♪ >> hello, and welcome to "the journal." i am sarah harmon in berlin. our headlines this hour. john kerry and the arab league meet on syria and say that bashar al-assad has passed a global red line. the opposition leader is contesting the results of the male oral election in moscow. and mazda takes a step closer to its fourth formula one title.

>> syrian president bashar al- assad has told the american media there is no evidence he used chemical weapons against his own people. this comes as u.s. secretary of state john kerry continues a whirlwind tour to drum up international some work for military intervention in syria. international leaders are not the only ones who need convincing. many americans are skeptical as well. >> antiwar protesters demand the u.s. stay out of the conflict in syria. demonstrations like this one are meant to send a clear message to the obama administration and the world that there is broad opposition to military intervention. >> i have family living there. they worry about what is going to happen in syria. >> most protests only to a few hundred people but opinion polls

show that they represent a majority of americans. shortly before the decisive vote in congress, the president pulls out all the stops, planning to make his case and interviews with six different television networks. the secretary of state, john kerry, looks for support a broad. he visited france where they support attacks on syria, only after the results of a human investigation. he met with ministers of the arab league who all agree that chemical weapons cross our red line. >> we discussed the possible measures with the international community and what they can take to keep bashar al-assad from ever crossing that line again. a number of countries immediately signed on to the g 20 agreement. victims -- this purportedly shows victims of a

poison gas attack but the authenticity cannot be verified. the obama administration hopes they can show the urgency of military intervention. whether the security council supports it or not. >> the civil war in syria continues. rebels, some with links to al qaeda say that they control the historic christian town north of damascus. about 1500 opposition troops entered the city after days of fierce fighting. say that the rebels were attacking christian homes and churches. but the government is giving a dramatically different account, saying the rebels fled into the nearby countryside. the nato airstrike in northeastern afghanistan has killed reportedly eight civilians. locals say that the drone strike targeting a pickup truck killed 15 people and all.

among them were women and children and suspected militants. nato called this a precision strike but refused to say if a drone was used. 10 enemy fighters were said to have been killed and they will investigate claims of civilian casualties. more claims of data surveillance have been unearthed in germany. ciae are reports that the ran a program to create a joint database on infamous militants. the u.s. national security agency has also the ability to access user data on all major smart phones. they quote the u.s. and british intelligence documents to say how the agency retrieves contacts and location data, on iphone and black area and android devices. , sergei of moscow

sobayanin appears to have won the election with 57% of the vote, but his critic, outspoken -- but his opponent, outspoken critic of vladimir putin alexei navanly, did better than expected and is challenging the results. had no real chance of winning but a respectable outcome may change the review of his five-year prison sentence. said this was an important day for the people of moscow. >> the electoral process will go very well and there won't be any violation. i would like for the citizens to be able to express their opinion and elected the mayor that they really want. >> most people want to see this man returned to the mayor's office. the kremlin supported incumbent

sobayanin. a appeared he would avoid runoff and that there is little change -- little appetite for change here. without naming names, vladimir putin appeared to dismiss the western-style campaign image, saying that moscow needed concrete leaders. >> we need him politicized people. who work and know what to do and how to do it. who will take responsibility for their actions. initial figures show that turnout was low with only 25% of eligible voters doing so. the elections results as likely to be contested for some time. -- navalny has

helped the protests as they see what a real political debate is like. going to in norway are the polls, & stone look good for the current administration. looks to be ousted by the central right opposition coalition, in spite of the country's strong economic performance. norway has been unaffected crisis,by the global results are expected late on monday. with two weeks left to go until general elections in germany, the country's political parties prepare for their final push. angela merkel is on course to lead the christian democrats to their third consecutive victory but leaves nothing to chance. she set out to rally the party base at a campaign event in düsseldorf.

>> the opinion polls put her party far ahead in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, but the chancellor believes that the close-out has appealed to her supporters. if you want to avoid having to make a socialist green coalition work, cast your ballots for the christian democrats. >> she says only her government can steer the course in europe and introduce real reform, to the embattled economies. demands a coalition will collective debt, and she says plans are tax disastrous for the german economy. >> they should not be crippled by tax hikes and be allowed to create jobs. >> she did not mention the unpopular proposition to introduce tolls on the

autobahn. this has split the christian democrats. this was a show of unity by a leader with a commanding lead in the polls. >> for more coverage, go to our e/german elections. looks to hisel fourth checkered flag in a row. this was his third win at monza. the red bull driver is now 53 points above foerrari's vernando alonso. like a step towards a world title and left ferrari fans dispondent. >> we beat the red guy.

alonso -- ast, snatching victory from vettel seemed impossible. vettel had trouble breaking into the right corner but played flawlessly thereafter. >> drove flawlessly thereafter. they battled tooth and nail but were too far back in the pack to rescue their slender world championship hopes. this was a happier weekend for vladimir ukenbeg. his bested fifth for finish of the season. >> the international olympic committee has voted to include wrestling at the 2000 20 and 2024 games, seven months after it was removed from the program. this was featured in the ancient olympics and every modern games except 1900. ,fter a surprising dissolution

they change the rules for general wally. they will keep wrestling instead of introducing squash or baseball and softball. they made another tough decision yesterday. selecting tokyo to host the summer olympics in 2020. they beat out istanbul and madrid. this news was met with jubilation in tokyo. >> tokyo. [applause] respond --, jubilant response among the japanese delegation. they garnered 60 votes, twice as many as their arrival -- their rival, istanbul. it was five in the morning when the decision was handed down, and thousands were up in the

early hours with anticipation. planners say that all venues at the 2020 games will be situated within eight kilometers of the olympic village. they also include spectacular construction projects to be financed from the reserve fund of $4.5 billion. but there are also security concerns. persuaded by istanbul's promised to deal with sectarian violence -- this was too close in people's minds. measure it and their austerity bid was rejected in the first round and that paved the way for tokyo, after this and almond at led to the fukushima catastrophe, japan is looking to the future, with their motto, discovered tomorrow. >> the america's cup, the

biggest sailing event of the year. teamnew zealand defeated usa in the first two races of the final series. front, the nose out in new zealand always have the advantage over oracle in a tightly fought first race. this was full of near collisions. dean barker and his crew pulled away to cross the finish line with a 36 second lead over the united states both. 45,000 spectators were treated to a repeat performance in the second race, with these votes evenly matched. new zealand showed technical -- tactical awareness. the challengers stretched their lead at the finish line, to 52 seconds. new zealand needs another seven wins to seal the best of 17

series. they must now win 11 races to defend the america's cup title. >> thomas bjorn has come from behind to clinch the european masters in a playoff and switzerland. he was two shots down at the start of the final round but he was back in contention with approach shot's like this one. greatly needed to sink this putt title,18th to win the but this refused to drop. birdied the first hole to get his second european masters in three years. next up, the sporting competition that does not involve balls or wheels. the european tree climbing championship that is taking place in switzerland this weekend. arborists from all over europe compete in five disciplines including rescue techniques and

line throwing. the winner will represent europe at the world tree climbing championship. that is all we have time for on this edition, please join us again at the top of the hour. >> germany's election is fast approaching. debatee only televised between chancellor -- chancellor angela merkel and her main opponent. neither one dominated the largely lacks what -- lackluster encounter. that was reflected in some opinions on the street. >> it was more or less what i was expecting. >> there were no clear statements. it was boring. thengela and her colors of german flag got people talking,

each inspiring their own twitter account. the following day they lock horns again for the last time in parliament as the voters moved on to the streets. >> a former not see went on trial on monday, accused of the murder of a dutch resistance fighter in 1944. the 92-year-old faced a seven- year sentence in the 1980s for the murder of two jewish brothers. this case is part of the push to bring the aging nazis to justice before they die. investigatingice war crimes recommended putting 30 auschwitz guards on trial, 30 years after the end of world war roman to -- world war ii. >> the new striker was shown on monday. the price is said to be 100 million euros, making him the

world's most expensive player. after, it showed the leader of germany was leaving for arsenal, making him the priciest german player ever. this is after the english summer transfer window drew to a close. >> the syrian refugee crisis was in the spotlight on tuesday, as new figures show the number of syrians fleeing into neighboring countries has topped 2 million. over half of them are estimated to be children. there was a call for national international support. >> massive international support. >> we have the responsibility to protect them, to shelter them, to feed them, to treat them, and to educate them. for the children that need to go back to school. >> lebanon and jordan and turkey

have taken most of the people fleeing the conflict. the influx is placing an unsustainable burden on their economy and society. and chemo and -- ban ki moon warned that action could worsen the conflict, and that the use of force is only allowed with defense or a u.n. counsel resolution. u.n. says that they can no longer let petco deal with the fukushima disaster alone. if wey are waiting to see can dismantle the plant and deal with the issue of contaminated water. the government is determined to work hard to resolve the issue. >> a couple of days later, the first video footage emerged of leaking contaminated water. ted co. reported a loss of 300

metric tons of a radiated water, and readings in the tanks spiked to record levels, a enough to kill non-protected person within hours. the government allocated 300 million euros to stop the damage to the surrounding environment. this will be used for a large wall of ice underground to prevent underground leaks. should be completed by 2015. can 37 story building that cast a beam of light. hot enough to fry and eight. the sunlight reflected and warped the bodywork of a car below. the developers promise to sort this problem out. >> on wednesday, barack obama continued his drive to drum up international support for a military strike on syria,

stopping off in sweden on the way to the g 20 summit. he said the world needs to take a stand against chemical weapons. >> my credibility is not on the line, the international community's credibility is on the line. >> he made clear that the u.s. is prepared to take action without the backing of the united nations. wednesday, he won the support of an influential group in congress. the senate foreign relations committee approved a limited military mission in response to the chemical weapons attack in august. the u.s. says that they have firm evidence that there was the use of sarah and gas. and -- sarin gas. >> the visit to a side of a massacre on wednesday, one of

the worst atrocities on french soil. hundreds were killed by retreating nazi troops in june of 1944. meeting with the survivors, the german president was deeply moved. said he was grateful for the opportunity to visit our indoor -- alandour. >> as generous as this generation is, it does not keep me from feeling appalled at the guild that germans brought upon themselves. >> during the occupation of murderederman soldiers 632 villagers. their homes were burned to the ground. >> this is very important. the president of both germany and france are here for the truth. this is the only way to real reconciliation. >> the ruins are preserved today

in memory of the victims. is the first german president to visit this site. >> barack obama and his russian counterpart, vladimir putin came face-to-face at the g 20 summit, opening in st. petersburg on sunday. but their view on syria remained far apart. russia and china says that the evidence does not show that the regime of the sharp al-assad carried out chemical weapons attacks and argue that without call forf there is no military intervention. >> both north america and russia want peace in syria and want the bloodshed to stop as soon as possible. but we do not agree with anyone in the world trying to dig eight there will on to another country, trying to change the regime in another country. >> angela merkel and her delegation look to push their line on syria.

germany favors a political solution. talks, i am looking to build support for the un security council, the mandate for the international court of justice. to investigate the alleged use of poison gas attacks in syria. >> the summit ended without agreement. despite the sideline meeting between vladimir putin and barack obama on friday. the shadow of syria hangs over the international community. this meeting achieved little more than emphasizing the existing divides. >> the egyptian interior minister, avoided anhim, assassination attempt in nasr city. one policeman died and 30 people were wounded.

there was no immediate claim of responsibility. warns of a possible new wave of terrorism as police crackdown on the islamist's and >> the fourth annual berlin music week got underway on thursday as thousands of music industry professionals flocked to the german capital. event is trying to highlight the status as an international music hotspot. >> it is relatively cheap to live here so it is a good reading ground for artists. the attractiveness of the city has a part to play, too. here,hink that everything with electro and hip-hop and classical music -- i find that particularly great. >> this is a symbiotic relationship.

value the economic boost provided by the music industry, which generates 600 million euros for the city annually. and there are good reasons for the sector to celebrate itself. >> new spying revelations from edward snowden, top-secret documents show the u.s. and britain have cracked most online encryption methods and have gone to a privacy firms to -- firms to access data. are completelyns untrue. he claims that the nsa was spying on germany across the board, inside germany and monitoring their communications. this has been completely dispelled. >> the justice commissioner did not take his view. she accused britain of having scant regard for data protection.

-- they arepositive a lost cause. they are in cahoots with the americans and do not have any interest with european law. >> vivian redding called for tougher legislation on data protection. she wants future violations to be punished with hefty fines that should discourage major internet firms from passing on customer data to government agencies. with athe week ended slight boost for the main election chancellor of -- challenger of angela merkel. were elected on the chances directly, angela merkel's lead was unchanged from 54%, but steinberg jumped to 35%. this did nothing to change the predicted election winner.

the opposition still trails the conservatives. the question of who the chancellor will end up working with remains open. onlcurrent coalition