>> hello, everyone. welcome to the "journal" on dw. from bad to worse -- predictions of a deeper recession in the eu, more bad unemployment, and trying to get a loan. >> gunmen killed a prosecutor investigating the murder of pakistan's former leader, benazir bhutto. >> and 60 years of news and information from the heart of europe. we at dw are celebrating an important milestone. well, it is a spring report that puts europe in the middle of a

long, economic freeze. the european commission has just presented its economic forecast. >> reading it is painful. europe's economy is expected to shrink further this year as the recession gets deeper. more people will lose their jobs, and credit will continue to dry up. >> this is no longer a southern european crisis, either. the commission predicts the netherlands will join france and spain. >> the bad news just got worse -- economic affairs commissioner had to tell the media that europe's economy must depend on other parts of the world for+ help. >> increasing external demand is set to be the main growth driver since domestic demand is still foundering. >> the picture the commission paints is grim. it sees the eurozone economy

shrinking 0.4% this year. growth should return in 2014, but it would be more muted than previously forecast. one devastating effect of the recession as mass unemployment in europe, especially among young people. even core economies are weakening. france should contract slightly, and paris will seriously overstep the eurozone's budget deficit ceiling. >> in france, the recovery is expected to be delayed, which evidently has repercussions on public finance. the french forecast is in our view overly optimistic. a significant effort would be required. >> brussels is to grant paris two extra years to cut its deficit to under 3%. >> let's bring in our correspondent from brussels. from your perch, how does all this look? is europe finally hitting the

bottom of this crisis? we have reports that france and the netherlands are both faltering as well. >> no, i think the crisis is nowhere near the end. what these figures do -- they polarized the debate, sharpen the debate between those on one side led by german chancellor angela merkel, who say austerity is the way forward, and those who say we are being squeezed too tight. people will look at these figures and say this is evidence that the commission is applying the squeeze too tightly. we need more room for growth. he said we must do whatever we can to boost employment and to unlock growth. he did not suggest for a minute directly that the austerity program that the commission is following in most of these countries is wrong, but he hinted as much by, as you have indicated, saying countries like france and others before them will be given more time to reach a gdp target figures. there is concern that this proves that the austerity package, the severity of it, is

just too much to bear. >> you say the commission admits that more growth is needed. obviously, the question comes -- does brussels have any growth solutions up its sleeve? >> at the moment, all we are seeing is this breathing space for france today, and already for spain and others, more time to reach targets which were strictly imposed before. in terms of proactive measures, we must wait until the end of the month. that is when he will put forward projections for what most of the member states need to do. maybe he will come up with some magic formula. we just do not know. >> always good getting your read on things. thank you very much. >> that is the view from brussels. let's cross over to frankfurt and get the view from the market. how are traitors responding to this report? -- how are traders responding to

this report? that investors are used to troubling news from europe, so we have not seen much movement on the day. investors have in mind that the major companies we are here talking about are able to earn money elsewhere than in the crisis regions. we have seen new numbers, for instance, from sports good manufacturer adidas that prove that again. a lot of people in europe are suffering the crisis, but at the stock market at the moment at least, people are not too much worry about it. >> yes, tell us about those other reasons. what sent the market so much higher? >> i was saying a little while ago the company's managed to earn money elsewhere in other regions, and that is the key word. the u.s. issued information about the labor markets. denham -- a number of jobs were created in april. unemployment numbers dropped to 7.5%. still much too high for the

u.s.. it shows the recovery is slow, but it also shows there is no \, so there is a lot of food on the table for now. we are now 1.6%, and the euro stoxx 50. the dow jones benchmark index in the u.s. already marked another high. it is up almost 1%. in the euro, we are quite stable. >> the optimists in charge all around. thank you very much. on to other news now. his job was to solve pakistan's highest profile murder case. the assassination six years ago of the former leader benazir bhutto, but this morning, gunman showered his car with bullets. >> that is right. chaudhry zulfikar died shortly after. the attackers got away, and authorities in pakistan are not speculating on the motive.

>> he was driving to court when gunmen pulled up to his car and fired from at least two directions. more than a dozen bullets struck his body. there were other victims. >> his bodyguard showed great valor. he was injured. and he was prosecuting several high-profile cases in pakistan, including the 2008 terrorist attack on the indian city of mumbai and the 2007 killing of former prime minister benazir bhutto. he said there was evidence of former prime minister pervez musharraf's involvement in the case. on friday, he was heading to the anti-terrorism court for a hearing on the case. >> this is a very tragic incident because a trial is going on and an effort has been made to stop it. all i can say is that this is

very tragic. >> the killing of benazir bhutto unleashed a wave of protests across pakistan. no one has ever been convicted of her murder. zulfikar was trying to change that. >> i am on the line with some from the center of research and security studies in islam about. do we have any leads on who was behind the shooting? anyone claiming responsibility? >> as of now, nobody has claimed responsibility for this incident, but most of the figures are being pointed at possible sympathizers of musharraf from within the ministry establishment. he was to depose before the code, basically rejecting the

request that he be exempted from personal appearance in the court. this murder could not have come at a worse time, when all the political forces and judicial forces, and now, it has triggered all the speculation. >> exactly. we have this general election scheduled for may 11. we have this assassination today in islamabad. do you foresee more violence as the election gets closer? >> well, i think pakistan has seen considerable violence. basically, the two murders today underlined our research.

with 2470 people killed since january, which is also raising the specter of more violence in the run-up to the elections, it is being speculated a bloody election for pakistan. van at a bloody election. it definitely looks like it will be that way. as always, thank you very much. reporting the story -- that is the most important duty of a journalist, but many of our colleagues, as you see with that story, this can sometimes lose their lives trying to get the truth. >> today on world press freedom day, we look at a new report by reporters without borders, a list of where journalists are most in danger. >> we begin with the bitter harvest from the arab spring. >> egypt's moslem brotherhood is one of the newest additions to the list. reporters without borders and accuses the islamist under president morsi of stocking state media.

it says egyptian reporters are under pressure and many foreign journalists have been labeled as spies. the syrian president has been on the list for years. the organization claims to have systematically attacked pro- government journalists. then there are the usual suspects -- among them, russian president vladimir putin. reporters without borders described him as a control freak with a penchant for rhetoric. mexico's drug cartels are also on the list. reporters without borders says the country is the most dangerous for journalists on the american continent. since the year 2000, 86 reporters have been killed in mexico. 17 others had disappeared.

but conditions for press freedom are improving elsewhere. myanmar's government has released journalists from custody. the country's president has abolished pre-publication censorship. just last month, they also gave privately on papers -- privately owned papers the green light to restart their presses. >> i spoke earlier to the head of the berlin office of reporters without borders. i started by asking him to give us a general overview of the situation facing journalists around the world. >> it is a mixed picture. we have some ups and downs. if you want to draw up a generic conclusion, i would say a regime change in some countries is not always a change for the best. take for example, a place like egypt where the muslim brotherhood is in power, it is a

new regime, and they are attacking journalism. that is why we call them this year a new predator of press freedom. >> let's stay in the region. things were not good in syria to begin with, but they have gone from bad to worse, haven't they? >> it is, totally, and it is not a black and white picture in syria in fact because we include in our list of press freedoms this year, the opposition group, which is close to al qaeda. in syria, press freedom is attacked by the opposition and by the regime. the opposition group is attacking journalists and even killing journalists, and syria actually is the most dangerous country for journalists right now. since the beginning of the conflict in march 2011, we registered more than 60 incidents concerning journalists. >> what about germany?

it is ranked 17th in your list. is that disappointing for a mature democracy? >> in germany, we see a lack of media diversity it take into account last year with the shutdown of the "financial times." the lack of media diversity in germany and what we really see in germany as the growing influence of p r independent journalism, and those are two of the reasons for the rank of germany. >> that was the head of the berlin office of reporters without borders. >> the united states is no longer ruling out army rebels in syria. the defense secretary says washington is reassessing its position, but that any decision has to be made together with international allies. >> president obama says he is considering all options in response to the apparent use of

chemical weapons inside syria. stay with us. we'll be right back after a short break.

>> welcome back. germany is preparing for its biggest turret -- terrorism trial since the 1970's. this time, the far right is in the dock, a group called the nsu. >> one woman and four men go on trial on monday accused of involvement in a series of murders targeting immigrants that left 10 people dead. >> authorities have been criticized for failing to solve those crimes. >> the killings have also caused much soul-searching among ordinary people. for example, in one town where one of the victims were shot dead. >> camille does not like coming here. the head of the foreigners council is still haunted by the memory of what played out at the site seven years ago.

on april 6, 2006, the owner of this internet cafe was killed with two bullets to the head. the 21 year old was the youngest victim. there is not an appliance store where the internet cafe used to be, but it remains a symbol of terror. >> this is a spot that has a lot of significance for us because of the murder. it was extremely painful for us all. >> he knew the victim well. even today, he is still a close family friend. a month ago, he organized a memorial ceremony to mark the seventh anniversary of the death. >> today is april 6, the day on which my son had to die a martyr's death. thank you all for not leaving us

alone today. >> the memorial place was held just a few hundred meters from the crime scene. the plaza was recently renamed in honor of the victim. there is also a memorial stone commemorating each of the 10 victims. the mayor also attended the ceremony. he says the murders change his city. >> it heightened our awareness that we have to stay on guard in germany and in our city. >> the murders also shook these locals. they say it is important for the city to take a united stand against racism. that is why a few weeks ago, they founded the april 6 initiative, named after the day the victim was killed. >> we want to uncover what is really going on in our city, not

by externalizing and saying a not see gang from east germany came and brought something evil into our city that otherwise would never have been here. there are every day expressions of racism that have not let up since the murder. rather, they have come more out into the open. after the murder and the renaming of the plaza. them of the towns on numerous protests against the renaming of the small plaza and tram stop, often with racist undertone, and recently, the memorial stone was defaced with paint. some locals evidently still have reservations. >> weather or not a memorial stone has to be put down every time, i do not know, and i do not want to judge, either. >> it has nothing to do with nationality, but we have our work cut out, and they do not

know if we have enough losses. >> the majority of residents supported the move to rename the plaza, but there is a feeling that it should not be the end of the debate. >> we really have to look hard at what happened and what is still happening now. it cannot just end with the renaming of a plaza. >> he hopes the trial will deliver answers. that is even more important, he says, then the conviction of the five defendants. >> but whatever the outcome, a sentence will not ease our pain. regardless of weather they spend their lives in prison on not, no one can bring him back to us. >> all right, staying in germany, the country's top politicians have been taking part in a big meeting of the protestant church in hamburg. emma and have very strong ties to the church. the german president is a former

pastor, and so is chancellor angela merkel's father. >> merkel highlighted protecting the environment as asue where politics and religion should have the same commitment. >> politics in the pulpit -- a number of top politicians are including this year's event including chancellor angela merkel. she used the occasion to talk about environmental protection in the age of globalization and to highlight germany's role in promoting responsible development. >> through our industrialization, we have contributed to climate change so much that we have an obligation to show how to marry growth, prosperity, and sustainability. >> merkel said current generations needed to think about the future, and that includes germany's transition to renewable energy sources. on that front, the chancellor described the country as a global role model. >> others will look to us to see if we have succeeded, and if we do not succeed, many of them will sit back and say that they

will not succeed either. >> the opposition social democrats are also putting in an appearance. their parliamentary leader attended a forum on europe while the party pose a candidate for chancellor was said to address the topic of financial markets. >> we are celebrating an important milestone. 60 years ago, deutsche welle went on the air for the very first time as a radio service by germans, four germans. >> a lot has changed since then. today, dw is a multimedia news outlet broadcasting in dozens of languages across the globe. >> just a few minutes to airtime. the international team in berlin delivers global top stories around the clock. it is television news for the world by journalists from around the world. training is a pillar of efforts to promote intercultural

dialogue. the academy offers courses for media professionals from around the world and trains young journalist in an international program that is one-of-a-kind in germany. >> i wanted to train here because of the linguistic diversity here. dw has output in 30 languages. it produces news in 30 languages, and there is a strong emphasis on foreign affairs and international issues. >> dw has become a multimedia organization, but it was not always so will the cultural. and he started as a broadcaster on short wave by germans and four germans. deutsche welle went on air in cologne on may 3, 1953. a bridge connecting to germans abroad with the aim of changing germany's image in the world eight years after the second world war. soon, dw was broadcasting in other languages. the building of the berlin wall

in 1961 cemented the blocks of the cold war period deutsche welle became a voice of the free world expanding its services aimed at eastern europe and the soviet union. >> the people were isolated. they were not allowed to travel. they lived under constant fear and tension and listened to all the foreign broadcasters, not just deutsche welle but all foreign broadcasters. among them, dw had an excellent reputation. >> in 1959, the fall of the wall heralded a new era for the world and for dw. there was a huge interest around the world in a reunited germany. in 1952, dw tv was launched, a foreign television broadcaster to supplement the radio programming. >> our coverage focused on issues related to germany's reunification, which closed the huge challenge for the country. what followed w the early

stages of globalization. >> than in 2001, another world event that changed deutsche welle. the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the united states. the west responded by invading afghanistan. when major combat there ended, deutsche welle went in to support media. at the same time, dw journalists were on the ground reporting from the region. >> after an attack, we just drove on and off the temples to take a closer look because usually, when one attack happened, the next would soon follow. >> dw began to strengthen its dialogue with the arab world, starting an arabic service for television broadcasts in 2002. during the era of spring, it's you talk show became a ratings hit -- during the era of -- during the arab spring, its youth talk show became a ratings

hit. >> we try to focus on the facts, statistics, objectives, and information. >> information that deutsche welle distributes over multiple platforms, including the internet. dw has had an online presence longer than any other broadcaster in germany. social networks are also an important platform. dw's persian service began with a radio output. the website has the highest quick count of all 30 language departments. >> iran tries to block the side and make internet access more difficult, but people always find ways to get around the filters and access our content. >> over six decades, deutsche welle has seen many changes, but its goal stayed the same -- to

be a beacon for press freedom and democratic values across the globe. >> all right, to the cheers of construction workers, the final two segments of a 400-meter speyer had been hoisted to the top of one world trade center in new york. >> special trains carry the pieces to a temporary platform on top of the tower. once the building is complete, it will be the tallest tower in the whole united states. >> and you are up to date this hour. >> stay with us here on dw. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- q

welcome to nhk world "newsline." gunmen in pakistan have killed the main prosecutor investigating the assassination of former prime minister buto. he had been looking into the role that musharraf played in her death. gunman opened fired on his car on his way to testify. musharraf is accused of failing to provide adequate