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tv   Journal  PBS  March 17, 2015 6:00pm-6:31pm PDT

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>> live from berlin, this is world news. i'm terry martin. monika: i monika jones. terry: high voter turnout as prime minister netanyahu faces a strong challenge from the centerleft coalition. >> a family fearful that their teenage daughter is believed to have joined the islamic state extra miss. terry: greece's push for war reparations wins some support in berlin despite clear numbers against. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] terry: the future of israeli
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prime minister benjamin netanyahu hangs in the balance as israelis vote or a new parliament. in a desperate last-minute appeal he pledged there would be no palestinian state under his party. monika: but a lesion is posing a strong challenge and could upset netanyahu's did to create a fourth term in power. >> despite his relaxed position, he is a man under pressure. he is hoping for another term in office with a conservative block. his campaign's main theme is security. that is not the biggest issue for voters. more than half of those asked said they were more worried about rapidly rising living cost. this man wants to do something about that. the product of a highly influential political dynasty is for fewer political scandals.
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>> people who want to continue being disappointed are welcome to vote for netanyahu. anyone who wants a better future should vote for me and my alliance. reporter: in the ongoing conflict, he wants a two state solution. until recently, netanyahu supported the same position. netanyahu had a last-minute change of mind. >> anyone who has steps to take the palestinian state is surrendering that territory to radical islamists that would use it to attack israel. anyone that doesn't recognize that is sticking their head in the sand. reporter: the turn is about to irritate israel's greatest ally, the united states. it could be a last-ditch effort to appease more right wing voters and attract the undecided. >> i'm not crazy about the prime minister but i am more worried about the alternative.
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that's why i am voting for the right wing. >> i am told he will be sent home to retire, reporter: one thing is clear. neither netanyahu nor his rival will get enough votes on their own for an absolute majority. monika: polling stations are open for just another hour and then we will get the first exit polls. we are joined in jerusalem. how likely is netanyahu to win support for his prediction of the two state solution? >> when he was trying to do with this statement was to get more voters from his own right-wing constituency and while he could. that is what he really needs. these are his coalition partners but he wants them to go out and vote so he can be the one as the
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strongest party to be task with forming the next coalition government. this is a bit shortsighted because he hasn't done much to push forward that two state solution in over six years of his premiership. and other people would say this would bring him into trouble if he formed the next government with the american administration. monika: let's look at isaac herzog. what does he have going for him to mount such a strong challenge to netanyahu? >> he has taken on the task to look at his failure, to address the socioeconomic issues. those issues that many israelis would point out like rising housing prices and the high cost of living. that is what middle-class israelis are talking about.
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that is what they're hoping for that he will do something. of course, he was criticized that he is not a charismatic leader. if you could be a leader in a country like israel. you have to be very careful, they are not always is accurate. we have less than an hour now to go. we see the first exit polls if he has convinced israelis to work for him. monika: it will be interesting to see how these exit polls will turn out. terry: we are joined by the chair of the green party chairing the parliamentary group. mr. beck, wide do you think benjamin netanyahu has abandoned the principles? >> that he changed publicly his position on the issue -- i think
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this interview has, in the election campaign, mr. netanyahu tries to get voters from the far right parties so that he will not be weaker than the zionist union. i'm not quite sure if he will stand to this message after the election ballots are closed. he focused on security and said that the palestinian state would endanger the security. perhaps he can turn that argument around and say a peace process has to fit with certain security issues so that he can interpret that. i don't see any perspective of a government with netanyahu in this position. it is issued because he would be
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internationally isolated. nobody can understand this position. terry: if isaac herzog manages to form a government, what sort of changes can we expect? >> every government to see a more moderate tone. i hope that they will change their policy on settlements and will hold the door open for her nude peace process. terry: to the war in syria were the united nations says the destruction in the con act has reached an unprecedented level. >> following the release of satellite images illustrating the impact on the four-year conflict. they are facing fresh allegations that it is using chlorine gas as a weapon. reporter: this amateur video
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allegedly shows victims of a poison gas attack on monday. human rights activists say six people died. the syrian opposition is accusing the regime of president bashar al-assad of severe human rights violations. they say the government frequently uses chlorine gas as a weapon against its own people. can syrian government forces are dropping highly distraught of barrel bombs from helicopters. 115 civilians were killed in attacks in the city last november alone. massive human rights violations are taking place each and every day in syria. u.n. satellite pictures show the extent of the devastation in the residential areas of aleppo. >> damage to schools. hospitals. living in difficult conditions
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and refugee camps. >> the u.n. says brutal atrocities are being committed not just by assad's troops but by rebel groups and islamic state militants. foreign citizens committing war crimes in syria could be prosecuted in their homelands. the u.n. has compiled a confidential list of alleged war criminals. >> they are preparing cases to be heard before a competent and impartial judiciary. reporter: few people may be brought to justice. a small red dress for the thousands of lives the syrian civil war has cost. terry: in berlin the prime minister's been holding talks with one of the main representatives of the syrian opposition. president of the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition or's is.
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we asked him earlier what the world could do and what his organization is doing to fight the islamic state and assad regime. >> they have brought a lot of militias and they are also committing crimes against the syrian people. same as al qaeda or isil. in order to get rid of this terror, we have to treat it from its roots, which is intelligence services of the syrian regime. the regime and the organizations are two different faces of the same coin. in terms of isil groups, we have
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been fighting. we have been fighting the terror led by a sod and the terror led by al qaeda. >> the president of the opposition coalition. >> they have drawn in large numbers of foreign fighters. there is concern a 16-year-old girl from munich may have gone to syria to join the islamic state. >> she disappeared at the end of february and her family is deeply worried she has joined the terrorists. reporter: her father is desperately searching for his daughter. he shows everyone he meets her photo and gives them his address. the family in munich is counting on him to bring her back.
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>> i can't imagine life without my child. the thought of her not being here is just horrible. reporter: she were leggings had a ton piercing, and died blonde hair. but then she changed. she stopped listening to music and became completely focused on religion. she started wearing a headscarf and mail in secret and then more openly. her parents were concerned but did not realize how much she had been radicalized. >> my whole world fell apart. i couldn't understand why. reporter: she had been targeted by islamic state propagandists. on the internet, she met jihadists that were keen to get
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married. they mentioned a woman retrieving -- recruiting girls to become brides for fighters. one reads without her, i wouldn't have had the courage. the woman convinced the 16-year-old to travel to syria. the trip was perfectly planned. she obviously had helped and used her savings and managed to get a hold of a plane ticket. she counted the days until her departure. >> i saw her on her last day. she wanted to come to the post office with me. she hugged me. it nothing out of the ordinary except that she never did things like that. i said, what's up with you. she said, nothing. reporter: she left home in the early morning. the 16-year-old had no problem getting through passport control. there are no clear travel regulations in germany related
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to unaccompanied young people between 15 and 18. her plane took off at 10 past eight. from istanbul, she took a bus. at the bus station, the trail goes cold. it is where her father is looking for her. once a day he touches base with the rest of the family at home. he tells them about his as of yet fiscal attempts to find her. -- futile attempts to find her. >> we will manage it. we will find her. reporter: with every passing day, the fear grows that she is somewhere in the area either writing herself or married to a jihadist. terry: we will be back after a short break. monika: don't go away.
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monika: welcome back. nigeria has presidential elections earlier this month and security concerns are weighing on the line -- minds of many including the failure to stamp out militant group boko rom. terry: the insurgency lays thousands dead and threatens to split nigeria. reporter: it is the most closely contested presidential election in nigeria since the end of military rule in 1999. he is seeking a second term. his peoples democratic party has dominated nigerian politics for the last exchange years. but he faces a serious challenger in the former military dictator and candidate of the new united opposition party. several polls have shown them
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that. the 2015 elections are taking place as nigeria's young democracy faces tereus challenges, especially from the islamist militant group boko rom. they received little international attention in till last april -- until last april. most remain missing today. it is one of many atrocities in a conflict that has left 10,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced ends 2009. the failure to stop the islamist militants is a major election issue. the insurgency threatens to rick apart nigeria and has spread beyond borders. the ballot was meant to take place on february 14, but the electoral commission postpone the vote for six weeks citing security concerns.
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it said the government needed time to secure the northeast from boko haram and guarantee the safety of voters in the region. the nigerian army launched a major offensive against boko rom -- boko haram. they claimed a number of successes against the militants. boko haram has declared allegiance to the islamic state. they are not the only problem that will face nigeria's next president. corruption and mismanagement have contributed to the rise of the group. there are also key factors in rising poverty and unemployment despite the country's vast mineral wealth. monika: nigeria needs a new generation to fight boko rom, a statement from the first african rider to win the nobel prize in literature back in 1980's experience.
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reporter: you said if we don't find these students, nigeria is a hopeless country. one year later, there is still no sign of the students. is nigeria a failed state? >> we are -- nigeria is aspiring very hard to become a failed state but i would not call it a failed state just yet. but it has happened. it is a blot of any kind of national sense of belonging. reporter: the international chorus seems to be quite successful in its mission to fight boko rom. do you think we might be witnessing the beginning of the end of the terrorist threat in nigeria?
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>> it will still take a generation, at least, to exterminate this phenomenon altogether. it is already embedded in human society. the way i look at the current military successes the proper action. this is the biggest problem i have with the government. reporter: do they really have a choice in this upcoming election >> in my view? the main opposition leader -- any candidate [indiscernible] there are things behind the scenes.
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the security officers they can even push aside the political context. to establish an interim government. reporter: you think there might be a chance of a military coup in nigeria? >> the nature of the interim government wants to pretend that it has not really admitted to it. the political leaders civilians.
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it gives the veneer of the civilian texture. reporter: professor, thank you very much. monika: dw's correspondent there in conversation with the nobel prize winner. terry: relations between germany and greece are at a low with athens trying to renegotiate and berlin searing it won't stick to previous promises. >> they demand germany pay billions of euros of reparations. it appears to be support and supporters in germany that berlin should consider paying. reporter: a program's demonstration in front of the federal finance ministry of all places. bayeux billions of euros in
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reparations for nazi atrocities committed during the second world war. experts have concluded that greece would definitely have a case if it chose to seek compensation. >> making harsh statements and from the outset that these claims have no validity. reporter: as long as people don't grasp how bad the situation is, they can't find a solution to improve ends. the relationship between the greek finance minister has reached new lows. relations between athens and relay and can best be described as i see.
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terry: are things getting worse? >> they are getting tense all around and getting worse. and a war of words between athens and berlin where as a de-escalation, where is it going to come from? we desperately need it. this war of words is having a real impact. and insurgents.
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terry: there appears to be pockets of support and berlin for that. tell us more about them. >> it is certainly a departure because government thought terrible atrocities. this difficult matter to history 's chapter is closed. terry: political correspondent. thank you very much. monika: markets changed their tune on tuesday. it ended an amazingly strong
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rally. >> it went up by more than 2% yesterday. and so, many investors thought that it was time for a break. nevertheless, the general mood remains very good. monika: down by more than 1.5%.
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terry: and it is the holiday st. patrick's day. monika: it was the combination of saint patrick who is said to have brought christianity to ireland in a different injury. very nice. terry: thanks for watching.
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ok?ó???????o= gcgc elcome to "euromaxx highlights." let's have a look at the headlines. rock on. the german band scorpions celebrates 50 years on stage. cover up. the ballo del doge is one of venice's most exclusive masquerade balls. and, the art of hundertwasser
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continues to impress. we have lots of viewers around the world, and many of them are interested in the german language. not even long words can turn people off.
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