>> live from berlin, this is the "journal." it's good to have you with us. >> welcome. our headlines this hour -- closing in on the nest. ukrainian government forces make a big push to recapture separatists. after 10 years in a journey of almost 6.5 billion kilometers, the rosetta probe finally reaches its destination. >> and the fight to contain ebola -- five new cases reported in nigeria. could a new serum offer hope to those battling the disease? but we want to start off with

pensions that continue to flare in ukraine. new fighting has erupted in the country's western-eastern region where government troops stepped up their efforts to retake key areas from the rebels. >> at least 18 ukrainian soldiers have been killed in clashes with separatist, but kiev denies accusations that government planes carried out an airstrike on the city. >> and a provocative move, nato says russia has ramped up its number of troops along the border with ukraine, warning it could beginning up to stage an in -- it could be gearing up to stage an invasion, something moscow vehemently denies. >> residents say an aircraft fired missiles over rebel stronghold donetsk during the night. russian tv broadcast what it said were images that showed an airstrike being carried out by ukrainian military planes, but kiev denies there worse carried out the attack -- kiev denies

their f orces carried out the attack. >> why do we have to make apologies for something we have not done? >> the government also denies firing heavy artillery and residential areas. more than 2000 homes are now without electricity according to city authorities. residents are afraid of the fighting and have been spending their nights in makeshift bomb shelters. >> all night long, we heard bombs being dropped and hitting the ground. the last one hit nearby, further down our street, even as we were running here. >> pressure reacted by summoning an emergency meeting of the united nations security council in new york. moscow's ambassador described the situation in eastern ukraine as disastrous. russian president vladimir putin announced a one-year ban on the import of food and agricultural

products from countries that have introduced sanctions on russia. >> with president vladimir putin announcing he will strike that just as hard against punishing measures by the west, how significant are these retaliatory sanctions? >> how grave the sanctions are depends now on a list that vladimir putin has ordered the russian government to prepare and to sign. we hear from the government that this list is already prepared and that it will be signed on thursday. it seems that there will be fruit and all kinds of food stuff on it. also dairy products. it is said that there will be no baby foods or wine on the list. it will be a very flexible list, also, as we hear from the government.

however, it will also not be easy for the russian economy because the russian agricultural area is not known to be very productive. actually, about 40% of groceries are imported, even from those countries who have now signed off on the sanctions, but apparently, it was very important for vladimir putin to send this fight into the world. >> has the threat of a military incursion by russia into eastern ukraine arisen over the past day? would you say that is a realistic assessment? >> we have just now spoken to an independent military expert once again, and he said everything is possible. it's very hard to predict how things will develop. it is for sure that russia is reacting in a strange way to the accusations that it has troops across the border, making fun of those statements. it is also a fact was shown on russian state tv today with peacekeeping troops -- with

russian peacekeeping troops, so if anything like a russian military intervention will happen, it will be sold off to the russian public as a peacekeeping mission. >> tell us about moscow's reaction to the ukrainian forces stepping up their offensive against the separatists. >> it was a very emotional and also aggressive reaction we saw on state tv. he reports have had that touch for weeks and months now. like the ukrainian army is calling these military operations anti-terror operations, but russian tv and russian politicians have also found their own name for them. they are called here a kind of punishment mission against peaceful ukrainian citizens who wanted their eastern republics to be independent from ukraine. it is also a fact, though, that this narrative -- that russia is bidding obviously -- that this narrative that russia is

spinning is obviously working very well. >> thank you so much for that date. >> the israeli-hamas cease-fire is into its second day and still holding. representatives from both sides of the conflict are in cairo now where egyptian mediated talks on a more durable cease-fire are getting under way. >> the sides are holding indirect talks. israel has agreed to an egyptan suggestion to extend the cease-fire to give more time for discussions. the current temporary truce has brought some sense of relief but tensions remain high along the border. >> whole neighborhoods reduced to rubble. smoldering ruins as far as the eye can see. the aftermath of the israeli campaign. with both sides observing the cease-fire, residents return to reclaim what is left. aid shipments are arriving to supply the people of gaza with

basic necessities. the united nations estimates some 65,000 people are now homeless. for many, there is simply nothing left to return to. as hopes grow that the violence has reached an end, there are signs of political progress as well -- hamas has expressed its willingness to further extend the truce, depending upon the results of negotiations now under way in egypt. in the capital cairo, israeli and palestinian representatives are engaged in indirect discussions, reason enough for cautious optimism. in jerusalem, prime minister benjamin netanyahu again justify the israeli incursion, blaming hamas for using its own citizens as human shields. >> we do not target them. the people of gaza are not our enemy. our enemy is hamas. our enemy are the other terrorist organizations trying

to kill our people. >> the international community is already gearing up for a major rebuilding effort, but at a meeting of the united nations in a relatively, secretary-general ban ki-moon stated the world body's demands. >> but this must be the last time. this must stop now. >> civilians who live there simply hope that the guns stay silent, but even as they go about their business, residents fear the next wave of violence. a billboard shows an injured child holding a sign that reads "i lost my family. i am alone now." tragically, there are many others who share his sorrow. >> we shift our focus now to iraq, where fighters in the kurdish north of the country have launched an offensive to retake areas seized by islamic state militants. the campaign is being supported by the central government in baghdad. >> kurdish leaders are also appealing for help for member's of the minority who fled in the

wake of the jihadist advance. they say tens of thousands could die if they are not rescued soon. >> these are among the lucky ones who have committed to safety in a town near the syrian border. after islamist troops overran their homeland, they were told to convert to islam or risk being killed if they did not leave. >> we came when islamic state fighters attacked us. what could we do? we had to leave everything behind and flee. we did not even gather our clothes. we were too scared to sleep. we could not stay there. >> they belong to iraq's kurdish minority but observe an ancient religion. they are viewed by islamist militants as double worshipers. many fled to the mountains where they have no food or water.

>> aid organizations have not gone there. tens of thousands of people are up in the mountains, and they are surrounded. militants have blocked access to and from the mountains. there's no water, and people are dying of hearst. >> children are being buried under rocks. kurdish authorities say urgent action is essential, but one official cautioned it could take days to reach the trapped. >> it took 10 years and a 6.4 billion kilometer chase, but the unnamed rosetta -- unmanned, that is, rosetta space probe has finally reached its destination. >> the first such a cheap man andd a major milestone in space history. scientists are hoping the tiny spacecraft will help them better understand how life on earth came to be.

>> the excitement among european space agency workers was as visible as it was audible, which is hardly surprising, given the scale of the triumph. after a 10-year journey through the solar system, the rosetta space probe has reached, it -- reached comet 67p and entered its orbit, a first in space history. >> these objects form something like 4.5 billion years ago, and they can give us an insight into the formation of our own solar system. >> in other words, a comet can provide information about the origins of life on our planet. in order to do that, rosetta must first find a successful landing place for its research robot, but that comes with its own challenges. >> there are still a lot of uncertainties on the comet, its orbit, and the effect of the comment on the spacecraft.

>> if all goes according to plan, come november, the european space agency will be celebrating at next triumph, the first ever landing on a comet. >> here to help us understand the unique significance of the rosetta mission is our science correspondent, derrick williams. great to have you with us in person. this is an unprecedented mission. talk us through some of the challenges faced reaching this destination. >> space is an incredibly hostile environment, the most hostile environment that we know, and this probe just bend 10 years in it. 6.4 billion kilometers. one of the most important aspects of this mission has been just getting it where it was supposed to go. it is really amazingly -- some people are talking about how it is an amazing achievement that it has made it so far. the probe had to actually circle

the sun over and over again. it had to build up speed -- that's the reason it took so long -- it had to build up speed to match the velocity of this comet, which is moving through our solar system currently at around 55,000 kilometers an hour. you cannot send a probe up at that speed. what they did was they sent it in an orbit around the sun, and each time it passed the earth or once when it passed mars, it fell down through the gravity well, and that accelerated the probe, and eventually, it caught up with the comment from behind -- the comet from behind. that is one aspect. the other was they actually had to shut it down for three years when it was out beyond the asteroid belt in order to save energy. they were nervous about trying to turn it back on again, making sure it would come back on. all in all, huge logistical challenge. everybody is heaving a huge sigh of relief that it is where it is supposed to be. >> i bet.

a long journey to get it there and certainly a fantastic accompaniment. researchers are also saying that not only was it hard, but it was also important. they are calling it the most important spatial mission ever. why? >> there are technical aspect, once i just described. it's about developing space engineering and mechanics and gaining confidence with this kind of space exploration, but there's also the research aspect. there is a historical aspect, if you will, to this entire question. comments are giant icy balls of rock and ice -- comets are giant icy balls of rock and ice that are 4 billion years old. they date back to the beginning of our solar system, so learning about them will teach us more about the development of our own earth. possibly how water got here, and possibly also the origins of life here on our own planet. >> exciting stuff. thank you so much for breaking it down for us. we are going to take a

one-minute break. don't go away. >> see you in a moment.

>> welcome back. doctors and health agencies in west africa are struggling to contain the spread of ebola. nigeria has confirmed five new cases of the disease. >> almost 1000 people have died in the world's worst epidemic, which is raging in west africa. at high risk are medical workers who are in the front lines of the battle to contain the disease. one doctor leading the fight against ebola in sierra leone died of the disease last week. >> scientists in the u.s. are now trying out a serum, which may bring a promising breakthrough to american aid workers who contracted the disease and are now in the u.s. for treatment. >> as soon as she landed in atlanta, nancy was taken directly to the emory hospital. the u.s. aid worker contracted ebola while treating patients in

liberia. she is being treated with a new drug. the same drug given to the infected u.s. dr. kent bradley. many say both have shown signs of improvement after receiving the drug, which contains three antibodies. >> this is the first time they have been used in humans. the availability of it, the amount, the number of treatment courses there are are severely limited, so it really is nothing to compare it with since this is the first time that they have been given to humans. >> it is not yet clear whether it could be an effective cure for ebola. doctors say it will take several months before clinical testing can even begin. for those fighting the virus on the front line any potential cure could not come soon enough. >> so should these experimental drugs be used more widely to try to end the deadly outbreak of

the disease in west africa? to talk more about this, we are joined in the studio by thomas from doctors without borders. he was in sierra leone just recently. you just returned from the affected region. do you think this experimental drug could be useful in tackling this outbreak? >> we have to see what comes. still, the serum is an experimental stage. it is nothing like widely on the market or anything, so further research has to be done. we do welcome any research initiative when it comes to treatment. >> judging from your own experiences in africa, what are some of the problems that medical teams there are facing? >> a lot of things -- it is lacking good epidemiological surveillance. it's lacking proper contact tracing, which means follow-up of the people who had contact to people suffering from the ebola

virus. development of hygiene measures in general and in the health system sector in particular. a lot of things have to be done. >> what can help workers locally and policymakers do to address these challenges? >> i think for health workers locally, it has to be encouraging education, education, education from the population. policymakers have to improve coordination of the different actors, ngo's who were involved in the outbreak. >> do you think that the international community has underestimated this disease? do you think it is going to spread beyond west africa? >> this outbreak is out-of-control. it has been underestimated. when i arrived in the field, i found myself with four other expatriates in sierra leone with

a large outbreak already going on. we do welcome, for instance, the financial aid, which is now being put in by the who. now this help has to arrive on the ground. to reinforce contact tracing, hygiene measures, education, and so on. >> a lot still to be done. thank you so much. >> it's time now for the business headlines. there has been a surprise setback for italy. the eurozone's third-biggest economy is officially back in recession after it shrank or the second quarter in a row. >> the .2% drop caught most analysts offguard. italy had seen -- seemed to be climbing its way back from its worst economic crisis since world war ii, but wednesday's disappointing numbers have for new fears that the euro zone's fragile recovery is stumbling. >> it's the end of the honeymoon for italian prime minister matteo renzi.

the bad economic news cast a shadow over his ambitious reform agenda aimed at pulling italy out of its worst recession since world war ii. >> we have a decline in industrial production. in gdp as well as consumer prices and commerce. then shops continue to close. >> slight growth at the end of last year gave many hope that italy was on the road to recovery, but after two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the country is now officially back in recession. many analysts had expected the economy to show improvement ahead of wednesday. the news sent shockwaves through the stock exchange here in milan, which ended 2.7% lower. >> let's see how some of the stock markets are reacting to the news of italy's unexpected recession. we have this analysis from the

floor of the frankfurt stock exchange. >> investors have been very disappointed of the fact that italy fell back into recession. italy is the third biggest economy in the euro area and a very important market for german exporters. the german economy is weakening, too. industrial orders went down sharply, by 3%, the biggest loss since three years now, and also dragged down share prices. in the end, investors have been able to reduce the losses of the dax slightly. >> let's pull up the days numbers, shall we? the dax lost .6% in frankfurt. euro stoxx ending the day down .7%. the dow is currently up in the euro is trading at $1.33.

in less than two months, scotland will vote on whether to break away from the united kingdom. >> polls show most scots will vote no, but the yes camp is not giving up. that includes a group of scottish mothers. >> she has organized an event for mothers and paid for the refreshments from her own pocket. >> i'm part of a group of moms for change. there has to be a change in society in order to make it a better place for our kids to grow up and. >> she wants women to stand up for what they believe in. >> i would like my daughter to grow up in a country first and foremost that did not have weapons of mass destruction on her doorstep. i would like her to grow up in a country where people give access

to free education, that had a good welfare state, and these are things that are not priorities for westminster. >> her arguments go down well with some of the other mothers, but not all. >> everybody is talking about, "we want to pay less taxes" and "we want to pay more benefits." my logic is like many goes around. if we want to pay less but we want to have more, where is that money coming from? >> suzan robertson says shescottish independence would not provide a magic solution, but she thinks that it would at least give scots more say in the political process. her daughter holly was just a few weeks old when she founded mums for change. another reason she says she wants scottish independence is in case london opts to leave the

european union. >> scotland would probably be taken out of europe on the back of a no vote as well because i think that would be another thing that i think we would not have any say in. for me personally, i want my daughter to grow up in a country that is outward looking. i like being part of europe. >> but her main reason is her desire for more social justice. she says the gap between the rich and the poor must not be allowed to widen further. this in particular is what ties her to other activists in the yes scotland campaign. >> we want to take control of our own destiny. >> in a new country, we can make the decisions. we can get a constitution that suits us. we can have hope and optimism for the future. >> hope and optimism is what these mothers want for their

children. they have just a few weeks to decide whether they think a better future lies in an independent scotland or in the united kingdom. >> moving now to some other news, a man arrested on suspicion of stealing michael schumacher's medical records has been found hanged in his jail cell in switzerland. >> the suspect was detained after investigators traced the computer he allegedly used to try to sell schumacher's file. the seven-time formula one world champion suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the french alps last december. after awaking from coma in june, he was airlifted from hospital to a rehabilitation center in switzerland. now for a little people power -- a commuter in the australian city of perth had a lucky escape this morning after getting his leg caught between a train and

the platform. >> you can see the man slipping as he goes to get on the train. his leg waged in that two-inch gap. after a little clever thinking from staff and fellow passengers, they managed to tilt the train. in the end, the man freed his leg and eventually walked away uninjured. >> amazing. that's a lucky escape. >> absolutely. you think he still rides the train? >> i don't think so. not for a wild. >> that's the "journal." thanks for watching. >> see you at the top of the hour. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

[ mid-tempo music plays ] steves: riding this gondola, you soar, landing in the sleepy, unpromoted village of gimmelwald. in 30 years of researching guidebooks, i've found hidden gems like this in every country. gimmelwald would have been developed to the hilt, like neighboring towns, but the village had its real estate declared an avalanche zone, so no one could get new building permits. the result? a real mountain community -- families, farms, and traditional ways.

choosing places like gimmelwald and then meeting the people, you become part of the party rather than just part of the economy. this is a realistic goal for any good traveler. eins, zwei, drei. man: [ chuckles ] steves: take a moment to appreciate the alpine cheese. so, older is better? man: oh, yes. -woman: i don't know. -man: oh, yes. woman: for me, it's the younger one. steves: once you're off the tourist track, make a point to connect with the living culture. pitch in, even if that means getting dirty. here, farmer peter is making hay while the sun shines.

♪ the largest demonstration in the past decade was recent held in hong kong on the 17th anniversary of the city's return to chinese