>> hello and welcome to the "journal." in germany, president christian wulff remain silent, despite calls -- claims that he allegedly tried to muzzle the press. 2012 presidential campaign for republicans. the german president is remaining silent, despite a barrage of calls on him to explain why he tried to suppress a newspaper story in

december. his fitness for office, but have held back from demanding his resignation. the president is embroiled in scandal, stemming from a controversial loan he received. here is our report. >> the opposition takes an increasingly sharp recount in its criticism of president christian wulff. social democrats say he can no longer exercise his duties in partially. >> a president who threatens journalists in order to stop a critical report from coming out is acting in an absolutely unacceptable manner, and the chancellor can no longer look on and remain silent. >> before christmas, the opposition appeared to accept wulff's apology for covering up a loan he received from a friend, but now it is alleged he left a phone message to the editor of a newspaper, asking him to suppress a story. this has caused wulff poses

support to dwindle. >> he should realize the explanation he gave earlier was not enough. he has to do more. journalists should have the chance to ask questions. >> the german public has mixed feelings about whether the actions are serious enough for wulff to resign. >> i actually find him very appealing, but now, we are getting another picture of him. >> someone makes mistakes like this is not fit to hold that office. >> i do not approve of this at all, but i do not see it as grounds for him to step down. >> at this point, there have only been a few calls for wulff 's resignation. the pssure on the president is mounting. >> german chancellor angela merkel was the person who nomitedul forhe as well., a spirit the last time she tke

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slow, ennd they ar making conadto stent we rept from the chairman as soon as e voement of the united nations surity council. the arab league is not up to alg with al-regime. >> tanks are still deployed in syrian cities like here in homs, despite the arab league monitors charged with orsin troop withdrawals. the question is what to do if the arab league eb gup are now threatening to attack supporters, and activists report that deserters have already sh 18 security forces. another 75 observers are expectedo sen syria in the coming days. >> egyptians are voting t third andin round of parliamentary elections. the first following the ousting of hosni mubarak o. voters in nine of egypt's provinces are casting their baot b the results are

unlikely to change the outcome of the electns e latest parties like the islami m brotherhood are expected to come out on top. naestsre expected in january. rmy is sending a special envoy to egypt to protest last we' cckwnnro- democracy groups. police raided the office of 17 non-governmental organizations, including one with close ties to germany's biggest political rt the egyptian authorities accused the groups obrki t potical funding laws. israi d palestinian p negotiators are meetingn gegi f fe--ce talks in -- for the first time in more than a year. eangarer on tuesday, the palestinian authority president yshe we seeking the right sitoese goations with israel. abbas also warned palestinians

would only press ahead with talks if iae sps construction of settlements in the west bank. d a gunfight in the libyan capital has caused the death of atea fr people. two groups of former rebels engaged in heavy fhtg in broad daylight. many former fighters areti group in militia brigades. the libyan interim government is still struggling toisdg the fighters. it wants to integrate tm to a new national army. time now for the latest in business news. >> thanks. new chief economist. the ecbelte belgium's central bank appeared experts had expected the bank to choose leading candidate from germany or france. instead, hecesheirst non-german to hold the post in ecb's 13-year history. he is a currency specialist and

will take over for the previous officeholder who resigned because of the buybkroam germany continues to defy the debt crisis. latest numbers show german unemployment last year hit its lowest level in twoecesin comparison to the previous month, however, dec.'s unemployment has gone up slightly, putting the unemployntat i germany at 6.6%. keep in mind, the winter months, a small rise in the unemployment rate is typic a construction and agricultural work slow. >> jobless rates elsewhere in europe are soaring, but in germany, the labor markets irgetter than it has in years. the country's economy has largely avoided the eurozone slowdown, and german companie ar sllirg. >> after the crisis in 2009 and the following recovery in 20, the strong economic developments had a very positive

effect on the economy that reached well into 2011. the job mkeprit fm the. >> the development of the labor market has been positive for germany's ut to. after finishing school, most did not find it too difficult to find jobs the developments are especially encouraging for our young people. the number of jobless among youth delegate 300,000, which is also the lowest level we have seen since reunification -- fell der 300,000. >> but the praise comes with a warning. germany's economy is starting to weaken under the strain of the eurozoneris,hi could spell trouble for unemployment figures later this year. >> we will have more on the german labor market leader in thsh. 2011 was also a record year for the german car industry. it was the best year in its 125- year history

auto makers produced almost 5.9 million vehicles last year, and exports jumped 7%, to a ror 4.5 million cars. in germany, there were over 3 million new car registrations, with the majority coming from domesticroctn. >> many germans put buying a new car at the top of their wish list last year, and quite a few of them followed throughn their plans. last year, the number of new car registrations in germany rose by 8.8%omreto01 luxury models proved especially popular, with sales soaring by 30%, b more fuel-efficient compact vehicles did not fare as well. their sales drop. german car makers can look back at a good year. nearly 2/3 of all newly registered cars in germany were dostic brands, including volkswagen, audi, and mercedes.

>> stocks have been taking the news in stride,allying for a second day here in europe. we have this report from frankfurt. >> the news that a widely watched economic indicator in th united states came in better than expected pushed stock prices upwards here in frankfurt, as well as strong sales numbers of the german auto makers, and the positive news from the german labor market. now, people here are anxiously waiting for new government bond sales on wednesday and thursday. new government bonds from germany and from france are coming to the markets. if these options go down smoothly, traders say, then restart of the new year -- then the start of 2012 will be a good one. >> listed different but were germany's benchmark dax ended the day in positive territory -- we stay in frankfurt where germany's benchmark dax ended the day in positive territory. in new york, it is the first

trading day for the dow jones industrial average for the year, and it is 1.8% higher. the euro trading for $1.351. bp says it is not responsible for paying for the gulf of mexico oil spill. they have filed a suit against halliburton for damages. tens of billions of dollars are at stake. the explosion at the deepwater rise in drilling rig killed 11 workers and said more than 4 million barrels of oil into the surrounding waters -- the explosion at the deepwater horizon drilling rig. it is alleged the firm used substandard cement. >> the change in leadership in north korea following the recent death of kim jong il has not affected the regime's hard-line stance against people trying to defect. according to south korean activists, north korean border

guides had shut down the -- shot down three men trying to cross the river into china. in the north korean capital, tens of thousands rallied to swear loyalty to the country's new leader, kim jong un. eight researchers nightmare -- a researcher's nightmare. some of the contents of the library after it collapsed will never be recovered, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. >> gradually, the experts are rebuilding the city are cut. 600 out of 65,000 original documents have been painstakingly put back together. this constitutional document is one example. for users of the archive, it is an exciting step forward. >> for me, it is very important. it is a stroke of luck as i look

to identify a writer, which can only be done by looking at the original. >> the building collapse in march 2009. fortunately, 95% of its press conference were recovered. process of restoring them to their original condition is progressing well but could take decades to complete. >> what will try to do over the next 30 years is return the archive to normal -- what we will try to do. and make available as much as possible to researchers. >> it is expected to cost 400 million euros to restore the document. work is due to start on a new building to house them this year. it should be finished by 2015. >> do not go too far. coming up after the break, germany and the changing world of work. >> keep it here.

>> welcome back. one of your new year's resolutions is to find a new job, consider the labor markets in germany. skilled workers are calling the shots here, so it works in favor of the employee and less so for the employer. i.t., health care, and engineering are the main fields in question. companies repeatedly complained about a shortage of skilled workers in these sectors. it all comes down to numbers. more and more senior citizens mean labor gas are being created without the people to fill them. it is time to get your applications moving. the brave new world of work is great if you appreciate your job as much as stephan does.

he works for a logistics firm. the company employs over 9000 people globally. >> personally, i find the labor market really is good for job seekers right now. my own career illustrates that. after finishing university, i spent a year and a half in hamburg. they actually had hunted me. i did not have to apply. >> at the moment, it is skilled workers in sectors like information technology who can pick and choose where they work, but in the next two decades, germany's labor market is expected to change radically. >> for many people, we are still some way from what could be termed a workers choice labor

market. but demographic change will mean that in real terms, the number of people available for work in germany will drop by about a quarter. we have seen nothing like that in recent decades, and there is no chance that it will have an impact on the labor market. >> the battle to attract skilled pworkers has already started. the right salary is important, but it is not the only factor. two years ago, his boss build a new designer office suite. it is popular with the employees. >> you look around here, you feel good. who would not like to work here? new ideas boost interest and get people talking. employees even talk about the benefits of their work environment in their private

lives, and that attracts new workers to us. >> he enjoys the work environment, but the decisive factor was something else. for the father of three, work flexibility was a key ingredient in the mix. >> being able to reconcile my private life with my career was central for me. whether that means nothing home to eat lunch together with my children or going home an hour early to play with them or having the time to put them to bed properly.% >> flexibility like that would have been unthinkable for the german workers of yesteryear. at the start of the 20th century, workers had to be obedient, disciplined, and turn up punctually. they have little opportunity to meet demands of their employers. even at the start of the 21st century, things were less than rosy for most employees.

in 2005, unemployment climbed to 5 million for the first time in germany's post-war history, which meant employers held all the cards. but for skilled workers, it is a different story. they have increasingly been calling the shots. more and more temping firms are using motivational message to attract and keep the workers they want. today, the firm is building [inaudible] instead of finding jobs for students. >> there is a strategy behind it. we are trying to find people to the company. we are trying to bind ourselves. that is the first point. we share joint experiences that have nothing to do with powerpoint or e-mails or the customers. they do have to do with the business, the concept, and the team.

>> for me, it is important that the team pulls together, that the people are really friendly and expressed constructive criticism while being honest with you and that you can develop your skills. i think that is most important of all. >> the company has 16 jobs on offer right now. in managing director knows what he has to offer his employees. new recruits are often more interested in promotional opportunities and career progression and a big saary. >> they say the opportunities may be a big chance for someone with no experience in the business to become a manager or build up the business in another country. that makes people willing to work 12 hours because it only feels like it. >> longer hours could be one of the down sides of the future world of work. along with bringing more opportunities, demographic

change is posing a completely new challenges for germany as a whole. fewer workers will mean a radical rethink. otherwise, germany is facing massive problems. >> in germany, people were up 1400 hours per head per year. in the longer term, by about 2040, that will need to rise to about 1700 hours. that may sound ambitious, but it is possible compared to what is worked in the u.s. or japan, where they put in 1800 hours a year. >> another solution would be involved in more women in the workplace. in germany, many well-qualified mothers still stay at home, often because of inadequate child care facilities. hellman's managing director

knows he will have to raise his quota of female employees to win the talent battle. >> it is a tough race. if you are faster and more attractive, you have a better chance of winning. >> that means workers should be able to make greater demands. labor market analysts are already sizing up the consequences. >> the biggest danger is going to far -- too far. that could mean the politicians do not get their act together, that the unions tried to exploit the chance with excessive pay demands. then, companies will have more incentive to close their operations in germany, either completely, or transfer them somewhere else like china, indonesia, india, or wherever. >> studitemps plans to stay in germany. it wants to grow from 90 to 200 workers this year. management believes it is well- prepared because current

employees are already have the in the workplace. that even now with 3 million unemployed, we have an economic boom phase forcing a punt -- forcing employers to use headhunters. it shows what is still to come, especially for young students, the leaders of tomorrow. >> the employees stealing their way through the brave new world of work, but the lack of skilled labor is only just starting to be felt -- the employees steeling their way through the brave new world of work. with the balance of power shifting between management and workers, and maybe it is time for both sides to plot a new course. >> that was a look at the german labor market. thanks for watching, and to stay tuned to -- do stay tuned to dw-

tv.

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