communicating their thoughts and feelings to the outside world. the israeli-palestinian conflict has been one of the central topics on the agenda at the united nations general assembly in new york. both palestinian authority president abbas and israeli prime minister netanyahu and addressed the delegates. >> after failing to secure full member status last year, abbas has set his sights on gaining recognition as a non-member state this time around. despite the move, angering israel, abbas said this could be the last chance for peace. >> we realize that the progress toward making peace is through negotiations between the palestinian liberation organization and listen -- and israel. by the complexities of the prevailing reality and the frustrations that abound, we say to the international community

that there is still a chance -- maybe the last -- to save the two-state solution and to salvage peace. >> netanyahu spent most of his speech warning of nuclear-armed iran. we will have more on that later, but earlier, netanyahu denounced radical islam and the threat it poses to israel and the outside world. >> he also made mention of jewish settlement and the palestinian territories, one of the main obstacles in the territory -- he made no mention of jewish settlement in the palestinian territories. instead, he accused abbas of pushing back on the peace process. >> we will not solve our conflict with libelous speeches at the u.n. that is not the way to solve them. we will not solve our conflict with unilateral declarations of statehood. we have to sit together,

negotiate together, and reach a mutual compromise in which a demilitarized palestinian state recognizes the one and only jewish state. >> dw's correspondent has been covering all the action for us. earlier, we asked if anything new came out of abbas' speech. >> the topics he touched upon have been the same for decades now. the important part was, as many as expected -- as many expected, he will go for new status within the united nations. for now, they are what is called permanent observers, but they want to become a non-member state, meaning that would give them more capacities -- for example, to apply to be part of the international criminal court or the world health organization. he said he would do that within the next -- or this session of

the general assembly, which ends sept. in a year. >> where are the chances of non-member staff is being granted to the palestinians -- what are the chances of non- member status being granted to the palestinians? >> the chances are good. unlike the full-members that as they applied for last year, the security council does not have a word in this one -- unlike the full-member status they applied for last year. the question is just when they will apply for it. we have been hearing that they will wait at least until after the election on november 6, the american election. a sort of secret or hidden agreement between the palestinians and the u.s. so it would not upset the elections or play a part in the elections in the u.s. >> we just heard netanyahu's answer to abbas' speech, but he also had other things on his

mind. >> a large part of the speech, as expected, was dedicated to iran and its nuclear capability. this speech will probably go down in the history of the un because he brought a picture of a bomb and explain exactly with this picture where the world, according to him, should draw the line. he was speaking about a red line. that is where the world would have to intervene to make sure that iran does not get the nuclear bomb. he said that would probably make iran back down. that is his conviction. drawing a red line, he says, is for peace, not for. -- not for war. benjamin netanyahu is a very good order, so he made a very compelling case. >> that was max hoffman speaking to us earlier outside the united nations. we will take a closer look at

life outside the palestinian territories coming up later. >> now we look at european debt problems, and the spanish government has unveiled a tough austerity budget for 2013. it foresees tax hikes and spending cuts. >> spain is desperately trying to avoid becoming the next country to accept a full sovereign bailout. the deputy prime minister announced the budget in madrid, saying the most important portion of the budget was social spending. but despite the cuts, there will be increases to pensions and university scholarships. well, agrees needs to cut 12 million euros in spending if it wants more international money -- greece needs to cut 12 million euros. leaders got down to business and reached a basic agreement on a fres round of austerity measures. >> the budget talks come as strikes and demonstrations continued in athens and other parts of greece. the protests have broad public

support with virtually everyone affected from students and pensioners to those in need of ongoing medical assistance. >> hundreds of disabled greeks came to athens from across the country to tell the government not to cut their benefits. they say current average payments barely meet their basic needs. >> the disabled are part of society, and they should be protected through the country's constitution. they want to cut what meager incomes we have. we have no other way to survive without our benefits and pensions. >> the new round of belt- tightening measures includes plans to cut health-care spending, but details have not yet been released. leaders of the coalition government have agreed to a deal designed to save 12 billion euros by 2013. >> there was an agreement on the basic framework, and there are,

of course, outstanding issues. >> greek media say the finance minister will present the plans to the country's international lenders next week. their approval is needed to secure the next trough of bailout money -- the next traunch of bell of money. hundreds of protesters, though, say they cannot take any more cuts. >> where will the cuts be made? what are the next steps? we put those questions to our correspondent in athens. >> this has been a fairly significant step forward, the coalition agreeing so easily to the new measures. basically, you have a coalition going to the conservative right, the socialists to the far left. the fact that they were able to put their heads together and at least agree on a general framework is a significant step

forward. the steps are mainly cuts to pensions, cuts to -- retirement age will go from 65 to 67, and there will be cuts to the health services. looking forward, basically, we have three weeks of meetings that will involve the troika, eu finance ministers, and an eu summit on october 18 before the measures will be brought to the greek parliament to be voted on. >> the european union's permit bailout fund, the esm, has cleared its final hurdle. the german president has signed the bill ratifying the fund. it will become law on october 8. ratification was delayed because of a challenge before the constitutional court, but in its ruling, the court did uphold the fund, but it placed limits on germany's contributions. it also strengthened the right of parliament to receive controversial information on the esm.

other eurozone countries have accepted these conditions as well. >> in germany, the job market has been weathering the eurozone crisis relatively well. new numbers show that unemployment dropped in september, down to almost 6.5%. the head of the german employment agency warns that the pace of job creation is slowing. >> let's turn our attention to the day's market action. european shares rebounded thursday, following a steep sell-off during the trading session on wednesday. our correspondence sent us this summary from frankfurt. >> the german labor market stays in very good shape. this is a good sign, one of the few positive signs in this euro debt crisis. today, investors focused more on italy and rome -- focused more on italy, where rome gave out new bonds.

yields went down significantly, and this shows that investors seem to trust italy again. later on this day, investors focused on new economic data from the u.s. incoming orders for durable goods went down significantly, and this also led to the fact that the dax was able only to end up with a few gains. >> we stay in frankfurt for a closer look at thursday's numbers. there in frankfurt, the dax -- modest gains, finishing at 7290. euro stoxx 50 up by 1/3 of 1% across the atlantic, things looking much better. the euro finally gaining a bit of ground against the greenback, trading at a value of $1.2915. >> industrial action continues to spread across south africa's

mining sector, and concern is growing about the impact of the economy there. traders are also eyeing possible impact on the price of gold. >> among the affected companies, the world's third largest producer of gold, and it employs 35,000 people in south africa. most of them have now walked off the job. >> the striking south african miners are determined to get more money for their grim job. theirs is a physically demanding task fraught with danger, and they say only the rich mine owners benefit from their efforts. >> we work underground, and it is extremely hot down there, but we are not paid enough money. >> to put it bluntly, we want money. if management does not accept our demands, the strike will go on indefinitely. >> miners are among the worst-

paid workers in south africa. the growing strikes followed unrest in the platinum industry. in august, clashes at a platinum mine left over 40 dead, 34 shot by police. the company finally agreed to wage hikes of up to 22%, but now gold, chrome, and coal workers want more. gold miners want 1700 euros, three or four times what they get now. >> an afghan doctor has been named as one of the four winners of the 2012 light livelihood award, also known as the alternative nobel prize. >> she was honored for her work involving human rights, especially those of women in afghanistan. here is a closer look at her and the other three recipients. >> the winners were picked from some 122 candidates. the first time the prize has been awarded to an afghan.

dr. summers has said more than 100 schools and in 15 hospitals. a primary concern is educating women and girls and making sure they stay healthy. an 84-year-old american has spent years researching non- violent revolutions. his books are read by social activists all over the globe, including the arab world. based in the u.k., the other winner, campaign against arms trade, is a non-governmental organization, which has been fighting for an end to arms trade since 1974. they are known for spectacular campaigns which they organize themselves. the honorary prize went to a turkish and entrepreneur -- turkish on to print your -- turkish entrepreneur, who supports farmers who work the land in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.

>> we will be back after a short break. do not go away. >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. german chancellor angela merkel has been summoned to answer questions about decisions she made as environment minister in the 1990's. a parliamentary committee is looking into mismanagement of a test site to dump nuclear waste. >> critics say merkel authorized tunnels to be dug without going through the proper channels. residents and activists say the site is a public hazard and that radioactive leaks could plague future generations. the chancellor denies having made any errors in selecting the site. >> angela merkel appearing at the parliamentary inquiry. the chancellor is asked to cast her mind back to the mid-1990's

when she was environment minister. the opposition claims that merkel and the rest of her party were determined to push through the nation's nuclear dump and that they ignored studies proposing other sites. >> critical scientists have expressed doubts of -- about the site's suitability. the decision to pursue the location was essentially political. >> the chancellor denies those claims, as do other members of her party. some are unable to contain their anger at the opposition. >> we had this experience during this parliamentary inquiry. even if it is written in black and white in the files, someone claims the opposite. >> since the late 1970's, every conservative government has wanted this nuclear waste site. only social democrats and greens have been opposed, yet they have never named an alternative. the left party says lessons must be learned for the future. >> i believe the inquiry has clearly shown how not to do such

things. we need transparency from the outset. the public need to be involved. we need to hear critical voices, and we need to carry out comparative studies, as other countries manage to do. >> the chancellor seems unfazed by today's proceedings. her government is hoping to resume the search for a permanent nuclear waste dump by year's end. >> to get a sense of how serious this is, we cross now to our parliamentary studios. what are the wider implications for the chancellor? >> whenever a sitting head of government appears before a parliamentary investigative committee, there are risks. in this case, the chancellor is facing several allegations. the most serious is that she bowed to pressure from energy companies to seek a low-cost solution for storing nuclear waste, ignoring other options that might have been more effective.

the chancellor denies these allegations that go all the way back to the 1990's when she was serving as environment minister, but the allegations are quite serious. if they were to be proven, it would have big political implications for the chancellor. the chancellor, however, is taking this in a pretty relaxed mood. both she and her aides are looking very confident in this, and analysts think that she will come out unscathed. >> she does look pretty confident, but how does nuclear storage fit in with germany's new energy strategy? >> the fact is germany does not have a permanent waste disposal site for its nuclear waste, so the waste just keeps piling up. the country is exploring different possibilities, but they do not have one yet. every time another nuclear waste transport rolls into the temporary facility, there are

massive protests. until a permanent site is found and that search goes on, the controversy will continue. >> thank you very much for that. >> as we mentioned earlier, the palestinian authority president has blamed israeli settlements for thwarting the middle east peace process. he also accused israel of doing all it can to undermine the palestinian authority. >> hopes in the palestinian authorities were higher last year when abbas launched his bid for recognition of a palestinian state at the united nations. once it was obvious the attempt was doomed to failure, a sense of resignation took hold of the local people. we take a closer look now at life in the palestinian territories. >> bustling as always, but people here are losing hope. a minor economic upturn came and went, and the palestinian

authorities -- authority's coffers are empty. >> there will be more protests soon. the situation has become intolerable. the palestinian government should do something for us. palestinians are weary and have no real opportunities. and the territories depend on international aid. their own economy is stifled by israeli sanctions, and there is little chance of growth. the lack of political progress frustrates palestinians. hopes were dashed last september when the united nations refused to give them full statehood. >> we are trying to bring hope that, trying to tell our people that the dream to have a palestinian state is still possible, and that is why we are going to the united nations. hopefully, once our people see that there is a result, hope will come out. >> positive results are something the palestinian

citizens have given up expecting. >> they always go and talk. but whether they talk or do not talk, we do not see any change here. >> i do not know. >> our economy is dead because we are strangled by the israelis. they do whatever they want. if we could gain statehood, the situation would be different. >> the palestinians want the united nations to understand the severity of their situation. with so much attention currently being paid to other problems in the arab world, they feel they are being overlooked. >> alright, we will have some german soccer action coming up in just a bit, with a recap of the bundesliga clash>> chinese t

has -- chinese artist and dissident ai wei wei has lost his appeal for alleged tax evasion. he could be jailed if he does not pay. the case has been condemned internationally as an attempt to muzzle those who speak out against government corruption. >> sedan and south sudan reached a partial agreement on oil exports. a spokesman said the parties had agreed to create a demilitarized buffer zone along their disputed border to allow oil exports from south sudan to resume. >> a severe storm in northern england has caused flooding in several cities. houses collapsed, and cars were destroyed as flooding hit urban areas. authorities say at least two people were killed. some villages in scotland were also under water. it is one of the most important

events of its kind in the world. the paris motor show, and this year, it is taking place as the car industry struggles with overcapacity and a drop in demand in the ailing eurozone. >> even so, there are plenty of highlights on display, and our reporter in paris has this sneak preview. >> it may be the most spectacular car displayed by the volkswagen group in paris, but the golf 7 is the most important and could be the star of the show. it uses just 3 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers and uses technology meaning its parts can be used in other models, which keeps costs down. vw also hopes to whether the euro crisis by focusing on other markets. >> we think 2013 could be challenging, but the world does not just consist of europe. there is also china, russia,

india, and south america. and let's not forget the united states. that is why we think we have reason to be optimistic about 2013. >> but subsidiary -- for gm subsidiary opel, the future looks bleak. one glimmer of hope is the atom targeting younger buyers, but there is no one in paris to sing its praises. senior managers are not attending the show. >> it is divided into winners and losers these days. while opel is suffering badly, volkswagen group is profiting from a solid position in the u.s., latin america, and china. paris offers both a chance to boost their fortunes. >> who would buy a car that was painted like that? anyway, over the ages, we have seen that needed dictatorships, totalitarian systems, nor

dictatorships have been able to quell the pursuit of free speech. >> a new exhibit at the german literature archive shows how imprisoned dissidents in countries ranging from germany itself to china have overcome incredible obstacles to get their messages across. >> tiny handwriting, designed to go undetected. messages, cries for help, or the passionate notes from a man to his wife. cut into circles and concealed on the basis of paper cups, the german resistance fighter was able to smuggle his love letters out of prison during the second world war. "my darling," he writes," how often i have squeezed your little picture between my hands and kissed it." the exhibition it conveys an atmosphere of oppression, showing forbidden messages that barely made it out of confinement. the efforts of the prisoners to obey the guard showed tremendous ingenuity including

self-made slingshots or a broomstick turned into a blowpipe. the feeling of hopelessness often turned the writings into a type of testament. sometimes, entire books were written, like this manuscript by a political dissident who spent four years in prison in china. >> writing only had one meeting for me back then. it was about rediscovering the dignity that was stolen from me in prison. >> many of the exhibits make that palpable, and they all send a message that even when a body is put behind bars, the spirit remains free. >> that is it from us. thanks for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

mendsing fencing. a man in the top ranks of the the chinese leadership says he wants to patch up relations with japan. a senior leader in beijing has welcomed a group of elder statesmen from japan. they are taking turns of criticizing each others over islands in the east island sea. he says it's time to put ties back on