journal" livee from berlin. thanks for joining us. coming up, tension in eastern ukraine ahead of the disputed poll on breaking away from kiev. they urge russia to de-escalate the crisis. they finally raise the shield having won the title three weeks ago. will eastern ukraine go the same

way as crimea? pro-russian separatists are hoping it will. they have organized a referendum on whether or not to split away from kiev's control. placenday poll is taking with no independent observers and has drawn international condemnation. the interim president has warned moving toward secession would be a step into the abyss. >> pro-russian separatists were out in force. they barricaded administrative openings. they are determined the sunday election take place. >> it is my job to give every resident the opportunity to vote, to determine the final number, and inform the media and world about it. i don't know how things will go, but i think a crimea like scenario would be appropriate. >> organizers have printed 3 million ballots. but there are no security markings to prevent them from being duplicated.

election officials are refusing to allow international observers to monitor the vote. >> if i vote, it will be no. i think the referendum is unacceptable. there are no observers, no control, no voter lists. you can vote whenever and however many times you want. it is not a referendum. it is a mess. >> the government along with the e.u. and u.s. are calling the vote illegal. many people in eastern ukraine support the pole and believe it will help restore stability. of course we will approve it. what else can we do? i am worried about ukraine. we want peace. we want to work as we used to. >> rebel controlled cities are relatively calm, but there is concern sunday's vote could lead to another flareup of tensions. >> let's get the latest from our correspondent. how are things looking? expected toendum

come off peacefully? commissiontion stationed at the people's republic in the occupied city hall says they are expecting over 75% turnout in the city. further away in other towns, they say they might get 100% turnout. we don't have any output figures on who might or might not vote. we have been to towns and villages where they say they are not preparing for abraham the -- referendum. there are no stations available to the separatists to stage a poll. there a great sense of anticipation. we will have to see what please out -- plays out. some said they would come out to vote. it is not clear if everyone [no audio] this move. >> assuming the vote does go ahead, any ideas how it might turn out? >> it is difficult to say.

the pro-russian movement is confident. they believe they will have high turnout. [no audio] i think it may be true in have a cities, they do lot of people behind them. where people are not sure politically, they have gone on the offensive. they have managed to sway opinion in some places. there are other places that are still pro-ukraine and still have local government buildings aligned to kiev. those people are not behind the separatists and do not want this progression movement. it will be interesting what plays out. . we are hearing reports about falsifying votes. we do not know how credible the vote will be. we will have to see how it plays out could wholly will open tomorrow at 8:00 and close at 10:00. yes, favoring is breaking away from kiev control,

what will that mean? >> it is a good question. the international community is unlikely to recognize it. we heard angela say the vote is considered illegal. we are not expecting the government in kiev to recognize it either. they did not recognize the vote in crimea. that did not stop that referendum going ahead. in practical terms, what will people do about annexing this region if it comes to that? it is logistically more difficult than what happened in crimea. already the separatists have control of a great deal of government buildings in many towns. it is difficult to know what they could do without further military clashes. >> thank you for bringing us up-to-date. we apologize for the audio dropouts in the feed. western powers are dismissing's sunday vote --sunday's vote as illegal. the leaders of france and germany say the key to

stabilizing the country is the presidential elections planned for may 25. they say russia must do more to assure they go smoothly or face more sanctions. >> these were crucial talks for chancellor merkel and president hollande. they travel to the northern constituency for a meeting dominated by ukraine. europe struggled to formulate a year of -- unified response. now they have agreed on a plan. the presidential elections must go ahead this month. >> we have agreed to cooperate closely and stay in regular contact. the next two weeks leading up to the left and -- election on may 25 will be a delicate time. we want to make clear the russian president needs to make foreater effort de-escalation so the election can take place. there have been initial signs, but it needs to be reinforced so the message gets through to eastern and southern parts of that everyone wants to

see a free and fair presidential election. they have warned of tougher economic sanctions against russia. we are in phase two of the sections --sanctions. we hope there will not be a need for phas thre. >> they agreed the government has to meet resistance from all regions soon, excluding those committed to violence. they want all sides to refrain from using force. they are calling on militias to surrender weapons. they say this will allow the kiev government to end its military campaign. it is a show of unity. they now have to secure agreement on it. tointernational efforts rescue 276 cool girls being held by islamist extremists in nigeria are gathering pace.

british security experts have joined nigerian and american forces looking for the girls. in the main city, demonstrators marched again to protest the government's failure to find the girls who were kidnapped by boko haram last month. their fate has triggered growing international concern. the u.s. first lady michelle obama has joined the outcry against the kidnappings. act wasunconscionable committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education. to snuff attempting out the aspirations of young girls. in these girls, we see our own daughters. we see their hopes and dreams. anguishnly imagine the their parents are feeling right now. lady.t was the u.s. first the u.n. says it is preparing

aid deliveries to south sudan a day after a peace deal between the warring factions. it is the second time the sides agreed to a truce, but the first time their leaders have signed up in person. so far, there have been no reports of fresh fighting. >> the peace deal came as a surprise to many. the president and the rebel leader signed an agreement a short time after their first face-to-face meeting. details are to be worked out in the coming days. the ethiopian president was instrumental in the success of the talks. >> by signing this agreement, and the otherdent leader have underscored there is no military solution to the and a in south sudan sustainable solution can be achieved only through inclusive political process. >> according to the agreement, all fighting will cease within

24 hours. a transitional government will be formed followed by fresh elections. mass atrocities in the country since the conflict broke out. thousands of civilians have fallen victim. women, children, the elderly. observers say peace will be difficult to sustain, but there is hope. nobody will again open fire on another person. that thisg the signal conflict must be ended peacefully. >> international relief organizations hope the deal will open the way for humanitarian assistance for one million civilians. the test is whether both sides will uphold their end of the accord. >> on to sports.

with munich having claimed the title long ago, the big question going into saturday's final round was which clubs will be relegated. now we have the answers. they moved down after one season in the top spot. they lost and finished last in the table. bloomberg made -- nuremburg dropped after a thrashing. they now face playoffs to determine whether they stay in the first division. here's a look at the results from the last day of play. stuttgart won nil. berlin lost. 3-2.er had the last word here is a look at the end of the season standings. there were no changes in the top of the table.

they are chance. -- they are the champs. in the lower half, berlin slipped another notch. hamburg go into the playoffs. they will know their opponents after the second division games. perspective from our sports correspondent. let's start with the relegation battle. is hamburg deserve a second chance? >> in my opinion, not really. they did not win a valiant last gasp match. they lost again for the fifth time in a row. they have only won seven times all season. they're only in the playoffs because the teams beneath them are worse. it has not been a fantastic season for hamburg. they get a second bite because of the german playoff system.

i think the shock of relegation might do them good. >> not a spectacular performance from the teams at the end of the season. in thely mustered a win last minute. >> it sums up of the it -- a bit of a lackluster season overall. year ago, it was the toast of europe. we had two german teams in the final. everyone was saying it was a great addition. that has petered out. they not only mathematically won the title early, they won it for practical purposes in november. there have been bright spots, but it has not been much of an entertaining season for the german fans. >> they are dominating like hardly ever before. is there any hope next season will be more competitive? >> on the face of it, it is not

great news. the challengers are losing one of their key players. he was crowned the top scorer today. he is off to munich. a slight glimmer of hope is they are trying to replace him with who couldp scorer cost 20 million euros. that is because they are qualified again for the champions league, building themselves up commercially and are gradually bridging the gap to buy munich. it is a long way to go. >> thanks. this year's eurovision song contest has kicked off in copenhagen. about 15 minutes into the competition which features 26 countries, sweden's intrigue -- entry is one of the favorites. the contest continues for the next three hours or so. we will keep you posted. >> ♪

that is it for "the journal." thanks for watching. stay tuned to dw. >> ♪ >> in the coastal city of tackle bond in the philippines, the streets are again full of life. has been six months since typhoon haiyan devastated large parts of the country. there are few places harder hit than the area of -- than this area. this is what it looked like in the wake of the disaster. this is the same street last

november days after the typhoon hit. haiyan was the strongest storm to make landfall since records began. it had wind speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour and destructive waves that destroyed everything in the past. -- in their path. thousands lost their lives. six months on, i have come back to see how the survivors are coping with what they experienced and lost. i also wanted to know how much the help promised after the storm had arrived. i am surprised how many of the

residents have returned to the place where many lost friends and family members. these houses have been built illegally. the government has declared the coastline a danger area. here have no live other choice. we came back because we did not know where else to go. if someone offered us another place to live that was not far away, we would take it immediately. i would burn this hut to the ground. >> he and his son have rebuilt their family home from scratch.

neighbors, they have not received official government approval. the residents do not own the land. they just started occupying it. in other places, they would need to pay rent which they can't afford. that is why they are here. his daughter-in-law tells me the new huts are smaller than what they had before. they still do not have a proper roof. instead, they are using part of a tent. the government plans to resettle all the families who live here, for the new housing projects are unfinished or already full.

situation shows just how many people were affected. a few kilometers further up the coast, the situation is even more uncertain. disaster, after the hundreds of families still live in tents. that is an improvement from last year when thousands were in temporary shelters. but for those who remain here, survival is a constant struggle. she is one of those who has not found a new place to live. she shows me the tent that has been her home for the last five months. she lives here with her aunt and several other relatives. -- the sides are

moldy and during the day, the heat is unbearable. many have been given approval to move into the new developments that are being built. she is still waiting. >> when it rains, everything floods. planks on the floor, we could not even sleep in it rains. the tent is so small you cannot stand up inside. there are also tons of mosquitoes. outside, i meet someone who works for the international organization for migration. she is working to improve the living conditions here as quickly as possible. she also wants the improvements to be sustainable.

the best outcome for people would be to leave the camp altogether. families looking at that are more vulnerable now than before. it does not take something of that scale to affect them the way it has this time. typhoon,rm, another and it is on that slippery slope. >> she says progress has been made. but the extent of the catastrophe was enormous. there are more dangerous on the horizon. the next typhoon season begins in july. that is something he is well aware of. he's an engineer working for care international. he wants people to be better prepared when the next storm hits. today he is complaining to his supplier. he is not happy with the materials he has received.

the heads of the nails are too small and the corrugated iron is too thin. >> it just flies out because it is so thin. we need the thicker ones so in a strong wind it will stay. >> care international distributes building materials to communities affected by the typhoon. nails, tools, and corrugated iron. he also gives out instruction manuals to help people build more secure structures than the ones destroyed by the storm. the technical recommendations we are giving with the materials will be much better than before so there will be less damage to

life and property. but we cannot guarantee it will totally be better. >> he is under no illusions. even a well constructed hut could not withstand a storm of haiyan's for portions. but the people here except anything less accept anything that will help them rebuild their homes and lives. for many survivors, rebuilding without assistance would be impossible. as technical support, they need financial help, too. their most important sources of palms, whileut rotting in the fields. the typhoon has been an economic catastrophe as well as a humanitarian one. >> we depended on the coconut palms. what should be due?

we are planting sweet potatoes so the children have something to eat. as much as we can to get odd jobs on building sites or in the fields, even though they did not pay very much. >> after the emergency response and rebuilding, the next challenge is to help people regain some economic independence. people, that will take months or even years. i go back to tacloban. not far from the center, the government has set up emergency accommodations for hundreds of families. anthony lives in one of the houses with his wife and their seven children. the family used to live right by

the water. for anthony, there is no question of returning. he is still struggling to come to terms with the disaster. he says he still has nightmares about what happened. >> we saw some trucks roll in the flood and people asking for help. strong winds getting stronger and worse. second -- a second, everybody was gone. people were gone. >> anthony is not the only one still dealing with what happened here. his neighbors take comfort from their faith.

the preacher from the fellowship of born-again christians comes by once a week. he talks to the residents and gives them encouragement. he asks if they see themselves as a victim or a survivor. >> as a victim. >> he says he has seen too many terrible things. after the typhoon, we were all victims. but we survived. if we think positively and believe in god, we can get our old lives back. to normal life -- a normal life. i asked father god and jesus christ -- >> later, the group raised

together and they pray for strength. i feel they will need it. to spite the help they are getting, the normal lives the desperately -- they desperately desperately -- they desperately want

- hello, i'm john cleese. the inquiry into human consciousness is, in 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.