>> hello and welcome to the "journal" coming to you live from dw in berlin. islamic state consolidates gains in syria as the last border crossing with iraq falls. >> the eu's eastern partnership summit wraps up with a loan of almost 2 billion euros to help ukraine revive its economy. >> and do or die -- bundesliga fans get ready for one of the most exciting showdowns in years.

welcome to the program. american-led horses have conducted 15 airstrikes against islamic state elections in iraq concentrating on targets near ramadi, which fell to the jihadists just days ago. there were also airstrikes across the border is area. >> that has not stopped i is from advancing. the militants now have almost complete command over the border. >> the group has also released video of its conquest of the historic syrian desert town, palmyra. >> islamic state's advance across syria continues accompanied by haunting propaganda like this. the any of o'meara -- the city of palmyra deserted after they

took control. they have seized the last border crossing in government hands. in the north they took formerly a government stronghold, and a thursday -- thursday palmyra with its ancient ruins. it's a side of asked historical importance. the temples and theater are 2000 years old -- it's a site of vast historical importance. in iraq, the jihadists razed similar cultural landmarks including an ancient city in the country's north. and priceless artifacts in and around most of -- mosul. >> to destroy them is an extreme

provocation to the west. they wanted to tell the west and the international community that they are ready to trample on what is most valuable to us. >> syria's main opposition group says it is now agent for the international community to step in and help save the country's people and its heritage. >> palmyra is of huge historical significance. the world has had its eyes on this any for a few days now it is very concerned, but we should not forget that every day hundreds of people are dying in syria all over the country. >> islamic state has reportedly executed dozens of people this week including government supporters. >> islamic state has apparently launched its first attack inside saudi arabia. i.s. has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a shia mosque. >> amateur footage shows the

aftermath of the explosion. the suicide bomber detonated his device during friday prayers. the mosque is situated in the east of the country in an area that has been targeted by sunni extremists in the past. >> in europe, after a summit in riga, eu leaders reaffirmed their commitment to six former soviet states, encouraging them to make much-needed economic and political reforms. >> they did all this as part of a delicate balancing act. europe is keen to avoid further tension with russia. at the same time, it wants to hold out for the prospect of closer cooperation with its neighbors. >> the talks were further complicated by the greek debt crisis. in the end there were not many firm promises. >> officially, the meeting is all about forging closer ties but the eu representatives are

staying vague on a number of points. there are no concrete prospects for when ukraine, georgia, belarus, multimedia, and azerbaijan might be able to seek eu membership. >> the european union is a partner for the long haul. or partnership as well as the summit itself not about dramatic decisions are taking giant steps forward. our relationship is built on free will, respect, and in quality. >> the final declaration from the summit stresses the right of all nations to territorial integrity. the declaration does not explicitly denounce moscow's annexation of crimea. there's a clear reason for that. the participants especially belarus, armenia, and azerbaijan, do not want to anger russia. ukraine would have liked the group to take a harder stance. president petro poroshenko can chalk up one victory -- his

country is on the brink of bankruptcy but will get 1.8 billion euros in financial aid from the eu. british prime minister david cameron used riga to push his own agenda. on the margins of the summit, he tried to drum up support for changes in migration and welfare. an election pledge of his. cameron: all i'll say is they will be ups and downs. one day some things are possible. one thing throughout all of this will be constant, and that's my determination to deliver for the british people. >> cameron has little to show for his efforts so far. the focus remained on what's next for eastern europe. >> back now to saudi arabia where an activist blogger is still in prison despite worldwide calls for peace.

his canadian-based wife is currently in berlin to campaign for his release. >> weekend, week out, supporters call for his release in front the saudi arabia and embassy in berlin. this friday, his wife is also present. she's very grateful for all the support. >> thank you. i know that it's not enough, but all i can say is thank you. i thank each and every one of you. >> she's hopeful that the campaign will eventually have a positive impact on the saudi authorities. >> demonstrations have already raised a lot of support and given us a lot of strength. i have a feeling that the whole world is behind us.

i would like this to continue until they are set free. >> amnesty international has gathered thousands of signatures , but they want the german government to apply pressure on riyadh. >> germany is an important economic partner and we talked about this with the government as well as the business community, which has dealings with saudi arabia over and over again. i think now is the right time to keep at it. >> supporters are calling for a journalism award to be created in his name so that his voice is not silenced while he is in prison. >> if you want to find out more about the case and press freedom around the world, go to dw's fighting for press freedom webpage. you will find it at www.dw.de

/pressfreedom. >> time for business news now. business confidence in germany is down slightly. companies say they are satisfied with their current situation but increasingly anxious about the future. >> that is according to germany's ibo economic institute. it says its business climate index, which surveys 7000 companies, which only fell slightly in april. despite that slight fall in confidence the german economy as a whole remains on track. many analysts were expecting worse results. >> time for a summary of the day's trading on the frankfurt stock exchange. >> the week started off so well and came to a rather disappointing end after investors could not keep the numbers we saw at the beginning of the week where the dax grew almost 4% in just two days. the focus today was on the words of the leaders of some of the most important central banks.

in the morning, mario draghi the president of the european central bank, urge the economies of the eurozone to implement much-needed economic reforms. in the evening, janet yellen the chief of the u.s. federal reserve, made her speech with use of prizes for investors just as expected, but investors did not want to take any risk ringing the eurozone market to the gray numbers. >> we stay for a closer look at friday's numbers. the dax closed almost .5% lower. the euro stoxx 50 also slightly lower closing friday at 3679 points. the dow jones showing 18,272. the euro trading for $1.10. >> the u.s. state department has released the first batch of e-mails said to be received by hillary clinton when she was secretary of state. the e-mails deal with the attack

on the u.s. mission in benghazi libya, in 2012 when four u.s. diplomatic staff were killed. clinton, who was out campaigning today for next year's presidential election in the united states use a private server and an e-mail address rather than a secure network. >> and historic referendum has taken place in ireland today. it's voters say yes, the country will become the first in the world to adopt same-sex marriage by popular vote. >> the irish are being asked to say if they support same-sex marriage with a simple yes or no. there has been opposition to all of this from the catholic church but the main political parties back the reformed. opinion polls suggest it could even pass by 18 up to one majority. polling stations close later tonight. >> let's go live to double it -- dublin. we have a volunteer with the yes campaign. thank you for joining us. first off, just a year ago, no

one was expecting polls to show a majority for this referendum. >> obviously, we do not know that we have succeeded yet. we're taking nothing for granted. exit polls can be wrong, as we know, but the reason the campaign has taken up such momentum is because of the idea of equality, which has really appealed to a very wide spectrum of people from all different walks of life and all different age groups in a way that i would never have imagined possible. we've got social media footage of a 101-year-old lady going to vote yes, and young people old people quite an enormous mix of people supporting us. obviously, given the percentage of gay people in ireland this was something we could not possibly win ourselves, so this% has really been down to the allies, the mothers and fathers, the aunties the neighbors the work colleagues, who have not

just given their support for taken to the streets in order to try to raise more support for this referendum. >> on the other side of this referendum, the opponents of it argue that this is not about a quality but about redefining marriage, and that it leaves children without a mom or a dad. how have you been countering these points? >> it's been difficult to cut the no side has been based, to a large extent on scaremongering, particularly where children are concerned. we've seen this in russia and other countries, using children, bringing children into the debate is the best way of creating fear. the reality is this is nothing to do with redefining marriage. this is about inclusivity and recognizing the diversity of family life that already exist in ireland. the constitutional status of marriage will be unchanged. it's just a case of ensuring that all citizens have a right to civil marriage, regardless of their gender. as far as children are concerned, we've been reminding people that each and every

children's charity in the land has been calling strongly for the yes vote, and that's because not only the health and well-being of young lgbt people, but also recognizing that there are already families being parented by same-sex parents and to give those children the same constitutional protection as any other family. >> we have to leave it there. a volunteer with the yes campaign is ireland votes on this historic referendum. thanks so much for your time. turning to city now, where the city has kicked off its annual festival of lights. residents are in for nearly three weeks of dazzling displays . lighting artists from around the world project illuminations onto the city's landmark buildings. the event is now in its seventh year with the biggest festival of its kind in the world, hundreds of thousands fled into taken the shapes and sounds.

>> beautiful. stay with us. when we come back, elections in ethiopia and a final weekend >> ethiopians head to the polls. >> critics routinely accuse ethiopia of using antiterrorism rules to silence countries opposition -- country's opposition. >> demonstrations ignited in the aftermath of the turbulent 2005 election when thousands to the street. today, things seem call him as

students prepared to cast their ballots on sunday. stability, as opposed to change seems to be on most people's minds. >> for the opposing parties there is not enough to convince us. we need to know them, really what kind of hardee's or what kind of people. >> security is tighter than usual on campus, and those who do not support the governing party are wary of speaking on camera. we find a critical voice in a cafe close by. if visitors to afraid to show his face. >> the regime will not withdraw from power with an election. it is already a known result. >> many of those who work for the opposition 10 years ago are now disenchanted. during the 2005 election, he was in his early 30's and supported

the leading opposition coalition . like thousands of young people, he spent weeks in prison afterwards and then gave up on politics. >> i will only become involved in politics again if the public demands the government to have a free and fair election and to reorganize the election procedure. >> the party has made it its mission to reacquaint ethiopia's you with dissent. the blue party, which the court -- describes itself as center-right, was formed three years ago and is the second largest opposition party running in sunday's election. >> one of the things the party has established to give hope and to make all the people including the younger generation, deciding on its fate. >> while the ruling party has courted voters on the platform for this development and infrasructure investments, the blue party says group without

equality is unsustainable. the government has dismissed the party as far right leaning and saying they lack a political agenda. >> begin get support by giving promises. >> the blue party does not expect to win sunday's vote. for now, engaging the country's youth is all that matters. >> now to a story from a few months ago that some of you might recall. an eight-year-old boy from ivory coast tried to interstate in a suitcase. authorities have granted him permission to temporarily join his parents and sister on the canary islands. >> the case shocked people across europe, highlighting the length people go to in trying to reach the continent. >> when spanish police scanned a

suitcase, they were astonished by what they found. in eight-year-old boy was lucky to have survived the journey from neighboring morocco to the spanish enclave in northern africa. the boy was taken into custody while the world waited to learn of his fate. he's underage, but he is still an illegal migrant. spanish law requires his deportation. then there was a desperate plea from his mother, a legal migrant living in spain. >> i call on journalists who are aware of our deal to try to put an end to it. he is my child. i have all the documents that prove he is my son. >> the family plight has moved the world and prompted the spanish government to act. >> he's been granted a temporary authorization that will allow him to stay for a year. >> the family's lawyer says his clients knew nothing of the suitcase plan. they say they have paid intermediaries to acquire a visa for him.

the daughter lives legally with him, but they were denied permission to bring over their son, reportedly because their income was not deemed sufficient for the care of two children. >> soccer news now and germany's bundesliga reaches a climax this weekend. one round of matches left on saturday, and all eyes are on the relegation battle. >> no fewer than six teams are involved in the struggle to stay in the bundesliga. some just need to win to stay up. but the bottom two depend on outside help. >> hamburg have just one game to save their skins. they are training for it were germany plotted its 1974 and 1990 world cup wins. now, hamburg hopes her side can channel those winning ways. >> we've used every day here to the full. i don't know for sure, but i feel it's been well worth it. >> the only side never relegated

since its kickoff in 1963, the returning coach is the clubs fourth this season. he has boosted the team. but they stopped dead last weekend with a loss to stuttgart . hamburg were flat, devoid of ideas, and all out of fight. now, even if they win on saturday, they could still go down. >> am convinced we can win and give ourselves a realistic chance at least of reaching the relegation plan. >> but if hamburg lose, they could beat them to the relegation playoff spot. the west german small fry have this by the -- defy the odds all season, but last weekend, their luck ran out. they lost to a late header. they vowed to fight for a playoff lifeline. >> if you're ready, where up for

it, fully focused on the game against stood guard, and we'll give it our best shot. >> only one of them can stay up. the question is who will it he in germany's tightest relegation race of all time. >> it's crunch time in the relegation zone of germany's bundesliga. nobody is down yet. any of the six teams could be relegated. to sort it all out, let's bring in our sports desk. thank you so much for being with us. take us through the other teams that are facing the drop. >> the other teams like stuttgart, freiburg, hanover and of course, berlin -- they have the advantage of staying up the cause they control their own destinies, or they are in a position where a win will see them through. stuttgart, on the other hand, a win is important, but they also have to hope that either freiburg or head over lose, and of course, berlin is in a much better spot because the worst i

can happen to them as they could end up in a playoff spot, and that gives them one more lifeline. >> that is something that berliners like to hear. let's go back to hamburg for a second. very traditional team, a team that has never been relegated from the bundesliga. what is going on for them? >> the dinosaur. it's a very complex issue. this season alone, they've had 4 coaching changes so there's the issue of no stability. some signings have not worked out. the quality is there when you look on paper, but the entire season, they could not score. it was not until bruno came in that they had a bit more of a scoring touch. i have had top management problems. they have struggled with injuries as well. >> do you want to go out on a limb a little bit and pick a winner here for us? >> i personally would like to see a team like freiburg stay up just because of what they've done the past few years but

then, of course, traditionalists would want hamburg and stood guard because the big cities, the fan base is huge but he, personally, i'm going for freiburg. >> will be keeping an eye on that, see if they come through. thank you so very much. >> from sports, we moved to art. one of berlin's top art galleries has just opened an eye-catching new exhibition. >> brings together impressionist and expressionist paintings. organizers say that's never been done before. perhaps because the movements were always seen as opposing each other. >> seeing them together is quite an experience, and as it turns out, these opposites actually do have quite a bit in common. >> it's just the place for this artistic rendezvous. berlin's gallery was one of the first museums worldwide that showcased works by the impressionist and expressionist

at the end of the 19th century. this exhibition brings them together like seldom before. curators had plenty to choose from and 160 works are on display. >> no matter who you look at, there was an emphasis on the idea of artistic freedom and seeing the big picture radically expanding art once more. >> this was the face of rebellion at the end of the 19th century. impressionists such as monet suddenly painted outdoors in nature. at the start of the 20th century, expressionists began leaving their mark with colorful luminous, and clear lines. they developed a bold, new visual language. >> i think it's the freedom in these works that speaks and

moves us today. the lights, the colors, the rendering of nature. i think it's a lot of pictures from a time that was essential in shaping our own. >> the show is an impressive encounter between famed works of both styles, and it runs through september in berlin. >> if you want to find out more about that exhibit, go to our website, www.dw.de. >> we'll have more news at the top of the hour for you. you are watching dw in berlin. do stay with us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

on whether to legalize same-sex marriage. thousands living in the u.k. flew back to take part in that vote. flights have been full throughout this friday. stephen carroll joins us from dublin. good evening. what numbers of people are turning out to cast their votes? st