>> live from the dw studios here in berlin, this is the "journal ." >> thanks for joining us. our headlines at this hour -- barack obama says it's not our fight alone as five sunni nations joined the usn airstrikes against islamic state militants in syria. >> meanwhile, kurds continue to flee the islamic state offensive . we go live to the turkish-syrian border. >> united nations chief ban ki-moon calls for a radical new course on climate change, calling it a defining issue of our age. >> the united states and five

arab allies have bombed syria for the first time, killing scores of islamic state fighters. >> the strikes open a new front against the militants by joining syria's three-year-old civil war. >> the attacks encountered no objection and even signs of tacit approval from the syrian president. >> some 200 strikes hit syria on tuesday. a town located along the border with iraq was reportedly hit 10 times. this unverified video was posted on the internet. most of the targets are in the syrian province of rocca, the base of the islamic state command. strategically important cities near the iraqi border were also attacked. president obama said the campaign against i.s. would continue. >> once again, it must be clear

to anyone who would plot against america and try to do americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people. >> the u.s. launched the attacks from aircraft carriers stationed in the persian gulf and the red sea. it deployed flames, cruise missiles, and drones, and even its stealth fighter jet, the raptor, the pentagon's most expensive fighter plane. the broad coalition the u.s. has put together does not include any european states so far. saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain, the united, and qatar are all taking part in the airstrikes against islamic state. >> america is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not america's fight alone.

above all, the people and governments of the middle east are rejecting isil and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve. >> the aim is to target training camps in order to disrupt the advance of the great. -- the advance of the group. syrian state television released these pictures, said to be of the aftermath of attacks. while the u.s. military says the attacks were planned to minimize the risk to civilians, there have been reports of civilian casualties. it's not clear how effective the airstrikes will be in reigning in the sunni jihadists. key i.s. leaders are said to of escaped before the attacks took place, and president obama has said he does not plan to send in any ground troops. >> our correspondent richard walker caught up with the president of the syrian opposition coalition and sent us

this interview from new york. >> thank you for taking the time to speak with us. are you pleased that these airstrikes have now begun? >> i don't think "pleased" is the correct word. i am really saddened that the situation is like this in my country, but you have to act. in the past week, there was a human catastrophe. more than 300 villages were attacked by isil forces. more than 130,000 refugees to cross the border into turkey. we had to act very fast in order to halt the offensive of isil and degrade their military capability to prevent them from acting the same way in the near future. >> you said that the real enemy, that the real root cause of this crisis is not the islamic state

in, but rather the assad regime. do you wish the west were taking a more active role in entering the war against the assad regime ? >> for sure. we know that the assad regime has been the incubator of creating a terrorist organization and extremist group . they used it in lebanon for more than 30 years. used in an iraq -- used it in a rack -- used it in iraq. now it is using the same card inside syria. to defeat terrorism, we have to deal with the main cause of it, which is the assad regime, but that does not mean that we will not write -- fight isil. it is a main symptom of this illness, so we have to finish its threat on syria, the region,

and the international community at large. >> do you hope as the situation develops that the united states might cut -- might start taking a more active role within syria and start trying to open a new front against the assad regime? >> regrettably, as i said before, the international community always acts after a long time. we have declared our intention against isil since september 2013. weaves in fighting them since the first -- we have been fighting them since the first quarter of 2014. we are glad that the international community and this coalition joined our own fight. we know that they will face the fact that you cannot eliminate the risk of terrorism without eliminating the assad regime forever, either taking his military power, or creating an

of serious threat to him to push him to go into a negotiated political solution. >> thank you very much. >> that was our correspondent talking to the president of the syrian opposition coalition in new york. >> today's airstrikes are giving hope to the tens of thousands of syrian refugees pouring into turkey right now that i.s. can be defeated and their home villages made safe again. >> around 150 thousand syrians have entered turkey over the past few days -- mainly women and children, who crossed a parched landscape on foot in searing temperatures -- around 150,000 syrians. >> after medical checks, aid workers hand out food, water, and blankets. the border is only open for a short time, and most have left everything they had behind. >> we did not have any other choice. they attack our houses.

we've waited six days for them to open the border. >> the united nations has warned that up to 400,000 more syrians could seek shelter in turkey in the coming days. many refugees welcomed u.s.-led airstrikes, hoping they could stop the advance of the militants. >> i'm happy something is finally happening. but the americans must continue their offensive so we can all return home soon. >> the airstrikes are the right thing to do. we hope that they can save us from the terrorists. >> as long as i.s. is present in the region, more refugees will head toward the turkish-syrian border. >> our correspondent joins us from a turkish-syrian border post. we have seen a huge influx of refugees crossing into turkey.

what is the situation like today ? >> the situation was tense today . in the morning, the gates were opened. hundreds of fresh refugees crossed the border to turkey. then they got first aid here in turkey, and some old men and old women also had to go to hospitals because they fainted because of the heat. then the borders were closed again. in the afternoon, they were opened again, and again, hundreds of refugees crossed the border again. some kurdish men just let their wives or children here in turkey and returned 10 minutes later to fight together with the pkk against ins -- against i.s. that was the situation today. >> is there an increased desire, especially among men, as you indicated, to return to syria and join the fight?

>> absolutely. the kurdish people, the refugees are so happy about those airstrikes from the usa. they are so happy that they are saying, "now we can fight. now we are motivated. now we have support, and now we can go back and fight together." that's how they see that. one refugee told me where the oestreich's happened today, they just said, "ok" -- where the airstrikes happened today, everybody was smiling and happy about what they did. >> x so much for the update. >> as we have been hearing, the u.s.-led airstrikes did not come as a surprise. >> president barack obama had already made it clear. he was ready to take action against the islamic state, and the u.s. has already bombed several i.s. targets in iraq. >> reaction in the international

community has, however, been mixed. >> france took part in airstrikes last week. the french foreign minister stressed that the strikes were lawful. >> in our view, there is no legal impediment to responding to islamic state attacks in iraq as well as in syria. >> the german government has not made an official statement on the attacks yet, but some senior politicians say the airstrikes in syria are necessary. >> it's the logical and right thing to do. i think it is in the interest of the great majority of people because the terror organization i.s. is a threat not only in the region but also beyond. >> russia criticized washington over the strikes. >> we would like to remind the u.s. and its allies that such action should only be carried out in accordance with international law.

>> moscow says the attack violated syria's sovereignty and could destabilize the region further. >> russia has been critical, as we just saw in that report, but might it in the and join the u.s.-led coalition? could we see russia actually playing a role in this coalition? >> in theory, yes, but the price has to be set, has to be fixed because russia is worried the united states will not only fight the islamic state but one day just shift their energy and attack the regime of bashar al-assad, which is a close ally of the russians, so for this region -- reason, russians are careful not to overstretch things. they want to see islamic state militias being fought, but they do not wish to see the regime of bashar al-assad toppled at the same time. >> we see this coalition to target i.s. troops. do you think that will provoke attacks outside, in maybe the

united states or europe? >> probably not the united states because it is too far away, but i think they will take revenge in turkey or were ever they are able to do so. let us not forget that the islamic state is very powerful for the time being and has attracted many jihadi's from all parts of europe, and they will go for revenge. this is no reason not to act against islamic state in syria and iraq, but i think europe has good reasons to be careful about the weeks and months ahead. >> what about inside the region? will we in the end need to see ground troops? >> yes indeed. the american president is careful not to really plead officially for the dismissal for sending of the american troops to the region, but in the end, he will have to do so because the islamic state is a serious threat, and everybody knows there is no way to be them unless there are boots on the

ground, so the americans will have to change their attitude, but for the time being, this is difficult for to mystic reasons, of course. >> syria has given its tacit approval. how does this change the calculus for the civil within syria? >> i think the sharp al-assad -- bashar al-assad is laughing in a way because he's happy to see americans fight his strongest enemy. both russia and iran continue to support him, so for the time being, the syrians have all reason to be happy, to be content. the americans are doing business for them, and this is really, if you wish, a very ironic turn of history. two or three years ago, it looked like americans' only interest was toppling bashar al-assad. >> looks like a totally new political calculus. thank you very much. we'll be right back after a short rate. plenty of news ahead.

>> stay with us.

>> welcome back to the show. president barack obama says a new global agreement on climate change needs to include strong commitments from him urging economies. >> obama addressed the climate change summit in new york hoping to build momentum at home and abroad for a global deal on climate change. it would include a new tax regime on carbon emissions and a new carbon trading treaty. >> for ban ki-moon, they're a just too few regular climate summits -- there are just too few regular climate summits. that is why he held the special meeting in new york. he has reminded the heads of state and government that as well as conflicts in syria, iraq, and ukraine, the world is also facing another challenge.

>> climate change is a defining issue of our age. it is a defining age of -- defining issue of our present. our response will define our future. >> u.s. president barack obama admitted that his country had neglected climate protection for decades. >> we recognize our role in creating this problem and embrace our responsibility to combat it. we will do our part and will help developing nations do there's. >> the main topic on the agenda is technical assistance and funds for developing countries to help the manufacture goods in a more environmentally friendly way -- help them manufacture goods in a more environmentally friendly way. the summit is to be held in paris next year. leaders hope that is when they will finalize a global climate treaty to replace the kyoto protocol.

>> landslides and flash flooding has killed at least 28 people in the remote northeast. more than 190,000 people have been asked to leave their homes for higher ground. >> this latest devastation comes after monsoon floods inundated kashmir. >> those people still have not received the help they need. >> his home is only a few hundred meters from here, but the floods have made the journey impossible on foot. he can hardly bear to think about what awaits him when he can finally return. >> my daughter was about to get married, and look -- i'm still wearing the clothes that i've had on for days. >> the monsoon rains arrived in early september. it rained nonstop for six days.

people had described to safety on rooftops. he was one of them. he had to wait three days for help. >> i did not have anything to eat. there were three other families. all we had was water and biscuits. there were two biscuits left for each person. >> his neighbor is angry when he sees us. >> what do you want? where have you been all this time? >> ashraf is right. there has been no help here. finally, he tells us to follow him. no fire department came to pump out water. no one brought food and water. people had defend for themselves with barehands and buckets. >> there's been no sign of the government. police are looking the other way, and politicians have kept relief supplies for themselves. >> the worst flooding disaster

in more than half a century has affected some 4 million people, both in india and pakistan. it has claimed more than 500 lives. >> people are telling us it was like a sunol me, and they are also saying they have never experienced such a threat before. there are fears that in the future, we will race -- face this extreme weather again and again and the climate change is a full. >> locals warned that kashmir is just one example of climate change. >> my message is please take care of the environment. please take care of the climate. what has happened in kashmir can happen in many places. >> the disaster comes at a particularly bad time for the region, which was just beginning to experience a tourist boom. now, nobody wants to go on holiday here. that is hurting people like this man who earns a living by offering boat trips for visitors

. >> that was it for the tourist season this year. kashmir is completely underwater . >> back on land, he is still unable to go home. he is sharing one of the many emergency shelters with 150 other families. the retired civil servant will receive about 250 euros for his entire family -- not much help. >> ukraine know where the united nations says the confirmed death toll of the country's conflict has risen to well over 3000. >> those officials are also privately indicating that the actual number is likely to be considerably higher. for russian separatists in the east of the country, they meanwhile say they are pulling back heavy artillery from front-line positions in response to similar moves from the ukrainian army.

despite a cease-fire agreement, there have been daily reports of for tallies in that area. -- daily reports of for tallies -- daily reports of fatalities in that area. >> united nations agency said without drastic action, the number of infections of ebola could more than triple by november to 20,000. sierra leone, one of the worst hit nations has closed its borders with liberia and guinea to slow the spread of the virus. the german army has meanwhile announced that more than 400 soldiers have responded to a call for volunteers. they will be deployed to west africa to build new clinics and train local emergency workers. >> after well over a decade in power, afghanistan's outgoing president has used his farewell speech to lash out at the united states and pakistan, blaming them for the political instability that continues to plague his nation.

>> karzai told an audience of government officials that america has never been primarily interested in bringing peace to the country but only in writing the taliban -- fighting the taliban. he said afghan civilians were paying the price. >> afghanistan's first-ever democratically elected president is standing down. he was presented with a service appreciation award, but after 13 years in office, he can point to little progress. he suggested the u.s. and pakistan were largely to blame for that, and he had some advice for the incoming government. >> they should tread a careful path with america and the west. we want to have friendship. we absolutely want it, but they have to keep the interests of afghanistan in mind, accept us as a nation. then we will have friendship with them. >> but the new president-elect, due to be sworn in on monday, has already pledged to work with the u.s.

he is set to sign a security agreement that will allow some 10,000 americans support groups to stay on the year. karzai refused to sign the deal. the u.s. has lost well over 2000 soldiers in afghanistan since 2001 and spent more than $100 billion in rebuilding the country. some 8000 afghan civilians have also died over the past five years alone, mostly in in certain attacks. many afghans say all they want is peace. there were celebrations in kabul over the weekend after a breakthrough deal established a new unity government. many afghans hope this will be the start of a new era. >> business news now, and tuesday brought more legal strife to deutsche bank. german prosecutors have charged the co-chief executive with making false statements along with four other top managers. >> they include two ex-ceo's.

the defendants are accused of lying to judges during the bank's protracted legal battle. the court will now have to decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial to go forward. deutsche bank is not commenting. >> for more on how that story affected deutsche bank shares and the tuesday trading session in general, we have this summary from our markets correspondent. >> deutsche bank has denied the allegations. nevertheless, investors have been very disappointed about the charges. they said here on the frankfurt floor that it seems that the series of scandals at deutsche bank will find no end. deutsche bank shares went down sharply, and the market in general has been very weak this tuesday. new economic eta -- new economic data weighed on shares. the economy lost momentum, and investors have been disappointed

with that. >> let's run through tuesday's numbers, starting with the dax. it finished off by nearly one point 6%. euro stoxx 50 down by about the same amount. across the atlantic on wall street, the dow down by point -- by .1%. the euro trading higher against the greenback. people across the eurozone might have noticed a new look on their put a new 10-euro note in circulation. >> more than 4 billion are being distributed by cash machines, bank shot -- cash machines, banks, shops. new security features make the bills more difficult to counterfeit. >> a london auction house says it is to sell a very rare, newly complete skeleton of a wool he mammoth, including tusks -- complete skeleton of a woolly mammoth. >> auction is making no bones about it -- whoever wants to take this fossil home needs to

have plenty of room for it. it's expected to fetch up to 300,000 euros. this will he won -- this woolly one will go on the auction block next month. >> for the person who has everything, christmas is coming up. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> "euromaxx highlights." and here is your host. >> thanks for joining us for our round up of lifestyle news in europe. this is what we have coming up on the show today >> an annual horse racing event hits the beach in spain. >> former classical pianist vika now performs heavy metal. >> kiiking is the latest extreme sport and it comes from estonia. >> if horses are racing it is usually on a grass track, but in the most southern province of spain there is an annual race on the beach. the former fishing village used to use horses to transport fish