>> live from berlin, this is "the journal. these are our top stories at this hour. india launches a rocket. domestic violence and muslim immigrants. we have a report on the challenges of integration in germany. and germany fell leading economic institutes forecast growth for europe fell largest -- germany's leading economic institutes forecasts growth for europe's largest economy. captioned by the national captioning institute today. india has successfully test fired a long-range missile

capable of carrying nuclear warhead. it is powerful and accurate enough to reach major chinese cities like beijing and shanghai. >> washington has already urged india to use restraint. we begin with this report. >> with a range of 5,000 kilometers, the agni-v is india's first long-range capable nuclear missile. the launch was described as an historic milestone. p>> it is a tribute to the sophistications -- >> the missiles india has also -- has already deployed in january could only reach

pakistan and parts of china. the new rocket could put beijing and shanghai within range and potentially redresses the balance of power within the region. india says the new missile is purely for deterrence. china has reacted cautiously to the test. a spokesperson stressed the two nations are not competitors, but cooperative partners. both china and india have significantly increased defense spending over the last three years. india's spent $40 billion on defense, despite the high level of poverty in the country. both countries have projected suggestions that -- have rejected suggestions it is evidence of an arms race. >> i spoke to our correspondent on more about what india it is up to. >> in my view, the missile this

morning -- first, it wants to catch up with the leading ballistic missile powers in the region. the u.s., russia, you united kingdom, france, and china that already have the capability to launch long-range missiles. secondly, we have an arms race going on with china. it has been started by the chinese attempts to gain hegemony, there's the recent campaign in china for arms procurement. >> what is dominating between the two countries right now? competition for cooperation? >> so far, it is all about cooperation. so far, both have been very

reluctant to engage in any major conflict. despite the recent ballistic missile launch, india has been very keen on cooperation, especially in international trade and trade between the two hours. >> with india for all nuclear capability strengthening, what are the implications for nuclear proliferation? >> in terms of the nuclear world, we have to speak of two world's. there is the one where we have seen severe cuts in the nuclear assets over the last few years. there were over 700 nuclear tests in europe 20 years ago. on the contrary in other parts of the world -- asia as well as latin america -- uc a major arms race -- you see a major

arms race occurring. >> thank you for talking with us. >> my pleasure. >> paris is all about syria tonight. >> france is toasting of friends of syria conference with top officials from the united states, europe, and the arab states. the group fully supports a u.n. peace plan for the country, but he criticized the syrian regime for not living off -- living up to its commitments to in the violence. >> syria was also topping the agenda at nato in brussels. they called on russia, one of syria's few remaining allies, to use its influence to end the bloodshed. >> the russian foreign minister cyndi lauper of -- sergei lavrov said the alliance was down to bring this agreements. be appealed to russia to bring

more pressure to its -- they appealed to russia to bring more pressure to its ally, syria. >> we have to end the violence, to make sure the annan plan has every chance to succeed. the assad regime must know it cannot rely on russia. >> the un-brokered cease-fire has been in force for a week, but there is fresh shelling in homs on thursday. >> if the cease-fire does not work, i think it will be understandable who was responsible for that. the assad regime. it looks to russia to pressure the regime to comply. >> but russia says the other countries should give the peace plan a chance to work and not condemn it to failure. >> the syrian government should

ensure the human-rights and security of its citizens. >> discussions will continue at the friends of syria conference, taking place in paris. >> for more on this, we're joined by our correspondent covering the friends of syria conference. nina, why in the world should we think russia will change its stance on syria now? >> he put it quite nicely when he said nobody wants to be isolated, and russia is risking isolation because they're the -- there's the increasing cooperation of western partners. but also the arab countries. so, this is something that russia does not want to risk. also, there is the question that sergei lavrov has been acknowledging, that the situation in syria has been getting worse.

he said it bluntly. hillary clinton, the secretary of state in the united states, saw this as a good sign of moving forward. >> talk to me about the frustration in syria. there is a cease-fire, but the violence has not stopped. >> there is frustration. no diplomatic measure seems to have worked. so far, hillary clinton pushed for a u.n. sanctions resolution solution. at the same time, both sides seem to be deadlocked, and all hopes lie with the u.n. plan. western partners are now saying they have to get more people on the ground. of course, you have to ensure their safety first. >> all rights. thank you very much. staying in brussels, european countries -- european union

countries have agreed to suspend sanctions on burma. an easing of sanctions and was expected. the 12-month suspension of sanctions will not apply to the arms embargo, however. diplomats say they will continue to monitor the military's equipment -- commitment to reforms in burma. >> is a controversial social and political issue in germany -- how better to incorporate muslims into society? one sensitive topic on the agenda -- domestic abuse their and muslim families. -- in muslim families. >> this hot line in berlin took more than 7000 calls last year from women and children threatened with domestic violence. one of the -- of the non-german

victims, many are tucker's win -- turkish women. they say that they put up with violence at home too long before turning to the hot line for help. >> there are problems with the family structures. they are afraid of breaking free or unsure what to do. whenever people go the wrong way, they are unsure or intimidated. usually they do not know their own rights. they do not know what protection they may have. >> this year's conference condemned domestic violence and forced marriage as violations of basic human rights, saying they do not belong to the teachings of islam. but this was overshadowed by an ultra-conservative moslem group -- muslim group.

germany's interior minister said there was a link between this ideology and islamic extremism. >> not all are terrorists, but we know that they have this influence. that is why this topic were recessed. >> the debate dominated the proceedings, even though it was not on the official agenda. >> the role of islam in germany is a lightning rod for politics. melinda, this conference got under way today. one of angela merkel's closest allies made strong comments. >> that is right. this newspaper interview was published in which a leading member of angela merkel's conservative christian democrats said that he believes islam does

not belong to germany. he was picking up on comments made by the former president christian wulff. he said a few years ago that islam does belong to germany. the remarks were published today. he was speaking to a very conservative southern german newspaper. there is a touch of populism there, perhaps. it is a bit of a semantic debate, perhaps. it overshadowed the official theme of today's conference. >> tell us about those things. what else was on the agenda? >> the main topic was supposed to have been violence against women and domestic violence in muslim families, but that got short shrift because of all the discussion about the role of this sect in germany, and that did have upset many who said the original topic was far more

important. >> as always, thank you very much. ukraine's former prime minister has gone on trial again. after this thursday, she faces 12 more years in prison if convicted of new graft charges. >> she was a key opponent of the current president and sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes committed during her 10 years as prime minister. >> her lawyer has claimed the trial against the opposition leader was politically motivated. >> the accusations are absolutely absurd. and that is the fulfillment of the political order. >> tymoshenko is accused of the

abuse of office during her time as prime minister. tymoshenko did not attend it today's proceedings, citing poor health. doctors have diagnosed her with a herniated spinal disk. >> she is fighting now. she is very strong. she needs immediate treatment. >> the german government has invited her to germany. here -- her opponents say she should stay put. >> there are good doctors in ukraine, too. >> the case has divided ukraine. if found guilty, she could face 12 years in prison. >> a lot more news coming up after the break.

stay with us.

>> welcome back everyone. less debt and more growth. that is the forecast for the german economy this year. >> they also predict higher consumer spending. they say lower unemployment is encouraging consumers to spend more cash. >> germany is booming. economists say german companies are more competitive now than any time in the last three years. it seems the country has not been seriously affected by europe fell debt crisis. growth predictions have gone from 0.8% to 0.9%. that is not a dramatic, but germany fell economic

performance is. >> it stems from demand. especially from investment, but also private consumption. >> the international monetary fund is less optimistic. the only forecast to 0.6%. next year, germany -- german analysts predict 2% growth. the debt crisis affecting other european countries could hit germany. >> the challenges implementing the agreed reforms in consolidation programs -- implementing the reforms in consolidation programs. >> as long as the european central bank continues to buy a government bonds, the reforms are still missing. while the cash injection may be welcome today, experts say there is no long-term solution. >> we are joined by a guest from

the dwi economic institute, one of the authors of the forecast. we have -- we asked him about worries about the economy in southern europe. >> there are two factors affecting the economy in germany. the first was we have a temporary slowdown. now there are a strong signs -- there are strong signs that there is stimulation in the emerging markets. the second factor was there was much uncertainty about the future of the euro. this uncertainty has been dampened, at least for the moment, by the policy of the ec be. so, we hope that these two factors are losing power and will stimulate germany more than we expected. -- this uncertainty has been

dampened, at least for the moment, but the policy of the ecb. >> at the head of the international monetary fund has called for direct aid to help ailing banks. it would raise the bailout fund to 800 billion euros. so far rescue aid can only be delivered to spain's banks in directly. spain's banks have been hit particularly hard by bad loans. they did have good news for spain. they so let -- the successfully sold 2.5 billion euros' worth of bonds. after gains in early trading, the reactions to the successful bond auction in spain -- the united states led a two-day sell-off. we have the summary from the frankfurt stock exchange.

>> at the end of a roller coaster drive, german shares a again have losses. these losses are the result of new worries about spain, the economy and spain is in general. the government has been able to sell new bonds relatively successfully, which has been taken quite positively, but at the middle of the session in frankfurt, spanish shares went down sharply. especially banking shares dragged down the main madrid index to the lowest level since three years, and this also dragged the market's down. >> let's take a look at the market numbers. the dax down 0.9%. the eurostoxx 50 much worse,

down. and across the atlantic, a trading for the dow jones at 12,918. the euro trading at the value of $1.4929. germany's biggest automaker is on the move. vw has introduced a new member to its supervisory board. >> the man who has a firm hold on the volkswagen. now he is adding his wife to the mix. >> as you can see from the order of business, i have proposed deep supervisory board selects -- i have proposed the supervisory board select my wife. >> the board controls the

management of the system, and some shareholders have criticized the lack of independence managers. this brings the number of family board members to five of 20. earlier this week, the italian motorcycle maker ducatti was added to its stable of brands. it has been a record year for volkswagen, with profits reaching 1600 billion euros. >> volkswagen is sparkling because of its great new cars, satisfied customers, and a great strategy for the future. >> but the chief executive also warned the year ahead may not be so smooth, especially considering the risks proposed by the eurozone debt crisis. >> alright. after years of negotiations, the

european parliament has agreed to provide the u.s. authorities with airline passenger data. >> and allows the united states to store names, addresses, and credit card numbers for passengers flying from europe to the u.s. they say this information is vital to national security. >> the the european parliament originally balked at the idea. -- though the european parliament reebok that the idea, there are concerns about passenger privacy. >> the european commission has negotiated a deal to give more privacy protection to the use citizens. >> this collective work if more clarity, stronger reciprocity, and better protection of passenger rights. without having a detrimental

effect on the system. >> but many members of parliament disagreed. >> it is not just accessing single pieces of data. all the data is being processed. it automatically compares the information that anyone travelling into the united states. >> proponents of the deal continue to protest ahead of the vote. the deal was approved. supporters here of the decision. >> this deal gives citizens more rights and more labor protection. it also gives more legal protection to airliners and -- and raises protection standards. >> other people argue that there is no benefit. >> passengers will still have to endure embarrassing personal interrogations'. i do not think this deal include anything. >> under the agreement, u.s. authorities will now be allowed

to store passenger data for up to 15 years. >> alright. now to german soccer. schalke 04 is now set to lose their has been talk of him talking -- he was signed it two years ago, quickly becoming a fan favorite. >> it was a difficult decision, in that bottle lot about it. but now that it has been made, there are the most interesting proposals on the table. then, over the coming weeks, we will decide on my future.

>> raul scored for schalke 0444 times. >> there were news reports -- there were numerous reasons for my decision. the main window is my family. -- the main one though it is my family. >> wherever raul ends up, he is sure to win over new fans. >> the space shuttle has new fans. the space shuttle discovery has made its final trip to the museum where it will remain parked forever. a team of astronauts and former commanders walked alongside the retired shuttle as it was toward along the tarmac on thursday. thousands of tourists turned out

to see the oldest surviving u.s. space shuttle. discovery flew a total of 39 missions. ♪ >> it is not over until the fat lady sings, right? >> all right. >> in tribute, i have my space pen. >> does it right in space? >> i have never had a chance to test it. >> all right.