captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> this is the journal "" on dwtv. a party donations scandal puts the french president under pressure. and robert gates calls on the fbi to investigate a massive leak in the war in afghanistan. a local nurse at midst to killing eight of her newborn babies. >> of french police have questioned that a labor minister as part of their probing

political donation scandal that has shaken the french government. he has been accused of accepting 150,000 heroes in illegal donations for president sarkozy's election campaign. his client denies any wrongdoing. >> he was questioned for eight- hours as a witness in the alleged tax evasion. the labor minister denied any wrongdoing in keating the accusation he received a cash donation of more than 150,000 heroes. -- euros. >> he has vigorously denied receiving any illegal political donations. the funding was made within the law and according to the rules allowed by the republic. all other allegations are lies and pure fantasy.

>> the credibility has been damaged. the minister has been under pressure to resign ever since his wife's employer was revealed. he has been accused of taking illegal donations on behalf of his party. we will be taking an in depth look at that story and its political implications. romania and bulgaria are taking steps to make sure -- they are taki steps to up to spend hundreds of illegal roma ca mps. nicolas sarkozy has ordered the immediate expulsion of a robot who have committed crimes. -- roma to have committed crimes. >> the french call them traveling people. most have long been a french

citizens and no longer live an itinerant lifestyle. local authority is -- in recent years, hundreds of illegal camps have sprung op. at a special session, the french government agreed to close many of them. >> it has been decided that within the next three months, half of these illegal camps, 300, will be dismantled. >> the fact that roma representatives were not invited to the meeting caused additional our rage. they have accused the government of stigmatizing minorities. >> if president sarkozy thinks that clamping down will improve the situation, i do not think he will succeed. our young people will rebel.

>> the crackdown comes after a group of roma attacked a police station earlier this month. >> the pentagon has cald in the fbi to investigate a massive leak o classified documents and by the online group, wikileaks. the fbi would make sure that the aggressive investigation would go wherever it needed to go. wikileaks itself might be targeted as well as the source of the leaks. battlefield consequences could be severe for u.s. troops, allies, or that the afghan partners. similar words of condemnation from a german general as the assistance of force in afghanistan. he spoke to the general by videoconference. >> it was an opportunity for them to answer questions from the press. it is something of an offensive

after the leaking of sensitive documents onto the internet. publishing the information was irresponsible. >> a great deal of afghans who have worked as translators or in other positions have been identified by name. this really is sethi which has to be forcefully condemned. analysts say it puts pressure on pakistan's army chief. the media is trying to shift the focus away from the scandal to the gains being made under david petraeus and his strategies. >> you can eliminate fighters from the fight by offering them a more promising alternative. you can prevent potential insurgents from ossi ove to the other side by improving conditions or their perspective

on life. >> the brigadier general says it will take until 2014 before afghans can assume full responsibility in security measures. international troops will then only oversee efforts. >> at least 113 people have been killed in flash floods in northwestern pakistan in kashmir. those casualties were in this thread-region. it swept away homes, schools, bridges. the rainfall is the heaviest in decades. the weather forecast is expected to continue for another two days. a premier has supported calls for the resignation of the leesburg's mayor following the -- duisburg's mayor following

the love parade disaster. organizers and officials continue to trade acquisitions -- accusations. 21 people were killed. experts on their way up in germany. >> the global economy is on the road to recover. germany's export-related companies are getting a piece of the action. volkswagen had a better than expected quarterly report today. >> and vw had an impressive first half year. profits were nearly four times higher than last year, coming in at 1.8 billion euros. sales in china helped boost profits. they sold more than 50% more than last year. the world's largest chemicals

maker, basf surpassed analysts' expectations. profit doubled in the second quarter to 2.2 billion euros. the company says that profits will not rise as steeply in the coming months. another german company to post strong man -- storm results was nieman's. they said that energy, health care, and energy divisions topped 2.3 billion euros. it has seen a huge rise in wind turbine sales. >> it has been a busy day of earnings reports for german companies. our correspondent sent us this report on the day's trading. >> it was the busiest reporting day for dax companies during

this reporting season. that had an increasing order influx at manyompanies. something is weighing on investor's moods as well. it is the situation in america. the labor market is not satisfactory. the foreclosures in many homes is happening in many cities in the united states. this is weighing on consumer confidence. the dax currently away from its year high by about 200 points. >> staying in frankfurt, this index closed. it is clearly down in neighborho -- is clearly down. 2752. across the atlantic, the dow

jones industrials also trading in negative territory. the euro is going strong, in gaining against the u.s. dollar. the number of jobless rose slightly here in july. the federal labor agency says there is no cause for alarm. t unemploymt ra rose 0.1%. there are 3.2 million people without a job. germany's short-term scheme, which helped people hang on at the top of the financial crisis is being p psed out. they believed that the economic upswing is enough to keep the german jobs market stable. >> germany's economy is recovering and the job market with it. this has led the economics minister to an optimistic prime -- optimistic prime minister.

>> democratic factors will play their part and the economic recovery is robust. >> the federal labor agency is more cautious. the aftereffects of the crisis are still clear and warns the government's stimulus programs are winding down. >> the economics minister has a right to talk things up. we are more factual and restraint. >> full-time jobs have risen for the first time since the p crisis. analysts expect the economy to create more jobs as it picks up speed. >> most gas stations in the country have run out of fuel with truck drivers on strike over the past four days. the greek government says that the strike is crippling the country and issued an order for

the truck drivers to return to work. they demonstrated in front of the greek ministry of transportation. the situation remains tense, they remain the set against the european union's effort to break their monopoly on trucking. >> david cameron made, india and turkey. he said that it was important to speak frankly and clearly. this was indicating that pakistan was supporting terrorism. comments or criticize saying that they weren't damaging for regional peace. there was angerer sparked in israel. a 40-year-old woman has confessed to suffocating her children. a woman and her husband where

are arrested in france after the bodies of the babies were found there. >> life in a quiet village has been shattered. police found the bodies of several babies at this home. they were killed by their mother. none of them were premature pregnancy is. >> you would think that these things happen somewhere else. not in your own village. obviously, they can. >> the incident came to the attention of police when the owners of the house discovered the bones of newborns in the garden. police quickly track down the own-the old owners, a couple in their 40's. the woman admitted killing both babies and six others as well. >> eight dead children. it is unimaginable. the entire village is shocked.

>> residents describe the couple as polite and friendly. the father was a member of the community council. the couple has been taken to police custody. the couple did not want more children, but they were too scared to ask for contraception. >> one out of five families in germany are a single-parent families. in most cases, that parent is the mother. a growing trend away from the traditional family unit. in most cases, the single-parent families are financially worse off. >> most parents bringing up children alone are wom. the federa stastics office says the number of single-parent families are growing. in 2009, at 19% were headed by single parents.

72 percent signed by married couples. it was a different picture in 1996. single-parent families constituted 19%. unmarried couples, 5%. married couples accounted for 81% of the total. single-parent families often struggle financially. they often rely on state benefits or child-support payments. single mothers who work often receive low payments. >> our study shows very clearly that 54% of single mothers who have children under the age of three have to get by on a less than 1100 euros a month. >> many single mother said that they would like to work full time, but were prevented from doing so by a lack of all-day child care. >> there has been a crunch of metals in barcelona.

she took a gold in the 100 meters. two from france and took silver and bronze. that was the first german medal of the championship. it was quickly followed by two more in the women's javelins. silver went to her teammate. a britishollector haspaid 18,0euro for a partial set of dentures worn by winston churchill in world war ii. they were described as the teeth and that saved the world. they maintain his voice, which had become famous from wartime broadcasts. the son of the technician who made them said that he used to flick out his teeth when angry and throw them across the room.

naughty naughty winston. and throwing your teeth around.

>> a french labour minister bass questioned by police in a widening scandal over illegal donations. the richest woman in france is alleged to have secretly donated 150,000 euros to fund nicolas sarkozy's camignn 2007. she cannot remember the details, but her daughter allegedly has the evidence. the french public is asking serious questions about the integrity of the country ' s entire political process.

>> the french national holiday, july 14. the president traditionally join us the. as -- joins the parade. the public usually turns out in droves. the event was a bit of a washout this year. it was almost as the guards had turned against the president of the republic. calls for a new revolution. another symptom of sarkozy's dwindling approval rating. months of seeing the one negative headline after another. all triggered by alleged funny money in the 2007 presidential election campaign. it is the story of the summer. the french people have been given some deep insights in the relationship of the wealthy and

sarto's the's political campaign. the richest woman in france and the biggest -- a big shareholder in a cosmetics giant. she says that she is no longer fit to manage her fortune and is being exploited by her entourage. the tabloids are having a field day. the public -- this is home to some of france's wealthiest people. her former account it took documents from kurt villa and turned them over to police. it represented three donations of $50,000 to sarto's the's party. the money was handed over by a wealth manager. the conversation was secretly recorded and ended up on the

internet. >> the second person to help would be the finance minister. the third, nicolas sarkozy. >> additional investigations by journalists lend credence to claims that his labor minister accepted the cash. he was the treasurer until he quit the job in june. the president is under pressure. >> he is an honorable man. he enjoys my complete trust and that the prime minister. >> there is no proven link to the president. the opposition senses blood. >> mr. prime minister, in all of these points, when you will see -- when will you start answering our questions? >> the government is facing allegations that it can be bought. >> you are trying to

instrumentalist these rumors. >> opposition parties appear to be unable to mine political capital. the french seemed resigned to their faith. two-thirds of the french population consider their entirety -- politically corrupt. there is a relationship between the super rich and politics. >> we have this connection between the super wealthy and the political class and including sarkozy, who is known to have gone in and out of the residence. that is what makes this scandal so unique. >> the president's next part could be a number of government reshuffle. this could spell liberation or waterloo for nicolas sarkozy. >> three years ago, sarkozy was elected with 53% of the vote.

his popularity is at an all-time low. the mix between politics, moy, anglamour is nothing new. this could have sunk his political future and the fabric of french society. there are social divisions which could have long that repercussions. our reporter caught up with two french vacationers that are caught up with the political drama in france. >> they have left for coastal resorts. for most people, holidays are about getting away from it all. this family from paris has been unable to leave the affair behind. it is the main topic of conversation over breakfast. >> all of the ingredients are there. money, politics, and a family drama. it is ideal for the front pages of the magazine. >> he says that the french are already spooked by unemployment

and the high level of public debt. he is worried that the scandal could worsen that feeling. >> i am concerned about the middle class's. they are the ones that keep france running. >> he is the municipal representative for trade. the first port of call for local businesses that need advice. the shop owner is pouring out her woes because she had to close down her duty. the affair makes her feel betrayed by the political elite. >> get them jobs and then they line each other's pockets. the middle class's have to work the whole time. in france, and you need lots of money, or you are in a bad way. >> some of the people she feels let down by also like to spend

the holidays there. this is a topic of interest on the golf course as well, too. they are less worried about the link between politics and big money. >> i have not made any judgments on the case. that is something i will leave to the courts. >> it is a very tiresome story. it is about a very big fortune. you have to be prepared to do the right thing to keep money in france. otherwise, it will end up in belgium or switzerland. >> that is not the biggest problem for local politicians. or for most voters. they fear the scandal could damage france's at very democracy. >> the fact is simple.

politicians need to drive very hard to convince the sense that it is worth turning out to vote at all. right now, there is widespread skepticism. >> any weakness in government benefits the extremists. the opposition does not know any better. there is not worried that the far left to be strengthened. 5few people here think it is likely that france could slide back. this family says that france has survived far worse political crises. they say it is part of what makes up france. if he makes his money in politics, that is obviously a very french affair. typically french orn holiday.

>> of french politics up for sale. that was the focus. you are watching dw tv. please stay tuned. >> the weather for germany. cloudy conditions with some bright periods in the northern part of the country with temperatures up to 23 degrees celsius. temperatures are down in the south. there could be some thunderstorms in places. the rest of europe, temperatures remain in the low to mid's 20's in central europe. here are weather reports on selected cities around the world.

which foot was it? best make that "best wishes." we don't want them gettin? no, i suppose not. have always done it. why should she watch the flowers? nobody really remembers,