>> welcome to "the journal," coming to you from berlin. >> good to have you with us. here come our headlines. germany basks in world cup glory after beating and -- beating argentina in an extra time thriller. >> kiev accuses russia of shooting down a military plane. >> the wreck of the costa concordia cruise liner is successfully raised. now it's off to the scrap yard. >> number four is in the bag --

germany has scored world cup victory beating argentina in the final in revision arrow, but it didn't -- in rio de janeiro, but it didn't come easy. >> they clashed in spectacular style. they couldn't get past each other's defenses -- that is, until late in extra time. >> all the hard work finally paid off. after almost 120 minutes of nailbiting deadlock, germany emerged world champions. >> we kept upping our game. we didn't let them distract them. at the end, we were world champions. it is an unbelievable feeling. >> both sides put up a fight and both sides had chances. urgency and a had the first chance after a failed -- argentina had the first chance after a failed head pass. higuain shot wide.

germany's best chance in the first half came off of this header. again, no goal. after the changeover, germany had a clear firing line but failed to convert. in extra time, still no goal. >> i think it is because we lacked punch in the goal zone. we didn't convert on our chances. that's why we lost the match. >> the decisive moment didn't come until the 113th minute when this kick was set up for mario goetze, ceiling germany's world cup -- sealing germany's world cup victory. >> everyone added so much team spirit that everyone was pushed onwards to reach this goal. >> what we pulled off today is unbelievable. i don't think we can really enjoy it yet or even begin to

realize how big a deal this is. we know we are world champions, but i think at this stage it might be easier for people outside the team to understand what that really means. >> it was a tough piece of work. the players pushed themselves farther than ever before to achieve something they never have before, taking this trophy back home with them. >> the three-star team now has a fourth under its belt. >> you should have seen the locker room -- the german president and chancellor were there. the players were singing. some may have had a drink or two. kids were jumping around. everyone was having a great time. the team deserved it. they really were a team. >> it is germany's first world cup title since east and west germany were reunited. for mannschaft and for german soccer fans, a dream come true.

>> what was it like to be in the stadium in rio de janeiro for this game? >> we ask our correspondent who was there as the historic action unfolded. >> i imagine it was very different the last -- to the last time the world cup was decided in americana th. it is hard to feel the connection to history in there. at the same time, the huge contingent of argentine fans did their best to make it a raucous atmosphere. they belted out their anthem. they whistled and booed the germans. they teased any brazilian fans they could spy in the crowd. the germans were out of their seats for every german attack, even if they did get frustrated with the over elaboration sometimes germany was guilty of in front of the goal. being able to spot the mountains peeping over the rooftop of the stadium from where i was sitting -- a reminder that we were in

rio, which has been an incredible city to call home for the last month. >> we'll have much more analysis on the world cup and a look at the social media reaction to germany's win later in the program. >> turning to international news, in ukraine, the government says a military transport plane has been shut down in the country's east. kiev says the aircraft was probably shot down from russian territory. there's no word yet on casualties. >> the plane was hit southeast of the city of --, where ukrainian army forces and pro-russian separatists are still engaged in heavy fighting. >> on the new front line of eastern ukraine's war, heavy fighting is causing more and more damage. a school building was partly destroyed as government troops moved into the city. the army is trying to round the center of luhansk, but civilians

are being caught in the crossfire. >> as you see, the walls are still standing after a massive attack, but the school sustained serious damage. a female guard at the school was killed. she didn't have time to hide in the basement. >> the war has also reached the doorstep of southeast ukraine's biggest city, donetsk. insurgents are still in control of the city center. in recent days, separatists have concentrated most of their forces here. so, the government has instead focused on luhansk, 150 kilometers to the east of donetsk. in the city suburbs, panic is mounting as the fighting intensifies. the struggle for eastern ukraine is again escalating. the conflict is exacting an ever bloodier toll. >> and our correspondent joins us now from kiev.

what more can you tell us about the plane that was shot down? >> we still do not know what exactly brought down that plane. it was a military transport plane. we know that it was flying very high, some 6000 meters high. here in kiev, the government sees it as proof that it was shot down probably either by a very modern russian missile, which is now in possession -- which is something the separatists now have, or it was probably shot down by a russian plane from the russian territory. this is what the government here presumes, but there is no evidence for that, and we still do not know what happened to the crew. some eight people were on board, seven of them crew members. at least most of them -- russian media reported the separatists could capture some four or five of those

crewmembers, but those reports are only from the russian side. we have no confirmation from kiev yet. >> we saw in our report that the fighting is escalating once again. what is the state of the government's offensive at this point? >> at the moment, it looks like a stalemate. either side is winning. the pro-russian separatists are controlling the biggest cities, like donuts and -- like donetsk and luhansk. the ukrainian army is taking back some smaller towns and villages, but there is no huge success for the ukrainian army. observers in kiev do not believe the situation will change in the coming weeks, probably in august, but not before that. ukrainian government is pressing on the european union and asking it to impose economic sanctions against russia during the e.u. summit in brussels later this week, so this is going to be an

issue in the coming days in kiev. >> still a long raod ahead -- -- a long road ahead for both sides. >> news from another troubled region. the german foreign minister has urged israel and palestinian forces to avoid an escalation of violence in that region. the minister made the comments in jordan while on his visit to the middle east. >> meanwhile, the israeli army has continued its bombing of hamas positions in the gaza strip for a seventh consecutive day. reports indicate the armed wing of hamas used a drone in an attempted attack on israel. however, the drone was shot down by the israeli military. as israel continues its offensive, the death toll in gaza is rising. at least 175 people have been killed so far. the majority of them, civilians. >> thousands have been fleeing the violence as anger over israel's campaign grows. >> these protesters in the city

of ramallah are holding up signs calling for an independent palestine. this time it is just a small group, but the number of spontaneous demonstrations in the west bank is growing. many people here are upset about israel's military offensive in gaza, which is just 90 minutes away by car. >> we are not the problem. israel is. israel started the war but says that hamas is responsible. that will never pave the way for peace. >> most palestinians believe they are being punished collectively. they were already angered by the israeli military operation in the west bank after the kidnapping and murder of three teenaged jewish settlers. then came the revenge murder of a young palestinian. >> the people are not sitting idle. they are restless. they express support to their brothers and sisters in gaza.

they are complaining on social media and different institutions. -- they are running campaigns on social media and different institutions. there is clear evidence this is not a war on gaza. this is a war on palestine. >> in the west bank, the situation is still fairly peaceful. the. atmosphere is slowly heating up the authorities -- the atmosphere is slowly heating up. the act or these -- the authorities don't know how long they will be able to -- >> the blockade of gaza has to be lifted and the palestinian state has to be created that includes the west bank and gaza. that would solve the problems of the people in gaza and mean security for israel. >> but it appears the divide between the two sides is growing, despite diplomatic efforts. a political solution is nowhere in sight. >> the pakistani teenager who survived the taliban an assassination attempt has marked

her 17th birthday with a visit to nigeria. >> she made up personal appeal -- a personal appeal to the islamist group, boko haram, to release 219 schoolgirls who were kidnapped three months ago. she says nigerian president goodluck jonathan promised he would meet with the abducted girls' parents. they have been staging rallies begging him to negotiate with the militants. the church of england's governing body has voted to allow women bishops. the move overturned centuries of tradition and the anglican church that has been divided over the issue -- of tradition in the anglican church that has been divided over the issue. >> just two years ago, a similar measure failed. the senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing women to take up senior positions. reformers have wanted to protect a more modern image of the church as it struggles with falling conversations increasingly secular countries.

--- with falling congregations in increasingly secular countries. >> nadine gordimer has died. >> she wrote 15 novels and many volumes of short stories. she was 90 years old. we take a look now at her life and legacy. >> true to character, nor dean -- nadine gordimer smiled modestly at the honor of having her profile put on a south african point. she spoke softly but powerfully in her life and in her novels. mortimer was born near johannesburg in 1923. her parents were jewish immigrants from europe to g started writing early, was married, and became a mother. -- from europe. she started writing early, was married, and became a mother. she joined the african national congress and supported it by hiding activists from police. in justice was a major theme --

injustice was a major theme in her work. >> my characters, drawn from the life around me, were experiencing the political pressures and the rising force of the liberation movement. >> her books were frequently banned because of their criticism of apartheid. but outside of south africa, she became a superstar. her books were translated into dozens of languages. in 1991, she received the nobel prize for literature. gordimer was one of the first people nelson mandela visited when he was let out of prison. >> it is up to us to now move on, to fulfill further the freedoms, the lack of racism, the terrible inequalities that he had begun. >> we have to take a short break. coming up, two years after the coast of concordia disaster, the ship is finally read floated --

finally re-floated. >> we have world cup loadings with the chancellor and rihanna. more world cup coverage to come. >> welcome back. we will go to a massive logistical operation that could have gone wrong at any time -- removing the costa concordia. >> the cruise liner sank two years ago just off the coast of italy. 32 people died. now it has been successfully re-floated. >> this is the first time a ship of this size has been raised to be towed away for scrapping. >> time lapse images of the operation showed the battered giant gaining buoyancy for the first time in 2 1/2 years. hours earlier, salvage crews started pumping air into huge flotation tanks attached outside of the cruise ship's hull. experts say everything is so far

going according to plan. >> the ship is on even keel and floating again. systems are working very well. i think we've seen a great start of this operation. let's move forward. >> in the next few days, crews will raise the vessel another 10 meters and prepare it for its final journey. residents here can hardly wait. >> we are hoping not 100% but 300% that everything goes well and they take this away with success, that they removed as quickly as possible this testimony to human weakness. >> the re-floating operation is due to be completed by the end of the week. the coast of concordia will then be towed to its home port in genoa. its final journey will mark the end of one of the biggest and

most expensive salvage operations in history. costs stand at around 1.5 billion euros. >> let's turn the business news now. a certain german sports apparel giant is basking in a world cup bonanza. here is more from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> adidas was amply rewarded for the success in rio. it was the sponsor of both finalists of argentina and of the title winner germany, and rewarded for that contract with manchester united. adidas gained very strongly. the world cup in brazil and rio was the topic for the day. people discussed that the whole day. some people, traders came with a jersey from the german team to work here.

it must be said that it is not always the case that the stock market people here are way up front. >> a four-star day at the frankfurt stock exchange. the dax finished up more than 1% to close at 9783. the euro stoxx 50 also gained. in new york city, the dow jones industrial average is trading about 0.68% up. the euro is slightly up against the dollar, 1.3621 at the moment. >> back to our world cup coverage, argentina's augustine has arrived home to thousands of cheering fans. >> the squad accompanied the coach to the argentine training camp. germany beat argentina in agreement -- in a grueling world cup final. argentina last won the world cup

back in 1986. german media are calling him the father of germany's world cup triumph, jauchim -- joachim lowe. >> a decade ago, he faced an uncertain future after being sacked by an austrian club. >> he has had to work hard and for a long time to prove his critics wrong. >> it is the biggest success of joachim low's career. low has put his stamp on the national side over the last decade. he joined the team in 2004 as assistant coach for juergen klinsmann. they led the side to the third-place in the 2006 world cup hosted by germany. and after taking the top job, he only took on players who fitted

his vision of modern, attacking soccer. >> you need personalities. you need players with leadership potential and young, dynamic players, too. >> the first of the new generation of talented, young players. they were soon joined by others. low's squad developed a new signature style that found a global following. still, the coach himself failed -- struggled to gain respect at home. germany performed well in the big tournaments but appeared unable to win the big games. when germany lost to italy two years ago, many blamed low, but now he has come good. >> this was a game for the ages. to be the first europeans to win this title in south america,

americana, in rio, in this great soccer country. we've had 10 years of hard work and we steadily got better and believed in ourselves, and now our time had come. >> what is next for the germany coach? will he retire and go out with a bang question mark or with the finish out his contract, coaching the team through the championship. low says he doesn't know what his move will be. for now, he has silenced his critics with the biggest trophy in soccer. >> let's talk more about germany's wing -- win. germany waited a long time for this one. the first since 1990. what is different about the team this time around? >> there does -- is a lot of difference between this team and the old german team.

they always talk about the german virtues. never give up, never stop until the very end. when you look back, germany was never a team like brazil, but times have changed. brazil aren't brazil in the more. joachim low has gone with the times and adopted some other measures. he has brought the passion to this side. he wants them to play a fast, attacking style of football. this team has also been accused of not having those german virtues. there was too much flair, too much passion. i think they got the mixture just right. we saw the seven goals against brazil. they got knocked down over and over and never gave up.

they scored that goal and became the world cup champions. >> the first european side to win in south america. they absolutely shellacked the hosts along the way. is this a shift in the balance of power in international foot all? >there is -- international football? >> there is somewhat of a shift. if you look behind the scenes, remember that eight out of the nine teams from the americas made it to the qualifying rounds. four of them played against each other and not each other -- and knocked each other out. france did well and holland. look at the big teams, italy, spain, england, portugal, all knocked down in the first round. not a great advertisement for european football. teams like colombia and costa rica surprised everyone. there has been a shift in balance, but not as dramatic as people may think. >> something to look forward to

in the next world cup tournament. thanks for joining us from dw's sportsdesk. hundreds of millions of people watched the world cup final, but it seems many were watching with one eye on their second screen. >> a record number of people turned to twitter. in the first minute after the match, some 600,000 tweets were sent. >> others turned to facebook or youtube to congratulate or commiserate. here are a few responses that caught our eye. >> argentine steak is so yesterday. sausage and sauerkraut, now the food of champions. or a slice of germany pie. >the team hadn't even left the pitch before social networks were already a buzz. the germans going home with the trophy while argentina's hopes were blown away. it is star number four for germany. ikn -- in a papal duel, benedict

wins against his argentine successor. germany's supporters ranged from the extraterrestrial to the very powerful. low's boys are the men of the moment. mario goertz -- mario goetze lived up to his name. team spirit. argentine steak was no match for germany's appetite for glory. >> germany will return to berlin on tuesday to show off the trophy. >> we will leave you with some impressions from what has been a spectacular world cup.

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>> good evening. seven days have now passed since israel began its offensive in the gaza strip. israeli authorities say the operation is in response to heavy rocket fire from the densely populated territory and over the course of the past week, more than 1300 air strikes have been carried out, claiming the lives of at least 177 palestinians, amongst them dozens of civilians. palestinian militants meanwhile raunched 1,000 rockets. so far there's no israeli fatalities. for the first time monday they launched an unmanned aerial