>> this is the "journal" from dw in berlin. welcome. >> good to have you with us. our top stories over the next hour -- the united nations human rights office calls for an investigation after a ukrainian activists claimed he was kidnapped and tortured. >> and no surprise he first round of he's talks to end the war in syria -- first round peace talks to end the war in syria ends with no tactical results.

>> the german president says the time has come for the country to overcome its sense of guilt over the second world war and become more open to sending troops to conflict zones. >> he has told world leaders and international security at talks in munich that germany and its allies should not deny help to others when crimes against humanity are taking place. >> united nations secretary-general urged the chancellor on thursday to show more global leadership, but it is a prickly issue for germans. a new poll today shows three quarters of people here are hostile to such a move. >> for more than five decades, delegates from around the world have been meeting at the munich security conflict -- conference to discuss security conflict. one issue to emerge was germany's role a broad. germany's president called for his country to play a bigger

role in international conflicts. >> germany could be more decisive in using its experience securing human rights and the rule of law to uphold and shape the regulatory framework of the european union, nato, and the united nations. >> a sentiment echoed in no unclear terms by germany's defense minister. >> i think that germany, with all its diplomatic, military, and development capabilities, should not stay on the sidelines when it's help is needed. >> the three-day security conference will focus on the conflict in syria and the political turmoil in ukraine, but the meetings on the sidelines will be closely watched, too, especially those between germany and the united states. revelations the u.s. has been spying on the german chancellor have strained relations. earlier, u.s. secretary of state

john kerry stopped by in berlin to meet with chancellor angela merkel. he played down the failure of the two countries to agree on a no-spy packed. >> we are partners above and beyond once in the road, and we will find our way to be able to move forward, resolving any kinds of differences in an appropriate way that respects our relationship. >> after his meeting with merkel ,kerry went on to munich to attend the conference. with turmoil in syria, delegates have their work cut out for them. >> our chief political correspondent is at the munich security conference. the german president opened the proceedings. how did his speech actually go down? >> i think many people feel this was one of the strongest speeches he has made as president. he gave a very impassioned appeal for germany to take on

more responsibility in international affairs. this has been a perennial issue here at munich for a long time now. other countries have urged germany to get beyond check out diplomacy, to do more to help resolve international crises, and certainly, those were the words of the president. he said germany is a globalized economy must do more to resolve challenges internationally, and he also said that this country is now a good germany. those were his words. he said that for 60 years, germany has been at peace, has been a good neighbor, and that it is time for it to their commensurate responsibility into nationally. many people were glad to hear that message. >> it would certainly markedly change on the international stage. what else is on the agenda this weekend? >> ukraine will be very high on the agenda. we are expecting the opposition leader to arrive here, and he's due to sit with ukraine's

foreman -- foreign minister as well as a member of the russian parliament. that should be interesting. we also have discussions devoted to a number of middle eastern topics. syria late this evening. we will also be discussing iran late at the conference. all of that is likely to provide some fireworks, and nsa surveillance also a very big topic here. we expect to hear from both the u.s. secretary of state and secretary of defense tomorrow, and this evening, the german interior minister said that he considers nsa surveillance in this country, in germany, to have been entirely is proportionate and that he is looking for a resolution to that . certain to be some confrontation on that subject as well going forward. this is also a very important site for bilateral meetings at the conference because we do have leaders from pretty much all of the critical regions of the world. >> thank you very much.

we continue in ukraine where the armed forces have entered the political fray for the first time, and the president is still signing decrees, despite being on sick leave. >> president on viktor yanukovych continues to grow from all sides. the army has urged him to take urgent steps to ease the nation's crisis. a defense ministry statement also calls for bush to reach consent. >> united nations says it wants an independent probe into the deaths, kidnappings, and torture that have taken place during the last two months of unrest. >> ukrainians camped out in kiev hoss independence square say they will continue with their protest until president viktor yanukovych steps down -- ukrainians camped out in kiev's independence square. >> on friday, viktor yanukovych signed an amnesty bill and

repealed anti-protest legislation. earlier in the day, angela merkel joined other foreign leaders to call for the move. >> the ukrainian parliament voted for the legislation, but agree on a covert had not signed it. -- but victor yana kovic had not signed it. the most important thing is action follows words. >> i was crucified. i got holes in my hands. part of my ear was cut off. there's not a spot on my body has not been beaten. i could not tell where we work as it was always dark with a kept me, but the accent was russian. >> the opposition leader visited the hospital on friday. he does not expect a quick resolution to the conflict. he fears the government will impose a state of emergency. >> moving on, the next round of

these talks on syria is expected to begin in about a week. that's what united nations mediator lakhdar brahimi announced today after the first round concluded in geneva, switzerland. >> it concluded with doubts about the regime's participation and a whole lot of other issues up in the air. >> brahimi conceded that the talks had failed to make any concrete progress, but he said they had been a start. >> over the past eight days in geneva, the sites engaged each other through me. it was a very difficult start, but the sides have become used to sitting in the same or him. they have presented positions and listened to one another. >> brahimi said the sides had discussed the idea of a cease-fire, but nothing was agreed. fighting is still being reported all over the country. it had looked as if the talks had at least achieved an agreement that civilians would be allowed out of homes -- homs,

a city under siege by government forces, but even that has so far come to nothing. >> brahimi said he realized many civilians would be disappointed. >> for all the serbians trapped in this terrible war -- for all the serious -- for all the syrians trapped in this terrible war, our work has gone on for far too long. i understand that, and they are right, but we are trying to overcome the very difficult issues that have led to this war and made it worse almost by the day. this, unfortunately, takes time. >> brahimi wants a second round of talks to start on february 10. he said the opposition had agreed, but the government delegation wanted to consult with damascus. >> our geneva correspondent has been following the talks and joins us now on the line.

the relief convoy was a major goal of this first round of talks. will we see another push to get help to that city's civilians? >> there are certainly a push coming from the united nations who are based here in geneva and who are negotiating with the government of damascus now for the 12 day on having this convoy, which is only packed 10 kilometers outside the city square to finally get in. there might be coming a push from john kerry over the weekend, but i think the decision still has to be made by the provincial governor in damascus. >> what about the prospects in general for a second round of talks on february 10? will they go ahead? what could they actually accomplish? >> i am somewhat skeptical because there was a somewhat veiled threat by the foreign minister when he said they had to go back for consultation, whether they would come back at

all. later, after that information came out in geneva to a rally and demonstration by roughly 300 assad supporters and he said, "we will not make any concessions. even if we come back, the opposition should not dream that they will achieve at the negotiation table what they have not achieved so far by violence. if the government should stick to this line, i do not see any possible outcome with results. >> that does not sound optimistic. the agencies are also not optimistic and keep reporting about various sides and arguments between those various sites. the fact is this is the first time mediators have managed to get all sides into the same room at the same time. isn't that in itself a milestone? >> i would not call it a milestone, but it is a small first success. he said that the ice is melting

slowly, and he also says, given this experience of over five decades of negotiations of international and domestic violence, the conflict, he said you should not run if you are not able to walk yet. by running, you might gain an hour but lose a week. >> a little optimism there yet. thank you very much. our geneva correspondent there for us. >> in business news now, this week was a big one for the tech industry with some of the world's top players reporting earnings. >> companies that make their money from advertisements like google and facebook posted stellar results. >> facebook promised investors it would start earning money in the mobile space, and this time around, it definitely delivered. >> facebook has come a long way since its rookie ipo two years

ago. the social networking platform now boasts 1.2 billion users worldwide, and facebook is now making big, big money. thanks to rising advertising revenue from mobile devices such as smart phones. the results far exceeded what the market had been expecting. facebook earned about $500 million in the fourth quarter, about eight times what it made in the same time a year ago. ad revenue also soared at internet search giant google. its fourth-quarter earnings totaled report $4 billion. an online sales colossus amazon more than doubled its fourth-quarter profits to 239 million dollars. that was despite a mediocre holiday sales season. parcel delivery service ups had a lot of problems due to the unusually cold winter weather, and that had an impact on amazon's bottom line, but amazon warned it could lose money in

the forced quarter of 2014 due to wide ranging expansion plans. >> time to check in on the markets now. here is a look at the numbers for you now. we begin in germany where the dax ended friday's session in negative territory, down to 9306 . the euro stoxx 50 lost just under .5%, to close at 3013. across the atlantic in new york, the dow jones industrials are still trading, currently also in negative territory, 15,000 772, and the euro was also losing these days. at the moment, it's trading for $1.3 497. >> chinese investors are turning their attention to europe. last year, they bought 120 companies or stakes in companies on the continent. more than ever before. >> a new report by consultants ernst and young also says a quarter of those firms are in germany. among them, a solar energy group.

chinese investors favorite auto parts and consumer goods manufacturers. britain and germany are the preferred locations. still to come, thailand gets ready to vote on sunday. >> any radiation alert in britain. britain. >> welcome back. this sunday, thailand is expected to hold a controversial election that the prime minister hopes will confirm the legitimacy of her government. >> protests against her had been raging in the country since november. it's the latest round in what has been eight years of tensions that largely split the country along class lines. >> with all of the unrest, there are concerns about the credibility of sunday's vote. >> the thai prime minister is showing no signs of giving up. she is determined to see sunday's polls go ahead, despite calls from the election commission to postpone them.

>> advanced voting has already been disrupted by protesters, and the main opposition democrat party is boycotting the polls. its leader has urged people not to vote in sunday's election. some protesters have threatened to lay siege to polling stations, given how few opposition candidates are running, she's expected to win the vote comfortably. if the elections go ahead, that is. the opposition is calling for an unelected people's council to enact political changes before elections take place. they accuse the government of corruption. this considerable support amongst bangkok's middle class, despite violence which has left a least 10 people dead, the opposition leader is urging protesters not to give up. >> i know it hurts. it's painful, but we have to keep it inside. we have to turn those feelings -- the pain and revenge -- into

energy. to invite our friends and families to stand up and fight against this evil regime. >> the conflict pits thailand's urban elite against poorer people in rural areas who support the government. critics accuse her of supporting controversial policies including controversial rice subsidies to win the support of farmers -- of farmers. they also say she is a puppet of her brother, who has lived in exile since being ousted by the military in 2006. the future of thailand is in the balance. sunday will be a crucial test of its fragile democracy. >> earlier, we spoke to the head of the w's southeast asia desk and began by asking him to tell us about the relationship between the prime minister and her brother.

>> did not appear on the political scene at all and so she was nominated to lead her brother's party into the 2011 elections, which she won to become thailand's first-ever prime minister. at the time, her elder brother and former prime minister described her as a clone who would take the decisions on his behalf. since becoming prime minister, she has been able to establish herself, especially because of her performance as a leader during the widespread flooding in 2011 and her decision to introduce a guaranteed price for rice, which helped her core constituency in the north. she has also taken numerous measures to improve education, so to ask her to an extent, she has moved out of her brother's shadow, but just how far, no one really knows. >> who is the opposition leader, and what does he want? >> he comes from a powerful family from the south of the country and was in indy for three decades.

he has also served as a cabinet minister, a member of the democrat party, and since october 2013, he has been the leader of the opposition to the amnesty law tabled by -- the amnesty law which would have rehabilitated her brother. she wants to set up so-called unelected people's councils run by influential allies to reform the country and rid it of her brother's influence, and no one knows what this means for thai democracy. at any rate, he's regarded as a bad influence who has ruined the country with his corruption and populist policies. >> what about the military? what is its role? >> the thai military has seized power on no fewer than 18 occasions over the last 80 years, and it is loyal to the king at the present time as its name suggests. in the present crisis, the military appears to be sitting on the fence. it is said, for example, that it will not protect polling stations on sunday because that's a job for the police, and the army chief has indicated troops will only play a low-key

role and obviously do not want to be gone into conflict with the protesters. this may be because of sympathy and parts of the armed forces for the protesters. so for the time being, there's no real sign of a military takeover, but the army is there and waiting. >> thank you very much. >> investigators say the rays level of radioactivity discovered a britain's nuclear fuel reprocessing plant was caused by naturally occurring radon gas. >> radon is a radioactive gas that seeps from rocks and soil. earlier, all nonessential workers of the village were ordered to stay home. it's the largest nuclear reprocessing land in europe and was the sight of britain's worst nuclear disaster in 1957. the murder convictions of u.s. citizen amanda knox and her italian ex-boyfriend raffaele

sollecito have been supported. on friday, the family of the victim reacted to the verdict. >> a day after being sentenced to nearly three decades imposing, amanda knox said she will never voluntarily returned to italy. >> this really has hit me like a train. i did not expect this to happen. i really expected so much better from the italian justice system. they found me innocent before. how can they say it's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? >> amanda knox returned to the u.s. in 2011 after four years in an italian jail. experts in addition to italy is unlikely, even if courts were to apply for one after a final verdict by the last court of appeals. the situation is different for her ex-boyfriend. he was stopped by police on friday near the italian border to austria and slovenia, and his

passport was taken away. the court banned him from leaving the country. sollecito was sentenced to prison as was knox for the kercher murder. the case is full of contradictions and inconsistencies. one thing is for sure -- she was found dead of multiple stab wounds in the apartment she shared with amanda knox. the verdict against knox and sollecito does not yet have the force of law. the defense says it will definitely appear. >> more young people in the european union are finding jobs according to the latest figures from the european statistics office. >> in december, about 3.5 million young people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the

ee you, and that is 23,000 fewer than in november. >> the jobs situation differs with europe. spain's you the still struggling to get a foot into the labor market. >> young spaniards were among the hardest hit by the euro crisis. more than half of spaniards between 15 and 24 years of age cannot find a job. the eurozone has started to pick up growth, but europe still has a long way to go to save this young generation. madrid's city streets are filled with homeless youth. in december, the number of unemployed young europeans dropped to 23.8% or 3.5 million. it was the lowest youth unemployment rate in eight months. brussels has made fighting youth unemployment a top priority. last summer, the eu pledged 6 billion euros to get young europeans back to work.

december's report is an early sign of success. the eu commission says it expects youth unemployment to drop even further in 2014. >> is germany doing enough to return a recent -- recent major fine of not see-looted art -- nazi-looted art to its original owners? some say no. the representative of the new york-based world jewish congress . >> is that germany must create a clear legal framework for identifying stolen works of art. ronald lord are also accused germany's museums of willfully ignoring their obligations. he said they can no longer allow art looted by the not seized from jews to remain in their collections -- art looted by the knack sees -- art looted by the nazis from jews to remain in their collections. >> not only is it wrong, it's immoral.

it perpetuates hitler's crimes. >> discovery of more than 1000 works of art amassed by a nazi-era art dealer brought the issue to the four around the world. media around the world reported on the case. it took two years to test for the authorities to announce the discovery. relatives of the art's original owners were not informed. ronald lord or wants an international commission to oversee the museums. but she is skeptical. germany's museums can carry out the task on their own. >> do i think german museums can do it themselves? no answer. >> even if they commission is set up, it will take years to restore looted art to the rightful descendents. the german government says it is responding and is planning to double funding for the restitution effort.

>> athletes continue to arrive in sochi for the winter olympic that begin in one weeks time. teams from britain have arrived. click securities tied in the village were more than 1000 people will be staying. russia has promised a problem-free state is by terrorist threats. 100,000 state police and soldiers have been deployed in sochi. china welcomed its traditional new year on friday. january 31 marks the first day of the year of the horse. >> celebrations last a week. according to the zodiac, the year will be one of conflict and tension, but also one of new beginnings. on that note -- >> that's all from us for now. see you again soon.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

♪ ♪ >> good evening, we begin in the ukrainian capital several weeks of unrest are showing no sign of coming to an after president viktor yanukovich backed out of talks with the european union with closer ties to russia. there was a wave of angry protests. amnesty to protesters but only that have a cat government buildings which they're currently occupying. the ukrainian police