>> live from the dw studios in berlin, this is "journal." >> here are your headlines at this hour. on a charm offensive greece's top politicians are on a mission to convince europe that lost -- less austerity is a good thing for athens and its creditors. >> german chancellor angela merkel host talks -- hosts talks in hungary with a focus on ukraine. >> france becomes the first team to win a fifth handball world championship. >> greece's new government is on

a diplomatic offensive to win support from its european allies. it is part of a bid to renegotiate austerity terms imposed by international lenders. >> and now finance minister jan is very focused is in london for talks -- youngest mayor focus -- now finance minister yanis var oufakis is in london for talks. >> prime minister alexis tsipras said greece's exit from the eurozone would be an indication of southern europe, speaking from cyprus in his first official visit since last week. >> alexis tsipras, side-by-side with nikos existing youngest -- with nicos anastasiades. they are dealing with tough austerity measures imposed by the troika of international lenders, the european commission, the ecb, and the imf. >> europe needs air to breathe.

for that, we need the support of our partners. it's about achieving economic growth. >> both countries have good relations with moscow. on monday, citrus ruled out taking -- tsipras ruled out taking age from russia, but he said -- taking aid from russia. meanwhile, greek finance minister yanis varoufakis is on the diplomatic offensive meeting his british counterpart george osborne to speak about response woes. >>- -- about greece's woes. >> the best way to assist is by helping greece to turn the page to reform and start growing so we can afford to pay back everything with interest. >> earlier, he said that his government would not negotiate with the truck up about greek their last conditions -- with

the troika about greek bailout conditions. alexis tsipras is due to discuss it with leaders in rome, paris, and brussels this week. so far, there is no visit to berlin on the agenda three -- agenda. >> i spoke to a member of the german parliament foreign affairs committee and member of the party which is an ally of greece's governing syriza party. i put it in that the policy of the new greek government is irresponsible -- toi put it to him that the policy of the new greek government is irresponsible. >> the greeks voted for this, for that government. it is the correct way to do. i'm sure that this is a very responsible government and i'm sure that they will find a way to negotiate with the european governments. we will find a way. >> but the european union has in a lot of money into greece.

how much money can the deep putting in? -- can they keep putting in? >> we are supported by most of the european governments. it is time for a new start. how much it will be will be a question of negotiations. i've heard messages in the last few days and hours. i'm sure mr. tsipras and his minister of finance will discuss with mr. schauble and later on with miss merkel and find a way. >> mr. tsipras would like to get to be forgiven or restructured. what kind of message would give to other countries that are indebted with financial problems, like spain and to go? could not -- spain and portugal? could not the whole eurozone unravel? >> we have a similar situation in spain. there are strong horses -- forces in the political landscape. we will have elections there too.

we have to change it. it is the premise they get to their voters. i think it is -- it is the promise they gave to their voters. i think it is the right thing to do. >> is this reason party -- the syriza party in coalition with the far right party? they disagree on anti-austerity measures. how do you explain that? >> it is a very complicated thing. in our party, we are not very comfortable with it. if you look at the results of the last elections, there was no other alternative. even the past, they made a coalition in 2011 with a much more right-wing party. for me it is important what will be the outcome of their politics. there is one decision i'm very happy about, that the children of greek migrants now have a chance to get greek nationality. and i think this is -- we will

see what other decisions are made. >> thank you, german member of parliament from the left party among thank you -- left party, thank you. greece has received over 240 euros -- billion euros. >> the result, mass layoffs in the public sector, which rise in overhaul -- a huge rise in overall unemployment. >> is it all about to change now that the syriza government has been there? we asked some residents of the capital, athens. >> a visit to an athens suburb with a taxi driver. used to earn enough to support himself and his wife -- he used to earning enough to support himself and his wife. he lost 2/3 of his income with

the economic crisis. the risk of damage from international donors does not concern him. >> the return worried about their wealth and a possible return to the drachma. they may have reason to worry but the rest of us have nothing left to lose, so we don't have to worry. >> he has had plenty of opportunity to interact with people while on the job. the current political situation is the top issue here in greece. many athenians share his assessment. throughout the city, there is a sense of cautious optimism. >> we hope for the best. in my view this government is willing to improve things. but it is too early to say whether they can do it. >> things have changed, and i'm sure it will take a turn for the better. the newly elected greek government has made a brave decision. that shows courage.

>> it may be a positive step but there are questions. where will the money come from? how can our country prosper again? we have no answers. >> the new government must answer these questions quickly says this political scientist. only then can governing coalition partners fulfill their expansive campaign promises. >> there is a mood of hope in the hellenic society. room for renegotiation is very small. i don't expect this new government will be able to renegotiate the substantial terms of the bailout, with the exception of superficial changes. >> yanis and his wife have higher expert asians -- higher expectations. they think it will succeed perhaps because of the approach. he says last week's meetings with eu officials were only the beginning. >> i believe both sides are only

testing the water before negotiations. >>they are trying to figure out each other's moves. i wouldn't worry too much about what happened on friday. >> like most greeks, he and his wife want to keep the euro as their currency. they hope for an end to austerity and a better life. >> meanwhile, stocks on the athens stock exchange have risen today. gaining ground after last week's heavy losses. >> the greek benchmark index jumped nearly 5% in the morning trading. bankshares were amongst the biggest winners regarding as much as 18%. they had been hard last week after the new greek government took office. >> for a closer look, the frankfurt stock exchange. it looks like investors like this effort from the greek government to bail -- to

renegotiate its bailout package. >> the rhetoric coming from the greek government sounds much more conciliatory than what they had to say last week. remember, on friday, the greek finance minister, varoufakis literally showed the troika the door when he said his government does not want to negotiate it that with the eu, the international monetary fund, and the european central bank. now, tsipras and the finance minister say greece wants to pay back its debt, including interest, and that is words that people in the market like to hear and it puts them at ease. >> perhaps syriza is not as hard-line as we had anticipated from the rhetoric we heard last week. how about the broader markets? what else is driving trading today? >> negative economic data from china. the purchasing managers indices from hsbc. the chinese government.

they both slipped below 50 which indicates manufacturing sector in china contracted in january. speculation on the markets was that this might inspire the government in beijing to join the recent wave of global monetary easing, and that is one reason why the market here in frankfurt is not reacting too negatively to the negative news from china. the german dax 1/2 of 1% on the upside. the euro stoxx 50 is slightly lower. the euro is trading at about $1. 13. >> stocks, not a lot of movement. we will see if they get some more conviction you the close of trade. -- more conviction near the close of trade. >> the egyptian government has confirmed that sentences for over 180 members of the muslim brotherhood, marking a continued crackdown on the islamist group. >> they were convicted of playing a role in the killing of

16 policemen in august. thousands of brotherhood supporters have been arrested and put on mass trials in a campaign that has been criticized by human rights groups. meanwhile, an australian journalist who was jailed for more than 400 days in egypt is now free. peter gresste was convicted on charges of aiding the muslim brotherhood. >> his family say he now focuses -- he will now focus his efforts on the release of tw the -- of two of his colleagues from al jazeera, still in jail. they have been in prison since 2013. now, the trial of dominique strauss-kahn, the former head of the international monetary fund, has opened in the front -- in a french city. he is facing charges of being as

part -- of pimping as part of a prostitution ring. >> it has been four years since a sex scandal cost him his job and a shot at the french presidency. >> this was the scene at the court where dominique strauss-kahn will begin facing charges dating back to 2011. if found guilty, he and his codefendants could face up to 10 years in a french jail. the charges relate to his sexual conduct. the former imf head has admitted attending sex parties at this hotel, but says he was unaware the women involved were prostitutes. under french law, he could nonetheless be guilty of aggravated pimping which means aiding prostitution. his lawyer says the arrest rebates -- predates his alleged arrest for sexual misconduct. >> it was early in 2011.

there was a claim that the prostitution ring was operating in that city. the police started to investigate. after a number of weeks, they discovered that a number of people were involved, including apparently, mr. dominique strauss-kahn. >> strauss-kahn went from being a pillar of the global economic elite to being a disgraced -- overnight in 2011 after a new york made accused him of sexual assault. he quit his post and gave up his aspirations of running for the french presidency in 2012. the charges were eventually dropped, but strauss-kahn never recovered his legal standing -- his political standing. regarding the current allegations, strauss-kahn has said he is being unfairly handed over his lifestyle, in a country where frequenting prostitutes is not illegal -- unfairly hounded over his lifestyle in a country where frequenting prostitutes is not illegal. >> on a visit to hungary, ukraine is topping the agenda. >> and we had to the super bowl

-- we ha toead to the super bowl. we will explain after the great. -- break.

>> welcome back to the program. german chancellor angela merkel says her country will not supply weapons to support ukraine in its ongoing fight against russian-backed separatists. she made the comments following a meeting with viktor orban. >> the ultraconservative prime minister has been criticized by his eu writers for his -- partners for his perceived backing of russia and his authoritarian style of government. >> chancellor angela merkel's visited budapest has been a long time coming for prime minister viktor orban. his politics have often been at odds with other eu states. merkel is concerned that his close relations with the kremlin are undermining the eu last position -- eu's position on the ukraine crisis. orban has criticized eu

sanctions against russia. thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in budapest. they want merkel to discuss domestic politics with orban and for hungary not to veer away from europe. >> we want to stay informed. for me, this is about freedom of the press. i hope that the chancellor will address this issue clearly with viktor orban. >> angela merkel should no longer support this system. she should do more than just exchange friendly words. >> merkel has remained tightlipped on the contents of the talks, but she did have this to say. >> i pointed out that even if one has a white majority like the hungarian prime minister has, it is very important -- wide majority like the hungarian primaries there has, it is very important to consider the opposition. >> she had clear words on russia possible in the ukraine -- rush upon role -- russia's role in

the ukraine crisis. >> for more on that visit i have an online a journalist at the online newspaper -- at an online newspaper. the leaders addressed journalists a short while ago. tell us about what they agreed on the situation in ukraine. >> they both agreed that no country [inaudible] they both stated that they are determined to find a peaceful solution to ukraine conflict -- to the ukraine conflict. viktor orban emphasize strong -- emphasized that the -- the

hungarian minority lives -- [indiscernible] the russian connections [indiscernible] >> we saw some pretty angry people demanding that merkel take up the question of freedom of press and other issues like that. what came of that? >> they talked about issues on a very moderate base. she mentioned it in a few words. she didn't really deal with any kind of critics of mr. orban. maybe there is a common part of the program on free speech between -- coming part of the program on free speech. >> right. thank you very much. >> thanks a lot.

>> let's get the eu's perspective on this. what does brussels have to say about this visit? >> the authoritarian style of government in hungary is currently not an issue here in brussels. people here are preoccupied with the debate, the terrorist threat. where the hungarian physician is interesting is, -- hungarian p-- hungarian position is interesting is where you look at the ukrainian conflict. the import ban on -- on agricultural goods is where leaders closely monitor how angela merkel is negotiating. >> ukraine is a flashpoint in this tug-of-war between east and west.

is there concern in brussels that hungary could in fact become the next ukraine? we could see more of that tug-of-war play out? >> the next ukraine, i wouldn't say. tug-of-war, more likely. hungary has very close economic relations to russia. as i said, they suffer under the counter sanctions regime, but they also suffer under the scrapping of the south stream pipeline project, which was a prestigious project that would have allowed more gas come from russia to europe. all of that one has to put in perspective, however that, at the end of the day, hungary profits enormously from being a member of the european union in. they have very close economic relations with germany. one has to see that whenever viktor orban will show a redline by eu leaders, he makes sure not across it. >> thank you -- not to cross it.

>> thank you very much for that perspective from brussels. >> german chancellor angela merkel enjoyed her visit to budapest. it seems the united states is considering selling arms to the ukrainian government, at least according to "the new york times." >> pro-russian separatists are promising to send someone thousand men to fight. in the last few weeks the ukrainian government has lost ground as fighting has intensified in the east. u.s. provides so-called nonlethal aid to ukraine but now the possibility of sending weapons could be on the table. sports news now. four candidates remain in the race for the presidency of football's world governing body. >> that is after the former fifa incumbent -- incumbents of bladder -- incumbent sepp blatter is

returning. another will run against him. a former portuguese football star is also in the running. turning to german football, soccer they are enjoying their best season in the bundesliga. on sunday night, they had another win. >> hoffenheim, their opponents, came close. it wasn't close enough. it could not hold back their opponent. >> there seems to be no stopping out for -- stopping them not for snow and not hoffenheim. it was 1-0 on this cross. just three minutes later, this free kick sneaked in. but he soon pulled one back for hoffenheim just before the break. the second half was less hectic

until injury time. hoffenheim could not equalize. then it was 3-1. thiswas the 10th win of the season for them. >> to the world handball championships, defending champions france won their r ecord fifth title in a fast-paced game. they did not have it easy. >> the surprise finalist was guitar. the score was 25 -- was qatar. the score was 25-22. >> the french team demonstrated its dominance. the qatari side did well in the initial stages. nikola karabatic did not let mistakes like this go unpunished.

banks to danijel saric -- thanks to danijel saric qatar only trailed by three is at halftime. even nikola karabatic struggled much to the disappointment of the french trainer. qatar came within one of the french but never managed --to equalize. the french maintained a slight lead, in the end taking the game. the win means france are once again world european and olympic champions. but cutter -- qatar can celebrate as the first non-european side to win a medal. >> the new england patriots have won america's super bowl beating the seattle seahawks, 28 -24. >> it was a tough match that saw the patriots fall behind 10 points and then come back in the fourth quarter. >> many americans were glued to their screens. there was you worship abroad like here in berlin -- there was

you worship -- there was viewership abroad, like here in berlin. fans burned the midnight oil to see the nfl'game -- nfl's game of games. >> it's another world. i think it is cool. it is the biggest sport on my radar. >> my father is american, so i grew up with it. i have not missed a super bowl in 28 years. >> it brings people together, a bit like the world cup. >> around 1000 fans came out to watch the patriots take on the seahawks. it was also a good excuse for a party and to sample a bit of american culture. there were plenty of refreshments on offer of course, and some typical american cuisine. patriots fans were in the majority, cheering on superstar tom brady and a german born player. the excitement reached fever

pitch. >> what a great game. super! >> they played well. i'm satisfied and happy. >> despite the excitement, some spectators missed the dramatic end to the game, but perhaps that is understandable. in germany, super bowl sunday can be a long night. >> i don't know about you, i'm very tired. i did not catch the game, but i did catch the commercials first thing on the internet this morning. >> good to have you with us.

>> hello and welcome to "focus on europe are co-great you could join us today. on today's program, we're looking at all the stories

shaping the lives of europeans all over the continent. the islamist of denmark -- jail or jihad. young people of greece -- coping with the crisis. living near auschwitz -- coping with history. what can be done about islamist extremists returning to europe after fighting in syria or iraq accra that's the quest