diplomats say this man could become the united nations a new envoy to syria. feared. >> welcome to the "journal" from dw. i am sabrina. >> joseph ben fajzullin. another try at finding peace. diplomats said this man could become the united nations a new envoy to syria. >> the report every economy has feared. demand for exports from china plunges. we will get reactions from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the world's most famous soccer club kicks its way onto wall street, but is it a debut worth applauding?

>> syrian refugees say their international community has left them in the lurch. thousands of those who survive the fierce fighting across the country have fled. >> they are still holding out hope for an internationally- brokered peace deal between rebels and the regime of president assad. >> kofi annan through in the towel, but now there is talk that the veteran nigerian diplomat will take his place as special envoy to the war-torn nation. >> he will have his work cut out for him in syria. we begin our coverage in the commercial center of aleppo. >> the sulahuddin district has been reduced to smoke and rubble and ruined. even at the mosque has been seriously damaged. the rebels have retreated under relentless aerial bombardments. rebel commanders of about to counterattack with any means

available to keep president assad's forces from retaking the city center. >> the situation on the ground -- because of a lack of ammunition. but we are deployed throughout the city. we are about to send a unit to fight. >> refugees continue to flood into neighboring countries. turkey has taken in another 6000 this week alone. many have found shelter in this camp, and neighboring horror stories with them. >> we were attacked with warplanes and tanks. mitt -- the missiles destroyed a three-story building. the international community has not helped us at all. >> but diplomatic efforts are continuing despite the dim prospects for success. this veteran algerian diplomat is to to be named the new u.n. arab league envoy to syria. he has had extensive experience in afghanistan, sudan, and

iraq, but the task is daunting. if confirmed, he will take the place of kofi annan, who has resigned, frustrated at the lack of cooperation between the warring parties in the inch regimen -- entrances sense of serri's allies russia and china. >> where it joined now by senior research associate from the german institute for international and security affairs. thank you for joining us today. all signs point to the algerian diplomat being named as the new envoy to seek a peaceful end to the 17-month uprising. do you think he would be a good choice. >> it is no major surprise because he is one of the most experienced crisis diplomats in the united nations for the last 34 years. he was heavily involved in afghanistan for a couple of years. heavily involved in iraq after 2003. he is well known for his experience in peace operations

of the united nations. i think he is a good choice. >> what can he hope to achieve that kofi annan could not? >> that is a big question. he is facing two major challenges. one, he has to cope with the united nations security council which is still divided. second, he is facing a situation in syria in which everything which is usually called a political solution is out of sight. it might -- a month ago, a political solution might have been feasible in syria, but given the civil war, that will be his major challenge. >> do you think de un has exhausted all avenues of finding a peaceful solution to the conflict? >> in legal terms, there are some avenues in the general assembly and the u.n. security council. the charter of the united nations allows certain measures for a robust intervention, the

so-called all necessary measures. currently, there is no political majority for that. every foreign engagement would be not authorized by the united nations. >> this weekend, hillary clinton is due in istanbul for talks with the turkish government. what can we expect from that? >> i am not sure. i think, currently, the major issue is support for the turks with regard to the humanitarian crisis, help for the refugees. but currently, i think turkey has no major role to play in any political solution in syria. thank you very much. libya's new congress convened for the first sign on wednesday and has now chosen its president. he is mohammed yussef magariaf, head of the national front party. >> he spent 30 years in exile because of his opposition to the role of muammar gaddafi. he seems a moderate islamist and it is now the acting head of state but his powers have yet to

be determined. wikileaks founder julian assange continues his fight against extradition to sweden whe accus. he is currently seeking asylum at the ecuadorean embassy in london. >> the country's foreign minister has now asked sweden to interrogate assange there. he says he's concerned that stockholm could otherwise re extradite him to the u.s. to face trial on espionage charges. assange gained international recognition when publishing top secret u.s. diplomatic cables. the world's number two economy as investors worried. chinese exports collapsed last month and imports are slowing. >> beijing has been trying to make doing business with china easier. analysts think the government will respond by ramping up its stimulus efforts. >> analysts have predicted a slump of this magnitude. chinese export growth has almost

come to a standstill. but the signs of a slowdown had been building over the past few months. compared to the same time year earlier, exports were up 15.3% in may. then they weakened, up only 11.3% in june. then ahead by just 1% in july. the eurozone crisis is a major factor, hitting demand for chinese goods among european consumers. sluggish demand in the u.s. and japan is also to blame. analysts believe beijing will respond by trying to further boost domestic growth. >> the prospects of an economic slowdown in china unsettled global financial markets. our correspondent in a frankfurt has more. >> when a chinese growth mortar -- motor is staggering, the economy would be slowing.

it was it startling signal for the stock market. throughout the week, the german dax made gains. traders of the chinese government and the central bank will react very quickly. we will probably see something this weekend, a trader said. the strong gains in shares of a steel maker was a bigger surprise. some groups suffered a huge profit slumps became a much better than expected, which was rewarded. >> remember, it was a two-week rally, so lots of gains for equities around the world. let's look at the closing numbers this friday. the dax was down. euro stoxx 50 as well, 2423. both of them making quite substantial fall spigot to new york where the dow jones is currently trading at 13,162, down ever so slightly. the euro is also down, $1.2292. >> another sign that the global economy is headed for a slowdown.

>> the international energy agency predicts demand for oil will grow only slightly this year and next. the jazeera reports oil consumption is slower in the u.s. and china, which drew together account for a third of the global market. it is increasing demand from emerging markets will keep prices relatively stable. practically everyone has heard of it, the english football club manchester united. the club can look back on success after success on the pitch. >> but on friday, it was forced to take a loss as its initial public offering on wall street failed to shine. >> despite the applause as trading began, investors at the new york stock exchange were not exactly football crazy. manchester united's stock flotation failed to get the english soccer club the 240 million euros it was open to raise. manchester united's problems and plenty in common with the club's distinctive red jerseys. the club is one of the world's best known soccer brands, but

fans have watched in dismay since a u.s. investor took over in 2005. fans accuse malcolm glazer of ruining man united finances and plunging the club more than half a billion euros into the red. the ipo was supposed to change that, but soccer shares have a poor track record. italy's juventus has slumped by 85% since it went public. another one lost 89% after its ipo. and germany's only publicly listed club lost 74% on the open market. manchester's lackluster ipo suggests that soccer stocks may appeal to die-hard fans, but they cannot fire up investors. rise as we heard earlier, big losses reported in germany's largest steelmaker the end of the week. it says it was 22 million0 the

red for the first nine months of its fiscal year. it blames slack growth in large building projects and cutting working hours at the five still making facilities in germany in response. >> the numbers are cause for concern because the steel industry is seen as a bellwether for the economy. >> the hunt for german tax evaders has taken a new twist. >> tax officials in germany say they have evidence that swiss banking giant ubs has been actively assisting tax-dodgers. >> the revelations are based on a stolen swiss banking data bought by german tax investigators. >> the paper trail leads to singapore. investigators believe the german tax evaders have shifted their funds to the asian city/state. german tax officials say that strong evidence that swiss bank ubs has held its german clients transfer its assets out of switzerland. this would enable them to circumvent a new tax treaty due

to go into force between germany and switzerland next year. >> we urgently need improved cross-border investigations and international cooperation. political pressure should also be applied to tackle tax havens. a treaty has been agreed with the switzerland, so i do not think switzerland should be the top of the agenda. i am talking about other countries, divide or there are a lot of other tax havens like the cayman islands -- dubai. >> ubs denied the allegations, saying it does not help its german customers to avoid paying taxes. >> inflation in germany is that an 18-month low. >> new numbers from the federal statistics office show prices rose by a slim 1.7% in july. fruit and vegetables cost more. prices have been skyrocketing

worldwide, especially wheat and corn. some prices have doubled in the last few months. energy costs ticked up, too, but shoes and clothes were a little cheaper last month. analysts have been poring over the german inflation numbers. they play a critical role in european central bank rate- setting decisions. >> if you are young and looking for jobs in greece, spain, or portugal, all i can say is good luck. >> one hallmark of the eurozone's debt crisis is high youth unemployment. the opposite in germany with lots of vacancies going around and a lot of interest from abroad. ♪ >> this ad was produced two years ago to show what life would be like in germany without tradespeople like baker's, builders, or plumbers. the country is experiencing a skills shortage.

140,000 apprenticeship the agencies across the nation, and the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon considering germany's declining birthrate and economic strength. only 350,000 youngsters are on the hunt for a job currently. the unemployment rate among 14 to 25-year-old is below 8% in germany. the european average is more than 22%. youth unemployment is highest in spain and greece, well over 50%. since the beginning of 2008, youth unemployment has more than doubled in those two countries. many greek and spanish youngsters are now seeking work abroad, as there is no sign of an economic recovery at home. >> coming up shortly, what is to become of mali? a terrorist group is extending its grip in the north of the country now. >> london in the grip of olympic fever. stay tuned for that. we have the latest medal

results, and we will look at how the public transportation system has been holding up. >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. let's get up to date on the olympic action. russias synchronized swimming team have taken gold. >> it marks their fourth consecutive clean sweep of the games, while colombia has picked up its first gold medal in london. >> and there are still a lot of medals up for grabs on day 14, the german air still basking in their glory of thursday's victory on at the sand. >> it was a nail biting final for the german duo who edged out favored brazil to clinch the men's beach volleyball gold.

the first time a european nation has won the event. usain bolt stormed to the golden double again, adding a 200-meter gold to his 100-meter victory. and a clean sweep for jamaica with second and third. eton storm to gold in the decathlon for a team u.s., almost 200 points ahead of silver. the cuban took the bronze. germany's women's javelin players placed second and third. goldblatt to check republic. and retaining the olympic title with a throw of 69.5 meters." german swimmer thomas lurz followed his fishing grounds with london silver in the 10- kilometer open water mother -- a marathon. team colombia could celebrate

its first 2012 olympic gold. bidding out new zealand in outbmx final. latvia won the men's event, triumphing over australia. repeating an olympic victory in beijing. >> for more on the games now, so far most of the chaos many feared would hit the british capital's transport system did not happen. >> instead, things are running rather smoothly above and below ground. there have been some issues with tickets for the games, but that has not stopped roland burris from enjoying the event. >> britain is in the grip of olympic fever. two golden weeks for the host nation has silenced the skeptics. it is hard to find a local who is not excited about the london games. >> team gb. >> liz and her sons are among the converts. instead of going on summer

holidays, they decide to soak up the excitement on their doorstep. >> we are all here having a great time and the olympics are here and i am alive and i am experiencing it, and it is great. >> today, they're heading out to see the triathlon in hyde park, one of the few olympic events that is open to the public. [applause] it has been hard to get tickets for events at the olympic park. some die-hard sports fans are still hoping against hope. the side of in d.c. it's paid for but not occupied at the games has been -- the sight of empty seats has been a constant source of irritation. >> we looked over to the hockey stadium and there are loads of empty seats today. i do not know why they cannot let you in. >> liz and her sons have prime

positions for cycling, another event that does not require a ticket to enjoy it. >> we hope gb wins. team gb. we care about that. >> seven laps in seven chances to see the action, if only for a fleeting moment. but what about the olympic masses? before the games, many feared the transport network would collapse under the burden. londoners or even encouraged to leave this city to make room for visitors. but instead of the expected chaos, it has been business as usual. >> any time of the morning, you would find this. so this is not because of the olympics. this is just the way this line is that this time of the morning. >> in fact, the streets of central london are unusually empty, with many visitors scared

away by warnings of traffic gridlock. liz and her family are following the triathlon on the big screen in hyde park along with 350,000 others. many are glad they had a chance to experience the game's first hand. >> as a family occasion for us to get involved, it has been absolutely super. we have probably had more fun staying at home that we would have gone somewhere else for our holiday. >> home fans have had plenty to cheer about. britain is enjoying its biggest olympic medal haul in more than a century, and a golden summer in london. >> still to come, we will introduce you to germany's new domestic intelligence chief who has an uphill battle to fight. >> first, these stories. sikh mourners in wisconsin have been paying their last respects

to the worshippers gunned down by a neo-nazi last weekend. on sunday, u.s. army veteran wade michael page burst into the temple in in oak creek and murdered six people. he was later shot dead by a police officer. >> in afghanistan, a man in a policeman's uniform has shot dead three u.s. soldiers. it is not clear if he was a member of the afghan security forces or a militant infiltrator. 24 foreign soldiers have been killed so far this year by attacks by uniformed afghan men. >> ghana is paying its final respects to john atta mills who was president after his death last month after a battle with throat cancer. it is that he will be remembered for his transparent style of governance. germany has a new domestic intelligence chief. his most important mission is to undo the damage caused by years of neo-nazi murders that went

unchecked. >> the case has caused widespread outrage in germany. it was revealed that intelligence personnel failed to follow up on clearly needs that the murders had far right links. >> on his first day on the job, hanz said of his agenda as the new chief of germany's domestic intelligence service. he faces the difficult task of cleaning up an agency with scandal in the wake of the neo- nazi terror cell debacle. >> we will restore what we lost with the uncovering of the neo- nazi sale scandal and subsequent document shredding in that case. >> the agency says it never knew about the neon potsie murder ring that killed 10 people, mostly foreigners living in germany. after the scandal broke, however, agents in the service destroyed documents relevant to the case. the interior minister is pushing for changes.

>> we want better and tighter cooperation among the domestic intelligence services at national and state level. >> is also calling for more transparency in the agency's daily affairs. commentators are saying both he and the new spy chief are undere agency once and for all. >> it was once a stable nation in a shaky region of africa, but mali today is being rocked by a radical islamist group. it seized territory in the north and saw to impose harsh sharia law. >> the foreign minister told a delegation from germany that he will clamp down on the group. but who is the group extending its influence in mali, and how do they affect the lives of the people? we have this report. >> he led northern mali were the islamist group is working to extend its grip and enforce its

ideas about right and wrong. they recently stoned a young couple who were living together before marriage. they're forcing women to cover up from head to toe. >> when they began beating women to death to did not cover up, it was clear to me that i cannot live like that. really, the government needs to step in now and deal with this. >> people here a growing impatient, and so is the international community. alarmed at how the terrorists were affiliated with al qaeda and are spreading throughout mali's north. and national unity government aims to permit the country from breaking up, and germany is a major aid donor and is pressing for a swift end to the upheaval. >> if you look at a map of africa, you can see terrorism and political risks spreading from east towards the west and south.

this is a cause for concern. it is relevant for us as africa's neighbors. europe could be impacted. >> we are pressing for a political solution and working hard to see it through. but if we cannot solve things this way, we will turn to military means with the help of our neighbors. >> these young people in the capitol are tired of waiting. they, along with youth across mali, are forming citizens' militias to fight back. they are appalled by the thought that their nation could be falling into the hands of islamist terrorists. >> the young alone cannot win this fight. we need to fight as well to ensure that this country survives. we will give everything for our families in the north. >> outrage is reaching a boiling point. business people, students, and

others from the north want to be able to go home. >> i am waiting to return to timbuktu, and i will go back as soon as the mayor and the imam far back in charge. i will rebuild my spice business. after all, timbuktu is my home. >> but until it is safe for her to return, she can do little but follow the news on the radio. >> just briefly, nasa has released new photographs from its rover on mars, taken by curiosity. if you're curious about the man wanted these see them, check it out on our website, dw.de. >> we're back at the top of the hour with more news. >> see you then. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--