it has cut off homes and destroyed all important food crops and livestock. floodwaters continued to endanger the lives of millions of people. the united nations says 700 people have already been killed by the flooding in the region. the organization warned that surges could worsen the situation in thailand and said that they are standing by to provide aid. in cambodia, more than one and a half a link people have been affected and 2/3 of the

country's provinces are now under water. our reporter trevor -- traveled to two provinces which are home to some of the rice crops that the country depends on for their survival. those fields have disappeared beneath the surface of flood waters that stressed to the horizon. >> we are on our way to a farming village. until just a few weeks ago, this was a rice field. then came the floods. now, there is water as far as the eye can see. this farmer takes us on a tour of his house. normally, it would be two meters above ground, now he and his family are ankle deep in water. no one knows how long the house will withstand the flood. >> i am more it that the wind and water will make our house

collapsed, says his wife. i'm scared that my children will fall into the water and drowned. i cannot sleep at night because i am constantly word. the water is dirty, we don't have a toilet, and all kinds of animals seek shelter in here. we cannot leave. we would not know where to go, so we have to deal with it. >water levels have not reached their beds but if the water rises any further, they will have to abandon their house like so many families already have. a few kilometers up the road is the capital. everything here is under water, too. at the local market, vendors are having a hard time moving their wares to higher ground. the stands are about the only way for locals to earn a living but business has tanked since the flooding began.

i have lived here for 10 years, says this local merchant, but it has never been this bad. we are stuck and the polluted water is making us sick and i cannot sell anything. the situation is so bad that we don't even have enough to eat, but what can we do? somehow, we have to try to survive. a crisis meeting at the local office. the provincial governor has come, so has the minister for disaster relief. finding solutions is the goal. the cambodian national television has been brought in to show what the government is doing. the minister would like to see the flood hit areas himself. sandwiches are handed out to a few residents. some one and a half million people are affected by the

floods. two months into the crisis, the government has still not asked for international aid. the most important thing is to save the lives of people in the greatest danger and to help them save their belongings. we can do that alone. we don't need international aid. over the last few months, heavy rains have caused rivers to swell to levels not seen in decades. some nations, like china, have sent medicine and other designated goods. ngo's are also trying to help but they cannot provide enough aid. >> some is arriving, but we need more. so many people have not received anything. the response needs to be better

coordinated with national organizations. the government has not yet declared a state of emergency. that is an important factor in getting more nations to help. -- more organizations to help. >> this is among the worst hit regions. 80,000 families, some 400,000 people, have seen their crops destroyed and will go hungry without aid. many of those who have fled are now camping on the sides of the road on higher ground. the water has not reached here yet. >> as a farmer, i have seen a lot of floods. this just makes you cry. the rise, the plants, everything has been destroyed.

-- the rice, the plants. come with me, i will show you. the paddles us to his village. there is no other way to get there. the locals abandoned their houses weeks ago. the only person whose state is this elderly woman. she can hardly move. -- the only person who stayed is this elderly woman. returning on one of these shaky boats would be too dangerous for her. on the way back, we are shown the scale of the catastrophe. just below the surface of the water, raw stock -- rice plants are writing. -- rotting. people here don't have reserves of food. they go into debt to buy food

just to survive. >> our whole crop was wiped out. i don't even have seeds that i can sell. everything has been destroyed. we hope that the government will help and give us new seeds to plant when the water is gone. >> but that could be a long wait. people here know until then they will have to fend for themselves. they have seen it all before. many to not have enough materials to build any kind of new shelters. often, the only place to go is a local pagoda. >> i help people. i give them some rice, noodles, and tea. this is not much, but i do what

i can. >> for many here, religion is a source of comfort and support. >> we are all buddhists. when buddhists are in trouble, then as monks, we must stand by them through thick and thin. >> but the floods to do not stop at the gates of the monastery. they have already closed the schools and if the water keeps rising, the monks will find it increasingly difficult to help people here. that means cambodians are facing anything but a peaceful future. >> more than 200 people have already died in the waters and millions have been left homeless. alongside cambodia, vietnam,

laos, and thailand are struggling. stay tuned. we will leave you with a look at the latest headlines.