>> live from berlin, this is the "journal." great to have you along with us. >> these are the stories making headlines -- iraq asks the u.s. for air support amid reports that militants have battled their way into the country's biggest oil refinery. >> after 10 days trapped in germany's deepest cave, a research ship -- researcher with serious injuries is just days away from safety.

iraq officials say they have asked the united states for air power to fight back a huge sunni muslim onslaught in the north of the country. >> u.s. president barack obama so far insists a return to combat in iraq is not in the cards. >> a group is captured a number of cities and towns in a lightning advance over the past week. >> he sees more territory this wednesday and reportedly besieged the nation's main oil refinery. our coverage begins in the autonomous kurdish region of the north. >> the aftermath of clashes between kurdish forces and isis near cure cook -- kirk cook -- kirkuk. unlike the iraqi army, the kurds are not backing down. they have long fox for an independent state in this region and are putting up the only credible resistance in the north

of iraq. it is to these regions that hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing -- displaced by the islamist advance. while the kurds have stopped the insurgents drive towards kirkuk, sunni militants claim they have now gained control of the country's largest oil refinery. heavy fighting has continued throughout the day. oil production has stopped, but iraq's prime minister remains optimistic. >> iraq is a unified country consisting of sunnis, shiites, arabs, and kurds. we have a common challenge to fight the terrorists from al qaeda. >> but this kind of talk has failed to convince neighboring iran. president rouhani has vowed to do whatever it takes to protect shiite holy sites in iraq against the sunni militants, including dispatching malicious to iraq -- delicious -- militias

to iraq. heavily on soldiers are patrolling the streets, a show of strength, at least in the capital. >> let's see if we can get vladimir from the media organization monitor on the line. there are conflicting reports. tell us what information you have. >> the armed forces withdrew from the refinery. there are some reports from the iraqi government media that they are trying to take the refinery bat. >> how would you describe this offensive by isis? is this developing into a civil war?

>> currently, we have not heard a lot about pressure in baghdad. so far, it looks like there is a war, but is -- it is still a war between militant groups and the iraqi army. >> would you make of the comments to do whatever it takes to protect shia holy sites in iraq? >> for iran, iraq is a particular ally. the transport weapons to syria to support bashar al-assad, so it is not very unsurprising because there is a huge shia population in iraq.

for rouhani, it is very important. >> thank you very much for your analysis. more fighting and deaths are being reported in eastern ukraine. both pro-russian separatists and government forces. >> this comes as ukraine's new president poroshenko offers a peace plan that includes a unilateral cease-fire and amnesty for insurgents, but he has not said when the offer would come into effect. >> separatists are under siege in luhansk. outside the city hall, they have piled up coffins for their fallen comrades. more are on the way. residents have also been fleeing the fighting. they say that humanitarian conditions in the city are dire. "i'm taking away my grandparents. they have been hiding in the seller. their roof have been -- has been hit and their seller has been

blown out." >> the united nations says people caught in the crossfire lack access to schools, electricity, and water, and they cited even more immediate that -- threats. >> it's a total breakdown in law and order, being unable to get protection when it comes to mistreatment, abductions, and executions that we are reporting are taking place in the course of the past month. >> after consultations with russia and germany, ukrainian president petro poroshenko announced a plan to end fighting in the east. he promised a unilateral cease-fire. >> i can say that the period of the cease-fire will be rather short. we anticipate that immediately after this, the disarming of the illegal military formations will take place.

>> but russian foreign minister lavrov compared the plan to ethnic cleansing, saying the cease-fire did not take separatists immense into account and was only intended to drive them out of eastern territories. separatists have also rejected the cease-fire, calling it a boy to disarm them. >> to afghanistan now, where a runoff presidential vote is being cast into doubt even before the result is made official. >> that's because one of the candidates has broken off ties with the election commission, saying the preliminary numbers do not add up. >> the controversy is a major setback for many afghans who had hoped for a clear front runner in this second round. >> afghans had hoped this election would bring peace and stability, but a dispute over vote fraud could plunge the country into a new crisis. not all the votes have been counted, but presidential candidate abdullah abdullah says

the initial results speak volumes. he says there was massive fraud in favor of his opponent in the runoff. he blames outgoing president hamid karzai. >> there's no doubt that the leadership of afghanistan and the president of afghanistan were not impartial in the process. from the moment candidates entered the presidential race. >> the former foreign minister was a clear winner in the first round with 45% of the vote. his opponent got 31.6%. this time, the former finance minister and karzai adviser is in the lead in a suspiciously high turnout. he also spoke of fraud after the polls closed, but he said he was confident of victory. the election commission is the boring abdullah's demand that it stopped counting the votes. >> this is an independent

election commission decision. >> observers fear a fierce struggle for power and warned of new violence. abdullah abdulla's powerbase is with the ethnic tragic majority. a bloody conflict between the groups would mark a bloody setback for afghanistan. >> officials say the explorer stuck inside germany's deepest cave could be brought to the surface sooner than later. >> rescuers are inching their way out with the researcher on a stretcher. the last step will mean raising him by hand up and almost vertical ascent. the 52-year-old suffered severe injuries and a rockfall that was nearly two weeks ago. our correspondent on the spot here -- this is just an amazing

story we have been following over these past few days. now we know that the rescuers are on standby. do they know already when he will be brought up to light? >> it is amazing, as you say. it is true. this is the first time they have given out a timeframe, at least, within which they plan to have him out of that cave, and that is sometime between 10:00 at night german time and the early morning hours. they do not know exactly, but as soon as he gets out, there is a medical team already standing by . they need to examine him more thoroughly because obviously, in the case, that was not possible. then he will be flown to hospital if his condition permits by helicopter. that will be more difficult and risky to do at night, but the police who are conducting these flights throughout the course of this rescue operation have said

they are prepared for this. their helicopters have night vision equipment, and they seem very confident that they can bring him down from that mountain safely whenever he comes out, day or night. >> we certainly hope it will succeed in this. you mentioned about his condition he is injured and on a stretcher. how is he holding out during this operation? >> from what we hear, he is holding out quite well. he is apparently stable. there have been speculations that the reason why this is speeding up now is because maybe his condition has changed. maybe it got worse, so they need to try to get him out sooner, or maybe his condition is so good that it permits the rescue workers to move more quickly. we do not know that -- it's pure speculation. >> thank you very much, and do keep us posted. let's hope that it is the latter, that his situation is actually getting better. >> world cup action now, and

favorites to the netherlands had beaten underdogs australia 3-2 and a thriller of a game. >> it was a back-and-forth match they give them an excellent chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. australia were playing well but will have to exit the world cup after the first round. >> and a pulsating game of football, it was the netherlands who struck first, much to the delight of queen wilhelm alexander and queen maxima. but he struck back within seconds. tim cahill latched onto it across a pass to rocket onto the world cup. the game turned on its head in the second half after australia were awarded a penalty. but the dutch pressed forward. with just over 20 minutes left, holland was back on track.

a hard-fought win, but holland remain one of the favorites to pick up the title. >> we are joined now by our world cup reporter. i don't understand what's going on. the netherlands really drug spain 5-1, then they came up against australia, and as we mentioned, it was a back-and-forth match. what was going on there? >> kind of a flip in the first game. roles were reversed. spain, everybody thought they would win. holland went at them attacking. it was a very physical performance. that's exactly what australia did today. the dutch coach warned that the australians were going to come out attacking, fight really hard for the ball, and they believe but holland under pressure. it was tough, and it was a great match. australia had holland wobbling. there was no doubt about it, but in the end, they had the individual skill, the class, and that really shone through. they managed to get their way

back into the match. i think it was a very good performance from holland to come back, even though they would look shaky, but they came back, they won, and they are in the driving seat. >> i think it was a very good performance from australia. i don't know if you are rooting for australia -- i should think so. tell us -- was that it wasn't? >> i would imagine that is it for them, but there are still a chance. it sounds difficult. it depends on what happens in tonight's game. all australia need to do is beat spain in the last game, so that's not that difficult, is it? if they do that, they still have a theoretical chance of going through, but on the face of it, i would say that's the end of it for them. >> we just mentioned spain. they sorely need a win in their match against chile. will fans get what they want? >> this is the big question -- we see the spain that has dominated football for the past 15 years or the spain team that came out against holland? it's difficult to know what will happen, but this is a crunch match for spain.

they need to win this. if they do not, they're out of the competition. let's see what happens, but i think it will be close. >> thanks for coming in and giving us your analysis, and thank >> welcome back. we start with business news. in washington, the federal reserve announced it would further slow the pace of its bond purchases. the bank says the u.s. jobs market keeps getting stronger and needs less support. >> but the unusually harsh winter has also forced the fed to slash its growth forecast for the year. the central bank now says it will be more like 2% growth. >> the chinese premier is in europe. he signed trade and investment deals with billions in london and said china's steady economic growth would continue without further government stimuli. >> at the same time as the

premiers meeting with british by minister david cameron, the premier announce the start of direct trading between the two countries. experts predict that direct current trading with the euro could soon follow. >> our market correspondent has more on that and other news went down at the frankfurt stock exchange. >> so china is really moving on, continuing its wave of liberalization of the currency, and this is good news. traders in frankfurt said it makes trading with china easier and cheaper. german companies are only waiting for the next step of possible direct trading. this would be a strong stimulus for german exports to china. the stimulus also very much needed at the stock market, but traders have been reluctant and where it the ongoing fights in iraq. the german dax was only slightly up.

>> and dorothy mentioned iraq. international companies are continuing to fly workers out of the country is the conflict events. >> all eyes are protecting the facilities from isis, the military has also besieged workers from other industries, and that has corporations and investors worried. >> an iraqi military helicopter like this one reportedly flew german siemens workers to safety from a power plant outside baghdad. similar operations are under way around the country. as the ice is offensive shows no sign of stopping. >> we are hearing that the situation in the affected provinces is alarming. the german foreign ministry has called for nationals to leave these areas, and german companies are following this advice. employees are either being taken out of the country or moved to safer regions, such as

autonomous kurdistan or seven iraq. >> the prime minister has worked hard to attract german companies . some 70 have set up business in the country. most of them are mechanical engineering, plant construction, and infrastructure specialists, but german firms have often complained about project delays, corruption, and a lack of security. companies were expecting big payoffs. the international monetary unpredicted a growth rate of 8% to 9% this year, but that was before the isis offensive. >> the market has not dried up forever. there's still a lot of potential, but the security situation and overall conditions must improve. >> that does not look as if it will happen in the near future. iraq's biggest source of revenue, oil, is now under threat. money that iraq could use to buy products on the international market.

>> international experts sent to western africa months ago are still writing a life and death battle to contain the ebola virus. >> the death toll from the outbreak of the highly contagious viral that -- virus is 337 since february. israel continues to go through the west bank in search of preteens who went missing last week. >> over 50 former palestinian prisoners have been arrested. >> hamas rejects accusations by prime minister benjamin netanyahu what being behind the kidnapping, and tensions over the abduction are destroying any hopes of restarting the peace process. >> palestinians say israel's widespread crackdown is collective punishment, a

violation of international law, but israel says they're meant to put pressure on hamas, part of the palestinian unity government , whom he blames for the kidnappings. the israeli military also raided a broadcasting company said to have ties to hamas. the owner said his company has nothing to do with politics. >> i don't know the reason for this. they entered our offices all over the west bank in ramallah, jerusalem, and we don't know why. we provide services to arab and foreign television stations. >> israeli officials say they do not know if the missing teens are alive or dead. israel's ambassador to the united nations has complained of the lack of international response. >> i asked the international

community -- where are you? where are you? >> tensions amongst palestinians are also high. hamas has neither confirmed nor denied involvement with the kidnappings and has blasted the palestinian government's cooperation with the israeli security operation. >> returning to football's main event, chile had just scored a goal against spain, making it 1-0 to the chileans. if you caught yesterday's brazil-mexico matchup, you may have noticed that the game was played in northeastern brazil. >> and is part of our world cup coverage, we take a closer look at this 3 million-strong city, which is becoming a popular tourist estimation. >> it's also becoming a prime exactly social inequality. we met some of the people who are barely scraping by. >> they are using the wall as a wardrobe and a dresser. a bible is placed in one of the

holes. brenda and her family have been living on this street for two years. they only have a few belongings. >> my husband is unemployed. that is why we cannot rent a place. we have two small children. >> brenda's eldest daughter is two years old. the younger one was born just last month. the city does not provide them with housing. the welfare payments the family receives are not enough to make ends meet. the homeless have to rely on help from neighbors here. >> there's the beautiful city that tourists come to see, but when you lived here, you know the dangers of this place -- when you lived here, you know the dangers of this place. >> this is one of the cities with the greatest social inequality in the world. these girls have turned to prostitution.

they make about 70 euros per night. for that sum, they accept many risks. we meet a girl who tells us how brutal brazilian customers can be. >> i was thrown out of a car and had a revolver pointed to my head. one time, the customer pressed a knife to my neck. everyone here is constantly facing death. >> she is 20 and has a five-year-old daughter. she began working as a prostitute when she was still underage, just like this 13-year-old girl, who has more or less missed out on childhood. her father is in jail for murder. her mother, a crack habit living on the street. we met her at an aid organization. she wants help to escape the cycle of are ready and prostitution. >> i love playing with dolls, and i do not like selling sex.

i ask myself whether i can ever be a normal girl again or if i will be a prostitute for the rest of my life. >> girls like her sell their bodies to earn money for food and clothes, and they have almost no chance of escaping their harsh life on their own. >> actually, no one really likes me, and there is no one to help me. >> for these children, it is very difficult to escape the world they were born into. >> in a completely different story now, the world's most popular contemporary art fair gets under way in switzerland on thursday. >> one of the highlights is 14 rooms, and live art exhibit that includes works of superstar

artists. >> there is a surprise lurking behind every door. damien hirst is used to confounding expectations. for this exhibit, he hired identical twins, placing them below his spot paintings. the twins work in shifts. that mixes things up for the visitors. the 14-rooms idea came from the curators at new york's museum of modern art. they wanted to know more about the meaning of art. >> this is about art history, but concretely, this is about human life. i do not think you need any special education to come here.

it is easy to grasp and all its radek halliday, and it still says something about art history. >> visitors to commercial fares usually expect to see paintings or sculptures, but these artworks are very much alive and quite a challenge for some. "for me, it felt like voyeurism," says this woman. first, i was somewhat uneasy, but that quickly turned into fascination. >> thanks for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

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>> we begin in ukraine, where the country's president of just 11 days announced plans today to bring an end to fighting in the east of the country. theowing discussions with russian and german leaders, petro poroshenko is now promising a unilateral cease-fire in what could be a major step towards bringing peace to the country. let's take a listen to what he had to say. >> i can say that's the -- that the period of the cease-fire will be rather short. we