>> live from berlin, this is your world news on dw. i'm terry martin. good to have you with us. >> welcome. the top stories at this hour -- managing expectations. china scales back it economic growth targets and pledges to open more to foreign investors. >> the u.s. ambassador to south korea is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. >> and is this a buddhist statue or a coffin? the mummified monk on display at a budapest museum. >> is china's economic model in efficient? the country's premier says it is predicting that growth will slow to 7% this year, which is

low why chinese standards. >> any other country would love to forect that rate of growth, but for the world's number two economy, it's the slowest expansion in a quarter of a century and a sign that this global economic powerhouse better get used to saying goodbye to double digit growth. >> trying to manage expectations the premier said slower growth would become the new normal for china, noting that downward pressure on china's onomy is intensive dying. >> the chinese flag is raised in front of the great hall of the people, but the public can only look from a distance. the square is closed off and closely guarded. it is reserved for the 3000 delegates to the parliament, and they have huge piles of documents to work through. most important decisio have already been made by the communist party leadership. but they still have important matters to address. >> i come fr the northwest. our focus is on alleviating poverty and on development.

it is crucial that we not only export goods but also increase consumption and a mystic demand in china. -- domestic demand in china. >> the economy is at the top of the agenda for the premier. he announced a new growth target of 7% or this year -- for this year, a rate many countries can only dream of, but for china it's low. slower growth is set to become china's new normal >> a growth rate of 7% will ensure ample employment. this target is aligned with our goal of ruling in moderately prosperous society and the need to grow and upgrade our economy. >> lawmakers have the next 10 days to discuss policy. after that, they will not convene again for another year. >> 7% growth does not sound bad but the chinese premier says he is concerned about inefficiencies. our beijing correspondent told us why.

>> yes there are a lot of inefficiencies. if you can hear behind me the higher works -- the fireworks this is not people celebrating the speech of mere -- of mere -- of premier li keqiang, that would be a bit much, but they are so averting the last day of the chinese new year. you have these big in balances between coastal regions in the backwards western regions. the imbalances between state-owned enterprises and private industry. you have a not really developed financial industry, so there's a lot of work to do in the coming years. >> in past years, the chinese government has invested heavily in construction or ghost cities in china. what effect will china's slower growth rate have on their ability to pay debts? >> they have to be much more careful. when they had higher growth rates, they didn't care. they were moving on, producing

overbuilding all the cities, but now they have to be much more careful. they have to see where they are going to put their money because they do not have so much money anymore as they have before. >> li keqiang says china will be opening industries to more foreign investment. what sort of opportunities beckon for foreign investors? >> they had a lot of opportunities, especially in high technology and in environmental protection so a lot of high-tech from europe will move down to china. there will be a new investment wave, and this high-tech technology will be very welcome by the chinese and hopefully they will pay a high price for it. >> thanks for bringing us up to date. >> staying in china where the economy is not the only topic dominating the headlines. corruption is also high on the political agenda. >> authorities launched another crackdown ahead of the people's congress arresting for teen military officials according to a statement on the pla website -- the people's congress

arresting 14 military officials. the messages zero corruption is being highly publicized in china. >> he is their revered leader. the president puts on the charm at the spring festival. he is celebrated for his fight against corruption. this online sketch shows him with ordinary citizens. until now, the tigers could rest easy, but no longer. he knows how to deal with them. the reality of his campaign is grim. last year, a court found five mining tycoon's guilty of running a mafia-style group. the accused were executed last month. >> the fight against corruption has restore the credibility of the party. it stresses the division between rich and poor and continues to reform the political system and build trust.

>> new corruptions cases are reported almost daily. politicians, state companies the military -- no one is immune to prosecution. the accused are showing on chinese state tv branded as criminals and fire from the communist party. the high-profile case to date is a former security chief and member of party leadership. he was interested in december -- he was arrested in december. the message of the videos is clear. the fight against corruption protect citizens. honesty is praised excess condemned. critics say he uses the anticorruption campaign to solidify his position and islands opposition, but officials see it different. >> of course is a power struggle. but the anticorruption committee represents justice, and the corrupt are the bad guys. our party can only have success once we have eliminated the evil. >> independent investigations into corruption are discouraged.

he does not want journalists bloggers and ordinary citizens to expose criminals. here, good and evil are defined by the communist party. >> on to south korea now where the u.s. ambassador has been attacked by a knife-wielding assailant in the capital. >> just moments after the attack the ambassador was seen holding his blood-splattered face bleeding from his head and hand after being slashed with a knife. his injuries were not life-threatening, but they sent shock waves. >> north korea's state-controlled media described the attack by a nationalist activist as "deserved punishment " for the u.s., criticizing its military policy. >> the ambassador had been at a meeting on korean unification when the attacker longed towards him with a knife. the 42-year-old sustained deep wounds to his arm and face, including an eight-centimeter -- -- eight-centimeter gash on his cheek, which required stitches.

>> i need an ambulance fast. get me to the hospital. >> his condition is now stable, but he will be in hospital for at least three days. the attacker was apprehended immediately. as he was taken into police custody on a stretcher, he shouted anti-american slogans and demands for korea to be reunified. he is known to police and has a long history of political activism and anti-american protests. >> the suspect said he committed the crime against the u.s. ambassador to protest against the military exercises obstructing the mood of reconciliation between south and north korea. >> the attack on the ambassador sparked a show of support from pro-u.s. demonstrators in the capital, seoul. they accuse the suspect of sympathizing with the communist regime in north korea. police are considering charging the assailant with the attempted murder of the ambassador.

mark lippert for his part has since tweeted that he is in good spirits. his cohort from washington has condemned the attack as an act of violence. >> indonesia has rejected an offer of a prisoner swap over two australian death row convict . the men could be executed within days along with nine other conflict -- convicts from seven other countries. >> several appeals for mercy have been rejected. >> australia's top politicians hold a vigil. behind the scenes, the flurry of legal and diplomatic activities continues, but estoril yet is fast running out of options. >> absolutely no details but we are seeking the opportunity to explore every option that might be available to us, every avenue that might be available to save the lives of these two men. >> jakarta said no to a prisoner exchange.

>> this is the right of every country. in international relations, we have to understand and respect without intervention. >> 31-year-old andrew chan and the 33-year-old were transferred to indonesia's prison island yesterday. the wife of a french convicts spoke to the press after visiting him. >> he remains strong and resilient. we will carry on. of course, he is still hoping his ongoing legal plea will be accepted and processed. >> indonesia looks determined to send a tough message. authorities must give 72 hours' notice before any execution is carried out. some relatives say they are now hoping for a miracle. >> from capital punishment to corporal punishment -- caning is

integrating and controversial method of punishment, and that is the sentence for two young germans in singapore connected with vandalism. >> berlin has said that it respects singapore's sovereignty but will speed out against corporal punishment as a form of sentence anywhere in the world. the singapore court claims the punishment should act as a deterrent to others. >> they have been sentenced to nine months in prison and three strokes of a cane. the crime was described as a stupid act and both have said they will not do it again. according to their lawyer, both pleaded guilty. >> when will the caning happened? if the to conduct themselves well, we can expect a release after 2/3 of the sentence. that would be in two months' time as they have already been

in jail for four months now. it can be expected that the caning will happen in the next two or three weeks. >> in november, they broke into a train depot and spray-painted a carriage. graffiti is banned in singapore and spraying is a serious offense. the city state police -- the city state places great importance on cleanliness. vandalism is not tolerated. in germany, the punishment would have been a lot lighter but in singapore, it is perfectly normal. >> earlier, we spoke to the lawyer we just saw in that report on the phone. we asked how his clients reacted to the verdict. >> they were extremely brave. i must say that i was personally touched by their final statements. they expressed remorse in their very own words.

this was no lawyer's tactic of some sort. this was genuine remorse expressed in their very own words. i must admit that i'm a bit disappointed that this show of genuine remorse was not taken into consideration. >> will be back in a minute.

>> welcome back. peace talks for south sudan are expected to conclude today. the president and rebel leader have been negotiating a deal to end the country's 15-month civil war. >> the talks appear to be deadlocked. regional leaders have been pressuring the men to come up with an agreement. now, the united nations is threatening to impose sanctions on the world's youngest nation if the warring parties do not reach a solution soon.

>> people were euphoric when in july 2011 south sudan formally declared its independence rums sudan, and a new state was born -- independence from sudan, and a new state was born. >> the country is getting its bearings. everything is new today. happy birth to the country. >> but the celebrations were followed i a hangover. by the end of 2013, the president and vice president were in open conflict. behind them, ethnic groups and actions competing for power -- ethnic groups and factions competing for power. many atrocities had in reported. there's also a struggle for control of the rich oilfields in the north of the country. they contain the third largest oil reserves in sub-saharan africa. its ordinary people who are paying the price. tens of thousands have died, and millions have been displaced.

numerous armed groups have joined the fighting. the country is in chaos. peace talks have so far failed to deliver. now with the threat of united nations sanctions hanging over them they are trying to form a government of unity, but the talks are on a knife edge. >> for more on the story we're joined in our parliamentary studios by the former director of the united nations mission in sudan. thanks for being with us. first of all, how likely is it that these peace talks will lead to a national unity government and end the fighting? >> i think there are different issues involved. a government of national unity is more the aim of the regional organization mediating. first of all, we need the reconciliation within the government party. this process started when there

is a declaration signed at the end of january, and this, to me, would be the foundation for a new arrangement within the ruling party. the first step would be reconciliation within the party and then a government of national unity, which seems much more the aim from the presidential party than from the conflict parties. >> the u.n. is also applying pressure, the security council threatening to impose sanctions of progress is not made. is that likely to impress the negotiating parties? >> the first reaction today was from the minister of war and affairs who said that this would complicate and may negatively affect the peace process. it also requests measures from the council that the report from the african union on atrocities committed during this fight is published, so we have two

different views. i personally do not ink that the sanctions will really contribute massively to a resolution of the crisis in south sudan. we need a lot of effort measures. >> child soldiers are apparently being used widely in the conflict in south sudan. we're seeing figures of around 12 thousand. what can be done to address serious problem? >> i think that's an issue for the international criminal court. they have to take this up, but it's not a very unusual measure unfortunately. the government has lost about 65 percent, 70% of its army, so they are desperate to recruit new fighters. >> thank you very much for your insights. >> now to ukraine -- the death toll in wednesday's minor explosion in the east of the country has risen to 32. >> authorities in the rebel held area of donetsk say one miner

is still unaccounted for. emergency workers have recovered at least half the bodies so far. the mine is just kill invaders from the front line. the blast was caused by a buildup of methane gas. the region has a poor safety record and a history of accidents. searching for solutions for its economic woes, ukraine is getting advice from a high-level group of external advisors. among them is before me you enlargement commissioner. he explained what his advisory group hopes to accomplish. >> it's an extremely ambitious undertaking. the idea is to create a kickstart for the process of transformation of ukraine, covering all the areas -- political, economic, and social areas, doing what was neglected in the past, organizing

transformation of this country by strengthening democratic sentiments for strengthening the law. >> we understand that one of the ukrainians who is bankrolling your advisory group is wanted for extradition to the u.s. -- is facing extradition to the u.s. does that make you feel uncomfortable? >> not really. the fact is that initiative is supported by the ukrainian federation of employers, and the ukrainian trade unions. the gentleman you have mentioned is indeed the president of the ukrainian federation of employers. i have to say the following here -- you cannot change the situation in ukraine without

inviting -- or even more than inviting, insisting -- insisting -- that those who have the real power in the country, the so-called oligarchs accept the responsibility and support this process of reform. you cannot do it without them. you have to find a way how they can be on board, and the way this work is organized darren tees that there will be no influence whatsoever on the contents of the work that we do. i can promise you. the day when one of those oligarchs will try to influence what i'm doing would be my last day on this project. >> am afraid we're going to have to leave it there. thank you very much. >> now to the ecb, which has announced that it will start its

bond-buy-in program to pump cash into the eurozone's economy next monday. >> ecb plans to purchase a trillion euros worth of eurozone government ons over the coming year and a half. ecb chief mario draghi and his colleagues meeting in cyprus have also announced that the ecb is keeping its key interest rate steady at 0.05%. >> investors are closely -- have closely watched that ecb policy meeting. let's bring in our correspondent who is standing by at the rank for stock exchange. how has this news gone down with investors where you are? >> well, the german dax stock index reached another record high shortly before the press conference that mario draghi gave today in nicosia had started, but this press conference confirmed the optimism at the market had shown before the growth predictions for this year and next year by

the european central bank were revised upwards while the inflation outlook, at least for this year, was revised downwards, which means that the european central bank probably will really keep its bond purchase program on for a considerable time. >> how soon can we see the effect taking place after now this plan being implemented across the european union? >> that is a discussion which is really going on on the trading floor and it will really look and sound very differently if you have it here in germany or greece or france because the conditions in all these countries, the economic conditions, and the way that the so-called forms already have been implemented in these countries are very, very different. one thing is sure -- draghi said today that in order to take effect for this monetary policy program structural reforms will have to be implemented in the

eurozone. that is crucial, he said. the market numbers at this hour the dax up another percent roundabout at the moment slightly below 11,000 points. the euro stoxx 50 index also up about an percent while the euro is worth only a bit more than $1.10. >> thank you very much for that. >> finally the story of a thousand year old chinese monk who is becoming something of a star in budapest. >> he followed an exact ritual that led to his own mummification. supposedly the monk's in light and meant and the loosening of this world's bonds. >> this may look like an ordinary buddha statue, but this thousand year old work of art is hiding a secret -- a secret so special that hungary's national history museum has devoted an entire exhibit to this unique religious relic. >> the buddha statue belongs to

a dutch private collector, and when he bought it, he had no idea what was hiding inside. he lent it to a museum for an exhibit, and they put it under a ct machine, x-rated, and discovered the statue hides a mommy of a monk. the monk probably lived around 1000 years ago in china. experts and he committed self mummification with a special diet of seeds and poisonous plants before he ended his life while meditating in a pit. experts stressed the complex ritual was not suicide. >> basically, not everyone was allowed to try this. only buddhist masters who reached a very high level could do this with a permit. their own reason was to reach a certain level, to reach nirvana this way. >> some 200 years after his death, the mummy was committed to the golden shell now on display. visitors to the hunt gary and capital can view the exhibit until may 17. >> goodbye.

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