>> welcome to the world news here on dw coming to you live from berlin. >> a good to have you with us. coming up -- iraqi kurds and syrian rebels make their way to kobani to help defend the town against islamic state militants. will they make a difference? an unmanned american rocket round -- bound for the international space station explodes shortly after liftoff. >> dozens of countries sign a deal to limit thanks secrecy, but without the u.s. and china, can it work? we will ask an expert. >> for the first time, members

of the free syrian army from turkey to the town of kobani to help lift the siege there by islamic state. >> other forces are on the way, and kurdish fighters from iraq have officially passed through turkey and are heading for kobani. >> islamic state militants control much of the city, and its fall would be a major strategic victory for the extremist. >> waiting for the peshmerga. people in turkey greet the kurdish fighters heading south. their final destination is kobani. >> we have been waiting for them for a long time. we want them to come. our soul is waiting for their arrival. all kurds shall unite. otherwise, we will be killed one after another. if we unite, the whole world cannot wipe us out. >> the peshmerga were given a hero's welcome as they traveled through largely kurdish areas of

turkey. residents watched in frustration as fellow kurds across the border were overpowered by islamic state. turkish authorities have rejected all appeals to intervene. this is where the kurdish reinforcements are going --kobani. for weeks, it has been the focal point of a fierce struggle between islam and state militants and kurdish defenders. the situation is so confused, it's not even clear who launched this attack. the entire region is in chaos. these images show a u.s. airstrike on an i.s. logistics base. as ever more civilians are fleeing and dying, here in syria , government helicopters reportedly dropped barrel bombs on makeshift refugee caps on. human rights observers released these images, saying at least 10 people were killed. >> is the battle against i.s., especially in kobani, entering a

new phase now? turkey has been allowing kurdish peshmerga and free syrian army fighters across its border. is this temporary or the beginning of a larger operation to relieve kobani? >> it is very unclear. what is clear -- this current reinforcing came after massive pressure on ankara, firstly from turkey's large kurdish minority, which held nationwide protests across the country, claiming more than 40 people's lives, but probably more important -- pressure from turkey's western allies, particularly the u.s. they put massive pressure on ankara to agree to this. it remains unclear whether this is a permanent reversal of turkey's opposition or just a gesture. we will just have to wait and see. >> you mentioned turkey's kurdish minority. what about them? are there still restrictions on them joining the tight in kobani ? >> most definitely.

the turkish government has ruled out any turkish kurds being allowed to go to kobani. we even hear ongoing reports that turkish security forces are refusing to allow residents to return. the reason is ankara may be really suspicious of those defending kobani. they say they are linked to a kurdish rebel group that has been fighting the turkish state for decades. anchor only agreed to the peshmerga going because ankara has much better relations with the iraqi kurdish leader. >> what about the strategic question? u.s. airstrikes have so far rail to defeat i.s. -- failed to defeat i.s. can a few more fighters really make a difference? >> the numbers are small, but the syrian militia has repeatedly said that the real problem they have as they do not have heavy weapons to deal with islamic state tanks. they asked for heavy weapons and say they will to eat them -- a

will defeat them. >> we will see in the days ahead if they will make a difference. thanks so very much. to zambia now where the president of that country has died in a london hospital. he arrived a week ago to be treated for an undisclosed illness. >> he won the presidency of the southeast african country in 2011 after years of leading the opposition. he will be replaced by the vice president. the first white man to lead an african nation in decades. scott will serve until new elections can be held. we go now to our correspondent, who grew up in zambia. he is with our social media desk . where does this death leaves zambia? what are people in the country saying? >> i mean, people are trying to, of course, maintain some sort of decorum.

he was a very divisive figure, so some people hated him, some people loved him, but at this time, people are trying to put aside their personal feelings about the president who just died and, like i said, maintain some decorum about that. of course, it leaves them in a very weird position because now there will be an interim president who can only serve for 90 days. he himself cannot stand for the next elections because he is not allowed to buy the constitution. it is kind of unclear because there are some sort of infighting within the ruling fighting -- the ruling party. things are kind of unclear, and at this point, it will be an interesting three months for zambia. >> what more do we know about this interim leader? he is the first white man to lead an african country in 20 years. how much importance should we give that? >> i grew up in some the up, like you said, and i remember when zambia became a multiparty democracy -- i grew up in zambia

. scott was one of the first prime minister's. that, for me, is not a white person. he is zambian just like anyone else. he was instrumental in helping the country get out of a food crisis. there was a drought in the early 1990's, and as agricultural minister, he helped get the country out of the crisis. of course, he has served as vice president, so i think a lot of people do not see the color of his skin in zambia. there are some people who do, but most do not. he is zambian, just like anyone in zambia, i will say. >> he will be at the helm over the next three months in that country. thank you very much for that insight. at the news now, why didn't unmanned supply rocket bound for the international space station explode yesterday? >> that's what u.s. taxpayers, the american government, and now

very embarrassed company orbital sciences want to know. it's rocket with two tons of badly needed supplies for the iss burst into flames shortly after takeoff. >> it's the first accident since nasa turned to private operators to deliver cargo to the iss. >> for a few seconds, the launch at a commercial pad in virginia went according to plan. then this happened. an explosion, and the rockets started falling back to earth. it's a serious setback for the company orbital science. it built and operated the rocket which was carrying cargo bound for the international space station. >> it's a tough time to lose a launch vehicle like this and its payload. it's not as tragic as losing a

life associated with it, so we are happy to report there were no injuries, and the safeguards both in flight and on the groundwork as they should have. >> the six astronauts at the space station will have to live without the fresh supplies the rocket was carrying. but nasa says it is not a problem. >> the station is in great shape. the crew was in good shape. we got plenty of work with them to do and plenty of supplies to keep them going for quite some time. >> but the loss of the 150 million euro mission is an embarrassment or america's space program. to pour salt in the wound, a russian cargo rocket took off hours later, docking at the iss without incident. >> to west africa now where new data shows that efforts to contain the ebola virus may be paying off in hard-hit liberia. >> the world health organization says it appears the infection rate in liberia is slowing.

however, the agency says it is still examining the data for possible underreporting. the who warns that the epidemic is far from over. the number of known cases nearing 13,000. >> sri lankan officials say more than 100 people are believed dead after monsoon rains triggered mudslides in the islands interior. >> rescue efforts have been suspended until tomorrow morning due to darkness and danger of more mudslides in the area. now to a major ruling in bangladesh -- a court in the capital has sentenced the leader of the country's largest islamist party to death for crimes including genocide, torture, and rape during the bangladeshi war of independence. >> some worry the sentence could spark renewed violence between islamists and bangladesh's secular government. security forces have been

deployed across the capital to prevent unrest. here is more. >> this is the man they want to hang. he is the leader of bangladesh's biggest islamist party, but he cannot escape the 1971 war. >> this verdict actually establishes the truth. we have been fighting for long for establishing the truth, and the prosecution team is very happy with the verdict that we could prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. >>'s lawyers say they will appeal. >> the tribunal could not properly evaluate the witnesses heard. the false witnesses, the fraudulent witnesses. this is a failure of the tribunal. we will appeal to the supreme court against his verdict. >> official estimates suggest 3 million people were killed during the war and that at least 200,000 women were raped. it left swathes of bangladesh devastated and the people facing the rebuilding of their country.

the war was a relic. when the british left in 1987, hindu majority india was partitioned from two largely muslim regions, creating pakistan into geographically distinct pieces. the war turned east pakistan into bangladesh. campaigners have long worked to get them to court. he let a religious vigilante group, which worked for the pakistani army against bangladeshi civilians. today's trial has aroused strong emotions, historic and current. the group he leads now is one of the country's two biggest opposition parties. supporters say his another similar trials are politically motivated. >> a thai court has dismissed a defamation case against a british activist who claims to have uncovered beer labor abuses

in the thai food industry. >> andy hall held off a report that investigated conditions -- it is a major supplier to european supermarkets. the report included allegations of mistreatment of the mainly migrant work horse. >> also faces similar criminal charges and three other cases. >> andy hall was visibly relieved as he left the courthouse. supporters of the human rights activist greeted him with flowers and celebrated the dismissal of the defamation charge. hall is campaigning for the rights of farm workers in thailand who come mostly from myanmar, cambodia, and laos. the companies involved accused him of defamation. >> i think it is a verdict that is great for migrant workers. it's great for human rights defenders. it's great for freedom of expression. it is something that shows to the prosecutors and shows the police that they knew to act in accordance with the rule of law.

>> in a report for an ngo, hall alleged that the thai seafood industry illegally confiscated passports, paid below the minimum wage, and overworked staff and conditions so hot that he strokes were common. among the companies mentioned was a natural fruit, whose owners are said to have strong political connections. the company hit hall with a defamation suit. >> the court did not address the matter of why we sued him. so we accept the decision. but we are going to appeal. >> the case was thrown out on technicalities. hall still faces up to seven years in jail and fines totaling 14 million u.s. dollars if found guilty of the three charges still outstanding. >> we have to take a short one-minute break. when we come back -- is tax evasion about to become a thing of the past?

>> a new deal is designed to do that, but will it? stay with us to find out.

>> welcome back. watch out, tax evaders. a deal reached in berlin means the end of banking secrecy in any nation. >> some are calling it overreach and a violation of financial privacy. >> the agreement requires the automatic exchange of banking information on all accounts valued about $250,000. the accounts are not limited to cash. here's more. >> finance ministers from more than 50 countries gathered in berlin in a combined effort against tax evasion. they agreed on 82018 target date for sharing information on accounts as well as interest and dividends. banks, insurers, and financial advisors will be forced to comply with the deal, making it tougher for taxpayers to hide their wealth. >> we are making taxation fairer

. the common reporting style is a pragmatic and effective response to the perceived lack of global governance regarding information on tax issues. we have seen in the past that if the action proves successful, other states will follow. >> the delegate signatures essentially mean an end to banking secrecy. the former tax havens of switzerland and the cayman islands joint eu states in putting pen to paper. the u.s. did not sign the document, but has its own similar agreements. >> there are still plenty of questions about this deal. to answer that, we are joined now by marcus with the ngo world economy ecology and develop. welcome to the show. first off, is this an ineffective deal? will it have teeth? can it curtail tax evasion?

>> we think it is a big step forward towards -- against tax evasion. there are thresholds which are just too high and different issues that make us worry that maybe the agreement will not really tackle tax evasion effectively. >> one of the worries is in fact about privacy. governments use to have to get a warrant to get the sort of information, right? >> yes, we think what now has been done, at least for germany -- we could say that people have to report their salaries if they were, so it's not really abnormal for a state to get this kind of data. it could still check if some states might not be the right ones to get all the data. >> major nations have now signed up to this -- china, switzerland, the united states. is there risk now that capital would be flowing to these countries? >> there is a risk, and the whole model is undermined, but

we are also word about participation of developing countries, that they are not taking part because it is not always possible technically for developing countries. >> another major actor that was not part of this at all is global corporations. they are not regulated by this deal, and yet, they are successfully evading and minimizing taxes. why were they not a focus this time around? >> it is true, they are not really covered by this, but it is not intended to do this. there's another process at the oecd, which is tackling tax avoidance, and they are still working on it, but their progress on this issue is even much worse because many tax havens still resist any real progress on the issue of corporations. >> we have one other short qestion -- why this deal now? >> there has been, of course, worked before for years. there has been huge progress

because of much revelations by media on tax revelations -- tax evasions. i think this has really helped to shift, and also, there is a new law, and this has really triggered a whole process at a global level. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> staying with money, call it the end of an era. the u.s. federal reserve bank has announced it has halted its bond buying program first introduced during the financial crisis in 2008. >> all but one member of the bank's board voted to wind up quantitative easing. the bank says that the u.s. labor market and the overall economy are strong, so there's no need for the program anymore. at the same time, the fed has pledged to keep interest rates at record lows for a considerable amount of time.

bond buying is out, but interest rates remain at record lows. what does this mean for the u.s. economy? >> overall, the big question is what all those programs did in the past. we saw billions of dollars flooding the market, and that might have helped the u.s. housing industry, and it definitely helped to drive stock prices higher. the problem was higher asset prices is only those people profit from it who own stocks. everybody else who is not invested did not really profit from that program. overall, there is pretty mixed feeling about the effectiveness of those programs overall. >> how did all of this impact the markets on the day? in looking at the numbers, it seems like investors may be checked out before the announcement.

>> obviously, there's quite some uncertainty, what will come next. the big question now is when the federal reserve will start to increase interest rates. you mentioned it, the word "considerable" -- what does it mean? does it mean the fed will start increasing rates in spring or summer? most participants believe we probably have time until summer, but nobody knows for sure. we did see stocks trading at bit lower. we saw stronger reaction on the currency side of the market. the euro dropping quite a bit in comparison to the dollar after this latest meeting. >> all right, thank you very much for putting it all into perspective for us from new york. let's get a closer look at those market numbers for you. not a whole lot of movement on the day. investors taking a bit of profits. the dow jones industrial average closing a 16,930 two. as for the dax, it was slightly in positive territory on the day.

elsewhere, the euro stoxx 50 was slightly negative. as for the euro dollar, one euro will get you $1.26. >> back to the united states now, with less than a week to go until the midterm elections in the u.s., it looks like a tight race with democrats facing an uphill battle to hold onto the senate. republicans already have the upper hand in the house of representatives. >> there are a lot of issues driving voters to the polls. the economy, health care, immigration -- that's an especially big issue in arizona, which shares a border with mexico. >> to find out more, our reporter talked with one congressional hopeful as he hit the campaign trail. >> in arizona, and this democratic candidate is running for congress. one out of five voters in the state are hispanic, and they traditionally lean towards the democrats. gallego needs the support to

win. >> a vote for me because they understand i care about the issues they carry about, that i will follow through on my promises to make sure we improve education, workforce training, and also try to bring copperheads of education reform to our people. >> he studied international relations in college and served in the iraq war. he believes he understands the needs of voters because of his background. he is the son of hispanic immigrants and speaks spanish at home. at a nearby university, this professor studies latino voting patterns. he says democrats may not be able to rely on them as in past years. >> there is perception, especially over the last couple of decades, the democrats have not been doing enough with copper hinted immigration reform, taking latino voters for granted, which means for republicans that here is an opportunity. this vote is up for grabs. >> but republicans continue to alienate latino voters. the party wants tighter controls of the mexican border.

for those who work with migrants, that seems callous. the route is dangerous and often deadly. >> that is typically how people die, they get lost and die of exposure without finding food or water. >> dan wilson and his activist group organize to save migrants lives. group members leave water along the paths used by migrants to enter the united states. wilson is critical of the immigration debate in washington. he thinks political bickering is preventing the parties from agreeing on immigration reform. >> they are not coming across because they want to take -- steal from our public system, and they do not want to -- they are not illegal aliens. they are not drug smugglers. these are people of faith coming to provide for their families back home. >> rubin gallego and supporters agree. many latinos are sympathetic to the plight of immigrants, including those who enter the country illegally. but immigration is just one of the issues that gallego has to tackle in his bid for congress.

>> w getehsive n reform done tomorrow, we will still be uneducated ait wk, and that does not help us. we have to do all of the above, right? >> with just days to go before the election, gallego is confident latinos will help him to victory. >> with the excitement of all these young people, you know, talking to the hispanic voters, speaking to them in their language or english, we know that we will turn out the vote, and i will win. >> and he is ahead in the polls, which matches the ove trend. surveys show that despite reservations, latino voters are likely to continue to vote democratic in the near future. >> now to another u.s. state, it is what residents of hawaii's big island have been dreading -- the flow of molten lava from the kilauea volcano has reached a residential property and is approaching others. >> authorities are urging

residents in the path to be prepared to evacuate. some have already been packing up. the lava first started flowing back in june. it has been steadily easing its way toward a rural village for a number of weeks now. that's all we have time for. thanks so much for joining us here at the "journal." >> we will see you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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