>> thanks for watching "france 24." here are the headlines this hour. pro-russian separatist asked to join russia after claiming victory in the referendum. former israeli prime minister to 6olmert is sentenced years in prison for taking bribes and a massive real estate deal. the judge compares his crimes to treason. and as france gets set to announce its team for the world cup, we will take you to little paris, the tiny town where the

squad will be based in the competition. also coming up this hour, the french riviera rolls out the red carpet for the biggest and most glamorous film festival in the world. it kicks off tomorrow in cannes. and fears are growing over the deadly virus. a second case has been confirmed in the united states. the world health organization is holding an emergency meeting in geneva today to discuss that virus that so far has no cure. but first, pro-russian separatists in ukraine celebrated yesterday as they officially proclaimed donetsk an independent republic.

they turned to vladimir putin and asked to join russia. the european union is scrambling to prevent the breakup of ukraine, but the german foreign minister is in kiev to lineup talks between both sides. >> i think we are in complete agreement that the presidential willion on the 25th of may play a crucial role. i have that for national dialogue it is possible to take steps to regain control of occupied buildings and eventually disarm illegal groups . europe and the west face an uphill battle. the pro-russians are convinced they have the upper hand. >> fireworks light up the sky in donetsk as pro-russian separatist celebrate their newly claimed independence. organizers of the referendum claimed 90% voted for the region

to break away from ukraine. assaults disputed but ukraine's central but -- the results disputed by ukraine's central government but that hasn't stopped the separatists for calling from the annexation. >> they are seeking to restore historic justice. we asked the russian federation to consider merging the donetsk people's republic within the russian federation. >> it is a sentiment shared elsewhere in eastern ukraine. voting also for independence, luhansk mad -- may soon hold a referendum on joining russia. the mayor is calling for russian military help. four weeks, the rebel stronghold has seen fighting between armed separatists and ukrainian forces. >> we need russian troops to for oure stability,

people first and foremost, and to ensure a peaceful future and eligible -- and our region. ukrainian troops as occupiers and what he calls the independent people's republic. you can government place the blame on russia -- the ukrainian government laces the blame on russia. >> for more reaction from russia let's bring in our moscow correspondent. has there been any reaction so far from the kremlin to these requests to join russia? >> rebels and the eastern part of ukraine asked to join russia but there hasn't been a reaction from official moscow on that. in terms of a statement on the referendum, it doesn't specifically say that russia recognizes the results of the referendum but it does say that moscow respect the will of the people, and some experts in russia believe it is the

bargaining chip into negotiations with the west on the future of ukraine. putin wants toe, signal to pro-russian separatists to say that look, we haven't forgot about you. aftera cautious approach the referendum and crimea. theooks like for now scenario over crimea annexation is unlikely. on monday the european union imposed sanctions on 2 as wallacen crimea 13 more people. what kind of reaction has there been to that moscow? >> ukrainian and russian individuals has been added two more sanctions. one of them a top-level presidential eight. some of these people are

believed to be directly involved in the and excision of crimea from ukraine. of crimeaannexation from ukraine. moscow has criticized the latest round of sanctions from brussels , saying that the ee you -- the eu has undermine trust in itself .s a partner moscow is saying that the eu progressionthe separatists in the eastern parts of ukraine and expect to launch a dialogue between kiev and those regions. >> thank you, julia. out to india, where the world's biggest election came to a close monday after the final phase in the marathon five weeks of voting. vote counting is underway but hindered nationalist -- the hindu nationalist opposition

leader is expected to become the country's next prime minister. if that turns out to be the case it would end a decade of rule by the indian national congress. more thanturnout with half a billion people casting ballots. after 5 long weeks of voting, the polls are closed in india. day, queues at the polling stations across the 3 states. this is the last chance for voters to decide who they think can bring stability and development to the world's largest democracy. >> i voted and i have chosen a good leader. we hope that the winner wark to ensure amid safety and the development of the country. >> one of the 41 seats being fought for is in this holy town, one of the most hotly contended them here where prime

ministerial candidate narendra modi is vying for her seat. accused of nationalist views, she has avoided talking about religion, instead talking of bowstring economic growth. >> in elections, india should be the final winner. in elections, democracy should win. endf modi wins it would tenures of government -- 10 years of government by the indian national congress party. the party is lost support, dog yite corruption -- dogged b corruption and scandal. the election results are expected to be announced on friday. where formerrael, prime minister ehud olmert has been sentenced to 6 years in prison following a conviction for accepting bribes went to a

property development when he was major of jerusalem. 2000-europped with a fine. this is the first time a former israeli head of government has been ordered to jail. give us some more details about this sentencing. the conviction would truly -- was truly a surprise. what about the sentencing? >> month and half ago, very strong language with the that olmertciding is accused of bribery and that he lied to the court, that he knew about the 100,000 euros past to his brother to facilitate construction, what many in jerusalem called monstrosity. 6 years is definitely a way that olmert would not like to be remembered in history. he is supposed to start the sentence in september.

mayor of jerusalem, remembered here is the one who waged wars in lebanon and gaza, and then the israeli prime minister who came closest to the palestinians in terms of reaching a final status agreement. and said heabbas was going to reach an agreement, and now he will be remembered as the prime minister who is going to prison. >> what kind of reaction was there from walmart either during the sentencing or afterwards -- from ehud olmert either during the sentencing or afterwards? >> he is claiming he is not guilty, pleading not guilty, going to the supreme court, and there he will say he had no knowledge of the 100,000 euros that were passed on to his brothers. this will be his main legal claim, and he will claim that the judge has no evidence that he had knowledge of the money. >> thank you so much for that.

arrested 6ce have ists going to the war in syria. that happened in the eastern town of strasbourg. it comes weeks after france announced a new push to stop french militants from traveling to syria. interior minister said the man went there among hundreds of french militants who have gone in recent years. there are fears they could use the fighting skills they learn there back home. and the second case of the deadly burst virus has been confirmed in the united states. the virus was first discovered in the middle east and has affected close to 500 people. is world health organization holding an emergency meeting in geneva to discuss the merits. -- to discuss the virus. possession possibly the carrier of a deadly disease will stop -- deadly disease.

carry along with bats can middle east respiratory symptom, or mers. it was discovered in 2012. and contagious than sars, has no cure and kills about one third of its victims. >> the number of cases we have seen in saudi arabia and the united arab emirates as well of cases exported to other countries raise his public raises questions whether the virus has changed in any way. >> so far, no changes in the virus genome has been found. on tuesday the world health organization will be discussing findings in an emergency meeting. on monday, officials announced a second case of the disease on u.s. soil. now in a florida hospital, the 44-year-old patient is a health-care worker who lives in saudi arabia. he was already ill during his trip to the u.s.

the cdc is contacting 500 people who were on his flight. they say that it is purely a precautionary measure. >> airplanes themselves are not a likely place for acquisition. we are intensively evaluating airplane travelers for these 2 patients that have traveled into the united states to understand where there is any risk or not. international teams are working together to explain the recent upsurge in cases and srevent further spread of mer before saudi arabia sees an in visitors for ramadan. in canada, 3 employees linked to last summer's runaway oil train disaster are due to appear in court. the crash left 47 dead. the company has been dissolved but the engineer, the manager of train operations, and the railway traffic controller are facing criminal negligence charges in the small eastern québec town.

about 30 buildings in the town were destroyed by exploding tank cars. in canada, criminal negligence that causes death can result in a life sentence in jail. a little bit of sports news for you now. manager of the french football team is set to unveil his 30-man squad for the world cup tonight. we still don't know all the names on the team but we do know where they will be staying. whatttle paris -- that is brazilians have nicknamed it. the french national football team has chosen this quiet town in são paulo state for the world cup. it is known for its french way of life. french culture is very present here. even the buildings are inspired i it. i think it brings us a lot and we are proud to be able to introduce you to that culture.

the team will be staying in this luxurious hotel, when i -- rented exclusively for them for an undisclosed sum. in the stadium, the changing rooms are being revamped for more than $100,000. little paris' local businesses are set on making the most of the french invasion. like here at the colorado brewery. >> we will be making a very special beer for the french team . it is to welcome the french people and the french team. tourists, because i think we will see a lot of tourists here. >> the team will arrive on the ninth of june to prepare for their first match. >> all right, let's take a look at our headlines for you this hour on "france 24"

in ukraine, pro-russian separatists asked to join russia after claiming victory in the referendum there. the west and tf have called the vote you legal and say that the german foreign minister isn'ukraine to kicks -- is in ukraine to kickstart talks. former israeli prime minister ehud olmert is sentenced to 6 years in prison for taking bribes in a massive real estate deal. the judge compares his crime to treason. and 2 former first ladies take to the streets of france for a march in support of the schoolgirls kidnapped in nigeria. saysist group boko haram it will trigger the girls and a prisoner swap. the nigerian government said there would be no negotiations, but one minister now says the government will do whatever it takes to free the girls. take a look at what the headlines have been saying around the world. still in the papers today on these over 200 nigerian

schoolgirls objected almost a month ago. ago.ducted almost a month >> front pages all over the world. in france -- the islamist group, calling them barbarians. it focuses on's international movement that is really gaining speed, this #bringbackourgirls campaign. it says that the world's attention is focused on the girls. 2 demonstrations are being held in paris today in support of those girls. there is one this morning and there is due to be one this afternoon at 6:00 p.m. an article in "the independent" is critical of the nigerian response to the abduction, and says that in nigeria, female rights and respect are not a priority, and according to this article, president goodluck jonathan was only stirred into movement after the worldwide campaign, this #bringbackourgirls.

you can see a photograph of michelle obama. only that really sparked the nigerian government into action. >> another major news stories the declaration of independence of the so-called people's republic of donetsk in eastern ukraine. >> "the independent" points out that the world's newest country is likely to have a short-lived life because it is asking to be ruled by moscow. it says "the country is born after a vote by 100.63% of its operation." "the independent" did the math and it seems like fuzzy math. "if guardian" talks about this is an exercise in democracy, it is seriously flawed." "putin's clear intentions are unclear so the best focus is to the presidential election in ukraine." it calls on the international

community to encourage russia to back these elections in ukraine. >> there has been much attention in france on the french national anthem. page, is itnt sacred? why is the french national anthem at the heart of the scandal in france? the far right, the national front party, has called on the justice minister to step down. why? during an official ceremony over the weekend, she refused to sing -- well, she didn't refused to sing, she just didn't sing it. she defended her decision by saying that it was a moment of reflection for her, and she didn't want to participate in "karaoke in a public platform." now, this sparked renewed outrage in the national front party, saying that this was proof of her contempt for france. this points out that attacking her for the fact that she did llaise" isla marsei

pretty low-level politics. the article points out that it is ethically normal and even protocol sometimes for ministers not to sing the national anthem, especially if it is being performed by a military band. we have seen footage of other high profile politicians, including françois along, nicolas sarkozy, not singing. on that saturday when she was attacked, she was standing asked to the education minister, who wasn't singing either, but he is not being attacked. critics say that the real reason she is being attacked is because she is black and blatant racism. >> the karaoke comment might've been a bit too far. >> the fact that she referred to the national anthem as karaoke is a bitter pill to swallow for many on the far right. hushing up in this budding scandal, she fanned the

flames and people wonder if that was necessary. >> people are looking forward to the summer holidays. bade have a pretty reputation compared to european neighbors on being somewhat lazy. we are beating all the records but not the records you might think. only 58% of french people are planning on going vacation this summer, according to this poll. 4-point drop from last year. record low. why is that? people are unemployed and taxes are rising and they don't have money to go on vacation. a lot of people who will be coming on vacation are chinese tourists. there is an article that focuses on the fact that more and more chinese tourists are coming to france, so much so that paris is going to get a new security force patrolling the streets, and these are police officers from china. in thee chinese speaking

idea is to crack down on a growing phenomenon, crime against tourists from asia in general. this article points out that the please don't have the best track record when it comes to human rights and it is controversial. >> thank you for that look at what the newspapers are saying today. .ime now for sports the brazil world cup is a month away and national squads have begun compiling their preliminary teams. we will look at the british squad. 23-mancoach is named his squad with an emphasis more on youth than experience. he has included several rising ,tars, including ross barclay raheem sterling, and jordan henderson. >> the balance is still quite good. there are enough players. cahill, baines, gerard, all of

these people have got plenty between them. it would be wrong to focus totally on the fact that there are some out there who are young and less experienced, because everyone is inexperienced until the time he gets a chance to show he can do the job. >> perhaps the most to remove is the admission of ashley cole in favor of the teenage southampton left. the 18-year-old has displaced the 33-year-old as the understudy to gains, despite only making his international debut in march. >> 2 very different things. one player has got 107 caps and one who has many to come. at the end of the day, it was a decision i had to take, and it was a hard job, actually, to explain that to him. i can only be unbelievably grateful for the gracious way that he accepted the decision and accepted that it was a choice i had to make.

>> his 35-year-old chelsea teammate did make the cut. the campaign against italy on june 14. kimberly and wilshire are in despite injury. danny will backer is included despite the worst premier league in southampton. there is just one month to go until the world cup begins in brazil. secretarythe fifa general is keeping up pressure on the host nation as the tournament comes into view. after years of missed due dates and preparation, some of the 12 stadiums are still largely untested, and with the world cup such a kick off on june 12 in chiefulo, fifa's overlooked or is trying to look ahead positively.

>> we have started work outside the stadium. it is important that we work with the cities, the state, because they are responsible for the arena most of the time and we will do our own work, meeting we will install our system in .he stadium it is these days where you feel that the competition is coming and there is excitement. in the meantime, it is important to finish and test everything to make sure it is working. >> with preparations marked by costs,death, spiraling and of assertions, there is a lot riding on the next 30 days. monaco is known to be the playboy's paradise, and it opens its doors to the world of motor racing. the f1 circus rolls into town, but last weekend, the grand prix start brought together 50 years of motor racing across several

categories, with many familiar drivers at the wheel. >> it is always a challenge for the driver. it is going to be greater this year because it will be the and it is not that easy. easy. elgg99ññwçça7gucéñ

and this week, it's oneness: the big picture, you know, where we are all coming from and where we are all going to, in other words, the grand theory that ties together everything... perhaps. so let's now explore oneness: the big picture with philosopher deepak chopra and author riane eisler. warning: this program may change your life. [ambient instrumental music] ♪ - i'm heading north from san francisco on my way to meet a unique group