>> barack obama says something must be done about syria. >> france said it is committed to punishing the syria regime. >> columbia deploys the army after thousands march on the capitol to protest against the government's agricultural policies.

>> u.s. president barack obama says he has made no final decision on airstrikes against syria over the alleged chemical attack last week. he said a wide range of options are still being considered. >> he said whatever decision he made, there would not be any, quote, american boots on the ground. >> both listen to what he had to say a few minutes ago. >> i have had my military and our team look at a wide range of options. we have consulted with allies, with congress. we have been in conversations with all the interested parties. in no event are we considering any kind of military action that would involve boots on the ground.

we are looking at the possibility of a limited act that would help make sure that not only syria, but others around the world understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban and norm. >> that is president barack obama talking a few minutes ago cross over to washington, and to our correspondent there. we heard an excerpt of what president obama had to say. what do you make of those comments? >> that was the most important part. he did not say that much, because he was meeting with the leaders of baltic states. the most important part was when he said that he had not made up his mind yet whether and when, and what kind of military strike the u.s. would take in syria.

he assured the american public, no boots on the ground in syria. he said that twice. all administration officials are trying to convince the american public, this is not going to be a second a rack -- iraq. >> there were quite emphatic comments from john kerry, secretary of state. does this show that there is growing sentiment for military intervention in syria? >> absolutely. kerry speaks to the public, and the momentum starts building. it was a very powerful speech. he laid out the evidence that the americans have without going into detail, because much of it is classified. he tried to make the argument why it is the americans who should do something -- because of their values, basically. he tried to explain that americans don't get it right all the time, but at least they try to get it right.

he said in a personal note, he is tired of war as anybody else. there was one thing that might be interesting for timeframe. he said there was nothing to gain from the u.n. report, because the u.n. doesn't have the mandate to make a connection to who did chemical attacks. that might be an indication that the americans want to act before this report is published. >> max hoffman in washington, thank you for that. president obama was speaking the day after david cameron's attempt to get approval for military action in syria. >> the u.s. has support from france, who says it is per pair to go ahead with possible airstrikes. president francois hollande said that the chemical massacre should not go unpunished. >> inspectors are in the final stages of completing their mission in syria. >> some of the u.n. inspectors

have already headed off. the last of the team is not expected to leave until saturday. the sample for have gathered will be analyzed in european labs -- samples they have gathered will be analyzed in european labs. turkey says it is already convinced who was behind the poison asset tax last week. >> -- gsa tt -- gas attack last week. >> there is no doubt that the regime is responsible. >> washington can also count on the french. president francois hollande supports military intervention in syria, even without a mandate from the u.n.. for now, america's closest ally is staying out. parliament condemned the use of said -- chemical weapons in syria. in an interview friday, he tried

to put it into perspective. >> i have a strong view that we need to take a tough and robust approach around the world to an appalling war crime taking place in syria, but i'm also a democrat who believes in consulting and listening to parliament. i have set out those steps and a very deliberate and careful way. we have to listen to parliament. parliament spoke. >> the u.n. experts player on -- plan on sharing their findings. according to one spokesman, analysis could take weeks. >> as we heard as well, the u.s. and france are already convinced that the regime of president bashar al-assad was behind the chemical attacks. can they intervene and syria without a u.n. mandate? >> we look at the legality of

the issue. >> it confirmed -- if confirmed, it would constitute a war crime that goes against the charter of the u.n. is that enough to make a military strike permissible under international law? two years ago, libya was also in the grip of a civil war. libyan regime appeared forced to wipe out the rebels. burton, france, and the u.s. stepped in to stop them -- britain, france, and the u.s. stepped in to stop them. but there was a mandate to protect libyan citizens. only the security council can legitimize international military action by one state against another. in the case of syria, russia is using its veto power to block military action against the assad regime, a longtime ally.

britain had called for military action, along with the u.s. and france. they say intervention would be legitimate under the responsibility to protect the u.n. norms, which require action to stop human rights violations. a similar argument was used by nato during the co-civil war -- kosovo war in 1999. nato forces stopped the expulsion of ethnic albanians by serb forces. hundreds of thousands of albanian refugees could return home. the mission remains controversial, at his was never -- as it was never mandated by the security council. >> we spoke to a professor of international law in berlin, and former member of u.n.'s international law commission durin. we asked whether the responsibility to human rights would make the strike illegal. >> i don't think so.

a famous resolution says that states are under an obligation to preserve the physical integrity of their citizens, but it says that if a state fails to discharge its responsibility, it is the role of the security council to take appropriate action. it is not you nor lacks a -- unilateral action that can realize the responsibility to protect. >> what are the repercussions if the u.s. and france were to intervene? what would it mean for the credibility of the u.n.? >> the u.n. should try all political channels. those political channels have not been exhausted. more could be done. in extreme situations, if a minority group is menaced by

genocide, then i think in extreme situations, unilateral action may be permissible. this is a totally different situation. both sides have committed atrocities in the civil war. >> what can russia do in this situation? >> it is very difficult to say. the u.n. has its organizational structures. the security council is the organ which has the last word to say. there is really the veto power of the permanent members, and you can't get around it. that is a major difficulty. this veto power does exist and cannot be swept away. >> thank you very much for that analysis. turning to other news and clashes, clashes have broken out between police and thousands of pro-islamist demonstrators.

kratz had taken to the streets to protest against the army's crackdown against the muslim brotherhood. >> in the hometown of mohamed morsi, tear gas was fired. across the country, three deaths and dozens of casualties reported. >> a suicide bomb in afghanistan has killed the district governor , one of his bodyguards. >>, and 10 civilians -- and 10 civilians. >> 20 people were also wounded in the blast. the taliban's involvement is suspected. troops have been deployed into bogotá after a second day of demonstrations turned violent. thousands of protesters marched in the capital thursday. >> it started as a strike by farmers to protest the government's trade policies. it is turned into a nationwide movement.

>> only a few flames were still burning on thursday evening. the mood seemed calmer than previous days. overnight, president santos announced he was sending in the military. >> i ordered the military into bogotá yesterday night, and that is what i will do starting today in any municipality or area where the presence of our troops if necessary. >> an additional 50,000 soldiers are being sent to restart the flow of traffic on highways. protesters keep setting up roadblocks on them. the protests began almost two weeks ago as a small-scale farmers strike against government agricultural policies. the strikers said international trade deals have flooded the market with products at prices they cannot match. the protesters' ranks have swelled among with tens of thousands joining in --

teachers, students, miners. >> human rights groups have honored edward snowden with a whistleblower prize in berlin. >> he was given the award in absentia for exposing u.s. and british electronic snooping around the world. >> snowden has been granted asylum in russia. virtually all whistleblowers pay a price for their activism. >> in the early 1990's, mad cow disease broke out. and agriculture inspector went public with the case after local authorities allowed the sick animals to be sold as meat. she was fired. in 2007, another meat scandal was uncovered by an observant truck driver. he was tasked with driving a load of rotten meat, which he found out was to be used in kebabs. he was hailed as a whistleblower, and lost his job.

she worked as a nurse for the elderly until she was dismissed without notice for speaking out about poor conditions in the nursing home where she worked. she fought back. she did not give up, even after losing her case before a berlin court. eventually, the european court of human rights came down on her side, ruling she had the right to free speech. but there is no law in germany specifically protecting whistleblowers, despite efforts by opposition lawmakers to change that. the law does require people to inform the authorities if they are aware of anyone planning to commit certain crimes. whistleblowing is not limited to public health issues. tax investigators uncovered massive tax evasion by germany's biggest banks.

he was also a tax investigator of the 1980's when he brought the affair to light, the biggest party contribution yet in germany. >> we're going to take a short break. coming up, we will have business news. >> a a a

>> you are watching the "journal" on dw. more people are returning to work. it wasn't enough to make a dent in the overall unemployment rates. >> the country worst affected continues to be greece, followed by spain. unemployment in the ee remains at 11% -- eu remains at 11%. germany and austria fared the best. >> in italy, the rates remains 12%, workers forced to find creative solutions to get by. >> it's not your typical day at work. no uniform, and a coffee break

announced by a horn. workers for the design company are helping to spice -- spruce up a school, all during normal working hours with the blessing of their company. >> it's just a small example of how sometimes, by breaking the rules, you can find innovative solutions. we need to be brave enough to do something different. with less work coming in at the moment, some of the employees are not needed in a warehouse. normally they would be asked to stay at home, receiving state benefits until their company receives more contracts. this new strategy has helped 300 of them stay employed. >> we are in a lucky situation to be able to afford to pay our salary -- staff their salary.

>> it is a worthwhile undertaking. employees stay motivated, the atmosphere buoyant, and the whole community benefits. >> portugal's constitutional court has struck down a plant government austerity measure. -- planned government austerity measure. >> laws guarantee job security would have been violated. the government is struggling to meet the terms of an international bailout. laws were struck down that would have cut public pay and state pensions. >> a look at how the financial markets ended the trading we care -- week here. >> the overall picture of the situation in the eurozone remains unclear for financial markets. there are setbacks. there is also good news. the economic mood improved

considerably. the german dax met heavy losses, due to syria. the fear of a military strike in this region remains high. traders were reluctant before the long u.s. labor day weekend -- they did not want to engage in risky assets. >> let's look at those market numbers, starting with the dax. down 1.2% to 8103. euro stoxx 50 just a bit more. the dow jones industrial average trading at 1/10 lower. the euro slightly down against the dollar. we will move over to politics. uggla merkel -- angela merkel faces an election challenge. >> at least one poll indicates

that she stays on. >> three weeks ahead of the elections, the chancellor's chances of keeping her government looks solid. a new poll suggests the ruling coalition would hold its majority in parliament. if the election were on sunday, the cbo would take a percentage of the vote. the ftp would barely clear the 5% threshold necessary to enter parliament. the eurosceptic alternative for germany party would take 3%. the spd's candidate has been gathering steam. though he is well behind angela merkel, he has made good ground over the past two weeks.

if german voters can elect the chancellor directly, 54% would choose i'm glad merkel -- angela merkel. the two clash face to face in their only live tv debate this sunday. they will be vying to win over the many voters who are still undecided. >> coming up, bavarian football fans may have something to celebrate in 2020. >> but first -- >> china and russia are still struggling to deal with heavy flooding along their shared border. tens of thousands of shoulders -- soldiers are reinforcing dams after the water levels increased 7.5 meters over the normal waterline. the flooding has killed 85 people. experts predict the region will be affected until late september. >> flooding from torrential

rains has killed more than 30 people in the capital of malley -- mali. many of the residents were living in homes with mud walls, which collapsed. >> thai authorities have arrested two vietnamese nationals, suspected of trying to smuggle more than 100 kilograms of ivory to bangkok. a man and his wife were arrested at bangkok airport after customs officials found pieces of elephant tusks in their suitcases. >> news from the world of football. along with the old conquering munich, bavarian soccer fans might have something else to look forward to. >> the german football federation has chosen munich as a possible host for some of the 2020 european cup matches. >> the tournament will be played across europe instead of in one location. munich is gearing up for the opportunity. here is more. >> football fans in munich have

another reason to celebrate. after wrapping up trouble with wins in the championship, the bavarian capital has been selected as the german candidate for the 2020 european championship. the city is already getting ready. munich's alianza arena will be expanded to seat more than 70,000 fans. the arena has hosted its share of events, such as the opening ceremony of the 2006 world cup. it is not always been good news for munich fans, especially if they are facing off against chelsea. there are plenty of hotel rooms and good connections via its international airport. it might not have netted the 2018 olympic games, but munich will be ready if selected for the 2020 european championships. >> we are joined in the studio

by our sports correspondent. titus, welcome. why munich and not berlin? >> it would have been a close decision. both cities, both stadia have plenty to recommend themselves. when it comes to football and prowess, munich is still ahead of berlin, and that is probably been a factor. it is broadly unit's turn. -- munich's turn. berlin gets its chance at the champions league final next season. by 2020, it should be back around to munich. >> munich is still a candidate city. are they likely to actually get one of these matches in 2020? >> if there is a small black mark against munich, it has

already hosted european championship football in 1988. berlin did not, for obvious reasons. one of his priorities is giving cities throughout never hosted european championship matches before the chance to do so. german football is held in extremely high regard at the moment and has a great fan culture. those fans have plenty of spending power. if they don't get it this time, or if they don't get the semifinals and final, expect germany to bid for 2024, in which case berlin and munich [indiscernible] >> a match is held in 13 countries. do you think this format will work? >> this is going to be an extended tournament anyway. 2014's in 13 cities. -- twenty-four teams in 13

cities. the risk is that the quality could be spread quite thin. if you have a stadium hosting, we might be seeing empty seats, particularly if tickets are expensive. that could be a real downside. i think it's a shame that in this case, turkey, who wanted to host, did not. it would be a real shot in their arm for infrastructure. >> think you very much for those comments. >> the irish poet and nobel laureate seamus heaney has died. his family said he died in a dublin hospital after a short illness. >> he was one of the foremost english-language poets. >> born on a farm in northern

ireland in 1939, his early work contained descriptions of experience. the conflict in his region came to feature strongly in his poetry. he was a professor in residence at harvard, and oxford university. >> before we go, let's give you a recap of our top story. president barack obama has been talking with in the past hour the possibility of airstrikes and syria. he said he has not made a decision, but any action involved would be limited and narrow. we will be following the story for you right here at dw. >> if you want more, visit our website at www.dw.de. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

after you've gone ♪ ♪ and left me crying ♪ after you've gone ♪ there's no denying ♪ someday when you grow lonely ♪ ♪ your heart will break like mine ♪ ♪ and you'll want me only ♪ after you've gone ♪ after you've gone away hmm. any post for me? dad, you don't officially live here. no, i used to. ok, well, there's something for the "occupier." do you want that? i'll take whatever i can get. good lord! they've opened a new pizza place!