"journal" on dw-tv. >> and i have the business. >> our headlines -- standard and poor's downgrades the special fund designed to save the euro as the ecb boss says investors should pay less attention to ratings agencies. rescue efforts resume on the wrecked costa concordia. the cruise companies blaming the accident on human error. meryl streep when the golden

globe for her role as the "the iron lady." >> the ratings agency, standard and poor's, has downgraded the european financial stability facility. the special bailout fund set up by eurozone countries to rescue their common currency. the agency lowered the funds credit worthiness by one notch, from aaa to aa +. >> that makes it more expensive for the efsf to raise money to help bail out troubled eu nations. it follows a similar downgrade friday on a number of euros some countries, including france, that contribute. >> the downgrade comes as the european central bank president, mario draghi, called on investors and regulators to rely less on ratings agencies. addressing a committee of the european parliament, he saw to minimize this latest round of

downgrades. >> week as regulators, we should learn to do without ratings. or at least, we should learn to assess creditworthiness in a way in which ratings of credit agencies are one of the many components of our information, rather than expressing regrets or appreciation. i think what we should do is basically learn to either do without them or with them, but to a much more limited extent than we do today. this holds true primarily for regulators, but also for investors and banks. >> french president nicolas sarkozy also downplayed the significance of the ratings agencies. in his first public comments about the downgrade of his country's debt, he shrugged off the decision, saying it will not derail france's plans to

reform its budget. he added pressure on s&p, stating that the attitude of ratings agencies still give france a aaa. >> the s&p downgrade has put the u.s. ratings agency under fire. nine eurozone countries were affected. standard and poor's confirmed germany's top rating, but the decision to downgrade its eurozone neighbors as befuddled some economists. >> first, i do not think this ratings adjustment is convincing. persuasive 18, 20, or even 12 months ago. and i think the reference to economic reasons is least convincing. >> economists said politicians have already got the message and are on board with the austerity measures as a result. s&p's decision leaves few years on countries with top ratings. after the downgrade of france and austria, just four countries in the currency union still

posed a aaa status. italy was also downgraded, despite passing tough reforms last month. the country's cost-cutting also convinced investors. italy auctioned off billions in government bonds last week at the lowest interest rates in six months. that has left eu officials shaking their heads at s&p's move. >> the timing is odd, just because it came at the end of -- after several positive developments, not only by the country's, and efforts made to mr. shall reforms announced in key member states over the past three months, like france, italy, and spain. >> many politicians, including the german finance minister, are repeating calls to limit the influence of ratings agencies. >> back to meggin leigh. >> thank you. the captain and normally goes

down with the ship, but in the case of the costa concordia, which capsized over the weekend off the coast of italy, questions are being asked as to why the captain, francesco schettino, left in the middle of the rescue operation. the company that operated the vessel is blaming him for the disaster which killed at least six people. meanwhile, bad weather briefly halted rescue worker earlier today, but the search for survivors continues. >> hope is fading that anyone will be found alive inside the reactor vessel. divers have been scouring submerged sections of the liner to find survivors or to recover the bodies of the dead. >> it is not an easy mission on such a big and complex ship. lots of objects are moving in there now. furniture, beds, cupboards. it will be dangerous, and we have to be very careful. >> the luxury liner was carrying

more than 4000 passengers and crew when it struck a rock off the coast of a small island. the ship's captain has been accused beensailing the vessel for too close to the coast, and prosecutors say proper evacuation procedures were not followed. >> it does not look good for the captain. we're more or less certain that he abandoned ship before all passengers had left safely. >> the cruise company has also blamed captain francesco schettino for the disaster. >> captain francesco schettino took a decision on his own which is contrary to our rules. our written and certified rules that any captain must follow. >> a decision that seems to have

cost the lives of at least six people. >> united nations secretary- general ban ki-moon is calling on the security council to get serious with damascus, saying the situation in syria has become unacceptable. the u.n. estimates that more than 5000 people have been killed in syria during the government's 10-month crackdown. and in the east near the lebanese border, army deserters are fighting back. >> this video reportedly shows ribble surry fighters on patrol in the town of zabadani. the fighters said they belong to the free syrian army, and they are standing guard to protect residents from government troops and president bashar al- assad. >> every day they are destroying homes. they have brought in tanks. they are attacking from all sides. but, god willing, they will not be able to enter this area

again, as long as we are breathing. >> many of the fighters in this town deserted the army. they have faced a stiff challenge from the saw's forces, who attacked zabadani again on the weekend. this, despite the arab observer mission in the country, which has been unable to stop the bloodshed. the u.n. secretary-general has sharpened his tone, renewing his call for international action. >> i know that there are some differences of opinions among the member states of the security council. but the number of casualties have reached to such an unacceptable stage, we cannot let this situation continue this way. it is my urgent appeal. >> but these men have already given up on the security council. instead, they intend to fight for freedom. >> the pakistani supreme court has begun contempt proceedings

against the country's prime minister. it is a move that threatens to intensify the political crisis in pakistan. the court has now ordered prime minister gilani to appear on thursday to explain why he has refused to reopen a corruption case against the president. gilani says the president is immune from prosecution while in office. it seems that some german companies are going to work harder for a made in germany level. >> exactly, but not just yet. some companies are breathing a sigh of relief, because the european commission had been considering a law that would make it difficult for some companies to attach the quality stamp made in germany on to their products. while that law was up for debate and would have required a higher percentage of the product to be made in germany in order for it to carry that label. but for now, the law is off the table. >> this washing machine is made in germany. those three words are is still a

quality worldwide. as they apply, even if 90% of the individual components are produced abroad, as long as the final assembly takes place in germany. the eu is considering tougher requirements to get the seal, but berlin says the proposal is now off the table. >> i am pleased that the european commission has made it clear it is no longer thinking about changing the seal. i see this as an end to the debate on the european level. that means german companies can continue to use the made in germany label. >> but the commission says it was never tried to establish new rules for goods exported from the eu. instead, brussels said the goal is agreeing to uniform levels for products imported to europe. >> all right, let's get a check on the market's big stocks closed higher in europe. our correspondent has more from frankfurt on what drove the action. >> the first test of france's

creditworthiness after the downgrade went quite well. france successfully managed to borrow fresh money on the money markets. news which contributed to the optimism at the exchange here at the beginning of the week. just like the news that the european central bank bought government bonds in the course of last week worth nearly 3.8 billion euros, three times more than during the previous week. orthodox monetary politicians might not like to hear this, but still, the ecb supports the markets this way. it supports banks and governmens. >> let's get a closer look at the trade in europe. stocks are closing the u.s. for public holiday. in frankfurt, the dax closed the day in positive territory, 1.25% higher. the euro stoxx 50 also had a positive day. the euro gaining ground against the dollar, but the general trend is lower. $1.2664. the german carmakers volkswagen

and bmw say they are recalling more than half a million vehicles due to technical problems. vw announced a recall of more than 300,000 cars with diesel engines the models produced cents to dozen i could have possible problems due to cracks in the fuel injection system. bmw subsidiary mini is recalling 235,000 vehicles produce between 2006 and 2010. the circuit board could overheat, leading to a potential fire. the organization for security and cooperation in europe says sunday's election in kazakhstan was neither free nor fair. kazakh officials say 80% of the votes went to the ruling nur otan party, but in a nod to the market succumbed to the opposition parties will enter parliament for the first time. >> official kazakh newspapers hailed the result, while the

government of the president called the elections democratic. but independent observers beg to differ. monitors said the poll this regard a basic democratic principles and excluded many political groupings. several videos have appeared on the internet which claim to show electoral fraud, including the mass stepping up ballot boxes. but the government has denied any wrongdoing or manipulation and said the official results would stand. those give the party more than 80% of the vote. the people's communist party and the business friendly party will also hold seats in parliament, but neither are critical of the government. >> that means that parliament remains de facto in the hands of the government party. the other two parties are no real opposition. they are only needed as extras. >> the opposition social

democrats have refused to recognize the results. they have called on their supporters to protest. demonstrations could begin as soon as tuesday. >> in nigeria, labor unions say they are spending nationwide strikes over rising fuel prices which have crippled the country. this comes after president jonathan offered to reinstate subsidies to keep gas prices low. >> soldiers have been deployed on the streets deployedlagos for the first time since the protest erupted a week ago. the union said now suspended the strikes after a partial concession by the president. he has agreed to reintroduce some subsidies, to cut the price of petrol, but it will still be more expensive than it was last month. >> -- suffered by nigerians.

consideration in consultations, the state governments and the national assembly approved the reduction of the price of petrol. >> but many nigerians are still angry. they seek government subsidies on petrol as the only benefit they get from nigeria's huge oil wealth. >> let's shift to the movies, and the stars were out in hollywood on sunday for the golden globe awards. the night's highlights included a veteran actress meryl streep, who picked up another golden glow in the best actress category. another feature of the evening was a silent black-and-white french film which also managed to scoop up a few wins. here is more from the world of entertainment. >> the awards were hosted by british comedian ricky gervais. >> if you do not know, the golden globes are just like the oscars, but without all that the steam. -- esteem. [laughter]

the golden globes are to the oscars with kim kardashian is to kate middleton, basically. [laughter] but louder, a bit trash year, and a bit drawner. >> as the evening of all the, hollywood legend meryl streep and picked up her record they meet -- record-breaking eighth award for playing for in's "the iron lady." she got the award for best dramatic actress for her portrayal of margaret thatcher. then came the surprise of the evening, the french seinfield "the artist" swept the golden gloves, getting the best comedy and best original score. written and directed by michel hazanavicius, the film transports viewers to the 1920's, telling the tale of a silent film star and his fall from grace. ♪

the start playing the star, jean dujardin, also won over the hollywood foreign press association, which awarded him best comedic actor for the world. >> we continue with "in depth" coming up next. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> you would like to study in germany? and you still have got lots of questions?

all you need to know about studying in germany is here. information on courses, admission requirements, qualifications, costs, and much more. www.dw-world.de/studyingermany, the first port of call for anyone interested in studying in germany. >> welcome back. we continue our broadcast with a look at tolerance and what it means. tolerance has become so important in our modern world that the united nations has given issued a formal declaration on its principles. it shapes many of the values it shapehat make up a democratic society. tolerance is the willingness to recognize and respect the beliefs and practices of others. but, every day, we're report here on acts of war, violence, and ethnic conflicts, all mostly a result of intolerance. throughout history, millions of people have died for their beliefs and expressing their

opinions in pursuit of a more accepting environment. many people suffer in the name of intolerance, be it for their religion, for their sexual orientation, or simply for their bad habits. here is a look at some examples. ♪ >> street violence in cairo, cautions are commonplace between muslims and coptic christians, one of egypt's religious minorities. simply being a small group with a different world view can be reason enough to attract hostility and aggression from the majority. respecting diversity can be a major challenge in the globalized world. never before have so many different cultures and values existed side by side. but that does not always make for openness or tolerance. >> i have experienced it myself. i am homosexual, so people give you funny looks or shout things that you. not all the time, but sometimes.

>> i think it is that the foreigners cannot vote, even if they have lived here for a long time and pay taxes. i find that intolerance. >> if people smoke at the train station and i say the smoke bothers me, they can get aggressive. they are intolerant, and that happens daily. >> you can tolerate somebody enjoying a cigarette after a meal. and i am saying that as a nonsmoker. >> history has shown religion to be one of humanity's great divider is. fate has often been a tool of the powerful, misused and misdirected to generate hate and conflict. for centuries, christians in europe burned hair takes at the stake. it was not until the enlightenment that philosophers start tolerance into a moral comparative -- imperative. >> we must begin as a sitting

tolerance, not just with accepting other opinions, but with a higher value -- we must begin accepting tolerance. that different beliefs can enrich us. and to use a hackney word, can make us sustainable. >> simple in theory, but tolerance faces real-life obstacles in big cities such as berlin, where a quarter of the population have a non-german background. the debate often is not about acceptance but assimilation. >> i think foreigners living here in germany should do more to fit in. >> what should they do? >> they should be like us. >> i agree. no veils. you can put up with that if you are tolerant. >> i think it is difficult when other cultures do not really accept us, when they isolate themselves and keep to their own cultural circles. >> the freedom to follow your

choice of lifestyle and religion is guaranteed in germany's constitution, as long as you do not impinge on the rights of others. >> communists have a role to play, and they're facing very big challenges when it comes to promoting tolerance. international organizations are also keeping an eye on the government's. where they are failing in this task in not giving their citizens the corresponding freedoms. >> those failings are often in the headlines. last year in moscow, police violate -- a violently broke of a gay pride parade, a reminder of the intolerance faced by homosexuals in russia. when a majority constantly turns against a minority, how can that cycle be broken? >> if we can see how a person

has the pension tool -- potential to enrich our experience of the world, then we would change how we deal with that person. >> of being tolerant, recognizing the right to be different in that light, diversity does not have to be a burden on society. but a gift that enhances everyone's lives. >> well, there is a lot of truth in that, and i am sure we could all stand to be more tolerant of one another. that also applies to the world of sports. our next report is on the jewish soccer club here in berlin that has a place on the field for non-jewish players. the team says that makes for a winning strategy. >> he is a german-turkish muslim. and this man was born in ukraine

and is jewish. both played for the men's soccer team at the sports club here. both players say there is no room for disputes over culture or religion. >> we live in berlin. we have to be able to get on with everyone, and we want to be aware of the size tolerance in soccer, because fairness and respect belong in sports. >> his parents are happy their son plays for the jewish soccer club, and they admire its openness. >> my family has no problems with the team. they say it is could the muslims are accepted and the jewish club and that there muslims on the team. >> but the policy of respect and tolerance does not always rub off on their soccer opponents. >> opposing teams have often

lost a lot of games, and they get aggressive. they look for something to exploit. when they are playing against us, it is the team's jewishness and everything connected. >> both jewish and muslim players have been the brunt of anti-semitic insults. three years ago, a match was abandoned because of abuse. at this game, there are no verbal attacks or red cards. and this group ran out winners. the roots go back to a jewish sports club founded in berlin at the end of the 19th century. it was banned in 1938 by the nazis, and many of the members were persecuted, even murder. after it was refunded in 1970, they may promoting dialogue between jews and non-jews a top

priority. for the team coach, encouraging tolerance has benefits that go beyond sport. >> i believe that this board can make a major contribution towards that in certain sections of society. i am a little uneasy with the word tolerant. being tolerant means putting up with someone. you do not have to put up with anything. i respect my players and opponents, so i am not putting up with them. i am accepting them as they are. >> his players said the best way to earn respect is by winning matches. >> we are successful. we are a multi-cultural team, and that is the important thing. at the end of the day, i think we're also accepted when we're not playing soccer. >> the team puts tolerance to the test in germany, both on and off the pitch.

>> and that is all we have time for this hour here on dw-tv. thank you for joining us. stay tuned. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- ♪ ♪ ♪