t in donetsk. all flights have been suspended by the government. the man most likely to be egypt next president says the muslim brotherhood will be finished if he wins. i'd also taught all cc -- abedel fattah al-sisi push the president from power last year. yingluck shinawatra on trial for abuse of power after months of local unrest.

also coming up this hour what started out as the ultimate tight dream is now 20 years old. a look at the origins of the undersea link between britain and connolly europe -- and continental europe. francois hollande's two-year anniversary as president of france comes as he takes the lowest popularity score of any french president since world war ii. marc perlman will be on hand to talk about the 18% approval rating and if the president can pull out of it. let's begin in the eastern ukrainian city of donetsk flights to and from the local airport have been suspended. france 24's robert parsons is

in donetsk. what do we know about why the airport was shut down? >> we heard the announcement that all flights were being canceled this morning out of donetsk. i went to donetsk international airport and i discovered that actually internal flights were about to depart. i spoke to the head of the local press service at the airport and he explained that the flights that were leaving where and exception and there would be no international flights. and that after today there will be no more internal flights, either. i asked and he said i cannot answer that question. you will have to get in touch with the government. we have been in touch with the government they are not getting any answers either. at the moment, we are stumped for information. one version i have heard through the interior ministry is that they want to prevent the

movement of weapons and explosions. that would extend with celebrations of the ninth of may oliver ukraine for the end of the second world war on friday they are holding a referendum on autonomy for the eastern part of ukraine. they could be wanting to ensure weapons do not get into the wrong hands ahead of those demonstrations. >> you just flew into donetsk last night. tell us about your impressions when you got there. >> i've just arrived, it is difficult to give a definitive impression. my first impression coming into the town was the air of normality about it. a sunny day, people shopping public transport working normally, taxis and police cars on the street.

then you start to notice as your eye gets attuned to what is going on, you notice thought things. nearly every bank, one of the biggest banks in ukraine, has had its windows smashed. every major public building is surrounded by barricades and tires. but na -- bonita the service, something is wrong. -- beneath the surface something is wrong. talking to people, you get a sense of the frustration. no one seems to know what they want. [indiscernible] feelings of anger oiling up. >> thank you, robert parsons from donetsk. >> elsewhere kiev sent on a national guard unit to odessa fighting between pro-russian fighters killed combatants on both sides after more clashes left dozens dead over the

weekend. there has been more fighting in the eastern city of slav iansk, some reports say up to 30 pro-russian troops died. >> burned out tracks and bullet holes on the road to slaviansk. signs of an escalating conflict between the ukrainian government and pro-russian militants. interior minister arsen avakov sent troops to the region on monday saying they were battling 800 separatists in the city. calls -- avakov admitted that kiev faces a fight to win over the public. >> there's a war on our own territory, our hands are tied because the civilian population around us, some supporters and some soon not. ukrainian soldiers cannot shoot at civilians, this is something our enemy is making full use of.

hiding behind him and shooting at us. >> rebel fighters ambushed ukrainian forces on monday triggering a fierce gun battle on the outskirts of the city. [gunfire] the defense ministry say defense separatists shot down a military helicopter the fourth since friday. ukraine insists its forces are doing everything possible. many residents blame kiev for the bloodshed. 40 people died in a fire after pro-government supporters stormed a building in odessa and the south of the country last week. >> the army should be protecting people, not killing them and burning them. >> government troops have tightened their grip around slaviansk in recent days. this as it struggles to maintain and in many cases regain control of the country's eastern and southern cities. >> now to egypt, where i delve

-- where abdel fattah al-sisi gave his first interview announcing he will run for president and gave details about what agents will be like when he is in charge. he is intent on wiping out the muslim brotherhood. >> no more tolerance for the muslim brotherhood today than when he ousted them from power last year. in his first extended tv interview, former general al-sisi made his position clear. >> the muslim brotherhood will no longer exist under your presidency? >> yes. >> the 59-year-old has been de facto head of state since he led the army in toppling mohammed morsi after protests. since then the government has cracked down on the muslim brotherhood, killing over one point 5000 protesters and imprisoning many thousands.

it has designated the brotherhood a terrorist group, a threat to egypt al-sisi says made him decide to run for president. >> the challenges facing egypt and the targeting of egypt inside the country. any patriot has a duty towards his country. >> sisi's appearance monday is a far cry from his military attire. he confirmed under his presidency the army would have no role in ruling the country. his opponents do not believe it, he faces an election that would reverse the 2011 uprising that toppled hosni mubarak. facing just one challenger sisi is expected to win the election in the first round. >> it has been over three weeks since two hundred 70 six schoolgirls in nigeria were kidnapped from their school at gunpoint. on monday, the self-professed leader of the group boko haram

says he has the girls and is planning on selling them into marriage. some of the students taken are as young as nine years old. that mass abduction and the military failure to rescue the girls has ignited outrage with demonstrations in major cities in nigeria and abroad. thailand's prime minister will find out tomorrow whether or not she will stay in power. the constitutional court says it will hand down its decision wednesday on the abuse of power case against yingluck shinawatra . she could be removed from office if found guilty. our correspondent has more from bangkok. >> did you stay to members of prime minister yingluck's party, they are expecting the court is going to roll she was guilty and they will also rule that she has to step down. unclear whether the party will accept this ruling in its

entirety. they say the constitutional court does not have the authority to that level. they say the prime minister and the cabinet has already stepped down in december and it is only in as a caretaker administration at the moment. a lot of questions hanging over tomorrow' is court ruling. it could be incendiary for this crisis in thailand, dragging on for nearly a decade. >> the country has been in crisis for such a long time. both sides are due to protests on the same date later next week. are there concerns there could be new violence between the two sides? >> there are big concerns, especially with the court ruling tomorrow. if the court rules that prime minister yingluck has to step down this and her supporters eyes is a continuation of a long line of decisions with the courts working together with the military. to undermine their vote and parliamentary democracy in the country. expect large protests from her

supporters if this goes the way it is expected to. in the same vein, her opponents the antigovernment protesters who have been out on the streets for six months, they say they are committed to the turnout on the street and there are concerns there could be clashes as the supporters of the government continue to see what they view as unfair treatment and interference and democracy from the military and the courts. >> reporting from bangkok. six people have been injured in a mass stabbing at a railway station in guangzhou, china. police say one person was responsible and he has been shot and wounded. officials gave no reason for the attack but china's nervousness about islamic militancy has grown. last october, a car burst into flames on the edge of tiananmen square. 30 people were stabbed to death in another attack in march.

here in france the president francois hollande'tis two years in office with an hour-long interview -- here in france the friends of the francois hollande marked his two years in office with an hour-long interview. there will not be a lot of celebrations, he has the lowest approval rating of any president in modern times. a look back at his two years. >> may 2012 and newly elected francois hollande was at the height of popularity. the honeymoon was not to last long, two months in, his approval rating slipped when he decided to close one of the oldest pillars of friends industry, a car plant in northern france. as unemployment passed the 3 million mark, he was seen on holiday with his girlfriend in ireland. >> they were just a band of novices during a time of crisis.

having underestimated the crisis and having made promises they could not keep. they were amateurs. >> a brief respite came when he ordered a successful military intervention in mali. while people there greeted hollande like a rockstar, the french were divided over his gay marriage bill. taxes soared and hollande failed to keep his promise to reduce unemployment. his approval rating was at just 18% last month the lowest of any french president since the 1950's. plummeting from 61% in just under two years. can one really be popular when you have to deal with the economic deficit and the unemployment rates we have? who could be popular in such a situation? nobody. >> in a turnaround, hollande has two cards up his sleeve, a new prime minister in manuel valls and a plan to kickstart the

economy. >> another anniversary this tuesday, the 20 year anniversary of the euro tunnel that links england to france. when that was first dreamed up at the beginning of the last century, it was considered a pipe dream. france 24's olivia has more on how that finally became reality. >> cordiality building transnational bridges under the sea. 20 years ago, queen elizabeth ii was joined by french president to inaugurate the euro tunnel, a feat of modern engineering. financial woes have plagued the project for most of it existence, over one billion euros in losses in its first year. investors were disappointed with traffic and rows pull share prices down in the late 1990's. in 2007, restructuring was the last resort. >> the euro tunnel group has

kept everything good about the company, efficient operations. now we have drawn a line under the financials. we're at a different place with different prospects. >> in 2009, the tunnel became profitable. last year alone, it brought in 100 million euros. >> the upturn started with the 2012 olympic games when passenger numbers jump up by 10%. that is when our customers got a taste for the train. >> travel is on both sides of the channel, the zero star service has been a resounding success. customers are not worried about the mechanics of the trip. >> you do not see this. when you sit in the train and you are reading the papers or talking to your friends or eating. >> it is very relaxing traveling. >> the euro tunnel has allowed

330 million passengers to cross the channel, facilitated freight transfer, and has emerged as a competitor of ferry and airline services between france and britain. >> let's look at our headlines the crisis in ukraine has hit the airport in donetsk all flights have been suspended by the government. the man most likely to be egypt's next president says the muslim brotherhood will be finished if he wins. abdel fattah al-sisi pushed mohammed morsi from power last year. the prime minister in thailand due to find out tomorrow whether or not she will be removed from office. yingluck shinawatra is on trial for abuse of power after months of political unrest. time to take a look at what headlines have been saying around the world. let's start with tensions in ukraine, which are getting a lot of attention.

>> on the front page of a lot of papers, "the wall street journal" says fighting is intensifying in ukraine. you can see the photo of pro-russian govunmen carrying a man in donetsk. i pulled out a cartoon from "the independent," that focuses on recent clashes in odessa. likening them to a scene from the battleship potemkin, a 1925 propaganda film, soviet era. it is a very famous film especially this scene. during a massacre, this baby carriage goes rolling down a flight of staircases, it likens the baby carriage to ukraine. a very serious cars him there. i pulled up another cartoon from the international "new york times," critical of the way europe and the u.s. are

reacting. or rather lacking any kind of reaction. europe leaning against the tree while a russian bear chomps on its toes. saying to the u.s., they are only toes. >> vladimir putin has been handing out awards for russian journalists' coverage of crimea. >> he handed out this award to some 300 russian journalists and will praise them for their professionalism and objectivity. you can see the daily beast has a different take. meet the censors propagandists and liars who won bootputin's pulitzer. a naming and shaming of the journalists and their coverage of the event. it says like other popular russian pastimes, being an

actual journalist in russia is hazardous to one's health. >> let's come back to france, the second anniversary of friends while on' -- of francois hollande's term. >> no cause for celebration. no gifts, even from the left-leaning press. this is usually a cheerleader for the president, they are saying two years after his election, hollande is still searching for himself. what has he actually achieved over the past two years? liberation says it is not three weddings and a funeral, it is one wedding and lots of funerals. the wedding is to legalize gay marriage. it says that is about it, otherwise it has been a lot of broken promises from the president. if we look at their editorial, harsh words for hollande. it says that his first two years

will go down as a lot of missed opportunities, abandon projects, and wasted time. wasted time is the title. >> criticism not only form the left and the far left. >> the communist paper says hollande is his own worst enemy they blame him for his failure. they say he -- it is because of the social democrat turn he has taken since the beginning of the year, that is where he went wrong. the u-turn is tearing the socialists apart. l'humanite says two years later all we have is a birthday cake with two candles but the flame is gone. >> the term is five years, he has three years, what is the process? >> will he be able to get a second wind? will he be able to turn things around? it says will he be able to turn things around? le monde says he actually does have a strategy to bounce back.

what is it? they say he is going to counterattack by reviewing the way his cap networks. le monde says he is going to give manual val - -- manuel valls more power than the former prime minister. >> one glimmer of hope. >> lonely at the top for hollande he is not the only president to have experienced this. his predecessor, nicholas sarkozy, experienced a turbulent period two years after he was elected. very parallel opinion polls. a dip in his approval rating two years after he was elected. he experienced criticism from his own camp, much like hollande is. and a divorce with french voters, that is what they called it. hollande might not want to drop its ration from sarkozy he was not reelected. >> thank you for that look at the press.

time for your look at sports headlines, starting with football. >> liverpool threw away a lead leaving their premier league title hopes hanging. they played one game more than manchester city, who remain favorites to secure their second crown in three seasons. manchester united will bring the curtain down on their primarily campaign when they host tuesday. they have enjoyed a miserable time, losing 7 games on their own turf. tuesday could also herald the final home match for ryan giggs who has hinted at changes. >> i think every summer is important. the trouble is after that, where do you go? you try to improve. it is always important, whether it be successful season or not.

i take your point, it has not been a great season this year. it is important that we get the right players in there and we improve on this season. >> louvain how -- louis van howe is being kept on. >> he has a brilliant reputation successful manager in different countries. he has taken ireland to the world cup and has a fantastic pedigree. >> united is seventh in the table and still can qualify if they win their last two matches. celebrity -- celebrating success, 11 points clear of roma. securing a 3-0 draw, teams are tight at nintha ndh and tenth.

rafael nadal honored by madrid. he hails from the island of majorca and has been spain's main man winning their team trophies. they asked nadal to become an adopted son of madrid on monday. >> rafa, you have the admiration of the fondness of the city. we want to show you that by designating you an adopted son of madrid. if you accept, many thanks. [applause] nadal did accept the title, a boost for him as he tries to rediscover his form after two quarterfinal exits on clay. >> to be named a son of madrid is a responsibility. it is an important recognition and because of this i like to commit to madrid and be at your disposal always.

i would like to thank you for naming me alongside other people who are part of history. for me it is a great honor to be alongside figures such as the nobel prize winner coming is a sailor. the more important title awaits nadal, the defense of his french open crown looming at the end of the month. french rugby legend sebastian announced his retirement. he made the decision after helping lyon in promotion from the second division. he played in two nations winning french sites in 2007 and 2010. 60 years since this man sir roger bannister, broke the four minute mile on may 6, 1954. he did what many people thought was impossible, competing for loucks at oscar --

completing four laps at oxford university. the man who history remembers. >> it was a target, athletes have been trying as closely as they could for years. it just did not seem to be capable of being broken. there was this magic about four symmetrical laps, one minute each. it was just something that caught the public's imagination. >> bannister recently revealed he is battling parkinson's degrees and says he is proud of his career as a neurologist. >> i would not claim to have made any very great discoveries. it has been a satisfactory and forward in our knowledge. i am far more content with that thang

many ways the holy grail of this global spirit series. just remember, for centuries, consciousness was only talked about by spiritual types but by the end of the 20th century, quantum physicists the real top science guys, began their own studies of this rather weird thing called consciousness. suddenly, they were claiming that consciousness is quite possibly the single connecting force of the entire universe. so here we go. sit back take a deep breath as we join our trusted guide and host, phil cousineau heading off to the outer frontiers of consciousness in this most engaging episode of global sprit the first "internal travel" series.