anchor: live from the dw studio in berlin, this is "the journal." anchor: these are our top stories. mohamed morsi is sentenced to 20 years in jail. anchor: the italian coast guard rescues 450 more migrants trying to cross the mediterranean. authorities arrest men they suspect are human traffickers. anchor: a former nazi goes on trial here in germany. he is known as the bookkeeper of auschwitz. anchor: the only democratically elected leader of modern-day egypt is headed to prison for 20 years. anchor: on tuesday, a criminal

court sentenced mohamed morsi to two decades behind bars in connection with the murder of protesters back in 2012. anchor: it is the judicial climax in a genetic downfall for him and the once powerful muslim broader hood -- muslim brotherhood. anchor: amnesty international has called a travesty of justice. reporter: a 20 year sentence for the president in a cage. he was convicted in charges connected with the death of protesters. >> letting him off of the killing of protesters is the upsetting part. i don't believe the verdict avenges the depth of these individuals, but it is the court's decision. reporter: 10 people were killed after violence broke out in front of the presidential palace

on december 5, 2012. murder charges against mohamed morsi could have carried the death penalty. even the court's more lenient sentence was unjustified. >> we will appeal the decision a suit as we have the written justification. reporter: the protest spelled the beginning of the end for his presidency. he was toppled in a two in july 2013, and has been in detention ever sense. the military regime banned the muslim brotherhood and declared a terrorist organization. thousands of his supporters have since been detained and hundreds sentenced to death. anchor: let's bring in a "financial times" correspondent standing by in cairo. he did not get the maximum sentence of death. what you make of that and other charges pending against him? could they and in the death sentence? guest: he was acquitted of the capital offense of murder and

that is probably rightly so he comes most of the people killed in this protest were his supporters and that highlights what many critics describe as the travesty of the justice system. he's also facing serious national security and as been us -- and espionage charges. egypt plus legal process is rather lengthy. there are a lot of checks and balances, so to speak. even if you sentenced at one court to death that does not mean he will be put to death. anchor: although this is being criticized as a travesty of justice, it is doubtful they will ever see a death sentence against him because the country is trying to preserve some semblance of a decent justice system. do you agree with that? guest: i think they will not put him to death, but not because they care about the reputation of the justice system just because of the explosive nature of something like that. i think it would galvanize

people in a way the current elite do not want them to do that and they have managed to tarnish an incompetent criminal, a loser, so to speak to turn him into a martyr for a larger cause. anchor: reaction across cairo and the country is somewhat you did. what does that tell us about how egyptians view the man he once elected? guest: a lot of egyptians are tired of it in general. they are much more concerned with daily affairs and public opinion is shaped heavily by television stations and other broadcast networks very much anti-mom and morsi and very much in the pocket of the military. anchor: thank you very much. it is a full-blown humanitarian crisis in the mediterranean. the number of migrants dying at

sea trying to reach europe from africa dramatically on the rise. anchor: according to the international organization for migration, the death toll is a staggering 30times higher than last year. europe plus politicians have promised to act in the wake of the latest tragedies. reporter: swift and decisive action against human traffickers -- that is what eu foreign ministers hope their plan will deliver if it is adopted later this week. italian police are already taking action, resting three men accused of smuggling refugees from turkey to italy. arrests have also been made in connection with the drowning deaths of 800 refugees from libya. two suspected traffickers are currently in custody. 26 other survivors are recuperating in sicily. members of the u.n. refugee agency spoke with survivors of the tragedy.

>> they were very tired and traumatized. one of them was taken to the hospital and one of them received medical attention. reporter: the scale of the disaster is unprecedented. the ship set sail from the libyan capital, tripoli and capsized some 200 miles from its destination. survivors said many passengers were locked below deck and had no chance of saving themselves. italy urged them to focus on stopping the traffickers. >> it is no exaggeration to say we are being confronted i new form of slavery. most people would rather not imagine what happened 300 or 400 years ago off the coast of west africa as unscrupulous men traded in human lives. now the same thing is happening off the coast of north africa. reporter: the tide of refugees

making the crossing to southern europe shows no sign of slowing. this road with 450 people on board began to sink around 80 nautical miles off the italian coast. this time, the italian coast guard arrived before it was too late. anchor: for more on this story we have tom on the line. what can you tell us about the arrests made in this incident? guest: two men were arrested as they got off and italian coast guard vessel last night which was ringing survivors from this great disaster in the mediterranean, with the loss of about 800 lives. two men are reckoned to be the captain of the vessel and a crew member. survivors pointed to them, saying they were in charge of the ship. prosecutors believe the tunisian

man, the captain, was at fault not only for being a trafficker but also for causing a collision between the migrant ship and a cargo ship which came to pick up the migrants. that collision apparently contributed to the ship capsizing. anchor: this particular incident aside, a lot has been made about the new aggressive strategy to go after the smugglers operating in the mediterranean. how is that actually going to work? guest: it's a very good question. a migrant boat that would possibly be bombed by the european air force is a tricky target. we are talking here about the birding he's often and things you could pack into the back of a flatbed truck. how one could spot that on the beach before it got loaded with migrants and somehow put a hole in it, that would be up to the

generals to decide if they could do that. they need to put their minds together on this one and figure out how this could be tackled. anchor: geographically, italy is at the forefront of this and sometimes left in the lurch by its eu partners when it comes to funding these operations. do you think that problem is going to be solved? guest: i saw one of the plans eating proposed at the european level is to really enforce fingerprinting of all migrants that arrive on european shores so they can be spread out methodically amongst european states. the italians will be -- will be keen on the spreading out business but be less keen on the fingerprinting because at the moment many migrants arrive in italy are not fingerprinted and that allows them to slip through italy pretty much unnoticed and head through to northern europe.

i think on the quiet, some italian officials would be happy about that because it means they have to deal with far fewer. it is a tricky situation. italy will be making a lot of suggestions on this front in the next few days. anchor: thank you for joining us. the numbers of these migrants from africa and the released trying to make the treacherous journey to europe is skyrocketing and it's no wonder why. anchor: civil war the threat of terrorism and unemployment are the main reasons behind the growing migrant crisis. reporter: the port of djibouti in the horn of africa -- every day migrants arrive from yemen. they originally fled from yemen to escape violence in their homeland. somalia has suffered a decades long internal conflict. somalia account for a large percentage of the african migrants trying to reach europe. around a million have fled the country. many live in a vast canyon

refugee camp. even here, they are not totally safe from al-shabaab militants. terrorism is also a reason people flee northern nigeria. boko haram militants have waged a campaign of violence in the region for years. up to 1.5 million people have been displaced internally or fleeing to europe as a result. in eritrea people in great dictatorship, forced conscription and severe economic hardship. they are also one of the largest groups of migrants heading to europe after syria in the midst of civil war. increasing numbers from gambia, senegal and molly have also fled to the eu the main reason unemployment. another factor is the fighting and government forces and rebels. their escape route takes them through italy -- through libya and italy. traffickers can charge thousands of euros to smuggle people into europe.

whole families and communities are desperate to escape hunger and private nation in their own countries. anchor: reports are coming in saudi arabia is ending its campaign of airstrikes on yemen. anchor: the airstrikes have targeted houthi rebels. more than 900 people have been killed in the fighting. reporter: the violence in yemen has pushed the country to the brink of collapse. these fighters in the second largest city are loyal to the country's president. they say they are determined to expel the mainly shiite houthi rebels who forced the id lee lastth. >> we are the resistance and we will defeat the houthis. reporter: the conflict between the rebels and pro-government fighters has been taking a heavy toll.

civilian casualties have been growing. these people were injured in a saudi airstrike on monday. the target was a houthi missile depot. doctors said they would have been unable to cope if the bombing continued for much longer. despite the end of the air campaign, the saudi's say they will continue to prevent houthi militia from moving inside yemen, but it is unclear how they will do it. earlier, iran, which riyadh blames for backing the houthis had called for a truce. >> we hope everyone comes to their senses and we hope iran's proposal for an immediate cease-fire is accepted and the cease-fire will be addressed and a yemeni meeting will find solutions.

reporter: a u.s. aircraft carrier is headed to the region. washington says its main concern is to conserve -- to secure shipping routes, but they will also monitor iranian vessels they suspect of sporting -- supporting arms to the houthis. in the meantime, thousands or fleeing the conflict. these people managed to get out but hundreds of thousands more are stuck with no food or water. there's no hope the fighting will end anytime soon. anchor: we are going to take a short break. when we come back -- anchor: the former accountant of auschwitz who is 93 years old has gone on trial. does that make him a war criminal? anchor: stay tuned. we will be right back.

>> the dw media center -- see it live, find it again, here more of it, discover it. video and audio podcasts and language courses in the dw media center. >> with each passing day of the continuing conflict in syria more and more children fear their future may be fading away. with every classroom damaged or destroyed, with every child witnessing the horror of war every family fleeing the violence, we cannot risk losing an entire generation of children to death, fear and despair because they are the future of syria.

anchor: welcome back. he was known as the bookkeeper of auschwitz in charge of counting banknotes and hiding luggage at death camp. anchor: and now 93 years old oskar groning is charged with at least 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. it's not likely to be a simple case. anchor: for many years, yes spoken openly about his experience and he has admitted he was wrong. reporter: 70 years after the liberation of auschwitz, oskar groning faces justice for his role in the horrors that took place there. he admits he is morally responsible and told judges that it's up to them to decide whether he has committed a crime under the law. survivors and relatives of those killed at the death camp traveled far to attend the trial.

>> he had the misfortune of being young when auschwitz existed and going to work there. as a result, his soul has been tainted forever. reporter: he is charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder and could face up to 15 years in prison. but there are mitigating factors. >> he was prepared to respond thoroughly to the charges. reporter: those charges relate to a time in 1944 when hundreds of thousands of country and jews were gassed to death. the 93-year-old will learn of his fate at the end of july. anchor: when oskar groning heard about the people denying the holocaust, he started speaking

about his role in the genocide. i spoke with our correspondent at the court house and asked whether that would be viewed positively by the court. guest: i think it will be, yes. even the lawyer of one of the co-plaintiffs said despite all the terrible things he not only witnessed, but actively supported at auschwitz, despite all of that, it has to be acknowledged he appeared in court today, he testified in court, and he said he is morally responsible that he is morally guilty, so that certainly makes him stand out. anchor: that was our correspondent outside the courthouse. dozens of auschwitz survivors and relatives of the victims come from around the world to attend the court proceedings -- court proceedings. anchor: many of them want to see

justice. there are 11 open investigations against former schlitz employees and charges have been filed in three of them. reporter: this is oskar groning in 1942. he agreed to join the ss two years earlier and what is the -- and is one of the few members of the ss alive today. oskar groning was charged with administering the property coming from new arrivals. he would take the prisoners' baggage as they arrived and make sure the guards to not steal anything. he carefully registered the mountains of stolen property before sending it on to berlin. he became known as the bookkeeper of auschwitz. this woman survived the horrors of auschwitz. she was only 18 when she was deported from the camp along with her family.

among the guards on the ramp, oskar groning. >> he stood there. he didn't do anything. he just stood there and watched. he knew what was going on. reporter: in out -- in auschwitz, her sister and parents were immediately sent to their deaths. she says this case is not about retribution, but doing justice for the loss of her family and her own imprisonment. >> i had nobody to whom i could turn and ask what should i do now? at the same time, these so-called people who serve in the ss and were at auschwitz started families and had children. they carried on living.

reporter: oskar groning maintains he was just a small cog in the use machine of nazi terror. >> oskar groning was part of the killing machinery. auschwitz was a sophisticated system, and apparatus of death not a collection of individual psychopaths. reporter: this man represents almost 30 coplaintiffs. he says it is disgraceful that fewer than 50 of over 6000 ss personnel have been prosecuted so far. >> germany's judiciary always turned a blind eye. it failed to use the statutes available. there's evidence to suggest this was tolerated and supported by powers higher up.

reporter: one case in 2011 set a new president -- the former death camp card was -- death camp guard was convicted of being in excess tree to mass murder even though there was no evidence he committed a specific crime during his time as a guard. it became a blueprints for the oskar groning case. during his advanced age, he's expected to be one of the last warmer death camp officers to face justice. a verdict is expected at the end of july. anchor: in other news, xi jinping has become the first chinese president to speak before a joint session of parliament in pakistan as relations between the two countries strengthen. anchor: china is gearing up to make a major investment in pakistan to expand transport across southern asia. reporter: the pakistani parliament gave the chinese president, xi jinping, a warm

response even before his joint session had begun. he spoke of close ties between islamabad and beijing in the future. beijing is preparing to invest more than 40 billion euros in a major infrastructure projects, the china-pakistan economic court or. it includes railways between the countries and investment aims to get pakistan's power grid back on track. more than half the projects can start immediately with the rest following in the next three to five years. >> it symbolizes our determination to create when-when partnerships which threaten none but benefit all. reporter: the two leaders had a packed schedule on monday. they met with politicians and business leaders, announced a research center and finalized future energy and infrastructure projects.

the funding should help to shape pakistan's economy in the coming years. anchor: here comes business news and investor confidence here in germany fell in april over concerns of the economy. anchor: the unexpected drop was the first in six months. the current financial climate could affect germany which is heavily reliant on exports. the main source of worry is the greek debt crisis. anchor: how is that investor confidence report gone over with investors? guest: european markets are still deciding whether they want to fully recover from last weeks dropped or not. the day started off well with good numbers coming from asia but then we receive the latest figures of the index measuring investor confidence here in germany. investors are concerned about the economic slowdown and the

consequences this might have for some of the key products, including cars and heavy machinery. however, it's not all bad news. some german and european companies are outperforming which also gave the dax a bit of a push. anchor: here come the market numbers in full, starting in frankfurt -- the dax was up a little less than .5%. the pan european index was basically unchanged for the day. in new york, they are still trading. things are looking down by about .5%. the euro is slightly off against the dollar. anchor: your google searches are about to change -- the internet search giant is going to alter the way it lists results in response to growing numbers of people using smartphones and tablets.

anchor: google says the changes that will mean website easier to read on mobile devices will rank higher than those that are not. some criticize the move as unfairly targeting companies that have not got around to making their pages mobile friendly. in japan, the world fastest passenger train has broken its own speed record. anchor: the magnetic levitation unit clocked 603 kilometers per hour in a test run near mount fuji. there you see it. these state-of-the-art technology that makes the train hover over the rails using powerful magnets is not quite ready for passengers yet. it will it be 12 years before it connects tokyo and nagoya, making the 300 kilometer journey in just 40 minutes. get ready to blow out some candles among the world monarchs -- she is the oldest. queen elizabeth ii, today is her

89th birthday. anchor: cavalry officers fired a 41 gun salute in honor of the queen in london. elizabeth ascended to the throne at the age of 25 in -- and in september, she may break queen victoria's record as longest-serving monarch. they will celebrate a little more, but not until her official birthday in june. anchor: i sent her a card but i have not heard back from her. thanks for watching, everybody.

our highlights of the past week which includes these and other stories. brave new world. a famous frankfurt museum revamps its digital profile. saving the world. why bicycles from sustainable materials are all the rage. surreal world. the spectacular images of photographer pierre winther. it was in 1815 that johann friedrich stadel -- a frankfurt banker and merchant -- made a key stipulation in his will.

his considerable art collection was to be housed in a museum that was open to all citizens of frankfurt. in so doing he laid the cornerstone for germany's oldest