>> you are watching" here on dw. >> clashes in spain as workers take to the streets over government reforms. call for a swift solution to the conflict in syria. >> and a german plan to save one of the nation's biggest bankruptcies fails to get support.

which is that 23%, which is the highest in the european union. >> but the unions say the proposals are an attack on workers' rights. turned violent. people make it easier to fire workers, a government austerity measures in the face of an economy already headed into recession. almost half of those under 25 are out of work. there were marches and strikes in madrid and other cities across the country as well with demonstrators demanding the government scaled back its reforms. that this labor market reform is the most backward one anywhere in europe. spain has never experienced a reformer as brutal as this one. >> the strike bought much of the country to a halt. >> we are waiting in line

together. >> many shops and factories were closed as part of the 24-hour general strike. >> let's go to correspondent miles johnson with the " financial times." he is in madrid covering the story. about 100 strikes across the country. how successful would you say this massive industrial action has been? >> it is difficult to tell exactly about the numbers right now, but it does look on the ground like it has been a very large strike, much larger indiana in appearance than the last general strike in 2010, and it does seem to mobilize people across various groups. i think it is an interesting point where it is not necessarily a huge amount of reform to punish the trade unions. there is quite widespread opposition to dealing with an

oncoming wave of austerity measures which will make the next year very difficult. >> i am wondering how much of the nation's strikes really represent. >> it is -- the strikes, i think, are just a focal point for lots of different groups. you have the large spanish trade unions, but you also have huge movements like political parties and trade unions, and they have also been out on the streets. you have also seen different reactions and different movements in different regions of spain. it is obviously -- there are very visible, large crowds on the streets of madrid right now, but i think it is something for the government to think about. >> surely these strikers must know that spain is teetering on needing help from the e you. are there registering that reality? >> well, it is difficult

situation. and there are almost half of young people -- i think -- who are out of work. there is recognition that the labor market is broken and in need of work. there is a need. >> miles, thank you very much. another call from arab leaders for the violence in syria to end, but this one feels weaker than ever. the arab league holding a landmark summit in baghdad, but not even half of the leaders showed up. >> the arab league also approved a resolution for the syrian opposition to unite, but within the league, there is still disunity. someone the president to step down.

others want political reconciliation. in syria, this footage it showed -- said to show the former opposition stronghold. according to reports, more than 20 people were killed across the country. the syrian president has actually accepted an international peace initiative, but there has been little practical effect. and indeed, the arab league appears powerless to control events in syria, even with the united nations chief making an appearance. >> after two days of talks, the bag that some had little to show. the statement urged syria to start a serious national dialogue. arab leaders also fully backed the peace mission of international envoy kofi annan. >> it is important that we immediately and lament the six- point plan. especially the immediate and to the bloodshed and the protection of the syrian people. >> the syrian president now

says he is behind the mission, but there has been no letup in the fighting. the united nations secretary general use his speech at the summit to keep the pressure on the syrian leader. >> the world is waiting for commitments to get translated into action. the key here is implementation. there is no time to waste. >> arab league members are divided on what their next move should be. saudi arabia and qatar want to supply arms to rebel forces. algeria and iraq are pushing for a political solution, fearing the possibility of a proxy war fought by outside powers. that a german political foundation that promotes democracy abroad has been ordered to close its office in of without a in the united arab emirates. >> the german chancellor says she regrets the move. foundation is close to merkel's

conservative party. the reason being given for the closure -- earlier this month, authorities in egypt or the organization to shut down its office in cairo. here in berlin, shoring up the eurozone is top of the agenda in parliament. >> the government needs to persuade the opposition and some of its own members approve the permit rescue fund for the zone and a new fiscal pact. >> they go to a vote in may, and the finance minister says both are critical for the stability of the euro. >> the government knows the vote will be close. chancellor merkel as a cabinet needs it to/3 majority to approve the european fiscal contract. the prime minister has to get the opposition on board for the grand scheme to save the europe -- the euro. >> all the members of the eurozone plus eight other european member states are enshrining the control mechanisms that are comparable with germany's into their

constitutions and law books. >> but to enforce budget discipline, some states will need the eurozone's permanent stability mechanism. they said it would help crisis- hit countries help themselves, but he also knows he has to offer the opposition something. >> for two years, the german government has been pushing hard for a financial transaction tax in the 27 eu states. >> but the junior coalition partner opposes any such tax, and the opposition holds a trump card. note 2/3 majority unless the tax is passed. >> the 2/3 majority required is anything but assured in this parliament. more needs to be done to convince lawmakers, and the government will finally have to resolve its own internal conflicts. >> but some opposition leaders want to close the deal soon.

they say europe itself is at stake. >> we ask our political correspondent to tell us more about the debate and the main sticking points. >> the main sticking point is the opposition's concern about how much more money may be needed and how long the eurozone crisis could be gone. we heard the parliamentary leader of the opposition -- you saw him there in that report -- saying that the government has been misleading the public about how much money really will be needed to bail out indebted countries within the eurozone. the fact is germany is europe's largest economy. it is the eurozone paymaster. we will be making the biggest contribution to the bailout, and there's a lot of concern about whether the country is being asked to throw good money after bad. we heard the opposition pushing the government, saying they do not only want the taxpayers to be bearing the burden. they want a financial transaction tax to make sure

that financial institutions play that part, and it would also like to see growth-boosting measures to help these indebted countries finally solve their problems. >> talking about money, a plan to prop up europe's biggest drug store chain with state aid has flopped. the chain has gone in solvent, firing thousands of staff. >> the government wanted to step in, but not everyone was behind the proposal. >> the council that represents employees was hoping for a deal to cushion the transition for former workers. they got nothing. >> we feel abandoned. i had the bitter experience today are seeing that in our democracy, the federal republic of germany, women's jobs are given so little value. that is better and it hurts. >> germany's 16 states were asked for 70 million euros in loan guarantees. the money would have continued partial wage payments to 11,000

workers and helped them find new jobs, but after a week of talks, bavaria refused to get on board, leading opposition to the plan were the merkel coalition partners. free democrats. fdp said it was wasteful and unnecessary. >> it is politically justified to point out that it is not the responsibility of the state to set up job placement bonds when we have a national drug agency which already has all the instruments and expertise. the job situation at the moment, especially in retail, is very good. last year alone, we saw thousands of new jobs in the sector. >> about half of the 5400 stores close their doors last saturday. bankruptcy administrators are looking for a buyer for the remaining stores. >> the prospects are not that bleak elsewhere on the german labor market. >> with figures out, they show

unemployment has hit a new record low this month. the number of jobless fell by 82,000 in march, meaning there are just over 3 million people out of work in germany, which is an unemployment rate of just over 7%. >> jobless rate did nothing to improve the mood of stock markets and monday. more gloom and doom numbers on the economies in europe and the u.s. we have this roundup of trading action from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> electric companies are heavyweights at the stock market. it is to skip the plan for atomic power plants in britain led to heavy losses. investors are worried about the future strategy of the companies, but the overall mood was also very bad after lots of disappointing economic data. the business climate in the eurozone begin. orders for the german machine- building industry declined, and there were also worse than expected numbers from the u.s. job market. the ongoing situation in the

german jobs market was not honored. traders are wondering if the good mood in the beginning of the year might have been too optimistic. them to optimistic has been said in a lot lately. let's look at how the markets in europe and the session on thursday. in frankfurt, the dax saying goodbye to the day, down by almost 2%. lots of losses there. the your stocks 50 in the same vote. in new york, dow jones right now trading at 13,095, down about 0.25%. on currency markets, the euro going for $1.3290. in france, the gunman who killed seven people including three children at a jewish school has been buried. >> the body was laid to rest in a cemetery on the outskirts of to lose -- toulouse. his father wanted him buried in

germany, but police refused. >> if you were watching yesterday, you might have seen our report on women in afghanistan who could face jail if they run away from home or have sex outside of marriage. >> in a moment, we will be turning our attention to morocco. activists are angry at the government about laws that allowed a rapist to escape conviction if he married the woman he raped. a law that recently drove a 16- year-old girl to commit suicide. >> we will have more on that and the latest on that leak at a gas platform off the coast of scotland. >> do not go away.

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>> returning to one of our top stories now. in news just in, the syrian president says he will spare no effort to insure the success of an international peace initiative of his striped-torn nation, but he warns it will not work unless countries stop funding and arming the rebels will oppose him. >> the warning comes as iraq hosted the arab league summit for the first time in 20 years. leaders discussed how to press damascus for a rapid implementation of that peace plan. ending violence is the main focus of the lead. we take a look at those efforts. >> trying to end the bloodshed in syria through diplomacy. in early march, kofi and on travel to damascus as the special envoy but the arab league and the united nations -- kofi annan traveled to damascus.

the lake has been given the task to persuade the assad regime to halt its violent crackdown, just one initiative the arab league hopes will demonstrate its willingness and ability to act. it suspended syria's membership in november and imposed economic sanctions. now it says more has to be done. >> we need to put more pressure on the syrian government to carry out all its obligations fully and immediately. >> but damascus remains unmoved by the threats of the arab league. the violence continues unabated. exiled opposition leaders want the lead to start getting tough with assad. >> the arab league must know this -- while it is doing nothing, syrians are dying. the arab league is partly responsible for the bloodshed. >> ever since its founding in

1945, the arab league has been accused of being ineffective and week. for years, opposition to israel was the only factor that united its members. decisions needed unanimous backing. consensus was rarely achieved. it was considered a toothless tiger and a little more than a platform for autocratic leaders wishing to submit -- seem bent their status -- cement their status. that'll change with the arab spring uprisings. they reshape the political landscape of the middle east and triggered a shift in power at the arab league. decisions now only need the backing of 2/3 of members. as of last year support for military action against member state libya. with powerful regional players like egypt and iraq in political limbo, others largely unaffected by the uprisings are taking the lead. >> we want a strong and united

syria. the syrian leadership must take a historic decision and bowed to the will of the syrian people. >> qatar has even spoken out in favor of military strikes on syria, but there is no broad support for that among members. exiled syrians say they will continue put pressure on the arab league to get tough with the assad regime. >> want to stay with that story. we spoke earlier to the chairman of the affairs committee in the german parliament. i began by asking him what progress can be made right now in syria. >> yes, this is true. on the other hand, the syrian government has also said that they are ready to accept the kofi annan plan, and the elements i trust referred to are also part of that plan. it is just an excuse if the

syrian government announces they will not collect whatever the arab league might decide. >> what can germany and the international community do to stop the violence in syria? >> we have endorsed sanctions against key members of the regime and also against sensitive parts of the syrian economy. these sanctions could be increased. on the other hand, we have established a so-called contact group, the friends of syria, which is gathering in a few days. again in istanbul, and here, we have contacts with all those who want to participate in building a new syriac after assad has gone. we can help to establish mechanisms which could provide a peaceful transition after we can

end this present situation, hopefully sooner than later. >> thank you very much. try to get your head around this one -- in morocco, a rapist can escape conviction if they marry their victim. >> as if that is not enough, a 16-year-old girl recently killed herself after she was forced to marry the man who raped her. >> activists say enough is enough. they are increasing pressure on the government to change the law. the moroccan rights activists direct their anger at the minister for women's affairs. they believe that the law drove the girl to kill herself. raped at knifepoint, forced to marry the rapist, beaten by him and tormented by his family, she killed herself in early march by eating rat poison. >> i did not want this marriage. i wanted the rapist to be punished.

i wanted my daughter to make her own choices. for me, the state prosecutor delivered a death sentence to my daughter. she was killed by the law. >> the moroccan government has introduced some reforms to family law. it raised the legal age for marriage to 18. it allowed women to initiate divorce in a court of law, but the rate law -- rape law remains in place. amina has become a symbol of oppression. it could increase the pressure on the government to change the law. her suicide was not just the suicide of a single woman. it was the suicide of all moroccan women who suffer at the hands of the law, society, and the moroccan mentality. >> the case has sparked

demonstrations, internet campaigns, and a government now to reexamine the law, but as yet without a firm clench to reform it. >> engineers are trying to work out how to extinguish a flame on the platform in the north sea, which was evacuated after a gas leak. >> total has dismissed the risk of a blast, but not everyone agrees with the assessment. one expert has called it an explosion waiting to happen. >> ships and aircraft have now been banned from travelling this close to the oil platform. experts believe there is a high risk of an explosion with the burning blair less than 100 meters away from where the gas is leaking, but total, the french operator, insist there is no danger. >> it does not pose a risk because the flare, by design, is up wind of the prevailing wind,

so any gas leaks are blown directly away from the fire. >> total says it believes it has found a source of the gas leak, located 4,000 meters beneath the seabed, directly above the main gas reservoir. questions still remain about the impact of the gas leak on the environment. >> methane is being emitted from this platform, and it is 25 times, roughly, more serious than carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. so the climate change impact is significant. >> total is flying in specialists who worked on the deep water horizon rig in the gulf of mexico two years ago. environmental experts, however, want to carry out their own surveys near the stricken oil platform. >> a cake, a fun story now and time for a different perspective on things -- okay, a fun story. that is the aim of the swiss

artist, a pioneer of video art who has won awards for her innovative installations. >> germany's biggest installation featuring the artist has opened in the southwest city of mannheim with words that are compelling and sensual. >> under were dangles from the ceiling as a sort of chandelier. a work of art by the swiss artist who delights in a provocative. she says underpants' are steeped in symbolism. >> they cover the most complicated part of our bodies, and one that is hugely ambivalent. the side of our entrance into the world, the exit of the bodies garbage, and the center of sexual pleasures. >> psychedelic video explanations with unusual video

perspectives -- that is a trademark. one of her videos shows a young woman armed with a large flower cheerfully smashing car windows. it raises questions about nature and technology and woman as fighter. >> i think nowadays, the difference is not character between individual women -- the differences between individual women and individual men are greater than the differences between the genders. >> she can often be seen in her works, a tiny figure hidden in a conscious shell -- conch shell or full size in a supermarket. she invites us to change our ways of looking at things. >> i think all my films and music are really about a desire to present the inner world, and it is perfect if the visitors slip into their own inner world.

>> that is an invitation many visitors are more than happy to accept. >> all right, here is a story for you -- she was considered dead before she was even born. >> but a plucky young puppy is proving all the experts wrong. beyonce is thought to be the smallest dog ever to survive birth. veteran -- veterinarians in california had a fight to keep her alive when she was born three weeks ago, she could fit into a teaspoon. she weighed just 28 grams. now she is the size of a mobile phone. >> very sweet. moving up in the world. then i keep watching dw -- >> keep watching dw. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--