good. place. this is g.w. news live from her lead a court in hong kong convicts 7 pro-democracy figures including media tycoon jimmy lock the group were found guilty of unauthorized assembly during the protests in 2019 we'll take you live to hong kong. also coming up a 2 trillion dollar make over for the united states president by that setting out plans for a massive infrastructure spending program. and france is heading into lockdown 43rd time the president saying that the shutdown already in place in some regions will

be extended to the entire country for at least one month. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program. a court in hong kong has found 7 prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians guilty for their role in anti-government protests $2192.00 other defendants have previously pleaded guilty now those convicted include the man known as hong kong's father of democracy martin lee he's an 82 year old barrister and co-founder of the democratic party also 73 year old media tycoon jim eli he's one of the most outspoken critics of the current administration and margaret a 73 year old barrister and

a former lawmaker nearly every leaving voice of opposition in hong kong is now either in jail on trial or in exile veteran activist lee was also convicted today and. spoke with him before the verdict about his life's work that started back in 1989 in tiananmen square let's go now to phoebe who joins us live from hong kong. what more can you tell us about the verdicts. well that's just a basically rechecked all of the fans arguments in hope. that there is nothing unconstitutional about the prosecution itself and the offense of illegal assembly that the church doesn't doesn't agree that the claiming that this is a british off the rights of a same plea could induce chilling in fact but out of all this missed by the church and then with the rather we're talking about today is actually how to in 298018.

in august and. very huge. same with venue in hong kong that originally the police approved. to all the nice to have an assembly but then too many people showed up all the nice 1700000 people showed up that jammed all the rolls and entrances off the assembly but now the prosecutor accused the defendants of turning that proof assembly into although i must authorize march and then the justice agree with it dependence that they claim that they were only leaving the crown out of the park for safety reasons but all that were rejected and so now the case is such a pro 16 for the defendants to submit mitigation before sentencing and they most of them now and then earlier before the verdict i have spoken to one of the defendants

a young officer an activist who told me that he is actually prepared for a child home for his very 1st criminal confession in life. a small flat in downtown hong kong weather woes only was young dedicated to that 18 i tenement krakow is located at the minatory repression in beijing 32 years ago changed the course of many people in china and hong kong including leach again i was there during the doing for the massacre and i was deeply in propre days after my release back to hong kong i crash that i would spend my lifetime in boxes in china and go through 35 or not be in a very. strong case all leisure again is facing a difference fakes critics see and i don't massive try to tell being carried out by the chain this time hans mostly liberal and democratic city hong kong in the wake of anti-government protest here an age this was hostile organizing and attending

and authorizes and that's really it was over a 1000000 people took part was one of the few without found and questions every one of the defendants are high profile figures apart from media tycoon jim you lie or a former lawmaker and icons of the opposition movement like martin lee who is no this father after an opposite issue of the charges carries a maximum 5 year jail term right up this case is just the tip of the iceberg with over $10000.00 artists arrested for is the 1st among the night charges for which he's on trial beijing's recently post weeping national security law and his overhaul of the cities that to a system intensify the fear. all denies hong kong's tenement morning vigil every year calling for an end to china's one party rule for decades and that they can make him a prime target and beijing security this year he will likely be absent for the very

1st time in this era in a way they're going to be part of the struggle now i would convert. this is already . a blessing for me i would only have to go to jail after 40 years of you know hong kong. but i'm ready to pay the price and ready to freeze something witnessed hong kong long struck home the 64 year old activist is not optimistic but he believes that he continue to fight for democracy and to define the events took on. and his arrests is as we've been hearing there are part of a broader crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. where do all of these actions leave the efforts toward democracy in hong kong where it now. is has we have mentioned in the report that all defendants in these landmark case

the core of the this are the opposition political parties and the. left actually most awfully peaceful and landmark marches over the posture of the that case in hong kong and now i'm fact most of them they didn't have any criminal records before so this is the very 1st criminal conviction in their lives and for the rally organizes that this is maybe and not a signal for them to rethink what are they. all deny such the same kind of rally in the future or all have to reconsider their action especially we approaching summer there are many traditional family face in hong kong but now i think the ruling is standing at the turning in fact to the opposition came an expression this is an order setback for them after the imposition of a national security and also reasons. overhaul that this is going to be and not a political blow to the opposition time as

a whole. from hong kong where as we have mentioned 7 prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians found guilty today for their role in the anti-government protests 2950 thank you for your reporting. and we turn now to some other news because u.s. president joe biden has set out plans for a 2 trillion dollar program of infrastructure spending he's called it a once in a generation investment that will create millions of jobs while giving roads utilities and american industry a badly needed upgrade the plan is being compared with his predecessor franklin delano roosevelt's new deal following the great depression of the 1930 s. but biden's program is facing tough opposition i'm proposing a plan for the nation that rewards work not just rewards well the bills of

fur economy gives everybody a chance to see who's going to create the strongest most resilient innovative economy in the world. road builders in the u.s. will soon have plenty of work to do infrastructure in the world's largest economy is in poor condition across the board. butte roads power or water to me and many key industries have long since moved abroad. with his 2 trillion dollars package u.s. president joe biden wants to give the entire country a make over. was an extreme distress his administration plans on modernizing 32000 kilometers of road while repairing thousands of bridges. half a 1000000 new charging stations will be built to accommodate the ever growing number of electric vehicles biden also wants to bring industries such as chip production back to the united states today computer chips are still mostly produced

in asia. the whole project is expected to take 8 years to complete some of the funding will come from a corporate tax hike from 21 to 28 percent biden supporters folks say the program will create millions of will paid jobs and strengthen america's ability to compete with china. but republicans in congress are already voicing opposition especially towards the corporate tax increase and i would say biden's predecessor slashed the rates by 14 percentage points to their current level. and the take a look at some other stories making headlines around the world for people including a child have been killed in a shooting at an office building in orange county california 2 others including the suspect or wounded it is the 3rd deadly mass shooting in the u.s. in the past 2 weeks. the libyan coast guard has intercepted

a boat carrying dozens of migrants local authorities say the raft capsized libya is a major route for my birthday seeking a better life in europe aid agencies say that many of them face human rights violations and poor living conditions while held in detention centers. the united nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis in mozambique hundreds of people are still trying to flee the town of palma after an armed group game control in the northern town last week. for france will close down schools for 3 weeks to fight a rapid spread in coronavirus cases and nationwide curfew will also be put in place in a televised address president emmanuel mccall warned that the country risks losing control of the pandemic if action is not taken cases are rising in france with almost 60000 new infections reported in the past day. intensive care units at

hospitals all over france are running out of free bets at this medical center an hour north of paris there i.c.u. unit is full and they've been forced to temporary beds to cope. feel this wave hitting us hard and we're hanging on people need to be explained that they should not gather we had a mother and her son die at the same time in 2 different intensive care ohm's all because of family gathering it's unbearable for us it's a very difficult situation to manage. spring weather has drawn people on to the streets despite the dramatic surge of covert 1000 cases images like these let medical experts to demand stricter measures and the government responded as of saturday and nationwide curfew will be reimposed schools and nonessential shops will close. president emanuel mccall pleaded for

cooperation. of the coming months each one of us must make an extra effort and this is what i ask of us collectively this evening. mccaul also promised to increase the number of i.c.u. beds from the current 7000 to more than 10000 and to speed up the sluggish vaccination program across the country. contrary to his european neighbors mccollum didn't tighten restrictions when numbers dramatically increased in january. many people here in france i know angry that he didn't take stricter measures because now obviously the weather is getting better and everybody feels like you know having more freedom and they wouldn't have minded so much to stay at home for 2 months for the last 2 months when it was raining really so many people here fear that this is not enough. the latest lockdown will be in place for at least

a month mark or hopes to reopen some cultural venue's even restaurants and cafes by mid may. and here are some other developments in the corona virus pandemic accorded brussels has ordered the belgian government to lift all lockdown measures within 30 days declaring it was illegal and violated human rights the government says it will appeal biotech pfizer says a study showed that its vaccine is highly effective and safe for children between the age of 12 and 15 the company says it hopes to provide shots for older children before the next school year starts and russia is the 1st country in the world to approve a covert $1000.00 vaccine for animals it aims to reduce the spread of virus mutations and species such as make which are vulnerable to infection. and with that now you're up to date here on your news i'm sarah kelly in for len after a short break my colleague chris culliver will join you with the latest business as

minds to stay with us if you can for that and if you're interested in more news stories go to our website e.w. dot com or visit out on social media thanks for watching. over good times are. warming doesn't do. well.