>> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw, coming to you from berlin. britain's prime minister struggles to get back into parliament or an attack on syria. -- backing from parliament for an attack on syria. and just three weeks to go until the german election. how will the country change if parish time burke becomes chancellor -- peer steinbrueck

becomes chancellor? the un security council is meeting in new york to discuss the alleged chemical weapons attack in syria which killed at least 300 people last week. >> the white house has said any u.s. response would be limited and rejected comparisons of the invasion with iraq. washington said any action it takes would be based on national security needs. >> in london, a big cameron has been laying out his case for military intervention as parliament there debates the issue. >> lively debate in london's house of commons as lawmakers debate whether britain should intervene with military measures in syria. prime minister david cameron said the use of chemical weapons in syria demanded a strong response. he said britain would exhaust all the options but warned that

his government was not prepared to insist on unanimous support. >> you could have a situation in a country where it's country was literally annihilating people in the country, but because of one veto on the security council you would be hampered from taking any action. >> the opposition labor party is expected to vote against the government motion, which asks parliament to approve military action in principle. a second vote still be necessary to authorize a tax. that will not be before united nations inspectors in serial finish their work. on saturday, they are to leave the country and report on their findings. in paris, the french president met with representatives from syria's opposition, who are calling for quick intervention. the law says military operation had to be the last resort. >> everything must be done for a political solution, but it will

only happen if the coalition is able to appear as an alternative with the necessary force, notably from its army. >> in the coming days, all eyes will be on the united nations security council. in a phone call on thursday, german chancellor angela merkel urged russian president vladimir putin not to veto a move on syria. moscow remains firmly opposed to military action. in syria, bashar al-assad said his country was determined to defend itself against any foreign aggression. he said military and civil authorities had already begun preparations for military strikes. >> we are joined now from london. what has been the upshot of the deliberations so far? >> and has really been a long debate, a passionate debate, and also an important one.

a lot of the him p's said they would form their opinion during that debate -- a lot of the mp's said they would form their opinion during that debate. a lot of people have voiced the concerns of their constituents, who fear another iraq war. the iraq war looms large over the british debate, and the people fear britain could be dragged into a civil war in the region. still, it is expected that the government will win today's vote, just because apparently a lot of touring mp's do not want to grant victory to the labour party. >> at one point, it seemed as though air strikes were imminent, but now things seem to have slowed down a little bit. >> david cameron has been under enormous pressure by his own mp 's but also by the opposition. the labor party leader has

demanded the human inspectors who are in serious at the moment should be waited for -- the united nations inspectors who are in syria at the moment should be waited for. his concession was that there is another vote on possible military action. that is expected to be in not earlier than next week he cause this weekend, the united nations weapons inspectors are expected to present their findings. >> tank you very much for that. >> president barack obama will have his eye on developments in london. he is still hoping to marshall brought support. a white house spokesman said obama had spoken to chancellor angela merkel by phone and reiterated that the u.s. would be ready to act without a human mandate. >> unfortunately, what we are seeing right now is pressure repeatedly block efforts at the

human -- the united nations to hold the assad regime accountable. it's disappointing, but the president says he will not allow that obstruction to prevent him from making decisions in the best interests of our national security. >> for more from washington, we are joined by our correspondent. is the mood in washington changing? >> i'm pretty sure that president obama does not like what he sees for a long time. the british, and we have to confess, the wrench governments have been in favor of military intervention and have put pressure on washington. it seems now they are getting cold feet. the united states will not act alone. to make it even worse for president obama, there is a growing resistance in congress

over military intervention. there are concerns over getting involved in another conflict like the war in iraq. a group of 116 members of congress sent obama a letter urging the administration to seek congressional approval before taking any further action. >> we have heard that the united nations security council has begun to meet in new york. what can we expect their? >> the five permanent members of the united nations security council are meeting right now. this time, it was russia that said talks were necessary, and this is, i think, particularly interesting because moscow is serial's main supplier, and they have vetoed action. ban ki-moon expects to see -- to receive a support -- expects to

receive a report on sunday. after that, he will make a recommendation. >> to some economic news, spain toss economic minister forecast the country will stop growing, -- start growing in the second half of the year, ending nine consecutive quarters of recession. >> he projected the country's economy would start to expand before the end of the year. the recover is mainly driven by exports. fannish consumers continue to hold onto their money rather than spend it. >> meanwhile, in germany, there are new signs the coverage -- the labor market is not prospering from the country's improved economic prospects. >> the federal statistics office says the jobless rate remains under the 3 million mark. analysts had predicted an

overall improvement based on the economy's stronger improvement in the first half of the year. good news for women trying to break into the male-dominated world of banking. >> the european central bank is introducing a gender quota with the aim of more than doubling female representation by 2019. currently, only about 15% of senior management positions are filled by women. the quota will not apply to the ecb executive order -- board. for an update on how today's news has been affecting the markets, we go to the frankfurt stock exchange. market, but traders remain relieved that there is obviously no immediate military strike plan. also, the euro price retreated.

traders also welcomed positive u.s. economic data between april and june. growth was much stronger than expected. gdp rose at a 2.5% annualized rate. germany and the eurozone are far away from these figures. shares of companies which are very dependent on economic cycles have been on top of the list at this data. >> the dax in frankfurt was up by nearly .5%. euro stoxx 50 told a similar story. their finish is 2758. over in the united states, the dow jones industrial average trading just over .25% up. right now, it is that 14863. the euro very slightly down against the dollar -- $one .4263.

the chair of the zürich insurance group has resigned. >> the move is in the aftermath over the suspected suicide of the company's ceo. he rejected allegations that he shared the blame for his collie's death but stepped down to avoid any damage to the company's reputation. u.s. energy giant chevron has struck a billion euro deal to extract shale oil and gas deposits by fracking in patagonia. >> clashes erupted twin protesters and police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. indigenous groups say the deal violates their constitutional right to be consulted about activity on their land. a 21-year-old female firefighter has been killed battling a higher in northern portugal. it's the countries with death in this month. >> 11 major blazes including

this one are threatening villages, crops, and livestock. firefighters are working to control the fires. >> authorities in india have detained the alleged leader of the militant islamist indian mujahedin. the country's military leader said he was tracked down at the border with nepal. >> he is a key suspect in a series of terrorist attacks including the 2010 bombing of a german bakery which killed 17 people. he is also believed to have been behind deadly blasts in mumbai, bangalore, and the capital, delhi. >> a tropical storm has wreaked havoc in taiwan just a week after the country was hit by a typhoon. >> over 50 centimeters of rain

fell on the heavily populated west coast, forcing flooding in several cities. this is the 15th major storm to pound the region this season. the system is now heading north towards japan, but is expected to fizzle out before causing any further damage. to columbia now where the government says it is ready to start peace talks around the country's biggest rebel groups. >> it appears to be a major step towards establishing peace in colombia in a conflict that has stretched on for decades. here's more. >> the president says he is hopeful that columbia can now, through dialogue, and half a century of ironing. on tuesday, columbia's second- largest rebel group released a canadian group engineer. he was held hostage for seven months. the president had made his release a condition for peace talks.

>> the commander reiterated his willingness to sit down and negotiate peace, and i want to respond to him and tell him that the government is ready to make this step two. >> the elm has for months expressed an interest in dialogue, ever since the government began peace talks with columbia's largest group late last year. the long-running insurgency has compounded the economic and social problems. colombian farmers are currently on a nationwide strike to demand better working conditions. this week has seen repeated clashes between protesters and police. the government hopes that if they can strike a deal with the rebels, the country will not only have these but also attract more foreign investment and the promise of greater prosperity. late on wednesday, there was more good news for the

government of the president. the constitutional court upheld planned legal reforms, which means rebel fighters who lay down their arms will be able to enter politics if and when the peace process is complete. >> we are about to take a short break, but after that,

>> thanks for staying with us. germany's federal elections are just a few weeks off, and the man who wants to replace chancellor angela merkel is kicking his campaign into high gear. >> social democrats peer steinbrueck resented his hundred-day program this morning, all the things he would do in office if he wins. for example, equal pay for men and women and a minimum wage. >> will that be enough? he is still way behind in polls, and time is running out. >> it is an uphill struggle for peer steinbrueck. the social democrat candidate has just days to catch up to

angela merkel. he complained that media criticism of his campaign did not flecked the reality of voter opinion across the country. >> wherever i have the chance to talk about my policies, i managed to convince people, and that will continue for the next few days with all the supporters of the spd. so just wait and see. throw away those commentaries you might already have written about the outcome of this election. >> he took the opportunity to present his manifesto for his/her -- first hundred days in office if elected, accusing angela merkel of inaction and causing stagnation in the labor market and on social and tax policy. he said he would immediately tackle three issues. >> first up is the blanket introduction of a minimum wage of 8.5 euros, then equal pay for women and men. then we must address the abuse of temporary labor and service contracts.

>> peer steinbrueck's campaign is by no means on the ropes yet, but he still has a lot of convincing to do. if thursday's performance is anything to go by, what has so far been a rather quiet campaign might liven up after all. >> we are joined by our political correspondent, who is standing by at our parliamentary studios. do you think hurray steinberg has any chance of winning these elections -- peer steinbrueck has any election of winning these elections? >> i suppose anybody who is running has a chance of winning, but it would be something of a sensation if he did. polls indicate only 26% of germans would like to see him become chancellor, whereas more than double that number want angela merkel to stay in the top job. >> what do they make of his hundred-day proposals he has come up with? >> there is nothing really new in them. he has the past two weeks been going down this path of emphasizing social justice in

germany and saying that he wants to redress it. the problem is a number of these social injustices he sees are the direct result of measures taken by the social democrats, his own party, when it was last in government in coalition with the green party. certainly, i think a lot of people are skeptical he would be able to address these things and just the first one hundred days. ironically, the more he emphasizes social justice in germany, it seems his own party does not benefit from it, but the socialist left party does. >> thank you very much for that analysis. >> john might think she is home and dry, but chancellor merkel has had to face her share of controversies. the most recent was resulting from reports that the washington spying scandal has included german reports as well. >> it now appears they have been

accessing more data than was previously reported, possibly with the involvement of german authorities. >> to reporters went on the hunt to find out more. >> it is easy for german computer users to be monitored by british secret services. even e-mail addresses within germany often ends up passing through an undersea cable that passes through britain. >> it monitors every user in germany. if you send an e-mail from cologne or berlin, one or two of the addresses might be on google mail. >> far more german data is being picked up by the surveillance agency in england and previously thought, according to research by a public broadcaster. it runs at least 14 undersea cables around the world that are

being tapped into. most transatlantic communication runs through cornwall in southwest england. it is a simple matter for gchq to intercept data and store it for up to three days. three of the intercepted cables are used by germany's deutsche telekom. the communications giant even helps run two of them. deutsche telekom denied all knowledge of or involvement in the massive surveillance of german internet traffic. >> we are doing all we can to ensure that our customer data remains secure. but the issues that you raised -- it's a question of espionage, which can only be tackled through agreements between states. >> the german government, for its part, has said it is satisfied by british assurances that german traffic is not subject to blanket surveillance. >> we move our attention to iraq now, where some two dozen people

were killed today in bomb attacks outside baghdad. more than 1000 people died in the country in july alone, making it the bloodiest month there in five years. the surge in violence coincided with ramadan, the muslim holy month. >> some say violence is spilling over from syria across the border. we met an iraqi exile who fears for his country but wants to keep alive the message of hope. this musician is originally from baghdad. after leaving his home country, he settled in berlin and sings song of reconciliation that have made him a star. he wanted to hold concerts for his fans and iraq. he made it all the way to jordan before having to change his plans.

>> there was this crazy series of bombings and roadside bombs in cars, so i had to rethink all that. ultimately, i could not do that, unfortunately, because it does not make a lot of sense, so that is painful. >> over 70 people died during the weekend of the eid festival alone. once again, the bombings targeted shiite communities. sectarian tensions continued to flare, but for bashar, religion is just an excuse. >> it started from my perspective since 1980, the iraq-iran war, and it kept on developing. this war culture, this killing culture just eve all day and just keeps having -- becomes, like, an entity by itself.

>> relatives of those who have been killed can only mourn. many shake their heads in disbelief at a government that continues to promise more security. >> now there's corruption. those people in power are not really suitable for what they are doing. during the saddam era, he was a sample, and now, it's worse. >> a u.s.-led coalition invaded more than 10 years ago bringing down the regime of saddam hussein. foreign troops remain in the country or years, finally withdrawing jus year and a half ago, and since then, the attacks have increased. it's the kind of violence that bashar fled from. now the only contact he has with his family takes place over

facebook. he is too worried about the safety of his relatives to reveal their names. >> there's no outside force that will ever build iraq. we have to do that. >> he does not want to give up hope of change, and he does his part through his music. >> to football news now where the wait is over. this season's champions league draw has taken place, and it turned out to go relatively kindly for germany. group d pits the defending champions against moscow and manchester city. meanwhile, schalke is in group e

along with chelsea and bucharest. group f could be a bit of a bruiser. >> there is another big decision from ua for. >> the buyer -- bayern munich winger became the first bundesliga player to win since 1996. >> last season, he seemed unbeatable, and he helped his team achieved league, cup, and champions league titles. as eye-catching as they were, it was not exactly record-breaking. in a team full of superstars, he has stood out or his limitless drive and selfless hard work in the service of his team.

the celebrated three title wins with his team last season. now the european footballer of the year has a trophy all his own. >> finally, the indian city of mumbai has been celebrating the birth of hindu god krishna with a unique tradition that is certainly not for those who do not have a head for heights. >> revelers form a human pyramid, the aim being to reach a pot full of liquid. not everyone succeeds. the festival draws visitors from all over the world. >> that is it for this edition of the "journal." good to have you with us. >> stay tuned for more on dw. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--