>> welcome to the "journal," coming to you live from dw in berlin. chancellor merkel is confident that she will win again, but her main challenger has been campaigning hard. germanyection eve in and one third of voters say they are still undecided. killed in ae nairobi shopping mall and al shabaab claims responsibility. munich's 180th oktoberfest.

we began in germany, where political parties have their votershance to sway ahead of the general election. the latest poll gives german chancellor angela merkel's conservative party the lead, but whether she will be up to form a coalition with the ftp is another matter altogether. with one third of voters saying they have not made up their mind, merkel still has something to sleep on. candidate forion chancellor is giving everything up until the last minute. the social democrat reached out to voters in frankfurt, telling the crowd that germany needs more social justice. something he and his party would offer. i'm talking to everyone who has plans for this country, who wants to get out of this

stagnation and get things moving again. i'm talking to everyone who thinks this country should be politically shaped, not just administered, and i am asking for your trust. but steinberg is facing an uphill battle to get into power. a coalition with his preferred partner, the greens, is not likely to gain enough votes to form a government, but steinberg has not given up. >> i want to be chancellor because i have ideas for this country. his dream has been angela merkel's reality for the last eight years. the current chancellor is her party's biggest vote winner. their election campaign has been based around merkel. they say germany is doing well because she is in charge. can make their own mind up about who to vote for, but we can say over the last four years there is definitely -- there has definitely been progress. >> merkel says her government

support of the eurozone has been crucial to germany's success. things can only go well for germany long-term if they are going well for all of europe. that is why the stabilization of the euro is not just good for europe, it is also a fundamental interest to germany. >> merkel traveled to her constituency on the baltic coast for the final stop of her campaign. she is fighting for every last vote, leaving nothing to chance. now in the studio by our political affairs correspondent. michaela, the chancellor is surging in the polls. could she win this out right? and talk us through the preferred outcome. could voten voters directly for the chancellor, it

looks like she could win this out right, with a handsome majority, 58% of people polled over the last weeks and months saying they would vote for her directly, but she needs a party. as the opinion polls show at the moment, she would need a coalition partner. there are no easy options. the easiest option is the free democrats, who were in coalition with her, if they were to gain at least five percent, but this looks by no means certain that the moment. there is no clear outcome. the other potential option would be a grand coalition, but the social democrats are looking reluctant about this option. >>ome have camp -- some have complained that the campaigns are lackluster. do they have a point and is it important? >> there was no shortage of themes, but it looks like many parties, like the green party a very strong on the environment, or the left party on social justice, and the social

democrats. it looks like various parties have grasped themes traditionally seen as a c.u.nghold of the left, the also talking about a potential minimum wage, although the prime minister said she would want this to be a negotiated process. many things kicked around, but no real key themes to have captured the voters. >> the eurozone has been watching the election very carefully. will there be any change when it comes to european policy? >> many of the key decisions taken by the conservative union on the euro crisis needed also the votes of the social democrats, so no radical change could be expected. there was one party running on a , saying they would want to unravel the whole euro concept, but they looked uncertain at the moment to pass the five percent threshold.

>> we will see tomorrow, thank you, michaela. aboutut much more sunday's poll. just go to our website, dw.t v/germanelections. a major rescue operation is underway in nairobi. masked men shot dead 30 people at a mall and are holding the remaining shoppers hostage in the westgate complex. byis mainly frequented foreigners and affluent kenyans. the gunmen told all muslims to leave the building before they opened fire. >> people fled in panic after the shooting began. witnesses say several heavily armed man skied man entered the mall and opened fire. there was also a series of explosions.

on thee was a shooting ground floor and they were slowly going up and up. the assailants reportedly continued to exchange gunfire with the police and are holed up with an unknown number of hostages. the army has surrounded the building and has been searching the stores to hunt down the gunmen. accounts have told of politically or religiously motivated attacks. >> they were wearing bullet proof vests and they had weapons. they said if you are muslim standup. we have come to rescue you. >> the al shabaab militia based in somalia has claimed responsibility. they have repeatedly threatened to launch attacks in response to kenya's military support for the somali government. in the past, security officials have identified the mall as a possible target. >> now we are joined by dw

correspondent juliet, on the line from nairobi. as we heard in this piece, al shabaab has claimed to be behind the shooting. do we know their reasons? twitterthey said on they wanted revenge. revenge for the fact the kenyan army went into somalia, because they wanted to stop al shabaab members crossing the kenyan border and hijacking foreign aid workers. they have threatened several times to attack can yet and kenyans have been living under this threat for the past one and half years. mission makes this a terrorist attack. why did al shabaab target the westgate mall? wantsarently, al shabaab to destabilize the country. exclusivete is an mall where wealthy canyons and foreigners go shopping on the weekend. they really wanted to make sure to rip into the heart of the

country. the story inowing nairobi, thank you so much. in other news, syria has fulfilled the first requirement towards the instruction of its chemical weapons. damascus has provided information about the poison gas stock to the u.n. chemical weapons organization in the hague. the u.s. and russia gave serious a deadline, until this saturday, to comply. the syrian opposition as swiftly rejected a mediation office from the iranian president. the syrian national coalition lacks credibility because they support assad regime. still ahead, the latest sports action. first, a look at the other stories making the news. 57 iraqis were killed, 70 injured in twin bombings at a shiite funeral in baghdad. authorities believe sunni extremist were behind the attack.

violence in a rack has surged this year to levels not seen since 2008. for the first time in decades, elections have been held for provincial council for northern sri lanka. 700,000 people were eligible to vote. the election is an important step towards reconciliation between the government and the tamil minority following a bloody civil war that ended four years ago. the italian coast guard has intercepted two boats carrying more than 400 syrian refugees. one woman reportedly died during the journey. the boats were escorted to sicily. an estimated 2 billion people have fled the conflict in syria, most to neighboring countries. and now to the buddhist league, where the has been plenty of action at the very top of the table. the league leaders traveled to nuremberg saturday and promptly dropped their first points of the season. marcel put art math ahead with a

sumptuous free kick in the first half before an equalizer after the break. 1-1 was the final score. has drawn level at the -- munich has drawn level at the top of the league with an impressive 4-0 win. several players were on target for the bavarians. far,est of the results so one match day six, look like this. hanover ended box berg winning streak. won at home. sunday, they face berlin and stuttgart takes on frank for it. all of that leaves the soccer table looking interesting.

they capitalized on a poor week to draw even with the league leaders, with an ace in the point of the pace in first. wolfsburg is on the up as well. the managers of hamburg have drop into the bottom three, the only two clubs still without a win this season. freiberg has a chance to change that sunday. the defending formula one champion sebastian will start from the pole position in sunday singapore grand prix. the red bull pilot navigated the marine based circuit in just under one minute, 43 seconds. he waited anxiously at the his magic,iver did crossing the finish line a mere 10th of a second slower. germans complete the first row on the grid. lotus qualified third, followed by the red bull teammate.

and the 2013 america's cup is still alive after team oracle won race 13 on friday. a rival team new zealand only needs one more victory to win the world's oldest international sports trophy. team new zealand thought they had the title sewn up after dominating the first race, but it had to be restarted after it exceeded the time limit. the wind picked up after the restart. new zealand was penalized for a risky maneuver, i love and the defending champions oracle to seize victory. with their election season just behind them, bavarians are enjoying a well-earned celebration. tens of thousands have crowded into munich's they missed -- into munich's famous oktoberfest beer tents. visitors from around the world are welcome to share in traditional bavarian beer, song, and dance.

the festival continues until october 6. >> it is the annual renewal of a centuries-old tradition. munich's mayor taps the first oktoberfest keg. the first beer went to the bavarian state premier. set actr, a liter will visitors 10 euros, but the steep prices have not stemmed the thirst. the next three weeks, beer tents will be filled to overflowing with partygoers from around the world. locals and poorest alike, dressed for the occasion -- locals and poorest alike, dressed in the traditional leader hose and. munich is a top poorest destination and oktoberfest is an unrivaled attraction. an estimated 6 million people will visit before the world's biggest beer bash ends october 6. >> they look like they're having

fun. that is all for now. i give for watching. we will be back with a live -- thank you so much for watching. we will be back with a live update at the top of the hour. >> tijuana, mexico, on the border with the united states, close to the pacific ocean. busiest bordere crossings in the world. day, 50,000 cars and 25,000 pedestrians pass through here. in addition, around 300 illegal immigrants from various latin american countries crossed the border daily, dreaming of a better life in the u.s.

migrantshe illegal deported back to mexico and up here, on the rubbish strewn riverbed of the rio tijuana can now. almost all have the same wish. to thent to go back other side, says this man. nothing else. but you have to be careful they don't catch you when you cross. there is fault, i'm gone. is fault, i'mhere gone. i will go back to my friends in san diego. the canal lies next to the border fence. it leaves a lasting impression on visitors to tijuana. around 2000 deported people live in holes in the ground or crude shelters, no more welcome here then across the border. this person lived happily in the u.s. for years, until the

authorities apprehended her. she was sent back to a country she hardly knew, with no money and no identity papers. they threatened me with a five i 20 year prison sentence if crossed the border again, she says. what am i supposed to do? i want to get across, but i cannot. i want to hold my children again. i miss them so much. especially at night. she has lived on the canal the last two years. berg addiction adds to her misery. her children live with her sister in san diego. she has no contact with them. roberto rue up in san diego. he became a father. but then he got into a father and killed a man. he and his friend have lived here the past three years. since marquez was released from jail. he was the port without a chance

to bid his son farewell. i was 18 when i went to prison, marquez says. .rom 1979 to 2010 that is 31 years. but yes, i did kill the man. says,painful to say, he but it was a better life for me behind bars in the states than it is here with this kind of freedom. just 100 meters away, there is another tijuana. meansti to the new u.s. jobs in industry. young people are looking to

spend money. plenty of them are successful. sergio gonzalez says the spectrum of nightlight has developed enormously, from simple bars where workers go to high-end gastronomy. there is the art scene, he says, and the architecture. tijuana is a young city, growing rapidly. in fact, the city is growing at a rate of two heck acres -- hecht occurs per month. wages and starvation cheap food, but we more high tech roddick's are being made, mostly for the american market. the head of the industrial sissy a and says four years ago, drug violence overran the city. today is a different story. people here have better opportunities than in other cities, he says. that is why so many people come to tijuana. it is a challenge for the city.

the development of infrastructure and social services cannot keep pace. despite all the growth, there have been some set acts. -- there have been some set backs. charities and the catholic church have stepped in. every morning, father and are offers- father ernesto breakfast to thousands of deported migrants. without his help, some of the poorest people around the canal would starve. a healthy breakfast is important, he says, so people don't have to steal and they stay healthy. with a little care, they can get back on their feet again. but most do want to make lives for themselves in tijuana. the people who eat here are not interested in the nightlight or working in the factories. i'm from el salvador, says this man, but they deported me to mexico.

the americans just think, well, he is latino. they don't care which country you are from. this man says the police took away his papers, so he is stuck here. without them, he says he cannot go anywhere. i only met one person who wants to stay. bruno alvarez. bruno is a great example, says father hernandez. he lives in a hole in the ground in the canal but he did not give up any cap looking for a chance to get out. he often had breakfast here, so i knew him. i knew he would be great for this project. now he works and sleeps here. bruno takes us back to the canal to show us how hard it is for the people who end up here and why so few make it across the border again.

it is because of this fence, says bruno. they put up ladders and climb over, but at the top they have to jump. most of them injured themselves, they break their legs. the other side as they tried to cross the desert. but the migrants are not welcome in tijuana either. the stark poverty that he shows us is proof of that. he came here after the american police took him from his house and deported him. he was taken away from his wife, twodaughters, and grandchildren, and found himself living in mexico when a hole in the ground. hole where i used to live, he says, together with around 12-15 others.

whenever the police came, they would destroy what little we still had. those who live on the canal hate the police. they say the city just wants to get rid of them. the chief of police points out there is now a servicing place to help them leave. the plan is that we ask the people to go back to their home countries, he says. after all, they all have relatives in other countries. we even pay for their travel. the state helps where he can, and we are only doing it in their interests. victor clark, from the binational center for human rights, says the authorities have sent in police with heavy

machinery to destroy the homeless peoples shelters. they took some of the residents away and lock them up, he says, only to let them go again a few hours later. to raise awareness of police brutality, some residents from the canal have set up a protest camp with the help of human rights organizations. they're demonstrating against unjust arrests, evictions, and the fact police consistently destroy their homes without providing an alternative. this man says the canal residents must deal with huge injustices. they take our money, he says, they beat us and take us out. anyone who makes money or receive some from his family often loses it to the police. sociologists have begun to pay attention to the situation. documents the stories of those who have been

deported. a protest against the apathy of the authorities, she says. they have not even manage to give these people a decent place to sleep. the city is leaving people who have been deported out in the cold. there are no social services here. the sociologist wants to visit and now residents to collect data, but she has received a telephone threat. the caller said if she brought journalists to the area, something bad would happen to her. but she is not convinced. call came from the canal residents, she says. i have been doing this work for a long time. i met with them alone and is part of a group. they trust me. oh but he has ever been aggressive towards me. -- nobody has ever been aggressive towards me. the is why i cannot believe people of the canal would

threaten to kill me if i came to see them. around 2000 people live on the canal. they are not wanted here. they don't want to be here. but they cannot leave. they find themselves on the wrong side of the border. close, yet impossibly far from their american dreams. the border crossing has become more and more dangerous. for many, trying to get to the u.s. can prove deadly. yet those who have decided to stay in mexico remain the exception rather than the rule. i have noticed that over there, i was nobody, says bruno alvarez. now i finally have proper papers again and i feel like i am someone again. a mexican.

is not here in mexico, says roberto marquez. i still have a life in the united states. that is why i can never make a life here.