don't miss our highlights. program. w dot com highlights. this is the. script. in the welcome the new. democracy activists protest. and the one country 2 systems. coming up to. the leaders of germany and france for agree on a plan for. america and president just have to skeptics.

just citizens to back stability security and prosperity. welcome to the program china's national people's congress has passed a controversial security. that critics fear will give beijing more control over the semi autonomous state of drink some people in hong kong showed their support for the new law democracy activists opposed it critics say it restricts freedom with the one country 2 systems policy agreed by try. when he took control of the home of

british colony in 1907 britain has called the noodle a grave step but hong kong's chief executive said the knoll would only target a small communal minority. i'm now joined by joshua rosensweig from a misty international's regional office in hong kong mr rosensweig welcome you have said that the bossing of this civil court represents the greatest threat to human rights in the city's recent history so effectively you are saying that the chinese government is acting against its own people. well i think the chinese government is acting against the by passing this law is passing sweeping or imposing some sweeping restrictions on rice and freedoms that the people of hong kong out long enjoyed and this goes very much counter to the expectations

that many people in our car had and i think that you know you can tell a lot about the intentions already asking this law by the swiftness and the lack of transparency with which it has come into existence what about china's intentions and possibly just. well i think you can look at it a number of ways 1st of all i think that the mirror effect of passing this law which imposes new criminal sanctions for things like secession subversion so-called terrorism all of these things are are are meant to have a chilling effect because the the definitions of these crimes are so poorly defined that people are going to have to really guess about whether their actions are might fall afoul so i think the one of the goals is to have that chilling effect and to get people to really regulate and internalize their this

change on their behavior so that basically people are going to be left with 2 choices either they agree with the government policies and stop speaking out against them or they keep silent now that it's been a lot of international reaction to this the e.u. says it wants to bolster its decision the u.s. is moving and special trading status for hong kong the u.k. calls it a grave step but honestly will these international reactions make a difference to china well i think certainly they have not so far because a lot has come into effect i think really the proof is going to be how those expressions of concern are put into that into action going forward it is an essential that we all recognize that the hunger government and the chinese government out of human rights obligations that in implementing this law they need to abide by and i think we need to both monitor their or the way they're doing that and hold them accountable if they violate those human rights laws going forward

otherwise those are simply going to be empty words joshua rosenzweig from a missed international relieving them from the time being thank you so much for joining us. and now to some of the latest developments in the corona about us and the world the world health organization says it's sending a team to china next week in an effort to search for the origin of the virus the w.h.o. also warned the pandemic was quote speeding up a case surge in the australian state of victoria has prompted officials to order a month long lockdown for parts of melbourne the measures affect hundreds of thousands of residents in the country's 2nd largest city restrictions are also being tightened in the british city of leicester where new infections accounted for 10 percent of all cases in england last week businesses will be closed from today and schools will follow suit next week and the e.u. has named 14 countries whose citizens it deems safe to 19 from july the 1st australia canada and japan are among those countries the u.s.

brazil and china are not on the safe list the future of europe after the pandemic that was the main topic as german chancellor angela merkel and french president emmanuel mccraw met near berlin yesterday it was their 1st face to face meeting since the pandemic hit back in march the 20 does were eager to show that they were united on a multi 1000000000 euro plan they say is crucial to get into in the future. the greeting was distanced because of coronavirus but warm nonetheless it is not by chance that emanuel is the 1st foreign leader to meet with chancellor merkel since the virus crisis began the pair are spearheading a 500000000000 euro proposal for rebuilding europe's economy off to the pandemic these are 2 leaders who want to work together and be the driving force for europe. going on that we understand that europe is not united nearly because germany and

france agree but when germany and france disagree it does not look so good for unity in europe so perhaps we can find agreement on many questions and make a contribution and give a positive impulse to move things in the right direction for europe's future. even as germany prepares to take over the presidency of the e.u. on the 1st of july america is more central than ever to the future of the block the french president for his part wants to be seen to be injecting his own energy and ideas into the tandem he brought with him from paris a proposal for a new environmental levy and he spoke of how european values have prevailed during the pandemic. across europe there has been an open and transparent debate from the start i think citizens should be aware of what that means in many other parts of the world some more severely affected by the virus than our assistance of both individuals and companies has not been as massive far

from it and in many places the epidemic has been synonymous with the suspension of democratic life but not here in europe mccarthy. on the. well michael has been weakened by his party's poor results in local elections on sunday medical's handling of kobe has boosted her support even though the plan to transfer funds to struggling countries in southern europe is a huge huge turn which not all in the party back but as they try to convince some reluctant e.u. members that they have the right recipe for recovery france and germany want to make sure they're pointing in the same direction another press conference with president across the chancellor was asked by a french journalist why she has never been seen wearing a koran or face covering. america untypically personal response. absolutely going to follow the distancing rules i don't need

a mosque and if i'm not following the distancing rules for example when i go grocery shopping and i suppose we don't run into each other otherwise you might have seen me in a mosque. but i won't tell you when and where i go grocery shopping. but of course i stick to what is recommended by the robot cock institute and wear a mask whenever a safe distance cannot be maintained. that's. there will certainly be future occasions where i will be seen wearing a mask. musket says he is and yet. in russia's president vladimir putin has citizens to back stability security and prosperity ahead of the final day of the week long vote on constitutional reforms if approved the reforms there were 14 to stay in 2036 voter turnout is a key factor for bolton but critics say the public information campaign to mobilize voters has been anything but neutral. reports on the president's bid to stay in

power. for accessible health care for a strong stable russia for family values the flyers read these so-called volunteers for the constitution in the moscow region are working with russia's electoral commission they've been tasked by the author already to inform citizens about what's at stake in the vote including about an amendment that could keep president vladimir putin in power the volunteers insist their messaging is completely neutral and that's. our job is to get people to the ballot box so that they can make whatever choice they want we want people to come and vote for them to know that their opinion makes a difference rather than thinking this vote has been a daughter decided in advance so why bother i personally think our country is on the right path and that path depends on our guarantor our leader so i think it's important that one of the amendments could give an opportunity to the man who put our country back on its feet. to return himself is absent from the

information banners around moscow which simply present this as a vote on russia's future. across moscow there's official information about how and where to vote on many apartment buildings and some of the posters even seem to be encouraging people to vote for the constitutional amendments this poster for example. the russian word for yes. the author already has and to putin himself have emphasized that the amendments will improve people's lives by enshrined. social guarantees in the constitution. if the constitutional amendments are passed they will set the bar much higher for the government demanding a more meaningful and effective social and economic policy and decisions to improve people's quality of life and prosperity. but activists from the no campaign argue the vote is all about keeping putin in power for life the campaign has united several opposition groups who say the system is

skewed against them but. the procedure isn't fair in the 1st place because putin who holds all the reins of power in his hands has essentially arranged to vote for himself we have no way of presenting our position on a federal level both in newspapers and on state television we're not allowed to be present there that's a barrier we can't pass so we can only campaign online and on the streets. even though they say the vote is just for show volunteers from the no campaign want to keep fighting against constitutional changes and for a future without. the other stories making the news this is what us president nicolas maduro has. to lead the country. to brussels slap sanctions on 7 officials nor into the president more than 50 countries including much of the e.u. recognize opposition leader. venezuela's president. india

has 59 chinese mobile apps including talk and we. see concerns the move comes just weeks after a border clashes between the 2 which resulted in strained diplomatic relations. and the u.s. aviation regulator has started test flights of boeing 737 the plane has been grounded since last year following 2 crashes which killed more than 340 people investigators blamed for the flight control system for the incidents with test flights evaluated. canada. has filed for bankruptcy protection since march the pandemic has forced the world famous circus to. the entertainment group which runs shows around the globe has already suspended 95 percent of the workforce. hopes to rehire the majority of

those employees. some football news now goalkeeper young. and defend. have extended their contracts with ventas for one more year before return to uva last summer after spending one season with friends. used in a reserve role the 42 year old world made $38.00 appearances since returning. has become a mainstay since joining in 2005. lead them to the. title. it is have revealed that their cause for this season will be all black in a tribute to the black lives matter movement the announcement was greeted with virtual applause from the driver lewis hamilton on twitter ahead of the delayed season in austria on sunday 1st black woman jumping has been campaigning for more

equality and diversity in the sport over recent weeks 2. you're watching news don't forget you can keep up to date on our web site that's. a new can also follow us on twitter and instagram as well at news i'm going to be back in 45 minutes. combating the pandemic. where does research stand. what are scientists learning.