>> this is the "journal" on dw- tv. i am heather delisle. the headlines. the debates on withdrawing bundeswehr troops from afghanistan but treatable killed in anti-government riots in albania. >> and in the shadow of the germany dioxin scare, the green food fare gets underway in berlin. ♪ >> the german government says that it is on course to start withdrawing troops from afghanistan. the issue came up during the debate in the bundeswehr to discuss extending germany's

mission in afghanist for other year the erseas deployment of troops must be given parliamentary approval. >> the foreign minister pushed for approval of the new afghanistan mandate. he emphasized the importance of germany's military presence, vowing that representatives would be kept up-to-date. he also emphasized that while it seemed there was discord in recent weeks, the government has taken a united stance on germany's withdrawal from afghanistan. >> we want to reduce the presence of the german armed forces at the end of 2011. but it is clear that certain conditions must be fulfilled. it will depend on the situation at the time. our highest priority is that the reduction will not pose a threat to those soldiers to remain. >> he has pledged germany's long-term involvement in afghanistan, even after security responsibilities are handed over to local forces in 2014.

the opposition social democrats have signaled support for the mandate extension but object to this they are purely military goals. >> we intend to scrutinize your plans in the coming days to determine whether they have connected the political goals with the mandatory troop withdrawal plan in a convincing way. only then can you count on broad support from the spd. >> the debate has provoked the usual concerns about germany's role in afghanistan is as germany's to defend its own security but that the deployment must end as some point. >> the number of german development workers in afghanistan aims to be boosted by 50%. the development minister announced a major increase ove a number ogerman aid workers in afghanistan and called for close -- closer cooperation between aid agencies and the bundeswehr. it is to insure the country's social and economic development. the defense minister, karl- theodor zu guttenberg, has

denied the german armed forces deliberately will hit -- withheld information over death over a soldier and afghanistan. the soldier was felled in the german town during the summer. the first reports said the accident shot himself while cleaning his gun. it is said he was shot by a fellow soldier who was abating irsponsibly th h weapon. ere will change information policies if necessary. the defense minister has faced strong opposition criticism over his handling of the affair. at least three people killed and dozens injured in anti- government classes in the albanian capital of tirana. protesters demanding early elections. >> tension has been building for nths in albania. and it came to this, a massive rally outside the office of the prime minister. protesters accused the government of corruption, abuse of power, and reading the last election. and they are demanding that the

government be dissolved and call for new elections. this, just a week after the deputy resigned over allegations of bribery. the situation reportedly got out of hand when protesters and dug up paving stones and threw them at police. security forces responded with tear gas and water cannons. dozens were injured and authorities have yet to explain the deaths of several protesters. after three hours of a violent confrontation, police dispersed the crowd, and both government and opposition leaders appealed for calm. > >> they fourth term as president of belarus, elected in december. most observers say the election was a sham. eu and u.s. officials stayed away from the ceremony, and brussels is considering imposing sanctions on belarus for the government's suppression o o opposition groups.

>> president look at shankar, celebrating the start of a fourth term in office, after an election widely viewed by the west as fraudulent. since then, he is cracked down on the opposition. now he is casting himself as a victor over dark forces that saw to destabilize the country. >> our people have resisted economic pressure and political provocations. and ve refed to be influenced by corrupt politicians and journalists. together we have preserved what is most important, peace in belarus. >> ambassadors plan a boycott of the inauguration. but russian representatives were in attendance. the kremlin sees its chance to link minsk more closely with moscow. it is a precarious situation for the opposition and human rights activists who face severe repression. >> only one thing that held the political prisoners. all european countries must show

solidarity, d europe has to ke a hard line in response. >> the eu has already threatened to impose sanctions on belarus. look fishing -- the president warned his country will reply >> the former british prime minister tony blair has expressed his deep and profound regret over the victims of the iraq war. he made the statement at the end of four and a half hours of testimony before the iraq war inquiry in london. in a written statement, he acknowledged he had discounted advice from his attorney general in 2003 that the invion of iraq may not legal without the backing of the u.n.. the former prime minister said he viewed that advice as provisional. so berlin is hopping. fashion week in green week. >> double the amount of visitors expected for the world's biggest food fair. i do not know the two go hand- in-hand. but i would not mind eating my

way through this. food prices have been one topic that consumers are concerned about. dioxin has been another. the gornment has made ves t make sur the dioxin scandal does not occur again. producers of announced plans to introduce controls. high levels of cancer causing dioxin found in northern germany, prompting some consumers to steer clear of eggs and pork. many have started buying organic food instead. it is a boon for the organic farmers, but it is costing conventional farmers a lot of money. >> bread and salt for on the menu as this year's partner country poland welcomed the agricultural minister to its display. it was a welcome distraction perhaps for a minister still mired in the dioxin scandal. and managing a crisis that has all sides of in arms. >> the mood amongst farmers is aggressive. they're disappointed and very

angry that because of criminal acts, an entire sector has lost money in senate's reputation ruined. >> german farmers want to be talking about their efficiency, not food scarce. they said they can grow pigs to slaughter weight in just five months and that they can make bread so cheaply that a low-fat costs the average german in 10 minutes of work. but now, restoring confidence is the government's top priority. contaminated animal feed was the source of the current scare. berlin has announced tough new controls to look warm procession of the industry. >> these measures are something of a knee-jerk reaction. we have to make sure that regulations are established on the european level. if we just go it alone here in germany, we will achieve much less than you would expect in terms of consumer protection. >>v organic farmers have a more

radical solution. they say small farms making their own animals. the only way to prevent more scarce in the future. >> on a brighter note, german business confidence has stormed into the new year at record highs. the indexes risen for the eighth month in a row. sentiment on the management level has not been this good since reunification 20 years ago. >> industrial firms in germany are already running at full capacity, and managers are finding it hard to keep up with the surge in orders but the companies are finding it of a cold to fill vacancies. export-driven firms are betting on even more work over the next six months, and that, despite the dire economic situation, in many of germany's european neighbors. >> right now, the european debt crisis has no major bearing on the germ economy. this is because of the affected states like greece and portugal

are not among germany's most important trading partners. >> but france does count among them, and its economy is also enjoying the times. >> the meet has caught up. siemens shares traded upwards this friday. here is the report from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> next week, the siemens is going to hold its general sheholders meeting, and it is going to present a new quarterly earnings report. and apparently, investors are bracing for good news, because this friday they bought lots of seaman's shares. they have reasons. the large seamen's competitor, general electric, delivered quarterly earnings report that topped analysts' expectations by far. more reasons to be optimistic delivered the business climate

index. not on for the siems. among the big gainers were shares of the stock exchange, the banks, and insurance companies. >> let's take a look at the numbers now, closing in. the blue-chip dax index was up 0.5% higher. the euro stoxx 50 surged even higher. and new york is also up 0.5%. the euro is currently trade for $1.36. btish airways in spain's iberia completed their merger friday. it is hoped the move will save almost 400 million euros a year in five years' time of the two carriers will retain their separate brands, falling to around 200 destinations around the world. there'll be europe's third largest airline by market value, after lufthansa and air force klm.

but trouble looming for british airways with staff of voting for strike action. the union named a new date for the walkout. a major holdup on germany's main waterways starting to affect business across europe. authorities had to close the rhine river after a sulfuric acid tanker capsized. the barge has not lead, but the incident has caused a massive traffic -- traffic jam. the chemical giant has had to cut production. >> as scrap metal has been stuck on this and barge on the mine at ryan's for days. it is not the only cargo caught in the log jam. a whole array ofraw materials have been held up. and chemicals giant are already experiencing shortages. >> if we do not enough supplies, we cannot keep our facilities going at the capacity needed to keep up with demand.

but unless some product lines are affected and if you visitors. we can compensate with our integrated systems. >> if a boat is held up, it could cost the owner upwards of 2000 euros a day. the ban on traffic has affected several container ships from the myspace logistics company. and not all carter can be redirected onto lorries or trains. >> of course, it is very bad economically because we have about 1000 containers stuck here in mines. 1000 containers as well. some of the carter can be transported by road or rail each way, but it means more costs for us and our customers. >> work will begin to salvage this capsized tanker on saturday, but it could be weeks before rhine shipping is back to normal. >> as you can see, if you small boats that got through, but there hundred still in line.

>> we will see how that develops. representatives from iran and powers have begun a new round of talks on tehran's nuear program. leaders want iran to stop enriching uranium. but representatives from iran repeated that they have a right to get the civilian nuclear energy. the west believes iran is trying to devep a nekiller weapons program, a charge tehran denies. the people of southern sudan have voted overwhelmingly to split from the north. with most of the votes counted in the referendum, results show 99% of the people are in favor of separation. final results from last week's referendum will not be announced before next month. but with more than two-thirds of the ballots counted, the outcome is not in doubt. the u.n. described the vote as free and fair. it the result is confirmed, southern sudan is expected to declare its independencthis summer geva i observing three days of official mourning for the

people lost their lives in the protests that toppled the president. the u.s. is almost 100 people were killed in the unrest flags flew at half mast and state television's broadcast prayers. remembrance is not stop the protests. they're calling for a new government of national salvation, stripped of key figures who served under the old regime. >> a data is not pass without protest in the tunisian capital. the demonstrators in tunisia do not want to give up until they achieve their core demand. >> we will calm down and all the members of the former regime are gone. >> the pressures on the streets are having an impact. the former party has now dissolved the political secretariat. the interim government has announced a general amnesty for political prisoners. >> i am waiting for my son, who is a political prisoner.

he was arrested in july 2008. >> many families are being united with their jailed relatives after years of separation. but the country is also in morning. flags are flying at half mast throughout to any ship for three days, in memory of those who lost their lives in the struggle for democracy and freedom. >> u.s. congresswoman gabrielle giffords has left in arizona hospital to begin a further treatment less than two weeks after being shot in the head. as the ambulance pulled away to transport her to a rehabilitation center in houston, hundreds of well- wishers lined the route, cheering and clapping. giffords continues to make remarkable progress, but doctors caution that she faces months of intensive therapy. e congresswoman was shot in an attack at a constituency meeting that left six others dead. you're watching the the "journal"on dw-tv.

i will be back after a short break "in depth ."

>> welcome back to the united nations has designated 11 the ternional year of forests. the aim is to raise awareness about how to better manage and conserve our forests. they are an apparent economic resource but also vital for the well-being of our planet. the world bank estimates the one-fifth of carbon dioxide emissions result from deforestation. we take a look at some forestry projects, starting with indonesia, where illegal logging is a huge problem. >> of the timber on this ship was once part of a tropical forest in indonesia. most of the trees were taken down by illegal loggers. they can earn some 20 years of keep it matter what, so they do not shy away from trees in

nature reserves. the staff of this joint german- indonesian forestry projects are powerless to stop them. one of them asks this man why he is not afraid of the police. >> of course, we're scared. everybody here knows the police take bribes. >> they hope to help put a stop to it before station. the government has assigned him 24,000 hectares of swampy rain forest to protect. >> if we know how much carbon we have and how much carbon potentially used a fire, illegal logging, or from drying out, we can see how much carbon we can save, we can sell it back for carbon credit. >> the idea is to sell the

credits to big industry so they can help offset their co2 emissions. the money is plowed back into the project in for testing actions. many of the colleagues used to earn a living as illegal loggers themselves. nowadays they collect saplings and take them back to their village for nurturing. 150 people live in this area. the villages run a tree nursery here. they replant the saplings for three years and then return them to the forest. it is a system that can and does work in many other countries, especially where natural habitats are dying out. in some watcher, there's also deforestation in canada. every year, an area the size of jamaica is logged, laying bare sways of land. but canada has introduced some of the toughest forest

protection laws in the world. for every tree felled, a new one has to be planted. professionals can plant as many as 1600 trees a day. >> us as a company and other companies are able to take the technology and into the tropical areas where there has been a lot of deforestation and degradation of the landscape. through introduction of different native species to the area, we are working to reintroduce more natural landscapes to these degraded lands. >> ambitious project like this one are now a worldwide phenomenon. they help preserve the forests and so help to slow down global warming. >> a third of germany's covered by forests. more than 1 million jobs depend directly or indirectly on the trees they are made up of. although germany has a high reputation for its environmental policies, only 20% of forests meet the strict ecological

guidelines that enable them to be called truly sustainable. one of them is a near the city of cologne in western germany. >> this forrester had eight truckloads of spruce today. each tree trunk is about 120 years old. >> several generations have been at work before me. we fell timber here, but we also planned new trees and take care of them so that future generations can also cut would. >> carving this with us make it the third largest forest in germany. located east of cologne, it covers an area equivalent to 20,000 football pitchers. this is one of the customers. demand for spruce has been rising in recent years, especially in the construction industry. >> the way things are going, we will have supply shortages in the near future. because the forests just cannot

grow fast enough to keep up with demand. >> in the past, adjourn -- german forster's tried to increase output on efficiencies. but they're vulnerable to pests and natural disasters. this part of the forest was practically wiped out by a severe storm in 2007. >> quit profits from forestry will never be sustainable. the only benefit a single generation. we have to think in terms of several generations and the storm damage simply confirm that the direction we have to take. we have to stick with that direction. >> that means forests with a variety of species. selling is more laborious, but the forest is more resistant. >> once we have harvested this patch up spurs, which is about 120 years old, a force made up of about six, seven, or eight species will grow in its place. spurs will supply a role, but it will not be as dominant. -- spruce will supply a role,

but it will not be as dominant. >> it is not only timber sales. he also rents out holiday homes, and he makes money through hunting in meat sales. 120 people from the region work on his estate. his latest business is heat generation. these heating plants are filled with wood chips from the forest, a waste product that does not go to waste and boosts the local economy. >> quite simply, if we spend one year on heating with wood chips, 85 cents stays in the region. if we use oil, only 15 cents stay in the region. >> as the example shows, sustainable forestry makes both economic and ecological sense. >> down through the centuries, the forests have played a significant role in the german national identity. the oak tree purveys german culture, om religion to e cards, from coins to military

nixing yeah. we end with a light-hearted look at the role of the forest in germany, past and present. >> trees, trees, and more trees, as far as the eye can see. about a third of germany is covered with thick forests. there used to be more. much more. ♪ the romans in claim that the germanic tribes they encountered lived in the trees. the day that they finallyame down from the trees marked the real beginning of german history. cthat was when the original home of the german, known as are many as to the romans, route to the invaders atat the battle of the forest. the forest has always played a key role in german culture. without it, there were no hansel and grendell and no german romanticism. and then escape painter turned the oak tree into a national symbol.

portrayed as tough, resilient, and durable. in other words, a typical german. ♪ inc. the forced into their ideology, and their ideology into the forests. they took anti-fascists and democrats decades to notice but perhaps they were unable to see the trees through the woods. ♪ indeed, germany has not always been kind to this focus of national identity. acid rain killed off huge swiss and german forests. fortunately, they are now growing back. ♪ half of all germans like the woods to relax or to get back to ththr roots. the forest back into their own home. purely romantic and typically german. ♪

>> that has been our "in depth" this hour. you're watching dw-tv. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪