♪ >> hello, and welcome to the "journal" on dw-tv. >> en i am ben fajzullin with the business. >> our headlines -- as nightfall began over the wreck of the costa concordia, 21 people are still missing. >> after talks in berlin with palestinian president mahmoud abbas, chancellor angela merkel much brighter 2012 than all the other experts.

>> divers continued their search efforts for more survivors wreck today on survivorsed italian cruise ship, but to no avail. 21 people are still missing out of the 4200 were on board when the accident happened. meanwhile, attention has turned to pumping out fuel from the vessel. was ready to carry out the job before the fuel starts leaking into the sea. >> the weather has held, allowing rescue workers to continue their search for missing passengers and crew members. >> our people will go inside to inspect bridge number four, the meeting area where people usually gather in emergencies. it is possible we could find something there. >> there is little hope of finding survivors in the submerged areas, like this anbar. it is unclear how long divers will be allowed to continue

searching. the weather conditions are expected to get worse, and officials are worried the ship could sink completely. a new recording has been released of the first contact between court official -- port officials in the cruise liner after it ran aground. it is likely to reinforce accusations that the captain and crew failed to alert authorities about the disaster. a port official asks if the ship is in trouble. a crew member replies that it is just a power failure. the official asked whether it is true that the passengers were wearing life jackets. the same reply, the ship is in a blackout. the biggest worry for authorities now is the fuel in the tanks of the stricken vessel. a leak could spell disaster for the environment. rome is set to declare a state of emergency to speed up containment efforts. it is expected to take at least 10 days to pump up the field. work is set to start over the weekend. >> that stricken ship is a lying

off the coast of a pristine nature reserve in tuscany. many are concerned about the potential threat that this is posing to the environment. they chorused the bonded with the independent newspaper is on the night -- a correspondent with the independent newspaper is on the island of giglio. >> there's almost 20 four hundred tons of fuel oriole -- oil aboard, a lot of oil. it can be quite toxic. the environment is very unique. there is a large lagoon at nearby. there are dolphins, porpoises, whales that pass by and live in this area. there is a unique plant life as well. of course, the locals who live here rely on tourism. this is a tightly island. in the winter, there might be 300 people here. in the summer, there are 5000 people here who come from the

natural beauty. if there is oil everywhere, there will not be any work, no livelihood for them. >> we turn our attention to ethiopia, where officials say tribal elders are trying to secure the release of two german tourists kidnapped in a remote province of the country. gunmen seized them and killed five other tourists on tuesday. surviving members arrived on wednesday and have since left the capital to return home. two germans, two hungarians, and an austrian were killed in the attack. ethiopian authorities believe the two abducted germans may have been taken across the border to eritrea. arab league monitors are submitting their report on the situation in syria after their monthlong mission there. there is no let up on the violence between government and opposition forces. activists say at least 10 people were killed in homs on wednesday.

will meet in cairo this weekend to decide whether to continue the observer mission. the syrian opposition has called the mission a failure and watched the last wants the united nations to intervene. german chancellor angela merkel says time is pressing in at the search for a solution in the contract -- conflict between palestinians and israelis. following talks with mahmoud abbas in berlin, she urged both sides to resume negotiations. the palestinians have withdrawn from peace talks in protest that continued israeli settlement activity in the west bank. >> middle east peace talks have been stalled for more than three years. the german chancellor would consider it a success of current meetings restarting formal negotiations did not collapse. she was cautiously optimistic after meeting the palestinian president. >> there have been many attempts already, so we will not be discouraged. both sides are at least talking to each other again. that was not the case for many

months, and we want to take advantage of this opportunity. >> mahmoud abbas welcomed the talks under way in jordan, but he accused israel of undermining the peace process by continuing settlement construction. together with the eu and u.s., angela merkel has called on israel to stop on building in the west bank and east jerusalem. the host of the preparatory talks, the king of jordan, was in washington this week to brief president obama on their progress. both emphasized their wish to see progress on the seemingly intractable issue of settlements. >> a suicide attack in southern afghanistan has killed at least seven civilians. the attacker it detonated a car bomb at the entrance to the international airport in kandahar. he struck as nato troops were leaving the airport. nato spokesman said none of its soldiers were wounded in the blast. there seems to be no end in sight to pakistan's political

crisis. prime minister yusuf raza gilani has appeared before the supreme court to defend his record. he is facing charges of contempt. he has been asked to explain why he did not pursue a corruption case against president zardari. if he is charged with contempt, gilani could be disqualified from office and forced to resign. the case has raised fears that pakistan's civilian government could collapse. the case has been adjourned until next month. the german economy relies a lot on exports, so what are the predictions for 2012? >> so far, everyone has been changing their predictions, and it has been going down. but the latest projections are looking better. germany's leading industry groups says exports could actually grow by 3% this year. that is despite the pessimism of the government has cut predictions. the world bank has cut forecast for global growth.

but german firms separate political decisions are taken and the debt crisis did not get worse, things could look ok. >> after two years heating up, the world economy is likely to cool down noticeably this year. german industry has already been feeling the pinch. orders declined towards the end of last year. despite that, the federation of german industry believes businesses are in the position to weather an economic storm, as long as it passes over quickly. >> we know that companies' order burks are looking pretty healthy at the moment. -- order books are looking healthy. companies are giving brighter forecasts that then we would dare to make ourselves. >> the world bank predicts the recession in the eurozone, but the bdi still expects german exports to rise in 2012. the federation points out that companies have learned from their experiences during the crisis of 2008. >> short-time working was a

rapid response, for example. employees have a lot of hours on their flexi time accounts, so they can be used. we have learned to be flexible. >> that the economy recovers in the second half of the year, the bdi says gdp growth could surpass one%, considerably more than the german government's forecast. >> it germany's second-biggest commercial lender says it can fix an equity gap without help from its shareholders are the german government. the bank chairman says the lender is on track to raise 6.3 billion euros. 1 billion more than the required minimum in capital reserves. it plans to retain earnings, sell-off risky assets, and they ought employees bonuses in shares. the german government acquired 25% of the bank to set it from bankruptcy in 2008. the market liked what it heard from the bank chairman and its

stock rallied sharply. we have more from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> nearly 15%, the share price gained due to the announcement of the ceo that the bank would manage without further help of the german taxpayer to meet the new stricter capital requirements for banks in europe. what also caused people to be optimistic is that france and spain managed without problems to issue new government bonds. midterm and long-term government bonds. and demand was significantly higher than at the number of bonds on offer, which means that investors do trust france and spain, despite the lower ratings that standard and poor's gave to these countries. >> ok, let's have a look at the market numbers. the german dax rallying. a lot of european stocks of following suit. the dax closed up by almost 1%. the euro stoxx 50 was up 186.

that is the wrong figure. a lot of green today with the dow jones opening in positive territory. it is up. the euro in positive territory. to the back just below that $1.30 mark. the european parliament in strasbourg it -- in strasbourg approved a new directive to stop the illegal export of e-ways. electronic appliances, such as mobile phones, tv sets. they're sent to countries in africa were valuable raw materials like copper are removed in seoul. but you're also needs to keep those reclaimed from materials at home. >> the police in the port of hamburger checking this shipment destined for africa. it is registered as second-hand goods. investigators suspect it is really electronic scrap. it is illegal to export toxic waste from germany.

>> what we have here is a lot of broken electrical appliances. so i do not think this step is usable. for spare parts that may be, but nothing more. >> when they reach africa, the appliances are stripped down, often by child workers, for the raw materials they contain. what remains is incinerated, polluting the environment. until now, it has been almost impossible to stop this illegal trade. since the law failed to draw a clear line between scrap and used goods. under the new eu directive, exporters will have to approve the appliances are in good working order. also, 85% of the nation's electronic waste will have to be collected in the home country. >> we want to make short electronic scrap stays in your for reprocessing. europe is short of rock and tear -- raw materials. that is very important. >> consumers will be able to handle a broken or obsolete

appliances at retail stores, another way to put an end to the illegal export of potentially toxic waste. >> cell phone manager sunny erickson says 2011 was a bad year for sales, reported a net loss of over 200 billion euros for the last quarter. the chief executive claims stiff competition. new smart phones have made life hard for the joint venture. sony wants to buy out ericsson's shares and focus more on smart phones. the debt crisis has hit french hypermarket giant carrefour. reduced fourth quarter sales, especially in spain, italy, and greece. and in their home markets of france. the company blamed weaker discretionary spending and promotion costs. the forecast for tehran -- for 2012 is challenging and uncertain. they're reviewing plans for new branches country-by-country. it operates in some 9500 stores in 32 countries.

you have got a new development and an interesting story. >> yes, new developments surrounding the affairs surrounding german president christian wulff. on thursday, police in lower saxony raided the home of his former top aide. olaf glaeseker resigned as the spokesmen in december without giving any reason. state prosecutors say they are investigating bribery allegations against olaf glaeseker, who took vacation paid for by a wealthy businessman. president christian wulff faces similar accusations of improperly benefiting from public office. to the united states now, and there have been two major twist to the republican presidential contest. texas governor rick perry pulled out of the race for the white house and endorsed newt gingrich as the best candidate to challenge president obama. the other surprise came as republican leaders said gop front runner mitt romney did not

win the iowa caucuses after all. after a recount, former pennsylvania governor rick santorum was named the official winner. wikipedia is back up and running to the website had shut down for 24 hours to protest a u.s. bill and at stopping copyright infringement. wikipedia says the law amounts to censorship of the internet. more websites have joined in on the protest action, and it seems to be paying off. >> in new york, demonstrators gathered outside the offices of u.s. senator charles schumer to protest the proposed internet censorship laws. >> honestly, the u.s. has been the leader in the world for allowing free communication. it would be a tragedy that changed. >> but the issue goes beyond internet censorship to a larger struggle between silicon valley tech giant and the hollywood media industry. if the legislation passed, and to get providers would be

obligated to block foreign websites who offered unlicensed and pirated music and films, protecting the rights of hollywood content providers. >> sopa is an attempt to solve a problem that is a real problem. that is the theft of american intellectual property that is basically sold on the internet. >> protesters say their campaign is a success. several senators dropped support for the bill after the online blackout on wednesday. for the moment, it looks like silicon valley scored a victory over hollywood. internet activists say they will keep up the fight until the bill is canned. >> son's sports news now. germany's magna elena noyner 52912 victory in italy. she won the 7.5 kilometer sprint, beating the competitor from finland. despite having to do at penalty loop.

the competitor from belarus came in third. more business is coming up after a short break. >> stay with us. ♪ >> people with ideas and halting climate change. doing their bit all over the world. >> nothing in this forest will be cleared for commercial use ever again. witnessing this is an indescribable feeling. >> it needs sunlight. >> gold and ideas in a global 3000 on dw-tv. ♪ ♪

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cheats, with billions ofs. >> pubclelomnies are among the biggest tax dodgers it i referred to as unorthodox business practices. always played fast and loose with the rules, and it ntueo this day. >> another problem is tax hikes ede onicctit leading to less revenue. >>ak this car, fonce but the annual tax used toe 180 years. this year, it is a 240 years. stea 250,000register their cars. w, many years mopeds and pay between 20ea 4eus tax. >> as an economist looking at e numbers in black-and-white, he predicts a grim future f greece, sooner than later.

>> i believe greece will declare insolvency this year. experts at other economic institutrectheam thing. some predicteou see a default as soon as the first quarter of 2012. >> he says, with any luck,t will be anerly in solvency that avoids economic cha, d hopes to greece will keep the euro, a stable creyn uncertain times. >> the fate of greece still hanginhe balance. spain and france have been back to the markets for moreon with investor confidence rising, despite last week's dngdes. both bond auctions or strong. but europe needs a lot of cash to get out ofhe r. >> ov $2 trillion euros, that is howuc debt they will attempt to refinance the credit

markets this year. it i nrlthame amount of the annual gross domestic product of europe'scomi powerhouse germany. banks and southern europe are rey having difficulties securing loans but that is despite the fact that just last month, eurozone financial institutions secured nearly half trillion years from the ecb through a brand new tee-yea lending facility. >> and his international green week in berlin. the biggest food and agricultural eibition i the world. the trade fair is of particular inre t those involved in the developing markets of central and eastern europe. but one that the central themes is a local food production. th heen very topical with one food scandal after the next. factory farming is in the spotlight. e's dbtt s resulted in cheaper food prices, but it has led to many problems. >> germanympts l o fresh produce from spain. the business may be brisk, but

it is not that a lucrative for spanish farmers. rm wholesalers drive a hard bargain these days. consumers are continually looking to save on fees. with low-cost supermarkets leadingheay t price war is intact. as a result, only around 10% of household expenditure in germa es on food. that compares to 12% in france and 14% in italy. it isos eenve in romania, over a quarter of consumer spending goes on food and drink. germans pay just 50 for a kilo of minced beef. public debate has reny focused on the widespread use of antibiotics in animal farming. low doses are often given to help the livestockorent feio but that has lead to resistant strains of bacteria entering the food chain. many now reject factory farm fo.

t op must expect to spend more to do a better quality in their supermarkets. >> your up-to-date on all the siss ke wchg -tv. we will have more later on in the night. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ ♪

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