>> welcome to the "journal" on dw. i am anne o'donnell. >> here is what is coming up in the next half-hour. troops continue their offensive against a strategic rebel stronghold. >> china's premier pledges to work together with india for regional stability and economic growth. >> 30 years after the discovery of hiv, researchers are still searching for a vaccine to prevent aids.

>> the war in syria continues to grind on and civilians are paying the price. the government of bashar al- assad has launched a new offensive into retaking the control -- retaking control of the town, qusair, near lebanon. >> they pounded them into submission. some reports say at least 100 people have been killed in the fighting on a including -- in the fighting, including members of the hezbollah group which supports the government. >> the syrian human rights server tori is calling it a massacre -- human rights observatory is calling it a massacre. >> this video provided by the opposition is said to show syrian rebels under fire from government forces in qusair. monday was the second day of a government assault in the rebel stronghold between the government's capital and the

syrian city of homes -- homs. reports that lebanese hezbollah fighters are supporting the troops are increasing concerns that lebanon is being dragged further into syria's civil war. but the reports are impossible to verify. meanwhile, about 30 syrian opposition figures gathered in madrid for talks set up by the spanish government. they are trying to iron out their differences ahead of a possible peace conference that the u.s. and russia are trying to organize for next month. >> any negotiations that lead to the fall of the regime are acceptable. those allowing it to continue are not. >> but there is little sign that a peace conference is likely to end the fighting. in an interview with argentine media, syrian president bashar al-assad ruled out any dialogue with what he called "terrorists."

>> around one point 5 million syrians have fled the fighting in their home country. that's according to the un. >> many have landed in refugee camps in neighboring turkey, jordan, and lebanon. they are facing severe hardships as refugees. a often lack shelter, walter -- they often lack shelter, water, and basic medical care. families are struggling to overcome the physical and emotional trauma. >> more than 190,000 people are living in this refugee camp. 3/4 of them are women and children. before the war, they lead normal lives in syria. now it is a struggle to get by. the eldest child is 20, the younger ones still depend on her. since she lost her leg after an attack in her hometown, it has been a difficult task. >>

our house and a sniper shot me. my leg had to be amputated. >> she is being fitted with a prosthesis. many women have fled a horrific war in fear for their husbands and sons still in syria. they bear not just psychological scars but physical lawrence -- physical ones, too. these wounds often have a significant impact. >> sometimes, some cases that i see -- the husband leaves because she now has an injury. >> this girl is 16. she does not want to show her face for fear of reprisals against her relatives back in syria. her home was hit by a missile. the free syrian army brought her to jordan. doctors were able to save one of her feet, but she lost the other. she tells us the exercise is slowly getting easier.

eventually, she wants to return to syria and go back to school. for now, she has just one goal. >> all i want is to get better and get -- be able to walk again. that's all. >> she is practicing walking with the new prosthesis. she says they came under fire while fleeing syria. now her family can finally sleep safely once again. >> i just wish the war would end and that would no more -- that no more people would have to be wounded or died. -- die. >> slowly, step-by-step, she is beginning to walk again. she might still need help, but

at least she is back on her feet. >> a wave of bomb blasts in iraq has killed more than 70 people in both shiite and sunni areas around the country. among the targets was the mainly shiite city of basra, where two car bombs exploded near a crowded square. a series of bombs went off in the capital of baghdad. tensions have been rising in iraq since minority -- minorities began protesting what they see as repression by the government. prime minister nouri al-maliki promised to overhaul security to prevent further sectarian violence. and china and india's leaders are trying to iron out their differences. chinese's -- china's premier li keqiang is on a state visit to india. >> the area in question is in kashmir. in mid april, indian and chinese troops moved into th region and

looked ready for conflict. tensions have been defused, but it is still a major sticking point. economic ties have been at the top of the agenda. india and china are the two most populous countries in the world and the most important emerging economies. >> this visit is about boosting trade ties. before arriving, li stressed that cooperation was essential. these regional giants aim to increase trade volume to almost 80 billion euros. li said he was offering dell he i handshake -- delhi a handshake. >> the purpose of this visit is threefold, to increase mutual trust, intensify cooperation, and face the future. >> but irritants remain in the relationship, including a decades-old dispute along the two countries'ill-defined

himalayan border -- two countries' ill-defined himalayan border. indian leader man mohan singh said both sides -- manmohan singh said both sides were committed to working together for regional growth. >> i share with you my view that the rise of china and india is good for the world and the world has enough space to accommodate the growth aspirations of both of our people. >> at mahatma gandhi's the morrill, -- at mahatma gandhi's memorial, li paid tribute. >> north korea has continued firing short-range weapons for third day, despite international protests. the missiles were launched from the country's east coast and

landed in the sea of japan. officials said they were investigating exactly what the northwest testing and whether the project builds -- projectiles had been fired from a un-caliber gun. germany's foreign minister guido westerwelle is visiting serve you and close a vote in attempts to get leaders from both sides to normalize relations -- visiting serbia and close of o-- serbia and kosovo n an attempt to get leaders from both sides to normalize relations. >> it is that you exceptions -- the eu accession catch-22, with both sides waiting for the other to make the move -- make a move. or many is serbia to normalize relations with kosovo --

germany is pushing serbia to normalize relations with kosovo. >> from ournt oview, what is needed now is an implementation agreement to ensure the deal's principles are translated into concrete policies. >> serbia strongly opposed kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008. northern kosovo remains hotly contested. it is a majority serb population. april's agreement grants more a tonic to the four serbian mint -- serbian municipalities -- grants more a tonic me to the 4 -- more autonomy to the four serbian municipalities in kosovo. >> we cannot wait any longer. if the talks were delayed again, it could have catastrophic consequences for the future of our country. >> foreign minister westerwelle

has now traveled onto kosovo. he's holding out the prospect of eu membership to break the ice. the european commission has recommended opening up talks, a key step towards full accession negotiations. >> yahoo is buying the online blogging for him tumblr for more than $1 billion -- yahoo! is buying the online blogging for hium tumblr for more than $1 billion. >> the platform was started back in 2006 and hosts more than 100 million blogs. analysts say that yahoo! needs to boost profits, but it is uncertain whether tumblr users can make that happen. >> logs like these rely on tumblr, making the service that sleep -- blogs like these rely on tumblr, making the service vastly popular with those under

500 -- under 25. many current users are hesitant about continuing under the direction of yahoo. -- yahoo! tens of thousands have fled the service. yahoo! is vowing that tumblr will remain an independent entity. other recent buyouts have been integrated into the corporate platform. ! yahoo --yahoo! desperately needs to reinvent itself. they hope that this will persuade bloggers to use other yahoo products. with an estimated 100 million users on tumblr, the potential is truly enormous. >> for one budget airline, 2012 was the most successful business year ever. it posted record profits of 570 million euros, up her teen

percent from the previous year, even exceeding its own predictions -- up 13% from the previous year, even exceeding its own predictions to >> they say that -- predictions. >> they said that there will likely be a slowdown in growth of passenger numbers. >> the numbers help boost markets in europe. let's check out how stocks kicked off the week. our correspondent has more from frankfurt. >> ryanair caused a sensation at the stack -- stock market, lifting shares to an all-time high. even shares of lufthansa were driven by the ryanair results. shareholders hope that you -- that looks at -- that lufthansa will also be back on track again. the dax rose again to an all- time high. traders made positive economic data from the u.s. and japan responsible for the rise. this data fueled demand for german carmakers. traders in europe are asking

when the rally is over. traders in new york are optimistic. they don't see an ed to this bull market. >> let's look at the market numbers. we will stick in europe. the dax gaining on the day, closing by about 7/10 of 1% higher. the euro stoxx 50 was also higher on the day. the dow is still trading in new york. at last check, it was basically unchanged, 15,342. the euro dollar is higher trading at 1.2896. >> geneva has wrapped of celebrations to mark the reopening of the city's red cross museum. >> the pianist and his instrument were hoisted by a crane in front of the red cross headquarters. more than 1000 people gathered to watch the particle performance -- vertical performance. he delighted the crowd with his

music for about an hour. ♪ that cannot be too good for his back. >> that looks scary to me. >> welcome back. it's a historic visit. myanmar's thein sein is visiting the u.s. president, barack obama. >> he took office as president of myanmar, also known as burma, two years ago and began reforms to and the caves of military rule -- and began reforms to end decades of military rule. differences still remain. >> privately produced newspapers are once again available after an almost 50-year state monopoly.

hundreds of political prisoners have been pardoned and freed. and the economy is opening up to foreign investment. the first tentative steps on myanmar's road to democracy. in 2011, the former head of the military government, thein sein am a became president after country's first election in 20 years. many doubted his campaign pledges to introduce reforms, but after thein sein took office, his government launched a process of reform that surprised its critics. under his presidency, freed pro- democracy leader aung san suu kyi returned to active politics after 15 years of house arrest. her national league for democracy was reinstated as an official party and she won a seat in the 20 12th parliamentary by elections. -- in the 2012 parliamentary by elections. the government urged burmese exiles who fled the military

dictatorship to return home, but there is still widespread distrust of the government. human rights groups say many political prisoners are still languishing behind bars. they have branded the latest releases a publish it he stunned. critics have said the government has failed to prevent a wave of attacks on minority newsroom -- muslim communities. the violence has left as an's dead and displaced thousands. rights groups -- has left dozens dead and displaced thousands. after nearly half a century of isolation, myanmar will need to end ethnic and religious violence and embrace constitutional reforms to prove that it is truly charting a path to democracy. >> for more on the visit of thein sein to the u.s., we are joined by our washington correspondent. this is a dramatic turnaround for myanmar. how important is this visit?

do you think that washington sees this as an historic opportunity? >> that is a clear yes. of course, reporting tends to focus on what this means to the people of myanmar and understandably so, but there is a lot in it for the united eight as well. strategically speaking, just the position, the location of myanmar, wedged between india, china, and southeast asia -- it is a connection, a gateway between south asia and east asia am a so that is strategically extremely important, especially because the united states have put all their military focus -- their renewed military focus on asian- pacific region because of china, who are beefing up their military in a big way, 175% over the last 10 years. this would be -- a friendly myanmar would be very help all for the united states. it does not hurt that myanmar has a lot of natural resources. >> we have seen a lot of

sectarian strife flare up in the last few months. is that something the presidents are going to be talking about? >> that is something that obama has to discuss, although there is a bipartisan majority. he cannot just ignore that. a lot of humanitarian organizations still say that this visit comes to early because it takes off the pressure from the regime in myanmar. the obama administration tends to say that the glass is half- full regarding myanmar and it is not half-empty, because of what has been achieved in such a quick pace. >> dank u so much for that. -- thank you so much for that. >> it was 30 years ago that french researchers discovered hiv, the virus that causes aids. >> over 30 million people are living with hiv aids -- hiv/aids.

the virus invades the immune system, which normally defends the body. once there, the virus replicates at a rapid rate, killing off immune cells. that paves the way for aides to develop. >> -- aids to develop. >> billions have been spent, but still no major breakthroughs you'd we have some positive news from researchers -- rakers. we have some positive news from researchers. >> these people are waiting to be tested for the virus that leads to aids. modern drug treatments are far more effective when patients begin them soon after crit -- after contracting the virus. some now involve taking just one tablet per day. a berlin dr. has been treating -- doctor has been treating people infected with the virus or years -- for years. >> we thought we would come up with a sec -- successful treatment quickly.

we have made a lot of progress in suppressing the virus with medication. people who have access to the necessary healthcare systems can lead relatively normal life if the treatment is successful. >> scientists now know a lot about the virus that leads to aids, but decades of research have failed to render the virus harmless. experts say there is little hope of the vaccine soon, because the virus changes rapidly over time. >> i don't think we will see that miracle happen before the end of my medical career. hiv is really very tricky. >> despite the difficulties, scientists continue their battle against the virus. researchers in the u.s. recently discovered antibodies in the blood of infected patients, which can neutralize the majority of hiv strains even as the virus changes. another line of research is examining the genetic makeup of the few individuals with natural resistance to the virus

in the hopes of isolating the gene responsible. but scientists say both strategies are unlikely to yield results soon. he wants to find a way to -- for people to live with the virus without relying on drugs for the rest of their life. >> how do apes managed to live with hiv? they have large amounts of the virus in their blood, but it does not seem to bother their immune system. they live on perfectly benign terms with the virus. >> how do infected apes avoid getting full-blown aids? researchers believe they can answer that question -- if they can answer that question, they may be on the right track to a vaccine and the cure. >> time to head to cannes where this year half of the films are french or french coproductions. the film festival is held in france, but it is usually hollywood that is always stealing the big headlines. >> does that mean american blockbusters are better than french art-house movies? he compared the two very

different film cultures -- we compared the two very different film cultures. >> a moving and central coming- of-age film, a perfect example of french bill making -- and of frenchoming-of-age film, a filmmaking. an american film following a story from the 1960's. this year's festival highlights the best of french and american cinema, two nations that have played a major role in shaping the art form. two iconic u.s. actors are featured on this year's official poster. paul newman and his wife, joanne woodward. director steven spielberg came -- heads the film festival jury. he is convinced the art of filmmaking knows no borders. >> i look at it not as a competition. i look at it as an opportunity to brag, to boast about all the different things that so many cultures get to say about their own lives and each other and the

entire world comes together once a year at cannes. >> cannes typically favors independent productions outside of the mainstream. the film by the oscar-winning coen brothers tells a folk story. they are known for their art- house productions. cannes is an important venue for promoting this nostalgic portrayal of the 1960's culture in music. >> the idea attracted us because we are very much interested in this scene then and the whole folk revival scene. we were always interested in the music. >> whether french or american, cannes features original and compelling stories. >> i think they influence each other and have done over the many years. i think the congruence is just part of it.

>> the difference is not where it comes from. if it is for cinema or for -- art-house cinema or for box office. >> french people are more into intellectual movies. >> the french director tells the story of a young woman who uses the internet to sell her services as a high-class call girl. it is a psychological and sensitive movie, in keeping with french cinematic tradition. >> on the one hand, i was interested in the stark reality of this story. at the same time, i tell it in a very impressionistic style. >> but cannes is much more than just art-house fare. this year opened with a true hollywood blockbuster starring leonardo dicaprio as the "-- as

"the great gatsby." it is one of the w'for most cinematic showcases. >> some football news. it has been announced that rail madrid's head coach -- real madrid's head coach will be leaving before his contract runs out. >> the president said the club and the coach agreed to end their relationship. the parting coach says -- sees madrid wind down its season without a win. rumors are rife that he will return to chelsea, where he previously coached. they did not do that badly. stay tuned.

>> more proof that scientists's are overwhelmingly convinced climate change is man-made. why do politicians and the public still give credence to global warming skeptics? "inside story" from washington.