♪ >> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw. i am brian thomas. >> welcome. >> these are our top stories. france launches a terrorism investigation after a shooting at a jewish school in toulouse. >> more violence and casualties in syria as troops and rebels clashed in damascus. >> for the first time in 17 years, apple is paying a dividend on its shares. ♪ french police say they're widening their search for the suspect who shot dead a french- israeli teacher, his two children, and another student eddie george school in toulouse

today. been drafted into the investigation. following the shooting, president sarkozy travel to the seven french city with the president the country's jewish association to visit the site of the shooting. >> the president also awarded -- alerted the country's highest terrorist alert level for southwestern france. >> in toulouse hours after the attack, residents gathered near the ozar hatorah school to express their sorrow. >> we are in mourning. i am in shock. so are all my friends here. >> nicolas sarkozy paid a visit to the school, accompanied by education and jewish affairs officials. the french president and directed his election campaign to come to toulouse, calling the shooting a national tragedy. >> tomorrow, schools across france will observe a minute of silence in memory of the children of this school.

these are our children, not simply your children. they are ours. >> sir's's socialist rival francois hollande also canceled his campaign appearances and traveled to toulouse. >> i had to be here to speak with the stricken families, but also to this school because it is a jewish school that has been hit. which adds anti-semitism to the vileness of the crime. >> witnesses said the gunman opened fire on the victims from close range and then fled the crime scene on a motorbike. >> we know that one of the murder weapons have large cavalier -- caliber bullets. a second gun was apparently also used. >> authorities said one of the weapons was also used to killed three soldiers in shooting incidents last week. a manhunt is underway and prosecutors have opened anti-

terrorism investigations. >> could this have been an act of terrorism? that is one of the lions police are following. for more, let's bring in our correspondent from paris. french police are investigating possible terrorism links. what can you tell us? >> this is france's first-ever school shooting, and terrorism has not been ruled out by those involved in the massive police investigation under way. nonetheless, it is not considered the most likely hypothesis at this stage. rather, psychologists and police are pointing to the fact that this shooter has a very sophisticated knowledge of weaponry. he acts in a calm and test away. he has excellent driving skills. he has targeted soldiers of afrn origin, killing three and leaving it forth in critical condition, as well as the jewish committee today. this points to a pro, either a former or a serving soldier

possibly with racists or is enough of it -- a z no fault the police, maybe even a neo-nazi leader. all three attacks in and around toulouse have been exactly four days apart. a loan, possibly psychopathic killer, rather than a mad mad or terrace. >> there is considerable unity in response to this attack. >> absolutely, condemnation of this attack has come from every political and religious leader in france today with multiple calls for all sides to stand together and work together to find this gunman. the first round of the presidential election here is just over about the way. but tonight, all candidates have suspended their campaigns and canceled media appearances. president nicolas sarkozy and his socialist rival francois hollande are both now attending the service of remembrance at the synagogue in paris. following that, a silent march will take place in the streets of the french capital tonight.

again, we can expect to see a country but united as well as horrified by today's tragedy. >> thank you for that from paris. six weeks until elections in france. we will be taking an in-depth look at the mood in the country ahead of those presidential elections. that is coming up later. >> a special u.n. arab league team has arrived in syria for talks on implementing a ceasefire. this is after three days of violence, including a double car bombing in the capital that damascus blamed on the opposition. syria opposes state news agency said the latest fighting broke out between security forces and rebels in an upscale damascus neighborhood. >> there was heavy fighting in the upscale damascus neighborhood of mazzeh overnight between government security forces and rebels. the violence reportedly began after midnight when rebels went on the offensive. >> the people who live here have guns.

they went on a rampage in the building and tried to enter all the houses. it took a mess security forces and soldiers. >> the uprising against the assad regime is inching closer to the center of power. but this middle east expert believes the opposition does not cause a real threat, at least not yet. >> it would be a mistake to believe that this regime is finished. that is not the case. broad sections of the syrian population still support him. >> but more people are fleeing syria. these children and their families slipped across the border into turkey over the rigging, among the estimated 500 refugees who arrived in 24 hours. >> turkey is well-organized and well the position. the syrian refugees were brought to cams. discussions are underway whether to create a protection zone in northern syria to shelter

refugees. >> aid organizations can help refugees here. but in syria, the situation is deteriorating. bashar al-assad finds himself with little room to maneuver. >> he will not resign. the minority alawite sect rules syria. and if assata fails, the regime will fall alawite with themfalls make up 15% of the population but have ruled the country for 50 years. they fear that the sunni majority population will seek revenge, so that will hold on to power at any cost. >> the latest u.n. and arab league mediation team is in damascus to explore the possibility of a cease-fire. >> the end of the cold war was supposed to bring the planet a peace dividend, but more than a decade after 9/11 and the west's war and terrorism, weapons dealers have rarely had it so good. >> a new study by the stockholm

international peace research institute shows that between 2007 and 2011, arms sales skyrocketed 24% compared to the previous four years. >> the u.s. continues to sell most of the world's weapons, but russia has also been busy arming its traditional allies like syria. >> the syrian armed forces demonstrating their firepower on a maneuver last december. a full complement of military hardware ranging from a fighter jets to surface-to-air missiles. these weapons have not been used in the assault on rebels and anti-democrat protesters across syria, but they -- [no audio] syria gets three-quarters of its weapons supplied from russia. that allows it to circumvent the u.s. and european arms embargo. but syria is far from the only country army itself. asian countries by the most weapons, and china has attracted

a lot of attention from the group since it has now become a weapons exporter. is still pales in comparison to the u.s. in first place, followed by russia and germany. but china is now the world's six largest arms exporter. one of china's biggest markets is pakistan. >> obviously, in developing those zero arms production and abilities, they have been able to be more competitive on international markets. a caveat to that, one should stress that pakistan accounts for almost two-thirds of the deliveries in the time we're looking at. cruxes, but is especially interested in modern chinese fighter jets. swedish researchers say china is following a worldwide trend, as many countries develop their own weapons industries. >> of to a million iraqi shiites have joined the protest in basra expressing outrage at the country's oil wealth and how it has not been used to alleviate the country's dire poverty. demonstrators carried black casket's labeled electricity, education, and democracy.

the demonstrations or organized by followers of the anti-u.s. cleric muqtada al-sadr and took place on the ninth anniversary of the u.s.-led invasion against saddam hussein. >> apple shareholders have something to look forward to. the company announced it will pay regular dividends and will share buyback. it will pay two years starting in july and will buy back about 7.5 billion euros of its stock in the next fiscal year. >> shareholders had to wait a very long time for this news, namely 17 years. apple's quarterly dividend and share buyback plan will pay out about 34 billion euros over three years, total reserves about 75 billion euros. >> apple's coffers are full, thanks to the success of its iphones and ipad telecommuters. fans of the brand regularly storm the retail stores to pick up the latest gadgets. but things have not always been so rosy for apple.

in 1997, the company came close to bankruptcy before the return of legendary co-founder steve jobs turned brown apple's fortunes once again. -- turned around apple's fortunes once again. shares of climbed over the past five years, now surging to 450 euros with a market value of around 415 billion euros, the world's most valuable company today. apart from paying its first evidence in 17 years, apple says it will buyback 8 billion euros worth of shares. that could make the business worth even more and possibly break archrival microsoft's record is the most valuable company ever. >> to the markets now. oil prices weighed heavily today. here is our summary of the day's trading from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> let's say it was a lukewarm reaction to that news from apple, a dividend and a share buyback.

in its secret, people had been asking for more after so many successful years and after so many years of not getting any such rewards, any such evidence. all in all, it was a positive piece of news. a moderate reaction here, too. in the market, the dax did manage to catch up on the early losses. in the end, almost at least. still, it was a very wait and see attitude here. all in all, long term, there is optimism. but the dax has further room for expansion. >> stock markets were subdued on monday because of those higher oil prices playing on hopes for the global economic recovery and of said cheered generated by the news that apple paid those dividends. in frankfurt, the dax closed down just slightly, 71 the dow 4. the euro stoxx 50 closed even. across the atlantic, the dow jones is currently going up, 13,248. the euro is trading for $1.3236.

>> here in germany, the country's new president jaochim gauck has started his first day on the job. use a former lutheran pastor and human rights activist from a longtime communist east germany. in the largely ceremonial office, many are hoping his moral authority and independence of mind, and lack of party affiliation will help the nation overcome europe's debt crisis and economic slowdown. >> the new german president arrived in berlin's bellevue palace with his partner for his first day on the job. his predecessor christian wulff was among those there to greet him. jaochim gauck's supporters say they're looking forward to a new chapter in german history. >> this is the new germany. jaochim gauck symbolizes everyone here who wants to get things done. >> this represents a victory for

political reason and wisdom. >> the new president does germany an enormous service. he began with an exciting speech on freedom. >> jaochim gauck also put freedom and responsibility at the center of his first speech after his election on sunday, but he also warned against euphoria. >> to be sure, i will not be able to fulfill all the expectations of people have of me or my presidency. but i can promise one thing, that i will say yes with all my strength and all my heart to the responsibility you have interested me with today. >> his first trip as president will take jaochim gauck to eastern germany were the peaceful protests against the east german communist regime began in 1989. he will be formally sworn into office on friday. >> stay with us. we will be back with more

international news in one minute. >> we will look at sports and many other stories, so stick around. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> welcome back. the shooting we have been reporting on that the french school today as lead to the cancellation of campaigning until at least wednesday in the presidential elections. the election is less than six weeks away. >> campaigning was set to start officially today with the publication of the list of 10 candidates. socialist francois hollande is leading in the polls and poses the biggest challenge to incumbent nicolas sarkozy, along side with the right we candidate. >> here is a look at the mood in the country prior to the presidential elections. >> content to have his owner era for a day. the offense manager has taken the day off and is spending part of it relaxing at her favorite parisian cafe in the upscale seventh district. a majority here that president

nicolas sarkozy, and so does this person. >> he is charismatic and statesmanlike. he is impressive. >> she is a single, has no children, and makes a good income. she is not untypical of many residents in the district. they dismiss the chancellor francois hollande as a dreamer. >> musri afraid i didn't believe in the ideas of mr. orlande. >> the first lady still makes many of the magazine covers. uni a wrent of france around theayom sheann. las sarkozythe oy e

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has admitted defeat in his reelection bid after the first f voting. the two main rivals, including a ueillaht we'll go forwardunf on april 16. >> se rm sce shalkemade a good round on sunday. the same time with ailonhe misery for the bottom ohe haering the home side. >> they have now gone 16 games without winning. coach will be sacked soon. the team's managers will not comment. >> if you takeve aalay serious approach to this job, you cannot make tsein o decisions in public when the atmosphere is so emotional and negative. >> the hosts srt ft d ris. the defender did a hdto

ke it 1-0. minute. nd shke was put ahead withis thoal of the season. and the defense me wasn't a mistake after another for iserslautern. 3-1 forhae. 10 minutes from time, jefferson dihion in to put the game on ice. it looks as though kaisslte will be playing next season in the second division >> in hanover once again show that they're one ofernys tt tms defeating it alone by a score of 4-1. havecame out strong and went ahead by 19. a ot a reflex save, and then into theet alone or without the suspended player,utnoerlaras good enough to equalize.

and penalty and then the strikers sealed the win th pa o goals in the second half. >> ok, let's look atllhe results from around 26 of the bundesliga. bayern hammered berlin. dortmond winning over bremond. a shock to hamburger. leaving nuremberg wh e me or a valuable win here. a loss at home to stood guard. >> a look at thetainf the weekend's action, the champions stay on top, five points ahead of baern. shalke are breathing down their necks. [no audio]

has enjoyed good fortune in the competition. they knocked out two top tier amsoar that does not surprise the coach. >> sometimes y need just a little extra luck, he says, but i think we have made progres over the past two years or so, we have continued to improve. >> the club was founded back in 1903 and won its first national title in 1914. their success continued into 1920's, and thereerth top team in 1926 and 1929. now they're close to the first

division. >> look at the progress this team has made. look at the way they're playing and improving all the time. the coach has made a big difference th is the greatest time in the history of this football club. >> rent now, they're focused on winning the german cup, a competition where the team has every chanceoopr rs division goliath like dortmund. >> of britain's duchess of cambridge, t former kate middleton, has given her first public speech as a member of the royal family. she appeared at a chant -- children's auspice on the eastern part of the country. one of the many charities she has chosen to support. she praised their work in helping children anhe falies. british television broadcast the event live. >> and we have this news now. thousands ofeoeurd out for a ballooning event in mexico

that mixes agent history with high altitude. the aual festival in mexico city is held at the site of the aztec pyramids. 35 balloons from five countries tookar some visitors were invited and were able to enjoy a very spectacular view of the aztec mythological complex from very high above. a beautiful pair of it. you're watching dw. weill be back with more news at the top of the hour. >> stick around. we will see you soon. >> do not go away. ♪ captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪

hi, i'm rick steves, with more of the best of europe. venice seems to be every italy connoisseur's... prague has always been beautiful... germany... the irish civilization... the eiffel tower was built... hope you've enjoyed the magic of... stonehenge is roped off and viewable only from a distance, but england is dotted with less famous but more accessible stone circles. my favorite... avebury.

the avebury stone circle, just 40 miles away, is as old as stonehenge and 16 times as big. and best of all, this megalithic playground welcomes kids, sheep, and anyone interested in a more hands-on experience.