captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hello, welcome to "the journal." a testing time for thousds of travelers across europe as winter weather causes more delays. the u.n. steps up the pressure on the ivory coast's disputed president. >> confident falls slightly but remains high according to the latest survey. snow and ice grounded flights across much of europe this tuesday. the transport commissioner says

he is considering minimum quality requirements at during the severe winter weather. for now, international hubs are trying to clear a backlog of passengers but they have said that passengers might not be going anywhere until after christmas. >> frankfurt is bursting at the scenes. tens of thousands of travelers have been looking forward to their christmas holidays but they don't know if they will be able to leave. information is paltry. >> no one knows what is going on. you go to one town -- counter and is sent due to the next one. >> they were surprised by fresh snowfall early tuesday which forced them to stop all takeoffs and landings. they could not cope with the snow. entertainer's fanned out to help lighten the mood. >> they have to stand in line for hours and if you see an

angel or santa claus, it makes them happy. this is a bright spot in a day filled with waiting. >> at least 1000 flights were cancelled on tuesday across europe. no one is predicting what lies ahead for the rest of the week. london heathrow has been hard hit. it was the fifth day for restricted operations. >> this is so real but you cannot find anyone who can give you information. >> both runways are open again but baa says that only 1/3 scheduled flights will operate through thursday evening. >> we have been dealing with snow and western europe which is not an exceptional circumstance. we need prepared as which is in line with what is done in northern europe.

this must entail the necessary investment. that msage particularly goes to the airports. >> officials off to that traveler's only come to heathrow if their flight has been concerned. that is of little cfort to those already there. the snow and frigid temperatures have badly affected rail services in germany. they have decreased the speed of trains to 200 kilometers an hour. people are trying to squeeze their way onto full trains. a rail line operator said that they would add trains beginning on wednesday. a transport says that 10,000 employees are working hard to remain services. they expect more than half a million passengers in coming days. lukashenko has extended

crackdowns against opponents following his victory on sunday. 600 demonstrators have been sentenced to prison sentences lasting between five and 16 days. opposition leaders are calling for support of the protesters. the protesting continues they are using violence to disperse the crowds. foreign journalists were among those attacked. they were accused of illegal reporting. the iraqi lawmakers have approved a new government including all major factions. this ends five months of political deadlock. parliament reappointed new reality for a second term in office. -- appointed to prime minister maliki for a second term in office. he will run defense thomas -- defense, -- they argued over the formation

of a unity government for most of the year aft the elections provided no clear winner. nigeria it is evaluating all of its diplomats from ivory coast after an embassy came under attack. tensions have been rising in the west african nation, once a economic powerhouse, now it is unstable. after the presidential elections, the incumbent is stepping down even though he was defeated by his rival. people loyal to the president have blockaded a hotel where his opponent is staying. >> supporters of the disputed president are mobilizing in the wake of a contested presidential election. the loyalists say they are prepared to fight and die to keep him in power. it looks increasingly unlikely that he will see power of his own free wl -- give up power

of his own free will. >> the departure is not on the agenda. the international community has made many statements which will certainly raise the tensions in our country. >> tensions already high. the supporters of the president's opponent wait outside of the headquarters of the u.n. for medical attention after reportedly being attacked by violence supporters of the president. u.n. workers have been threatened to turn to the security council is responding by sending in another 500 soldiers on top of the 9000 already stationed. >> the members of the security council warned all stakeholders that they will be held accountable for attacks against civilians and will be brought to justice. >> u.n. peacekeeping troops have

both but up defenses that their headquarters following calls for them to leave. the u.n. has made it clear that they will stay put. >> u.s. sees little point in resuming talks with north korea on their nuclear program despite signals from an unofficial u.s. envoy. bill rickets and arrived in beijing tuesday after visiting north korea saying that p'yongyang would allow international inspectors into a nuclear enrichment facility. -- bill richardson arrived in beijing on tuesday after visiting north korea. richardson was on a private trip. let's talk about consumer confidence. >> germany coming out on the high end. consumer confidence is falling in the euros on suggesting that europeans might cut back on purchases as they prepare for further government spending cuts and higher taxes. it is a different story in

germany where a survey shows that consumer confidence remains high in the largest economy. >> consumers have been walking into department stores and shopping centers across germany. some items are now in short supply. germans continue to spend even though some expectations fell from november to december. sentiment is much higher compared to last december. in december 2009, the consumer confidence index was 3.6. since then, it has risen to 5.5. consumer confidence for 2011 is expected to depend heavily on the outcome of wage negotiations. trade unions are expected to have more leverage but public sector employees are generally skeptical about whether they will get significant pay increases. >> the new york attorney general

has launched a lawsuit against ernst and young saying that they helped lehman brothers avoid scrutiny. they helped them to remove as much as $50 billion in assets to conceal the overall debt. lehman brothers had $613 billion of debt when it collapsed in 2008. the suit seeks more than $150 million in fees that they received between 2001 and 2008 as the outside auditor for lehman brothers. the european stock market posted gains on tuesday amid low trading volume. investors ignored fresh concerns about the debt crisis after moody's said they might downgrade the sovereign debt of portugal. we have this report from frankfurt. >> the german stock market reached a new yearly high and traders are happy and stocks are

rallying. china would like to ease the sovereign debt crisis these are mainly shares of export companies. shares of construction companies have been bouncing back and forth. traders were concerned about- trillion parents but they expect much higher price. >> it will stay in frankfurt with the dax index closed up at 777. the leading index of blue chips is up as well. stocks are moving higher in new york amid merger activity. the dow is now up. the euro is currently trading at $1.31. stronger domestic consumption has prompted the hamburg institute of international economics to raise their forecasts for economic growth this year. the institute says that the german economy will grow 3.7%.

the covering is that german companies have now recoup about a 3/4 of their losses for the global economic crisis of 2008 and 2009. the institute forecasts the pace to slow next year, however with gdp growth at 2.5%. german model railway maker has emerged from bankruptcy. creditors meeting tuesday, a 99.8% voted in favor of a plan drawn up by the bankruptcy administrator. >> things are on the move. last year, a toy maker launched a comprehensive restructuring program under the guidance of a restructuring financing. he announced that they were no longer than rep. the creditors have agreed to relinquish 2/3 of the claims for

a stake in the company until a buyer is found. the company's employes are playing their role to ensure the survival of the company. it was back in 1891 that the company produced the world's first toy locomotives. five years ago, a british financial investor took over the company but sparked protests with the restructuring measures. three years later, the company was bankrupt. mismanagement was one issue. another was the aging demographic of those purchasing model railways. there has been a turnaround in their fortunes. >> when we arrived, there was no money in the bank, another is 40 million euro. >> to achieve that, they had to lay off half of the work force. the trains are still half craft -- handcrafted in germany and hungary. >> earthquake news.

>> yes, there is. in southern japan, an earthquake had struck during a brief tsunami warning. the epicenter was about 130 kilometers east of ogisawa islands. there was no immediate reports of damage or injuries. hungary has passed a controversial new law which will allow the state to monitor and penalize private media. the bill was passed 2/3 majority. the media authority will monitored television, radio, print, and online media and they will iue fines for coverage that they deem is unbalanced. this has triggered criticism from the opposition and international media organizations. the free democrats returned to power over a year ago. they were credited with4 much of

the success. there are calls within the company for -- to give up leadership after the party opinions fell to an all-time record low. >> the german foreign minister led his party to a letted years in opposition but his joy over making it into the government might be short-lived. in parliamentary elections, his party got 14.6% of the vote. the latest opinion polls put them at 3%, a figure which would not entitle them to get into parliament at all. they centered their 2009 campaign on -- but regional officials facing state elections refused to do that again. they have blamed their low ratings on westerwlle. they took 10.7% of the votes. recent polls suggest they might not even make the 5% hurdle

needed to get into the state parliament. there's a similar situation. in 2006, they got 8% and now they are scraping to make the 5% mark. the pressure being put on wes terwelle to resign as mountain. >> the german parliament is deciding whether or not to lift a ban on embryonic embryos. germany is sensitive about practices which could be used for purposes of genetic engineering. most other european countries prevent screening but germany's governing christian democrats have been reluctant to do south. >> -- to do so. >> this family would love to have a second child. this mother is worried that she will pass over a genetic disorder in her family. a disorder that left her father almost blind.

that is why she decided on in vitro fertilization and embryo screening. >> this is impossible to rule out of such an early stage i think i should have this white -- this right. >> this is currently a legal grey area in germany. now a group of politicians has put forward legislation that would make it available literature to cases. >> in principle, this diagnosis would be banned but the legislation would permit exceptions and the exceptions are those families with serious genetic disorders. >> people like this family, for incident. they still need approval in parliament and some like to see this outlawed altogether. >> don't go away.

>> welcome back. german politicians have been making christmas trips to afghanistan. the defense minister was there twice in the past week. once with his wife and once with chancellor angela merkel. even as they traveled to the hindu kush, they are starting to transport troops there -- from there by the end of next year. 2010 was supposed to market turnaround in the nato mission but this looks like a stalemate at best. more international troops were killed than in any other year of the campaign and civilian casualties have soared. leaders everywhere are talking exit strategies and dates. here in germany, lawmakers will vote on a new mandate for the force in january. >> angela merkel on her visit last saturday. the german chancellor did her

best to convey a sense of optimism. nearly a decade after the missn in afghanistan began, serious cracks have emerged in the coalition strategy. >> i have now gone into afghanistan. no one has told me how to get out. >> is the military strategy the right one? back in february, the international security assistance force committed 15,000 troops to a new offensive against the taliban. the logic of the operation was to clear out all taliban from the southern stronghold in one fell swoop. it was the biggest operaon since the beginning of the operation. >> you come in forced to chase away all of your opponents and make sure that the situation is

insured and then holding positions which will bring in civilian aspects. it is very difficult to have justice installed. it is very difficult of local police installed. >> these missions are costly and the success is difficult to gauge. e taliban simply regroup elsewhere. the afghan leadership appears powerless to stop them. how is the political situation in afghanistan? the president is supposed to be a strong partner for the west but his administration is widely seen as weak and corrupt. the widespread fraud have many in the international community wondering if he is the right man for the job. >> it is not appear to be a strong enough to be able to deliver.

>> victory on the battlefield will not be enough to bring peace and security to afghanistan. the local population must be won over. >> for the political part, our engagement is still not sufficient. >> how bad have things gone? in 2010, it is the worst year to date. nine german soldiers were killed in afghanistan. in total, almost 700 lost their lives. the much feared political and military collapse has not materialized. >> this year, has been a turning point for nato, no question about it. this will be a very different security framework in 2011.

in the end, this is about society. this will be the economy that will help us to find a solution. you are not building up an economy in a couple of years. >> commanders aimed to get the troops out of 2014 but many see this as a highly optimistic target. >> at fighting and exit strategy means turning security over to afghan forces. leaders have committed to do so in a stepped-up training efforts. officials said this will be a long effort. hamid karzai says it could take a decade before his country is prepared to resume responsibility. nonetheless, they're planning to turn some regions over as early as next year. we sent our correspondent out to evaluate a forces.

>> it is bitterly cold. snow fell overnight. a group was soldiers and police officers are getting their orders before heading off for patrol. their job will be to go to territories overseen by the afghan police. we take a ride on the west roundabout. the route has been carefully ?read comment. special troops check to see if it is safe. many of these soldiers have been here for months, troops are anything but routine. the threat of roadside bombs is too great and complacency is of the question. the days when they could patrol on foot are long gone. war is a fact of life.

troops have to patrol an arm and physical because the enemy has grown stronger and much more unpredictable. we are at the first station on the patrol route. of the soldiers secure the surrounding just what they learned in turning. locals look on suspiciously. they're not sure whether a military force like this is friend or foe. the germans have seen many here with hunting rifles and whether they had a permit for them. why should they have a license? no one has ever needed one around here then there is the issue of the tires on the afghan police cars. they are such bad quality that they're constantly causing problems.

the afghans asked the germans whether they can sort something better out and to ask them if they can do this without transportation hassles. it is problems like this that german forces must deal with. outside, the military police are monitoring the surroundings some of them clearly find it unusual th police are being trained and supported by german soldiers and not the german police force. othe afghan police get called out. apart from the problem with their tires, they seem happy. >> together with the police, we supplied -- we provide support with training and provide protections that they can work undisturbed. we work to find o there's suitable training zones might be so that all of the bases are covered.

>> police earned $200 a month at most. they need to bring their own firewood to keep their station warm. money is important to attracting and keeping new recruits. some are lord over to private militias with better pay packages even if it means switching sides. as for the germans, the morale is steady despite the increased threat level. >> the troops motivation has not changed, they work day in and day out with a high degree of motivation. they know why they're here and they know the german people and parliament sent them here. >> though we come to the end of relatively uneventful day. it could have been very different. >> that is it. thank you for joining us. good bye for now

ow! of course. thank you. i'd call her honeydew goodbody, not lisa. the very fact that she is called lisa proves that she exists.