>> welcome to "the journal." i am brian thomas in berlin. >> welcome. >> north korea friend's new attacks as the south sends more troops to the border. >> the euro stabilizes after a strong defense by angela merkel. >> a new study shows one woman out of four in germany falls victim to domestic violence. >> south korea is sending more

troops and weapons to front line islands as north korea warned it could follow up the deadly showing with more attacks. the warning comes as an american aircraft carrier heads to the region to deploy with a joint war games with troops in thsouth. the defense minister resigned following criticism that he reacted too slowly and softly to the assault on -- assault by p'yongyang. >> the south korean army allowed foreign media onto the island of yeonpyeong. the north fired artillery shells of the island, setting dozens of homes ablaze. the people here fur -- fear further attacks. >> a shelled to -- a shell hit directly here. my home was destroyed. >> most residents who experienced the attacks are

packing belongings or have already left the island. meanwhile, in the capital of seoul, hundreds took to the streets to protest against the north, accusing tehran government of a slow and inadequate response to the -- of using their own government of a slow and inadequate response to the attack. >> we have to close ranks and strike back with force. >> the criticism over the response prompted the resignation of the defense minister, seen here in archive footage. the president bowed to beef up hit -- beef up his country's defenses. the south korean navy is set to start a new joint maneuvers with the u.s. navy. the north h h threatened further attacks if it feels provoked. >> for more, we spoke earlier with our correspondent in seoul. we asked him what we should make of the resignation of the defense minister.

>> i think this is the government realizing that someone needs to take responsibility for what happened, especially since two civilians died. some might say that the defense minister should have resigned earlier this year, following the sinking of a south korean ship. many conservative south koreans as well as opposition parties say the defense ministry did not do enough to prevent that attack, nor did they do enough to fight back against north korea during this most recent attack on tuesday. we can see this as the first heads to roll from this attack. >> soul is sending more troops to the islands. north korea says it will respond with force. how do you see the situation developing? >> south korea is adopting a much stronger posture against north korea. the president today said that rules s engagement are changing.

before, south korea was concerned with not letting tensions rise any higher. it skirmishes break out -- if skirmishes break out, they do not want to raise tensions. seoul says they will be sure to fireback. >> jason, thank you so very much. over to steve now. the euro is taking a breather. >> there are people who would like to see the euro fail, but those within the eurozone say that will not be the case. angela merkel insisted that the euro will survive the debt crisis. that was the good news. she insisted that private investors will come in the future, have to share the burden of bailout.

>> there has been no euro crisis mechanism, temporary or permanent. there will be a balance. there will be a permanent crisis mechanism in future. >> there were words of richard -- words of reassurance from the president of germany's central bank. there is growing consensus that portugal could be the next country to ask for help. the 750-billion-eurozone rescue fund would be adequate. he added the eurozone will not allow funds to and run out and will do what is necessary to protect the currency. the eu issued a firm denial the plans are under way to double the size of the rescue fund. for more on this, we spoke with a professor of the bavarian finance center. we are talking about boosting

the rescue facility and the eu having to deny plans to double it. i asked him if he thinks the euro is striving for its life. >> i think it will survive for many hundred years. there are problems with currencies, but tehe united states has more problems than the eurozone, especially germany. countries like greece, ireland, portugal, are dominating countries. i am quite sure that we have to learn from the financial crisis that some countries have to do their homework. i am quite optimistic that it will happen and then there will be no danger for the euro. >> angela merkel said that private investors should share the burden of rescuing struggling economies. do you see that as her trying to

score political points, or is it realistic policy? >> it has to be realistic policy, otherwise we give wrong signals to the economy, and especially in the insurance companies, and the banks. the banks have to learn that they cannot get a free lunch in interest rates. on the other hand, they have to take the risk of all of these papers. they have to be, in the future, on the part of the participants , aware of the difficulties. it cannot just be the taxpayer. mrs. merkel is it in exactly the right position. other countries have another view.

>> he spoke to us earlier from munich. stocks managed to lock in another day of gains in thursday trading. our correspondent sent us this summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> quite suddenly, in afternoon trading, the german market gained momentum. this was caused by angela merkel, who confirmed again that the current umbrella in the eurozone to protect the euro is not to be changed. this set the record straight and caused confidence among investors. it caused demand for german stocks. this thursday was a bit more quiet than usual on the trading floor. it is thanksgiving day in the united states, which means for the markets in the rest of the world that an important market participant is on holiday and missing. >> conrad in frankfurt. we will take a closer look at the numbers. the dax finished higher.

the euro stock 15 index is leading on blue chips, rising by 1/4 of 1%. u.s. markets closed for this thanksgiving day holiday. currency trading never stops. the euro is trading at $1.3361. details are emerging about the deal reached between russia and the european union that has put russia firmly on track to join the world trade association. russia plans to cut its timber export duty to about 15% of customs value, down from the current level of 25%. on the eve of talks in germany, vladimir putin says his country is in favor of some radical new approach aes. >> his proposals may come as a surprise to some. he argued that the current level of cooperation between the eu

and moscow is not up to the challenges the two face. that is why he wants to see what he called an economic community stretching from lisbon to russia. berlin welcome to the proposal, but with a caveat. >> of course, we support the idea of the tough -- of a free- trade zone between the eu and russia. i have to point out that most of the steps russia has taken in recent times do not exactly. in that direction. -- exactly point in that direction. >> russia imposes arbitrary restrictions on imports. that is one issue. she will meet russian counterpart on friday. >> under the european car sector, after years of prodding by the european union, france looks set to open up its electricity market to competition. its parliament thursday voted to

liberalize the market. the state-controlled energy group will have to sell 1/4 of its nuclear-generated electricity to competitors. french customers will also be able to change providers more easily. the eu criticized france for setting its industrial tariff far beef -- far below market prices. now they will be phased out by 2015. now it is back to brian. >> mariel maliki has started work on forming a new government after months of political uncertainty. there is a formal request giving maliki 30 days to name a new cabinet. it will not be an easy task. iraqi politics are fractious. all the countries' factions are expected to be represented. tete of thousands of students and academics have marched in cities across italy for a second

day of protest against government plans to hike tuition and cut 130,000 jobs in the education system. in rome, protesters demonstrated before of marching on the city center. there were similar scenes in other --cities. they're cutting about 9 billion euros in the education system. the netherlands has issued a european arrest warrant for a dutch foreign not see war criminal. -- nazi war criminal. klaas carel faber worked in a transit camp during world war ii. he was committed to life. he escaped prison and fled to germany. a german court ruled that it had insufficient evidence to try him in bern.

now aged 88, he lives in bavaria. the german ministry of family affair says nearly one in four women are victims of domestic violence. police received 16,000 calls last year for help for women in berlin. the number of women who do not report cases of abuse is much higher. >> barbara says she would still be in during the beatings and kicks if it were not for her son. she found the courage to separate from her violent husband when he threatened their then-three-month old son. >> he is a butcher by profession. once he grabbed a knife and said he had already slaughtered 70 pigs, and one more would not matter. then he held the knife to my throat. >> when she left her husband, barbara had five euros to her

name, spoke no german, and wandered the streets. she found help with an outreach center. on average, three women seek the help of the center each day, nearly 1000 each year. consultants speak six languages. >> a woman cannot manage on her own. she can perhaps ask neighbors or acquaintances for help. if there is nobody, it is very important to have a phone to call the police in an emergency. >> with the center's help, she is now trained as an office clerk. she would like to work for the outreach center and help other women who are vic -- other women who are victims of domestic violence. >> there have been the supplier neri proceedings -- disciplinary proceedings against players.

they will serve one-match suspensions. in the final minutes of tuesday's match, two received red cards for wasting time. they and two others will attend a hearing next week. in golf, germany's golfer is hoping to win the dubai world championship. a victory would allow him to advance to the top of the world rankings. kaimer fired an eagle at the third hole. he ended the day in third place, ahead of his biggest rivals after shooting five under 67. one of germany's oldest christmas markets is open in dresden, offering an array of traditional treats like hot spiced wine and fruit cakes. a nearly 15-meter-high christmas

pyramid towers over the market. the event was founded as a one- day market in the 15th century. today, at last four weeks with yuletide specialties and handicrafts. there are 2.5 million visitors every year. winter weather is at the market. winter has arrived in full force in parts of europe. in some places, it has taken residents by surprise. the inland woke up to its earlier snowfall in 17 years with a blanket of about 10 centimeters. temperatures dropped below zero, very unusual in that region. scotland, a treacherous road conditions forced schools to close. the cold snap will deepen in the coming days with lows of -5 degrees celsius in some areas. slower-moving traffic. coming up in a moment, we will have our in-depth on chinese

investment in europe. could it influence political decisions? stay with us for that.

>> welcome back. for a long time, european trade and investment with china were more or less one-week lows. products made in china were shipped westward and the money flowed eastward as big european companies outsourced production. all of that is changing quickly and radically. germany's economy is booming, thanks to exports to asia. chinese investors are heading west, looking to buy up continental cos. the massive current account surplus, they are flush with capital. time is snapping up the greek and spanish debt, highways, and industries in eastern and southern europe. >> when the chinese president hu

jintao comes to europe, it is noally to talk about money. beijing has a huge trade surplus and debt-laden countries like portugal would like some help. the european debt crisis has created opportunities for china. greece's largest port is now in chinese and. the chinese conglomerate received the contest -- concession to manage the entire terminal. the company is paying 4.3 billion euros for the lease. at the end of 2008, president hu jintao himself came to athens to sign the agreement. the chinese have major plans for the port. they include a terminal for their run products, a hotel, and rail connections to the rest of the country. the chinese want to turn the port into a gateway to europe for chinese goods. the location is ideal for the balkan countries.

in poland, the chinese have entered uncharted territory by preparing a bid for their first large construction product in -- project in europe. they're building two new highway segments totaling 50 kilometers. the chinese have offered to complete the project for 340 million euros, 1/3 less than the lowest bid. critics contend the chinese government has provided massive subsidies to the construction company, paving the way for a to underbid competitors. they say beijing wants to increase its presence on european markets, even if it means turning to dubious methods. the chinese are hoping to profit from spain's debt crisis. beijing has bought spanish government bonds worth $625 million. the risk of losses is not a major concern. the chinese prime minister has expressed interest in the government bonds of other countries, including greece.

beijing is hoping to earn respect and improve its strategic position by helping to ease the debt crisis in europe. >> a lot of chinese capital is flowing to a german state, china's number one investment target in europe. chinese companies hope this date, germany's most populous, will become a new gateway to other european markets. >> the german staff call him alex because his real name is not easy to say. he is the managing director of the company. the headquarters are in a town in north rhineland westphalia. having german headquarters is good for the image of every chinese company because products from china still have the reputation of being cheap and mass-produced. >> germany is a country that

stands for quality goods. if a product can be marketed in germany, that means the product or the brand is successful. >> since labor costs in china are much lower, the only order finished goods. in germany, each piece is examined before sales agents deliver them to specialty stores across europe. germany's central location and excellent transport links are ideal for european operations. >> logistics are very important. we are near holland and hamburg, and very close to an airport. there are many experienced workers here. that is very practical for us. >> the densely populated state oforth rhine and westphalia is attracting more foreign

investors. 600 chinese companies have establisheded operations in the region surrounding the state capital. that is more than in any other part of europe. it has also influenced what the city looks like. >> many cities here are already a bit chinese. there are several good restaurants, as well as karaoke bars, similar to what you will find in china. i think it is all right. i like the food. food is important to the chinese. >> all the regulations and red tape in germany are no laughing matter. setting up a company is more complicated than in other countries. he says he needed a lot of patience, but in the end, it was worth it. >> i always talk to my chinese colleagues when they want to invest. i tell them that if they want to do business on a long-term

basis, go to germany. if you want quick profit, go to other countries. that is the way it is. >> the company plans to stay in germany for many years to come. >> earlier, i spoke with someone from the center for european policy studies. i asked her whether beijing hopes its investments will give it influence over european political decisions. >> well, it could be. political influences are normally based on economic influence.n% it would be a good start. that is one reason why china is investing a lot in europe. they are investing a lot also in southeast asia and in africa. >> china is often accused of not playing by the rules in the currency arena. are there similar concerns in the area of foreign investment

and trade? >> well, we don't know exactly. china is a special case. it is not likeuro for the u. there are problems related to the fact that the yuan -- with the yuan and the dollar. there's a big promise for the global economy. it does not make much sense to make a judgment about policy in terms of investment and trade.,+ >> the companies doing investing our state-owned. does that give them an advantage over their european or north american counterparts? >> this could be well the case exactly because it is not market economy. their own 100% by the

government. -- they are owned 100% by the government. once again, we cannot do much about this. if china perceives the current situation as important for their national interests, they will not change it. >> western countries have been calling on china to become a true international stakeholder, to take a bigger responsibility in the international system. do you think the developments we are talking about could lead in this direction? >> i am not very sure about that. it would depend on the evolution of the perception of paying national interests from in chinese intests if they perceive the interests are such that china should keep growing at a higher rate, they won't do much more at the

international level. >> thank you so very much. thank you for joining us. stay with us if you can.