♪ >> hello and welcome to the "journal" coming to you from berlin. greek leaders finally meet to discuss cutbacks and a debt deal in hopes to avoid default. >> the brunt of a deadly crackdown by syrian government forces. >> in the u.s., rick santorum storms back into the race for the republican presidential nomination.

three days of delays and now they are often running. the leaders of greece's coalition government are holding budget talks with the prime minister. >> lucas papademos has agreed on a reform package with international lenders in return for more bailout funds. now, he is trying to convince his and from government to accept the austerity proposals. >> but many of the measures are deeply unpopular, and the talks are proving extremely tough. >> 15,000 public sector job losses and cuts in the minimum wage and pensions are on the cards, but the alternative is equally severe for greek prime minister look as papademos and his coalition partners. to avoid defaulting on its loans, greece needs a second bailout from the eu and imf to the tune of 130 billion euros, but that will only be possible if there is a deal with private sector investors to reduce

grace's debt load by 100 billion euros. reduce increase's debt load. athens must shed 4.5 billion euros from its budget this year. with more cuts looming, the public mood is grim. >> it is hopeless. it will take at least five years for things to get better. things are tough. we are used to being patient, but things could explode. >> there has been progress in talks with grease's private creditors. deutsche bank's ceo, representing bondholders and the greek prime minister, described overnight discussions as constructive. details are not being made public until eurozone finance ministers have been informed. >> sounds like progress, but we have heard all that before. let's see what our correspondent has to say in athens. bring us up-to-date, natalie. >> leaders finally got their hands on the latest version of

the memorandum. that is 50 pages drafted. it includes the measures to be implemented in exchange for greece's second bailout. for the past nearly four hours, they have been holding meetings -- holding meetings with the prime minister. it seems like a done deal. the head of the euro group has convened a summit tomorrow to discuss the greek bailout in brussels. let's see if the three leaders finally agreed to this very controversial agreement that is likely to produce some angry reactions. >> it suddenly is a deal, is that it? will there be mass celebrations all of a sudden? >> we are not quite out of the woods yet. why? because it still needs to be voted in parliament, and that is expected to take place on sunday. we have had a few parliamentarians who have expressed their opposition to this new bailout.

why? because there is a sense in greece the the political class is no longer representing the greeks -- that the political class is no longer representing the greek spirit of political leadership feel they have nothing to lose if they finally show the greek public that they, too, oppose the cuts. the question is if it will actually go through parliament on sunday. >> thank you very much for the update. >> we are getting reports that the europe group head once finance ministers to get together -- wants finance ministers to get together on thursday. does that mean a deal could be very close? >> it certainly means that it is a positive sign that finance ministers of the eurozone have not given up greece completely yet. to be honest with you, we are not expecting a deal just yet.

it is just the fact that the greek coalitions had been letting one deal pass by, so frustrations in brussels had been mounting. it is simply a question of convincing private lenders and convincing the europeans that the eu, the eurozone wants to keep raese as a member, and that is a clear sign that they are sending out -- wants to keep raese as a member. there is simply a big deal of uncertainties. -- wants --greece as a member. the question is whether there are enough lenders who will agree to the hair cut. if you cannot find them, you can put it on paper, but it is worth nothing. it is a clear sign they are trying all the best they can to keep grease in the eurozone, but there are a numbers -- a number of uncertainties still.

>> thank you very much. how is these sovereign debt crisis affecting germany? europe's largest economy has been proving resilient, but how long can that go on for an exporting nation, which is heavily reliant on global demand? >> containers as far as the eye can see. never before have so many products left german ports. the country's export-driven economy is booming despite the economic crisis. last year, more than half of german exports went to the european union. goods worth 421 billion euros were exported to eurozone nations. exports to other countries rose strongly, up 13% from the year before. imports also showed record highs. germany imported more than 9 billion euros last year. however, toward the end of 2011, germany's exports lost steam as the european debt crisis began

to lose by. the result was a dip in both imports and exports. many financial experts say that could mark the beginning of the end of germany's two-year export boom. >> our man at the frankfurt stock exchange is here with a rack above the day's trading action. >> it was a reassuring message coming from the exports. the export engine of germany still on the go, even if it was a little bit weaker in the month of december. it was a disappointment, but when you speak to the traders, it was not a real surprise there because they do see that 2/3 of germany's exports go to the european union, and, of course, many countries there are having trouble with austerity programs. share prices for much of the session on the way up because of optimism over greece, people believing that the default, for now, was not in the cards and that there would be good news forthcoming from athens when the

news indeed came. in the end, the market did lose steam because there was not news forthcoming, and there was a little bit more accent on the risk side. >> all right, reporting for us from frankfurt. let's get a look at how the markets ended the trading day on wednesday. the dax composite of top german companies closing down just slightly. similar story for the euro stocks 15 index, ending the day at 2512. on wall street, the dow trading down just slightly. on the currency markets, the euro trading for $1.3261. the white house says that it has run out of tools to help the people in the syrian city inhoms, -- syrian city of homs. >> there were reports 50 people had been killed just today. >> wednesday, the united

nations high commissioner for human rights said the international community is making the city -- the situation worse by not acting against damascus. >> the protest stronghold of homs. syrian forces continued their relentless assault on the city. the civilian death toll rises by the day. residents take shelter where they can, but nowhere is safe. pro-assad militiamen are reported to have broken into three houses overnight and killed three families. russia's foreign minister saw none of the violence on his visit to damascus. he said president assad was willing to negotiate with the opposition groups. "president assad said it was the task of the vice president to make contact with all opposition groups and to organize national dialogue, which will be inclusive and which will involve all political forces in syria. we hope that all those who have influence on syrian opposition

groups will press them to start such a dialogue." in homs, it is hard to believe the government is interested in talking. latest footage appears to back the claims of activists that there is no letup in the government's bombardments. >> later, we have an exclusive report on the workings of the syrian security apparatus. >> first, to the united states with the republican race for the white house is as wide open as ever. >> rick santorum won caucuses in three states on tuesday, an unexpected victory. >> pundits had already begun talking about mitt romney as the front runner destined to become the nominee to take on president obama. well, not too fast. >> santorum says his win proves americans are craving a purer form of conservative this -- conservatism. >> rick santorum savoring his clean sweep of missouri, minnesota, and colorado. many had dismissed his campaign

as a longshot, but the former senator insists his staunchly conservative views would make him the strongest republican candidate in november's presidential election. >> ladies and gentlemen, i do not stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to mitt romney. i stand here to be the conservative alternative to barack obama. [applause] >> mitt romney, the presumed front-runner, finished third in minnesota. analysts say it is a sign of his weakness among conservative voters, but he was staying upbeat about his nomination chances. >> this was a good night for rick santorum. want to congratulate senator santorum, which in the very best. we will keep campaigning down the road, but i expect to become our nominee with your help. [applause] >> romney will get another shot at the important swing state of missouri. tuesday's results was nonbinding. missouri's delegates to the party nominating convention will be chosen in a separate vote next month.

>> an old dispute between britain and argentina over what some would describe as little more than a chain of rocky outcrops hundreds of miles off the south american coast. >> known in the english-speaking world as the falkland islands. argentina and britain fought over a costly war over them in 1982, which britain ultimately won. now, old tensions are simmering up again in a diplomatic war of words. >> the hms dauntless, one of the royal navy's most advanced warships, is now on its way to the falklands. london calls it a routine operation, but the move has not gone well in argentina. neither has the a rival of prince william on the islands -- the arrival of prince william. the argentinian president calls it a provocation.

>> they are sending a destroyer, a huge and modern ship, along with the second in line to the throne. we would have liked to have seen him in civilian clothes, not in a military uniform. >> 3000 people live on the islands off the south american coast. most view themselves as british. argentina claims sovereignty over the territory, which has been in british hands since 1833. london refuses to negotiate. argentinian forces invaded the archipelago almost 30 years ago. the british prime minister responded by dispatching a naval task force to recapture the islands. after almost three months of fighting, the falklands were placed back under british control, but at a cost of more than 650 argentinian and 250 british lives.

the recent discovery of major oil reserves in the waters off the islands has raised the stakes even further in the long- running feud over the islands' sovereignty. >> the burmese opposition leader has hit the campaign trail ahead of april's parliamentary elections. large crowds gathered in the south of the country to greet the nobel peace laureate. it is his first visit to the delta region in more than 20 years. the return to politics comes after the spate of reforms announced by burma's military- backed civilian government. coming up in the "journal" -- a former high-ranking agents of the syrian secret services gives dw an insider's look at how the syriwork. >> and the crimes they commit in the process. make sure you stay tuned for that special report coming up

here on the new dw. >> that is it for right now. we will be back in one minute. >> stay tuned. >> you decide what you want to watch. all the images. all the programs. the whole package. dw on the internet. the media center on www.dw.de. where do you prefer to use dw?

let us know where you are taking us. perhaps your snapshot will win. please send your pictures to mydw@dw.de. we are giving away 3 ipads. for more information, go to www.dw.de. >> welcome back, everyone. german-syrian relations are at a new low after the arrest of two men in berlin suspected of spying for syria's secret police. >> if the allegations are true, it will show how far damascus' reach really is. >> that said, syria is increasingly isolated and more people are defecting from its intelligence services and fleeing the country. one of them is an intelligence officer who recently fled to jordan. >> he is showing off his

physical prowess in a home video shot after he ended training for the syrian secret police. he is from a family with close links to the regime. one of his brothers' heads the office of one of syria's richest men and a cousin of bashar al- assad, but the bloodshed prompted him to desert and flee to jordan. he lives under tight security in a military compound. in a secretly filmed interview, he talks about the role of syria's feared secret services. >> it was the air force's ceqa service that monitors all state institutions as well as the entire syrian secret service apparatus -- the air force's secret service. it is also responsible for planning and carrying out attacks and brutal massacres. >> one of those massacres took place here a year ago.

thousands were on the way to protest against a military blockade. troops opened fire from an officers' barracks -- and officer's barracks. >> the massacre on april 29 last year was the turning point in my career in the secret service. on that day, i saw 120 bodies and 160 people who were detained. there were two children who were brutally tortured to death. i could not stand it any more. >> the father of one of the boys went on syrian state television after a meeting with assad to deny his son was tortured to death. state media even claimed he wanted to kidnap and rape the wives of officers.

he says he knows precisely how the man died and that the official version of events is untrue. >> the boy's father did not talk about his son's torture during the meeting with assad because he was put under pressure. he was promised that 160 prisoners would be released if he did not mention his son's tortured during the meeting with the president -- his son's torture during the meeting with the president. >> he has left his family because he believes in a freer, fairer syria, but he remains pessimistic about the country's future. >> i warn assad that if he remains stubborn and picketed, the country will become a center for civil war and murder -- if

he remains stubborn and bigoted. >> he has no regrets about leaving behind his life in syria. he plans to continue exposing the truth behind the regime in the hope it will accelerate the demise of bashar al-assad. >> series is renowned for having one of the world's most notorious secret service -- syria is renowned. we asked if it is realistic to expect any change from within the organization. >> of course, it is difficult to pimagine any change coming from these brutal syrian secret services, who are notorious for their disdain for human rights, and they are known for torturing people and violating human rights. but we have seen some higher ranks defecting during the last month. one testified yesterday in jordan. if this continue, it's high ranks defect, there can effectively be some change

coming about -- if high ranks defect. the more than 15 secret services will surely have to settle scores. they will have to fight each other, especially in an unstable transition, and they will be a serious obstacle for shaping or developing any democratic political culture in syria in the future. >> we turn from the syrian secret service to german intelligence agencies. >> germany's federal and state governments have agreed on a commission to restructure the nation's security apparatus after the failure to identify a group of neo-nazis and link them to a series of racially motivated murders. >> the group is blamed for at least 10 killings and two bomb attacks over the past decade. >> the neo-nazi terrorist cell was active for years with the police or intelligence services being able to link the series of racially motivated killings.

authorities have attributed the failure to investigation errors, poor cooperation between agencies, and understaffing. the new cross-party expert panel is tasked with helping improve future coordination. >> the job of the expert commission is to combine the findings of investigators, panels, and committees and to form a complete picture. from that, they will be able to point out the political ramifications and make suggestions for improving the agency's cooperation. >> opposition parties fear many of the failures in the investigation could go undetected. they say they are not being given access to our original documents and are only evaluating previous reports. some commission members want to go further. >> if the commission has a specific investigative purpose, we will ask to be provided with a detailed report including all the facts. if we still need more information, we will sit down

with the people and ask the appropriate questions. >> so far, the commission has not said when it will announce its findings. officials are pushing for it to complete its work by may. >> level in our political correspondent from our parliamentary studios -- let's pull in our political correspondent. a huge shock when we found out about these killings. what more can we expect this commission to do? >> i think the shock really consisted in the fact that these neo-nazis murdered 10 people over 10 years, and they evaded the police during this time. that is what really shocked people, and the public in germany asked how it was possible. the simple answer to the question is that the security forces -- the police and intelligence services in germany -- are organized on a state to state basis within the federal republic of germany. of course they cooperate and exchange information, but it is not well structured, and it

varies a great deal from one agency to another. i think probably that this commission will be trying to structure -- to restructure, to organize -- that information flow better. >> apart from restructuring, wha steps are being planned to occur right wing violence in germany -- to curb right wing violence in germany? >> the most important function of the committee is that it has a symbolic effect. it is supported across parliament by all parties from the left to the right. that is very unusual, as you know, for a parliamentary commission. in this particular case, the political establishment is saying, "we take the threat of nazi violence seriously, and we need to do something about it." >> john, thank you very much.

>> kazakhstan's president is in berlin for talks with the german chancellor. angela merkel has called for a wider investigation into a police crackdown ordered by his government in december, but despite human rights concerns in the former soviet republic, they have agreed to tighter economic ties. >> the strategic deal worth 3 billion euros was signed in the chancellor's office. the agreement will allow german companies to search for raw materials in the mineral-rich central asian nation. merkel said the cooperation did not only benefit german industry. >> we will not just profit from exploiting important resources. germany will also make its technological expertise and industrial capabilities available to kazakhstan. >> the country is thought to

have massive deposits of the highly sought after rare earth elements needed for modern technology products. until now, china has in effect had a monopoly on the market with its huge reserves. >> on the subject of human rights in kazakhstan, the president shrugged off german media criticism. >> the country is on the path to democracy. the opposition is represented in parliament. there are no political prisoners, and there is no censorship. >> human rights groups take a different view, but these talks were dominated by business. on that issue, there is no disagreement. >> you are watching the "journal" on dw. a roundup of other stories making news around the world -- and a heavy rainfall has the least parts of central and southern peru -- >> heavy

rainfall has day lynch daydeluged -- deluged parts of peru. residents say the flood procedures failed, and they blame authorities. >> a survivor was found two days after a factory collapsed. it killed 21 people, the disaster. authorities say more people will be trapped under the rubble. it is believed a gas leak caused the blast. and the police in brazil are stepping up their strike for better pay -- >> police in brazil are stepping up their strike for better pay. crime has soared since the walkout last week, and soldiers are patrolling the streets. it is feared the strike could spread to rio and threaten carnival celebrations. watch out for people in costumes then. >> have a good day.

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