this is the w. news live from berlin a year after corona virus forced china into shutdown is setting out plans to bounce back become to shift its focus from fighting the virus to longer term economic speech and also our plans electoral reforms that will tighten its grip on hong kong . also coming up activists in myanmar tell us they are prepared to die for democracy as another protester is reported dead in the city of mandalay more than 50 demonstrators have been killed since the military coup began. and germany's new

faced plan to reopen is met with criticism retailers say it's too cautious while the public health experts warn it could lead to another wave of infections we have the latest numbers on what the average germans really think. also on the program the 1st papal visit to iraq pope francis will urge the countries when dealing number of christians to stay put and help rebuild after years of war and persecution. i'm going to welcome to the program one year ago much of china was shut down to help contain the spread of coronavirus now the country has the pandemic largely under control and is taking steps to get its economy back on track around 3000.

delegates are attending the biggest event on china's political calendar the national people's congress over the course of next week they'll be rubber stamping legislation prepared by the communist party setting china's political priorities for the next 5 years. china lays out its plans for this year as it emerges from the pandemic at the top of the agenda the economy and hong kong china was the only major economy to see growth last year the nation is balancing back thanks to its strong response to cope at 19 but raising warns there is much work to be done. as a coronavirus continues to spread around the world instability and uncertainty are mounting on the international landscape and the global economy continues to face grave challenges domestically there are still weak links in our works to control covert 19. the foundation for achieving our country's economic recovery needs to be

further consolidated barriers to consumer spending remain and investment growth lack sustainability. china's economic growth target may be modest yet their plans for hong kong are anything but beijing wants to overhaul the territory's electoral system citing loopholes and defects in the current system. but. wait measures must be taken to improve the election system of the hong kong special administrative region eliminate hidden dangers and risks in the systems and mechanisms and ensure that patriots are the main body of hong kong people administering hong kong. why isn't the china also announced it will boost defense spending by nearly 7 percent there were other san parliament is also expected to discuss environmental issues and social development over the next week

. are joined by resident china watch a clip of coon and clifford last year this congress imposed a national security law on hong kong and this year china strategy is so overall hong kong's electoral system tell us more about that but i think overall is one way this is basically the complete destruction of the democracy movement kong it's condemned them to extinction really because they lead to a system was already very heavily rigged to war it's a probe asia parties in hong kong and. just as a council but that's now been even it's even more now react towards the beijing comp and i think this means that the pro-democracy parties will find it very very difficult to get seats in the parliament so what minimal voices they did what ways out of presenting their views will pretty much be extinguished by this legislation

well we have the national people congress spokesperson say the hong kong electoral system needs to be improved to guarantee that patrick it's manage and run on kong what do they mean by that. well patron patrick and this in this case means someone who is probation. lawmaker and they are day tend to come from the elise i mean elections we've had in the recent years in hong kong have shown that the majority of people in hong kong want more democracy and they've had these they've had local elections and which of which have shown this there was widespread support for the for the demonstrations in the in the former colony but now the focus on patriot's means that. they're going to be much more beijing focused beijing is laying down the line and it's going to put its people make sure that its people are running the show but china has been one of the fuel economy is proof of that had actual growth

last year and now the government is setting a target of more than 6 percent at this isn't that a bit ambitious whether whether going to fund 6 percent well that's right i mean it is some people some people actually think it could be even 9 percent because of the rebound from from the pandemic there but am 6 percent shows that they're sort of thinking they're going to be they're going to be looking at the the domestic economy primarily for growth because the rest of the world's markets haven't yet recovered are still into pandemic very much so they're going to have to look domestically for growth and i think that means looking at. you know boosting at the technology sector in particular because they need to boost homegrown technology because the u.s. has imposed a lot of sanctions on its technology sector so i think up between now with all of these things out in together. you're going to see very much a focus on domestic growth and then. and slowly cautiously looking back to more

overseas trade but for now everything is going to be driven by by the domestic sector our china expert clifford coonan of business thank you professor. we're going to me on ma where police have opened fire on protesters and mandalay local media are reporting that one person has been killed and young on police appear to use tear gas to disperse demonstrators protests have intensified in several cities after 38 people were killed on wednesday the united states has tightened export controls on myanmar its latest move to sanction the military juntas deadly crackdown the un security council is due to hold talks on the crisis later today. but pro-democracy activists things i should lay ye is joining me now are from young gone again demonstrations have been broken up by police one person was killed how did you experience today's protests.

today and you know even outside the group that crackdown right nice and military over different places you know many young people still going out and cast in the daily basis so we've been protesting for he already we're not missing any single day so i'm at the same time today we've been hearing one person was dart in mentally but in general my b.s. yari i've been hearing different standard and they say you know bones and not bones own you know still in the morning even today even right now i can hear them and still i've been here all that louder tending of the protester at the scenes out on the streets yeah the resistance really seems on broken despite the increasingly violent crackdown what's driving you and other members of the movement to keep going. there are many things that drives out keep going

and the 1st thing is we can't rick's our shootout with with the crew you know with the military taken over the whole country that's the main thing and the 2nd thing is we are doing and then there are all that movement call c d n c where does all the at movements so many civilians go south and moving so much air and police the air dry i mean the movement they have defecting the military and the police station so we are also making sure we could tap them at the same time so why we keep the pressure out on the streets we hope we want to save them safe these civil servants from getting a rest that's right the police and military so this is the 1st and 2nd thing as you know we've been living and the military rueful over 6 decades and in the past decades and decades and we were and there we were in that democratic transition making and the military draft a constitution we work together a way about that and now we can't wait any longer to fight for

a real to more preddy nation so i think now all of us are asking our time risking all alive on a daily basis to ensure we can have and you must be jewish and for the federal democratic nation so we heard about the u.n. security council talk about. the crisis that today international press the pressure on the junta is growing do you and your fellow protesters feel the quickly supported internationally. you know where my is being on the news international news for so many year you can use to remember the roots of prizes that in 4 years ago you know all about even before that ethnic minorities we've been shouted out were had out about the civil law going on the the brutality off the military soft for so many years i don't think they have done and now and the u.s. security council and all of the international community are already in follow what they should be doing so many years by this so many extent of resources so i think

it is now or never so a u.n. security council message does science right now what to do because we've been suffering from the same military was so many years already in. protest activist things are surely you thank you very much for your time and also some other stories making headlines around the world this hour in senegal police clashed with student protesters in the capital of jakarta a police official said one person was killed it follows the detention of opposition leader some corn on wednesday so the rest triggered the worst on west seen in the west african country in years. the san diego zoo has vaccinated several of its great apes for with the corona virus after a troop of gorillas in its safari park became infected the world's 1st non-human

primates to be vaccinated against the apes received an experimental shot designed especially for animals. for now there's been widespread criticism of germany's decision to extend its coronavirus shutdown until the end of this month's chancellor angela merkel met with state leaders on wednesday and agreed to a very cautious reopening strategy the plan also includes measures to make rapid testing more widely available and to finally speed up the vaccine rollout so far germany has lagged behind many of its european neighbors and getting a very valuable dozes into people's arms in a moment we'll find out what the public thinks 1st here's a look at how the country has arrived at this point i am going to america has just resettled her strategy on corona trying a new daunting balance in the face of a 3rd wave. and we are taking steps to open up but they

must not set us back in our fight against the pandemic a drastic departure from her strategy so far which so locked down after a lockdown when infections rose the term health minister against ban under pressure businesses are struggling and public opinion is shifting over the past year angela merkel has used lockdowns as hope prime tool to keep covert at bay now growing frustration at the slow rollout of the vaccination program here and many is mixing with lockdown fatigue and many are beginning to ask whether angola machall still has the right approach. when the chancellor 1st directly address the nation on coded right at the beginning of the crisis she vowed that her government would think on its feet these are standard this is a dynamic situation and we will continue to learn as we go along so we can change course and react with other instruments adam and any time. biotech pfizer came up

with that instrument everyone wanted the 1st market ready vaccine but germany and the you had vaccinated just over 5 percent of their people by the time israel celebrated vaccinating almost its entire population taking the european way may have prevented an e.u. meltdown but it was painfully slow and the too late course the vaccination effort was slow to get going. it's only now that germany is adding rapid test centers and home testing to its pandemic strategy months after austria merkel's new approach of opening up as mutations gather pace is the wrong move says the opposition. i don't think that the measures which are taken between regional leaders and chancellor merkel yes that they will fit you a situation and i think we are right into 3rd way overall support for the government's coronas strategy is still solid at around 50 percent

but it used to be more than 70. within 12 months i'm going to machall went from being europe's corona leadership champion who managed to flatten the curve to a chance to increasingly on the defensive over these coming weeks and months her legacy may be rewritten of a corona. now let's have a look at the mood in germany when it comes to the pandemic bolster in france as dream of has just published its latest nationwide survey the poll was taken before the latest lockdown announcements despite general acceptance of the anti pandemic measures increasing numbers of germans want to see an easing of restrictions 10 percent say restrictions should be lifted completely 53 percent want the curbs to be lifted at least partially and only one 3rd of germans said they don't want the restrictions to be lifted at all let's bring in our political correspondent

and you know what kind of easing of restrictions do germans actually want to see most right now. the priority for examine seems to be for nonessential shops to open again now 27 percent say restrictions should be lifted completely and 55 percent say the non-essential shop should be opened at least partially not even one in 5 of those people polled want them to stay shut and then the ranking goes as follows restaurants hotels schools museums see in cinemas and so on and then gyms but for all those sectors even those ranking a bit lower you have to bear in mind that 2 thirds of germans want some kind of opening to happen which explains the pressure the government is under to strike that balance of keeping the virus in the mutations at bay and the desire by so many in this country that they need to be different solutions than simply extending the lockdown so to massively step of testing and vaccinations both of which has been

very slow and of course we know that the latest lockdown was extended but that there is a 5 step plan to also open up gradually. you know stay with us we'll come back to you in a 2nd. because as we mentioned earlier approval ratings for chancellor angela merkel's government have been the falling just 50 percent of those polled say they were satisfied with the policies of knuckles coalition 49 percent said they were dissatisfied. with these numbers is there a chance the pandemic could negatively impact the election result fungal americal c.d.u. party in september and also damage merkel's reputation at the end of her political career. well this poll still sees the conservatives as the front runners of all parties but 2 of angela merkel's main ministers in the crisis have seen their approval ratings drop significantly over the chaotic management of the crisis in recent weeks they're both conservatives. and of course the health minister

both under tremendous pressure and that pressure is becoming more and more tangible especially with ken spann who said today in a press conference that we are reaching the limit of what is responsible with the latest decisions to open gradually and as for macular self she said she's not going to run again this september and yes our approval ratings have somewhat gone down especially compared to the 1st wave when they were as high as they have been for 5 years that has to do with the slow start of the vaccination campaign cetera but they are still higher than they were in the 2 years leading up to the start of the crisis so 64 percent approval still makes uncle americal germany's most popular politician and the moment. correspondent. thank you dana. we're going to lebanon now where the currency plans to record low this week sending people back onto the streets for a new wave of protests a crippling economy economic crisis has gripped the country and there's only

a caretaker government in place to oversee much needed reforms the protesters are demanding an end to decades of political corruption and mismanagement. protesters blocking roads with garbage containers and set tires on fire as the lebanese economy deteriorate the people are getting desperate. i'm a hungry man in the beginning of my life i should have a future all these guys this year the sunni the druze in the christians are dying of hunger they have no work with us they have nothing where we supposed to go so bad no wonder you last week hundreds marched in the capital beirut demanding local banks allow them to withdraw money many banks have blocked access to cash due to the city because i'm a crisis. today the biggest looting in the world

was carried on by living on central bank governor in cooperation with the ruling class today along with the depositors committee we hear to say that the money will have to be returned and those who took it must be punished. up and come up lebanon has been hit by one crisis after another. from a popular uprising against its political leaders to the covert 19 pandemic. and the catastrophic blast that rocked beirut pulled last august as lebanon is crushed under a mountain of debt nearly half of the population have been driven into poverty. the protests of rage as anger against the political class grows. pope francis is set to begin a historic tour of iraq today despite heightened fears over security and a nationwide coronavirus curfew the 84 year old head of the catholic church is

scheduled to arrive in baghdad on friday afternoon marking their 1st papal visit to the country at all security has been beefed up after a spate of rocket and suicide bomb attacks in recent weeks francis will meet with political and religious leaders and visit the former islamic state stronghold mosul . it is the pope's 1st trip outside italy's since november $29000.00. phatic and iraqi flags going up for pope francis's visit. people here are working hard to fix everything up before he arrives paving the roads fixing street lights and setting up crowd control barriers expectations are high. we hope for this to be a successful visit and that it will help this injured country. when his holiness the pope visits any place where a lot of positive outcomes from his visit. to

cantor cost church sits on the nineveh plain in iraq home to some of the earliest christian settlements centuries before islam established itself across the middle east. over time iraq became home to one of the world's most diverse christian communities featuring catholic how they in armenian orthodox protestant as well as other branches of christianity. then politicised we are sending a message to the pope and to the world that we are here to do that now the christians are remaining on our land though our roots are here so that it is impossible to leave the homeland that embraced us let's see if that makes it much fun to joe hockey's so there were as many as an estimated 1400000 christians in the country at the start of the iraq war in 2003 sectarian conflict drove most of them

away in 2014 the so-called islamic state started targeting christians driving hundreds of thousands of them from their homes those who remain belong to many different branches of the faith. there's a crisis of instability our future is completely uncertain our faith has always saved us so far during his last state regime and the countless attacks on churches homes and villages it has helped us in iraq and it will continue to do so now through this phase. we love our country and are rooted here but if the situation keeps getting worse we may have to leave the pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but he'll also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. for more on this.

religious affairs alice martin and why is the pope visiting iraq now of all times. well i mean i think that most of the work attention has been captured by you know the media see if the if the current are covered crisis in some of the major issues that the vatican press in keeping tabs on and falling through the fallen through the wayside one of the reasons why the pope travels is very often to highlight or to refocus attention on the ticklish tension by and large. but i think that this is the recent i mean you know the the numbers of the christian community in iraq have you know reduced in really radical ways i mean it was a 1.41.5000000 strong community among the different denominations and we are now we're talking about probably 250000 or so in those

numbers are doing doing so you know in a way i mean the sites of the migration of one of the oldest christian communities in the world obviously make states very important for the pope but francis also wants to a celebrate a mass in arbil with thousands of believers is that a clever move at the moment. it's very difficult to say i mean quite clearly this fits very well into the model of the super spreader event and there yes you know no one no one dearth of criticism for the tent also in a country where very likely tories will not be able to fully modulating control the movement of people and you know in many cases do not have the infrastructural needs covered you know there are there are tools to treat what good results from a from a summer spreader event that said. the way that the vatican sees the role of

the focus of course in a buster role in a bust pastoral position in the brics emitted to the people is something that they take a value both from a religious point of view but also from a political point of view so i think that you know it's hard to say whether this is a good choice i mean what is clear yes that the vatican c.s.'s an important as an important step to highlight in to make that community peaceable. religious affairs correspondent martin got that thank you very much miles and you're welcome . you're watching t w news here's a reminder of the top story we're following for you the biggest event on china's political calendar is on the way the national's national people's congress event is taking place with china outpacing other major economies also bringing big coronavirus pandemic launching under control. that's it for

me on the news seem you're up to date so don't go away though up next as did business with steve not bits here and also a number that's always more on the news and on our website e w book call but also on instagram and twitter ask some goggles in berlin. and swatch. cut.

to the point strong opinions clear positions international perspectives. pope francis is visiting a war torn iraq a country city it is the cradle of christianity brings with him a message of peace and reconciliation but who will be listening in iraq or the christian population as we disobey to find out on to the point a to point. to 60 minutes on d w. what secrets lie behind these walls. discover

new adventures in 360 degree. and explore world heritage sites. p.w. world heritage 360 get there no. how's your view of the world. where i come from but over that to get to cisco it's just like this chinese fluids doesn't matter where i am it's a belief of mine to be a coke after decades of living in germany chinese food is one of the things i miss the most but that taking a step back i see things i need to have different terminology many of fluids 1st as an articulation that exists to other parts of the world and haven't been implemented in china that's new but i'm not a chinese people wondering if they're going to say pick me but if i have the right

to learn it that is this is the job of just under the my how i see it and that's why i have nothing my job because i tired to do it exactly at this hour a day night name of the uninsured and i work at it that view. china opens its annual people's congress with a vision of economic transformation but behind the pageantry serious questions can the country continue its robust growth but also raising incomes and its rigid leadership embrace disruptive change take a look. at the e.u. is expected to charge up with and to try.