>> you are watching the journal. >> welcome. >> our top stars of the star -- a new year's own crisis as leaders -- a new euros own crisis has leaders meeting in brussels. dozens of people are killed in anti-garment protests. kansas to employ is at the damage -- and to employees at the damaged nuclear plant are hospitalized.

>> europe's leaders are hoping to resolve differences in a two- day summit in brussels. the debt crisis has taken on new dimensions with portable heading to a bailout. the problbl is also convincing voters thaa euroan stability mechanism is necessary. dozens are marching in brussels who say that the plan is far too business friendly. >> they are in the firing line. 15,000 protesters hit the streets today in brussels to demonstrate against the eu economic policy. they are angry at how the bloc has dealt with the debt crisis so far. they are concerned about the new plans to save portugal. >> we worker have all -- we workers have already sacrificed enough money to get through this

crisis. now we have to pay for everything again. >> the social rights we fought for are being taken away. they should not try it because we will not let it happen. >> at the eu summit in brussels, leaders are frustrated by the portuguese's parliament decision to refuse to accept a new austerity program on wednesday. >> it is important that those who support portugal can make it clear to them that a savings program is something they should have -- they should adhere to. >> that is not just important for portugal, but also for the whole eu, especially the eurohis own -- the eurozone. >> in delegates at the summit want to find a way to shore up the eurozone.

>> portugal's government is falling apart. on wednesday, the prime minister resigned after the government rejected his austerity plan. portugal will only be able to avoid a bailout if it radically cuts spending. >> as expected, a day after the country's prime minister quit in lisbon, portugal barring costs -- portugal possible borrowing costs skyrocketed. -- portugal's borrowing costs skyrocketed. they will have to borrow from the european mechanism. but the collapse of portables. could delay any application for a bailout. -- but the collapse of portugal's government could delay any application for a bailout.

>> by law, it is about two months between these two events. that is too long. it will be some timeefore a new government is formed. >> in the meantime, a caretaker garment will take charge. but it would not have the authority to apply for aid. that means the people will be suffering a very uncertain future. there is concern in neighboring spain as well. it is seen as a possible bailout candidates. some analysts fear a domino effect. madrid says that their budgets far reacng reformsre eugh. >> ban ki moon says that the libyan government has not complied with the resolution to end all hostilities. the security council may take a " additional measures if libya does not comply."

>> libyan authorities have repeatedly claimed that they have instituted a cease-fire, including by the prime minister of libya on march 19. we see no evidee. to the contrary, fierce battles have continued in or around the city'ies. in short, there is no evidence the libyan authorities have taken steps to carry out the obligations under resolutions 1970 or 1973. >> turkey says that nato is due to take over command of military operatio in libya at the beginning of nt wee the turkish parliament has voted in favor of joining the alliance against libya france argues that the arab states will be

alienated if nato led the mission. but the u.s., italy, and britain have been pushing for nato to take over the operation. william hayes said that a unified command is necessary -- william hague said that a unified command is necessary. eanwhile, rebel fors in lib's third largest city say they have killed 30 loyalists snipers. troops loyal to gaddafi have been in the hospital. there are also reports of heavy fighting in northern east. >> more and more civilians are leading the stern -- are leading the eastern town as heavy gunfire continues between troops and rebels. >> this situation is getting

worse and worse. god will punish those who are responsible for this. >> on thursday, libyan state tv showed footage of damage caused by overnight air strikes. officials say that a western bombs destroyed a military base in tripoli. france has since confirmed that dozens of coalition planes were indeed in operation over the country. libyan tv also showed injured people being admitted to hospital. libyan authorities said that 18 people were killed in the strikes, soldiers and civilians. >> we came under continuous fire. they did not take -- they did not attack military targets. there were corpses everywhere. it was a bloodbath. >> regime opponents dispute the figures, saying no civilian casualties were caused by the raids could be enforcing cannot be verified either way. even though military action continues, there is no signs of stopping gaddafi tanksfrom

shelng rebel tns. activists arrested in recent protests in the country are due to be released. this is after the president also bowed to opposition pressure and agreed to reports. >>[gunfire] >> this is amateur footage. the opposition says that dozens of people were killed in the clashes. eyewitnesses say that snipers on the rooftops opened fire on the crowd. the protests in syria have been gathering force over the last week. opposition supporters want more freedoms and an end to corruption. the authorities have announced some reforms. a spokeswoman for president bush yebashir said they were looking

into the end of emergency law which has been in force since 1963. but opposition activists want more. they have already rejected the official response and have called for mass protests across the country after friday prayers. >> the growing crisis in western africa, leaders of the block are asking for u.s. intervention in ivory coast. they say the country is close to civil war. this comes after inflammatory comments made yesterday by the minister who called on his supporters to take up arms against citizens of other west african states. japanese police say that more than 9800 people are now confirmed dead from the earthquake and tsunami there.

17,000 more oare listed as missing. two workers were exposed -- workers were exposed soon high levels of radiation on wednesday. two are now houseboys. >> the tokyo fire department is using these shows -- two are now hospitalized. >> the tokyo fire department is using these hoses to dallas beat. -- $to douse the plant. >> it look like holy water being sent down by god. >> they are risking their lives in fukushima on a daily basis. there causally in danger of being exposed to radiation. wednesday's accident shows just how much danger they are in. two men were treated in hospital

after being exposed to radioactive material. the man suffered serious burns while attending to lay electric cables. their injuries and high level exposure to radiation could even mean an early death. despite the risks, however, many volunteers have offered their services to the tokyo fire departnt. they are willing to sacrifice their own health for the sake of their countrymen. >> libya is also facing punitive measures on the financial front. >> that is right. the u.s. is trying to use econonic -- the u. n -- the eu is trying to use economic sanctions. media reports saidhat thorities are trying to prevent the company from transferring funds to tripoli.

>> many motorists who fill their tanks at his family's oil and hem stations are unaware that they makare buying a product mae from libyan oil. tam oiltfigures show with an 800 filling stations in europe, the majority in italy. the tam oil gro has annual sas of more than 6 billion euros. more sanctions have been put on libyan firms. there is little chance the eu could have tam oil to shut down for legal reasass. >> despite a potential bailout funding for portugal, european

stoc were strong today. >> the crisis did not trouble the market. we hope were over the physical point. even the political crisis in portugal did not drop the market euro. the financial markets with a bailout for portugal is already priced in. the first quarter was strong with revenue higher than a year before. that was a glimmer of hope. >> ratings agency moody's downgraded the debt and credit ratings of 30 spanish banks on thursday. this news was released after markets here in your clothes. let's look at some closing figures in frankfurt, germany. it gained almost 2%. the u.s. stocks ended the day up

1.5%. in new york, the dow jones industrial also closed at 12,170, up in positive territory. the crisis hit a german mortgage lender and threatened to take the country's entire financial sector down with it. now called thepbb, the bank that has been bailed out, has just announced the best four-year loss. the bank no longer needs a sta guarantees and the toxic debt has been taken over by a government-supported banks' request under a new co -- banks. >> hundred new ceo, she had to do some wide-ranging

restructuring the core of the restructuring was setting up a bad bank. risky financial assets worth 173 billion euros were transferred to it, relieving them omuch of a debt. experts say it could lose 30 two billion euros. that is due to u.s. municipal bonds in which cooper realist it was heavily invested. many u.s. municipalities are facing bankruptcy. but manuela bette alas to worry about that. she is now focusing on the help the areas. -- on the healthy areas. >> many investors are buying precious metals as a safe haven. gold is heading back to the highs it reached at the

beginning of march. it is currently at its highest level in 31 years, hitting almost $38 announced on thursday. the highest level ever reach was $50 up to the hunt brothers attempted to corner the market back in 1998. >> he was last year's ur de franc j agn. bua doping ce cou keep them out of this year's race. he tested positive for a muscle drug. he blames the results on eating contaminated meat. " you're watching the urna on e w tv. -- >> you are watching the

journal on dw tv. do not go away.

>> welcome back. timing is everything. the timing of this is not good. eu leaders are meeting in brussels for a summit aimed at stopping the euro zone debt crisis. politicians in lisbon cannot agree on budget cuts that the prime minister says can keep the country solvent. he is the primformer prime mini, actually. he step down when the government rejected the austerity package. >> salvaging whatever they can come of the euro zone

countries have been behaving like firefighters. now the euro redzone hopes to be better prepared. >> the -- euro zone hopes to be better prepared. >> all of europe has to pull together. >> eu leaders seem to be very satisfied with themselves. they think they have done a great job. they provided a big fire truck to put up the current fire and put out new regulations so things are more fireproof in the future. >> if future emergencies doo arrive, a newescue fu wil kick in startingn 2013. the european stability mechanism would comprise guarantees from euro zone companies with a capital base of 80 billion euros. it would be a total fund of 700 billion euros. but to assure a aaa credit rating, the lending capacity

would be lower. >> they have provided a big fire truck with the 500 billion euros that the fund is meant to have. but it probably willot enough. then you get into a situation where you just have to keep pumping. >> just like at the fire department, prevention is the watchword with proposals to boost the euro stability pact. with tougher penalties for countries exceeding a deficit limits, monitoring of budgets, and overall debt levels. on top of this, germany and france want a packed for the euro. for instance, in labor cost th pact also means to bring in pension policies into line. many have been calling for this kind of economic governance for a long time. but it is controversial. >> is it is a long list of

things that would be desirable, but which cannot be implemented at summit level. you need political level -- you need political the till at home. >> just like these firefighters, eu leaders will have to stand united if they want to be successful as the euro zo' political fire department. >> is essentially, it is all about the euro and restoring faith in a currency. it has sparked fears about the future of the euro zone. the bailout mechanism is supposed to act like a safety net, an insurance policy, if you will. >> europe's politicians have to work hard to get this far. the reform on the table emphasizes the fact that year's donations are in this together.

>> 9it is aipac for more competitive id-- it is a pact fr more competitivity. rich states like germany will have to pay roll the weaker ones. the original plan when the euro wa introduced expressly ruled the financial standards of that sort. each country was to keep its debt under control, making the arrow stable. then can the your crisis. -- then came the euro crisis. it soon became clear that saving the euro would mean convergence in economic terms. critics say that could have happened sooner and more cheaply.

>> much of it could have been quicker. some things could have been done better. all in all, i am not dissatisfied with everything we have achieved in the last year. >> now, indebted states will have to save more than those who are financially sound. that has already triggered protests from the union. >> sarkozy and merkel and the european governments just want to destroy our social benefits. they want europe to be a huge economic carry with no social protection for the workers. >> that is the attempt to create a herlevel playing field for the european economy. countries will be more rigorously tested for the competitiveness. governments that want help will have to implement the economic and social reforms. >> being able to bring these strands together in one packet is a huge step forward. we are showing that we have learned lessons from the crisis

experienced by some countries. >> europe is pulling+ together and at least polishing up the current policy. >> angola merkel -- angela merkel has a lot of experience in this. how strong does her hand look this time around? >> not so good, i am afraid. that was very true since she arrived on the political scene. some people say that one product maybe the impending elections. among the big political players, e could beaid be olat on libya on nuclear energy, having immediately pulled the plug on old nuclear plants in germany, and, of course, she has remained alone on those two issues throughout the summit. jwhere she has a stronger hand s

in resisting, at the moment, a bailout for portugal, and endorsing entirely these tight economic programs that are being agreed upon in the summit tomorrow. she says at warning system e failing bureau zone -- failing euro zone countries. right now, this sum at, there is no berlin-paris access. it is a london-paris access. i think she is sidelined at the moment. >> there is some fear in germany that the currency union could be some kind of financial transfer mechanism with gegeany playing the banker. do they get that in brussels? >> the problem is that in geany is always the bank. it is the biggest economy. it is the economic powerhouse, always was and probably always will be. unfortunate, germany will carry

the biggest slice of any bailout for any country in the future. that is why angela merkel has been a bit unpopular for resisting. she was the one who delayed and delayed and did not want to commit and finally had to. she is still carrying that- legacy of delay and confusion -- hat negate legacy of delay and confusion. >> how feasible do think this kind of pan-european governments is? >> the problem is that everyone is trying to make common economic policy out of 27 very different nations, even the 17 euro zone countries are different. but the argument goes that you cannot have a one-size-fits-all economic policy when you have somebody countries and two different currencies. >> thank you very much. >> that has been our in-depth at

this hour. please stay tuned.

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