is "the journal." >> welcome. here is what is coming up in the next half-hour. >> chemical weapons in syria? u.n. inspectors on the ground as the u.s. considers strikes and moscow counsels restraint. >> in china, party leaders urge a heavy hand in deciding the fate of bo xilai. >> and a blast from the past as justin timberlake dominates the mtv music awards last night.

>> you when chemical weapons inspectors have interviewed and taken blood samples from the end of last week realm apparent gas attack in syria. he did so in the rebel held part of damascus where they came under fire from snipers. >> the u.s. and allies have been meeting in jordan for what could the a council of war against syria. but china, russia, and countries like brazil are lobbying against military action. >> vladimir putin has told david cameron that the west has failed to provide proof that the asad regime used chemical weapons in the attack. >> the syrian opposition says this is one of two areas where

as many as 1300 people were killed in chemical attacks last week. after intense international pressure, syria has granted access to the crowd -- to the site. russian media published an interview with the syrian president bashar al-assad, who claims that rebels, not government troops, are behind the attracts. but the u.s. and its allies say they have intelligence that leaves little doubt that the regime use deadly gas in the last week. >> there will be a proportionate response and we will act with determination. we must stay calm and assess the association -- the situation. >> but russia is warning against armed intervention.

>> if anyone thinks destroying the syrian's military infrastructure will make things better, they are mistaken. even if that were to happen, the civil war will continue. >> five days after the attacks, western officials have expressed concern that much of the evidence may be destroyed. in addition the u.n. convoy was targeted by sniper fire on its way to the investigation site. no one was injured, but the incident underlies the dangers of the mission. >> or more we spoke with a u.n. weapons inspector who is now a mention -- a member of german parliament. we began by asking what the inspectors are looking for now. >> i think they are looking for two things. they want to check the survivors. that is very easy within a couple minutes. you can do text whether or not they have been exposed to nerve agents. it may take another couple days

to determine which of the nerve agents it was. but to see the survivors in the hospitals. the second thing, you have to determine where these victims would have been at the time of the attack. determine whether it was one point or several points and take environmental samples from there. >> the attacks reportedly took place last week. is much evidence likely to be around? >> if it is a nerve agent they are very volatile. those would be gone, but there are many breakdown products that you would find in the environmental sample as well as the survivors. >> will the inspectors be able to answer who is responsible? >> no way. was it a chemical attack and who was it? the inspectors can only answer the first one. they do not have a mandate. they do not have the expertise to

answer the question who was behind it. and that is where you see this battle of propaganda of the last couple of days where the russians already know for days it was the rebels and obama has known for days that it was assad. >> in the german parliament, which opposes military intervention, what do you think and be done to stop the fighting in syria? >> the fighting ends when all the parties come together and negotiate a truce. they have been trying for months to get all the parties within syria to the table in geneva to negotiate and it is not working. i have the slight hope that the massacre from last week, that it might be the tipping point where now all the parties are willing to discuss a peace agreement. but if that is not going to happen, i'm afraid we will see

internationalization of the conflict and that will be a dramatic disaster. >> former u.n. inspector in member of german parliament -- thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. >> he has warned that strikes on syria could unleash a chain reaction that could sweep the region. >> restraint and caution are the watchwords in berlin. >> the german government has yet to blame anyone for the alleged chemical weapons attack. foreign ministry officials say that information could point to the syrian government. but berlin is awaiting a report from u.n. inspectors before it makes its next move. if the alleged attack is confirmed, then the world community must act. germany would be among those nations calling for consequences . and on this issue we are in

close contact with the u.n. and our allies. he did not say whether that could mean a military strike or that germany would refer the un security council mandate. >> the inspectors in the u.n. must have the necessary room for their work. and we have to hold on to the idea of another conference. we must convince russia that this massive abuse of weapons obligates it to prevent something worse from happening. >> the german government has given no indication whether the westwood carry out the military -- the west would carry out a military strike without russian approval. but it has refused to rule that out. all options are on the table. >> what are these options? the u.s. defense secretary says that they would only act within

the framework of a u.n. mandate. >> but the obama administration says that they believe that syria used chemical weapons. they also pointed out that nato worked in coast of oh without a u.n. mandate. >> u.s. president barack obama has shown a cautious hand, preferring to wait things out. the same has been true of intervention in syria. he is in a tough position. a year ago he drew a red line. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing all bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being used. >> amateur footage released last week appears to show rows of

dead civilians outside damascus, alleged victims of a poison gas attack. some are demanding action. but what are the options for the u.s.? obama could arm the rebels. washington has already promised military aid for syrian rebels, but fears that weapons could fall into the wrong hands have held back deliveries. obama could issue a presidential order for those weapons transfers to go through. president obama could enforce a no-fly zone over syria. . and opposition forces can do little to stop government airstrikes. and nato and forced -- enforced no-fly zone helped make the fight their success. it would be difficult and expensive. at the u.s. could order airstrikes against regime targets. the u.s. action with nato in

cozumel could serve as a blueprint or efforts in syria. widespread violence forced thousands to flee the country. russian road test made it alone. ships off the coast fired cruise missiles into serbian territory. the u.s. navy could do the same in syria. for u.s. warships are already anchored off the syrian coast. but the danger of civilian casualties is high. without broad support by the international community, military action could spark a wider regional conflict. syria is surrounded by israel, lebanon, iraq, and iran. it lies in one of the most unstable regions in the world. the united states has a number

of potential options on the table come up with clearly none of them is easy. click for more on this, let's go straight away live to macsoft men standing by in washington. secretary of state john kerry has just spoken. is there a plan for military strike? >> it seems like it. kerry gave a very emotional and powerful statement. he said the administration felt certain chemical weapons were used, first of all, and second of all they were used by the regime and that access to the site was granted "too late." he said they were preparing to plan how to react with their allies. we think something will happen fairly quickly, together with allies. the problem is some eagle groundwork or action, because there will not be a human mandate. we expect there to be no human

mandate at least. -- no united nations mandate at least. >> is this a potential political liability? >> of course it is. i mean, iraq and afghanistan have left deep scars in the american conscience. there is just no way americans are going to go in like they did in iraq and afghanistan. on top of that, it did not work very well back then. libya is a different story. people fielded that worked quite well. not many american casualties. of course, there was a u.n. mandate. what eve it will be, we can be pretty sure it will be limited military action. like you said, but look opinion is not in favor of military action in syria. >> max hoffman from washington. thanks very much. mixed signals elsewhere in the middle east. it is unclear whether israeli

palestinian peace talks took place today. >> clashes broke out when israeli forces entered a refugee camp outside jerusalem to arrest a suspected palestinian militant. witnesses say that palestinians through rocks and petrol bombs at the israelis, who then used live ammunition. the u.s. said that no meetings have been canceled. for more, we will turn to our correspondent in jerusalem. matthew, any clear up the confusion? were is really's and palestinian supposed to meet for peace talks? -- were israelis and palestinians supposed to meet for peace talks? >> israelis said they would not continue to talk in jericho as retaliation, but u.s. officials told us that there were no talks planned today. the statement seems to be a

gesture of protest with no practical effect. >> where do things go from here? these pictures show a lot of tension, a lot of anger. not a promising backdrop or peace talks. >> these israeli arrest rates have been carried out almost every night along the west bank. the israelis say they only go into the west bank to arrest people they firmly believe are engaged in imminent attacks of terrorism. but there is suspicion that these attacks are intended to evoke exactly the violence response we saw today and to provoke the palestinian leadership from withdrawing from negotiations. they say that this softly political problem for the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu -- this solves the political problem for the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who does not

really want to go forward. >> and then the same thing happens there as well. >> matthew, i'm afraid we will have to wrap it up.

>> welcome back. we pick it up in china where a communist party official says he shows no remorse for what he has done and what cars punishment --

once harsh punishment. >> that is what the prosecution wants bo xilai to say. >> the man has denied charges of corruption and abuse of power. >> his once bright future will soon be determined by a system that rejected him. >> for five days the judge heard evidence in the trial against bo xilai. now the former star politician the weights of verdict. that will not come until an unspecified later date. prosecutors's call for a heavy sentence. the court believed that the prosecution proved bo guilty of corruption and prove that he in bethel funds and excepted bribes worth millions of euros. bo has denied the charges against him. at the trial he called into

question the credibility of prosecution witnesses. he also denounced his wife as "an insane liar." bo hinted at a love triangle involving her and the police chief wang lijun. the printing of the communist party -- princeling of the communist party phil supporters gathered, painting him as the victim of a power within the communist party. >> karzai was in islamabad for his or her stitches it -- his first visit since prime minister nawaz sharif took office in june. he asked to have direct talks, arguing that attacks by the taliban are impacting both countries. nawaz sharif did not specifically addressed the request. tensions remain high between the

two countries. afghanistan has repeatedly accused active stance of harboring taliban insurgents. >> the parliamentary committee investigating the field euro talk drone program has released its first report and has failed to agree on much of anything. >> some say that the prime minister did the right thing when he canceled the report. of the social democrats say that he was the blame for the collapse of the program. the german parliament is due to debate the findings next week. >> mobile phone operator o2 could be set to become one of europe's largest telecom companies if the merger with germany's e-plus goes through. they have lobbied for years to buy e-plus. and this time it has the backing of carlos slim, the world's

richest man. let's turn to our correspondent at the german stock exchange in frankfurt. she starts us off with news of a criminal receiving in the liver is that has been affecting shares. -- in belarus that has been affecting shares. >> it is almost like a thriller. a very strong movement at the stock market. shares of the german producer k plus s was among the performers leaving the dax list. prices may come heavily under pressure. shares were in the ball with the prospect of the risk -- were in freefall with the prospect of the risk that they will have to leave the dax index. trading was not spectacular, but the german dax was able to erase early losses.

>> all right, a look at those numbers from the markets. the dax in frankfurt up by almost a quarter of a percent. u.s. stocks -- euro stoxx 50 down. over in the united states, the dow jones slightly down and 14 990. the s&p 500 down as well. >> germany has an ambitious plan to produce the majority of electricity from renewable resources. >> the problem has had problems, including expanding the grid to remote locations like offshore wind farms. >> the new wind farm is missing something important. electricity. the team kilometers of cable connections to be exact. of the 25 wind parks planned, only to our up and running. the others have been plagued

with delays. investors are losing faith and it has come increasingly clear the target set for 2021 not be met. at -- to 42020 will not be met -- for 2020 will not be met. >> we have to make sure what his plans now will be implemented according to the law. >> to increase the pressure on governments, the ministers of germany's five northernmost states absent an appeal to demand the berlin and delete production on offshore sites. -- complete production of offshore sites. >> we are facing insolvencies and to scale back working hours. if expansion does not increase, thousands of jobs will be lost. >> alarm bells are sounding for an industry once considered the future powerhouse of the german economy.

>> still ahead, applause and more applause for justin timberlake. >> ear or some other stories making the news. massive flooding in northeast china. local residents had to battle six meter high waters. experts fear that oil could leak into the river, causing an environmental disaster. >> in the u.s. a colossal wildfire threatens to destroy a key water reservoir that supplies most of the san francisco drinking water. the so-called rim fire caused o wo centers to be shut down last week. >> nepalese fighters after the civil war -- the recruits will receive in sydney as officers in

kathmandu. they are the last of the former guerrillas to join the army as part of the peace deal that ended the war. in germany the upcoming election is drawing international attention as no other for as the world wonders what berlin will do to keep the eurozone stable after the votes? >> and high voter turnout is expected in germany. among those thing particular attention, first-time voters. a workshop in berlin prepares to help a new generation vote. >> these young germans are about to vote in their first election. they are not pulling any punches. >> one issue that is being discussed is quote is from women in management. i'm in favor, but what is your position? >> some were time -- some first

time vpoters -- voters have other issues. >> i'm about to move out of the house and i need an affordable apartment. >> quotas are very important. >> indeed. opinions polls show that energy and environmental policy are key topics were first-time voters. but among major parties, their support is surprisingly similar to the overall population. young people say they will vote for the social democrats and conservative party in about the same rates as their parents. but the greens have much higher support. the left and the liberal party are both under five percent. the new pirate party is also popular with younger voters. here they are filling out ballots, the pairing for the

first opportunity to select a german chancellor. >> pop music fans heard the familiar strains of a voice at the mtv video music awards. >> justin timberlake cleaned up with the words and headlines of last from the past. >> they may be older now, but the 1990's boy bands *nsync shows that they can still put on a show. and their front men remains a superstar. jt stole the show, picking up the video of the year award and oh word -- and an award for career achievement. >> half of the moon men i ever won i won with those poor guys right there. we can keep it at my house, but i am going to share this award with them. this is truly an honor. thank you so much. >> another boy band, britain's one direction, but the award for song of the summer.

rapper malcolm and dj ryan lewis won for their and psion homophobic song "same love." and of course lady gaga. she was not nominated for a prize but still squeezed in five onstage costume changes. she got a roaring ovation for performing her new single "applause." ♪ >> team new zealand has secured its spot in the upcoming america's cup. >> the -- >> the kiwis squeezed out the italian team by a seven to one margin. team new zealand set a new speed record. they will face their rivals, team usa, in the americas cup in september.

>> that is all for now. remember, you can find out more about these and other stories at our website. that is www.dw.de. >> thanks for watching. stay tuned.

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