>> this is "the journal" on dw tv. >> thank you for joining us. >> our headlines this hour -- activists in cairo said the military must end its grip on power. people in morocco boycott. and bubbling up for a nasty ride. nasa gets ready for its first flight to mars.

just days ahead of elections in egypt, tens of thousands of protesters are in tahrir square to protest the immediate into the army rule. protesters say the new prime minister is part of the old guard and accused the military of trying to cling to power. >> tens of thousands in tahrir square . >> many came earlier for friday prayers. crowds were calling for egypt's military rulers to go home now. he is one of the country's most well-known democracy campaigners. few believe that prime minister will deliver on reforms. he has been given more powers

than his predecessor, but egyptians remain doubtful of his leadership capabilities. >> he cooperated with the old regime. now he is too old and will not honor young people's demands. >> but not all egyptians want to see a speedy change. in cairo, some 5000 people gathered to show their support for the military council. >> who will lead the country if the military council steps down? they need to stay on to ensure a peaceful transition. >> opinion among each of population is divided. most of the military to turnover power immediately to a civilian government. many are disillusioned with the fact that the election process will likely take months.

>> our correspondent joins us earlier and told us more about the mood at the huge demonstration. >> one of the main things is that the riots stopped and since yesterday we do not have more clashes with the police. this is a different atmosphere. but still, the same demand. still the same demand that the military council should withdraw from politics. >> how much support to the protesters have among the wider population and the political parties? >> i think the political parties are widely represented at the square. still you can see others at the square. this is public opinion, how big

it has become for the demonstrators. i think public opinion is split. some of them think the military is the reason this country does not move forward. and others say it is the demonstrators with their constant protests that are keeping the country from moving forward. >> the prime minister has given his first press conference. what impression did he make? >> what did he say? he said not before monday, but it remains completely unclear how much power, and much power is with the military council. the military council is looking very skeptically at this. >> thank you. and later on this half-hour, we will be taking an in-depth look at the situation in egypt ahead

of plans the next week. syria has ignored an arab league deadline for allowing monitors into the country. officials say that could mean economic sanctions as early as saturday. pro-democracy protests continue in syria with tens of thousands taking to the streets following friday prayers. witnesses say at least 10 people were killed in holms. al-assad allowed protesters into syria, but so far only 40 have been allowed in. after king muhammed seated powers to the spillover of the uprisings elsewhere in the region. the u.s. and other allies will closely watch the results of the election to see how the north african country is navigating its own era spring.

>> candidates from 31 parties are in the running. the moderate islamist justice and development party has also drawn support. it depends on the enthusiasm of the people to head to the polls. >> we hope voter turnout exceeds 50%. >> feeling the pressure of the arab spring, can muhammed vi -- kind muhammed vi called for the election a year earlier. the cause of all and on deaf ears in some cases. >> voting is a national activity. with all of the developments our country has witnessed an -- witness lightly, young people are going to be more interested in politics. >> it is unlikely they will be able to form a government on the

run. and that will mean an alliance, or even a coalition between the islamists and the liberal bloc. >> a group of kidnappers in mali have reportedly abducted three tourists and another. is believed to have been carried out by the al-qaeda organization in northern mali. a train carrying nuclear waste across the country has been repeatedly halted by protesters. the train was returning 11 containers of highly radioactive material for processing in france. earlier today, it was delayed for several hours after crossing the border from france. >> the convoy carrying more than 150 tons of nuclear waste crossed into germany a day later than planned.

authorities have been trying to keep it quiet, but that has not stop the protests. the police had to remove activists from the tracks. security forces are bracing for bigger and possibly violent protests this weekend. that is when the train approaches its final destination. the nuclear waste ships have galvanized germany's anti- nuclear movement for years. it is predicted they will be out in force. >> there are people exercising their right to spontaneous demonstration. safety levels have been exceeded, and these containers also limit radiation. >> this is probably the last shipment of its kind, and the german nuclear industry agreed to stop sending fuel for reprocessing and in 2005.

>> germany's green party is celebrating its most successful year in politics. at a party convention, leaders say they are moving well beyond just green issues. the country's nuclear phase-out was top of the agenda. now they are focusing on financial issues as well. and also the plan to rescue the euro zone from its debt crisis. they plan to become the king makers in the 2013 elections. speaking of the debt crisis, italy. not having a good time. >> all fresh ideas are welcome at this point. do you have any suggestions? it is new government that a clear message friday. midmarket expected to move immediately on market reforms. on the bond auction, yields rose further to 6.5%. interest on the longer-term debt soared far above levels that are sustainable for public

financing in italy. just one day after the new leader mario monti met with leaders in germany and france but failed to make progress, he received his military affairs commissioner. >> he wasted no time in getting to rome to quiz the new leader on the economic plans. the eu's military affairs commissioner promised to support mario monti. >> also, i first and foremost and concerned about economic reforms. to protect growth and jobs. >> so far, monti's appointment has failed to convince investors italy has our report on strategy. rahm had to pay a yield of 7.2% -- rome i did a yield of 7.2% on

bonds. portugal has had to offer similar rates to drum up fresh capital. >> this is touching approximately at the core and the core itself. it shows this is an increasingly systemic phenomena and. >> the increasing nervousness in markets is unsettling for european governments. so much so that italy and france have met up for additional changes to the european stability fund. >> rating agencies are at it again. standard and poor's has downgraded belgium's credit one notch. the reason? the country's record-breaking political impasse. it has been going on for a

record-breaking 19 months now. slowing growth as well. massive economic problems for government to tackle that does not even exist. well, european shares did manage to climb on the last day of the trading week. eu policymakers at been discussing a proposal to drop private-sector involvement from their bailout mechanism. we have this from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the german market, we have seen almost 10 days of losses. it was applauded when the german dax reached positive territory. the mood remains highly nervous. the record yield italy has to pay for fresh money demonstrates the ongoing mistrust.

traders back this week with a very bad feeling. >> we can stay for a clot -- a closer look at friday's numbers, and then a look at the blue chip. the euros stocks 50, also finishing -- eurostoxx 50. across the atlantic, the doubt finished a shortened -- the dow finished a shortened session. the russian prime minister vladimir couldn't announced a $14 billion -- vladimir putin announced a $14 billion rescue plan for belarus. russia wins complete control over the belarus's gas pipeline

network. >> the bill russian president alexander wishing go -- desperately needs russian assistance. prime minister putin pledged support. >> on average, european customers will have to pay for in dollars per cubic meter of natural gas next year. the price for belarus will be $164. >> in exchange for the discount, the russian energy giant gasprom will take control of the gas pipeline. >> it is certainly clear who was dominating the economic front. = status is -- equal status is

an allusion. >> mask go double its previously guaranteed loan for the project -- moscow -- is bruce the guaranteed loan for the project. russia is belarus' me friend as long as belarus is isolated from the eu. the country's political independence could still change. >> now for space exploration news. >> awesome. it is nasa's latest mission to mars. at cape canaveral on saturday -- is cargo at $2.5 billion mars science laboratory and march rover which is caused curiosity. >> after a nine-month journey to the red planet, the probe is program to descend to a

specific landing spot where it will deploy. curiosity has the most advanced scientific payload ever used on mars and weighs five times more than its predecessors. for the next 23 months, it will broadcast martian weather reports back to worth, monitor climates, and explore the surface of the planet. and an onboard laser will analyze the chemical makeup of stones on the surface. the two-meter long robotic arm -- the instrument head has a drill that can penetrate into lower-level rocks. it is all part of the quest to answer the age-old puzzle of whether there has ever been any life on mars. the curiosity mission will also pioneer precision landing method crucial for larger missions to descend on the red planet. >> onto sports now, and the top-

ranked tennis player is in danger of elimination from the atp world tournament. he lost 2 sets to one. in depth is up next. stay with us.

welcome back. anger in egypt is growing again. now the anger is directed to the ruling military council. earlier this year, the protesters led to the ousting of president hosni mubarak. but the people are disappointed on the military's promise to hand over power. the hopes for a new egypt are slowly being crushed. >> it has been three weeks since we first met these young activists at the demonstration

in cairo. they have not been able to draw many people to their group. but now, they are calling for an end to military rule. many of the group's activists were arrested. their alleged crime? insulting the military. >> they said they would stay in power for six months, but nothing has changed. they have broken all promises. >> the activists are on the move to tahrir square. so far they have not been able to set up their own political party. >> we're trying to explain to people how they should vote. does not for politicians to have their own that -- just not for politicians to have their own interests at heart. >> they represent the young, smiling face of the new egypt. but now they say the population at large is losing interest in

the. >> the claim and there is unrest. there is no freedom. the revolution is not over yet. >> he is 24 years old. he studied marketing. but like many young egyptians, he has no job. even though he is a practicing muslim, he fears the islamists as much as the military. he is helping democracy will prevail. in the delta, is some town. his parents still live here. he knows the farmers and their reservations about the revolution. the older man complains about the way prices shot up after the revolution. the economy is on its knees. he tries to extol the virtues of democracy, but he does not get a

positive reception here. >> before, mubarak's people would come by and it cannot presence, money. people voted for mubarak and thought everything would be good. >> his parents are proud of him. his father consistently believed egypt needed new energy. >> the january revolution gave you the feeling that egypt had won back the respect of the world. >> in cairo, they give voice to their anger. he has returned to the capitol as one of his friends as been killed. police arrested his friend, they say without reason. he was tortured to death in prison. his friends consults his mother outside the morgue. she spoke with your son shortly before his death. he begged her to get him out of the prison. they were killing him, he said.

the young people do not know what to say. esam had tubes inserted in his mouth and rectum and was pumped full of water until he died. >> they show no mercy. in europe, even animals get better treatment. >> in the military. why does this happen? stop destroying our country and our people. >> the islamists have come out to tahrir square to air their frustration with the military. the muslim brotherhood and others, they all want and islamist state. and given the likely victory in elections, they will love to come to some kind of arrangement with the military -- they will have to come to some kind of arrangement with the military. ali and his friends hunker down

at the edge of the square. they are afraid they will not have a place in egypt that is taking place. >> the islamists will win the elections. but then the people will quickly realize that they were the wrong choice because the religious leaders cannot solve the problems either. >> ali and his friends want to get things moving again. some of the friends are back out in tahrir square and have erected tents. police raid the tents and clear them up. but the anger of the protesters is far from over. they threw stones. the police responded with tear gas. the situation escalates. ali's girlfriend is caught up in the altercation. degas irritates her lungs.

many of her friends are injured. many across egypt are discussed with military brutality. -- disgusted with military brutality. elsewhere and in egypt, there are protests, too. >> how can we talk about democracy in this country when people are beaten and killed by the security forces? >> battles that been raging since last saturday. on tuesday, ali was brought to hospital suffering the effects of tear gas. >> earlier, we spoke to a representative from the german institute for security affairs. we asked if monday would represent a new start for egypt. >> we can hope that election start on monday and that will be a democratic start. there are three rounds until march, and if the elections

proceed, according to plan, we will at least know something more about what the egyptians themselves wish, whether they still cling to the old regime, or if they prefer the islamist, or if they really want a little democracy like many of the smaller parties do. >> if the elections are free and fair, who is likely to emerge as the strongest political force? >> it seems obvious that the muslim brotherhood would become the strongest force after these elections. however, we have seen in recent months but the muslim brotherhood is not a uniform political actor. rather, there are conflicts between the generations in the organization. there are conflicts between different wings between more radicals and moderates, and that

would be -- it would be very interesting to see how the organization itself will deal with is very likely victory in these elections. >> what can germany and the international community to to help egypt on the path to democracy? >> well, i do not think germany is really the player in the party. the government has not formed a clear position to what is happening. the most important thing is the american government decides what it really wants. the american government is paying about $3 billion each year to egypt, nearly half of which is military aid. so, the american government can force the military leadership to step down or except results of the elections.

and i think the most important step is to find a new government, a government that is not as closely connected to the foreign leadership like the current 1. >> thank you very much. please stay tuned.