>> this is "the journal." i am sarah harmon. afghans vote for a new resident -- we will talk to our correspondent in kabul. chancellor angela merkel's conservatives are drying up for the elections. amber takes a huge step in the battle to avoid relegation -- amberg takes a huge step in the battle to avoid relegation. voting is winding down in

afghanistan, where people have been electing a successor to president hamid karzai. 13has been in office for years, since the u.s.-led invasion in 2001. tell them and have urged supporters to attack polling stations. >> voters lined up to cast ballots in the early morning. thece kept a close watch at polling stations, on the look for weapons. despite the threat of violence, many were determined to take part in the first ever democratic change of power. to participate, the process will put an end to the corrupt system. >> security forces are protecting us, so we are happy to come here to cast our votes. eight candidates are

standing, but just three have a good chance of winning. abdallah abdullah came second in the last election in 2000 and third the former finance 2000 -- 2000.sh -- former prime minister finance minister is also running. is who hamid karzai is naming as his own successor. >> i'm asking you to come out and vote for a presidential candidate despite threats from our enemy. come out and vote for the success of our afghanistan. >> a runoff is expected to take place next month. by ourre joined live correspondent via spike. -- skype. what has the atmosphere been like on election day?

>> the atmosphere is really enthusiastic today. it is exciting to be in kabul and witness such an historic event. are veryn people excited, very enthusiastic, it and the turnout was actually -- and the turnout was actually so high that polling stations actually ran out of ballots. also, polling stations extended their times for one more hour because turnout was so high. >> the taliban threaten violence. we have not heard reports of attacks. what can you tell us? >> there have not been major incidences so far. the afghan security forces have done a great job so far, and the people are willing to vote even if they -- had been any incidents.

one man told me even if the were raining, and the street were plastered with minds, he would still come and vote. >> there have been concerns about election fraud. how justified are those worries? >> of course, the afghan elections, you cannot view them from a western perspective and want them to be fair and free, but there is a lot of hope that this year the elections will be kind of free, and the people will have a legitimate president. very much for that update. >> thank you. for more of our coverage of afghanistan's historic election, check out our website. breaking news this hour, chinese state media says a chinese ship

involved in a search for the missing malaysia airlines flight has detected a pulse signal, but there is no confirmation it is from the missing flight. two ships are combing the area where it is believed the plane may have crashed in the indian ocean, west of australia. malaysia says the latest satellite images have revealed no new signs of wreckage. foreign minister says turkey is hurting his chances of being accepted into the eu, commenting on the second day of an informal meeting of eu foreign ministers in the greek capital of athens. he criticized the turkish government for its crackdown on freedom of speech and information after the prime minister band twitter and youtube. turkey's constitutional court lifted the ban this week. european parliament elections will be held at the end of may,

and germans christian democrats seem to be a name good position. angela merkel is holding up well in the polls. inay, the party convenes berlin to discuss a platform and prepare an election campaign and they were joined by a high-profile guest. >> he is the star of the show -- jean-claude juncker, the top candidate to head the european commission. he is in berlin to convince germany's conservatives to cast their votes for him come they. -- may. will be no there eurobonds because they are of no use -- that the deficits nor dead will increase growth or add jobs here in europe. >> the center right politician wants to get tough on eurozone members who mismanaged their economies. he wants them to keep their budget under control.

>> when i hear people talking about growth in europe, there are always calls for more state-run programs. here in germany we know the social market economy made us strong, the first we have to put the groundwork in place to create good conditions for both big and small companies on our continent. without that, we will not create new jobs. >> and it looks like she has the support of the german people. polls indicate that 40% back angela merkel cdu party. >> we are joined by our political correspondent who is at the party conference. michaela, what is the main focus for the cdu? >> we have some indications about the economic situation in countries, and spain was

signaled out where about half of the young workforce is out of jobs. at the same time, there will be no easy options. angela merkel said she wanted to see the european union emerge from the crisis stronger than when they went into it, and it would require strong measures. at the same time, jean-claude juncker said he wants to heal the northern and southern countries in the european union, and he also said he would completely rule out eurobonds. we are hoping to see more howils, how could there -- there could be a softer landing for weaker countries, with a strong focus on the economy, and a lot of appeals to core european values which they feel have proved europe right in uniting and increasing its currency. >> turnout in germany has been quite low for european parliament elections. how seriously is the cdu taking

them? >> they are taking them seriously. the election posters that we have seen so far show angela merkel. they are very much aware this is a test for her, just about five months into her government with the social democrats. >> thank you very much. >> you are welcome. >> turning to other news -- travelers can breathe a sigh of relief as most flight are operating normally at lufthansa following a three-day pilot strike. they estimate 40 cancellations on saturday. though the strike is over, the labor dispute remains unresolved. pilots reject retirement benefits and are calling for higher pay. lufthansa estimates the cost of the walkout at up to 75 million euros. chances of staying in

the top league improved after leverkusen,d bayer which was the final straw for the club's board, firing coach sami hyypia. terribleleverkusen's run has finally caught up with sami hyypia. his team fell behind after three minutes. bottom corner, he continues his excellent season. bayer leverkusen equalized after halftime. misjudging this effort, the teams were on course for a draw. g hit back, securing three vital points. the wind takes them out of the relegation zone. sascha lewandowski takes over until the end of the season. the players know him well.

>> just an hour to go until two guard faces off. they are in the most precarious position, dropping to second bottom in the table. recently, the club fired their coach and brought in a veteran to lead them to safety. so far, the gamble has not paid off. >> they have a hard fight against -- ahead of them if they are to avoid relegation. he has a reputation as a no-nonsense coach, so his strategy for survival is unexpected. .> we need some fun it is important to have fun. the players are all too aware of the situation we are in. >> the situation is precarious, and so far he has not turned things around. stuttgart has taken only four points from a possible 12 under his stewardship. they have lost their last two

matches, and heading into the clash, the players confidence is at rock bottom. >> i am trying to lift them a bit. i tell them the only thing that is important is where you are in the table at the end of the season. up a gapber has opened after winning three of their last four matches. they have played with passion and courage, the qualities of surviving. imagine that they are saying they are not worried about who they are playing against or how important the match is. >> the match is important for both sides, but stuttgart are under more pressure. another defeat could really spoil the fun. >> turning to tennis, germany's men are one victory away from reaching the semi finals the

davis cup for the first time in seven years. they have taken a 2-0 lead over france after the opening singles. they need one more win to secure unexpected success. >> the biggest shock of the day came courtesy of this man -- he is ranked 119 in the world, and he was facing world number 12. the frenchman won the first set, but from then on, he played the match of his life in his debut for germany. score.e leveled a home fans, he00 kept his nerve in the decisive fifth set. despite a thigh injury, a battle victory, sealing the match. with the doubles and reverse singles to come, and germany are on the brink of a remarkable victory.

>> people in central ecuador are on the alert as rumblings from a volcano raise fears of an eruption. ash andano spewed hot smoke. it is one of ecuador's most-active and it last erupted in february. memorabilia from the space race era will go under the hammer in a few days at barnum's auction house in new york. nearly 300 items will be on offer, including the space suit. other highlights include this checklist sheet from the first moonission to land on the with notes from astronaut buzz aldrin. before we go, a reminder of breaking news just in -- a chinese ship in the search for the missing malaysian airliner

says it has found what was signals. as pulse it has not been confirmed independently. we will keep you up-to-date on this and other stories in our next bulletin. bye for now. >> april is when the wet season begins in rwanda, but the rain brings back memories of the genocide that took place here 20 years ago. starting in april, 1994, 800,000 people were murdered in 100 days. two decades on, rwandans are still dealing with the atrocity. for jean, from the capacity --

capital, it reminds him what happened to his family. the rain makes me think of having to run away during the genocide in april, 1994. i had to hide in the forest. those who survived were completely exposed to the rain. we did not know how to protect ourselves against it. 17 of his relatives were murdered, including six of his children, his wife, and his mother. he lived in hiding for three months. afterwards, he tried to rebuild his life. i put this house up after the genocide. here, where the grass is -- there used to be buildings all over here. they were destroyed.

the ones up there i built from scratch after the genocide. on, he still cannot imagine reconciliation with those responsible. up until two years ago, people would throw stones at his house. those that murdered his family and burned his property are in jail, but their relatives live all around him. we do not get on well with each other, he says. in the court, not one of the perpetrators asked me for forgiveness. that is troubling. even though the government wants reconciliation, it bothers me that nobody has asked for my forgiveness. worry is what will happen to him when his remaining children get married and move away.

he will be left alone here near the families of the perpetrators . there are similar situations all over rwanda. this is the church, 30 kilometers south. earning the genocide, 15,000 people fled here, seeking sanctuary, but militias stormed the building, murdering nearly all of them. it is now a man -- mass grave and a memorial. there are 40,000 people beneath the church. the remains of those killed in 1994 are still being found in the area. when they are discovered, they are brought here. it is cold and it smells of mold.

bones serve as a memorial. shouldsage is the crime not be forgotten or denied and should never happen again. some of the skulls reveal how crude the weapons were that we used against the victims. every day visitors are shown around the site. >> this is for example the doorframe. see how they try and [indiscernible] church.the

we have the close of the victims. >> most of the genocides took lacey and catholic churches. hundreds of thousands of people fled to their priests, thinking the clergy would attack them, but many were handed over to mobs. church altars became places of execution. >> we have examples of machetes, everything is to kill the people. we have the rosary. .ormer id [indiscernible] lacey brutality that took inside of the church -- that

took place inside of the church left its marks here. >> this is where the blood was because they cut the head. is the fate of children. take babies here, and smash them against the wall. you see the blood on this wall. were -- there were some in here. >> the government is still trying to foster reconciliation. on an official level it no longer makes any distinction between hutus and tutsis. south, traveled to the

once the seat of the rwandan monarchy. today, it lies on a main thoroughfare to traffic. most people here live on the land, and as in other places, victims and perpetrators live side-by-side. monique farms soybeans. it is a remarkable partnership. her husband was convicted of playing a part in the genocide. in 1994, he looted monique's parents house. despite this, the two get on well together. but it was not always like that.

whenever i left the house and saw her house on the other hill, says monique, i cannot think of anything other than what had happened. while she slowly made the first apology, i was able to accept it, but before that we could not talk to each other or meet. i was furious. sorryed god's help to say , and i asked myself a long time how i could approach the victims of this horrible situation. when i first came, she was estching -- washing cloth outside of her house. she brought me a chair. ofn though it took us a lot time, she made me welcome in the set together and talked. now, things are fine between us. as well as an apology, she has

given money for some compensation. among other things, her husband stole his neighbors cow. she wanted to make it up to monique. her cow was pregnant, so she alf. monique the c the gesture was a meaningful one. --s are rise in rwanda prized in rwanda. having a cow is very important for us, says monique. a lot culture, cows bring of advantages. every family has to have a cow.

-- withouthave milk a cow, you do not have milk. for us, it is a sign of prosperity. are an and consulate example of how reconciliation can succeed. the neighbors live happily together without the need for court verdicts or government directives, though it was not easy for monique to forgive. monique says when she first came to me and asked me to forgive her, i asked her if she thought of what exactly she was asking of me, and she said she had. i believed her, but i asked for time to think before i really forgave her.

another challenge looms on the horizon for the two women -- 2hat will happen when counsel a -- husband gets out of prison? she believes everything will be ok. >> he, too, will asked for forgiveness, and he said it was the right thing for her to give money. how far rwandaof has come in the reconciliation process over the last two decades. the country wants to present itself as modern and focused on the future. traces of the genocide are hard to spot in the capital. fleming church. refuge, and the priests cited with the militia,

ending over many people for execution. the catholic church does not commemorate the darkest chapter in rwanda's history. 20 years after the genocide, forgiveness and reconciliation are a ÷wc]

♪ captioning and audio description provided by the u.s. department of education >> bokara: i'm bokara legendre. join me and my guests: scholars and scientists, spiritual teachers, and philosophers, as we explore the boundaries of religion and metaphysics, of science and spirituality. join me and some really fascinating people as we try to figure out what life's all about and how it can have meaning for each one of us.