>> this is the journal live from dw in berlin. >> coming up in the next half hour, the condition of venezuelan president hugo chavez worsens. they say he has a severe lung infection. "shutting down after a admitting to tax evasion. >> on the reconciliation between two rival palestinian factions.

>> officials have announced their president is having trouble breathing. he contracted a severe lung infection. >> there is growing concern about whether he will be fit to be sworn in next week for another term in office. >> the leaders top aides are accusing them of psychological warfare in >> hugo chavez is the number one concern along with you would run but was below in his absence. the venezuelan government has finally released an official statement. >> dr. delicate surgery on december 11th, commandant job as succumbed to a severe lung infection -- commandant chavez

has suffered a lung infection. >> he has already handpick his successor. he accuses the opposition on the spreading uncertainty. >> the united states is controlling all these machinations. they think his hour has arrived. it is an hour of madness with the right on the attack here and internationally. the people will remain resolute. >> he won his fourth mandate and october and is due to take the oath of office january 10th. if he dies or resigns, they call for new elections. >> in syria, opposition activists have began assaults on rebel positions in the suburbs of damascus.

>> air strikes are being shown in the neighborhood of natoma. they had bombarded the district with artillery. there's no word yet. they have been followed four months. last august, it was the scene of the worst activist seen so far. >> sectarian protests continue where thousands of muslims have begun rallies to accuse the prime minister of showing solidarity by a attending friday prayers at a major sunni mosque. he is a rival of the prime minister and he appealed for unity among the religious groups. switzerland oldest private bank is closing its doors for good doctor pleading guilty to helping americans evade taxes. they admitted they helped

wealthy customers tied over $1 billion from u.s. authorities. >> they have agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement after a case in which the swiss bank ubs was fined a record sum

this. it is quite common in the financial landscape in switzerland. you're going to potentially

seymour fines being paid and more names of tax evaders being given to the authorities. >> what about the american customers who put their money in to avoid paying taxes. >> they have broken u.s. law. i suspect there will be drastic fines. also, they are going to have subsequent tax payments for those people who tried to get around it in the first place. >> it took them one year to make this case. why is it taking so long in europe? >> the u.s. authorities seem more determined. they seem to be quicker results down there is one aspect that may contribute to this picture. it is a big financial market and there's a lot of capital to be invested so you need financial firms to go there and do that kind of business. if the authorities go to the banks and threaten to make their lives more difficult in the u.s., these foreign banks, that is quite deleverage.

it is understandable that they may show up quicker. >> thank you very much for the analysis. >> staying with the markets, we're looking a lot more positive this friday on the back of strong jobs data from the united states. we have a roundup from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> it was an american week here of the german exchange. on this last trading day of the week, the labor market setting the tone and the u.s. labor market was $155 and new jobs strong in the month of december. doubt was a modest gain. it was short of the november results. one could interpret that as being quite disappointing. it is still a lot of jobs, they say. it may convince the fed, the central bank of the united states, to continue to give aid to the u.s. economy to create

new jobs which would also benefit the stock market here. it was an american week because the major gains in the dax are made on the first trading day. that is when they reacted very positively to the fact that the united states did not fall over the fiscal cliff. dax gaining 2% this week. >> this week has certainly had its fair share of ups and downs. they prove fighting power moving up closer to that magic 8000 market today. eurostoxx50 surged 1/3%. >> the euro is going for $1 u.s. 58. -- $1.3058. >> the free democrats are struggling.

they're holding their annual meeting this weekend. they're under pressure to come up with something good. many in the party are skeptical that he house what it takes. they could very well crash out of the german parliament later this year for the first time. where exactly are they hiding? let's find out from our political correspondent. some blame their woes on this worsening. is that fair? >> they have not exactly prospered under his leadership. since it became party chairman a year-and-a-half ago, they have been booted out of four of the 16 state parliaments. polling figures are languishing below 5% meaning they would not get back into parliament in the upcoming election. whether he should bear all the blame for that, it is unclear, but many believe the party would be more attractive if they had a different leader. there was an opinion poll

showing that he could possibly be replaced by a party veteran. >> what will happen up they do not pull the 5% they need to get into parliament? >> if they are ejected from the state parliament in lower saxony in the elections there, it will certainly mean that philip will be replaced as party chairman and it will raise serious doubts at the national level. if the party does not make the 5% threshold needed to get in the bundestag in the elections, we do not know exactly when the date will be, but it will amount to a political sea change in germany. they will lose the preferred partner and will almost certainly be forced into a coalition with the social

democrats to stay governing. it would transform german politics and they have been in power since 1949. >> thank you for the insight. to brazil now where torrential rain has been drenching the state of rio de janeiro. >> it has triggered heavy flooding in the region killing one man leaving hundreds homeless. what's the hardest hit is the mountainous region north of the city. >> what was once a street is now a raging torrent. flash floods causing misery 4000 in the north of the state of rio de janeiro. within minutes, the downpour triggering massive mudslides a sweeping away entire houses. they have only seconds to get to safety. >> the girls were sleeping in the living room and we had just enough time to grab them and go to the roof. it happened very quickly. >> my neighbors told me to get

out. when i got outside with my husband, the water had washed everything away. we almost drowned. our neighbors have given a shelter. >> people here fear the entire hillside could slide down the mountain taking their village with them. work was under way to shore up the settlement but they often build without planning permission and the authority struggles to keep pace. for now, the emphasis is on getting people out alive. >> the important thing is to save lives. material things can be replaced. >> they have set up emergency shelters for the homeless. everyone here hopes the rain will let up soon. tropical storms are part and parcel of summer here and for the downpours are expected. >> and now to the middle east where the two rival palestinian factions have been at odds ever since hamas seized control of

gaza six years ago. >> hundreds of thousands of people have been out on the streets for hours marking the 48th anniversary of the fatah's founding. >> in gaza city, thousands of flags, a site that has not been seen for years now. >> they drove them out in 2007. from then on, the radical islamist party had the final say. since 2007, the palestinian territories have been divided. of boss is a piece -- abbas is a peacemaker for isreal. hamas is considered a terrorist organization. today, hamas supporters joined those today. all the same, they have not started direct negotiations.

the head of fatah stayed away from the meeting. he also called for reconciliation between hamas and fatah. he said it pitted brother against brother. abbas said there is no substitute for unity between palestinians. still, achieving unity will take talks. in cairo, they will start negotiations next week. they will try to breathe new life into old unity agreements that have never been implemented. >> coming up, we will take a look at improving relations between the two rival palestinian factions. >> the world's toughest rally rolls into peru. that and more after the break.

>> improving ties is just one factor that will shape the region in 2013. >> looking ahead of the challenges of the new year, we'll look that one of the most volatile parts of the world. can it be a time for peace in the middle east? will we simply see more of the same? >> benjamin netanyahu facing elections in january. his party is expected to stay in power, but they are split over the direction netanyahu is taking the country. some are afraid he is leading israel into more dangerous confrontations with its regional enemies.

tensions are high on many fronts. in november, israel responded to rocket fire with a series of air strikes. more than 100 civilians died, most of them palestinian. a cease-fire ended the fighting, but the two sides are still without a viable peace agreement. israel controls the borders. for now, they are allowing goods back in, but the humanitarian situation is dire. hamas is holding fast to its anti-israel's stance. fatah, the internationally recognized representative asking the u.n. to upgrade their international standing. an overwhelming number of nations voted to recognize them as a non-member observer state. they celebrated the news. israel condemned the move. the day after the vote, the government announced the massive

settlement plans would move forward. the development would effectively cut the territory in two. united states of the project was "not helpful." tensions over the iranian nuclear program to be most in the spotlight. netanyahu has threatened to launch a preventive strike on iranian nuclear abilities. he told the u.n. that iran could have the means to trade in nuclear bomb as early as this spring. i rise as they will respond to any israeli attack by closing the straight -- iran said they will close the strait of hormuz. they could also launched missiles into israel and they're adding further to the israeli border is in the event of a showdown. western countries have passed multiple rounds of sanctions against by round, but they have

stopped short of military confrontation. -- against iran. allies including germany have promised to stand by, but few have the stomach for another middle eastern war. israel-u.s. relations have also been strained. barack obama and netanyahu have barely conceal their dislike, but we remain -- the united states remains its biggest backer. most analysts believe 2013 will not be the year that peace will come to the middle east. >> earlier i spoke with one of our correspondents in jerusalem and asked if the palestinians will be able to use their newly given status to stop them from building jewish settlements on the west bank. >> for the first couple of years, palestinians could only watch how the land was built

with sediments that were expanded and even experts were saying that there were warning that a two-day solution has become more and more unlikely it's this kind of settlement policy will continue in that case. with a new non-of your status at the u.n., they could say we should put more pressure on the israelis and threatened to go to the icc, but that is a very long process. the into national community may step in to put more pressure on israel in this matter. -- the international community may step in. there were no consequences. >> it is still the possibility that israel will attack over its nuclear program. what would be the consequences? >> this is the topic of benjamin

netanyahu. we're expecting them to pick this back up after the elections. it is also something that is discussed as well as the consequences. there are a lot of critics, especially in the intelligence community who have come out to say that israel should not attack because the consequences are very hard to foresee, especially if it does not concern israel alone but the whole region which is already in turmoil. we could see a tax from has a lt on the north, attacks from the south, from dock, and a lot of these scenarios. it could put the whole region on fire. that is what is being discussed in israel as well. >> what will be the main topics of 2013 in the middle east? >> we will be reporting on issues we have been reporting on

for the past couple of years. for example, efforts between hamas and because of on behalf of the west bank. -- hamas and gaza. there will be all the changes in the region. how will the relationship between egypt and israel develop? what will happen in israel and will it have a direct impact on palestinian relations? this will be a major topic on how this will developed in the coming weeks and months. >> and now something a little bit lighter. ski jumping. he has won the third leg of the tournament. clutch shooting it to the top of the overall standings and putting him in the top.

>> he held his nerve to land a second jump. added to the job from his first and it was a convincing win for the 22-year-old austrian. the norwegian messing up second jump that caused him a third consecutive first-place. jacobson only finish second in innsbruck. putting in a better performance or germany but narrowly missing the podium ending up in fourth place. >> it is one of the of the year. it originally started out as a

competition between paris and dakar. they found a new venue, south america. >> this year, it is kicking off in peru. one city they will roar through is from where we report. >> is a white knuckle ride through the desert. he could be out of the race. he is the only cyclist from here in the race. >> it is a really tough route. you have to be able to travel 10,000 kilometers. you have to think about your physical stamina. i have trained really hard. hit the gym, ride my bike, swim, and spend hour after hour on

my bike. >> riders from the area have the advantage but they have trouble raising funds. >> as a competitor come you have to come up with $300,000 to even take part. even raising $300,000 does not mean you will get to the end, to dakar. it means you can print is a paid and try to get to the end. -- it means you can participate. >> allow participants to gear up for the start, it is not a big deal. we ask the locals if they even knew about it. >> no, said this man. this woman? she hadn't heard of it.

>> as residents, we were up to speed. we knew they were passing through here. >> he digs up fossils from the desert to unearth the history. >> this type of rally endangers places that have not yet been explored. some of them even have a whale's backbone from deep-see epic. >> they have promised to minimize the damage. they have not changed the route. if you lose your way, you get disqualified and it can be hazardous. >> this is about participating,

learning to drive the route. getting to santiago in chile. . >> for this president, the aim is just being there and surviving. >> the gym, racing, $300,000? that's all lot. >> that is it for here on dw. you are up-to-date. >> thanks for watching.