>> hello, everyone. welcome to the "journal." coming up on our show, we have just hours to go in europe, but across australia and asia, people are already celebrating the new year. in her new year's address, chancellor merkel says the euro is the foundation of german prosperity, an australian authorities carry out mandatory if evacuation's as queensland province experiences its worst flood in 50 years. it islmostime for us to bid a final farewell to 2010, but

many of the celebrations have already begun. revellers in at least half of the world have started ringing in the new year. abu dhabi is now in the midst of celebrating, but the first of the really big new year's party were in new zealand. and an hour later, in australia. celebrations in sydney are always extravagant and among the biggest in the world. >> two. one. happy new year! 2011 >> has arrived in sydney as trillions bring in the new year with a bombastic show, said to be the world's most expensive fireworks display. two hours later, click clock struck 12 in south korea as revelers in deoul welcomed 2011. hong kong also enjoyed fireworks displays.

mainland china celebrates its new year in about four weeks. in milan, merrymakers are getting ready for the main event. partyers are already celebrating. >> i feel very good. starting another year tomorrow on a very good note. >> it will be a while yet before the clock strikes 12:00 in brazil. tourists andndocals alike enjoying the sand. brazilians grow flowers to please the goddess of fertility. >> i wish helpful people all round the world and that our enemies do not bother us and for more friendship. -- i wish health for all the people around the world. >> america also has a few hours to go before counting down the final seconds of 2010. >> i think i i will go by fast. just talk to people.

>> happy new year. >> the big apple is ready for the big day. >> here in berlin, some people ha already begun setting of the fireworks, but the place to be tonight is the city's landmark brandenburg gate where most of the new year's eve action will be taking place. dw-tv will also be broadcasting live from there. here's a look now at some of the preparations. >> by mid-afternoon, pretty much everything was in place for the big party and hundreds were already gathering of brandenburg gate. the party area stretches virgilio will kilometers. revelers will dance in the new year to the sounds of about a zen bands. it is a logistical nightmare, germany's largest extravaganza. lights, music, and, of course, fireworks. >> q♪ que sera sera

>> and what with the new year be without the requisite resolutions? >> next year, i want to get more exercise, and i like to return to germany. at the moment, i'm living abroad. >> i wish for world peace and good health for me a my chaps. and to all, a healthy and happy 2011. berliners have less than three hours to wait. >> in her new year's address, german chancellor merkel has emphasized the importance of european cooperation for peace, freedom, and prosperity across the continent. she called the euro single currency the foundation of german prosperity. merkel also highlighted germany's achievements in wuthing recent onomic challenges. >> germany surpassed most economic forecasts this year,

and angela merkel looks back on a successful 12 months at the beginning of her new year's address. >> germany weathered the crisis that -- better than almost any other country. we achieve what we set out to do. we have emerged from the crisis stronger. >> unemployment is the lowest since reunification two decades ago. looking ahead, however, there is still concern about the security of the euro. according to the chancellor, the contribution to peace and freedom in europe means its value isthan just monetary. >> the euro is the foundation for our prosperity. germany needs europe and our common currency for our own well-being and to respond to challenges around the world. >> germany's military involvement in afghanistan remains a major challenge. merkel paid tribute to members of the german armed forces, especially those who lost their

lives. >> our soldiers in afghanistan have had to bear the deaths of nine of their comrades this year. nothing i say can ease the pain of families and friends of fallen soldiers. but i want to say with all my heart that i will not forget them. >> the chancellor says she is determined to make important progress in the coming year, especially in the fields of education, health, and economic policy. to do this, she is depending on the talents and efforts of th gean people. >> you can watch chancellor merkel's new year's address in full gear on dw-tv coming up in later editions of the "journal." the government of belarus says it is closing in minsk office of security and cooperation. the osce had "fulfilled its mandate" in the country. this comes after election

observers criticize this month's landslide reelection president lukeshenko, accusing him of vote rigging. he was also accused of a crackdown on opposition politicians and demonstrators. the closure is further evidence that the authoritarian president is turning his back on the west after making modest efforts to improve relations. >> i was just beginning to wonder why anybody would really want to join the euro, and am looking at estonia, which says it wants to start the new year with a new currency, and about an hour's time, the baltic states will adopt the euro and become the 17th member. but it has the financial criteria really with flying colors. after years of anticipation, estonians can hardly wait for midnight.

>> banks in estonia had plenty to do in recent weeks. to meet the criteria for membership, the estonian governmentaunched a rigid austerity program, cutting pay for civil service as well as spending on welfare and pensions. the prime minister defends the measures. >> the europa will make estonia -- the euro will make estonia more attractive for foreign investors because they can trust it more than a small national currency. >> estonian business has long been pushing for membership. they hope to gain new export opportunities while saving on bookkeeping and currency exchange. but many employees doubt they will see any benefits. >> what is in it for us? we may even have to help foot the bill for debt-ridden eurozone countries.

we are destined to be second- class members. >> opinion polls showed just under 50% of the population favors adopting the euro, despite concern over the currency. >> there comes a timeo be european. not only a question of comfortable situations. sometimes, it is uncomfortable. >> the central bank has already been taking crown notes out of circulation. they are being shredded and are destined to be recycled. >> 2010 was a pretty exciting year for the equity markets. neither global financial worries nor the eurozone debt crisis could prevent stocks from climbing. germany's dax index gained a whopping 16% on the year. not bad, but there were others that have performed even better this year.

>> german non-blue-chip stocks outperformed the dax index in 2010. shares soared 184% over the course of the year. it was going by a successful corporate restructuring strategy and a recovery in the advertising industry. the leading advancer on the dax, recording gains of 85%. still, in security define the year stock market action. the dax ended the year at 5957 points. at the beginning of the year, the greek debt crisis kept investors on tenterhooks. come fall, the dax sprinted to the finish line. banking shares ended the year down. german financial institutions still hold government bonds and loans of heavily indebted eu

countries. in addition, new stricter banking regulations are set to curb profits. the dax pose a leading decliner was germany's second-largest utility, which hit 27%. although berlin has decided to extend the life of the country's nuclear power plants, rwe share prices hit after the cabinet agreed to introduce a new tax on nuclear fuel. >> most european exchanges were closed today, but wall street is up and running now. we spoke with ourbilisi dw-tv -- we spoke with our dw-tv correspondent and asked him about the mood on this last trading day of the year. >> traders are taking it easy. a big champagne maker, by the way, will ring the closing bell year. i would not be surprised that there will be the one were the other glass even before trading. we do have some bigger movers. borders, the book chain, is

delaying payments to some of the publishers, so that is putting quite some pressure on them- upside. on the upside, we have imax. there are rumors that the company mought be -- might be bought by sony or even walt disney. >>w looking back at 2010, how dd stocks there? >> it has been a pretty good year for wall street. a lot of things went right for investors. there was the chief money policy from the federal reserve, especially in the second half of the year. the weakening of the dollar also helped the big exporting companies here in the united states. the dow jones industrial average up by roughly 11% after blue chips went up almost 19% the year prior. the second year in a row we have seen double-digit gains here on wall street. >> we thank you very much for that update.

america's s&p index's on track to have its best december performance in nearly two decades, but the preeminent index of major u.s. stocks, the dow industrials, are currently up small at 11,578. the euro trading for $1.3369. airbus can look forward to a busy new year. china eastern airlines agreed to buy 50 a-320 aircraft to meet rising demand and lift its competitiveness in the air transportation markets. the airline said it received a significant discount off list price of $3.2 billion. the aircrcrt will be delivered in stages between 2012 and 2015. this will increase china eastern's capaci by 11%. the airline is one of china's three main state-owned carriers. the country's burgeoning aviation market is expected to offer a lot more opportunities for global airplane manufacturers.

>> thank you for that. there have been protests across bolivia over a drastic increase in the price of fuel. at least 15 police officers were injured during clashes at a demonstration in the capital. some 20 demonstrators were arrested. last week, the government announced it can no longer afford to subsidize food prices, causing the cost of petrol to drop more than 80%. the president's administration wants to introduce measures aimed at offsetting the fuel price rise, including a 20% hike in the minimum wage. a number of victims of hate depose a cholera epidemic continued to climb. the health industry says more than 3300 people have died since the disease in mid-october. another 150,000 are killed. efforts to contain the epidemic have been hampered by the aftermath of the country's january earthquake that claimed

250,000 lives and devastated infrastructure. authorities are carrying out mandatory evacuations in parts of northeast australia where floodwaters have yet to peak. queensland is experiencing its worst flooding in half a century after two weeks of torrential rains. an area bigger than france and germany c cned, inundated in --nd more than 200,000 people have been affected. major industries like coal mining and sugar production are currently shut down. damages are set to run in the billions. >> the floods have yet to peak in rockhampton, but large parts of the coastal city are already under water. police are ordering residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, forcing them to leave if necessary. further south, in the sugar- producing town of boehner berg, hundreds of families have lost their homes, and many businesses

have been damaged. there australian prime minister personally assess the scale of the disaster on a visit to affected communities. she has pledged to boost government aid to stricken areas. >> we are seeing a magnificent response by all levels of government. >> the damage to property and trade is set to run in the billions. sugar exports have been disrupted by the closure of the court, crops destroyed. now, the authorities main priority is century nobody is harmed by rising floodwaters. these residents were airlifted out of rural mines in a compulsory evacuation. >> there is a lot of hard stuff going on. i think everyone works together, we will manage to keep everybody safe. >> many of the evacuees are being housed in the emergency

centers. it could be a week before they can return home. >> we will be back after a srt

all broadcast times online. >>eople have bun celebrating the start of the new year, 2011. the time when we bring out the old and bring in the new is often a chance to look back and evaluate the events of the 12- month just ending, but it is also a time to move forward, to make decisions and new resolutions about the future. in today's "in depth" report, we look at three young germans for home 2011 promises to be an exciting and challenging year in the worlds of business, music, and space exploration. >> astronauts alexander is 34 and on his way to an exciting future in space.

35-year-old professor janet is grappling with the challenges posed by market economies. and benjamin, 27, is striking a chord by melding classical piano with synthesized music for computer games. this is the space mission's training hall at the european space agency. the lab is a replica of the international space station. alexander is the only german astronauts in the european team of trainees. he is a geophysicist, but will also carry out experiments related to chemistry, biology, and medicine on board. scientists on the ground will talk him through the procedures. guest is only just starting the training. >> of course, the space station and the lab here are complex systems.

every day, i learned things from experienced scientists, teachers, and trainers. it is great. >> while alexander worked through his pre-mission training, janet is teaching in a lecture hall at the university, born in magdeburg in eastern germany, she became germany's youngest economics professor in 2008. her innovative research is probing the problems that plague market economies and inspiring her students, the economists of tomorrow. >> there are problems that cause markets to fail. it has long been known that these problems occur with respect to environmental resources for climate protection. how can we solve these problems? we are using experimental economic research to investigate, and the method is opening up new perspectives. >> the young pianist is exploring perspectives of a different kind and

revolutionizing our listening habits in the process. at the berlin philharmonic hall, he performs computer game soundtracks on the piano. ♪ he is playing the work of the young japase composer, matsu, whose music for video games is widely respected in japan. the most people think video games. i read somewhere that they are bad for my children and that from an educational standpoint. most people think of shooting games, but i want to show the video game music is a rich resource. >> a soundtrack as he motioned

to a video game, but benjamin consciously avoidshowing missiles from the games. he feels the music should stand alone. >> these are really wonderful moving melodies. they fit the characters in scituate -- and situations in the game precisely and give the whole game a soul. >> meanwhile, alexander is alpracticing the approach to the iss aboard the russian capsule. >> you take off on the tip, the very end of a rocket. then, it is a two-day flight to the space station, and it gets park for half a year and can be used as an emergency escape vehicle in case something should go wrong. >> alexander's goal is to support astronauts working on

the iss. it is a big step for him. >> like the apollo astronauts, we will be able to see the earth from space. we will see that in reality, the planet is a small, fragile spaceship, and we are all on a moving through the universe. seen from that angle, the conflicts from the earth and the damage we cost to the environment seems senseless. the perspective we gained through space travel is important to us, and it is important that we as astronauts passed his perspective on to others. dam it to train for the mission, he has got to get what first. at the bottom of a large indoor pool, used to simulate the weightless environment of space. back in her lap, janet has given

individuals a brief period -- back in her lap. asian invest money either to maximize profits for themselves or to promote the common good in a joint project. when isolated, each individual opts to maximize their profit, but as soon as video conferencing is used to bring them together, something surprising happens -- all of them are ready to invest in the common good. >> should we then agree that everyone will give it their all? let's go for it. >> those who have seen and spoken with one another about making an investment were surprisingly quick to commit their money to a joint project. >> the risk involved, but we do have to trust each other a bit. you will earn more if you stay on board. should we give it our all? >> everyone cooperated each round. from an economic standpoint, they are achieving something like efficiency. at means they arrive at a situation which is the best possible outcome for everyone, and that is what we want to do.

we have to remember that resources are scarce, and we have to make the most out of the few that we have. >> benjamin wants to break boundaries with his music, by lowering the barriers between classical and popular music, and above all, between generations. his efforts have earned him an invitation to tokyo. ♪ >> the idea was to use video game music to get people back into the concert hall and get them interested in classical music and to perhaps offer something new to older people who already have an appreciation of classical music. >> the idea is a success in tokyo, where his concert sold out within hours.

for now, the engine and is concentrating on completing his music studies, but he appears well on course for a big breakthrough once he is done. janet also has plans. she wants to join forces with narrow biologists to analyze what happens in the brain when financial decisions are made. alexander is continuing preparations for his first mission. he has still got some time before his 2014 lift off into space. >> thankfor joinings for the la show -- the last "in depth"show in 2010. coming up, you can see the new year's address of the german chancellor, but for now, that wraps up the "journal" at this hour. on behalf of everyone here at dw-tv in berlin, i would like to wish you a very happy andd healthy new year for 2011. stay tuned.

no. well, it's just past there. first house in the right after the cottage on the l don't panic. brazen it out. me? - no. - right. here goes. yippee!