>> welcome to "the journal," coming to you live from dw here in berlin. >> could you happy with us. coming up -- juan carlos abdicates to make way for his son. >> palestinians in gaza swear in a national unity government backed by both hamas and for top -- fatah. >> and elections in syria as the civil war rages on.

>> it is the end of an era. after 40 years on the throne, spanish king juan carlos i is announced he is stepping down. >> speaking to the nation, he says it is the time for a new era and is making way for his son, felipe, to take over. >> in the early afternoon, spaniards watched as his tree was making -- history was being made on their television screens. >> today, a younger generation has earned a place in the front row. to confront all of the problems facing our society with new energy and determination, to address the challenges of tomorrow with new power and devotion. >> the death of general francisco franco hated the way

for juan carlos to ascend the -- paved the way for juan carlos to ascend the throne. he was crowned in december of 1975. [applause] is a prize to many with his support for the democratic reforms favored by the people. perhaps his most famous moments came during an attempted coup in 1981 when soldiers forced their way into the spanish parliament. juan carlos went on television to proclaim unwavering the board for the democratically elected government. the coup failed without his backing. spain also entered the european union and its economy flourished. in recent years, the 76-year-old juan carlos has not been in good health. he appeared weak and frail during his last visit to germany three years ago. newspapers in spain have also been filled with critical stories.

when many spaniards were suffering austerity measures, their king found time for a luxury safari in botswana. reaction among the spanish people to the king's abdication is mixed. >> it is a shame. i'm really sorry. i do not know what is going to become of spain. >> i am all for it if the king's abdication will bring about positive changes, but i think they have to change the constitution first. >> spain's constitution does not provide for an application, so some legislation will be needed for prince felipe to take over the throne. he is popular among the people, so he is well positioned replace the gloss on spain's tarnished monarchy. >> our correspondent joins us on the line from madrid. first off, why did juan carlos picked this time to abdicate? was it all about age? >> no, it wasn't.

he had lost of the political capital that the report we have just seen explains. he had issues. he is 76 years old, but there is the corruption scandal, the lack of transparency. and then some scandals regarding his private life, safaris. he says the next generation is demanding a role in the future. so, he sees that his time is past and he has taken the moment to focus on his son. >> tell us about felipe. what is his reputation? >> much better than the one of his father. he does very well in surveys. he has no stain to compare him

to other members of the family. he has been well prepared for quite some time now. his wife -- for the first time, there will be a clean and not belonging to aristocracy, so that helps them become -- be a queen not belonging to aristocracy, so that helps him become more popular. >> thank you for that from madrid. to the middle eastasasasasasas'f the unity government, or in thing the pact between the hamas and fatah faction. >> hamas inaugurated a new cabinet after a last-minute dispute was resolved. the new government may be a step toward palestinian reconciliation after the hamas uprising in gaza in 2007, but it

als looks set to compound the difficulty with the peace process with israel. israel considers hamas a terrorist organization. >> the palestinians have been trying to gain the diplomatic initiative for the past few weeks after israel announced it would continue building settler homes in the west bank. >> the situation remains dire for the people of gaza, under a blockade since 2007. >> the crossing between gaza and egypt is almost deserted. egyptian authorities have rarely opened the states in recent months. people in gaza are hoping that is now set to change. >> i hope president abbas can do something about this, about the lockdown and the whole situation here. i have never heard of a border crossing anywhere in the world that was best known for the fact it has always been closed.

the rafah crossing is always shot. -- shut. >> for most people in gaza, this crossing is their only gateway to the outside world. it will now be bared to the palestinian authority is. the challenge will be for hamas and fatah to bring their two organizations together. organizations that have been operating independently. delegates say they are optimistic. >> with just one office in charge, one government and one minister for gaza and the west bank that will take care of everything. >> people here in gaza especially need a physical sense on the ground that things are really changing. otherwise, this will lead to disappointment. >> so far, the only concrete

plans are for 3000 police officers to be integrated into the security apparatus at gaza. the two separate security forces will otherwise continue side-by-side in so long overdue elections can be held. they are not expected for another six months. >> let's cross over to our correspondent, tonya cramer, who joins us from gaza city. first off, we are hearing the u.s. says it will be working with the new palestinian government now. that is quite a turnaround, especially as washington considers hamas, like israel, a terrorist organization. >> it might be a sign of a turnaround, giving palestinian some moved to advance a negotiation. the president is saying that it is his government recognizing israel -- and one that has no

hamas members in the cabinet probably maybe u.s. administration a bit more open to this government. >> have the israelis responded? they have already threatened more sanctions. >> they have called on other nations to do the same. as you say, the security cabinet made a statement late this afternoon, talking about new measures against the cabinet. already a month ago, they called for financial sanctions. they made it clear that they will be palestinian authority for "any harm" as they call it from the rocket fire from gaza. which is interesting in that it could mean retaliation from the west bank. >> what is behind the unity push from fatah and hamas, and what could it mean for palestinian aspirations to state would forward? >> i think they believe they can

improve the situation because they are under one umbrella. they can negotiate with one voice. of course, we know israel called off negotiations at the time the reconciliation deal was made public some time ago. i think both parties were quickly losing popularity. as far as hamas is concerned, they were under financial pressure. and the people you so think these things about the legacy right now. >> ok, tonya cramer with that for us from gaza's eddie. thanks very much. -- gaza city. thanks very much. russia has accused ukrainian authorities of crimes against its own people in the eastern region where a deadly battle has been raging since russian separatists attacked a border guard base. >> at least five people were killed, with both sides blaming each other. >> cctv footage captured the

explosion at a building occupied by pro-russian separatists in luhansk. kiev has denied the allegations. it says the separatists hit the building with a rocket when they were trying to shoot down the ukrainian army plane. throughout the day, luhansk was the scene of heavy clashes between the two sides. hundreds attacked the ukrainian border post in one of the biggest offensives so far. these images show them firing from the roof of a nearby residential building. a ukrainian office spokesman said -- said they sent aircraft to the area, but they were unable to stop the fighting. >> to the u.s. now -- the obama administration has unveiled a wide-ranging plan to reduce

carbon emissions by 30%. it will be a two percent annually on average over 10 years. >> much of the u.s. public does not support the move with many americans skeptical that carbon emissions are even the primary culprit in rising global temperatures. >> powerplants are the biggest source of carbon pollution in the u.s., responsible for 40% of the country's carbon emissions. the new legislation aims to bring down the number. at it has been drawn up by the u.s. environmental regulator, which says the measures will protect the public and the method the economy. >> for the sake -- and benefit the economy. >> for the sake of our familie'' health and our future, we have the obligation to act on climate. we do, we take the risks of climate into business opportunity. we will spur innovation and investment and we will build a

world-leading clean energy economy. the science is clear. the risks are clear. the high risks and action keep piling up. >> despite evidence about the existence of climate change, skepticism is widespread in the u.s. polls from the pew research center have shown a constant decline in the number of americans who believe dealing with climate change should be a top priority. obama has said the new rules will put the u.s. on course to meet its international climate targets and enable it to put pressure on other big polluters like china. >> some business news now to look at the action on equity markets this monday. we will turn to our correspondents at frankfurt, where traders almost reached a milestone. >> the german stocks index, dax, climbed to 9902 -- 9992 points.

putting a bit of a damper on the sector, in junior and firms got less new orders. numerous a about inflation. in germany it has plunged to the lowest level i and four years, -- in four years, which gives one more reason to back these stimulating measures. this could make the german stocks in tax -- index rise again of to 10,000 points. >> these are the raw market numbers. starting in frankfurt with the dax, ever so slightly in the positive territory for today. india 9950. euro stoxx 50 also up a 10th of a percent. in new york city, the dow jones industrial average up as well, and the euro sliding against the

dollar. >> we are going to a short break. when we come back, the deteriorating security situation in nigeria. >> and a >> welcome back. we will go to nigeria now where nearly 100 people were killed over the weekend. islamist radicals launched a series of attacks in the northeast. >> in the town of mubi, dozens appeared dead after a bomb went off during a soccer match. and dozens were killed when militants attacked a number of villages. >> the islamist group boko haram and is thought to be behind those attacks. their mission is to establish an islamic state in nigeria and they will go to any end to establish that. they are responsible for

kidnapping 200 nigerian schoolgirls, who are still missing. >> it is atypical -- a typical sunday morning. christians in church while soldiers guard the entrance on the street. an attack can come at any time. locals say it was not always that way. >> with the situation of the country, everyone takes precautions to come to church. >> [indiscernible] a lot of people will say he is a muslim, i do not trust him. i do not trust him, he is a christian. >> religion is a source of tension here. sharia law sparked a conflict that pitted neighbor against neighbor.

over 1000 people died in fish is fighting. churches and mosques were torched and many -- over 1000 people died in vicious fighting. churches and mosques were torched. >> christians tend to stay on the south side of the river and muslims over there on the north. still, most people here just want to live together in peace. >> there are still moments of interfaith cooperation. christians and muslims are celebrating together at this wedding. the muslim groom could not afford such a large celebration, so his christian friends chipped in to help feed the many guest. >> this is a wonderful day. it doesn't make any difference who cooked the food. christians and muslims are celebrating a wedding together, and that makes me very happy.

>> the pastor hopes this will send a signal. >> islam is a religion of peace, too. nobody can divide us. >> boko haram attacked the region two years ago. no one knows when the next attack will come, as shadow that hangs over even peaceful moments like this. >> to syria now, where the public is repairing for a presidential election on tuesday. >> the poll is the first multicandidate polls since the ruling baath party took power in 1963. >> the election is only taking place in government held areas and few doubt that president assad will be returned to office. >> it is something that has not happened in syria for five decades. multiple candidates are arriving in the presidential election.

too many here, it seems like a cruel joke. the country is still in the middle of a civil war. after three years, people still trapped by fighting, children still dying, and the fighting goes on. >> since assad started his election campaign, the attacks have just gotten worse. he has totally destroyed aleppo, as if to show who is boss in syria. it has been that way and it is still like that. >> aleppo is split in two. aside from troops have captured the west. the east of the city is under rebel control. keep a live in extremely difficult -- people live in extremely difficult conditions. water, food, and medicine are in short supply. there have not been schools for a long time, and there will not be voting in this area. >> do you see any sign of elections here? assad will only organize the

vote for his own people, to show them he is the legitimate president. >> the opposition is boycotting the elections. it is one thing the highly fractious groups can agree on. only two candidates have been allowed to stand against the side. the rebels dismissed them as puppets. the people say they do not want these elections. assad has destroyed their lives and tat cannot be undone. >> if our dead rise from the grave, if we get back our missing limbs, our destroyed houses, and our displaced citizens, and a side gives up power -- assad gives up power, then we can think about elections. but not until then. >> these elections have no legitimacy and should never happen under the circumstances. never. >> this does not seem to a phase a side. -- to phase assad.

he has retaken many rebel held areas. the regime's weapons include a mixture of gas and explosives banned under international law. the military dumps them on to residential areas. >> writes, a world cup winner. he won the unjustly got three times as a player and her team times -- he won the bundesliga three times as a player and 13 times with his organization. >> uli hoeness. convicted for dodging taxes earlier this year. >> he was sentenced to three and a half years. >> the media gathered, hoping to get a glimpse of a millionaire going to what is normally a poor man's jail. he will start his term in a 2-man cell.

like all men made, hoeness will have to win at -- have to wear a risen uniform. he will be woken in his cell at 9:00 a.m. his application to be moved to another prison because of the intense media attention was turned down. at his last outlook appearance a few weeks ago, a defiant hoeness said he expected to resume work at bayer munich as soon as his sentence is served. he can be sure the media will do its best to catch him walking free. >> all right, with just 10 days ago until kickoff in brazil, germany's coach has announced his squad for the world cup. he is batting his injured stars --betting on his injured stars after sunday's unconvincing

victory against cameroon. >> germany came back with goals, but in the 80th minute, those hopes of world cup winning overshadowed by injuries. only one proper striker. >> all right, in the run-up, a series profiling the favorites and possible surprise packages for the tournament today. perhaps even that is a stretch. >> algeria in the spotlight today. 18 known as the desert foxes. they are the only known representatives of the arab world taking part this time. it is their fourth trip to the finals and they are regarded as ranked outsiders -- r rank outsiders. >> algeria has vowed to up their performance in brazil with more

players. they have drawn a mostly foreign-born talent who played for european clubs. her strength will not be individual stars, but as a -- they are strengths will not be individual stars, but as a working unit. >> you need world class players, of course, but more than anything, i think our chances playing as a team. >> football has a huge fan following in algeria. after they qualified for the world cup last year, there were nationwide celebrations. it was only the fourth time ever algeria got through to be world cup finals and people partied in the streets. >> soccer is the only opportunity for us to express positive emotions and to relax. it is a valve to release some of the pressure we are under. there is nothing else to be happy about. >> political rallies are banned

and the capital of algiers, and police often clamped down heavily on the senate. the president has been in office for 15 years. despite repeated discoveries of oil and gas, the wealth does not filter down to the masses. disillusionment is widespread. >> many people in algeria are very poor. lots of young people do not have a job and have let -- lots of problems. so, they really let rip in the stadium. it is a time to be passionate about something. especially when the national squad arrived. >> algeria are in group h. their stated goal is to advance the onto the group stage, something algeria has never managed before in the world cup. >> moving onto another type of story. inventors in switzerland have successfully tested a solar powered aircraft they hope to

fly round the world next year. >> it is called the solar impulse ii, and it took off on its maiden voyage. it has a wingspan longer than a boeing 747 but weighs less than your common automobile. the prototype is able to store solar energy, should make it possible to circle the earth -- get this -- in just five days. good luck to them. we will be following that flight very closely. >> five days still sounds like a long ride. >> we will be back at the top of the hour. not that long until then. >> great having you with us. do stay tuned. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

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>> it is 9:00 p.m. in the french capital. let's see what is making news this hour. stepped juan carlos down as king saying the time has come to make way for a new generation. his 46-year-old son will take over. swap over the deal to guantanamo bay detainees for a held soldier republicans arn it could put americans at risk. once enemies are burying the hatchet. a palestinian government has been sworn in and israel said it will