>> diplomacy on syria moved to paris. france, the u.s., and the u.k. say they want a strong and binding resolution on syria. there is just one shot to this the crash cost ago cordia 20 months after it cap type -- capsized. hopes of finally towing it away. after 500 are still missing after days of massive flooding in the u.s. state of colorado. hello, everyone. first, the diplomatic push to

solve the crisis in syria has moved to paris. french president francois hollande sat down with secretary of state john kerry and british foreign minister william hague today. those two men just gave a friend -- press conference with the french foreign minister, after a weekend deal with hands that in geneva. that plan to dismantle and destroy syria's chemical arms stockpiles would give inspectors immediate access to the weapons within a week. the agreement seems to remove any immediate threats of a military strike against syria following the chemical attack in august that killed up to 1300. let's listen now to what the french foreign minister had to say. >> in the coming days, we wish to obtain from the united nations security council a strong resolution. the resolution which will and force the rule of the council's authority to chemical disarmament plans. the resolution that would include sirius consequences if not applied.

finally, a resolution that would reaffirm clearly that those who committed these crimes must be called to account. >> if assad fails to comply with the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed -- and that includes russia -- that there will be consequences. president obama and i have repeated this statement. warned that should diplomacy fail, the military option is still on the table. >> catherine norris trent was listening to the press conference at the french foreign ministry. she has more. >> we have just had this press briefing from william hague, the british foreign secretary, the french foreign minister, and john kerry, u.s. secretary of state and all three of them coming out as expected saying they wanted to have a stronger yuan resolution -- as strong a you when resolution as possible.

and one concrete action very quickly rather than just words and agreements on paper struck in geneva. all three men came out with the same point. our countries are permanent members of the un security council and we hope to use the full force of that diplomatic standing to really get this resolution passed as quickly as possible. they are insisting that should be binding and it should lead the way open for military force if there is not compliant by the assad regime. >> interestingly, the russian foreign minister has already responded to the comments made at the press conference. sergei lavrov said any cause for his with you and resolution under chapter seven would show a "lack of understanding of the russian-u.s. agreement on syria's chemical weapons." many of the journalists' questions were about the opposition and just who eventually might take over in

syria if or when bashar al-assad falls. a u.n. human rights reports just released today said militant opposition groups in syria including those linked to terrorist groups, have stepped up killings and other crimes in the country. our reporter joins us now from geneva where the report was released. john, what more can you tell us? >> the chairman of the independent inquiry of brazil outlined to the human rights council a long list of chilling atrocities both by government forces, a systematic odyssey of attacking medical facilities including a field hospital on september 12 that killed 11 people outside of aleppo, but also detailed accounts of opposition armed group linked to al qaeda attacking medical facilities and killing ambulance personnel and paramedics. very distressing, as the

protection of medical personnel and patients is enshrined under international law. and he was again pleading for all sides to respect these geneva protocols. >> thanks for that. reporting there from geneva. nearly two years after the costa concordia capsized, a delicate operation to stand up again is now underway. the goal here is to raise the ship to vertical to eventually tell it --tow it. one of the most expensive wreck recoveries in history. you can see the latest pictures from the island. >> 500 engineers have been preparing for a year for this moment. it is a massive undertaking. >> all the checks have been made and the lifting operation has officially begun. everything is working.

11 engineers are in place in the control room. >> the vessel has -- is being stabilized by cables, underwater platforms have been built to hold it once up right. cranes will lift the 100,000 tons helped by a huge metal structure on the side that is field -- filled with water. no one knows if it will succeed. the cruise line has been stuck on the rocks since january of 2012. one risk is the costa concordia may slide into a ditch. if it goes as planned -- the two metal containers will be emptied so the vessel conflict. the shipper will eventually be towed away to an italian port to be taken apart. >> at least 500 people are still missing following days of massive flooding in colorado. at least six have died in the waters so far. thousands more were evacuated in

just four days. more on what u.s. president barack obama cause a major disaster. >> cars washed away. passersby stranded. and residents desperate to save their pets. torrential rain keeps hampering rescue efforts. some people have not been able to call for help as cell phone towers and powerline have reportedly ineffective. hundreds of people have gone missing since wednesday. several more have been confirmed dead. u.s. authorities have vowed to rebuild the state of colorado. >> how can we ever recover from this? i know exactly. inch by inch, mile by mile, community by community. >> faced with a blocked roads officials have sent black hawk helicopters in the national guard to evacuate thousands of

people. president obama said temporary housing would be provided and financial aid would be given to those with uninsured property. ready-to-eat meals are also being air lifted and dropped to trapped locals, but they are bracing for more bad weather. meteorologist they rain could help the region for several more days. >> to mexico, where there is more bad weather. heavy rain, landslides and floods have killed at least 21. now the country is bracing for a hurricane. thousands were evacuated as hurricane ingrid and tropical storm man well -- maneuel before. the first of mexico has been hit hurricane just 24 hours after a tropical storm made landfall. in antigovernment protests rocked turkey for a six night last night. they set fire to barricaded this

tech -- downtown istanbul while police tried to control the crowd with tear gas. this latest wave of violence was kicked off by the death of a 22- year-old protester last week reportedly by the police. it renewed the antigovernment protest movement that was stopped by a police -- by a police crackdown in june. the top female police officer in afghanistan's rested shot has been shot dead. the woman was gunned down in the streets of the capital of helmand province just two months after the last senior policewoman in the ultraconservative province was also shot dead. women make up less than one percent of the police force in afghanistan. france is famous for its perfume and cosmetics as well as its incredible labor laws. now the two worlds have collided. employees of french beauty chain are fighting for the right to work late on the shelves the lives they c -- champs

d'elsee. going against their own union. >> open until midnight during the week and 1:00 a.m. on the weekends. i schedule now threatened by shop workers union. somesephora workers and video -- handed in a petition -- it pays to work night. >> it adds up at the end of the month. >> but for the shop workers union which wants to see the store -- the stores doors closed firmly before 1:00 a.m., it is about workers right. >> if we start allowing this simply because the company wants to make more money, then no rules would remain credible. >> it is a debate dividing sephora's customers. >> well, it is good for the staff, yes. >> if the employees are not

being exploited, why not? it should be up to them. >> i work at a supermarket that closes at 10:00 p.m., and i think they should do the same. it's got nothing to do with being on the champs d'elysee. >> a decision is expected on september 30 third -- september 23. >> don't go away. >> welcome to berlin for this new edition of europe now. the germans head to the polls on september 22. i have traveled around the country to understand the issues that will decide this election. germany is europe's largest

economy. the continent's powerhouse. therefore, whatever happens here will have an impact on the lives of europeans. first, let's get the latest from the campaign trail. >> 190 billion euros in trade surplus, aaa rated sovereign debt and a safer ground of a deficit below three percent. pushing the stick democratic counselor to the top of the polls. challenging her is social democrats peer steibruecl. the center-right party in the merkel coalition. they are plummeting in the polls . neither party expects them to pass the threshold. if the fdp fails to reach the mark, the current chancellor even in the league, would be likely obliged to form a coalition, perhaps with her

social democrat writers -- rivals. unless they are able to offer a competing majority. >> the chancellor's office, where i am meeting a member of the european parliament from the christian democratic party, the party of angela merkel. germany is a parliamentary democracy. this is the parliament bundestag. since the outbreak of the financial crisis, almost every government has been punished by angry voters. will the same happen here in germany? >> no, i don't think so. because german voters are not angry. they see that angela merkel tried to defend their interests which means she is against eurobonds against the point that we pay for the debts of the other countries. this is of utmost importance. this is what voters are expecting from angela merkel. that is what she does. she also looks after the economy. the german economy is in growth. we have a very low unemployment

rate. there are plenty of points whether german voters can be very happy. >> yet on the european scene, angela merkel has no shortage of enemies. many southern europeans believe she used her dominant position within the european union to impose what they call unfair austerity policies. >> the german people see it in a different way. we only give money for reforms. reforms first, and then the money to help. we helped a lot. we put a lot of guarantees. imagine how people feel -- they are not very amused when they see angela merkel is designed as a nazi uniform in greece or other countries, because we really help. it could be a very expensive thing for the german taxpayers. >> over the years, angela merkel has begin sort of a german icon and her party is using her famous hand jester -- gesture

call the merkel diamond. >> germany in good hands sign. the message is, i am there, i am working in the background. i am working for you, and i care about you. she is not somebody who puts her first him -- herself on the first level. a big difference to a lot of male leadership. >> she is really perceived as a very cautious and private leader. more to our store. she may be the world's most powerful woman, but get too many, angela merkel remains a mystery. this report. >> the eye and chancellor to the europeans -- iron chancellor. rank the most powerful woman in the world four times by "forbes" magazine but she is one of the more secretive women in the public eye. ornette homburg in 1954, she was brought up in east germany. her father or a communist minister and her mother, a teacher.

this past remains a taboo topic. >> she got involved with the ruling party at the official organization at a very young age. she was a member of the pioneers youth group at school and then a member of the -- was a propaganda secretary for the academy of sciences, even when she was already a physicist. she was very involved with the regime. >> her radical change of the fall of the wall, she left behind her laboratory for a political career on the right. under her first husband's name merkel she became a spokesperson of the gdr first chemically debt -- democratically elected government. she got home at kohl's attention -- environment minister in 1994. >> she called -- cut off ties with two fathers. in the 1990s she was in the kohl government, facing her father.

this was the first break. the second break is when she cut ties with kohl. it was all about power. >> 10 years later, the sheep betrayed her mentor and took her head at the christian democratic union following a scandal over party funding. >> in her political career, she is no to present herself as very calculating, very, very strategic. she knows exactly what she wants. she set long-term goals with unyielding persistence. >> yet this strategic and persistent street quickly propelled her to head of state. in 2000 five she became the first woman elected as chancellor. this file may please the germans but often annoys their european leaders. in brussels, she has been criticized for her heart demeanor and slow decision- making. her endurance at european summit

has earned her the mocking nickname queen of the night. >> merkel doesn't have a european vision, unlike helmut kohl who was a staunch european. this naturally means that the member states must adapt to a different style of politics that puts german interests at the center and pushes unit -- european solidarity into the background. >> for some, a good finances to be end europe has become her laboratory. >> beginning of the crisis when she tried to explain the crisis and said isn't it interesting if we do something here in germany or europe, something else is happening in china and the united states, and she was really enthusiastic about understanding and understand -- analyzing the crisis. which i think it's a very scientific approach to analyze

which are the facts and what we can do and to have a look at the fx. >> to soften her image and get close to the people as you stand for a third mandate, she has launched a new website advocated to her private life. during this campaign, she has gone as far as sharing personal anecdotes with journalists, and radical change to her communication style. >> one of the things -- she said she was making cake for her husband and he always complains it is not enough sugar on the cake. really not an important story, but it shows she wants to be considered a normal woman. the little stories she is telling to tell the people him a well, i am not just this tough euro woman. >> leading and all the polls merkel could well be set for a third term. in that case she would be one of the only european leaders to survive the crisis. [applause]

>> once a no man's land, once again the symbol of germany's economic success. >> there was the wall. potsdamer platz was not accessible but now headquarters of german companies are coming here to show their presence in berlin. this city is developing into a real metropolitan capital. i am also proud -- i have to admit. >> nobody will deny germany is an economic success, but we have to talk about the other side of the coin. if you look at official figures, one quarter of german workers earn less than 9.5 euro per hour. call the new working poor. that is not a very fair system is it? >> let me explain.

10 years ago, this group was mainly targeted by unemployment. germany had an unemployment rate of 13% 14%, the same now average in europe -- >> it was called the sick man of europe, back in 1999. >> absolutely. because this group could not be brought into competitive jobs. now their reforms taking down the salary making the salaries for this group more competitive. that is what we did. therefore, we do not have a centralized minimum salary wage we have minimum salary wages by branches. if we do have centralized minimum salaries, you will see that plenty of those jobs would go. they would not be competitive. then you will have the same situation as 10 years ago. >> thank you very much. as we heard, this cdu is not in favor of the introduction of a national minimum wage here in

germany. the question has been in the center of our campaign, as our berlin correspondent find out. >> eckhard maybe 76 but he still cannot afford to stop working. until recently he did shift work in different supermarkets, carrying goods from the trucks and loading shells. all for six euros an hour. he felt taken advantage of and ended up leaving. >> it is slavery. an hourly wage that lo should be banned. i don't know if a national minimum wage would change things, that i am sure people forced to do small jobs on the side like retired people or students should be earning a few euros more than that. >> because there is no national momentum -- minimum wage here, more than half a million german workers are less than 8.50 euros an hour. katie, this hairdresser, is one of them. she feels fortunate -- there is lots of competition and some

headdresses earn as little as 3.50 an hour and she worries the minimum wage could endanger her job. >> of course, i think it is a good idea -- but the question is, will the boss be able to pay that. it is no good introducing a minimum wage and increasing wages of other people then have to lose their jobs. >> that argument that the minimum wage proposed by the left-wing opposition would put people out of work, has been taken up by bosses of german industry and owners of small and medium-sized businesses. >> the social democrats wanted a memo wage of 8.50 euros and the extreme left wants 10 euros and we would have to adjusted to inflation, so salaries would spiral out of control. emily businesses like mine, that would make us a lot less flexible. -- for family businesses like mine, that will make us a lot flexible. >> while the number making less than the national average is rising -- 75% of germans won a

universal minimum wage in one trade union wants a .50 euros which they say is a minimum needed to survive -- 8.50 euros. >> anything less than that leads to poverty. people earning such a low amount also have to rely on social welfare payments to make up the difference. that means the state is encouraging a low-wage economy and that is not acceptable. >> at the moment, 22 countries in the european union have a minimum wage. will germany become the 23rd? that question could help decide the outcome of september election. -- september's election. >> i traveled to the western part of germany to the city of bonn to meet alexander -- of the fdp.

you are a member of the liberal free democrats -- the coalition number. >> boonn is a lovely city. not a big city but are used to be the capital of west germany before it was united. it has taken a very positive development. we were quite afraid what the government moving out -- >> you were quite afraid when the government moved out you would become a backwater. >> by privatizing the postal and telecom ministries and turning them into private companies, we now have t-mobile come a deutsche telekom, and deutsche post which of the world's largest express mail supplier and we have the smaller and medium-sized enterprises and we have a large university. >> if she wins this election, angela merkel made it clear she would like to renew a coalition with your party, the so-called black-yellow coalition. too many europeans this would mean more of the same, more of

the same conservative austerity policies vis a vis europe. >> there are many europeans will like exactly that, a combination of solid public finances and structural reforms. think of the dutch, the