anchor: this is dw news coming to you live from berlin. more than three 70 migrants on board a capsized boat take into italy, but hopes are fading for as many as 200 others still missing. great expectations. ejection officials open a bigger and better -- egyptian officials

open a bigger and better suez canal. will it deliver on its economic promises? test driving the latest offerings as gamescom opens to the public. i'm terry martin. welcome to the program. military vessels and aircraft from several countries have been searching the waters off libya for survivors from a capsized vessel, plunging hundreds of migrants into the sea. hopes of finding anyone alive are fading fast. reporter: they were the lucky ones. more than 20 -- 200 people are feared to have drowns. people rushed to one side of the

boat in desperation. most of the migrants are believed to have been from syria. an irish naval ship arrived in sicily. the crew recovered about 25 bodies on their way to palermo. the second rescue ship belonged to doctors without borders, a global humanitarian group. they have called on the eu to invest more resources in the sech and rescue operation. >> we believe it is very important to manage this operation. to increase resources, specialized resources, people who are used to this kind of rescue. also, most vital, they are -- [indiscernible] reporter: the irish naval vessel

was part of the triton mission after 800 migrants found in april. the human has said -- the u.n. has said that some 24,00 migrants have crossed the mediterranean this year. for these migrants, the dangerous sea crossing is over, but the task of building a new life in europe is only just beginning. terry: earlier, we spoke to our guests in italy, with the u.n. refugee office in rome. we asked whether the increase in migrants crossing the mediterranean constituted a record? >> absolutely. we are seeing record figures at the moment. for sure at the end of the year, we will have reached a new high of refugees and migrants coming to europe. terry: more than 2000 people have drowned during this

dangerous sea crossing. some close to the shores of greece and italy. who would you say is was constable for this -- is responsible for this tragic milestone? guest: unfortunately, there is proof that over 2000 have died. the smugglers are reckless, overloading the boats. secondly, europe has to do more. it is already doing more with aches ended operations -- with expanded operations, which is become a search and rescue operation also, but i think more resources are needed to cope with the situation we see in the mediterranean sea. terry: tell us more about what europe has become one of the main destinations for people fleeing poverty and conflict? guest: europe is not the main destination. the syrians that stay, less than

5% of the syrian refugees. we have sub-saharan refugees, korean refugees. many of them try to, and reach europe. they are not economic migrants. they are refugees and they need a safe place for protection. terry: thank you very much for those insights. our guest from the u.n. refugee agency. it is a vital sea route and a just got an upgrade. egypt's suez canal just reopened after an 8 billion expansio. the government has gone all out to mark the occasion, calling it a public holiday. some critics asked whether in this case bigger is really better. reporter: egyptian president at dell five. cc -- add dell five

to all cc -- al-sisi presented the suez canal. guests celebrated with fireworks and military parades. cairo is trying to promote it as the mideast trailed new maritime super hub. they are hoping it it will become -- the 8 million project was constructed in months. >> the great people of egypt have prevailed on this effort with great physical effort and personal savings. reporter: the construction has been primarily financed their government bonds sold to egyptian citizens. egypt began the project last year to handle bigger ships and enlarge its capacity. more than 100,000 tons of g

oods are shipped through the canal each year. the latest mega container vessels could not squeeze through. nearly a third of the can now has been expanded. two stretches were deepened and widened and a whole new section, 35 kilometers long, has been built. it is forecast that revenue will more than double by 2023. it has been built as egypt's gift to the world, but it comes with a hefty price tag, 8.5 billion dollars paid by ordinary egyptians. will it pay off? economist disagree. the only thing they disagree on, any profit will probably come in the future, maybe the very distant future. that is not the topic here.

the lavish ceremony is billed as a ceremony to hail al-sisi and his presidency and show support for the military. terry: a group connected to the terrorist islamic state organization has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in saudi arabia. the bomber targeted a mosque in the southwest of the country, near the border with yemen. at least 15 were killed in the attack and many more injured. the mosque was used by members of a saudi special forces team. islamic state is making threats in germany, too. a video released on wednesday shows german-speaking jihadists urging germans to "attack nonbelievers." they also threatened the german chancellor. the video in sport wha ends witt

appears to be the killing of two hostages. reporter: the video starts out like most i.s. propaganda films. religious chanting, heavily armed men. they call another's to join us -- they call on others to join the jihad. he promises retribution for germany's military involvement in afghanistan. we will take revenge for the blood of our muslim brothers build in afghanistan. we will take revenge for supplying our enemies here in the islamic state with weapons. he's no stranger in germany. he used to be a preacher in the country's radical salafist movement and in videos like these, he called for a holy war. seven members of the radical salafist movement have traveled from germany to syria. >> the battle zone in syria and iraq continues to be an

attractive destination for young people in germany who want to join a jiad. he inspires other young radicals by showing extreme violence. but the brutality is scaring away the organization's on members. efram b., seen here in court, fled from syria. he told what german fighters can expect. >> they are used as cannon fodder. they are brainwashed until they are ready to die. reporter: more and more ex-i.s. fighters a returning to germany telling similar stories. the latest video may be an effort to counter their influence. terry: earlier we spoke to a terrorism expert and asked how serious this threat is for the german government. guest: well, i think german authorities are aware of around

700 radical muslims that are close to the ideology of the islamic state. some have traveled to syria and father. some of even returned. i do not think they would take this threat more series the necessary. they know that there is no chance for these terrorist to threaten chancellor merkel, as they did in this video and they are also aware of the capabilities of harming germany for the moment are limited. yet, this video is well done propaganda, well done in a technical sense and it will appeal to certain people with weak characters. terry: thank you for that. middle east analyst at there. other stories making headlines around the world today. russia has destroyed tons of contraband food seized by customs officials. products included fruits and vegetables and nine tons of

cheese. the goods were mostly produced in the european union and smuggled into russia in defiance of a ban on western imports. poland has a new presidents. he is a conservative backed by the opposition party which many tipped to win parliamentary elections in october. he used his inauguration speech to call for a greater nato presence in eastern europe. argentina, one of the most eagerly anticipated trials in the country's history has open. the former president standing trial for his alleged involvement in a cover-up of his country's worst ever terrorist attack. the 85-year-old and 12 other defendants are accused of derailing an investigation of the bombing of a jewish community center in what is aris. 85 people were killed in the blast. if convicted, he could face up

to 15 years in prison. my colleague from dw's latin america desk is here to shed light on this complicated case. tell us who is on trial and what exactly they are accused of. reporter: they're facing charges of cover-up, a cover-up of the investigation, derailing the investigation. it's a very curious group of people. not only a former president is included, as well as members of the intelligence community, but the jewish institution that is attacked as also being charged with a cover-up. the entire situation is a very, very curious one. terry: it is hard to wrap your mind or rental of the players in this. what role is the former president alleged to have played. he was not in the court today. is that significant? reporter: it is somewhat significant, but he is a

senator, so he has the capacity to refuse to present himself in court. the people that are being charged are being charged for putting money into one particular suspect to have him essentially accuse policeman in the federal police system that were actually not involved at all. what is very when clear at this point in this is probably a major question they are trying to figure out, is for whose benefit this cover-up was run. terry: earlier this year, a prosecutor who was working on the case died under mysterious circumstances. this sounds like a dangerous case to be working on. reporter: this has a little bit of iran, syria, the night is this, every actor in -- the united states, every actor in the region. this was an attempt at hiding iran's hand in this.

it's not clear what was the fate of the people that actually took over the office -- they're running the case now. we should expect to see the syrian trail, which basically points the finger at the syrian government. terry: very complex indeed. hard to figure out whose interests are being served. thank you very much. >> you're very welcome. terry: stay tuned. we are back in just a minute with more news.

terry: welcome back. you're watching dw news. headlines for you at this hour -- hundred still missing after a boat capsized off the coast of libya -- hundred still missing after a boat capsized off the coast of libya. the egyptian president celebrating major expansion of the suez canal. the cost -- $8 billion.

there are great excitations for egypt's economy. the race for the white house is gaining momentum. tonight, american viewers will get to see the first tv debate in the 2016 campaign. the republican party's leading contenders are going head-to-head on the news channel , but one hopeful has been dominating the polls on the airwaves. our washington correspondent richard walker filed this report. reporter: many people dream of making this thereon. very few get anywhere near, but right now an awful lot of republicans are giving it a try. eckstein men, one woman -- 16 men, one woman, seven governors past and present, a numerous surgeon. one man has been hogging the limelight. donald trump, mobile of real estate and reality tv. he has 23% of support. he has a torrent of bombastic

statements that happen to anger about immigration, trade deals, and u.s. policies as a whole. mr. trump: we are getting ripped. we are being taken apart piece by piece, slowly. slowly. china laughs at us. they laugh at our stupidity. they laughed at our incompetent politicians. reporter: that takes aim at people like the man in second place, jeb bush, the former governor of florida and a member of a presidential dynasty. he is at 13% in the polls. his tone could not be more different. mr. bush: my core believe start with the premise that those who are most vulnerable in our society should be at the front of the line, not the back. reporter: a tone he hopes sets him apart from his rivals.

mr. bush: a lot of people talking are pretty good at it, but we need to start fixing things. reporter: the number three candidate also says he is a fixer, not a talker. scott walker, governor of wisconsin. just under 11%. he has an everyday guy image. now he is trying to bring the same attitude to global issues a president faces. mr. walker: i think the majority of americans know that iran is not a place we should do business with. reporter: but some of walker's message sounds pretty familiar. >> it's not too late. we can make our country great again. >> and we are going to make our country great again. thank you. reporter: but then again none of the debaters would disagree with making america great.

they will just hope their way of saying it will drowned out by donald trump. terry: we stay in the u.s. ben is going to take us over to wall street. reporter: we're going to talk about a hammering of the media companies. yesterday was disney and time warner. who was it today? reporter: yes, really harsh what we are seeing today. 21st century fox and viacom. that stock is some point lost about 20% in value. terry: that is a huge fall. who is to blame? is it the cord cutters, as they are called? reporter: yes, that is one of the main problems and big fears, that more and more people will go away from your usual cable tv and take their content more and more via the internet. if you look at viacom, also

their business was not doing as well. blockbuster movie, transformers, but this year they did not have such a film out. the revenue in the film business dropped by a good 25%, but it's mostly the cord cutters causing concern in the media industry. reporter: that is not really a new trend. it has not come from nowhere. at the same time, these companies are still producing content, whether or not we are getting it through cable tv or the internet. terry: yes -- reporter: yeah, it is indeed fascinating. look at the anecdotal evidence. talk to your family or friends, how may people stopped watching tv via the traditional channels. so, it is definitely nothing new, but there is such a lot of talk also about profit margins

from those media companies that might get them looking. and just to talk about viacom, the stock in the past three months almost lost half of its value. disney lost 9% on wednesday. again, where the big losers here on thursday. but still it seems to be overdone. those massive losses that we have seen just within two trading days. terry: thanks. a lot of losers, but a lot more panic going on. thank you very much. on wall street, one other talking point is oil prices. they dropped again on thursday. there is a global glut right now. that is why prices collapsed over the last year. a barrel sells for less than 50 u.s. dollars. that has hit major producers like the u.s. and iran, but also smaller ones like ghana that has been expanding production in

recent years. now the country is looking for new ways of exploiting its reserves. reporter: ghana has been producing oil for the last few years. 110,000 barrels a day from offshore wells. 70% of ghana's oil revenue will now flowing to the annual budget, with the rest set aside in a holding fund, but the country also plans to expand other sectors. >> we do not want to be a country that relies exclusively on oil, and therefore, we have so many minerals, going to petrochemical. if you take some petrochemicals, what is produced, [indiscernible]

reporter: ghana's economy is not just suffering from falling oil prices. other major sectors are facing a crisis. rising food prices, falling wages, and an inflation rate of over 70% have hit the country hard. the international monetary fund is giving ghana in 19 billion dollar loan for the next three years. foreign investors seem skeptical. they are waiting to see the outcome of next year from presidential election. terry: oh -- >> ok, back over to terry. more fun though, isn't it? terry: yes, it's fun and games. the biggest videogameg convention in the world. amescon.

the industry is not only growing, but it is growing up, with demographics changing and women becoming a bigger part of the market. here's a look at the games becoming a splash. >> [indiscernible] reporter: it does not look very cutting edge, but her story is one of the most original video games to appear this year. form and content are a radical displeasure. the english developer dreamt up the idea. it does not have a studio behind it. just an actress and a database. >> when you play the game, you are set at essentially a police computer from 1994. kind of an old-fashioned computer desktop. when you start the game, there's already this database app which allows you to search this police database, and within it, there are lots and lots of clips of the police interviewing this one woman over the course of seven

interviews talking about her missing husband. reporter: minecraft was a trailblazer for indie gamers. sales are now in the millions. that is reason enough for the film industries to want part of the action. games like star wars: battlefront. smart phones and tablets, with help from social media apps, are the demographics of gamers. women already tend to have a smartphone or a tablet in their bag. then there are games over face that women also use and social platform and browser games. but many are still critical of the way that female figures arbitrating games. >> girls get annoyed that every third character is a bombshell. they need to be a bit more normal.

reporter: like lara croft, for example. the actual hair when used to race around in hot pants. now she wears cargo pants. although still underrepresented, a new generation of women games developers are making their mark. terry: just a reminder of our top story we are following for you before we go. hundreds are still missing after a boat capsized off the coast of libya wednesday. search and rescue teams have taken nearly 400 survivors to italy. you are watching dw news from berlin. more coming up at the top of the hour. and you get the latest news and information around the clock on our website, www.dw.de -- dw.com. thanks for watching. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its captioncontent and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

welcome back. our top stories. ceremony in easy it -- in egypt as the president unveils a new part of the suez canal. it is meant to bring much-needed investment in the country. relatives of those on board mh370 outraged over mixed messages. officials claim that fresh debris was discovered on the island. and a property tycoon turned reality tv star set to dominate the republican debate. do