>> welcome to "the journal" coming to you live from berlin. >> thank you for joining us. coming up on the show. the last stronghold in beirut is hit by a car bomb in the latest violence linked to the war in syria. >> the eu opens its doors to romanians and bulgarians but berlin wants tight restrictions on their social benefits. >> hundreds of thousands of somalis are told to go home full -- are told to go home.

>> 40 people have been killed in a car bombing -- have been wounded in a car bombing in beirut. >> no one has claimed the spots ability. the city has been hit by a series of bombings since has a lot intervened in the war in syria on the side of bashar al- assad. >> staying in the middle east, any rock, government troops are fighting to wrest back control over to major cities from... linked to al qaeda. the iraqi was a strike. >> is lots of taking over several districts fighting broke out on monday. the army ended in antigovernment protests. at least 12 people are dead after a suicide bomb attack in a town north of the iraqi capital

of baghdad. the bomber blew up a truck packed with explosives near the iranian border. >> the icebound russian vessel carrying a roof of climate researchers and forests have seen the much appreciated arrival of australian rescuers. >> right now, the question is in the background as the 52 passengers had four dry and much warmer land. >> after being stranded for nine days, though gore of helicopter blades was a welcome sign for passengers above the research ship. the helicopter made several trips transporting up to 12 passengers at a time to a nearby icebreaker. the researchers and journalists

on board were headed home on christmas eve when a blizzard trapped their ship in an arctic ice. despite being trapped, the passengers and the crew kept in good spirits posting video of their venture online. [singing] >> after three icebreakers tried and failed to break through to the distressed ship, the passengers and crew pulled together trampling the snow flat to make a helicopter pad. the storm prevented any rescue until thursday. when the sky finally cleared, the maritime safety authority wasted no time in rescuing passengers. for now, the member crew will remain on board. >> it is fully operational, it is fully prepared to be a nice, it is well stored and well- positioned. >> all 52 passengers are now on

board the icebreaker. headed for the australian island state of australia. the voyage is to take two weeks. >> other rescue story, the italian navy has rescued 233 migrants off of the coast. a cited there wouldn't vote and rough seas late wednesday. >> a naval spokesman said that the people on board were from pakistan and from sub-saharan africa. they were suffering from exposure because of cold conditions but were otherwise in good health. the navy is transferring the migrants to the port town in sicily. we are going back to our top story. we are going online to beirut. it has below stronghold in beirut has been hit by a car bomb in the latest violence in that country being linked to the war in syria. that's cross over to martin j

in beirut. who might have been behind this attack in beirut? it claims some 40 wounded. some are linking it to a sunni jihadist group. >> that is a slight sophistication. most people will point the finger to some groups in general. the billion dollar question is it local politics or opposition politics that are faced with their guy being assassinated? the government minister, the demographics and the regional players who are behind those opposition groups. those are the two key suspects here. just in the last hours or so, we have some forces that are claiming the area and looking for clues. the first component, which some people are beginning to ask is

just very recently, an al qaeda leader was arrested about a week ago. he was the latest in line behind an iranian embassy bombing. a lot of tension, a lot of people blame each other but no real concrete evidence as to who could have been behind it. >> at about the situation right now between the countries sunni and the shia population? >> it is incredibly tense. there is an extension of what is going on all over the middle east. the americans have pulled out in the weeks, saudi arabia, iran have flexed their muscles. iraq, we are talking about a thousand deaths a month's which is happening because the tension between these two groups. there does not seem to be much ground there.

the same thing happening in lebanon. there are not too many moderates to look forward in the next government. they will take place next may. the big problem is that there is a significant country and they can escalate more with sectarian violence across the middle east. syria is looking as though it will go the way of the regime. they're taking more ground. >> some businesses now and there is a big takeover coming in the auto industry. fiat is said to buy a controlling stake in chrysler. >> that deal is supposed to be completed by january 20th and will pave the way for a new global auto giant. >> the fiat boss has been seeking a full takeover of subsidiary chrysler.

now it is finally in the bag. a deal that he said would go down in the history books. they originally took a stake in the beginning of the financial crisis in 2009. car sales plunged. at the time, fiat bought a 58 point five percent stake in the company. it is now pages three point .1 6 billion euros. the deal makes fiat the world's second largest auto company. shares jumped after the news. the investment in chrysler was initially same as a risky bet after the german carmaker previously failed to turn the company's fortunes around. the move paid off. chrysler sales in north america are now booming after years of decline. the takeover will be completed in three weeks. click to find out how that big fusion went down on the markets, we went to frankfurt. >> fiat and chrysler, that is

the news of the day. no ipo but instead toning the companies together 100%. that will allow the fiat boss to take control of the things that are inherent in the union. merging the technical activities, for example as he wishes to do so. size is everything in the mass automobile market. that is what the experts say. there was not this kind of spectacular news to propel shares further up where. -- upward. still, people remain optimistic for 2014 because many of the factors for higher share prices remain in place. >> a quick look at those raw market numbers. starting in frankfurt with the dax. are they coming in. the dax is down by 1.5 tonight.

the euro stocks are down by a similar amount. the dow jones industrial average also trending down at the moment i 7/10 of a percent. the euro is the down. >> some stellar performance for the german economy. last one was a good one. they hit a record high for the seventh consecutive year. country so 48.1 million people are in work in 2014. >> some 230 jobs are created in the service sector. the jobless rate has data just below seven percent. it is the envy of some countries like spain and greece where more than one and four people out of work. we mentioned that weak demand in europe has been hitting a few automakers profits.

nowhere is that more true than in france. >> sales were the worst in a decade. the french carmakers who are very dependent on domestic sales, it is extremely bad news. certainly no shortage of supply here. hundreds of thousands of french made cars are waiting to be purchased. the man is low and sales are slow. in short, the auto industry is stagnating. sales dropped significantly in 2013, the worst year for cars since 1998. renault scraped by with profits. to show and citroen are in a tailspin. the total number of new car registrations from french car manufacturers fell. france is still feeling the affects of the financial crisis.

the economy is faltering and consumers are reluctant to spend money. in china and the u.s., france has long fallen behind the competition. despite all of that, new registrations climbed sharply at the end of 2013. it was not enough to compensate for a miserable year. >> doctors say the condition of ariel sharon is deteriorating. he has been in a coma for almost eight years and physicians say that his condition is critical. he suffered a stroke in 2006. >> ariel sharon has been at this hospital since 2006. doctors say his condition has deteriorated and he might be close to death. they say several of his organs have malfunctioned. members of his family are at his bedside. >> he was hospitalized in our hospital for the last seven years and he shows some signs of deterioration during the

following two days with some critical miss function or malfunction of some of its organs including his kidneys. >> he suffered a severe stroke in 2006 after serving five years as israel's prime minister. he has been in a coma ever since. >> this is a very sad moment for me. i was his advisor for over 15 years. it is a very sad moment also for people in israel because he was an icon in israel. >> most palestinians revile him calling him a war criminal. he withdrew troops but he promoted the building of jewish settlements elsewhere and was seen very much as a hard liner. >> a retired formula one champion remains in critical condition after injuring a head injury while skiing in france.

schumacher has undergone two operations and is in a medically induced coma. he was skiing in the french alps when the accident happened. prosecutors in hamburg have stopped criminal proceedings against the so-called bishop of bling after he paid a fine of 20,000 euros. the bishop was ordered to pay the money after he was accused of lying under oath about the purchase of a first-class seat on an international flight. he has been in broke in a scandal since last year over excessive spending on his official or ship residence. firefighters are battling bushfires in the northern state of queensland. hundreds of people who began his ad been evacuated. helicopters have been flown in to control the blaze which has been intensified. many parts of the island are without power.

>> we are going to a short break. when we come back, the debate about both gary and and romanian workers, it is quite a debate. >> there's a fierce debate about the latest step in eu integration. romanians and bulgarians can now enter germany and six other countries without first getting a visa. >> ranking conservatives, especially from the csu say these arrivals will mean new costs for taxpayers. coalition partners are calling that nonsense and want them to receive a warm welcome. >> let's go to romania itself and meet one woman who is planning to move to germany. >> she is scrambling to get her references in order.

she is planning to start a new job at a care home in germany. the 36 rolled nurse has artie quit her job in romania where she makes just 300 euros a month. >> i am not leaving romania because i don't like my country. rather because of the poor system and pay here. >> many are hoping the lifting of labor or sections could benefit all sides. germany has long suffered fro please stand by please stand by of workers from abroad. european freedoms make up the core of our notion of europe. the freedom of movement is vital to european integration. this is something that germany has benefited from immensely and certainly more than others.

the head of the conservative bavarian sister party has warned a policy could prove costly for germany. >> what we don't want and this was addressed in our election program as well is in the coalition agreement between the conservatives and the democrats is integration directed towards the social welfare system. others argue that those concerns are ill founded. figures released by the german institute for employment research show unemployment among romanians and bulgarians living in germany is lower than the national average. >> what can germany expect in the weeks and months ahead? it's crossover to peter craven who has been following us from our studios. can you fill us on the situation for the bulgarian and romanian communities here in germany? >> those number around 370,000

people and it is estimated that that number could surge by anywhere between 100,000, 200000 and that is a lot of people. what we've tended to see so far are the kind of people that have come to germany from her mania and bulgaria have tended to be highly skilled and highly qualified people, doctors, engineers. that could now change with the lifting of restrictions, we could see many more people from less skilled sectors, from the poorer sectors of romania and bulgaria society and also from the roman cmittees that have been so troubled and embattled in recent years. it will be looking at this closely. >> this is a very unfortunate word, it is called ghettoization. what can you tell us about that? >> it is was to use to describe concentrations of people, what people do when they move from one person to another.

they concentrate where they have friends and families and members of their community. several german cities, just to mention a few were less skilled, less qualified people have tended to concentrate and members of the robe and community which is posting large and substantial situations. they are hoping for this from the essential authorities. >> thank you for those insights. >> from more perspective, from a more perfect european perspective, we spoke to the sunday times correspondent. we asked whether we could expect a huge wave of migrations. >> no, not at all. as i said, the borders have been opened since 2007. the assumption is that everyone who wanted to go, who had to get up and go to find work in the western countries, they have

done so already. the european commission has conducted a number of studies and surveys and none of them indicate that there would be a huge tidal wave of migration. it is likely that skilled workers will operably try and find employment. people like engineers, nurses, doctors, etc.. these are the people that the job market in germany and britain need. >> they live on just $80 a month making close for people and which countries, specially europeans and americans and now they want a living wage for their efforts. >> we are talking about cambodian textile workers and they are striking for a minimum salary of just $160 a month. the clothing companies who often depend upon them in the west have turned a deaf ear so far to their road test. >> police have used what activists are calling excessive force to break up one

demonstration in the capital. >> the monks and other campaigners are gathering to protest against the police's heavy-handed tactics. they're calling for the release of their hello activists. >> as far as we know, all of the union activists were arresed. so were five other workers and some monks and soldiers were injured. >> the violence marks a turning point in cambodia's textile workers strike. protests for a higher minimum wage have passed off peacefully. police accuse the strikers of throwing stones. >whatever the truth, the workers will remain a powerful choice as the garment industry is the biggest exporter. >> now, to africa and the home of the world's biggest refugee camp. 400,000 people are living there right now. some have done all of their lives. >> this is a sprawling complex

of camps. it has been a refuge for somalis escaping their civil war. the hosts want them to go back home. >> kenya, somalia, and the un's refugee agency signed a deal to repatriate camp residents on a voluntary basis. >> most are too afraid to go. our reporter sent us this report. >> this narrow passage has been part of mohammed's life for the last 20 years. he was born here in one of five camps. he grew up in and around these houses with their makeshift roofs. it is home to him and his family and his mother made him what he is today. >> he used to encourage me. you don't have a father, you

have to go to school. you have to support yourself. >> he actively followed the fights and he is now enough to commission and he analyzes your and and blood samples in order to help his community to stay healthy. after more than 20 years, this is now more than just a refugee camp more than just 400,000 people live here. it has become a functional town where one can get anything. ithey want somali refugees to return to somalia. >> it is not possible to go back at the moment. we have a lot of friends. we have integrated the people.

so, it is not possible to go back at the moment. >> the u.n. agency has helped the residents to explain what it would be involved. they are also arranged to unveil the package to which they might be entitled if they decided to go to somalia. to encourage them to go, some cash assistance and household items have already been promised to anyone returning to the pilot districts. >> we are very frustrated. we want the international community to assist us. that option, if the countries that are hosting us say that we

have to go to somalia, that option is for a settlement. the world chelsea as, not constantly under syria. they should focus on the biggest in the world. >> no country is ready to take them in. ever since can you sent troops into somalia, there have been sustained attacks on kenyan soil. this has been put on al-shabaab and also somali refugees. he does not know who tried to kill him or why. it is felt that he is been made a scapegoat. >> it is futile to blame refugees, victims of conflict, victims of war. to be honest, somalia is evolving. but, the reality is very different on the ground. somalia is a country in conflict

and no one can guarantee the security and protection of the people who are going back to somalia. >> this is being born in the dark, a generation. this is preferably not in somalia. >> this is next to nothing. >> some questions for the residents on the border. >> what do you do if your family has been away for a generation? >> thank you so much for joining us. remember, there's more news at our website.

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>> you are watching live from paris. the international headlines this hour -- and iraq, special forces battle al qaeda-linked militants. fighters seize control of two areas. further carnage in beirut as a .torm tears through and ariel sharon said to be clinging to life after multiple organ failure. the former prime minister has been in a coma since 2006 when he suffered a stroke at the height of