many stories make up your made for minds coming up today on track for the olympics in japan. that's the confident assessment of the head of the international olympics committee. but how safe as the world continues to fight over demick, plus in taiwan weapons of war, kitchen tools, the blacksmith, forging chinese opportunity shells into taiwanese kitchen knives and a hong kong senior who has dedicated her life to protecting some of the territories

. residents, water buffalos, ibish babaji, welcome to it's good to have you with us. plans to hold the olympics in tokyo next year in july, appear to be on course the chief of the international olympic committee. thomas has expressed confidence that the games can be held with spectators bucket's got to be in tokyo to hold the view meetings on preparations for the olympics and paralympics . but the meetings are being held under the shadow of the outbreak. they open questions on the safety of athletes and participants. and of course, the additional costs of hosting the games already defined by a euro. thomas, the international olympic committee president,

meeting new japanese prime minister yoshida suga for the 1st time. but has now confident that fans will be able to attend the tokyo games next july. but they could be a catch visit as it may have to get back. some need it in order to protect the trip . a nice of people and i would offer a spec for the japanese people or the i.o.c. will undertake a great effort so that there's so many as possible off for the olympics. but these events and visitors will arrive vaccinated if by then the way clean is every look back later backtracked on some of his comments. he said a vaccine is not a requirement, but that he encourages visitors to get money in order to protect the locals. not everyone was pleased to see the president in tokyo. i mean these protesters leaving back in no doubt about their feelings towards the

end, then pigs, and the rising costs of hosting this world. what you want to speak for yourself for i was with me. i think we're a bit recent poll show that a majority of japan's public prefer another postponement, or even the complete cancellation of the games. japan has hosted sporting events with fans in attendance during the pandemic. at the international 4 nations gymnastics meet and the country's professional baseball league. for the organizers of the tokyo games, these events show that japan can safely host competitions in the middle of a pandemic. i don't listen, although my companion joins me now for more from tokyo, he's also president of the xing. it's a news agency, michael. it's a big unknown at this point. if the corps don't know how to spend make we're told be manageable by next summer. how confident out authorities in tokyo, of being able to pull off the olympics then?

well, whether they're confident not, it's hard to say, but what they have been made, making very clear, is that the olympics will be held. i mean, they are even using phrases like, you know, it will be held at any cost. this is their own language. so you know what they've been saying is, come, what may, the olympics will be held under the conditions are not sure yet, but they will be doing something. but surely some measures will have to be taken to try and keep athletes and fans safe. is there any word on what measures we're talking about? well, what they have told us they haven't got into specifics because of course they don't know how serious the coronavirus situation will be at that time as you mentioned. but what they have told us is that they're preparing what they call

a tool box. and within this tool box, there will be various kinds of measures which could be implemented. and once they get closer to the event, they'll decide which of these policies to pull out of the toolbox and which ones to leave in. they have recently told us that they're very strongly committed to having the olympics in which an audience can gather and participate in some way. but again, they're not exactly sure how far they can go with that until they see what is the pandemic situation around that time. but yes, they're, you know, they're showing confidence and they're basically saying, you know, no matter what's going on, it will happen. but to japan has been able to host a few sports events and during the current make such as the baseball league and the 4 nations gymnastics tournament. what has been the experience with these events?

oh, well, you know, during the course of this year essentially, so far we've had sort of 3 waves of the coronavirus in japan. the 3rd one is basically ramping up right at this moment. and so, you know, in terms of the sports events themselves, yes, it's true that for example, even though you know, japan is hitting some of its record daily totals. for new cases, the situation remains where thousands of people are being allowed to gather at various sports, noon, or other entertainment events. so at a certain point, maybe around the middle of this year, the japanese government began to take the position that keeping the economy open and keeping the economy moving was sort of their priority. as opposed to lock downs and things which might dampen economic development. we leave it there for the time being my compendium list in tokyo,

thank you so much for that. thank you. tensions over taiwan have escalated to recent months with china becoming more forceful in claiming its sovereignty over what it sees as a brake of a province. a vivid reminder of the military threat hanging over taiwan is john mann. a time when he's controlled by them. just 2 miles from the chinese mainland, for decades. it faced bombardments from chinese forces. today, a blacksmith has forged a korea freshening naives from the artillery shells once fired at his home. as a 3rd generation blacksmith learned to most metal as a young boy, he follows different steps of his father who started to turn bomb shells into knifes. when soldiers began to ask for custom orders,

every single step of the production is a vivid reminder of the threat and pain of china bombed from 15829788 total of 20 years. nearly half a 1000000 shells were fired during this period at home town. kingman located just 3 kilometers away from mainland china. just seventy's, the shells were duds, merely dropped for propaganda purposes. these make the best knives in sport shop which has become a tourist attraction. every visit is an opportunity for the blacksmith to explain the brutality. because we experienced it, it's always the relatives of friends who were killed or injured. those who have never experienced and never relate to that kind of pain. goofiest history might repeat itself. the current high tension between taiwan and

china, where president views taiwan as a sovereign state, insisting island is part of china. taiwanese fighter jets have increasingly been scrambling to intercept chinese aircrafts and its defenses own in the past few months. that both sides can peacefully co-exist with each other just like before, so that we can have normal relations and progress. my screw has hammered out around 400000 kitchen knives in 3 decades. he helps they won't cut off relationships, but instead would forge peace between longtime enemies. a blacksmith and when you think of hong kong water buffalo may not be the 1st thing. that

springs to mind, but for decades. since the 1970 s. though many have been roaming free as other sources of income, now questions are being raised over the future of water buffalo on the island with some complaining nuisance. one woman is determined to save locals. call the buffalo gene. this hong kong woman has been caring for these animals for more than a decade. she brings them food. today, it's always as a special treat or in some cases she says, this survival depends on november . the grass here is all gone. so they have to go up the mountain to find food. the old buffalo who don't have enough strength to themselves. so in winter i'll buy hay to feed them. she also tends to their wounds.

the can often sustain injuries on building sites themselves on construction waste. so buffalo jeans real name is she began her long relationship with water buffalo after one expected encounter in her own garden. 12 years ago, one animal took shelter there with a broken leg. she nursed him back to health, then began traveling around the island to help other buffaloes in need. why even like that? but apart from hunger and injuries, the animals face an even bigger threat. they've been a zation is causing their habitat to shrink. as the government pushes for more development on the island, opponents say the water buffalo are crucial for the local ecosystem. other residents consider the base

a pest because of the damage they do to fences and property, but plans to dedicate her life to protecting them. maybe you want to keep the buffaloes safe until the government has implemented a policy to protect them and until there are enough people who use their hearts and energy to help the buffaloes, then i can really retile done somehow. yet she says it's the buffaloes and wetlands that make this hong kong island so special and that's a for today. there's more no website did ever dot com. and you can follow us on twitter at the news channel's mission to the moon, to another step forward today, the massive rocket, the long march 5, left its hangar. i made the short journey to the launch site on hi naan island blast off issue 5. the next week of course, covering that on did other news show we're back to more of the same time going to

that part where i come from, we have to fly for a free press. i was born and raised in a military dictatorship and just want to be a shadow and a few newspapers on official information. as a journalist, i have work off the streets of many can trust and that for all those are the same 14 social inequality. a lack of the freedom of the press. corruption, we can afford to stay silent when it comes to the fans,

something humans on seeing the microphones 400 decide to put their trust in us. my name is johnny paris and i work with news that arrests of being made a year after the daring raid of priceless treasures. from dressed in screen. we'll be asking if germany's museums secure. also coming up today has changed tack with the current about what it feels like from the country. welcome to arts and culture. germany is

a treasure trove of cultural delights, with over 6200 museums, but with a number of infamous robberies in recent years. what is security like in these museums? this question comes after the news of that there have finally been arrests one year on, from the daring raid on one of europe's greatest treasure trove, the green vaults museum, dressed. a massive police deployment in the district of noise. kirn in the south of berlin, hundreds of police raided homes, cars and garages on the lookout for evidence of involvement in what has been described as the biggest heist in modern history. last year's green vault robbery. and incidentally, we have arrested 3 persons of german nationality. they belong to the so-called klan $1000000.00, and they're also on the lookout for the stolen artifacts themselves. among them 3

sets of 18th century jewelry from the collection of saxon roller coasters, the strong value added up to a 1000000000 euro. dresden green vault houses. one of the largest treasure collections in europe, the security here it was said to be state of the art that is until november, the 25th 2019. in the early hours of the morning, a small fire was started allowing the museum's alarm system to malfunction. the thieves then got in through a bad window and used an axe to smash display cases. officers were on the scene 5 minutes after the alarm sounded. but the thieves skate. it's the old, the thieves may have had help from inside the museum. the treasures of the green vault survived allied bombing raids in world war 2, only to be carted off as war by the soviet union in their return to dresden. in

1958, though it's thought and all the chills will be brought back intact. this time, our colleague scott, is with me now scott, looking at those pictures, many zing. pictures of the green vault. you call put a price on what was stunning. no, i mean there's been the financial evaluation of the, of the, of the stolen jewels, some people, but the up to a 1000000000 euros. but really, no, they're priceless. i mean these, this collection is from the strong saxon leader of the 18th century. and if you want to compare, i mean the collection itself, its value prop, its cultural value as well as comparable to the crown jewels in britain. and this is exactly what the saxon cultural minister said, right after the robbery said this is, these are priceless pieces. they can, they can never be replaced. we've got arrests. so far the jury hasn't been found. what do you think of the chance of getting parts of it back?

i mean, this is also a last year after the robbery. various art experts said these pieces are so well known to be impossible to sell them on the market on the black market. and so most of assume that they have been broken down stripped for their, for the jewels. and the precious metals. there is perhaps a mall chance that some of the jewels could be recovered, but not if they've been, if they've been cut up or been in the mosque forever. as i mentioned earlier, this isn't the 1st such harsh we've seen in germany in recent times. and that she'd been quite a few are museum seen as soft targets. are these criminals, they seem to be, i mean, one of the people arrested in this current raid for the green volt, a robbery had actually been arrested, convicted, but had not yet been imprisoned for another museum robbery a couple of years ago. where remember maybe the boat, a museum, a huge gold coin that was stolen from the boat museum in another dramatic a sort of

smash and grab operator. we'll borrow a wheelbarrow exactly a lateral we're a barrel. and the thing to look at these, these are not sophisticated oceans 11 style heist sia. these are very simple smash and grab jobs by these criminal gangs. obviously they see german museums as, as easy targets as low hanging fruit that they can easily break in doing and still is incredibly valuable pieces of art. now has this robbery. another has indeed had an impact on museum security across the country. well, i mean, what comedians do. yeah, it's a big question because we've seen and even with just recently, the condition where a vandal smeared oil on in the program on museum. and i'm paintings in the national gallery. how easy it is for people just to get access to these very valuable pieces of art and do damage to them or even steal them. in some cases, i don't really know what museums can do because museums are public spaces. they need people, the whole point of them is the people have access to this,

these works of art and we don't want them shuttle shot away as if they're in bank vaults. these pieces are shot away as if their bank vault. so i'm not sure what museums can do. they have to do more obviously to secure these pieces. but i'm not sure what they can do because we don't want to see them lock the pieces or deed. we've done scott ross for that. thank you very much. rankin, the british photographer, best known for his shots of celebrities and supermodels, has turned his lens to the subject of death in all 9 exhibitions. just ironically, it's been sponsored by britain's largest mutual life and pensions company, royal london. of course, steph is a very relevant subject at the moment as we are all being confronted. our very existence jew to the corona pandemic, lost for words, giving voice to the last taboo. knew that one or 2 things are out and so everybody is you, but you're born a good die. we all talk about birth like it's going to flush none of us talk,

but that's for the exhibition ranken took portraits of people with images of their deceased loved ones projected onto them, including the mother and brother of stephen lawrence, a black london teenager who was murdered in 1993, in a racist attack, alongside the photographs are interviews about death and dying, ranken subjects share their experiences and what they have learned from losing a loved one. through talking about death, the exhibition restores grief and sorrow to its rightful purpose in our lives. as part of the healing process and part of life itself, some of the subjects of celebrities, others with chosen for their stories like london mother of 4, we joked with grandma, he lost a 17 year old disabled son, daniel to covert 19 in april. talking about death and and grief is very important. i was looking at my son's picture today,

and that picture was taken in spain on holiday last year. he was in the sea and he loved it. he absolutely loved it. he was vocalizing very loud and lots of happy sounds of river all in the sea with him. so talking about grief, evoked those lovely memories. and then i looked at him and i felt proud of him, and i could celebrate it. with his exhibition ranken wants to open up the conversation about death, so we can be better prepared for it. what would be brilliant is if people can stop talking about death, we talk, we talk. but the conversation when we talk about it is everyone's business to talk about death and have a conversation about it with. and also just for me personally, i didn't have those goodbye conversations of my parents. they need to have the last 4 words. now, online,

in our series on acts of assets now living in germany today, the kurdish iranian poet and writer shall have a danger shaky was jailed in the notorious evin prison in tehran for his views, but managed to make a daring escape 1st to iraq. and then to germany, being in exile from your own country must be emotionally and psychologically very difficult. as explained to us when we met up with him. shall have a day in shaky came to germany 10 years ago, leaving everything behind. he had been an established writer in iran, leading intellectual who took active part in social debate. he lost an important part of his identity when he fled the 1st. if i had everything that people desire, i had achieved a high status. as

a journalist, i work the best newspapers and gave lectures at top universities. but then i came to germany and i am like a child who is deaf and dumb and half blind has occurred shakey belongs to a minority in iran. his father taught him his mother tongue. kurdish became the language of his soul. is in a most being, shall have a done, shaky writes, poetry, simple and true to life. in iran, he became known as a modern poet and a critical voice. he fought for equal rights and for human rights. he became a very vocal activist in 2009 when iran's youth revolted against the regime shaky, became part of the green revolution and put his own life in danger. if you're arrested, there's no guarantee that you'll get out after 2 or 3 hours,

or after 3 days, or after 7 days, or after 7 months or up to 7 years. or at some point at the death penalty. who knows? he was arrested, but managed to escape from prison and initially to get to iraq. then, with the help of journalists, he received an invitation from the german government and left iraq, a stroke of good fortune. never the less, he feels a brigitte, it took a long time for shaky to find his feet, has made a radical break, trying to build a new life, to find a new identity and new words, his most important tool. he wants to communicate that in which language and now 70 percent of the people around me are germans, or people who speak german in the streets of my streets. these walls are my walls. this cafe is my cafe. you are my journalist,

the people around me and my neighbors. they are german, all speak german, that makes it exciting, but also difficult to write about it. but for the time being, it's also about finding peace, finding a secure job, and obtaining a residence permit. shakey has found employment as a social worker in a shelter for refugees in berlin. his new home, he feels an affinity to the city. the star, the man as in the berlin is the city of my soul. and berlin has a soul, something very crazy, wounded and brought only berlin works for me because it has such a similar soul to mine. and at least that's how i feel. 1000000 is a city that is stateless, stateless like shaky. when he returned to a brand one day, he doesn't know. he prefers to look at the step ahead and wants to write his next

book. in german. incidentally mole from shall have a danger shaky and other exiled artists in, a special edition of oughts 21 program. this weekend on the w., but that's all for this edition of arts and culture. thanks for watching. i've seen a dance and can

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secrets lie behind discover new adventures in 360 degree and explore fascinating world heritage sites. p.w. world heritage 360 get the maps now is for me, is for you to beethoven is for beethoven is for us is for play beethoven 2020, the 250th anniversary year long. do you know this

is the news live from prime minister threatens a final military offensive in profits. this is doubly frontage of an ass strike in the region which has ignored the government ultimatum to surrender. the us is warning of a full scale humanitarian crisis. country's defense minister speaks to all sides on the program. massive raids here in germany over last year's 1000000000 euro dress. the break in the early morning police operation captures 3 suspects.