this is g w news live from berlin tonight europe's ticket to travel the european union is planning coronavirus passports to make travel possible by this summer supporters say it's a lifeline for the continent's hard hit tourism industry but critics have raised concerns about discrimination and not to mention the slow pace of vaccinations also coming up tonight a man in the u.s. is charged with several counts of murder after going on a shooting rampage at the saw as partners in atlanta georgia authorities have not ruled out racial bias against even americans as

a potential motive and living under the threat of deportation how germany's immigration rules mean some families are being sent back to countries where they say they face persecution and a major milestone for gay rights in japan a court rules that the country's failure to recognize same sex marriages is unconstitutional. i'm going to our viewers watching on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome just in time for summer vacation the european union today outlined plans for a vaccine passed designed to help relaunch summer travel the tourism sector is facing a possible meltdown and what should be its busiest time of the year now this so-called green pass will create a digital document showing

a traveler has been vaccinated or has tested negative or has recovered from cope with 19. this is what many northern europeans are dreaming of right now after months of winter darkness and lockdown a holiday to spain would be a refreshing change for many the e.u. wants to make that easier with a digital health certificate for many who make a living from tourism it's a welcome idea because i thought i had met them and then we're done with our islands are fully dependent on foreign tourists so there will be many people who don't agree but as we're so dependent on tourism and we're suffering from this health crisis that this is typical it will make it easier for foreigners to come and go. the e.u. has made it clear it will not link freedom of movement to vaccines alone what is the function of the certificate it shows all states whether the person has either

been either been vaccinated or a recent negative test or has recovered from covered and thus antibodies we aim to help member states reinstate the freedom of movement in a safe responsible and trusted manner but some remain skeptical about the covert 950 code islands foreign minister urged caution on international travel to prevent new variants of the virus is spreading i know that there have been a lot of countries that are dependent economically on tourism and people traveling across borders pushing for the european commission to produce a safe way of facilitating international travel but i have to say early and will be very cautious in the spirits covert 19 vaccinations are not required anywhere in the e.u. some critics have raised ethical concerns over the city effected worrying it could bring special privileges for some travelers while discriminating against people who

have not been vaccinated. the european union is hoping the green certificates can be ready for use by the summer holidays. season the proposal now has to be approved by the european parliament and national governments is. hard for morning i'm joined by andrea skloot he is a member of the e.u. parliament for the german business friendly f.t.p. r.t. mr good it's good to have you on the program let me get your take on this we now have a plan for making summer travel possible in europe but our plans for getting vaccinated looks somewhat like a disaster at the moment is you're putting the cart before the horse here. so hello good evening no i don't i don't think so so 1st of all we're living in a constitutional democracy and we're talking about fundamental rights here so if you just you know kind of want to bring down fundamental rights it has to it has to be justified he says to be temporarily and test to be appropriate and so i belief

that in the digital green certificate this could be a supporting tool to give people blake their freedom earlier well what about the desire to be vaccinated so that you don't get sick. so 1st of all i mean that's a nation is like it's like a very very important step to fighting this pending media but what we don't want is that we want to discriminate discriminate. certificate what because there has to be alternatives for people who don't have the possibility to get vaccinated at the moment and so i believe that it's a really good step that we have to set if it gets where it's also shows that you have a native negative test for example and we're not only talking about those p.c.r. tests which we take time and which are really expensive we're also talking about reparative thing which i believe we should do a lot more than we did i know there are a lot of people say that they would feel better about travelling if they could be

banks needed 1st do you think this travel certificate do you think that's going to help accelerate the backs and asian rollouts across europe. i mean you know i mean i'm coming from a liberal party and so i believe that we shouldn't go for men dettori vaccination and so i believe that the certificate right now is also can be understood as a good alternative for maybe those people who didn't have the chance to get vaccinated by now or for people which which might not get the vaccine because they're they're ill they are sick or whatever and so i believe that a very good alternative is like a very very close and testing testing regime and so i believe that with the city if we could we can ensure that both like the x. nation infections like post infections with antibodies and also and also the testing mr matured there in brussels what's the mood among your colleagues in the parliament do they have

a positive outlook in terms of the banks in asian rollouts in terms of the economy for the rest of this year i mean how do they see things. and i mean actually to be honest of course i'm am really convinced we have to get a lot a lot better when it comes to vaccination i mean we really have to work on on that as paramilitary and to see why maybe. it took so long for the commission to do to get the vaccines but when it comes to the to the city if we get them as long as we don't see a discriminating character of the city and city if we could we just believe it's a good thing right now it's fun to lie and introduce this if it is certificate this afternoon it really shows that it has support that it's a supporting tool and so most of my colleagues in the parliament appreciate this is that if you could ok mr andreas gluten a member of the e.u. parliament in brussels to your time and your insights tonight thank you thank you

very much. let's take a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world voting has just closed in the netherlands general election spread over 3 days to avoid crowds from forming voters cast their ballots by and car the election is effectively a referendum on the government's handling of the pandemic conservative prime minister mark looks set to win a 4th term the u.s. secretary of state and defense secretary have met their south korean counterparts in so it's the 2nd leg of their tour of asia to shore up support for the bite administration's efforts to deep nuclearized north korea and to contain the growing power of china. u.s. president joe biden says he agrees that his russian counterpart vladimir putin is quote a killer biden told a.b.c. news that would pay a price for undermining his campaign in last year's u.s.

presidential election asked whether he agreed that putin is a killer by reply yes i do. we understand. our right to japan now in a big legal victory for the rights activists a court in the city of sapporo has ruled it is unconstitutional for the government not to recognize same sex marriage the ruling represents a major milestone on the path to potentially legalizing marriage for all in japan. they came to watch history unfold marriage for all activists pushing to end discrimination having their day in court they sued for compensation over the fallout from japan's ban on same sex marriages the judge struck out that claim but the court did decide that lesbian and gay couples should be allowed to marry a landmark ruling the same kind of call you a little bit this is the 1st ruling in japan to make

a decision on same sex marriage the court ruled that not recognizing marriage between people of the same sex is unconstitutional in that sense it ushers in a new era. the verdict is just one step on a long march to equality activists hope that momentum is now in the side of the. i want to know about them or we can now see a pathway to a future lives that many of us could not imagine becoming adults of all what kind of life we would have you must and many felt that way as children and the ruling will bring hope to the younger generation will be the u.s. and. japan is the only g 7 country that does not fully recognize same sex marriage most japanese are in favor of equal rights for l.g.b. people. rightly that japan has been conservative but times have changed i think we

will be more tolerant from now on. another for similar lawsuits a pending the pace of change may be quickening. a government accused of killing 8 people in the us state of georgia has been charged with murder the 21 year old was arrested after a killing spree at 3 massage parlors in the atlanta georgia area most of the victims were asian american women the suspect claims that the attack was not racially motivated but rather the result of his quote sex addiction attacks on asian americans have increased during the coronavirus pandemic and the incident has sent shock waves through the asian american community. of more now i'm joined by political analyst jessica yellin just good to have you on the program these suspects told police that his attacks were not racially motivated he said

that he was addicted to sex that was the motivation there can we take that to be a plausible explanation based on what we know. thanks kitty evening won't based on what we know i find that frankly implausible this gunman went to 3 asian american businesses and murdered 8 people the majority of whom were asian american or of asian descent it's and regardless of whether a sex addiction was also went to play here on regardless of whether he was directly asked was this a racist attack and answered no this does not rule out the fact that this was an ethnically targeted attack and let's be honest here the men who murdered off one are very or the officer who murdered george floyd they also would not say that those crimes were racially motivated and so we have to take these kinds of

statements with a grain of salt if his motivation was sex addiction was part of the motivation is it possible then to say that this was a crime that was that targeted women and the fact that they were asian american women maybe was just a coincidence is that plausible. we'll have to see what comes out in the coming days in the investigation of course but the point is that whether it was also sexually motivated or not there was an ethnic element here and i think for the victims and their families for the asian american community and frankly for the american people whether of asian descent or not this is a crime that essentially up waves throughout the country during a time when hate crimes violent and nonviolent against asian americans and asians living in the united states have been on an alarming rise so we have to look at this attack not only in the context of the single crime but also what it means or

the readiness of violence toward asians in america and to really address the fears of the community and this time i understand you grew up in an asian american community in seattle washington when you compare. it. to how it is now nationwide one of the biggest differences. well that's a good question and i would say that i grew up in seattle which is a strong asian american community but even then i didn't grow up directly in that community i myself a mixed race i am half asian american and have tournament and even in this context as a part asian part european american i saw racism in my childhood going in both directions frankly and i can say as an adult looking back things have

gotten a lot better but also when this wave of hate crimes started picking up sense covert 19 what we really were reminded of was that these kinds of discrimination and hatred and crimes have old roots and old history already going back to the 19th century when lynch mobs would attack and murder chinese immigrants working on the railroads crimes like this these histories in america whether it's crimes against black people against hispanic people against asian american people these are old issues that america has been dealing with since its inception and even if the expression of these attacks and the radar frequency that we see of them is fluctuating the root causes have not disappeared and this is a time when we need to look these things directly in the face and ask ourselves as

a nation where is this coming from how did we get here and what can we do to make a better future political analysts just berlin just know we appreciate your thoughts and your insights tonight thank you thanks. human rights groups are sounding the alarm about germany's deportation of refugees back to places they say are unsafe and like several other western nations germany regards pakistan as a safe country of origin you've got to use the ease of fun rishta oath and met one family from the a my dear religious minority now they say they face persecution in pakistan. every time an osama does the odd time here in leipsic it feels like a small victory in pakistan the call for prayer would land him in jail ahmed and his family are members of the ahmadiyya community an islamic minority which faces persecution back home 2 years ago they fled to germany. we

live in freedom since we came we've been able to wear whatever clothes we want and when we want to veil ourselves no one tries to harm us my husband goes to the mosque and prays there and we don't have to ask ourselves whether he will come home or whether someone will come to the mosque and hurt us. the family only has tolerated immigration status here which means they have few rights and it anytime can be arrested and deported back to her life in fear they have heard that a mass deportation is due to take place soon. sania it is not easy to leave your country and now that we've done this that we are here we're being told that we can't stay so where do we go. to use believe the movement's founder was the messiah they are considered heretics in pakistan their persecution is well documented mohammad shows

a school books which tell children to fight the infidels signs at the shop entrances that prohibit entry for mahdi's photos from attacks and mahdi mosques still unlike the u.k. in the us germany considers pakistan a safe country of origin malique says that the government has stepped up deportations. i believe that there is a lack of knowledge or a political will. but unfortunately this is to the detriment of the many persecuted people who live here and who are now being deported in large numbers or are still in custody awaiting deportation. for these people it is a matter of life and death. let's get on. with. knows this well he says a mob killed his uncle when he returned to pakistan from the u.k. . achmad in costume are desperate to protect their family but they have exhausted

all legal remedies for now there is little they can do just wait and hope they won't be on the next plane. nasir ahmed is the president of the a medea muslim organization in the german city of minds mr joins me tonight it's good to have you on the program mr ahmed you are a member of this communities or tell me if someone such as yourself were to go back to pakistan what do they have to fear what could happen to them. getting need a question it's a great it's a really great great fear and i will give you some example fully if you pose as a muslim you can be done like there are over 700 cases like this even they have destroyed or graveyards destroyed or mosque that killed 240 people one by one just in the last 2 weeks in one area of the botched on 4 ended our kids and.

still it's a great feeling of art and and one city and once the whole population the book on their site found. that the risk of their lives in peace there goes the safety that's this type of news is you cannot imagine how to sleep at night or how to spend a day and what about people here in germany i'm in your community you see here deportation i mean how do they cope with that. i know a lot of them there around me as well and then the court the state us the. place or the possible reasons stated we just tolerate it you never know where one night they will come and pick you up and they are being denied the part of human

rights for example in the bank account they can go to school they're going to the job of so every night and every day they are going here and they are unhealthy are pleased and can any send them that prison of life have you never been able to talk with authorities for example at the the office for foreigners for example i mean do you have contact with people who could possibly change the situation. or central had elfish on the a muslim community and they are actively in contact with different authorities that they continuously report each or every incidence to the german parliament they are also a member of the human rights committee they also get all the reports what our happen in pakistan to the lawyers and to the coach but the problem is that. is not that country it's the steet own it's not only are the occasion by the society.

i mean goldman should realize this in germany like you said that you listen and look it they are doing this burgeoning in the discipline mr nasr are we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us tonight thank you thank you. a damning report in the u.k. has blamed the english football association for failing to protect hundreds of young players from sexual abuse by pedophile coaches the report says there were significant institutional failings by the governing body once it became aware of decades of abuse dating back to the 1970 s. among those listed as failing in their duties top tier clubs such as chelsea and manchester city. it was a former youth player at the football club crewe alexandra who put the spotlight on the sexual abuse of young players police reopened investigations and charges were

filed but this was years decades after the fact. that a player was andy woodward who in 2016 inspired dozens and dozens of others to finally speak out as well that was the year attorney clive sheldon was commissioned to independently report on the f.a. the football association there was an institutional failing by the f.a. they acted far too slowly in developing that child protection of rangelands and once they were aware of child protection being a problem within the school and they should have done more to keep children safe this man barry was among the predators he coached young people for clubs like crewe alexandra stoke and manchester city from the 1980 s. he's in prison now but wasn't banned from football after his 1st conviction and release from prison it took until former players like andy woodward spoke out against him the football association and clubs from the lowest tier to the top have

since then worked to make amends and protect the youth. we have to hold hands up and apologize for the mistakes of the posse make sure we don't repeat them but that's not to say that football is not an unsafe environment it is some abuse victims say the report on the football association could have been stronger in tone but the f.a. will be watched at every step by those who suffered over the years. it's cuba's best known export you see it right there hand rolled cigars last year the cuban cigar industry struggled under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic u.s. sanctions and bad weather but strong demand from abroad helped save the industry from catastrophe. young as tending to bacco plants that will be made into cuba's famous handled cigars the farmer has struggled like the rest of the cuban cigar industry with the economic fallout of the pandemic u.s.

sanctions on cuba have also made it hard to secure diesel fuel and fertilizers and unusually wet weather last year didn't help but garcia is hopeful this year will be different. it has been a little hard due to the health situation that the country is going through. the weather has not been favorable but we have to be there working to see if we can achieve a good harvest. so that this year will be as good as last year or even better. but walang also. exports have been keeping the industry afloat cuba sells around $100000000.00 cigars called poor abroad each year demand from overseas held up last year as smokers bought premium cigars with money saved on travel and entertainment the part took us took our factory in havana kept running

even during the worst days of the pandemic. all was going but going to we are not going to say that it is a negative impact we are simply a little limited but an impact that will cause unemployment lack of cigar exports this is not been the case we have continued to export. hernando's things the worst is now behind the industry particle for its part hopes to boost production to almost 5000000 cigars this year. well today is st patrick's day my socks are green by the way ireland has been doing its best to celebrate despite coronavirus restrictions the centerpiece of the festivities has been a spectacular drone display in the skies over the capital dublin a swarm of 500 unmanned aircraft traced some of ireland's history in lights traditional green being the brightest color in the show with a national lockdown still in force famous pubs remain closed just as they were on

this day one year ago. all right here's a reminder of that top story we're following for you the european commission has unveiled plans for a digital vaccine passed to profit the continent's tourism industry amid the pandemic its proposed allowing e.u. citizens to ship a digital certificate to prove that they have been vaccinated have tested negative or have recovered after contracting the virus. back to take you through the day stick around we'll be right back.

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opportunities global news that matters d. w. made for mines. more than 1000 years ago europe witnesses a huge construction boom. with christianity firmly established there is a greater demand for houses of worship. and both religious and secular leaders are eager to display their power so churches become palaces. the race begins who can create the tallest biggest most beautiful structures. above stonemasons builders and architects compete with each other to build even good projects. this is how

massive churches with towers that pierce the clouds like skyscrapers are created a. contest of the cathedral church people 12th on t.w. . spring is just beginning but already europeans are thinking of summer and summer holidays the european union today announced plans for a coronavirus passport a ticket to travel despite the pandemic and how is that supposed to fly most people have not been vaccinated and months of poor planning supply shortages and one too many vaccine scares have led.