>> hello, and welcome to "the journal." our headlines this hour -- world leaders attend a security counsel with syria and mali on the agenda. the anniversary of the victory of the battle of stalingrad. and, a win over and over. -- hanover. we start with the annual munich security council, which is

underway a second day. it is one of the most important gatherings of security officials in the world. topping the agenda is the ongoing volatile situation in the middle east and the war in syria. us vice president joe biden addressed a conference and called on the sheer to step down -- the syrian president to step down. >> vice president joe biden has made his anticipated appearance at the munich security conference. one of the key themes of his speech was the situation in the middle east. on the subject of iran, biden offered direct talks over the countries nuclear program. >> we have made it clear at the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally with the iranian leadership. that offer stands, but it must be real and tangible, and there

has to be an agenda they are prepared to speak to. we are not prepared to do it for the exercise. >> biden came to dispel fears that the united states would neglect europe due to increasing focus on asia. >> europe is a cornerstone of our engagement with the world and a catalyst for mobile cooperation. -- global cooperation. we need to work together. we need to stick together. we need you as much as you need us. >> biden will also meet the us envoy to syria -- un envoy to syria. up until now, russia has been the biggest supporter of the syrian president's regime. >> our chief political correspondent is in munich following the talks.

melinda, thanks for being with us. russians and americans are expected to talk about syria. can you expect progress? >> on the basis of what we heard this morning, certainly the talks will be difficult. we heard in the report vice president biden calling for asa ad to step down, the russian prime minister said people putting priority on him stepping down is the main reason this conflict is prolonged. they are due to meet later this afternoon, but it is clearly difficult for them to come to any agreement on what conditions need to be imposed if any. we also know he will be meeting with the international envoy for syria, and the head of the syrian opposition, who has said

he is willing to ago she ate with members of the regime, but whether biden is likely to recommend that bashar al-assad is a precondition -- is stepping down as a precondition, is not known. >> that he set out what the obama administration second term foreign-policy would be? xp did not go that far. he had three main parts aside from syria, issuing an offer and a warning to iran, and a warning if the us policy is not containment, but to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon and his offer is they are ready to have talks but the supreme leader needs to be serious about negotiations. that was one thing. another theme was a reset with russia and he made it clear there were differences with

russian leadership. it clearly sounds like they will work together on and ad hoc transitional basis. with europe, they said the good news and the bad news is we are not going anywhere, reaffirming the commitment to europe. >> that is a reassuring message. melinda, thank you very much. john kerry has been sworn in as us secretary of state, replacing hillary clinton to my taking his at a small ceremony in washington, dc. he has been in public life for three decades and is the 68 secretary of state, and among his priorities would be removing troops from afghanistan and improving us relations with pakistan. french president francois hollande has arrived in molly

weeks after the troops entered. the interim president of mali is accompanied him after thanking the french forces, he was set to visit a mosque that houses manuscripts that were salvaged after a rebel attack. they will then head to the capital for talks. riot police have been deployed outside of the presidential palace in cairo after a night of clashes between security forces and writers who are calling for the -- protesters who are calling for the ousting of mohamed morsi. there were deadly protests last weekend. >> as morning broke over cairo,

the streets were quiet. opposition activists camped out on career square and -- terrier square, and there were moments of calm, but evidence of the violence came to life. hours earlier mohamed morsi, fig erupted. police responders with tear gas and water cannons. at least one protester was shot dead. the latest protests began after friday prayers. >> the current situation is that resident mohamed morsi, his muslim brotherhood and the groups that support them are on one side and the rest of the people are on the other. people get killed when the joan -- join protests, and the president does not budge. >> i came so that president muhammad morsi will leave. for me, he does not exist. >> hundreds have joined protests around the country.

opposition leaders have appealed for an end to violence after meeting with the muslim brotherhood, but friday evening ended in clashes nonetheless. 60 people have been killed in the unrest. president mohamed morsi said they would respond with utmost decisiveness. tax in pakistan, a militant attack on an army check post has killed at least 13 soldiers and tens of millions in the northwest of the country, and the taliban has claimed responsibility, saying it was in retaliation for a recent drone strike. reports in pakistan say more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism since the september 11 attacks on the united states. in libya -- in india, five men have been indicted in that gang rape case that led to the death of a 23-year-old student. the men he not guilty to 13

charges of murder if convicted, they could face life sentences. the attack happened in december and sparked national outrage. russia is celebrating the anniversary of the battle of stalingrad, when the red army defeated nazi forces, claiming the lives of 2 million people, and changing the course of world war ii. president putin is due to attend a fireworks this play and concert and will host a reception for veterans in the capital. since beginning his third term in the kremlin, putin has been spreading a patriotic message. >> 70 years and the red army veteran was a invited guest.

he said it is right that volgograd will be called stalingrad again each day for -- each year for a few days to commemorate the victory. >> stall and made a lot of all and made as lot of mistakes, but you cannot erase him from his three and forget its achievements. we went into battle under his command. >> one third of the population has a positive perspective on joseph stalin. >> so many people died because of him, but i do not know with everything would have been better if joseph stalin had not existed. >> without joseph stalin, we might not have won the war. we have to acknowledge that. >> a fleet of minibuses is touring the country to mark the

anniversary of soviet victory over nazi germany. an historian of the memorial human rights center reflects on the reasons the putin government might have to glorify joseph stalin. >> it is about a time in which people voluntarily surrender responsibility for their country and for themselves to one single individual. it could well be the state would like people to get used to that kind of thing again. >> whatever people think of joseph stalin, there is a consensus that the veterans of stalingrad are war heroes. >> in sports news, the first match of the weekend, bremen over and over, 2-zero.

>> the strikers saved the best for last in this battle of northern german rivals. in the previous 85 minutes, he had 80 -- shots they had shots on goal was nothing to score era there were several excellent saves by the hanover keeper that besides level. they were showing real fight but it did no good. after the break, the home side continued to struggle in front of goal, but the luck changed when they fired home from close range, one-oh -- 1-0 then they secured the victory. >> most football clubs react to a crisis by sacking their coach , and they have already tried

that, and now the goalkeeper is buried in the criticism. he has been taken off of the team according to the manager, who said it is for his own good. >> he has become the symbol of the crisis enveloping hockenheim. the keeper made a series of mistakes in the first half of the season, but the new coach stock with him as they looked to start fresh. >> after the christmas break, i said we are starting with a clean set -- break, hitting the reset button. >> last saturday's trip to frank ward -- frankfurt introduced another blooper, with a result that sent them to 17th place and one of the automatic relegation spots. they have now dropped the keeper with an unusual explanation. >> he cannot catch a break at the moment.

with the pressure that he is under he has to go into every game thinking he has to be immaculate. it is inhuman. dealing with the situation accordingly is part of our responsibility. >> they will be hoping time out of the limelight helps the number one get their act together, and his teammates will have to try to atone for his errors. x has a distinctive style and it happens to be western europe 's tallest building. we are talking about the latest addition to the london skyline. visitors piled in to see the ribbon cutting on the building once described as an intergalactic sphere. while the platform might only be 240 four meters high, it still offers an unbeatable view of the london skyline. tickets will cost 30 euros apiece. that is all for us from now,

but the news continues, so do stay with us. [speaking new language -- foreign language] ex what is red is the color of blood and the color of love, and it is also the favorite color for both of them, on a special day of history and storytelling , the number is,, married in most famous battle of the second world war, -- commemorating the most famous battle of the second world war, stalingrad. the 86-year-old veteran cannot forget those terrible weeks.

>> i am russian myself. i family still lives in volgograd, as stalingrad is known today. to mark the anniversary, i am accompanied the veteran and his friends to the important memorials, where hitler's army was annihilated in 1943. it was the turning point of the second world war and remains a source of pride for all russian veterans to this day. he was 16 at the time. the weather was freezing cold when the german assault began, he says. it was very foggy, two, you could not see a thing. our house was down there on the river bank, where all the troops were concentrated. the noise was terrible.

the time to show rockets rained down, and everything was on fire. the snow all around melted from the heat of the fire. it was awful. hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed in action -- russians and germans. most of them fell here, a colossal statue of the mother land bigger than the statue of liberty in new york. this gigantic figure, a model of social ideology brandishes a 30-meter long concrete sword. from here, i can see the entire city as it sprawls 60 kilometers along the volga. i encounter a group of soldiers on their way to the hall of honor and the eternal flame.

the soldiers are wearing warm felt boots. it is just as cold inside as out, minus 17 degrees celsius. they want to lay flowers. let's go, says his granddaughter. >> he says he wishes to be alone for a moment. i go outside to take a look around the sculpture park. after the moving experience of the hall of honor these oversized statues leave me cold, huge figures naked from the

waist up, as if it had not been human beings that fought here, but god's. i wrote art should be as modest as the hero it honors. i am inclined to agree. for a drink he orders, in a bid to warm up the mood. so, to friends, to french among people, and may god give us good health. -- two friendship among people, may god give us good health. bottoms up. the second glass loosens the tongue. after the third, there is no more talking, just singing. ♪ [singing in russian] >> then, he leads everyone to a

smaller graveyard, the cemetery 40 kilometers outside of town. no pompous, over-sized statues here. many of his neighbors and friends are buried here. it took decades before he was able to forgive the germans for their deaths, but 70 years on he now sees the world in a different light, having spent a short time that the russian graveyard. he now crosses the road to the german military cemetery. it is the first time he has come here. he wants to commemorate the enemy, two. -- too. he wants reconciliation had -- reconciliation. for me, he says, the germans have long ceased to be enemies, they were comrades slaughtered

just like the russians. we were enemies back then, but not anymore. these words make a deep impression on me. after the visits to the memorials, he invites everybody to his place. he lives on the third floor with his seriously ill wife. there is no elevator here. i learned that he was not sent to the front line until 1943, when he was 17. the battle for stalingrad was over by then, but the war still ground on. he fought against the germans for nearly two years and was wounded four times. the last was a serious one to the head. nevertheless, he still has his sharp wits about him to this day, not to mention his warm sense of humor.

i could listen to him all day. the -- these photos here were taken during the war. i gave all of my pictures from the frontlines to museums. i served for six years in belarus. i was a soldier for a total of eight years. after the war we were not allowed to come home because we learned too much and work too well mollified. some call this academics and students at the academy spent five years studying, and we have been soldiers for eight, so they called us academics. he has been invited to spend the afternoon at what is called a bravery hour at a high school. the discussion is led by an elegant russian teacher, olga. what if we had lost the battle of stalingrad, she asks.

if it had not been for stalingrad, we would all be speaking german. winning the battle was one of the most ever at -- heroic achievements. without the victory, the russian language would be no more. instead, the earth would be populated by area and worms, and we would not exist anymore here at the second of february is not just your celebration, my dear veterans, it is our celebration, to. any questions? no questions. he puts an unexpected damper on the patriotism. do you know, he says, what wonderful relations we have with germany today? it is the richest country in europe and our government does everything it can to encourage it for strong trade ties and to attract investment. the germans invest their money

here and create jobs for us, children. after an hour the children politely say thank you, and the veteran's remarks seem to have had little affect in contrast to their teachers patriotic platitudes. >> this youth says the veterans are the role models and we should honor them eternally. those that do not respect history have no future, says this boy. the hour of bravery is followed by some light entertainment. ♪ it does not matter whether you know the dance or not, says olga, just dance. in the evening, we all accompany mikhail to the philharmonic, and as part of

the celebrations a german orchestra is performing here for the first time in a concert entitled music of peace against war. it is a first for the cal, to -- and the cal, too. excuse me, he says, can i have a program? thank you, ms.. i am here today to strengthen our friendship with the german nation, he tells us. we used to be enemies. now we are friends. i place great value on every encounter with the germans. why do you think i wanted to go to the german war center this morning? not out of interest, but out of sympathy with the german soldiers. i feel so sorry for them that i could cry, and now, without the germans, we would be finished.

that is why meetings like this should be held more often, whether with aging veterans or with young people. the concert hall is packed, but he is one of the few veterans here. many of his old comrades still shy away from meeting the germans. the orchestra performs music by bronx. for me, there could be no better and to the date and this. -- day than this. 70 years on, where the thunder of artillery guns performs echoe peoples fought one another another to the death, we now hear music. and i can enjoy the moment in the company of the cal, veteran of the great patriotic war, as

the second world war is known in russia, and my own personal hero. [applause]