>> hello and a very warm welcome to the journal. these are our top story this is hour. turkey's prime minister addresses a political rally, defining calls for him to step down in the wake of a corruption scandal. the first unit of u.n. reinforcements arrived while fighting in the country continues and rescuing a ship trapped in packed ice proves ore difficult than expected.

>> well, we begin in turkey where the country's embattled prime minister has held a political rally in the southern city. it is being seen as a bid by the turkish leader to shore up backing in his own ranks amid opposition calls for his resignation. he appeared in front of thousands of supporters. he vowed to fight on as prime minister despite a major corruption scandal. three of his ministers were forced to resign after his sons were arrested on suspicion of bribery linked to construction projects and he is accused of aning about the dealings. our correspondent is following developments in turkey and joins us on the line now. in this address the prime minister was talking to his own supporters.

the big question does he have anything like majority backing in the broader population? >> well, up until two weeks ago he was an extremely popular prime minister and won three general elections. the municipal elections. he was expected to win the elections fairly comfortablely and he was on target to become turkey's next president when the elections are held at the end of next year. but of course things have changed quite dramatically. a man who was in control of the political agenda who set the pace of turkish politics is now having to react. the scandal hit him badly. we don't know exactly how much his standing in the polls has fallen. he has lost some support. but it is not over yet. he is going to have to fight

the battle for the next several months and in the economy it is going to be unkind to him. the markets will be skeptical about him. he has a major fight on his hands. we don't know how it will affect him. >> let's talk about how it will affect turkey. germany's prime minister growned the growing criticism of how damaging is this. tell us a little more. >> it is extremely damaging. they were already harmed by a series of demonstrations last june. there was a irmental emonstration to save a park in istanbull. the police reacted too violently. those protests very much alienated the party from international support. people began to look that much

closer at the turkish miracle and economic revival and the claim to create a new turkey out of the failed political establishment. now this will damage him more. rather than have created something new people will suspect he has gone back to the habits of having a government mired in corruption. you know turkey is an important ally to germany and to the united states. it is a key player in the region. i think european leaders are justifyably concerned that the head of such an important nation should be increasingly lame duck. >> i think we are going to have to leave it there. thank you very much for that update. now we go to where one student has died and more than 100 arrested on saturday as clashes continue between armed police

and students. two buildings and the campus caught on fire in the violence. udents are protesting the -- human rights watch accused of suppressing egypt in the midst of opposition. lebanon's state news agency said a 19-year-old man wounded in a car bombing in beirut has died raising the death toll in the attack to seven. investigators are working out the site of the blast. a senior aide, the 62-year-old ho was a critic of syria and hezbollah was also killed in the explosion. pressure is increasing on the two sides in the conflict in south sudan to open peace talks and stop the nation from

sliding into civil war. gave n peace broker its them until december 31 to begin face-to-face talks. two weeks of fighting in the country left thousands dead and more than 100,000 others displaced. the u.n. for two weeks looked more like a refugee camp. thousands fled here from the fighting. many reported being the target of ethnic persecution and terrible atrocities, and all fear for the future. >> we are not safe. the fight continues. and the government had nothing to do with the trouble. >> pressure is now mounting on the president. in a meeting with u.s. diplomats he promised to seek dialogue with his former rival. he made the release of

imprisonned allies a precondition for cease-fire. >> we are encouraged that there will be movement to bring about a seization of hostilities so that people can be assisted. >> the united nations is making forts to strengthen the u.n. peacekeeping force in south sudan and now the first unit has arrived. >> we brought in our olleagues. they will help us here. others are arriving soon over this weekend to help us in the rest of the camps. >> u.n. workers made it their priority to improve the catastrophic conditions in the makeshift refugee camp and all hear hope that these camps will soon no longer be needed. >> from that conflict to the conflict in syria.

activists say helicopters killed at least 25 people including two children in a further barrel bomb attack. the air raid targeted a hospital in the north of the city. so called barrel bombs are metal oil drums filled with explosives and shrapnel. they scatter widely when they explode causing numedeaths and injuries. they say they are targeting terrorists. >> security forces in iraq arrested a lawmaker on terrorism charges, killed the man's brother and five of his guards during the operation to detain him. the arrested lawmaker has been prominent among the organizers of sunni protests against iraq's shiite government over the past year. well, a much discussed and now

it has happened. authorities in china have formally imprused the easing of the country's one child per family policy. introduced as a means of keeping down population growth the policy is always controversial in a country where children play a central role for caring for their parents when they grow old. >> they have experienced the worst thing that can happen to parents. a year ago their only son died of cancer. on top of the pain come fears about the future. >> we are worried financially and about who will look after us when we are old. even if we do not have illnesses there will still be lots of problems. at least 1 million couples in china lost their only child and the numbers are growing. china's one child policy curbed

population growth, causing late abortions and forced sterilizations. the party announced the policy change. couples may now have two children if either parent is an only child. they hope the reform will tackle the problem of a rapidly aging population but predictions are of a boom. 100 million births in the next 20 years. china still faces the problem of excessive population so that we need to focus on the policy for a long time. whatever policy changes may be decided in the future this comes too late. they are too old to have any more children. >> ok. change of tone now with sports beginning with tennis and the world number two, novak djokovic, won the first exhibition tournament of the new season.

it only took him 1 hour 21 minutes to secure his victory over ferer and the world tennis championship after a slow start djokovic powered through the second set to win the match 7-5, 6-2. the german legend boris becker watched from the sidelines and djokovic closed out the match with an ace. now the so muchy winter olympics gets underway in about six weeks. the german downhill racer is a favorite to win gold but disappointed at the women's world cup giant slalom. a combined time of 2 minutes 17 seconds. and in soccer winter break. it would be bridging the gap but three candidates for the

title of german football ambassador worded jointly by the german football association. the last of the three won the uefa cup in his playing days. later he coached taking a small town team into a competitive side and the 53-year-old this year is coaching jamaica's national team. >> he stands out in ja macha when he took the job as the ational team soccer coach they were trying to qualify for the world cup. they did not make it. w shaver is focused on improving the team and the country's soccer infrastructure. >> when you see the conditions they have, no lights. they did not bother about that at all. >> the fans have big

expectations of the man they simply call the coach. >> the first -- >> despite the enthusiasm he is not having an easy time trying to inspire young players to take on the sport seriously. >> this country is passionate about athletics. unfortunately soccer is an opportunity to hide. you win. you have taken part. but you were not good. but nobody notices. >> but usain bolt could make jamaican soccer more popular and wants to play professional soccer when his track career is over. >> the mood is apparently still positive on board the russian

vessel trapped in packed ice since christmas day but rescuing the people on board is proving a difficult task. >> thick polar ice lifted the ship. the ship hasn't been able to move for four days. saturday morning a chinese ice breaker tried to clear a path but the sea ice proved two thick. now a second ship from australia is on the way. >> i can still see it. it is about seven miles away. it is waiting for one of the other ice breaker vessels, the australian vessel to come and help. together the two hope to break it. >> despite the danger the research team is staying optimistic using the extra downtime to research their findings in antarctica. the polar expedition spent the path five weeks on their way

home on tuesday when sea ice blocked their path. >> we wish everybody involved there well. o stay with d.w. >> new york city where the stars arizona much a party of the city as the skyline where dreams and illusions are intertwined. new york is the cultural capital of the world. she came here from germany just four weeks ago. it is a bold move but danica's dream is to make it on broadway idealy with a role in phantom of the opera. two years and i will be up there she is as. it all started when i was 4. we have come to new york to

find germans who are living the american dream. what drives them. what hurdles did they have to vercome. annika's mother took her to phantom of the opera when she was 4 years old and the budding singer fell in love with the story of the choir girl that became an opera star. she is as the story captivated her. the music and the whole production moved her. she wanted to be like christine, a singer. now she is as she is closer to er goal. annika wants to make it big like her favorite musical protagonist but the 25-year-old will only be able to stay in new york with a work visa and with that she will need a

ontract with a music producer. annika makes ends meet with occasional performances in restaurants. photos of american stars have a special place in many new york bars. annika has some experience. dozens of gigs back in germany. here the pressure is really on to look her best. i hope nobody looks at my feet, i have a stain. but there is no time for that now. looking good is part of the job. she can never be sure who will number the audience, maybe someone to give her her big break. >> thank you. >> you are already a star. >> a few encouraging words and then she gives it her all, even

if the audience could be igger. ♪ i found a dream that i can speak to dream that i can call my own i found a thrill ♪ >> we will check back in with annika in a couple of weeks. in the meantime we are off to brooklyn right next to manhattan a big city within the big city. popular with many that can't afford the astronomical flent manhattan. one of them has agreed to show us his company. the brain child of him and his former university buddies from unit turning normal cell phones into digital house keys and the

keys can be sent by phone. he tells us their product lets them use cell phones to open doors. they can send their key electronically to everyone that comes to visit. he hopes his idea will help him take over the american market. that is why he and his co-founders made the move to new york earlier in the year. now they are working out of the apartment for a few weeks rent-free. the tenant is a friend who is out of town. they are living off the 35,000 in prize money they won with their business idea in new ork. >> the business coach helps young people designed to help fledgling companies cut through red tape. today he is showing off the latest changes made to his app. are are a great business idea

for new york city. a problem which is accessing buildings which is a big problem in new york city. they had a great vision for where they wanted to take the company. they may help thousands of new yorkers get into their offices. for now the company is looking for an affordable office of their own. the next day the 27-year-old is off to an important meeting. he is going to install one of the systems in a new york office. a local electrician takes care of the technical aspect saying it is the first of the devices to be stored in new york and they hope that it will work. but something is not quite right. the device does not seem to ork.

he e lectrician can't find the problem. a setback with their very first customer. if they fail here the dream might end before it even begins. he says the device did not work as they had hoped. now they have to come back next week to install another relay. it is up to the young inventor to do damage control and tries to explain the glitch to the customer. >> i think it did not accept it or it couldn't read the password or whatever. >> i will pay him another visit n a couple of weeks. let's see how our sing ser getting along. she met with producers, played gigs and practiced her

networking skills. still no contract. she takes long walks through her dream city and loves the excitement new york has brought into her life. the road is long and she is ready to make compromises. she is as until then she will definitely stay in america and do something in the arts. acting or singing in a nightclub, cabaret or broadway as long as she is on stage acting, singing or both. of course she misses her friends and family in germany. i ask her why she is so determined to stay. >> she tells me the people and their passion for music. she is not ready to give that up. on her walks through new york she meets people who have seen their dreams fade away. almost 50 million people in the u.s. are dependant on food tamps.

annika does not want to think about what would happen if she does not realize her dreams. she is determined to make a name for herself in new york. for her auditions, she needs a head shot. the new york based star photographer and a friend of her mother. he has worked with heidi klum and kate moss. i asked if she enjoyed the shoot. of course she said. it is fun to work with somebody so great what they do. you notice the person you are working with is having fun too. the photographer's glance to help out young people even in he beginning of their careers. >> it is always good to help of course. if you can help somebody doing

something good and fulfilling their dreams that is a beautiful thing. that will be part of their dreams. >> the words give annika encouragement to pursue her dream of broadway fame. he has gotten the bugs worked out of his app and even has his first customers. i asked him about his plans. >> i want to stay here. if i make it here i can make it in germany too. that does not really apply the other way around. new york in his eyes is the hardest market in the world. but it is not ready to close the door on germany. he might be able to bring it back home once the company is fimplely established. a couple of days later i meet annika in an up scale restaurant. she is nervous signing on with her new manager.

>> big day today. >> ready to sign the contract. are you excited? >> i am. >> she met robert through a friend. he is sure she has a real chance. already started to plan her next performances. finally annika signs the dotted line. >> ok. you feel different? not quite like a marriage contract. >> annika is relieved to have found a manager like robert bloom. he helped a lot of newcomers get their start on the broadway stage and he is well connected in the music scene. >> now we are signed the first thing we have to do is to get her a work visa that will allow her to officially work and get paid. >> first annika will have to return to germany for a few months to apply for her work permit. as soon as it is issued she will be back in new york hasing her american dream.

i meet bernard at a new york trade firm introducing their app to the visitors. we have 20 customers in manhattan and brooklyn. it is great. earning real money. but we need to expand in manhattan and all of new york to keep the business afloat. he benefits from the fact that americans consider germans very trustworthy when it comes to security matters. by next year he expects to be in the black. he says following his dream and moving to new york was worth it. of course it was risky. but everything worked out. now he and his crew are a success. it is everything that they could have hoped for. the u.s. remains a place that

fascinates bernard and many other germans. making their american dream a reality takes strong will, hard work and a bit of luck.?ñ?ño??