>> hello and welcome to and quote the journal" coming to you live from dw in berlin. >> here is what is coming up in the next half-hour. the u.s. president promises more troops training and cash for the european states bordering russia. >> will elections pave the way for peace or bloodshed? we will be talking with our regional analysts. >> the world's most popular satirist says his show has been canceled because of political pressure.

this -- we begin this program in europe where president barack obama has called for an expanded military presence in some of the former soviet states including russia. >> he made the announcement to poland, his first stop on a three-day european tour. he is under pressure from hoxha both parties were challenging him to do more to confront russia. >> president obama has been accused of showing weakness over the ukraine. he came to warsaw with a promise . at a meeting with his polish counterpart, he pledged to back the commitment with a further $1 billion in military training and cooperation in the region. >> we will increase the number of american personnel, army, and

air force units continuously rotating through countries in central and eastern europe and stepping up our partnership with friends like ukraine, moldova, and georgia. >> u.s. president called on russia to do more to calm situation ukraine or risk further sanctions. >> russia has a responsivity to engage constructively with the government in kiev to prevent the fall of militants and weapons into eastern ukraine. russia needs to be using its influence to convince them to stop attacking ukrainian security forces. lay down their arms and inter-into the political process. >> later, obama met the leaders of nine other central and eastern european countries to discuss their common security effort. the u.s. is keen for other members, no matter how small, to increase their military spending

levels. >> our correspondent is following obama's trip to europe. she gave us some more details on what the u.s. president has been setting out. >> he wants to reassure the u.s. partners in eastern europe which are the nato partners, but he also mentioned georgia, ukraine, and moldova. these one billion, this will go into bilateral agreements. this means that u.s. troops are rotated into this country. this is somewhat separate. at the same time we hear noises coming out of russell's. nato should be more flexible. they should be able to go much quicker. this is to bolster the defense

spending. this is the u.s. going ahead, providing the action security that these eastern european countries so long for in these days of crises. >> following barack obama' poland. we will move over to syria where voting is underway and the country is highly controversial. holy stations worked this morning but only in government controlled areas. >> this is taking place during the bloody civil war in syria. the u.n. estimates more than a third is internally displaced. serious president and many of his critics have called a sham. >> supporters demonstrate outside of damascus.

most people are pro-assad. they cheer for the president as he cast his ballot. these voters are not too worried about the secrecy of the ballot. some are using their own blood to show their support for bashar al-assad. >> it is the smallest duty to vote by blood. i think the elections are the best way to express our opinion. we are with president bashar al-assad until the end of our lives. >> despite to rival candidates, critics have described the boat as a charade. the country remains in the thick of a civil war. people are trapped by fighting and children are still dying. since assad's started his election campaign, the attacks have gotten worse.

he has totally destroyed aleppo as if to show who's boss. it has always been that way it like that. >> aleppo is a divided city. assad's troops have recaptured the west, the east is under rebel control. here, people lived under extremely difficult conditions. water, food, medicine are in short supply. there will not be any voting in this area. do you see any sign of elections? he only organized the vote for his own people, to show them that he is the legitimate president. it's >> bashar al-assad can feel certain of victory. his relatively unknown challengers were approved by parliament packed with his supporters. >> we are joined in the studio by our middle east expert. how popular is bashar al-assad?

can these elections bring a bit of stability to the country? >> well, the war would go on but definitely he is still very much appreciated by his followers, about 40% of the country that he controls but they are about 60% of the population. they're happy that in those territories under the control of the syrian army, a certain calm has been restored. people have lost any hope that the rebellion can really change things on the ground. bashar al-assad has assured that he will continue to be the leader and he will claim when he discusses with the west, well, i am the elected leader of my country, what you want? >> what can this tell us about how the tide of this civil war is going? where do things stand militarily? >> the forces of bashar al-assad have continuously grown over the past months and it is only the

most radical muslim forces of the islamic state of syria and iraq that can still challenge him militarily. but, these forces only operate among the turkish and iraqi border. they are not able to intrude into those parts of the country that are controlled by assad forces. assad is working on the ground and also politically. he knows that russia and iran will continue to support him, especially after this crisis in ukraine. the u.s. and the russians should negotiate with each other on the future of syria but there are no negotiations going on for the time being and there will be none for some time to come and bashar al-assad knows this. it's what about the u.s. and the saudi's? will they continue to support the rebels including the muslim radicals? >> absolutely, they will continue to do so.

the americans are careful not to deliver weapons to radical muslim for his -- radical muslim forces. russia, iran, china, supporting the regime. this means this war will continue for years to come. this will not be ended until the superpowers meet and find a solution. there is no sign that this will happen. >> what we need is talks between russia and the u.s.. thank you. >> the electoral commission has named the former military chief as the country's new president. >> >> he won the elections with nearly 97% of the vote. only about half of those eligible turned out to cast their ballots. his victory was widely anticipated and his goal is to restore stability. the country -- the result comes after the ousting of power --

the result comes after the ousting of the former president, mohamed morsi. >> bassem youssef says he is ending his tv show. he started it right after the uprising against the mubarak regime and since then he has poked fun at politicians on all sides of the spectrum. >> that might have been undoing. >> he alluded to harassment and pressure put on him. >> so, what is next? to show is on our arabic channel. >> tens of millions of arabic speakers in numerous countries followed bassem youssef's weekly satire show. the comedian who time magazine named one of the most influence of people in the world, broke

onto the scene in 2011 and became a phenomenon. he made fun of his own vulnerability. >> if you're watching us and it means the show hasn't canceled debt. >> he had irreverent jokes about egyptian politics that got him into trouble with the authorities. he was asked about questions -- about jokes he made about mohamed morsi. many thought he crossed a red light. he has quit while he is ahead. >> i'm tired of going about my safety. i have nothing against my host channel, they tried everything, but the pressure was too great. >> that channel was saudi funded and when the squeeze tightened on management in the run-up to egypt's election, the show was

suspended. now, it will not be coming back will stop the program was rebroadcast by dw's arabic channel where it was a favorite. >> i think it's a shame for egypt that this had to happen and we have full respect for bassem youssef and his team that had a hard time in last weeks and months. it is really sad and we hope to continue with youssef in another way. >> it is unclear whether he will return to the television screen. he says he prefers to and the program rather than conform to censorship. >> to nigeria and 10 army officials have been found guilty by military court of providing boko haram militants with weapons and information. that is believed to have helped the islamists carry out attacks. >> protesters continued to draw

attention to the plight of some 300 schoolgirls were being held captive by boko haram. the measures marched in abuja a day after authorities tried to ban those rallies. the protesters were free to demonstrate. there have been large protest in the pakistani city of karachi after british police arrested the powerful exiled leader of pakistan's mqm party. >> for more than two decades, hussein has wielded effective control over karachi from his london suburb, addressing supporters through a loudspeaker link to his home telephone. the arrest has sparked fears of major backlash and violence. a burning minibus on the street. one of several set alight by supporters of hussein.

elsewhere in the city of 20 million inhabitants, there were peaceful sit in. the leader of the secular movement is hugely popular in his home city. he founded the party in 1984 to safeguard the rights of the urdu's the team community which fled from india during the 1947 partition. he has lived in britain in self-imposed exile since 1991. after his life came under threat in pakistan. >> his residences twice before been rated on suspicion of money laundering. an official appears to supporters in pakistan to express their support. meanwhile, karachi itself remains tense. authorities have purported action security at the british high commission and supporters

have vowed to continue protesting for their leaders release. >> we are going to a short break, when we come back, qatar accused of corruption in its bid for the 2022 world cup. >> nine days to go before the soccer world cup kicks off in brazil. is it ready? some don't even have their seats installed. as a finishing touches are being applied, there's talk of what is going to happen the 2022 world cup. >> qatar could lose the privilege after allegations it paid bribes to officials. they are facing more bad press with widespread reports of poor and conditions for migrant workers including slave labor.

>> the infrastructure is a work in progress. although there are still years to go, the 2 million strong country resume is a giant construction site. conversation often centers around the work underway and the millions and a half guest laborers brought in to do it. this football expert has state years in qatar and has worked as an advisor to the world cup organizers for. people realize that things needed to improve. it is still a very young country. an incredible amount has happened. there are still challenges. the world cup has brought clearer calls for change and to see some the challenge address more directly. >> downtown delhi is awash with workers from nepal, the philippines, and india. -- downtown doha is awash with

workers from nepal, the philippines, in india. they are badly played -- badly paid and live in poor conditions. surprisingly, nobody tries to stop us from going inside ful. the kitchen is in a bad state but those that use of have no choice. with nowhere else to live, they're left to make the best of what they have, to keep clean what they can. they come from nepal and bangladesh. 42 people have to share a kitchen in the wealthiest country in the world. they show us where they sleep will stop eight people packed into a 15 square meter room. for two years of the time, without holiday or the comforts

of home. they use their beds as a cupboard, so far, storage space. all they have. this man says that he knows it is bad. with no doubts back home, he works here to feed his family. they say they work for 12 hours a day with three hours of travel on top for less than $200 a month. by contrast, the average monthly income is $8,000. most of the workers are only allowed to leave if their employers allow it. this toilet serves as a shower and washing machine. the other wealthy qatar could be more different. a former minister of justice he once defended saddam hussein is critical if guestworker conditions. >> our legal system, it should not be abused, it should not be exploited, and have the right

that if he was to leave, he can leave. >> the shimmering surface is misleading. qatar announced plans for a labor law reform but when it will take effect remains to be seen. until such time, preparations for the world cup look likely to continue with little regard for workers dignity. >> european austerity programs sometimes millions of people into poverty and are set to prolong the eu's economic crisis. >> those are some of the findings of the u.n. labor agency which has been ousted those measures brought in by governments to and the downturn. >> the working poor, retirees, and young people have seen their savings vanish. >> employee benefits are being cut, wages are going down. this has led to more poverty and more social exclusion.

the international labor organization says 123 million citizens are poor, a quarter of the population. their warning against a worldwide decrease in social security. the report reveals that a majority of the world's population does not have the right to social welfare protection. only 27% of the population has access to comprehensive social security. on the every 10th unemployed worker receives unemployment benefits. 39% of the world population has no health insurance coverage. the report says expenditure cuts in developing countries will affect the poor. experts warn that the budget cuts are shortsighted. that is because less income leads to less consumption and less demand means less growth. >> as we said, austerity programs have forced most people out of work but it looks like unemployment is continuing to fall.

the eurostat agency says 11 what seven percent of the workforce is without a job in april. .1% less than march. still, nearly 90 million people remain out of work across the eurozone. spain and greece have the highs and implement rates both over 25% of the workforce. let's take a quick look at equity markets. traders have been reacting to some fears of deflation in the eurozone. >> it is a reason for concern, the inflation in the eurozone down to just 0.5%. this is a reason for concern because it shows how desperate the situation for the economy is. the businesses are not invested enough and consumers are not spending enough money. the traders here on the floor are interpreting that in another way as well. it is it time for the european central back to activate.

they meet on thursday and now, it is a simple rate cut expected. tougher action to get the eurozone economy. while we wait for thursday, let's look at the numbers. this is off by a fifth by percent. the dow jones industrial average as trading down a bit by a 10th of one percent. the euro, slightly up against the dollar. it's been 25 years since chinese troops fired on unarmed civilians demonstrating at

beijing's tiananmen square. hundreds perhaps thousands were killed. two prevent any commemoration, a massive police operation is underway to intimidate those who will never forget those days. >> the memory of that crackdown and those that gave their lives for a freer and more humane china have been remembered in white ways. this includes the former soldier who we meet in this report. >> we visited him at the beginning of the year. now, he is a painter. back in 1989, he was a soldier deployed to tiananmen square. >> i was afraid. now that i know that the students were the weak ones. i was always wondering where were the insurgents, the

so-called criminals. i did not see any back then and until today i have not found them. >> he was given the task of taking photographs for the army. he submitted 70 rolls of film but he kept three roles and spent years looking at them. the memory still plague him along with the silence and the questions he is not allowed to ask. it was not until 2004 that he began painting the images. he created a total of 60 pages but he could not put them on exhibition because no one is allowed to commemorate the dramatic events of june 4. the communist party has suppressed all mention of the bloody crackdown. this year the government has made an aggressive effort to head off any dissent. may 3 at this year, a group of journalists and lawyers met in private with victims families,

security forces didn't take it lightly. a renowned civil rights lawyer and other designs have been arrested. across china, activists have gone missing have been placed under house arrest. others have been paraded on chinese state television is criminal including a 17-year-old journalist, it a veteran reporter for international outlets. authorities have accused him of leaking government secrets. in beijing, questions as to the whereabouts of missing activists come up time and time again. china is a country of laws, this official says. anyone who doesn't follow the law will be honest accordingly. -- will be punished accordingly. this symbolizes the whitewashing of the last 25 years, all the way back to 1989.

>> and has been 25 years, what happened back then isn't just about me and my generation, it affects everyone. >> a week after the interview, he was arrested. police confiscated his art. there was no warrant him in a word on what charges he faced. only he is being held at hl miller beijing. -- only that he's being hailed at a jail near beijing. >> that is all we have time for on this edition of "the journal ," it was good having you with us. please keep watching dw. bye-bye.

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>> hello and welcome to this hour of "france 24." here is a lack at our top stories. barack obama promises to boost military might in countries along russia's borders. his appeal announced on the first leg of his four-day european trip in poland. extending voting by five hours, syria says turn out has been high. voting can only take place in government-controlled areas, meaning large blocks of the north and east have been excluded. and a new map of france is revealed. it hopes tre