>> welcome to the "journal" here on dw, coming to live from berlin. >> here is what is coming up in the next half-hour -- tax fraud takes center stage at an eu mini summit in brussels. leaders search for the missing trillion. >> has a lot and syrian forces are reported to of taking control of a strategic reddens -- rebel stronghold that leaks damascus with syrian ports. >> and the anniversary of richard wagner's birth. how germany is celebrating the controversial composer.

>> in a period of record recession and unemployment, the eu has decided to aggressively go after a reported one trillion euros in tax loopholes lost in loopholes. >> leaders backed by the european parliament have agreed to halve the edge -- the figure by 2020. they have also set a deadline to end banking secrecy. >> luxembourg's prime minister smiled for the cameras but had to make major concessions. after initially resisting, he agreed to share other information. now his focus is on negotiating a similar agreement with switzerland. >> what we are planning to do with the automatic exchange of

information is again unprecedented. unprecedented. we could not speak in those terms on those issues two months ago, so there is real breakthrough. >> eu countries want to push the issue of tax avoidance at international gatherings at the upcoming g-8 summit as well. >> it cannot stop at the eu, nor should we try to find a sort of separate you standards. what we need is an emerging global standard, and it think there's a better prospect for that today than there has been in many years. >> the you global crisis has raised pressure on many states to collect more taxes. angela merkel praised the decision as a milestone. >> this is something we have been striving for for many years. now it is here. now we have reached the peak. we see what is before us. there is no question it is a step forward. >> eu leaders will meet again in

june to discuss the future of the union. >> our brussels correspondent has been following the summit for us and sent us this assessment. >> the eu has agreed in principle to tackle tax evasion and to essentially get rid of banking secrecy across the eu. having said that, it is very important to note what is written in the agreement that was signed here by all 27 member states, and because austria and luxembourg were quite reluctant to give up their banking secrecy. it is an important factor in their economic situation at home, and they have been very interested in keeping it. the agreement says that the eu will also launch negotiations with countries like switzerland, and luxembourg's prime minister has said very clearly today in brussels that luxembourg will only give up its banking secrecy in negotiations

with third countries are successful. in the end, it could well mean that the end of banking secrecy is still further away than we think. >> any deal on banking secrecy could spell the end for many tax havens here in europe. in our next report, we pay a visit to one community that has been in that business for years. >> it is a small pocket located in austria and surrounded by germany, and it is looking after generations of money. >> this is a picture-perfect alpine village. it is an austrian exclave within the borders of germany. it does not have a bakery or supermarket, but it does have three banks. three banks for only 300 residents? >> there are about 4 billion euros in those three banks. that is a lot of money. 99% of it comes from germany, and most of it is probably undeclared.

>> there were never any border controls in this pretty little village, so it was just as easy for germans to open secret bank accounts here as driving down the road. but in austria -- but if austria and greece to reveal the identities of german depositors to german tax authorities, there could be problems. problems for the depositors and for the village. >> the banks are by far the biggest source of tax revenue and also the largest employer. >> but maybe not for long. if a tax haven is closed down, the three banks could become superfluous. >> we will just have to wait and see what comes next. one day, the bank secrecy laws will change, and we will have to see what the future brings. >> it could be a nasty surprise, though. it has some tourist attractions, but tourists are actually better off in many places nearby.

because of the money pouring into the banks, the village lost interest in the tourism business. two big hotels have closed down, and now the village relies almost solely on its banks. >> to syria now, where main opposition alliance members have urged fighters there from around the country to reinforce cable alcove under attack. embattled rebel forces are reported to be falling back, and their main command centers are said to be under government control. the town is at the center of an offensive to guarantee strategic access to syrian ports. >> syrian state television aired this footage. it says government troops now control large parts of this village. after weeks of fighting, soldiers reportedly entered the city on sunday, killing rebel fighters and destroying their tunnels and weapons.

it is impossible to verify the report for this video posted on the internet. the group that uploaded it says the images were recorded last weekend, but there are signs that a government offensive is putting the bubbles under pressure. they have urged fighters all over the country to come to this village, which lies on a strategic corridor linking damascus with the mediterranean coast. it is also right on the border with lebanon. an increasing number of hezbollah fighters are crossing from lebanon into syria to help. the international contact group fears a civil war could destabilize the entire movement. >> it is a crucial moment for syria's future as we prepare for a conference in geneva in a few weeks. we need to get on with that conference. people are dying in large numbers. the situation is worsening all the time. >> the friends of syria group is meeting in the jordanian capital as part of a u.s.-russian bid to find a way to end the conflict,

but there is little hope the assad regime or the rebels are willing to negotiate a peaceful solution. >> iran's presidential election officially entered its campaign phase on wednesday, but it is most certainly not an open playing field. the country's hard-line oversight body, the guardian council, approved eight people that are allowed to run for office. not surprisingly, they are all close to terrebonne's ruling clerics. there were two notable politicians who were not on the list. one is a moderate and the other is a man very close to the president. damascene here with the iranian president -- >> seen here with the iranian president, he was ahmadinejad's favor a successor, but the council has issued its list of approved candidates, and he is not on it. >> he deserved to be rejected.

he is not qualify for the presidency. he was a wrong choice by the government and ahmadinejad, but i was shocked. that was a great shock. >> the guardian council has ruled him out of the context for his former job. the council says he is too old to run at the age of 78, but he is also a leading reformer, and hardliners had attacked him. iranian tv announced the list of annointed candidates. of hundreds who applied, only eight men will be allowed to contest the vote. most of them chosen for hardliners. just one is a political reformer, and that is the former vice president. reaction was swift after the announcement. president ahmadinejad says he will challenge the decision to knock his candidate out of the race. the candidate is also angry at

the supreme council's ruling, yet they do not have the final say. the guardian council may have quashed ahmadinejad's hopes of passing on his job to his aid. >> the u.s. federal reserve bank chairman has vowed to keep pumping money into the american economy for the time being. he says that for now, he will keep interest rates low and continue buying u.s. treasuries. >> the central bank boss told a u.s. congressional hearing that the american economy remains weak. bernanke says monetary policy should remain on hold until the u.s. recovery picks up further. how did investors respond? our markets correspondence sent us this summary from the trading floor. -- our markets correspondent sent us this summer. >> briefly after 4:00 p.m., traders were clapping their hands, applauding the decision of the head of the u.s. central bank. he said what traders wanted to

hear -- the fed will continue its bond-buying until the labor market has improved substantially, which is not yet the case, meaning that the flooding with cheap money will continue. money which should help the economy to recover, but which is also driving the markets, including the dax, to new record highs because investors can only get an acceptable return with riskier assets. the central bank in the u.s. is not alone. >> let's get a closer look at those market numbers. the dax saddling the day at yet another record, about 0.7% higher. the euro stoxx 50 also higher today. in new york, the positive trend continues -- actually, it has changed direction and is lower, but it was positive earlier. the euro-dollar is currently trending lower. sony has announced it is

considering a proposal to sell a big chunk of its film, tv, and music operations. >> the idea apparently comes from an american hedge fund this as money from the sale could be invested in sony's ailing electronics unit. sony's ceo did not give a timetable for a decision on that idea. >> in soccer news, bad news for dortmund fans. >> dortmund's emerging superstar will not be able to play. he tore a muscle in his by three weeks ago in the semifinal against madrid. he is still recovering. it would have been his last game with dortmund. next year, he will be playing for -- you guessed it -- bayern munich. >> with two german squads vying for the top title, some of the best players will be competing in wembley on saturday. the rest are headed to florida, but it is no vacation.

>> not really. did german national team is set to play two international friendlies in honor of the u.s. football association's 100th anniversary, but critics say germany is not putting its best foot forward. >> should they stay or should they go? his coach says he never really questioned if his team should fly to the u.s. some sports fans suggested germany stay home. >> the german football federation is not a circus with a program that changes every day. we have taken all this into account. i think this trip will be extremely important for us. >> the team now on its way to the u.s. is certainly not the best germany has to offer. more like a second or even third string team. 15 regulars are missing. among them all the players from champions league finalists. only four of those going have played for germany at least once

this year. >> some positions are, of course, taken on our team, but sometimes it is like a hollywood film where it is not only important to get great actors for the major roles but stars for the supporting roles as well. >> supporting actors like dennis, who last played for germany 15 months ago, and aaron hunt, nominated last in 2010. other younger players probably have a better chance of being nominated again in the future. like this midfielder from freiburg, who scored the most goals for his team this year. >> i like it when i get the opportunity to nominate a player from mines or freiburg because they performed extraordinarily well this year with their teams. >> he will meet an old friend on the sidelines -- the u.s. coach. the two used to jointly coach

the german team. >> we are going to take a short break. when we come back, concerns in germany about the growing influence of salaphists. >> >> thanks so much for staying with us. >> welcome back. in germany, the salafist movement is in the spotlight with the trial of a man who attacked a police officer taking place. >> authorities said there are salafist links to an attempted terrorist plot and that they are becoming more militant. >> we will speak with our political correspondent in a moment, but first, this on the trial that opened on wednesday. >> the 26-year-old german with afghanistan considers himself a salafist, an ultra-conservative islamists. they are a growing concern for

law enforcement agencies. prosecutors say last year, he attacked police during a demonstration. >> the defendant in this proceeding is charged with being one of the participants in a demonstration who jumped on a police officer and struck him with his fists. >> the incident occurred after right wing extremists marched displaying caricatures of the prophet mohammed. many muslims find such drawings offensive, and a group of salafists responded by writing. police estimate the number of salafists in germany has risen to about 4500. >> we believe that they were planning from the outset to resort to violence if the caricatures were displayed. the stones they threw were brought to the scene and not down there. >> investigators believe german salafists are becoming increasingly active. a new report says dna evidence links another suspect to the bomb that failed to explode in

bonn's main train station last year. he's currently in custody on suspicion of plotting to kill the right wing extremists. >> just how much of a public safety threat are germany's salafists? let's cross over to our political correspondent for more. is there a growing salafist teradata in germany. >> it is true, of course, that most of the islamist terrorist acts over the last decade or two have been performed by people who describe themselves as salafists, but it is not true -- and i think this has to be said -- that all salafists are terrorists. as we mentioned in the report, approximately 4500 people in germany describe themselves as salafists. the security forces, domestic intelligence agencies in germany, say they are observing between 100 and 150 of those

people, so that is a relatively small number. i think it means we have to be careful about generalizing. salafism is a movement that started as a return to the roots of islam. it tends to be quite radical in that sense. it wants to create, as critics would say, an idealized vision of what islamic society was like in the first centuries of its existence, and it also has a missionary aspect. it wants to convert people, but neither of those things are illegal in germany. >> are there other ways, then, of tackling this for police and security operations? >> i think it is very important, particularly in the media, that we do not demonize people like this. the possible link to the bombing in bonn is a different matter. if we can prove that is a salafist, that man has done something that is classified as a terrorist act, but we cannot

lump 4000 people automatically into that category. >> thank you very much. german opposition parties are accusing a close ally of chancellor angela merkel of withholding information on a canceled drone project and squandering hundreds of millions in taxpayer money. >> dispute tends to tarnish the reputation of one of merkel's most trusted cabinet members and who until now was widely seen as a competent defense minister. >> drone aircraft were not on the agenda at this conference, but the defense minister felt compelled to address the growing scandal surrounding the canceled project. >> i have ordered a report on the matter to be prepared for the next session of the parliamentary defense committee. it will be appropriate that i inform lawmakers first and then the public.

>> he also spoke about his ministry's failure to provide government accountants with complete records of the disaster. >> i have ordered that the federal accounting office be given full access to the documents, including contractual agreements with american parties. >> the opposition social democrats say they can accept the minister's tagline but that they expect complete answers to all their questions. >> he needs to gather the facts needed to explain to us why the parliament, the cabinet, and the federal accounting office were not kept informed by this debacle or what consequences it will have. >> those consequences may affect efforts to adopt the american global hot stone on which the euro hoch was based for use by nato. it may run into the same problems that killed the euro hawk. >> in a few minutes, how germany celebrates the 200th birthday of

richard back there. >> but first, other stories making headlines right now. the german cabinet has signed off on the united nations arms treaty, paving the way for ratification. that treaty passed by the un general assembly in april regulates commerce in conventional weapons. it must be ratified by at least 50 member states before it takes effect. >> one of the jailed members of russian rock band pussy riot has gone on hunger strike. she told a court be a video link that she was protesting not being allowed to personally attend her parole hearing. she has sought release from prison to care for her five-year old son. >> in london, a young man thought to have been a soldier has been killed in with the government is treating as a terrorist attack. police shot and killed two men believed to have been involved in the incident. the assault took place near a military barracks in southeast london. today marks the 200th anniversary of retired doctor --

richard wagner's birth, and opera fans around the world are celebrating including in his hometown of leipzig. the town unveiled a new statue. >> it shows him as a young man. the city is hosting numerous events to honor his achievements. celebrations include some opera houses far off the beaten path. >> in this bicentennial year, wagner euphoria is growing. here in this town, life moves at a relaxed pace -- a very relaxed pace. but there are wagner fans here.

this ban is just heading off to a neighboring city to go to the opera. he only has to drive 20 minutes to experience the 16-hour epic. >> a few years ago, the theater started doing performances of "during -- "the ring." since it is close to where i live, and drive over there for the performances. i have been a passionate fan ever since. >> because walter visits many of the performances here up to three times each, he has given the day he has been given permission today to attend the rehearsal for -- he has been given permission today to attend the rehearsal for "tristan and isolde."

♪ "tristan and isolde" longing for death so they may be united in their forbidden love forever. for the director, the challenge is to make the story accessible to a wide audience. >> you have to find a method of storytelling that builds bridges to the audience's understanding so they can follow the very complex layers of the story. then there are certain taboos. if it is too radical, too disjointed, to pornographic, then the audience will not like it. >> provincial opera houses are a good training ground for wagner stars. she is not yet experienced enough to perform at one of the big opera houses like munich. >> obviously at the age of 29, no one in a major opera house

would hire me for any -- for a huge role like isolde or any kind of major role. you have to start somewhere lesser-known and progress. ♪ >> thanks to this theater, walter has fallen in love inwagner. and that is not all. when he met up with a singer in "the ring" and now the two are a couple. the story would have been very much to wagner's liking. >> chinese dissident ai weiwei has made his first foray into

music, releasing his first single. >> it is a parody about the 81 days he spent in prison. the lyrics heavily criticized chinese authority. ai says he cannot sing very well but is hoping to improve and is already recording a second album. he dedicates the song to those who have no voice because of government censorship in china. >> that video has already been censored in china. >> thanks so much for joining us. remember, you can find out more about these and other stories on our website, at dw.de. >> thanks for watching. >> bye bye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> the u.s. department of called a fox news reporter a co-conspirator as part of a leak investigation. is the obama administration no longer just fighting a war against whistleblowers am a but on the freedom of the press -- whistleblowers, but on the freedom of the press as a whole. what has sebastian panera -- pinera achieved in office?