>> welcome to the journal. >> i am. >> pakistan's president makes his first visit to flood- stricken areas. russia marks the 10th anniversary of the sinking of a submarine. >> general motors announces its best earnings in six years. the ceo says he is stepping down. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- u.s. marines and helicopters have arrived in pakistan to assist in flood relief. help will likely be needed for

some time. the u.n. says that dams are close to rsting and could cause renewed destruction. the president of pakistan made his first visit to affected areas on thursday. >> it was a small but symbolic gesture. the president helped distribute aid at a relief camp for flood victims in the south of the country. the president's first trip to deluged areas follows public outcry after his reluctance to cut short a tour abroad. what people see as a slow government response to the crisis. nearly two weeks after the disaster began to unfold, tens of thousands of pakistanis remain cut off from supplies, food drops the only hope of sustenance. the u.n. has issued an emergency appeal for aid as the scope of the destruction becomes clear. >> a lot of us have not

understood the sca of this disaster. it is horrendous. it is going to put us back so many years that we are not even starting on the infrastructure. >> in northwestern pakistan, the flood waters have largely receded, leaving people trying to salvage something from the ruins of their lives. many have little faith that the authorities will provide the help they need. >> any international aid will likely end up in the pockets of the government. i pray to god some will make its way through to us. >> until then, pakistanis will continue to help themselves as best they can. >> as international aid efforts gather momentum, germany has pledged 10 million euros. the public is also being asked for donations, but so far have shown a reluctance to give. >> billions of pakistanis aren

urgent need of food, water, and medical care. in germany, appeals for donations have fallen on deaf ars, especlly compared to the generosity after the earthquake in haiti seven months ago. >> we have collected only a few thousand euros over the past 10 days. i know of one aid organization that has taken in just 150,000 euros after haiti collected 8 million in the same. >> the german red cross believed donors are uncertain whether their assistance will get to the people in need. they blame the lack of stability. >> the problem is the stability situation in paktan. you have bomb attacks or riots. you have fights between taliban and the government. people think it is not a peaceful country. that is the reason they do not pay some much money. >> donations are now insufficient to deal with a disaster of this scale.

the u.n. has asked governments worldwide to provide 350 million euros to fund efforts. revenues have been slow to come in. >> barack's most senior milita offic has criticized a perimeter pledge by the u.s. to withdraw the last of its troops from iraq by the end of this year. at the defense conference in baghdad,d, the general warned te iraqi military might not be ready to assume full control for another decade. washington says it is on target to and combat operations by september and to remove all troops by the end of 2011. in afghanistan, several thousand prostrated -- several thousand protested the deaths of three men killeby u.s. troops i nighttime raid. they shouted, "death to america," and blocked a road. the victims were suspected insurgents. the u.n. estimates that 300

civilians have been killed in afghanistan by u.s. forces this year. we will be taking a look at the challenges faced by german and international troops in afghanistan later in the show. poland has extradited a suspected mossad agent to germany. he is accused of assassinating a top hamas official in the united arabmirates earer this year. this man allegedly provided a passport to one of the assassins. the target was murdered in his utah room in dubai. his assassins had a aived in -- on tourist visas. they have accused moscow of being behind the attack. ceremonies are held in russia to mark the anniversary of the submarine disaster that killed all 118 crewmembers. russian authorities came in for massive criticism fowhat was perceive as alow reaction. some russians say they still have not learned their lesson, complaining that local officials

initially responded with indifference to the wildfires now raging across the country. >> it was a disaster that turned into a scandal. the submarine sank in the bering sea in august of 2000. it took two days for the government to report it. putin did not return from his vacation until six days teard. utinasearn his lesson from this catastrophe. he realizes now he has to react quickly and decisively if something like that happened again. >> putin is attempting to do a better job of crisis management with the wildfires burning in central russia. he has traveled to affected regions, promised help, and piloted a firefighting planes. russians are losing trust in him. >> it is not acceptable that the prime minister is exploiting the

situation for pr purposes. >> it is a bit much, but maybe some people think it is a good thing putin is putting himself in the thick of it. >> on the ground, emergency services are overstretched. compounding the problem is the government's information policy. it took days for the government to admit the fires had reached areas contaminated by nuclear radiation. putin is still more popular than his successor, dmitry medvedev. >> peter has business news starting with potential strike. >> they are definitely going to strike. the question is when. we know it is on the horizon. this is the big airport out of london. workers at the british airport operator baa have voted to strike over an unresolved pay dispute with management. the united union rejected a 1% pay rise offer, calling it nothing short of

confrontational. united is also demanding a 450 lb bonus, 540 euros, for its staff, despite baa having missed its earnings target. the union has to set a date for the strike, which could close london heathrow and five other airports in britain. the ceo of general motors is stepping down after helping to return the auto maker to profit. whitaker will leaveis post on september 1. he helped gm are not $3.10 billion last quarter, its best showing since 2004. his replacement will oversee the automaker's ipo, which would allow the u.s. government to cut its 60% stake in gm. >> shortly before he took the reins of general motors, whitaker said he did not know much a aut cars. but within just a few months, the 68 year-old with the nickname "big ed" turned the car

giant into a profitable enterprise. last year, it posted quarterly losses of over 10 billion year rose. whitaker helped guide gback into thelack the company return to profits in the first quarter of this year. earnings rose in the second quarter to over 1 billion year rose. now, whitaker is stepping down. as ceo, he launched a restructuring program that cost plant closures and tens of thousands of layoffs. his successor is not an automotive expert either. he has experience in telecom and finance. he will be in charge if gm makes an expected ipo later this year. he will try to pay governnt loans of almost 40 billion year rose. >> we spoke earlier with our correspondent on wall street. we asked him what investors made of the leadership changes and

the quarterly profit. >> washington put ed whitaker in place. it makes sense that now that general motors is getting closer to an ipo that he is leaving his post. it is getting pretty likely that general motors might actually have this ipo before the elections in early november. if the ipo is going to be successful and sustainable depends on the product quality of general motors, if they have good models. if not, general motors is going to have tough times once again. >> let us look at high tech news again. cisco systems posted a bleak outlook for the rest of this year. how did that go down? >> you willee the stock under heavy pressure. with that, use the technology stocks doing a little worse than the broader market.

the hot water was not that bad. five quarters in a row, cisco managed an increase in revenue profit by almost 80%. but the outlook that you mentioned, the ceo talking about the very high uncertainty regarding the economic environment -- is that comment that isputting a lot of pressure on the sto and other big tech names on wall street. >> there is fresh economic data out on jobs today. what was that all about? >> those weekly numbers -- the situation in the american labor market got a little worse. that is increasing pressure on wall street. there are not as big losses as we saw on wednesday. still, third day in a row, wall street is losing. we are roughly down by 350

points. >> thank you very much for that update. here in europe, investors focused on u.s. jobs data, showing the number of new claims for unemployment insurance rising to its highest level in six months. in frankfurt, the dax index closed the trading day down 0.3%. the blue chips closed the day unchanged. in new york, the dow industrials currently down about.5%. on the currency markets, the euro is trading for $1.2820. >> germany's second-biggest insurance company announced profits for the first half of this business year. operating profit was up more than 20% year on year to almost 5 billion year rose. sales were also up more than 12%.

rwe remains cautious about the rest of the year. one reason is the government's plan to introduce a new tax f nuclear fuel that could cost the industry billions of duress. the german fertilizing group kns is rising from profits in agricultural commodities. the announced profits of 155 mimiion euros in the second quarter, an eightfold increase compared with last year. sales of potash and magnesium products were strongest. the company is one of the world's biggest fertilizer producers and expects demand i europe a nor ameca t rise this coming autumn. the international labor organization says that global youth unemployment has reached record levels. over 80 million, around 13%, of the world's 15 to 24-year-olds are currently without a job.

>> jesus has lost track of the number of job applications he has submitted. for three years, the spaniard has been out of work. he is one of the unemployed young people around the world. >> now and then i turn a few euros. i get 400 euros in unemployment benefits. my mother gives me a little and we try to get by. >> nearly 40% of young people in spain are out of work. that is the highest level in europe. on a global scale, unemployment among young people have spent rising sharply. >> in 2007, we were seeing a decrease in youth unemployment. this number shot up beginning in 2008. in 2009, the number increased by 6.7 million. >> the worst hit are those without vocational training, like jesus. he finished his compulsory education and then worked in

construction. but the sector has been hit hard, and hundreds of thousands of workers have been laid off. jesus continues to ask for work at construction sites, but the outlook is poor. the international labor organization warns that the high jobless rate among the young could result in a lost generation. >> a human-rights group says that you gotta -- ugandan rebels have kidnapped people in an organized campaign in central and upper cut. the victims were taken from villages in the democratic republic of congo and the central african republic. it accuses the leaders of the lord's resistance army of masterminding the campaign m. many were children forced t serve as soldiers or sex lives. none were injured in an explosion in bogota, colombia.

the blast was near a radio station. most of the injured were in a bus that happen to pass by. images from a surveillance camera inside the station showed the extent of the damage. the country's new president described the bombing as a terrorist act. police say leftist rebels are most likely responsible. a flock of colorful hot air balloons took to the sky above ukraine on thursday for d two of a festival. the event pulled balloonists from the ukraine, russia, lithuania, and moldova. they took off from sevastopol. the festival was named after the french brothers who pioneered the hot air balloon in the 18th century. stay tuned. we aree going to come back with our in-depth report. >> do not go away.

>> welcome back. this thursday, st. protests in afghanistan show anchor over civilian casualties, even when it is clear that -- but even when it is unclear that those killed were civilians. there is a 30% rise in civilian deaths this year. most were atathe hands of the taliban, but many afghans blame foreign troops and the u.s. for unnecessary suffering. sen our camer team to the north of the country, where german troops are getting support from u.s. soldiers, a mixed blessing. >> it was supposed to be a normal sundada night soccer match, but it ended in bloodshed. a suicide bomber blew himself up

among the spectators, killing three people and wounding 19. security is deteriorating in northern afghanistan. combat operations have increased fivefold in the last year, ratcheting up the risks for bord state troops. at the start of april, three german soldiers were killed and eight wounded during heavy fighting. for german soldiers were killed on patrol. just a few days ago, a german convoy came under attack and was hit by explosives. u.s. troops are now supporting the german mission in the north. >> the more u.s. troops there are, with their specific style of waging r which isore aggresve tn that of german soldiers, the more resistance there will be from the local population. >> local afghan politicians are using the resistance to their own ends. they hoped to wininver voters

before september's parliamentary elections. the recent wikileaks scandal has made matters worse. german imports were also implicated by the material. that was ample proof for some that gerny is ing america's bidding in afghanistan. >> in afghanistan, people do not make a distinction between who did the killings. they see the international forces as one. the military presence has been tolerated less and less. >> analysts say it is important to ensure that local soldiers and police can take over security operations. >> i think it is more constructive and sensible to concentrateess o figing insurgents andore on training afghanistan's own soldiers so they learn how to fight

insurgents on their own in the future. >> for the moment, german troops will remain on the ground, and often in the firing line. >> obama wants to begin withdrawing american troops next summer. an international conference in kabul earlier this year agreed afghanistan will take its own security by 2014, an ambitious target even hamidarzai h saidis countr wl need a long time before it is capable of defending itself. our reporter visited to see how german and american soldiers are working to realize an exit strategy. >> the budeswehr base in northern afghanistan. the group is busy early in the morning. for weeks, the u.s. has been flying in reinforcements. supplies need offloading. the camp is growing. in addition to the german

contingent, 5000 american soldiers will be living here. the presence of u.n. troops will boost the capabilities of the german forces as well. >> regarding equipment, we have made a lot of progress. we need to improve in some areas, but the equipment we have now is up to the requirements of crypts going on missions. we are always learning and making improvements were necessary. >> the americans, with seemingly unlimited human and material resources, will soon take over command in theorth of afghanistan. but cooperation is the watchword, like here at the military hospital. the u.s. and german medical teams are working well together, despite initial difficulties and the language barrier. >> there are no problems with personal or professional qualities. it is more that we come from different systems with different points of view.

of course, we each try to do the bestossible for our patients. is just that we sometimes have different ways of doing that. >> news that the americans were coming to northern afghanistan provoked concerns in germany and in the bundeswehr. some suggest that are not up to the job. but that is not how it is panning out. >> i think it is a good thing for the americans tom demonstrate that we are willing to come and work underneath someone else's command and authority and eentially follow thei oers d the things that are accustomed to. it gives us additional flexibility and credibility with our other allies. >> the multinational medical team treats afghan patients as well as international forces. right now, a local village policeman is in hospital after being brought by german

colleagues. he was suffering from severe abdominal pain. botched operations in afghanistan and pakistan have put his life in danger. >> i am very hopeful we will be ab to keep him alive it will be two or three weeks until the abdominal cavity is healed, but from what i have seen today i am hopeful it will go well. >> in the coming weeks and months, the field hospital here could have a lot more to do. in addition to long-running civilian reconstruction and police training projects, more important military operations are being carried out under the leadership of the afghan army. and they are being carried out with support from german and other allies. >> there are 19 nations represented here. we see ourselves as a combined

team. in the second half of the year, we are focusing on bringi the mission we just started to an end. it is taking place in an area we consider very critical. we have to focus on the elections, and i do not want to let the winter delight us. we want to take more territory and hold it. >> the german commander and high-ranking officers from other countries are meeting with the new overall commander of international troops, u.s. general david petraeus. >> as each of you knows well, we are engaged in a tough fight. after years of war, we have arrived at a critical moment. we must demonstrate to the afghan people and to the world that al qaeda and its network of extremist allies will not be allowed to once again establish sanctuaries in afghanistan from

which they can launch attacks on the afghan people and on freedom-loving nations around the world. >> petraeus said afghanistan must be stabilized this year if international troops are to begin withdrawing in the foreseeable future. with afghan forces taking responsibility for security and reconstruction. a german general is overall spokesman for international forces in afghanistan. he used to be commanderf the space. >> it is an important juncture in afghanistan, both in political and military terms. politically because of a series of key events. we have the london compass -- we had the london conference this year. we will also have a lisbon summit. a lot of important and successful military missions are going on with the afghans. with the transfer of power from mcchrystal to petraeus, continuity has been assured. >> the day is coming to an end. in the months ahead, german and

u.s. troops will te pa in military operations in the region, operations represent more risk for everyone involved. >> that has been our in-depth report. thanks for watching.

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