>> this is dw-tv, welcome. >> our top stories. facing attempted rape charges, i.m.f. chief dominque strauss-kahn is denied bail by a court in new york. the e.u. agrees to a multibillion euro bailout package for portugal but the debt crisis remains unresolved. >> and nasdaq gives up its bid to buy the operator of the new york stock exchange, opening the door for deutsche. >> the head of the international monetary fund, dominque strauss-kahn, has been denied bail by a court in new york after being charged with

attempted rape and sexuality. he pleaded not guilty to the charges but the judge said there was a risk the i.m.f. chief might try to flee the country. he is disappointed but said the battle had just begun. >> he was one of the most influential men in the world until this weekend. i.m.f. chief dominque strauss-kahn appeared before a manhattan courtroom on sunday to face charges of attempted rape, unlawful imprisonment and a criminal sex act. he pleaded not guilty to the accusations. but prosecutors said preliminary forensic tests confirms the account of the chamber maid. the judge refused to release strauss-kahn despite an offer of $1 million in bai there was concern he would attempt to flee the country after he was pulled off a paris-bound plane on saturday. >> we are obviously disappointed by the court's decision. i think it's important that you

all understand that this battle has just begun. we believe and will prove in our judgment that mr. strauss-kahn is innocent of these charges. >> a report has emerged in france claiming that the i.m.f. chief checked out of his luxury hotel suite at 12:28. it says strauss-kahn was busy dining with his daughter in a new york restaurant when the chamber maid is said to have entered the suite over half an hour later at 1:00 p.m. many questions and still no answers. strauss-kahn will now be remanded in custody until the next hearing on friday. if found guilty of the most serious charges, he could face up to 25 years in prison. >> to our washington bureau chief, can you tell us more about the proceedings against dominque strauss-kahn. >> he has to stay in jail for the next three days.

next friday, the grand jury is going to come together and decide whether he has to stay in jail or maybe is allowed to leave the jail. everything depends on the question, what the grand jury is going to say or whether the evidence is very much in favor of mr. strauss-kahn or is maybe against him. he can't spend more than 25 years in jail if found guilty. so this is very, very serious. >> that was our washington correspondent. dominque strauss-kahn was replaced by a deputy at an important meeting of the european union finance ministers in brussels today. the u.s. and germany are playing down the possible impact of the scandal but strauss-kahn had been crucial to the bailout

plans for indebted euro zone countries. on monday, e.u. finance ministers approved the portugal bailout. >> almost unnoticed into the finance minister's meeting. she's one of strauss-kahn's deputies and is representing the i.m.f. at the two-day talks. his arrest has overshadowed everything here. it comes at a crucial time for the euro zone, but germany's finance minister putting things into perspective. >> to be honest, all these shocking reports from new york have shaken us off but no one knows what really happened. here in the west, we presume innocence until proven guilty. i don't see what the actual or alleged events have to do with europe's financial crisis. the i.m.f. is so well organized that it can handle the temporary absence of its leader.

the e.u. and i.m.f. soon feel the 78 billion euro rescue package for portugal. it means belt tightening for the country. by 2013, it must reduce its deficit from 9% to 3% of g.d.p. greece hasn't suck -- succeeded with its austerity measures. the finance minister is under pressure from his colleagues. >> i think it isñ inevitable is that greece should perform more as to economic reforms, austerity packages and budget cuts. if all that happens, then we will look at all other options. >> other options means debt restructuring and not even the finance ministers are ruling that out anymore. >> will strauss-kahn's absence pose a crisis to the euro zone in terms of bailing out the worst indebted members? >> the answer to that question

is emphatically no. business as usual is the message that was put on as ministers arrived for the meeting this afternoon. but there's no doubt that behind the scenes, his absence has overshadowed this meeting. it's not just that dominque strauss-kahn was a european at the head of the international monetary fund. he was the former finance minister of france. he's part of the political generation that helped forge the euro. he has excellent contacts with all the leading politicians of the euro zone countries and really that's why his advice from this position at the pinnacle of the global financial world is going to be missed not just today at the meeting but also in the weeks and months to come. >> that was correspondent in brussels. we'll take an in-depth look at the scandal surrounding

strauss-kahn and implications later in the program. to other news, following violent clashes along israel's border, a complaint with the u.n. council. israel is acsing syria and lebanon of doing nothing to prevent hundreds of palestinian protestors from storming their borders with israel on sunday. israeli troops opened foor to stop them, killing at least 13 people and injuring hundreds more. lebanon says it, too, has launched a complaint with the security council against what it calls israel's aggressive policies. the chief prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for arrest warrants against libyan leader muammar qaddafi, his son, and the country's intelligence chief. he said that the attacks on unarmed civilians and given the wide spread and systematic nature of the assaults, he said

should be tried for crimes against humanity. >> muammar qaddafi is now facing legal pressure. over the course of a few weeks, the chief prosecutor at the international criminal court has gathered enough evidenc against the libyan leader to submit a request for an arrest warrant. >> the evidence shows that muammar qaddafi personally ordered' attacks on unarmed libyan civilians. his forces attacking civilians at home and in the public space. >> the charges include ordering systematic rape and the use of cluster bombs and snipers against the civilian population. prosecutors have also issued warrants for qaddafi's son and the intelligence chief on charges against humanity. >> we want to strengthen the rule of law. you can't say whether an arrest

warrant will mean a leader like this will actually end up in court. >> the i.c.c. prosecutor says that if the court issues the arrest warrant against qaddafi, seen here in file footage, it would be up to libyans to implement it, not the international community. the unrest in syria is continuing. journalists aren't allowed in the country but refugees are reporting heavy bombing by government troops. they say the situation is very serious and that there's a stench of decaying bodies in the town. in dara, residents have discovered a mass grave with at least 13 bodies of people who have been apparently executed. human rights groups say more than 800 people have been killed in syria since the violence erupted in mid march. and with news of market mergers from new york, here's ariana. >> there's been a lot of back and forth on this one but the bidding war for the new york stock exchange appears to be over. on monday, the u.s. tech index,

the nasdaq and intercontinental exchange withdrew their bid for nyse euro next, paving the way for them to proceed with the deal to merge with the german operator. >> nasdaq and its partner put $11 billion on the table. some nyse euro next executives are thought to have preferred this bigger offer but stock exchanges in the united states are subject to stringent oversight. this paves the way for the german company to press ahead with negotiations. the two sides valued nyse euro next at $10.8 billion. nasdaq offered cash but they would see a share swap, instead. 75% of the shareholders will need to back the merger. nyse euro next shareholders will also have to give their backing to the deal when they meet in

july. deutsche bursa is thought to be their preferred partner. if the merger goes ahead, it could be the creation of a global powerhouse by the end of the year. >> the u.s. debt crisis continues to worsen. on monday, public debt rose above the legal limit of $14.3 trillion. that means the government can no longer borrow money. with the help of special measures, public institutions will function until the beginning of august but if congress does not raise the debt limit by then, it could trigger a default or new economic crisis. for more news on the markets, let's turn to our correspondent from the frankfort stock exchange. >> the debt crisis in the euro zone and the arrest of the chief of the international monetary fund have been too much for investors. they sold shares and the index tumbled and the euro in pressure. traders are trustful that

despite all the problems at the i.m.f., negotiations will continue. highlighted the german stock market have been shares of deutsche bursa surging after nasdaq dropped its bid for the new york stock exchange. >> taking a closer look at the numbers. in frankfurt, germany's benchmark closed slightly lower. the index on blue chips finished almost half a percent lower. in new york, the dow industrials slipped a third of a percent down to 12,548 and the euro is trading for $1.4176. >> electric cars are the future and germany wants to be in the driver's seat. the german government says it wants to commit an additional $1 billion euros in tax breaks in order to get one million electric cars on german roads by 2020. a new proposal to meet that target is expected to be taken up by the cabinet this week.

>> the new economic minister's first official engagement, taking an electric car for a spin. the government's plan to boost the popularity of electric cars may not appear to be running smoothly. analysts say germany risks being left behind in the race to produce electric vehicles. chancellor merkel says time is running out. >> we know that we are competing in a global marketplace and that as the age of electric mobility begins, it's not going to be easy to make germany the leading manufacturer of the car of the future. >> the government wants to put one million electric cars on to the streets by 2020. that's up from a few thousand at present. but electric cars are twice as expensive as conventional models and there's still a shortage of charging stations. environmental groups have

criticized the government's refusal to pay direct cash rebates to customers buying electric cars. they point out that france subsidizes the purchase of electric cars with up to 5,000 euros each. >> back to you. >> thank you. handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to journalist and lifted house arrest warrant two days after a husband and opposition leader was jailed for five years, sparking international outrage. they were both arrested during protests against the country's authoritarian president alexander lukeshenko in december. >> an unapologetic regime credit appears in court. she was given a two-year suspended sentence and remains undaunted despite months of beingnder surveillance by the secret service. >> i'm going to clean my

apartment and disinfect it to get rid of the k.g.b. stench. >> she will have to appear in court again in two years. until then, she'll be allowed to keep her son at home. officials had previously threatened to put him in an orphanage. but his father, andre sunnahkof, has been sentenced to five years in a work camp. he told the court he had been tortured while in pretrial custody. the former opposition presidential candidate protested against the re-election of alexander lucoshenko last december. since then, dozens of opposition supporters and resisters have been arrested. the president shows no signs of giving in. >> . >> one item of sports news.

crystal down has announced he's leaving frankfurt after the club was relegated to the second division on saturday. his tenure at frankfurt lasted 55 days. he was brought in to rescue the club from its downward spiral but couldn't turn around its fortunes. the team failed to win any of the seven matches it played under his leadership. the u.s. space shuttle endeavour has lifted off from cape canaveral for the last time. endeavour is the second last shuttle to take off before the u.s. retires its space fleet later this year. endeavour's crew is bringing spare parts to the international space station. during the 16-day mission, astronauts will also install a device that could solve some of the mysteries of the universe. stay with us for more on dominque strauss-kahn's case.

>> a presidential hopeful in handcuffs. the i.m.f. chief, dominque strauss-kahn, was expected to challenge french president nicolas sarkozy in elections next year and was championshipped to win, but -- and was expected to win, but not anymore. he's in prison in new york after a judge denied to grant him bail. he is charged with sexual assault. the charges are grave and have sent shockwaves around the world, especially in france. >> one of the most powerful men in the world and now he's in police custody. dominque strauss-kahn looked exhausted. his lawyer's attempts to win bail failed. for the time being, he won't be freed. the drama began on saturday at j.f.k. international airport. strauss-kahn was in an air

france plane awaiting takeoff to paris. police boarded the plane and arrested him. the accusations leveled against him emerged quickly. a maid at this hotel says he sexually assaulted her but it's far from clear exactly what happened or didn't happen. some french media doubt the version of events put forward by the new york police. they say strauss-kahn has an alibi, that he was dining with his daughter when the assault is alleged to have taken place. but this is not the first time strauss-kahn's name has been sullied by scandal. in 2008, he had an affair with a junior colleague at the i.m.f. the fund said he had made a serious error of judgment, even if the relationship was consensual and the woman gained no preferential treatment. but the affair tarnished the image of the i.m.f.'s crisis manager and the man whom many believed would be the great hope of the socialist party back home. opinion there is divided over

whether strauss-kahn could still be a candidate for the presidency. >> it's not the first time he's been accused of this. it would be a pity if it prevents a man of such quality from running for president. >> obviously, french people would not look kindly on a potential presidential candidate with legal problems. >> for the french socialist party, the events in new york have unleashed a shockwave. the man would never have been paraded before the cameras in france due to legal restrictions there. >> i'm still stunned by the images i saw this morning of. i'm glad i live in a country where the law says there's a presumption of innocence and we can't show someone at this stage in handcuffs. >> strauss-kahn can expect d.n.a. evidence to be submitted as part of his due process in the new york legal system of the

but even if acquitted, it's hard to imagine he can recover politically from this incident. >> we are joined by catherine galloway in paris. strauss-kahn denies the allegations against him, in terms of the political career, has the damage been done irrespective of what the outcome of the trial is? >> i have to say, i think so. nothing brought that home to the french more sharply than this evening when dominque strauss-kahn was denied bail and remanded in custody for at least the next four days. that's well beyond the worst nightmares of his friends and supporters in france who are forced to accept that it would be extremely, impossible, really, for dominque strauss-kahn to recover and submit his candidature for the socialist party within the deadline which is only six weeks away. on top of that, the phrase i'm hearing over and over again from everybody today is, what a waste. that's rather in contrast to the

disbelieve -- disbelief that was expressed yesterday. today, that news seems to have sunk in. >> and we know strauss-kahn is innocent until proved guilty. given that, there are other allegations emerging, aren't there? >> yes, one young french wan has indeed come forward today, alleging that she was assaulted by dominque strauss-kahn in 2002. she's a journalist and she alleges this assault happened while she was attempting to interview him. she's a close friend of the strauss-kahn family and didn't press charges at the time but today is said to be asking for legal advice on the matter. women are always dominque strauss-kahn's weak point. he admitted as much to a journalist at a private lunch here in paris three weeks ago. today, the paper reports that

dominque strauss-kahn told the reporter he was having lunch with, i like women, so what. at the time, he didn't think it would be too much of a problem. >> you did talk about the pictures of strauss-kahn in handcuffs. how do people in france feel about how the incident is being handled in the u.s.? >> they're deeply shocked by that. the handcuff image has been called cruel and humiliating. they can't believe it. in your report you mentioned that that is legally impossible to put someone in handcuffs at this stage of a trial in france because of the presumption of innocence so that really did shock the french and they're shocked by the fact that the cameras were not shielded from dominque strauss-kahn neither outside the police station in harlem nor in the courtroom. they feel that battery of flash bulbs he had to face on both occasions was deeply humiliating for him but seeing him they're

extremely shocked by how terrible he looks at this stage. a great contrast to the charming and very energetic man they've become used to seeing. >> thank you so much for that. the allegations against strauss-kahn are a huge blow for france and the international monetary fund, especially with the revelation coming at a time when the i.m.f. is playing a key role in how to manage the euro debt crisis. dominque strauss-kahn played a central role in these discussions and won praise for improving the profile of the i.m.f. since he took overs managing director four years ago. >> his colleagues consider him a strong and charismatic leader. just a few months ago, strauss-kahn was plotting the i.m.f.'s course for the year but now the fund finds itself in choppy waters without the man who gave it back its glow. during the asian financial crisis of the 1990's, rage against the i.m.f. boiled over

on to the streets. many asians thought the tough lending conditions imposed by the fund made the crisis worse. some leaders talked about doing away with the i.m.f. and after the crisis, many countries preferred to tap cash on the capital markets instead. but the i.m.f.'s fortunes changed when dominque strauss-kahn took over stewardship of the fund in november 2007. the socialistc heavyweight promised reforms and an easing of the stringent conditions attached to loans. strauss-kahn made good on those pledges when the global financial crisis broke. more than a dozen countries borrowed money from the i.m.f. and strauss-kahn gained praise at the london g-20 summit in early 2009. the i.m.f. boss convinced member states to beef up the fund's financial arsenal to $325 billion. the i.m.f.'s standing was better than ever thanks its boss, the fund once again with the image

of a crisis manager. nowhere more so than in greece. its got 30 billion euros in loans from the i.m.f., strauss-kahn a welcome guest who would make soothing noises about the euro. >> clearly the euro zone has a problem of high level of debt in part of its members. it's not a huge problem for the yus. i don't -- euro zone, i don't agree with those saying that the future of the euro is -- >> strauss-kahn's court case means greece may have lost a strong and influential supporter. a new chief at the fund could mean increased pressure on the greeks for more austerity. >> the repercussions of the strauss-kahn case, that was the focus today. good to have you with us.