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tv   News  Al Jazeera  March 5, 2021 2:00pm-2:31pm +03

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buildings the universities and monasteries were just some of the many structures that were destroyed in manila during world war 2. but rebuilding a life and a city from scratch has proven difficult and some experts say the manila has never truly recover it. historic trip pope francis arrives in iraq to support one of the world's oldest and most persecuted christian communities. are about this and this is 000 live from doha also coming up tightening its grip on hong kong china is to expand its veto power in deciding who can run for elections.
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security forces in myanmar are accused of issuing death threats to protest on tick talk the video sharing app says it's removing content that incites violence. 'd 6 street battles in senegal protesters are demanding the release of an opposition leader they say is falsely accused of rape. pope francis has just landed in iraq where he's going to fulfill a longstanding promise to become the 1st pontiff to visit the country a 3 day visit his 1st trip outside italy since the pandemic began is going to be welcomed by the prime minister in baghdad before meeting president bottom selah at the presidential palace the head of the roman catholic church says he's going as a pilgrim of peace we're bringing you live pictures from baghdad airport as the
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pope's flight to air bus a 330 the flight 874000 has just arrived in front of the red carpet you can see the iraqi military honor guard standing there i want to bring in our correspondents some of the full team who is outside the presidential palace in baghdad she's joining us live this is clearly a very important visit for the pope but it's also of course very important for the christians in iraq as well. yes indeed they are seeing 'd this message something very important something to give them hope after 2 years and decades really of the persecution that has resulted in a significant decline in their numbers before the u.s. led to 2003 invasion there were over 1000000 christians here in iraq and that number has dwindled in the past 17 years to less than 300000 so this is
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the pope francis really aiming to give them hope to encourage them to remain in their ancient lands and to really stay in this christian minority here but of course the big question is here is whether pope francis will focus on the spiritual aspects of this visit on a spiritual aspect of this visit or whether he will actually tackle some of the policy issues which are resulting in the persecution oppression of christians. one of those issues for example is the is the presence of military groups in the plains for which is the home to many christians and some of these armed groups that are present there have prevented the returns of christians who are who were displayed by the latest war against iceland this is something that's organizations that deal with minority rights have demanded the pope to tackle when he meets the president later here at the presidential palace they want him to bring up these difficult topics they want him to actually you know mention these
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recommendations to try to actually result in some political change but of course this will be very difficult because the problems afflicting the christian community today are problems that are afflicting all of iraq really it is a challenge just for the states to control the weapons in the hands of formal security forces it is the risk that the rule of law it is the respect for human rights it's not just iraq's christians that are suffering from these issues it is iraq as a country as a whole and the government has. really struggled to for example control some of the armed groups that have been accused of perpetrating human rights abuses among others against the christian communities and these kind of issues well of course something that the pope may not be able to bring up and certainly that would be very difficult for the government here to resolve but there is definitely a lot of hope a lot of expectations which merely highlights the level of need in this country just as you're talking there is someone watching live pictures from baghdad airport
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as i say the steps of just being moved up to the door of the aircraft which is trying enclosed we're waiting for the preparations for that to open any moment we've also earlier on and certainly in the last hour or so seen crowds of people lining the streets waiting for the pope to arrive but one of the problems is going to be that the pope is not going to be able to meet large crowds of people because of the uptick in the coronavirus in iraq so security and safety is clearly going to be important here. yes indeed the security is really something that has been of course i big challenge for authorities here because this is a country that is facing many problems on that front there is the virus and then which you mentioned we're currently having around $5000.00 new cases per day there is of course still a threat by eisel there are sleeper cells across the country which have launched repeated attacks against the curative forces and that of pretty sizable suicide
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bombings here a bombing here in the capital in january which claimed dozens of lives and then there are also frequent rocket attacks that are targeting specially u.s. interests here in iraq the last rocket attack happened just 2 days ago and claimed the lives of one u.s. civilian contractor in western anbar so there are enormous challenges for the security forces here to really ensure that this attended every by the pope which spans thousands of kilometers going from baghdad to southern iraq and then to northern iraq is properly secured that there is no potential security breach that could somehow hamper just journey and of course the security forces are very high alert they have blocked of the green zone which is this fortified area area in which houses a lot of the government institutions as well as the united nations and embassies that space has been completely closed off to enable quick and safe passage for the
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pope and of course security forces have also been deployed throughout the city we've seen very heavy security presence throughout checkpoints being set up to search chorus to check badges because only people with special badges are allowed to be even out on the streets today because there is a curfew in place friday saturday and sunday the exact days when the pope is traveling around to prevent the movement of people to prevent the movement of cars and really to reduce the number of people who will come out to greet him which is certainly a little bit. trying to define a christian community because they certainly want to get out to the streets they want to see him they want to greet him and really get the inspiration from this visit and that may be difficult for many people because the number of spaces that have been allocated at each and every one you that he visits are relatively limited only a small number of people will be able to attend and that is of course both for security reasons but also to try to reduce the number of new cases that we have seen in the
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country and we're just seeing again pictures from the aircraft the on the top of the aircraft which is waiting on the apron. airport we can see the pope standing at the top of the steps there waiting to be greeted by an official there there are also crowds of well wishers who are clearly and officials who are waiting at the bottom of the the steps what impact is the pope's visit do you think going to have on the future of christians in iraq is there a confidence that they're standing in the country is going to be in any way improved by this visit soon simona. well i think from his side there is certainly hope that he wants to encourage them to stay because the way we have seen the numbers of christians decline over the past few years it really looks as though this community is disappearing i recently
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a few months ago i spoke to a priest in the northern town of tel i would used to be a majority christian town but which has in recent years become majority muslim and that priest was telling me look i will stay he was an elderly man but he said that i cannot force the new generation to stay they have options to emigrate abroad to start new and better lives abroad to be free to be able to practice their religion safely and of course that is a very fair demand of this christian community but on the other hand there are many who feel like you know this is my homeland i want to stay here i want to try to preserve this ancient heritage of ours to make sure that this community and there is and these are the people that the pope really wants to reach out and he wants to encourage them to persevered to stay in iraq so that this minority doesn't completely vanished but as i mentioned before is that will take some very very concrete policy measures that would need to be implemented we've actually seen a statement come out by a group of 46 n.g.o.s that work on minority rights and they have a list there's
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a number of recommendations that they would like the polls to raise with iraq's leaders while he is here and those recommendations are for example reparations for victims of genocide as a result of. their also want justice for victims with so have suffered from the war would they want political and security arrangements that will protect ethnic or religious minorities and of course what they're eluding to is the presence of armed groups that are officially part of the faith curity infrastructure but they also did a lot of times act outside of the chain of command and those groups are part of the blame for persecuting christians in the north i actually interviewed one of the. commanders of these groups has been recently sanctioned by the united states his name is watt he leads the 3rd brigade of the popular mobilization forces. which is a town in the north and he has been sanctioned for. preventing christians from
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returning to that town so whether or not christians in iraq feel that they can actually have a tangible political change as a result of this visit it will really depend on the tapes of billet to try to the 3rd rule of law to try to really strengthen its have to sion is that is something that of course is way beyond the pope's ability this is something that will need years and decades of state building nevertheless the pope is certainly in religious terms is going to be meeting with believe there's an into religious meeting. of the engine size which is shared i believe for saturday but he is going to be meeting a wide variety of religious leaders within iraq and that is significant as well isn't it because iraq is a country where several religious. religious followings are represented but not only in the street but also of course in parliament as well and politically . that is correct and perhaps the most
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significant personality he will be meeting is grand ayatollah sistani who is basically the religious. muslims here in iraq he will be meeting him tomorrow. and the idea of that meeting is really to to foster taller and coexistence between the religions that is certain expected to be a very significant meeting it is not exactly certain what will come out of it whether there will be any kind of official agreement that will be signed between the 2 sides or some kind of joint statement that will be made about that meeting very much on the line the theme of this visit which is you are all brothers which is of course of. verse from the bible and the pope really wants to underline the commonalities between the 3 abrahamic religions which are judaism christianity and islam he wants to really emphasize the similarities between the space rather than
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the differences hoping that that lead his visit can somehow reset relations that it can somehow be the beginning of a new start and that is of course why he's also going to order which is in southern iraq in the province of the car and there he will be holding and into fave dialogue with muslim leaders to try to again emphasize the commonalities because of course who is thought to be the birthplace of abraham the patriarch of the 3 monotheistic faiths it is there where he was supposed to have been born before he received the call as the bible goes from god to migrate to the promised land and of course he is somebody who is very important for christians jews and muslims alike for muslims he's known as prophet it but he is the one who is celebrated during the islamic holiday of to honor his sacrifice of he's also who is thought to have built the kaaba in mecca in saudi arabia which is of course one of the main telegram which the main pilgrimage site for muslims so in visiting sites like these. the pope is
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really honoring the heritage and in the memory of christians in iraq but also hoping that he can somehow set a new foundation that he can perhaps even incentivize christian to come to christians to come to iraq as a part of a pilgrimage to visit for example abraham's house in order from a spiritual perspective this visit is really hugely important but the question again is will it result in any kind of real policy changes on the ground that will change the relations between muslims and christians we're just seeing pictures there of the inside of the airport now the pope who has moved inside he's being flanked. by people what appeared to be traditional dress who are. proud to be singing i believe as he walks up to the oil when you've been talking to people in baghdad some more know is there an indication from non christians about how
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important very regard this visit or is this something that is not as high a priority for people who are not christians. well most people that i have spoken to have been really excited about this visit because it's not just important for the christians and also in the way shows that iraq is perhaps stable enough to welcome the pope we have seen very few western heads of state or important dignitaries visit this country precisely because it is associated with instability with war so just the very fact that the it's coming to iraq that he is trusting that iraq he states to protect him that he feels comfortable going not just to the airport into the green zone but outside the green zone to move around across to move around across iraq it is in the way very encouraging to ordinary iraqis not just christians that perhaps this is a new page for iraq that perhaps this is
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a sign that things are perhaps improving so in general they have very much welcomed him but of course on the other hand there are also a lot of expectations with regard to what he can achieve for muslims a lot of people have been actually posting messages on social media demanding that the pope visit certain places because they know that the places that he has visited they have received more attention from the government lately for example roads have been paved. leading up to the archaeological site that he will visit. have been cleaned and repaired so there is in no way. believe that only the places that the pope will visit will receive attention from the governments of course even even non christians even muslims have a. expectations fact of the test is that it will usher in some improvement in their lives. thank you very much and he does some wonderful thing talking to us from baghdad as pope francis arrives to baghdad airport of the start of
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a 3 day visit to the country it's the 1st ever papal visit to the country his 1st international trip since the start of the pandemic. and on qana is head of iraq's christian dane parliamentary block and he says this is a historic moment for christians in iraq that almost 2000 year later the pope about to come visit us here in such a difficult situation and iraqis suffering from very different issues and they make and economical and and everything and even the conflicts in the region in america iran and many many other issues so we are very happy and welcoming his holiness we hope that. is for sure bringing the. message of peace and love and forgiveness duces message and his visit will have many many positive effect on iraqi society and in the region and globally as well big. as as you know the.
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conflict. of the eyes and qaeda. people here reflects very negatively on the islamic image in europe and america and everywhere so his visit to our religious leader in iraq gives very very good positive for the . bring down every summer for we are in europe and america and western. societies. china has unveiled plans to overhaul hong kong's electoral system allowing beijing veto power over who can run for the legislative council announcement was made during the national people's congress the country's biggest annual political gathering the proposed changes would mean a pro china election committee decides which candidates can run for legislative council seats the move will effectively stamp out any opposition in hong kong's parliament in his opening speech premier league says china is against any external
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interference in hong kong's affairs beijing's under international security scrutiny for intensifying its crackdown on political dissent in hong kong. we will stay true to the letter and the spirit of the principle of one country 2 systems under which the people of hong kong administer hong kong with a high degree of autonomy we will improve the relevant systems and mechanisms of the special administrative region ensure the enforcement of mechanisms to safeguard national security we will resolutely guard against and deter external forces interference in the affairs of hong kong there are reports at least one person has died in myanmar city of mundelein to protesters clashed with police many have been defying a crackdown and marching to demand an end to the military coup activists are out in a number of cities 38 people were killed on wednesday and that's also sparked international condemnation
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a new video has emerged showing hundreds of protesters being detained by police in the largest city of young gone on wednesday the protesters some of the monks could be seen queuing with their hands behind their heads before being put into military trucks witnesses say more than 300 protesters were detained well earlier my colleague spoke to a protester based in young gone she described the situation there as frightening and heartbreaking she's asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her own safety . i am not an activity on the streets at the moment but i have been sitting with legal hurt protests and i think there are different kinds of protests there are protests that are being gathered in the name coaches' areas and their neighborhoods ones that were smaller and the ones that are right in the center of the city are a bit more dangerous to be in and i think we've seen in the last few days there has to be large crackdown on those protests and life bullets have been used there are a bit more risk for women as well as there have been unconfirmed but reports of
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women being sexually harassed so that's a bit of a difficult situation to be in but the general discourse around that people are talking about is that we have to win this. revolution so people are still going out people are still doing what they can either in the neighborhood or outside and people are people have seen this as a as an outbreak war between the population and the military and there are lots of differing opinions on to what to do next but one thing for sure is the majority of the country is in the same side as being against the military coup. speaking to us today you've asked us to keep your identity secret is that because your faithful fail in safety or well that of your family or friends what are you scared might actually happened. all of the above all of the above my family didn't know that i am taking this call and will be probably against against this so i'm currently
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isolating myself from my family to be this call but they have been tracking people down who extension people who are a bit more political activists or people who have influence. actors they have all been tamed or great they can we can actively break into your house and take you away so and your family recently a few weeks ago a famous actor he was taken away foster a life discussion of the condemning the military coup and they found him a few a few a few hours later and took him away so it's not particularly safe to be open about your opinions but obviously different people are some people are already in hiding and are more vocal. about their positions and some people have a lot more influence i'm not in hiding at the moment so i feel it would be best to put myself in my family to to live why i am of course obviously getting
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a chance to speak to you now but i know communications have been very difficult what's the situation at the moment. i am currently based in room gone and a few weeks a few days back we had some violent crackdown today has been a bit more stable than that by stable i mean there is no death today recorded just yet but very tense this morning i was at the tea shop and people have been talking about the possibility of bombs being dropped and it is a rumor and speculation but you can see that it's in people's minds that expression yesterday the u.s. foreign policy document announced that the u.s. would be sending in a military intervention and i think this is something that the lockable hoped for. by people i mean the general population so there's this idea that there's nobody out here to protect us and nobody's listening to our voices so the military could do anything and they have proven that they can do things. chinese video sharing up to talk says it's removed videos of opponent death threats from members of mia most
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military to anti protesters digital rights group i.c.t. for development has found more than 800 such clips have been recorded and posted on social media since the military coup last month some of the show aiming rifles at cameron's telling protesters they'll be shot in the head our correspondent scott hydel has more on this from bangkok. the tick-tock postings i think are one of many different types of intimidation that the military is using you know there's probably a department within the tatmadaw that's the military in myanmar that is specifically designed to do that to intimidate psychological warfare right now when you look at the streets in myanmar you can look at as there that their battle lines so the military is deploying whatever they have learned over the years or tried to use over the years against their enemies and now they see the protesters as their enemy so yes they're using any type of intimidation they can if that is you know the
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facebook pages the you tube channels were much more official in organized by the military still spreading disinformation still spreading rumors stoking fear now the tick tock it's interesting it's difficult to tell i guess at this stage to see if that was actually orchestrated by someone within the military and in a leadership position or just encouraging soldiers and saying go out there intimidate as much as you can the protesters and to talk is one of the platforms to use but tick-tock has has announced that they're going to monitor much more closely and that they have taken down some of these images that are direct threats to the protestors senegal's government is banned a planned gathering of opposition and civil society groups in the capital on friday that's off to supporters of. a leading opposition figure force with police said a university campus in dakar some call was arrested 2 days ago for holding an unauthorised rally before a court appearance to face rape charges he says the accusation is part of a plot to block can from running for president in 2024 has this update from dakar.
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i think that's what's leading the protest at the moment is no one really knows where mr sancho is he was the last being detained at a police station we were told by his his his party members that he was. driven by force to the tribunals where he's expected to be seen by a judge at 11 o'clock the judge that was in initially put on the case recused himself he says he was also fearing for his life and his family given the sheer amount of protests so at 11 o'clock you supposed to see a judge and that judge will rule over the public disturbance that we've seen in the past 2 days that he is accused of having organized these mass protests despite being in detention at the moment as well there's rape charges against him rape charges that he's refused to respond to from investigators so this afternoon we're
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going to see a protest from civil society actors as well as the opposition this comes on the heels of a of an announcement made by a warning made by amnesty international in saying that the government criticizing the government for is for its heavy handedness for the shrinking. of space for the opposition to express themselves that really unusual to see such level of protests on the streets of the capital for the government still hasn't gone out publicly to say anything we haven't heard from the president we haven't heard from the prime minister the minister of interior is just keeping a tally of what's happening but no real announcement made by the government for the present itself he sees what the current situation as being a private matter a rape allegation case that needs to be solved through the courts. killings torture sexual violence and ethnic cleansing are reportedly being carried out every day in ethiopia's to grave region the un human rights chief wants monitors to be
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allowed in saying allegations of war crimes need to be investigated aid groups and journalists and investigators are all struggling for access that says federal troops and at a trained forces are fighting soldiers of the region's former ruling party. and these are some of the people caught in the middle i think syrians say they're being wiped out by soldiers who act with impunity they say they're being forced from their homes and worse more than 136 cases of rape are reported in t.v. hospitals in december and january with many more likely to be unreported the u.n. security council has met on thursday to discuss the humanitarian crisis but so far the council's been unable to agree on a joint position diplomatic editor james bays reports from un headquarters in new york. for months exactly since ethiopia sent troops into t.
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great province and international condemnation is growing we urge the ethiopian government to support any immediate end to the fighting in tikrit and to that end the prompt withdrawal of eritrean forces and her regional forces from grave are essential steps the mention of eritrean forces is important ethiopian soldiers like these have been filmed repeatedly but there's been persistent reports too of eritrean troops carrying out some of the worst atrocities reports the u.n. has been unable to confirm until now. the u.s. has the presidency of the un security council and ambassador thomas greenfield chaired a virtual meeting on syria. there was broadcast question at this meeting before she then led a discussion on the situation in t. grey in closed session during the meeting al-jazeera has learnt the un humanitarian
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chief mark spoke about eritrea and troops countless well corroborated reports suggest their culpability for atrocities eritrea and defense forces must leave ethiopia and they must not be enabled or permitted to continue their campaign of destruction before they do so meanwhile the un high commissioner for human rights michelle says an independent inquiry into what's going on in t. grey needs to be carried out now she says some of the atrocities appear to amount to war crimes james al-jazeera at the united nations. this is not to say readings are the top stories but francis has arrived in iraq fulfilling a decades long promise by the vatican and becoming the 1st pontiff to visit the country the visit is his 1st trip outside italy since the pandemic big.

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