>> live from the dw studios here in berlin, this is "the journal ." >> great to have you with us. coming up, blame for the bloodbath in maidan square. >> the number of syrian refugees in lebanon has passed the one million mark. >> and bea to prepares to launch its sentinel satellite system. it will allow brussels to peer through the clouds.

>> the president gave orders to shoot people who protested against him. >> that is one of the blistering accusations levered against ousted ukrainian president viktor yanukovich. >> ukraine's interim government released the first findings of an investigation into the month of unrest and violence that ended in 100 deaths. >> it also accuses russian secret service of bringing in weapons and soldiers to "eliminate protest." russia promptly rejected the claims. >> men in black uniforms opened fire in the ukrainian capital of kiev. they were officially members of the riot police. some 50 people were killed. at least 90 died and three days of carnage. soon after the bloodshed in

independence square, president viktor yanukovich fled the country. the opposition maintained from the start be ordered to shoot came from the very top. a preliminary reports by ukraine's new authorities reaches the same conclusion. >> plans under the cover of being in antiterrorist organization, it was the mass killing of hundreds of people and under the direction of president viktor yanukovich. >> the report also alleges that the russian intelligence agency was involved. russia immediately denied the allegations, as did yanukovich. >> i personally never gave any orders to shoot. as i've far as i know, those weapons were never given to those shall troops. they took part in defending the state holdings and state bodies. >> opponents of the new government say the demonstrations were organized to

promote outrage. meanwhile, others want to know the truth. >> we asked whether the investigation will satisfy all parties. >> no, i don't believe so. the ukrainian party is blaming the special forces or the ukrainian police. it sounds plausible. it is also laming former president viktor yanukovich. -- it is also blaming former president viktor yanukovich. he will not be happy about that. it is also laming the russian special forces, the fsb. it says that they were brought in in january and probably facilitated the anti-terror operation. russia refused to comment on that, which makes it possible that russia is still behind those killings to some extent at least.

the major question that is still open, whether there were shootings from the side of the demonstrators, because there were also policemen killed. until those questions are answered, no party will be fully happy with the results of the investigation. >> just how important is it to the ukrainian people to get to the bottom of these deadly shootings? >> it is extremely important purely -- important. nearly 100 people died in those shootings. it is still a center of mourning for those ukrainians. they come and bring flowers and they wait for the government to investigate. they will still have to wait a month or two until all questions are answered. >> ukraine will be paying more for its energy shipments from russia. >> the energy giant gazprom has deduced an export duty that effectively hikes the price a

second time within days. ukraine will be paying more than 350 euros for thousand cubic meters of natural gas. that is seven percent more than the country was paying a few days ago. gazprom also urged ukraine to pay off their debt to the company, which gazprom was at 1.6 billion euros. the follow-up from russia's annexation of crimea is even affecting space exploration. >> the u.s. space agency nasa says it is suspending cooperation with russia except for work on the iss. the russia's so i use --soyuz capsule has become their only vehicle to the space station. >> back here on earth, russia's

president vladimir couldn't -- vladimir putin has been compared to add up to hitler and that comparison came from germany. >> wolfgang schäuble said that it was similar to hitler's annexation of the sedate land. >> russia is no stranger to criticism from the west, but the latest has drawn a sharp rebuke. the finance minister wolfgang schäuble was asked about crimea in an interview with schoolchildren. >> we know all about that from history. those are the kinds of methods that hitler used to take over the sudeten land. the comparison went too far for chancellor angela merkel.

she distanced herself from her minister's comments. moscow is incensed and told their ambassadors so. foreign minister sergei lavrov called for a more moderate tone. >> now is not the time for exaggerated rhetoric, not at a time when we're trying to de-escalate tensions. this language is over the top and must be toned down. it is evident that some people have lost all sense of reality. >> but the russian foreign ministry's rhetoric is hardly subdued. it says wolfgang schäuble's comments are pseudo-historic references and the gross manipulation of historical facts. >> israel says it will not release 26 palestinian prisoners as part of confidence building measures aimed at peace talks.

>> the announcement came thursday, with israel hauling it -- calling it an effort for palestinians to get notice from the united nations. >> there are signs that the u.s. mediation efforts are close to collapse. >> the u.s. secretary of state john kerry went ahead with a visit to algeria on thursday. but his thoughts remained fixed on saving the mideast peace talks. he said it would be a tragedy to let procedural bickering stand in the way of a peace deal. >> the is agreement between them is not over the fundamental substance of a final status agreement. it is over the process that would get you there. and what you need to do in order to be able to continue to negotiate. >> israel ease and palestinians each blame the other side for

not upholding commitments during the negotiating process. the breakdown comes after the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas apply for greater international recognition for palestinian statehood in response to israel delaying a scheduled prisoner release. the move went down well with palestinians, but seems to be poisoning hopes of a settlement. >> the number of syrians who have crossed the border into lebanon to escape the civil war has now surpassed one million. the u.n.'s refugee agency called this number a devastating milestone and says local communities are at a breaking point. >> international aid agencies are appealing for help to deal with the staggering number of refugees entering the country. >> as we speak, one in five people in lebanon is a refugee from syria. we have this report. >> he is 18. he and his family fled their

home. the cameras are fixed on him. he is the one millionth registered syrian refugee here. >> one million refugees in lebanon is enormous. life is very hard here. >> every single refugee reflects a life that has been absolutely devastated by this crisis. we are doing our best to keep up. the lebanese society is incredibly strained by the additional burden these refugees are bringing to bear in a tiny country. >> lebanon supports more refugees than any other country. the u.n. says that could be detrimental for the entire region. >> should lebanon become destabilized, what that would mean in terms of how much more difficult that would ease to form a solution inside syria, the risks to israel's stability, the find of -- kind of grounds

that would provide two more militant actors. >> there are about six point 5 million displaced people inside syria. 590,000 have fled -- 130,000 are in egypt. as the fight in syria continues, the number of those leaving the country rises. few attract the same amount of attention as he. >> more international news. turkey has lifted a ban on the social networking service twitter. a day after their highest court called the move unconstitutional. >> they said the service would be restored within a matter of hours. the turkish prime minister erdogan imposed the ban after allegations circulated on the microblogging website. >> in business news, the

european parliament has voted to eliminate roaming charges -- >> the legislation for hibbitts providers from charging -- prohibits providers from charging more while users are in eu member states. providers are warning that prices will only the listed elsewhere in response. the individual eu member states still have to give their blessing. >> banks must take swift action to ahead off the threat of deflation. >> ecb chief mario draghi says that that could mean quantitative easing. he made those remarks after the central bank announced it was holding the benchmark interest rate steady at a record low of one quarter of one percent. and a rally in europe here with germany's dax closing up closer

to the 10,000 mark, but only ever so slightly. the euro stoxx 50 up when five percent. there was profit-taking across the atlantic with the dow falling somewhat. the euro is selling for one dollar -- $1.16. >> u.s. whistleblower edward snowden may receive a summons. >> i panel is looking into surveillance in germany. the united states is seeking extradition of snowden who sought temporary asylum in russia last year. >> for the green party, the matter is clear. he sees testimony by edward snowden as a must for the parliamentary committee probing nsa surveillance in germany. the left party agrees, but some government deputies say the issue is a broader one.

>> this is not an inquiry committee about edward snowden. our job is to investigate mass eavesdropping on german citizens, german institutions, and authorities. >> but he says that snowden must testify. >> snowden is the key to clearing up the nsa surveillance scandal. he is the one witness who was available. who knows the most, and you can contribute most to getting the facts. >> 20 of uncertainty surrounds the affair. the evidence consists mostly of snowden for leaks to the media. should the panel focus on the nsa or germany's spy services also? at least here there is consensus. >> we will focus on the questions, to what extent did the german services get involved and how much did they know about these activities?

>> the panel will decide in june which members to call. first the members up to scrutinize the details of the case. >> to stay with us. when we come back, we will talk about politics. >> to countries where democracy is under threat have key elections in the next >> days. in afghanistan, the taliban seems to be doing it tested to keep democracy from flourishing. >> and hungry and interesting transformation is already underway. let's look at the first prime minister, viktor orban. he is set to hold onto power. while in office's right wing government has passed hundreds of laws, some favorable to the green party. >> they include an electoral rules that allow hungarians in neighboring countries to vote. critics are up in arms. >> it looks more like a mass movement than a political party.

that is certainly how hungry's governing -- hungary's governing party fidesz is promoting itself. some of the banners are in english, to ensure that viewers abroad get the message, too. the european union has accused the government of undermining democracy. >> we have come here today to tell each other, our country, and the world that we seek for more years. four more years. >> orban's party has had two thirds majority in parliament since the last election and he used it to make ranges in the constitution. he introduced a new electoral law that favors the current government and the media law that restricts the freedom of the past. the posters are throughout downtown budapest. the opposition says the company that controls most of the outdoor ad space will display only a few opposition ads

because it favors the government. so orban is everywhere. they are drumming and nationalist the to win voters. members of the big jewish committee in budapest accused them of seeking to rewrite history. 70 years ago, hungarians use were deported to auschwitz doesn't ration camp. -- concentration camp. a new monument showing a jewish eagle. >> hungary was not innocent at the time. the hungarian administration, the whole state, the whole hungarian government was an ally of germany and an ally of the not sees -- nazis. they fought side by side. >> the opposition a struggle to motivate voters. only by january did the three main are centerleft parties

include the former prime minister gordon bajnai, agreed to join on one platform. and even then they concentrated on criticizing the government rather than offering fresh policies. >> they could have talked about hungary's returned to the european past. >> it would seem the best of the centerleft can hope for is to keep the government from getting another two thirds parliamentary majority. a pinion polls indicate that -- opinion polls indicate that viktor orban will get what he wants. >> let's find out how he will get what he wants. we are joined in the studio by our hungarian expert. there have been big worries that press freedom is under threat, how the country is dealing with this jewish minority, ultra-right nationalist rhetoric. we hear that criticism coming out. but he is a popular man.

>> i think the criticism is a little bit unwarranted. he is not a far right party. his biggest problem is trying to rein in the far right party, the jobbik. he has kept his promises. he said he would give citizenship to ethnic ontarians. it could be someone in san francisco, third generation. it mainly pertains to ethnic minorities and countries around hungry. that is a big deal for them. since viktor orban post that law through, they will be mainly voting for fidesz. another big thing that they did, reducing the utility rates of gas, water, and oil, electricity. there have been three big reductions now. everybody is benefiting. it is populism, but it works. >> what about the opposition? why has it not been able to launch a serious threat to viktor orban? >> harley because they are

racked by scandal. the vice president of the socialist party is in custody under suspicion of not claiming a lot of assets on his tax returns. they also found he has a fake passport. now the person who arranged that passport gave the lease all the other information. there's lots of money in bank accounts all over the place. all over europe, tens of millions of euros. >> we're running out of time. this extreme right, this jobbik party you were talking about, that party is expected to get 20% of the vote. should neighbors the alarmed by that? >> that is a trend that unfortunately is happening all over europe. look at what has happened in france. how do you appease the people who want to vote for people like that? it is difficult. >> it is very difficult. thank you. >> the people of afghanistan head to the polls this weekend to elect a new president and it is important step in their

transition to a democracy. >> hamid karzai is said to be the first man in the entry's history to voluntarily cede power based on a constitution and the will of the people. >> that does not necessarily mean the ballot will run smoothly. >> afghan election workers have begun distributing ballot boxes and say everything is on schedule for saturday's presidential vote. some 20,000 polling stations have been set up. once they arrive by truck, materials will be delivered by donkeys. taliban militants are threatening attacks on election day. kabul and other cities are on lockdown. some voters have not made up their minds whether to show up at polling stations. >> if there are threats of violence and people are afraid, then nobody will vote.

i myself won't turn out to vote under those conditions. but security is very tight, so we will have to wait and see. >> president hamid karzai, who has led the country since the us-led invasion to topple the taliban in 2001, is constitutionally barred from a third term. one of those thought likely to succeed him, foreign minister abdullah abdullah, believes it will go well. >> is expected in the elections. the outcome of the elections will be accepted by the people of afghanistan. >> but most observers doubt any candidate will receive a majority in the first round. whoever emerges of afghanistan from next leader will have to decide whether to engage the taliban and on peace talks and

whether to sign a security pact with the united states. >> hands-on science for you now. they call them high-tech eyes in the sky. in about one and a half hours from now, i knew you're a in observation will be lost. >> the rocket carrying the first in a string of satellites will blast off from french guiana in south america. it is a joint project worth about 4 billion euros. >> the program could prove invaluable, saving countless lives from environmental catastrophes. >> sentinel one will circle the earth. it is the first of six satellites that will make up the global monitoring system copernicus. using radar to scan the surface far below, it will survey the entire globe.

its mission is to gather urgently needed data on the environment and the climate. for example, how the ice caps at the earth's polls are changing. emergency services responding to disasters will use the data, being beamed down to earth an hour after collection. the technology gives the satellite an uninterrupted view even when the planet serpas is shrouded by cloud. how far will the floodwaters rise? sentinel 1 can sell the aid workers are best reached the damage and the affected areas as quickly as possible. information might that could be invaluable for countries prone to extreme weather like the philippines. data from space providing an early warning to people down on the ground. invaluable and free of charge on

the internet for everyone. right around the entire world. >> standing by outside the mission control, french guiana, the director of the earth observation programs. there are plenty of satellites looking down at the earth. what is special about yours? >> there is a new quality in the sentinel satellite. we're going for an operational system. what we have done in 75 years, we do now for environment and security. this is a major step forward. the specific satellite we are going to launch, sentinel 1, is a radar satellite. radar has the ability to look through the clouds and see by night and day. >> how could that be useful to people in flood regions, for example? >> yes, exactly. for this case, it is very useful

to be able to look through the clouds, because when you have inundations, usually you have cloud cover because it is raining. then you can use -- you cannot use optic satellites, but you can use the radar satellites. >> how quickly would the information be available? are we talking real-time? >> we have the ability to relay the data via a relay satellite. this is in near real time. some minutes, data can be let down. >> a pleasure having you on the show. >> we will keep you up to date, of course, on that launch. that is coming up in an hour and a half from now. >> thanks for watching.

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- d

>> the united nations have called it a devastating milestone. refugees fleeing the bloody three-year conflict mixup a quarter -- makes up the quarter of the country's population. fielder is in the lebanese capital and joins us from beirut. tell us about the latest figures and where those refugees are. -- majestiesal