captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hi, everyone. welcome to "the journal" on dw- tv in berlin. >> i have the business. >> standard and poor's cut its of local and u.s. government debt. the governingng party is in hungary passed a controversial constitution. they say it is undemocratic. and greenpeace says it is not doing enough to protect those people close enough to the fukushima plant. well, the world's biggest economy could be taken down a notch.

for the first time, the u.s. debt has been cut from stable to negative. >> they say that washington is running a massive deficit and has no federal reduction plan. >> standard and poor's has little confidence for the credit outlook of the world's largest economy. the u.s. may still have top rating, but there is no guarantee it will keep it. >> the united states right now, the level of debt is fairly normal for other aaa countries. it is in the range of other aaa countries as a sharef gdp, but with a deficit that is continuing to runun nea10% of gdp, it is not going to stay there. it will rise quickly. >> president obama note acknowledged that dealing with the deficit will be a challenge. >> republicans and democrats and the president all agree that there is a problem, that we need

to do something about reducing our deficit. everyone agrees now on a target for deficit reduction, ford rose trillion over 10 years. that is significant. >> but how to do it remains a heated debated. the debt will reach $1.60 trillion this year, and compared to economic output, that is the biggest deficit in half a century. >> someone who has been predicting this has been a chief economist. we spoke to him about what the consequences would mean. >> the conquences will not be dire. they will come up with a deal on how to restructure the u.s. in order to have a sustainable

fiscal path. but we have not seen anything. the reaction from standard and poor's is absolutely right. i think the pressure is only a theme that without coming up with a plan to reduce deficits in a very sustainable manner, downgrades would be likely, and that would diminish the chance of the u.s. to refinance itself to very favorable rates. in that respect, i think, yes, we will come to a situation in the next 12 to 24 months with a restructuring plan. >> possible downgrade meant the dollar came briefly under pressure against the euro, et but the euro zone has its own sovereign debt problems of itself. greece has denied reports that it has asked the eu and the imf

to restructure their debt. they are the first receive a bill of, but its debt is still ballooning. analysts say it could end up kohring over 160% of its output. >> a restructuring would help relieve greece of some of its debt. the process could take several forms, including extending the debt repayment schedules, luring interest rates, or writing off some of the debt. the latter scenario would lead to out reductions in payments to holders of the government bonds. but it is said that debt restructuring could be catastrophic. >> such an option is neither necessary nor desirable. it is not necessary, because we can achieve our goals by a properly implementing our policies. >> and the main goal is to save

money. they hope to raise double the amount. >> european markets took a knock. our reporter was following the events at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> traders have been very worried at the beginning of the new trading week. they h h to digest news from the euro zone, with the u.s. also heavily under pressure. the biggest surprise was the downgrade of the u.s. financial outlook. they fear this could weaken the u.s. economy. investors have been looking for

bonds and gold. >> let's take a closer look but some of those numbers. the blue-chip dax closos down. the euro stoxx 50 closed down. the dow jones industrial average is down a lot, as well the euro is trading lower. the next candidate for a cash injection is lisbon. they meet the group for what could be the third bailout after greece and ireland. it refused to comment after the meeting. the aim is to come up with a plan, including labor market reforms and steps to shore up fragile banks. the deadline is mid may, just

weeks before the election of june 5. well, not everyone is enthusiastic. >> that is right. some parliamentarians are saying not so fast. the party that made huge gains on sunday is now threatening to block any more eu bailouts. they said the money should not go to what they call in effective mechanisms. the true finn are up from six seats, and they're likely to be a partner in the next finnish government. >> the strong showing was front- page news. there was a close third with 19% of the vote.

>> the mess with portugal and greece clearly played a role in this. >> the politicians became arrogant and did not listen to what the people were saying. it has been that way for a while. >> now, they will likely be even tougher on the you. >> i think there will be a bunch of new things to say. >> the right-leaning party emerged the strongest.

it is almost certain it will include the true finns in talks. >> the governing party in hungary pushed through a new constitution despite a boycott. it said it will limit some freedoms. >> the opposition called this unfit to be democratic. the prime minister, seen here celebrating his election victory, was the driving force. his party drew up the constitution by itself.

the preamble has references to god, pride in the nation, in reference to the monarchist past, it makes no mention of democracy or the will of lot. the new constitution has divided among syrians. some have taken to the street against it, calling it is legitimate and temporary. >> the party has destroyed the republic. this constitution is illegal. >> the new basic law eliminates referendums, and it restricts what kind of legal cases can be argued before the constitutional court, in many important laws can already passed with a two- thirds majority. that means making korea policies that later governments will find

it difficult to change. >> goodluck jonathan has been declared a winner in the election. his rival's fare best in the north. rioting broke out in northern areas when preliminary results were announced. the worst violence was reported in one area, where there were allegations that jonathahaand his campaign engaged in vote rigging. protests have continued in syria with thousands marching through one city. the demonstration came one day after police killed at least 12 people at a rally against president bassad. medical sources say at least 90

were injured. united nations says the libyans have allowed medical teams into a bout with the situations. they have been fighting for the last seven weeks. hundreds of civilians are believed to be killed in the attacks. they need food, water, and medical care. in the growing dispute over what to do with migrants, the commission says france was in its rights to stop passenger trains from italy on sunday. there was a question raised by roam about whether they were acting legally. there resident permits given to

many to travel within the visa free zone. >> these temporary visas are the subject of heated controversies. the italian government granted thth to tunisian migrants, like this 32-year-old. the visas are valid for travel in parts of europe covered by a treaty. on sunday, france and notified the european commission of its actions. >> we were notified by the french >> for weeks, the french have been trekking -- checking trains coming from an italian area. migrants identified were sent back to italy after being told they did not meet the

requirements to enter the country. >> there are other criteria other than the treaty. and they must have a passport and be able to show they have the financial resources to support themselves. >> but italy does not want to host the migrants anymore. hundreds were waiting for their documents including one, who is still waiting to go to france. >> crowds of palestinians gathered to honor one man who was killed. the body passed wrote a border crossing with egypt on its way to burial. a group has taken responsibility for the killing. to japan now, there are still major concerns about the

radiation in and around the stricken fushimnuclear plant. remote-controlled robots have been sent into par of the plant to measure levels of radiation. the results? the environment there is still too of radioactive for workers. meanwhile, a team from greenpeace were to find how much the public actually knows about it. >> these images were taken by a greenpeace member. in some places, the readings were dangerously high. one man was on that team from greenpeace. he returned a few days ago. his interviews with local residents convinced him that information from the government has been woefully inaccurate. >> we saw a woman with a small child, and a girl dropped her doll in the dust. she should have left it there, because the dust has the worst

contamination. these everyday things that happen all the time are now very risky, and people just do not know it. >> he met this father of three in an emergency shelter. the family lived outside of the evacuation zone but fled anyway. the man said many of his friends stage. greenpeace warned that is dangerous, note especially for children and pregnant women. >> that is when you have to adopt the most quickly and consistently. the government has to go there and find out where the radiation is high and what places need to be evacuated. >> grepeace is calling on the japanese government to redouble their efforts to protect people frump radiation and to consider evacuate in further areas. -- protect people from radiation. >> i will be back with "in depth" after a short break.

>> we continue our broadcast with a look at one of the most prominent chinese artists, ai weiwei. he had his project, "fairy tale," which drew attention to poliliticarepression in china. it illustrates the and protesting human-rights abuses at home, but it seems the government has had enough. in january, the government destroyed his studio in shanghai, and he was arrested at the airport and has not been heard from since. >> this is ai weiwei's studio after his arrest. they confiscate computers. the artist's wife is desperate.

two weeks after his arrest, and there isistill no indication of where he is. >> they have told me nothing bonds about why they arrested him. i do not know whwhere is. >> ai weiwei is an open critic of the regime. there was an internet appeal by the artists, any researched the names of those killed in an earthquake when the school collapsed on them. he put rucksacks on display. >> it can very well be that i will get into trouble, but if i do nothing, then there will never be any change. that is why i do what i am

doing. >> in 2009, ai weiwei was beaten and detained to stop him from attending a trial. " he sought medical treatment in germany as a result. ai published the attack on him at the munich exhibition. now, ai weiwei is also under arrest. the chinese foreign minister explains he has been detained for what of the deterrent economic crimes. "the west should not get involved. courageous artists protested against his arrest. in his car team, one cvaracter after another disappears. an artist duo says his arrest

needs to be taken seriously that the government has been taking a harder line. they fear arab-style protest. >> they arrested other intellectuals and artists after resting ai weiwei. they are worried and scared. this is a tragedy that could befall any of us at any time. >> it is not known where the authorities are holding ai weiwei and what state o ohealth he is in, but it is clear that beijing is cracking down. >> in germany has also become embroiled in ai weiwei's arrest. he was taken after a show in berlin on the and linemen era. it was supported by the government here in berlin. it organizers face accusations of buckling under pressure from china, and there was talk of the

show being canceled. >> the art of the enlightenment. the national museum of china in beijing. the central values of freedom and tolerance on display in the capital of a very different type of regime. the museum is located in tiananmen square, the brutal crushing of the democracy site years before. it is a supporter about human rights. ai weiwei, it puts berlin in a difficult situation. >> it is one of our huge dilemmas. we stage an exhibition on the indictment, which meanin the end, we want to talk about freedom, and then in the end, an artist loses his freedom. we have to ask why they have not

put so much diplomatic pressure on china that this kind of thing would be impossible. >> if the government is unwilling to close this prestigious exhibition in beijing. but other options are open. there is even talk of including ai weiwei's work among the exhibits. >> it would be possible to make a stand with this exhibition. also, in respect to what has happened with ai weiwei, so i am in favor of keeping it going, and i am in favor of thinking of provocations like this said that in the future, we can react in a better way that we have in this case. >> statements like this are closely monitored at the chinese agency, but berlin is looking for dialogue rather than confrontation. many parliamentarians also want the beijing exhibition to continue. >> canceling this would be

kowtowing to the underinvested demands of the regime. now is the time to go out and show what can be achieved when diplomacy in conflict have achieved all they can. >> ai weiwei also believes in the strength of art and culture. before his arrest, he drew his own conclusions about the political pressure on him. there was a studio opened in berlin to put his newest works on show at the end of april. >> fofor mo, we spoke to our door to well arts editor about whether or not germination close the exhibition in beijing. >> well, i think was in the exhibition is not a solution. outspoken critics, that is the case, and that is what is going on at the moment, from politics, across the world. there is a lot going on in front of chinese embassies worldwide.

things like that helped to keep ai weiwei and all the literati, to keep them in the public perception worldwide, and that is what is important, to give them feeling that there is solidarity and that we do not forget them. that is the best we can do. massive pressure never works in beijing. they will not change their experience. -- their position. that is our experience from anyone who has to do with china, so i think that is the best we can do. >> was it wrong for the german government to mix culture and politics, and it backfire? >> no, i do not think so. culture and politics can work well together in foreign politics. it is so-called soft power.

in the special case, i think many things have been done wrong. the whole exhibition of the enlightenment has been overcharged with expectations, political, diplomatic, business expectations, media expectations, and i think is very difficult on a location like this come on cnn.com to fill all of these expectations, and as soon as something goes wrong in china, well, the managers of this exhibition were not prepared for the situation, and neither were the politicians, so i think it is rather a take of their timing than a wrong political approach. >> on suggestion is to include a piece of work from ai weiwei the show. >> i think that is helpless.

too little, too late, and i am not sure he would appreciate having his work exhibited at that location. >> thank you. and that has been our "in depth" on dw-tv. thank you for joining us.