w. . this is. from berlin tonight europe's steps towards normality france and germany begin a gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions the goal to get businesses back on track without spreading the coronavirus also coming out of unemployment in the united states near 25 percent in some places an economy in crisis here in germany an economy in restart schools shops and restaurants are all set to open again this month but if there is a spine in new infections the doors will be shut once again. goff

it's good to have you with us we begin in france where for nearly 2 months people have endured one of europe's toughest lockdown that will begin to change next week the number of coronavirus cases is falling and some businesses will be allowed to reopen but some still oppose easing any of the restrictions hundreds of local mayors are urging the government to delay the reopening of schools planned for next monday as in other countries the french authorities are under pressure to get the economy moving again but without setting off a new wave of infections. marianne in a mask france's lockdown was stricter than most now the government has presented its plan for a gradual lifting of france's social commercial and industrial quarantine up we've

entered a new stage in our fight against pandemic and it's good news for france and the french people. businesses are set to reopen on monday 42 percent of french employees are on reduced hours or if not worked at all since the 17th of march schools are to open gradually despite misgivings from some parents trains and transit services also restart on monday but only about half of the rolling stock is ready to operate the government has promised to provide masks for everyone and carry out 700000 tests a week. but people are skeptical after 2 months of strict measures they believe their government has botched the response to the current crisis. they should have started large scale testing immediately like in germany i think there's no clear course it's all back and forth we're sick of it. 3 years ago to the day emanuel

mcconnell was bathing in the glory of his election victory now it seems much of that glory has faded. germany is also getting back to business as usual but with the option of shutting down again if necessary some corona virus restrictions will be eased over the next few weeks the aim is to prevent infections while allowing people to lead a more normal daily lives. santan instantly guessed you'd end and today she is finally on her way back to school in berlin after 4 weeks of learning it holds true on lessons she is now cycling to was her teachers and classmates to see them face to face. as when i'm just not all of it excited and nervous about how it will go but above all i'm really looking forward to it. she'll be back together with her school friends but not all of them to keep students safe germany has implemented strict hygiene rules facemasks must be won

and could only be taken off inside the classroom only a small number of pupils is allowed in one room. teacher is a says it makes group work a lot more difficult but if your. large groups create completely different dynamics completely different interaction the new catch in small groups of. teachers and students are asked to use disinfectants and keep a distance but that's only possible if the total number of people in the building is limited therefore only a few selected subjects are being taught in from person and teachers have to continue on my lessons despite being back at school. that can be a challenge explains headmaster did he and didn't come here here they come here to attend classes and then when they get home there are video conferences with the

other half of the class always other learning groups the homework arrives through the portal the teachers have to correct that as well their workload has increased significantly. chantelle is grateful that she can now go back to school at least a few days a week she even sees some advantages in the new approach. as who i'm from says it felt a bit strange at 1st but it's basically a good thing and it went fairly well and it was quite nice to work in such a small group. first on talent. these small groups are likely to remain in this reality for months to come like other aspects of life school never be the same again. or for more now was pulling our political correspondent thomas sparer he is in berlin on the story for us tonight so early you told us do we know when all german students will be back in school brand we know when the gold is the goal is for all judgment of pupils to return to classes

before the beginning of the summer holidays here in germany the process has been gradually and that's the key word here gradual a gradual reopening go schooled in germany schools had a few weeks to prepare for that reopening the focus at the beginning brant was on school leaver so in other words pupils who had important exams to take on gradually the pupils have been returning to schools again the goal as agreed on by the german government on regional leaders is for all pupils to return to school before the summer holidays start although there has been criticism and that's important to stress as well because apparently at least according to parents some of position leaders not so much focus has also been placed on kindergartens for example something that parents and opposition politicians have been asking that more focus should be put on them as well as all these restrictions are discussed and put in practice so we've got schools that are reopening we've got all businesses are shops

and stores being allowed to reopen kind of summarize if you could the ways in which germany is living life returned to normal now. brant this has been described as an almost complete return to normal life in germany so shops and cafes are slowly starting to operate restaurants are also going to resume their operations obviously that depends on how exactly and when the regional governments decide that the german football league the borders league also restarting on the 16th of may the 1st big european league to do so sport activities also being resume so again the key element as it's been described is an almost complete return to normality some restrictions still in place the use of face mask for example the ban on gatherings also important on a travel warning though the key elements that still remain in place we have been told that there could be a 2nd to wave of infections before all of them comes the chance that she's made

clear that reintroducing walked on measures is definitely an option how exactly would that work so the goal brant is to avoid a general lockdown in the country again but there is an emergency mechanism that has been agreed on by the german chancellor and regional leaders so that if there is a spike in the number of cases in a particular district enough articular region then the regional authorities can actually reintroduce some of those mechanisms locally again the key issue is to try and avoid a general lockdown of the country and that's why this emergency mechanism was put in place were the political correspondent thomas spear with the latest here in berlin thomas thank you. or here's a brief look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world the u.s. justice department has dropped the criminal case against president trump's former national security advisor michael flynn he was facing charges of lying to the f.b.i. about contacts with russia's ambassador flynn was

a key figure in the investigation of alleged ties between russia and trump's 2016 presidential campaign poland's parliament has agreed that the upcoming presidential election can be held exclusively by postal voting the ruling party suggesting the 12th of july as the date of the election and this announcement comes a day after the governing coalition gave up on holding the election this coming sunday germany's biggest airline with tons of says it's negotiating a 9000000000 euro government bailout in return the government wants a 25 percent stake in the airline and as placed on the advisory board the lockdown has grounded the airline at a cost of billions in lost revenues. at least 11 people have been killed in a gas leak at a chemical factory in india hundreds have been taken to the hospital and villages near the city of the chicago evacuated. the likud residents off guard. and hit the most vulnerable. some of the

victim collapsed i think try to flee. others appeared dizzy and unsteady. eyewitness effect a calf came like a myth. suddenly in the middle of the night when most with sleeping. emergency services transported hundreds to hospital several children among those needing treatment. or dollar thing about $800.00 to $1000.00 people have gone to the hospital and they have been taken to get off so now the focus is not so much on the guys leakage as the effects of the gas leakage on the treatment of the of the people who have been affected. most of those admitted to hospital are now reported to be either in a stable condition or to have been discharged it's still unclear though it's a toxic fumes will have a lasting impact on their health and

a few patients were still said to be unconscious hours after arriving at the hospital. the plant where the accident happened l.g. polymers makes plastics one report suggests that the leak of a substance called styrene happened as the site was starting to reopen after india's lockdown because of the coronavirus. prime minister narendra modi said he was keeping an eye on the situation from delhi and wished all those affected a speedy recovery. it's clear many are still in shock over the incident but it seems they will have to wake the results of an investigation to find out how and why this happened. or the economy in iran has suffered since the united states made the decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreements that iran had signed with international powers it has also impacted the

country's domestic tourism industry many tour guides bus drivers and hotel workers have lost their jobs jobs that they thought were safe. traffic here is usually backed up for miles but ever since the corona virus outbreak the whole look of the iranian capital tehran has changed dramatically shops and markets have been closed for weeks and where hundreds of travelers squeezed into buses or subway cars now there are empty seats. the tourism industry already struggling with the impact of u.s. sanctions has also been badly hit there is advantage of our organizes group tours for foreign visitors they started coming in groups like this one shortly after the signing of the nuclear agreement 5 years ago in 2018 there were more than 7000000 tourists and the industry was racking up double digit growth rates those days are

gone. we had a 90 percent cancellation rate recently. maybe the tourism industry will open up in the autumn and it can start to grow again at the moment there's no sign of that happening and we can't guarantee that we hope it will continue to grow at some point or smells. good. the decline of the one time flagship industry does not only affect travel agencies tens of thousands of iranians have found jobs in tourism in recent years they work as bus drivers hotel receptionists or as tour guides like. the 37 year old is fluent in english and german but that is of little use to him at the moment because the tourism season in iran which had only just begun will be completely wiped out this year. the situation is a bit more difficult than usual right now my colleagues call and ask if we have

groups of tourists on fortunately it's not because you need to have a 2nd job to make do for example german. iran is starting to loosen the coronavirus restrictions step by step but nearly all areas of the economy are suffering from the near total absence of tourists they bring much sought after scarce foreign currency into the country these are needed to buy medicine and protective equipment overseas. football fans as we know will be banned from stadiums here in germany once the bundesliga resumes later this month but they'll have access to the action for free for a limited time the majority rights holder of the builders league has decided to air the 1st 2 weekends wives on free television politicians have been pushing for the move to discourage mass gatherings outside the stadiums once the bonus league kicks all on may 16th. that is

a wise decision we think you're watching news from berlin stay with us we'll be right back with business news right after this. it's a deadly sin. and a whim of nature. motivates us. and threatens to ruin us. greed. says she desire. that drives out.