>> this is "the journal." >> welcome. >> the headlines at this hour. the threat of civil war in libya as rebels and government troops fight for control. >> oil prices spiked at 2.5 year highs. >> the bayer munich coast -- coach will stay on until the end of the season. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> and e.u. fact-finding mission has arrived in libya to assess the situation as battles raged between gaddafi and rebel forces.

most of the fighting is concentrated along the mediterranean coast. with the duck the continuing to bomb rebel positions from the air, opposition leaders have appealed to the west to set up a no-fly zone. more on that in a moment. first, the situation on the ground. >> rebels on the road on monday. they have set up anti-aircraft batteries to defend against attacks by warplanes. they say they are determined to hold the town. the battle for controlofibya is concentrated along the coast. in the east, the fund appears centered around [unintelligible] in the west, the main focus is the city of zawiyah. it's got its heaviest fighting so far on sunday. the rebels successfully fought off a counter-offensive by the

regime. leader gaddafi appears unmoved by e.u. threats. >> we had a good relationship, and europe depends on libya f peace in the mediterranean and to block illegal immigration. europe depends on libya to stop the millions and millions of blacks who could come to the mediterranean to cross to france and italy. libya plays a role in security in the mediterranean. stability in libya mean stability in the mediterranean. >> and e.u. fact-finding team has arrived to address humanitarian conditions on the ground. >> a report to the high commissioner and vice president tonight. so far, we do not have any information. >> it is not clear whether the team will travel to areas where the fighting has been fiercest. for now, they are focusing on talks in tripoli. >> our correspondent is in

benghazi. both sides are claiming they have the upper hand. what is your impression from where you are? >> the situation is still extremely poor. both sides appear to be giving in -- digging in, intrench of their positions. around tripoli, gaddafi forces have overtaken tawi -- zxawiha -- zawiyah. there is also been fighting in misurata. rebel forces moved as far as sirte, gaddafi's hometown, but there were under equipped. early this morning, the duffy forces responded with full force, driving those rebels all the way back to the oil port.

>> would you say the country is on the brink of civil war? >> certainly right now you can call it what you want, but there are two sides. too heavily armed sides. this is a country very much divided. neither side wants to back down. >> we keep hearing reports that the rebels are asking for military assistance from the international community. is that true? if so, what form with that assistance takebacks >> the opposition leadership has been clear they do not want any direct intervention on the ground, but there is a lot of talk about a no-fly zone. the air force is khaddafi's most serious threat to the rebel forces. some rebels are also asking for direct air strikes against those forces to even out the score a bit. any sort of military intervention is a divisive subject. it is also divisive in the

international community. it could take weeks for a decision to be reached. >> after pressure from senate republicans, the white house is considering the option of harming the libyan rebels, but feel it would be premature to do so. president obama pointed out that military action is only one option and further moves would be decided in concert with nato and the united nations. >> we have nato as we speak consulting in brussels and around the wide range of potential options, including potential military options in response to the violence that continues to take place inside libya. >> the aid coming in from the west is limited to humanitarian assistance for the refugees, -- the refugees. there are thousands of foreign workers in the country, some from as far away as bangladesh. >> many of the refugees arriving

in this border town are exhausted. most of them -- then on the move four days, traveling through areas where fighting is raging. >> near tripoli, there was a lot of shooting. we had to keep fighting. -- hiding. >> i cannot talk about what is happening. that would endanger my friends. it is perfectly clear what is going on. >> 3000 people have been arriving at camp every day. many are foreign workers from bangladesh. the government hasade no efforts to arrange transport for them. the foreign minister urged them to hold out in libya. >> we bangladeshis' just want to go home, but wdo not have any money. there is nothing we can do. there is nothing for us. >> the u.n. refugee agency is

working on a solution that does not rely on the cooperation of the government. >> in the next day or so, they will start the chartering flights in order to assist the bangladeshis to go back to their country. >> it could take up to five days. >> meanwhile in afghanistan, u.s. secretary of defense robert gates has apologized to president hamid karzai for the accidental deaths of children last week, six days after u.s. helicopter crews killed nine boys mistaken for taliban fighters. it's also discussed the future of the u.s. military in afghanistan, expected to be withdrawn by the end of 2014. a small contingent will remain to help train afghan security forces. the unrest going on in africa and the middle east is causing chaos with oil prices.

>> causing major worries about economic growth. oil prices in london and new york spiking higher on monday on concerns over wider supply disruptions in the middle east and north africa. the recent sharp spike in prices and worries over what may come has prompted the unid states to continue tapping its emergency oil reserves. >> as oil prices soar, industrial countries around the world are deciding whether they should tap into their reserves. the u.s. consumes more than 19 million barrels of oil every day, more than any other country. washington is keeping a close eye on the developments in the arab world. investors are concerned the unrest will cause major disruptions to oil supplies, and the effect has been dramatic. in january, a barrel of brent crude cost under $100. with the uprisings, oil prices have shot up, reaching just

over $117 in trading today. industry experts are concerned soaring oil prices could destabilize the fragile global economic recovery. >> gold prices are also on the rise and on monday touched a new record high. precious metal is a favorite safe-haven investment during times of crisis. in monday trading, april gold futures surged to hit $1,495.70 an ounce, marking an all-time high in non inflation adjusted terms. other factors pushing up the price include low interest rates, inflationary pressures, and worries over the eurozone debt crisis. the soaring gold and predominantly oil prices combined with a strengthening euro. that had investors worried about a negative impact on corporate earnings and the economy as a whole monday.

our correspondent sent us this summary from frankfurt. >> a safe haven is what investors were looking for, not only due to news from the middle east and libya. a safe haven investors are looking for because of speculation inflation might be rising again. this is why investors are going for everything real. the want to put money into things they can see and hold in their hand, things that will not lose a lot of their value in times of inflation. the stock market this monday it was moved by a lot of mergers and acquisitions news. for example, there was news that daimler-benz rolls-royce are negotiating a joint takeover of a german engineering company, pushing its stock price by more than 20%. >> we can stay for a closer look at monday's numbers. germany's dax gave up 0.25%. the zero stocks -- eurostoxx 50

slid. the dow trading at 12,086 points. the euro trading at a value of $1.3967. airbus says as asia's fast- moving economic growth fuels demand for air travel, it expects airlines in asia to take delivery of nearly 9000 aircraft in the next 20 years, representing 1/3 of global growth. airbus expects demand from china to make up the lion's share. airbus will be delivering its first a-380 to china airlines later this year. increasing traffic is causing china to rethink its aviation policy. >> aircraft's can spend a long time waiting to depart chinese airports. delays have become routine.

traffic volumes are growing so fast that infrastructure can barely keep pace. 2010 passenger figures were 16% up on 2009, squeezing facilities. beijing is the second busiest in the world and has the world's worst record for delays. ipchinese aviation authorities e aware of the problem and are responding with an extensive program of construction projects over the coming years. >> china is preparing to build about 56 new airports, relocate over for the existing airports, and renovate and expand more than 90 airports. it involves a total 231 projects with an investment of 50 billion year rose. >> the money is urgently needed. the international civil aviation authority says chinese passenger figures will double in five years. >> that is your business update.

>> the trials of former french president jacques chirac on allegations of corruption opened monday. chirac is not scheduled to appear until tuesday, but will be the first president in postwar french history to appear before a criminal court. he faces charges related to his time as mayor of paris. chirac denies any wrongdoing. >> he refused to comment on the trial on monday. the trial has done little to dent the popularity of chirac. many french people still and meyer his folksy style, which contrasts sharply with president sarkozy. but critics insist the misappropriation of public funds is not a petty offense. attorneys for a taxpayers' association contend the investigation was [unintelligible] >> is france a country that

honors the rule of law onot? this is an opportunity for the judicial system to be in power. with respect to what is happening in the world, french justice can no longer play second fiddle to the executive office. >> the allegations concern chirac's time as mayor of paris. he is accused of putting almost 500 workers on the city payroll in the 1990's. many never spent a day on the office -- at the office to receive salaries, and some were members of his pay -- his election team. he struck a deal with the city of paris to repay 2.2 million euros. the city dropped charges against him and subsequently. he is expected to make his first court appearance on tuesday. even if found guilty, he might only be fined or received a suspended sentence. marie antoinette was also tried in this courtroom, but she feared much worsend was sentenced to the guillotine.

>> the defendant gunde -- bundesliga champions have said the coach will stay until the end of the season. there was speculation he might be fired immediately. >> he led bayern to the league title last season and his contract was extended through 2012. but he is now set to depart at the end of the current campaign. >> the reason for the termination of the contract was made evident this morning during our conversation. we have fundamentally differing opinions about the strategic direction of the club. >> the chairman did not elaborate on the differences, but explained why the change would not be made immediately.

>> even know we will go separate ways in a few months, we do agree that we have to work together in this difficult situation. we can at least achieved our minimum goals -- achieve our minimum goals. >> the biggest goal in the moment is to qualify for the champions league with at least a third-place finish. bayern are currently fifth in the standings. they have not said who will take over when the coach leaves. >> carnival season is reaching its climax around the world. millions of people attended parades like this one in duesseldorf, depicting scenes that poke fun at current political and cultural events. another is throwing candy at people lining the street. in cologne, 300 tons of candy rained down on partygoers. i want candy. we need more candy.

>> la comeback. millions of carnival fans and fun lovers have been out at rose monday parades. sunny skies part of the crowd to cheer on the band and answers. the procession featured floats that lampooned big news stories. cologne's carnival has a long history of poking fun at authority figures. once, it was bishops and princes. today, it is politicians in berlin. but the festival is about music, costumes, and of course parades'. here is our report, looking at the fun and color in germany's biggest carnival. >> coloe and carnival. it is difficult to imagine one without the other.

with the sun out, the silliest of silly season is is well and truly under way in the shadow of cologne's world-famous cathedral. with the weather this good, practically all of cologne and thousands of visitors have the feeling that spring is about to be sprung. >> we run landers -- rhinelanders are nuts about nature. this is the best season of the year except christmas. that is something we insist on. >> great people. lovely atmosphere. what more do you want? >> drinking beer and eating candy. >> the girls are really friendly. you have to like that. >> the best thing about carnival is the kissing.

we are ready. just come here. >> the suites and flowers are part of carnival in cologne. it is not just the younger revelers who are indulging today. not everyone is smiling. some are out of reach of the showers of sugary candy. they are foolish for being at the back. a colorful carnival costume is practically compulsory. the more creative, the better. >> this is my robot for carnival. i spent two months putting him together with bits of scrap metal. >> the little ones have the biggest eyes when carnival gets

going, and no one is too small for a big carnival costume. >> how old are you? >> four. >> do you know how long the route is? can you walk all the way? >> that is no surprise. revellers in cologne have to put nearly 6 kilometers behind them. it is germany's oldest carnival procession. >> there is a lot of good spirited and healthy competition between the different cities in the regions in germany as to who has the liveliest carnival parties, which city is home to the catchiest carnival music, and what area has best held onto

ancient traditions. as we saw in that last report, after cologne, some of the biggest parties are to be found in [unintelligible] the high point is the rose monday parade, but it is preceded by countless costume balls beloved by old and young. >> as you know, they fly solo. >> the children's costume ball is getting underway at the hall. it is 11:00 a.m. and it is a point to be a long day. all the children are dressed up. >> i am an indian. >> i am a magician. >> i am in musketeer. >> at noon, highpoint of the day. kids raced through the halls. throwing confetti is an important skill for the festival. meanwhile, behind the scenes,

ballet dancers from the carnival association are warming up. here they come. at 3:00 p.m., the event is over, for the little ones at least. two hours later and the decorations have been changed. the formal carnival review starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp. the last remnants from the children's party are being removed. the head chef and his staff are getting ready for the evening. 55 waiters and waitresses, 2400 guests. that demands almost military organizations. 500 liters of bubbly have to be cool. the bosses are checking the hall one last time. >> there were some wineglasses missing back there somewhere.

>> but guests do not only drink alcohol. >> the most popular drink is mineral water. they drink that a lot. >> who would have thought it? behind the stage, the methods of -- the ministers of the carnival committee are going over the program one last time. the president of the carnival association heads off to metal -- medal up. >> in principle, we are a satire of a state ministry. because back to the days when people wanted to make fun of authority figures, with medals, pomp, and circumstance. the people always have a distrust of military figures. >> that are especially proud of this rebellious tradition. it distinguishes celebrations

here from the carnival competition in cologne. the ballerina's from this morning's children's party are going back on stage, now decked out as aliens. off they go. 11 minutes past 7:00 and the aliens open the proceedings. [star trek theme] then, the committee marches in. being a part of this committee is a high honor for anyone in the town. one longstanding tradition at the event is the speeches at the review, where a bit of fun is poked at political leaders of the day. >> we used to make fun of helmut kohl. now it is angela merkle. the jokes are pretty much the same. >> the doorbell rings. i opened up. the reaper grimm has come to

suck. -- to sup. i boldly ask, who are you, pray. i'm father death, i hear him say. on my life, i think you want to see my wife. >> it goes down a storm. the crowd loves this kind of thing. at midnight, the dancers come out with their rock and roll show. the carnival festivities have been underway for 13 hours now, and the night still has a long way to go. >> conab in germany has been our in-depth. thanks for watching. stay with us if you can.