>> hello and a very warm welcome to the journal. these are our top stories at this hour. a court in italy rules that berlusconi should be banned from public office for two years. syrian wearables blow up an army checkpoint in damascus, killing 15 government soldiers. after anding a replay freak goal.

we begin in italy where there has been another serious said that for former prime minister silvio berlusconi. banned fromold is holding office for two years. it comes after he was convicted of tax fraud in august. click silvio berlusconi was not in court to hear the verdict. the ruling by the midland court has no immediate impact on the former prime minister because, as a member of the senate, he enjoys him entry immunity. tothe senate is expected discuss next month whether to expel him. >> airless carny would be prohibited from taking part in any elections come either as a candidate or as a voter. >> the decision stems from the supreme court ruling on august 1 which upheld a conviction for tax fraud against her list coney link to his firm.

if the senate expels him, he'll also have to survey one-year sentence. he has opted to do community service rather than be under house arrest. but berlusconi still has some we mustupport area >> remember that he employed so many people. i can't think of any other politician who did anything concrete like that in his life. >> amy lee after the court ruling, or list coney's lawyer said he would appeal -- immediately after the court ruling, berlusconi's lawyer said he would appeal. >> clashes between police and demonstrators protesting high unemployment and tough austerity measures with italy suffering its worst recession since world war ii. at least 70,000 people took to the streets. the protests turned violent when activists threw rocks at the

lease blocking the finance ministry -- at police blocking the finance ministry. syria, at least 16 people have been killed in damascus after rebels reportedly launched a suicide car bomb attack. the syrian observatory for human rights say that it is the arcata-link group that -- the al qaeda-linked group that was responsible for the attack. >> an unverified video shows smoke rising from the area of the attack on the outskirts of damascus. the syrian observatory for human rights says the bomb was detonated at a check wind between -- that was then captured by rebel forces. the group says a 16 regime folders -- 16 regime soldiers others were killed.

the same network did release these image of international inspectors looking over a syrian chemical site. they are overseeing the destruction of the serious chemical arsenal. you have nine months to complete the task. have praiseds syria's cooperation with the plan. nine shiite pogroms were released. -- nine shiite pilgrims were released. they were among the 11 hostages taken by a rebel faction in northern syria in may of last year. >> in belgium, a small plane carrying a group of parachutists has crashed, killing all on board. it went down 20 minutes after takeoff.

reported parts of the airplane falling awful it was so near. all passengers in the pilot died. local authorities say there was apparently a desperate bid by three of the skydivers to try to save themselves by jumping from the plane. friends have invited a deported schoolgirl to come back to the country in response to a nationwide protest to her expulsion. she was detained during a school field trip and deported to kosovo with her family. french resident hollande said she could return if she wished to return her studies but her family would not be invited back. for weeks and now passed since september is national election here in germany. but the country still doesn't have a new government. although it looks increasingly

likely that chancel -- chancellor angela merkel will be coalition of her own conservative sand social democrats. a disappointing 8% of the vote. that is why the greens are bringing the changes in their leadership to the three-day party conference in berlin this weekend. chris after 11 years, it was time -- >> after 11 years, it was time to say farewell. they showed their appreciation. an emotional end of an era. but hardy former cochair -- the party former cochair departed here in >> things are better again and it is time to do what we were like it to do. >> she called on the party to fill politics with vitality and

to be strong and determined in opposition. >> if the policy is dangerously misguided, then we should go on the attack. >> it will be a hard act to follow. whosuccessor is simon pater received 75% of the party vote. file -- raise our poor our profile. we need the support of the public. pater was one of coalition with angela merkel. she represents the parties new strategic, keeping all doors open. to find out more, we are joined from the green party congress. were badlygreens demoralized in september's election. get the the changes

party back on track? >> ahead chosen a new leadership with many new faces. of course, they can take the party in new directions. the key thing they have done at this conference is given themselves new coalition options . of course, just in the last week, the greens decided that there was no basis for a coalition with angela merkel and conservatives at this time. future, provided they can find an october lap on policies. they have given themselves more room to maneuver and i could be very useful to them in opposition in the years ahead. >> what about content? what does germany actually stand for these days? >> it is the ecological agenda that has always been protecting

you permit and taking the lead from the conservatives who have been leading the move away from nuclear power. they feel that they want to widen the ecological topic to include animal welfare and a much runner raid -- broader range. they also want to talk about social renewal of society, including equal opportunities and just picking up the refugee issue around europe at the moment. they are talking about a lot of that here. culture, a political bit more radical or modern street fighters. >> interesting stuff and simon yum, thank you very much for getting us up to date. emergency workers who are still battling bushfires in southeast

australia say they are worried that the situation could worsen in the days to come. forecasters say the weather and onet hotter still official has been quoted as being athat fire crews will fighting for weeks to come. >> the ferocity of the fires burning around sydney has shot residents and firefighters alike in a nation used to dealing with bushfires. some 80 blazes are burning across the state in south wales. around a quarter of them are uncontained. the situation is particularly bad in the blue mountains, a top tourist estimation west of sydney. nearly 200 houses have been destroyed in this area alone. >> all the hard work that you put in for everything that you needed is gone. , i just have to start again.

>> the fire season got off to an unusually early start. high temperatures and wind up to 100 kilometers an hour have with the flames. firefighters say it will take weeks to put out all fires. in a meantime, many more homes .re under threat >> it is so scary. it is so close, at any moment, it could actually get to the house. >> this crew fighting on saturdays getting a brief respite. with forecast temperatures expected to go up sunday, conditions could get very. -- very tired -- very dire. >> the latest bundesliga action locala local love has -- club has beaten [indiscernible]

back.attled sent off late on for their troubles. they have yet to win an away match the season. earlier, things started pretty badly with jerome giving the opener. meanwhile, on friday evening, highflying labor crews thought they had insured an away match. the game may have to be replayed goalsone of the labor should never have kept it. >> the high point of the match was the goal that wasn't. minuteder in the 70th leapt into the goal and the referee allowed it.

ahead with this shot from outside the box. snatched.ualizer was he was called offsides when he made this past. -- this pass. thea penalty was awarded in 84th minute. >> after that match, oppenheimer immediately lodged a protest with the german football association. they want me until the week after next to consider the case. the vice president was the first official to comment on what some are calling the ghost goal and he appeared to rule out the possibility of a replay. any footballer feels

instinctively, as i do, that what happened was unfair. that goal should be not allowed to this band. -- to stand. pre-k's we cannot allow every single decision by referees to be called into question. the misleadert of -- and the rest of the -- esliga and you t an nierenberg reached 1-1. that leaves the table looking like this. with the top line continuing to set the pace.

in the bottom half, moved to the bottom after their defeat. that is your lot. bye-bye from me. >> october is a busy time for one grower in germany's rheinhessen region. simon and adams makes her way to the grape harvest. -- simona adams makes her way to the grape harvest. it will be a tough day. but that is normal during harvest time.

simona adams does everything by hand. work, but theing 33-year-old thinks it's necessary to ensure a high- quality wine. that is why the grape harvest plays a decisive role. simona adams tells us that the harvest season is a time to give thanks. but it is also stressful can be great to to be picked very carefully because you only get one shot at harvesting them for .aking wine i one mistake can impact the whole year. because the wind will be sold all year. maybe longer. so that would set everything off

course. southwest of frankfurt lies germany's largest winegrowing region. was along time coming at notorious -- it was notorious for cheap wines. but that is now changing thanks in part to a new generation of winegrowers who are focusing on quality. simona adams inherited a nine- hector vineyard from her father. hectare vineyard from her father. you have to cut off any rotten grapes, leaving only those who are in perfect conditions, she says. with these graves, you have a long mass period. that means the grapes will be left standing longer they are pressed.

so they have to be perfectly healthy. it takes simona and her helpers around six hours to do one vineyard. not everyone grower is willing or able to invest that much time. especially when there is another way. a great ticker can harvest an entire vineyard in half an hour. with this method, there is no possibility of removing rotten fruit. of if the overall condition the grapes is good, machine harvesting will affect the quality. won'thine harvesting affect the holiday. the driver explains how the process is steered by computer using a joystick. businesses are possibly expanding, he says, which means

there is more ground to cover. using machines makes it much easier. not all winemakers process their own grapes. these graves are on their way to a winery that buys of fruit from the entire region. every few minutes for my tractor arrives with fresh grapes this seller is one of germany's biggest wine producers. wolf is the owner operator. his contract growers deliver around 500,000 kilograms of grapes per day. that can be stressful. these days, there's no time to be nostalgic about the old

winemaking methods, he says. he and his team worked around the clock to process the grapes is quick as possible. -- as quickly as possible. that can happen only with the help of computers. 's the schweiz software determines where the growers should drop off each different theety of grape thatch machine's software determines where the growers -- the machine's software determines where the growers should drop off each different variety of grape. wolf spends much of the day going back and forth consulting with is an engineered -- with his engineer. they regulate the temperature, liquid levels and imitation process taking place in the containers.

this is one of those responsible for the tank. he and his colleagues have two take care of millions of liters of grape juice. that is a task that would be impossible without modern technology. we didn't have this technology, he says, we wouldn't be able to process such a large amount of jews. the technology is essential to do this kind of work at high speed. a qualified, agronomist, monitors the whole process the old-fashioned way. after spending the entire day harvesting grapes, she spends the evening in the wine cellar. she says being up close that every working step as part of the charm and that it is better than pushing buttons.

the next day, simona adams is on her own again. she is putting labels on the bottles that her assistance forgot. assistants forgot. she is proud of the labels that was personally designed. it is still relatively unknown, she says, but you want to produce something of high quality. it is important that the first encounter with the product, the label, is somehow exciting. that way, people will easily recognize the wine in the future. the arsenal touches very important to her. and that is why simona -- the personal touch is very important to her. and that is why simona takes it

upon herself to take product to nearby.stomers >> one customer operates a high- end restaurant in the area. guests a manned quality, which is why she only sells them a select range of wine. she says there is a hint of raspberry on the palate that is very unusual and there is a note, there, too.

nora explains that her consumers want the total experience of wine. they don't drink wine just for the sake of it. they want the whole story that contrast, the by main source of income is wines produced for the mass-market. the 2013 vintages ready. next week, it will be bottled. the week that, it will be on the shelves. says he is very satisfied with the taste, which is young and fresh. adds, to technology, he the time it takes to turn grapes into wine has been massively reduce. supply has to keep up with demand, which is especially high for affordable wine. these days, wine isn't even the

item because it is a odd of any good meal. and it is in high demand am especially at an affordable price. every day, countless trucks carry thousands of liters of wine to be bottled. meanwhile, the grape growers continue to drop off a steady supply of fresh produce. but not just anyone can deliver their harvest year. the growers have to meet strict standards. wolfgang has had contracts with select and winegrowers for many years. his business model has a range of benefits.

he explains that an individual operator would find it difficult to keep up with market demand. his winery serves as a link between growers and commercial traders. net that ensures the survival of small venues because he provides grapes for the wider industry. simona has simona adams prefers to do things her own way. she uses a special device to check if the grapes are at the right stage of maturity. this attention to detail is one of the things she likes about the job you she says she doesn't plan to expand her business to

mention the future. she would rather maintain a small but well cared for part of lannett bears her own signature. whether they choose the high- tech path or the traditional one, german winemakers are