>> this is "the journal." >> our top stories this hour. >> is grease on the brink of

bankruptcy? market's fall on fears of default. the blast at a nuclear site in prince, but authorities say there was no radiation leak. a gas pipeline burst into flames in nairobi. get your health in order, or the help stops. that is the new message sent to greece today. the eu chancellor was meeting chancellor merkle in berlin. some members of the goat -- of the governing coalition believe a bankruptcy is inevitable. berlin is drawing up contingency plans. >> another bid to contain the eurozone debt crisis. the head of the european union executive held talks with the chancellor. the pair likely discussed

remarks by the economics minister of germany, who said europe could no longer rule out an orderly greek default. >> there should be no taboo when we are talking about stabilizing our common currency. included here is an orderly default. >> germany's finance minister was irritated by the remarks from his colleague, the junior coalition partner. >> it is sensible to concentrate on making an effort to stick by what we have agreed upon. we already have a very nervous situation on the markets, and they will not get more stable with this talk. >> in brussels, a spokesman for the economic and monetary affairs commissioner said the committee is not considering a scenario in which greece defaults on debts. the greek government warned the country to prepare for more belt-tightening.

the prime minister reiterated the country's commitment to austerity and the euro. >> we have to show we can overcome these hurdles, despite the negative indicators. we will do everything necessary to stick by the agreements made with our eurozone partners. >> papandreou's commitment will be put to the test on wednesday, when the troika of the year, imf, and central bank experts returned. >> talk of a possible great default, speculation greece might leave the eurozone. >> you are getting much the same feeling in brussels as in germany tonight about this. it all stems back to a week or two ago when the european central bank officials, the imf, and members of the commission were meeting routinely to help greece sort out their paper work and get austerity measures in place,

measures promised in return for a bailout. they walked off the job because they found nothing was being done. revenue collection was falling. the greek ministers said they could not do much. decision was not good. there was deep frustration in brussels. it is being spoken about in berlin by president barroso. i think some of this public concern being expressed is designed to put a rocket into the greek government, to make it realize the economics of this problem are more important than domestic politics they may be contending with. >> what is brussels doing? >> not a lot, except keepi quiet. for a year-and-a-half, every meeting of ministers has led to speculation on the market going the wrong way. angela marco has simply said we need more europe. nothing more than that. nothing much going on.

there have been four meetings of finance ministers this week. there is a growi feeling it is now ok to lk about the possibility of greek default, that it is not a stupid idea. but there is hope that greece will see the light and impose the austerity measures it has promised. >> all of this is also having an effect on the euro. >> it has definitely been struggling. the euro has lost 9 cents against the dollar in the last two weeks. the dramatic downward slide came to a halt monday. the new trading week on equity markets started with a dramatic drop. new fears about gris triggered a sharp sell-off. europe's banks led the way lower. >> more sell-off in frankfurt, where for the first time in over two years, the dax briefly dropped below 5000 points. the european central bank chief tried to calm the markets.

>> we do not see a recession in the cards, not at all. but we see a slowing down in comparison with what had been observed in the recent time. >> some analysts are demanding a radical solution for greece to finally stabilize the markets. >> for some time, we have been hanging in the air, waiting to stop greases financial hemorrhaging. until we have a solution, markets will have to brace for the worst, the collapse of the eurozone. >> french banks have been particularly hard hit by the greek debt crisis. their share prices have been in free fall for weeks, and plunged another 12% monday. the reason is that french banks hold nearly 42 billion euros of great bonds, and exposures so large moody's has threatened to downgrade them.

in comparison, german banks only hold about 70.5 billion euros of greek bonds. society generale has already said it plans to cut 4 billion euros in costs by 2014. >> for a view from wall street, i spoke to someone at the new york stock exchange and ask what traders are saying about the possibility that greece could default or exit the eurozone. >> the rumors on that have already gotten out here on wall street in the friday afternoon session. the european markets were already closed. the blue chips on friday lost more than 300 points. we do see losses in the monday session. they are by far not as high as what we see in europe.h% blueshift roughly losing at 100 points during trading -- blue chips roughly losing 100 points

during trading this monday. >> our european banks the only ones affected? >> if you look in total, if you look at just the loans and the debt european banks are holding, we might be talking about the single digit billion dollar figure. that probably would be manageable by big american banks. the big problem is the counterparty business american banks are doing with european rtners, and what that could mean. we saw that when lehman went under about three years ago. that is the reason american banks are under pressure if you look at goldman sachs, the stock for the first time since march 2009 dropped below the $100 mark. since the beginning of the year, goldman sachs is down 40%. >> bank of america has announced massive cost-cutting. tell us more about that. >> for quite a while, bank of

america is selling assets and have now also announced plans to cut spending by roughly $5 billion per year. that will include massive layoffs. talk is from bank of america that 30,000 jobs will be cancelled. that shows how the american labor market is under pressure. bank of america cutting costs. $5 billion per year. layoffs about $30,000. the stock so far is holding up well. the heat for the financial industry is still on. >> thank you for that update. let us get a closer look at the numbers. the dax ended down 2.25%. the dow industrials closed 2/3%

higher. the euro is trading for $1.3680. a troubled car maker has been unable to pay wages to its workers. saab has been trying unsuccessfully to get new funding. it has been struggling with falling sales and was forced to suspend production in april. workers are still awaiting august salaries. spyker announced that two chinese firms would buy minority stakes in the company, but those deals have not received regulatory approval in sweden or china. >> one person is dead and four injured after an explosion at a nuclear waste treatment plant in southern france. the nuclear safety authority says there was no leak of radioactive material. there is no word yet on what caused the explosion.

>> scenes from the marcoule nuclear facility after the explosion that left one person dead. officials and emergency crews began taking measurements to detect any radiation leaks. a short time later came the all clear. the building or the radiation occurred is undamaged. >> there is absolutely no consequence linked to any discharge, whether radiological or chemical, around the site. >> the blast occurred in an incinerator used to melt metal contaminated with low levels of radioactive activity. the company that operates the furnace does not yet know what caused the explosion. environmentalists say the incident raises concerns. >> this plant was not part of the launch, after fukushima. its resistance to earthquake or flooding has not been checked. the government has not learned

its lessons from the fukushima catastrophe. >> the maroule nuclear site covers about 300 hectares on the banks of the rhone river. it has been in operation for more than 50 years. >> japan has been marking the six month anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami. in tokyo, thousands of demonstrators demanded the country and its use of nuclear energy. there has been widespread dissatisfaction with the government response to the catastrophe. we will be taking an in-depth look at japan's road to recovery later in this half hour. kenyan authorities say more than 120 people died when a fire tore through a slum in nairobi. the accident happened when petrol spilled into an open sewer, which caught on fire, sending waves of lin through the slum. it has been difficult to

establish a set number of dead among the charred remains. >> burned beyond recognition by flames which spread like lightning. every single shaq in the vicinity of the explosion was destroyed. michael lost his daughter josephine in the disaster. >> this is where our home was. the remains of my daughter are here. i was not at home when it happened, but people told me some residents were trying to siphon off gasoline. >> it seems elite developed in a fuel pipeline in the shantytown, and it's valuable contents ran into sewage channels. the explosion is believed to have been caused by a burning cigarette. the kenyan prime minister promised an investigation. >> there were many people that

have lost lives in this. it is terrible. >> the government will cover the cost of medical treatment for the injured, and will provide financial help to relatives of those who died. >> in libya, supporters of gaddafi are continuing to hit back at the new interim government. syrian state television broadcast a message from gaddafi telling his supporters not to give up. loyalists attacked an oil refinery, taking it ba out of rebel hands. 15 guards died and many were injured. interim government sources reported intense fighting in a stronghold of gaddafi. many inhabitants are reportedly fleeing the violence. we are expanding our arabic- language service from today. to mark the event, the german formant -- foreign-language

minister attended a panel which discussed issues from the 9/11 attacks to the pro-democracy movements in the arab world. >> guido westerwelle on hand for the launch of the "new look" arabic service. he discussed the changes affecting the arabic world. he sees great potential for the region and for dw tv arabia. >> if young people watch deusche welle, and see what it means to our diversity opinion, that is the best thing that coul happen. democracy and media diversity belong together. we can make a valuable contribution to that. >> starting this monday, we will be transmitting six hours of programming every day. the news program, magazines, and documentary's will offer the

latest from politics, business, sports, and culture, all of that at prime time. there are also new talk shows. studio guests address a range of subjects, including great upheavals in the arabic world. >> we have to start talking to each other and enter into dialogue. we make a practice of bringing people from the arab world and political decision makers together to exchange views. >> dw tv arabia premiered on television screens across the arab world earlier today. >> david cameron is in moscow for talks aimed at improving relations betwe the u.k. and russian. cameron is the first british prime minister to visit the kremlin since 2005. ties were strained in 2006 after the murder of a russian businessmen in london. russia continues to refuse to extradite the main suspect.

trade deals were sealed during the meeting. on a mollet's presidential election was set to be decided in a runoff -- guatemala's presidential election was set to be decided in the runoff after an inconclusive result today. the main rival is a wealthy hotel owner and former congressman. law and order issues have dominated the campaign in the central american country. i will be back in a minute with in depth. stick around.

>> welcome back. it has been six months since japan was hit by an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. the country is still struggling to cope with the aftermath. the epicenter of the oklahoma quick lay off the coast of

miyagi prefecture. the area was contaminated by radioactivity leaking from the facility. high levels of nuclear material have been found in food products from the region, sparking renewed anger in japan and calls to phase out nuclear power. residents of the zone in never be able to return home. for some, all they have left are the memories. >> tens of thousands of photographs survived the tsunami in japan last month. volunteers clean them, identified them, and scanned them. many will be returned to their rightful owners. >> the photos are a treasure. survivors have lost their homes, their houses. if they find anything here, the can hold a piece of their final lives -- their former halt -- their former lives in their hands. a woman yesterday was so happy she burst into tears.

>> grass has long grown over much of the rubble in the city, which was hit by the tsunam on march 11. the massive waves completely swamped the c. gates, tearing them from their hinges. hardly any of the house is survived as the waves swept in tons of debris. volunteers sometimes find entire photo albums among the ruins. they are taken to this tent for cleaning. it is a race against time to save the images from the effect of salt water, rain, mud, and burning sun. >> i have claimed hundreds of photographs. i keep thinking about what happened to all ese people. once, there was a photo in which i knew the people. i found that very moving. >> many photos are damaged beyond salvation.

volunteers only work on those in which people can be recognized. they pack them neatly into cardboard boxes, where images await the owners. there are 160,000 photos in this city alone. many will never be climbed, but some will. -- never be claimed, but some wi. >> we received regular visits from a man, and he found what he was looking for one day. he said, "finally, she is with me again." it was his wife. she died in the tsunami. >> march 11 brought not only an earthquake and tsunami, but a nuclear disaster. the radiation leaked from the nuclear plant at fukushima. affects people well beyond the immediate region. radioactivity has been detected throughout the food chain -- in rice, lettuce, milk, and green tea.

cesium has been found nearly everywhere, including in beef. contaminated meat made its way into school cafeterias throughout japan. the children ate it for weeks. we pay a visit to the gumnar prefecture, south of fukushima. a former minister is not surprised by the scdal, caused by, as consuming cesium- contaminated hate. -- caused by cows consuming cesium-contaminated hay. >> food is short. livestock farmers have no choice. >> he plays music to keep his animals calm, but elsewhere emotions are boiling over. japanese authorities temporarily halted the sale of beef, but the meat is once again being bought and sold, even in areas where

people barely dare to live anymore. that includes towns like te mpura, located on the edge of the evacuation zone. >> the farmers have it tough, but they have to survive somehow. they earn money raising livestock, a job they love. suddenly, they are told their meat is contaminated and prices collapse. if i were in their shoes, i probably would have given up a long time ago. >> japanese authorities have promised to enforce improve safety standards of food, and in gumnar prefecture progress seems to have been made. every cow that comes to market is tested for radioactivity. those responsible for the czechs are working overtime. eight new laboratory assistants were hired after the fukushima disaster.

the authorities have purchased new, modern equipment. all to try to reassure worried consumers. >> only once did we find meet near the limit. had exceeded that, it would not have been sold. -- had it exceeded that, it would not have been sold. >> are the same checks being made across japan? it is just after 6:00 a.m. in the market district of yokohama. the market supplies 3.6 million people with fresh produce, including the white peaches, aubergines, and cucumbers from fukushima. prices are down. people in yokohama are afraid of regular active contamination. this man is on the road early. he is a politician and a father of three. his children ate the contaminated beef.

today he is visiting the food inspector, who is supposed to check for it and vegetables in the market laboratory. their equipment only arrived a week ago. for three months, people in yokohama ignored the nuclear disaster. only now have inspections begun. for the hundreds of thousands of fruits that pass through yokohama, only a tiny percentage are tested every month. >> we still have to get used to the new technology. basically, we assume the food is safe. since it is supposed to be tested where it is grown. >> after six minutes, they have a result. 5.8 counts per second. this white radish seems to be ok. but the testers do not seem confident in their findings are what they mean.

they discussed the matter. the testers are inexperienced, and the tests far too few. the man fears another catastrophe could be in the making if the city underestimates the potential dangers from fukushima. >> i am more worried after my visit than before. our tests are pathetic, especially considering the volume of goods. if people in yokohama get wind of it, there will be trouble. >> thousands of people took to the streets of tokyo last weekend, demonstrating against nuclear energy. half a year after the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear demonstrations continued. some japanese are still angry. >> i have always been against nuclear energy. i like coming here. i like the music, and the mood is great. maybe nothing will change, but

whether we spoke to them or not, the time is now. >> there are some of the people today. i hope the government finally does something. >> many demonstrators are looking to germany, where the government has accelerated the phase-out of nuclear energy. in the north of japan, the first reactors that were taken off line in a precautionary measure after march 11 are already operating again. >> japan's long road to recovery. you are watching dw tv.

"out of ireland" is brought to you in part by boy's hope girl's hope, which helps children at risk to realize their potential by providing value centered family-like homes and quality education. ♪ ♪ ♪