>> welcome to "the journal." >> china scores a big victory with the approval to set up a huge pacific free-trade zone. >> at least eight women have died in india after state sponsored sterilization treatment. >> will this soldier who deserted from the u.s. army be able to claim asylum in the ee you? opinion by the court has brought that one step closer. china has taken what it is

calling a historic step towards establishing a vast free-trade area comprising 40% of the world's population. >> at the close of the asia-pacific summit, china underscored its rising trade and diplomatic clout, putting its free-trade area in direct competition with a similar pact of pacific nations under american leadership. >> the summit also saw a flurry of diplomatic activity with russia's president for reputed meeting with these u.s. counterpart, barack obama. >> he was able to get a majority of states to sign off on one of

his major initiatives. the free-trade area of the asia-pacific. it is a landmark agreement which he believes will bring the countries closer together. it represents the confidence and determination -- and would benefit the economy is on both sides of the persistent.

c >> we all prayed for the death penalty. we wanted the crew members to suffer as much pain as our children did. but, they got just five years and about 30 years for the captain. >> the ferry sank in april with 476 people on board.

>> an independent investigation found that -- the conditions of the ship also played a role in the tragedy. >> russia has signed a deal to build two more nuclear reactors in iran. >> the u.s., and russia continue

to seek a deal on iran's nuclear program. iran says it is strictly for scientific purposes. some western capitals and israel -- >> 14 others are in critical condition after undergoing sterilization surgeries that went horribly wrong. india's program is voluntary and offered by the state as an alternative to contraception. >> there are birth-control clinics across india to control this huge population, more people live in the country than in the u.s., indonesia, brazil, pakistan. >> this woman is in critical condition. eight other women have already died. they were among 83 that underwent sterilization operations in east central

india. the government offers money for women to have the operation and in this case, about $10 each. the goal is to reduce india's very high rate of population growth. >> around 55 women are critically ill and the minister has ordered it. a medical has been sent with the medical director and a compensation up to hundred thousand rupees each coming from the state government has been announced for the family of the deceased woman. >> a miss traders are demanding a swift investigation and immediate punishment of the surgeon. opposition politicians are calling for resignations of government officials and for policy changes. >> the health minister and the cheap mr. should take responsibility. >> we demand full compensation to the women who have been

victimized by this policy. if the women were sent home saturday evening after their operations. some were later rushed to the hospital with very low brought pressure. it is not clear why problems develop. >> thousands of palestinians in the west bank have been marking the 10th anniversary of the death of the former hilo leader yasser arafat. >> many policies believe he was poisoned. the current president accused israel of provoking a religious war. tensions are high amid the region. fighting between pro-russian separatists and pro-russian forces -- and government forces have continued in are looking wo salvage the fragile cease-fire.

more economic sanctions are not on the table. >> ukrainian rubble held city. they said that they had fired in their positions. reports that a russian convoy headed into the territory carrying fresh troops and weapons have increased the tensions. the european union's new top diplomat reacted quickly to the latest escalation. >> there's no military solution to the crisis, so maybe pressure they can put such a sanctions. i say that we have to work together with sanctions.

this makes results that deal with the crisis. they're already having an effect. >> the economic damage came about this causes capital flight out of russia. the sanctions compounded as effects. and caused the fall and the value of the ruble. >> sanctions are not the only option. the eu foreign minister will discuss ways to stabilize the situation and help the year crane in brussels next week. >> pakistan's by mr. is in

berlin -- prime ministers in berlin for talks. >> before they got to business, sharif was greeted to military honors. >> chancellor merkel rolled out the red carpet. he is visiting berlin to encourage german investment in pakistan. berlin and islamabad do not always see eye to i. chancellor merkel expressed his support for pakistan but did set out some conditions she would like to see fulfilled. >> he has succeeded in his efforts to improve security, and to create a legal system where investors are confident. >> violence continues to plague large areas of pakistan. the taliban is powerful and continues to harass the population.

christians and other religious minorities other -- face desiccation. anyone accused of defaming mohammed or islam can face jail time. a christian couple was murdered for blasphemy last week. >> this is a democratic and aggressive country and it is from the committed to promote and protect human rights. >> after the talks, the german government announced it would help pakistan expand vocational training programs and upgrade its energy sector. >> the price of oil is continuing to fall hitting a four-year low. brent crude cost about $32 right now. >> here in germany, the price is way down. the main reason for the price drop was strategic oil reserves, especially in the u.s. are full

and opec members have not been cutting back production. there was no sign they're planning to. it is single stay in china and that means that the chinese have been on a shopping spree. online retailers are offering huge discounts. they have risen to the challenge. alibaba says it sold some $2 billion worth of goods in just an hour. that 45% of those purchases were made on mobile devices. 80% of china's online retail sales go through alibaba's platform. a retail avalanche for the likes of aly baba. we go to the frank for stock exchange with more. >> gross figures have been reported by aly baba and they seem to be impossible to reach for german companies. nevertheless, german companies think of that business shopping will take place in the internet,

that internet retailers will benefit from that while the traditional retail business will suffer. the market in general has been very low, trading has been low. the dax ended up nearly unchanged. >> we will take a short break but do not go away, because when we come back, we will be looking at an american soldier fighting for the right to asylum here in europe. >> a lot of people are following the story very closely. the european court of justice has passed a rule on the case. should the military rulers be given refuge if they convinced that they were party to work crimes? >> make it your own mind with us after the break. i will have the full story for you. stay with us.

>> welcome back to the show, a man who deserted from the u.s. army could have a right to claim asylum in the european union. >> he deserted in 2007 because he did not want to be redeployed to iraq, a war that says was illegal under international law. the authorities denied his request. >> this is working his way through the european court of justice. will be clarifying whether he has the right to apply for asylum. a full ruling is possible by the end of the year but tuesday saw the announcement by the courts advocate general that shepherd can request asylum in germany. >> the former u.s. soldier has won an important partial victory in his bid for political asylum

in germany. >> i became cautiously optimistic because in the way it was a vindication of everything i've been doing. >> the advocate general of the european court of justice in luxembourg argued any legal opinion that soldiers can apply for asylum if they are being ordered to commit war crimes. in 2007, sheppard was stationed here in bavaria, one of the many soldiers that the u.s. sent soldiers to iraq. shepherd had already done a tour in iraq. he believes that the war was a violation of international law. when the army wanted to send it back in 2007, he deserted and applied for asylum in germany. he fears returning to the u.s. where he could face a long prison term and the social ramifications of being dishonorably discharged. german authorities rejected his asylum application, so he turned to the european court of justice.

>> if it is purely decided on the legal aspects, i see a positive outcome. but, considering that the politically sensitive nature, if you go in any direction. this is why at the summit i would say probably about a 50-50 chance. >> he will have to wait another few months for the court to make a final decision. >> our political correspondent standing by. what are the chances that the eu court will end up backing shepherd? >> he's been a bit cautious because the european court does usually follow at least the thrust of the opinion from its advocate general which is what we have had today. it is on the point of principle, namely, can a deserter from the

u.s. military be granted asylum in europe, in principle. i think the court would say yes. i think the court would like to look at the question of whether there is already a proper mechanism in place in america for somebody who doesn't want to take part in a specific military operation on the grounds of conscience. if they can conclude that there is such a system, they may say, mr. shepherd's should pursue his case in america and not in europe. >> what happens if the court does find in favor of shepherd? will that mean that he will be granted asylum in germany? >> not automatically, only a german court can grant asylum. the case will go back to bavarian court which incidentally deviously rejected his application partly on the grounds that as a mechanic and said that he would not the involved in any fighting but

this opinion we have had today, this legal opinion directly contradicts that. any willing will apply to all personnel. >> this has echoes of another american's case. edrd snowden for asylum in germany. >> the german government will not give asylum to edward snowden. but come in many people will be reminded of that case. this case is rather different. i think the applications are different as well. certainly, mr. shepherd expects to get harsh treatment in america and that is why he prefers europe. >> ok, simon young following the story or us. thank you so much. two nigerian and the islamic group boko haram has captured the capital city. >> especially christians but muslims as well as fleeing for

safer parts of the country. >> the capital in northeast nigerian, four days refugees have been flooding into this city, fleeing boko haram's latest wave of violence. many who arrive are deeply traumatized. one of the new arrivals is -- who fled her village after it was overrun by islamist militants. on the road, she lost a son. her husband was murdered. >> when boko haram came to our village, my husband hit in the bush for four days. they were forcing men to fight with them. she thought they were gone so she came back to our house. boko haram is still there and they killed them. >> tens of thousands have been forced to flee, many are taking in by relatives.

like the one here. >> my life has been completely destroyed and that makes me so sad. now i have nothing, i don't know how things can go on. >> in a new video, book boko haram are seen celebrating the taking of yet another town. the group's leader again declares that there will be no negotiations with the government. last month, nigerian officials announced a cease-fire deal but that was later refuted by the militants. the nigerian army is now planning a new offensive in the northeast to stop boko haram's latest advance. >> in just a few hours, scientists at the european space agency hoped to land an unmanned probe on a comment at a speed of

66 thousand kilometers per hour. >> it could unlock secret surrounding by the origin of comets, planets, and even life here on earth. >> >> the final preparations are underway for one of the most ambitious space maneuvers ever. years of planning will culminate in this moment. this animation shows how, the lender will separate from its mother ship. as the comet streaks through space, the lander will attempt to touchdown on its surface. the dissent is expected to take around seven hours. it is a voyage into the unknown and there is a lot that could go wrong. for example, low gravity could cause the craft to bounce off as it is comes to land. they will fire off two harpoons to anchor itself to the icy surface. >> there's practically no

gravity on or around the small comet. that means that we will not be pulled towards the comet in the classical sense and instead we will have to docket on the comet. >> they are programmed to perform the touchdown automatically as they will be too far away from the control center back on earth. it takes almost half an hour for a command to reach rosetta. if something goes wrong, there will be nothing scientists can do but sit back and watch. it is a major undertaking aimed at providing more information about how our planet was formed. molecules discovered on comets have been found in the human body. are such discoveries the product of comets colliding with earth? comets were formed at the same time as the planets in our solar system, around four and a half billion years ago. it is possible they have preferred some of the original matter from that time in a frozen state.

it will be years before the sciences will be able to evaluate the data. >> european nations have been celebrating armistice day. >> their moneys were held in u.k., france, belgium. -- ceremonies were held in the u.k., france, belgium. >> a place for hundreds of thousands of young men lost their lives. dignitaries from around the world came to honor the memory of the fallen. saying they would never be forgotten. >> you remember the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died here and in so

many other places fighting for the causes of freedom and peace. >> commemorations have been taking place in france. the french president inaugurated a new international memorial, near a military cemetery in the north of the country. the ringing from emirates commemorates nearly 600,000 fallen soldiers from 40 different countries. it is the first time that the names of former enemies have been engraved in one memorial. in britain, the armistice is being marked. one of the main defense has been staged at the tower of london. it's mode has been transformed by a spectacular blood red art installation, made of more than 800,000 copies.

-- poppies, for the british soldiers that died. before the dead were honored with this tribute. >> i will be going away with the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. we will remember them. >> and then is all for this edition of "the journal," great to have you with us. >> there's more at our website. for now, goodbye.

>> hello and welcome "euromaxx highlights" where we select the top reports of the week for you. here's a look at our top three reports. berlin's festival of lights attracts more than two million spectators. using quadrocopters for stage performances. and amateur photographers are making a splash with instagram . as you can see behind me, the annual festival of lights is still underway here in berlin. it is celebrating its 10th anniversary and every year you get to see the german capital in a completely different light. many of the famous sights and monuments like the brandenburg gate have become a backdrop for spectacular light and video projections.