oh boy. oh boy. this is d w news live from berlin a court in hong kong convicts 7 pro-democracy figures including media tycoon jimmy lie the group was found guilty of an authorised assembly during the protests in $29.00 teams will anyone in hong kong now dare to speak up for democracy we will at least get an activist in exile make the law. also coming up france is heading into lockdown 43rd time president fox says the shutdown already in place since of

reagents will be extended to the entire country for at least one month. and president biden i'm valent a 2 trillion dollar infrastructure overhaul for the united states but how does he plan to pay for the last of spending package clocks europe's broken migration policy and time seekers are spending the years at holding camps in greece it will last for the german parliament member how the e.u. can fix the disaster added store staff. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program. according hong kong has convicted 7 prominent pro-democracy activists and politicians for their role in anti-government protests back in 20192 other defendants have previously pleaded guilty now the

defendants include the man known as hong kong's father of democracy martin lee he is the 82 year old co-founder of the democratic party also 73 year old media tycoon jimmy lie he's one of the most outspoken critics of the current administration and margaret a 73 year old barrister and a former lawyer with these convictions now nearly every leading voice of opposition in hong kong is either in jail on trial or in exile said thing of the group will take place at a later date but they could face up to 5 years in prison also among them is that or an activist took young to be cong spoke with him before the verdict we reflected on his life's work which began back in 1989 at tiananmen square.

a small flat in downtown hong kong weather woes only miss young dedicated to the 18 i tell them in krakow is located the military repression in beijing 32 years ago changed the course of many people in china and hong kong including leach again why was there during the during for the massacre and i was deeply in propre days after my release break to hong kong clash that i would spend my life time. mockers in china. were not being very. street i case on leisure again is facing a different fate critics see and i don't massive cracknell being carried out by the chain this time harnessed mostly liberal and democratic city hong kong in the wake of anti-government protest here and 8 this was a charge for all the nice thing and that's handy and authorizes and that's really it was over a 1000000 people took part was one of the few without violence questions every one

of the defendants are high profile figures apart from media tycoon jimmy and i or a former lawmakers icons of the opposition movement like martin lee lewis know this father after all this issue of the charges carries a maximum 5 year jail term but. these cases just. over $10000.00 adults arrested for is the 1st among the 9 charges which he's on trial beijing's recently imposed weeping national security law and his overhaul of the city's system intensify the fear. og and i was hong kong's tenement mourning vigil every year calling for an end to china's one party who for decades and that had to 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 do as part of the struggle now i would. by saying that this

is already. a blessing for me that i would only have to go to jail off the you know 40 years of activism in hong kong and but i'm ready to pay the price and read to face that something witnessed hong kong's decades long struck home the 64 year old activist just not optimistic he believes that his success says will continue to fight for democracy and to defy the levy's to call. and as we mentioned we'll be getting reaction to these 7 convictions for trying currently trying to connect with nathan law who is a pro-democracy activists from hong kong as we mentioned a bit earlier in the program as soon as we're able to connect with him we'll bring you that interview in the meantime as you can see behind me we're heading to frown swear their schools have been closing down for 3 weeks to fight a rapid spread in coronavirus cases a nationwide curfew will also be put in place in

a televised address president emanuel warned 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 of a from a 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 improve beds to cope. we feel this way of 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 a 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 led

medical experts to demand stricter measures and the government responded as of saturday and nationwide curfew will be reimposed schools and non-essential shops will close. president emanuel mcconnell 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. my car 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 my column didn't tighten restrictions when numbers dramatically increased in january. many people here in france are now 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 vaccination setbacks have held back reopening plans across several european countries now europe's medical watchdog has backed astra zeneca is corona virus vaccine for use in all age groups as follows germany and other countries restricting the vaccine for younger people over reports of blood clots. getting the job in germany has hit another snag overall vaccine supply still short and now shots of astra zeneca that are available can't get into the arms a certain age groups there's concern over blood clots reported in

a small number of people who got the shot so the federal tax nation committee chose to suspend use for groups under 60 with some exceptions to react for a job population i'm not about i'm not at all happy about says decision you can believe me but need couldn't act in the different way in the moment. but the european medicines agency disagrees. according to the current scientific knowledge there is no evidence that would support restricting the use of both boxing in any population in and she says there's no proven causal link to the vaccine and clothings and that the benefits of astra zeneca and the fight against hope it outweigh its risks that's not enough to convince the chairman of the german vaccination committee. because we have our own there is solid tones as far and i must say that we are not aware of how monitoring

is for another european countries so this is one of the problems you have him a hopes to reach a scientific conclusion on the back scene by next week. and here are some other developments in the pandemic biotech pfizer says that a study showed that its vaccine is safe and highly effective in children between the age of 12 and 15 the company says that it hopes to provide shots for adolescents before the next school year starts. 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 a court in brussels has ordered the belgian government to lift all lockdown measures within 30 days declaring it was a legal and violated human rights the government says it will appeal. u.s. president joe biden has set out plans for

a 2 trillion dollar program of infrastructure spending he has called it a once in a generation vestment that will create millions of jobs while giving roads utilities and american industry a badly needed upgrade by his betting the massive stimulus package will help the country recover from the economic blows of the pen demick but his program faces tough opposition. road builders in the us 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 us president joe biden wants to give the entire country a make over like you are proposing a plan for the nation and reward work not just rewards well the bills of fur common to give everybody

a chance to succeed is going to create the strongest most resilient you know great of a commie in the world. 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 well paid jobs and strengthen america's ability to compete with china. yes but republicans in congress are already voicing opposition

especially towards the corporate tax increase and i would like biden's predecessor slashed the rates by 14 percentage points to their current level. let's look at some other stories making headlines around the world. 4 people including a child have been killed in a shooting at the office building in orange county california 2 others including the suspect were wounded it is the 3rd deadly mass shooting in the united states in the last 2 weeks. myanmar's military is carrying out air strikes on its own people forcing thousands to flee their homes and cross into neighboring thailand protesters are demanding a return to democracy more than 500 civilians have been killed since the start of february. the libyan coast guard has intercepted a boat carrying dozens of migrants local authorities say that the raft capsized libya is a major route for migrants 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. well europe has come in for renewed criticism over its handling of the mike ration crisis for years now thousands of asylum seekers have been living in inhumane conditions on greece's aegean islands trapped and seemingly forgotten by the block 5 greek islands near the turkish coast have become known as hotspots where refugees mostly from syria and afghanistan are living in severely crowded conditions with insufficent sanitation more than a 3rd are children mostly without access to education and as far as the e.u. is concerned they are waiting to be transported back to turkey as part of a deal reached with ancora 5 years ago the e.u. is urging turkey to resume accepting migrants from greece but many experts say the deal with turkey is

a human rights disaster. a prominent guest at the news most notorious migration which forms. the new commissioner for human suntour the muffled enough guarded convoy earlier this week. journalists were given a rare opportunity to visit the nicer parts of the overcrowded facility scenes of women exercising in the spring sun starkly contrast these pictures from last winter when residents had to hold on to their tents well the sea flooded their homes we need djoko from the democratic republic of congo he tells us he has been here for 16 months we are living like animals without documents i've had my asylum interview already but haven't heard anything since this is this feat we face. more than 13000 people are stuck in these hot spots in the north gene islands as part of a system designed to help greece cope with high numbers of irregular arrivals as part of the e.u.'s 26000 migration deal with turkey greek authorities with e.u.

support have to examine whether each person arriving here has a right to asylum those whose claims are rejected must return to turkey and as long as asylum seekers don't have an answer they can't leave the islands critics claim this model is simply not working because it creates a situation of deep injustice because people are kept in some cases for many years in the home. and as we've seen the conditions they're pulling they're really not effective and if we look at the coats of order to report on the hot spots for instance they show that extremely expensive and not serving the original purposes of rap decision on cases instead of setting up appropriate infrastructure to deal with asylum cases in a swift manner 5 years on from when the deal was signed authorities are operating emergency even you commissioner your own agrees this system has to change i don't want to have i would like to have proper reception facilities but people should not

stay for long and then have a better. system we need to you p a nice migration issue and to stand by each other and not leave any member state or island alone. the e.u. commission has proposed a new approach to asylum under which asylum applications would be processed within days of the blocks external borders but critics fear this might lead to a situation similar to what we're seeing today in hotspots all over again. let's bring in francisco brandt a nurse he is a member of the german parliament and the green party's spokesperson for european policy welcome to the program and thank you for joining us we've just been witnessing there some of those terrible conditions for asylum seekers on lesbos for example in your view what do you think might have gone wrong with the hot spot approach everything everything that's gone wrong it's terrible that we still

have these really really bad and unexpectedly conditions on the island asking european money going there it was sad to report it's not a question of adding money to it it's a political decision by the greek government to have terrible conditions on these islands because they still believe it will incite others not to come but we also have a european countries you fusing to expected just to those living on the islands right now for example the german government is accepting some very few only in terror you know only when there has been a crisis we still don't have any real system and it's high time to change that and in fact you've called for a more realistic approach a more coordinated european approach to asylum policy what exactly might that look like and is it realistic. i think it's important that we do establish a centrist where you people register people and you just have your democrat.

checking our side and that and we won't be able to do this at $27.00 i don't think it's realistic that i think that it will be realistic to start with a few to go ahead and start changing the system because the current run is not acceptable and that it's pressure on the greek government it needs pressure on you on some of the other even governments and i think you know as you say it's not realistic to try the 2nd we need a coalition of those who are not expecting any longer to have such 100 students within the e.u. what war would you like to see from from european countries for example from germany i want my german governments to finally accept and make it possible that those cities and states with maine germany that have said we're right take on people meet irons to buy them back you know to so many many cities who said we're ready to do this and it's determined federal government blocking

this i don't understand it i just want mr say you have to give just 3 and to save states in germany i'm ready to accept them to help greece to help the citizens that you need then we should really make this possible francisco bradner member of the german parliament of the green party spokesperson for european policy thank you thank you thousands of plaques and sculptures known as the bend in bronze is once filled the royal palace of the kingdom of been in present day nigeria for over a century the bronzes have been displayed in european museums now the pressure is mounting for museums to return them including 2 dozen museums in germany. have been mean bronzes have come to symbolize art looted from africa debate over the restitution has gone on for years now the matter has gained momentum in germany foreign minister heikal mass has called for them to be returned culture minister

wants a conference aimed at finding a solution is this a turning point. is this and what's happening is something sensational you could even call it a paradigm shift suddenly the restitution to africa of precious objects from africa is no problem at all anymore that's something really new and it's electrifying the restitution as will happen i'm convinced of it. bronzes were meant to be displayed in berlin's new home but farm in a few months time as the heart of the ethnological collection the pression cultural heritage foundation which currently holds the bronzes doesn't want to give up that idea completely. optimistic i'm optimistic that the original objects can still be displayed here some could be returned and some could remain here there could be a continual exchange of items on loan and it was always clear that the context in which they were acquired the context of injustice would be explained. the fact is

that any 897 in the kingdom of british colonial forces looted 4000 brown sculptures in a raid germany bought 1100 of the stolen goods. there's blood on these objects so do trophies from the colonial era really belong in an exhibition in the heart of berlin in few music can be seen in many museums around the world the been in bronze those are exceptional art and when they came to europe they highlighted a completely new image of africa as a continent steeped in history and culture the binning bronzes are of course part of the cultural history of nigeria and been in but they've also become global. nigerian authorities take a different view the new museum is planned there where the bronzes are to be displayed as the country's legal property. woods.

government's national. as. well. as international order. the bronzers are legacy of colonial conquest french historian benedict savoie is one of the most important voices when it comes to blooded art her research has revealed that for decades museums have deliberately covered up the provenance of their collections and hindered investigations in christie thinking it's obvious that museum directors tried to put off having to take action before they retired and simply passed the problem on to the next generation which as us now it's clear that we cannot and must not burden the next generation with this we have to act in this london there are still no definitive decisions but a general tendency is becoming clear in germany calls for restitution of the binion bronzers are growing louder both within the public and among politicians as here in

africa when we were in africa the culture minister of the republic of bin ian said he didn't think there would ever be any restitution and if it did happen it would be as important as the fall of the berlin wall and i think we've reached a kind of cultural fall of the wall. when now to a man who has found a new way to help the less fortunate john well cock was inspired by the achievements of war veteran captain tom war and football star marcus rochefort the 89 year old is dusting off his roller skates to raise money for charity. it's been 70 years since the last skaters but john will talk has decided it's time to get his skates out once again. walking through the boring jogging through growing and i saw this boy and his father's great growth great thing and i thought

well that's the thing to do it along come so tom ridge's and i thought yes with more wives. i'll be able to scrape inspired by the fund raising efforts of r e f a veteran said tom moore an english football and marcus rushford john will cut plans to skate 90 laps of his courtyard by his 90th birthday next year so if i do through 3. despite describing his courtyard route as a bit hairy due to its slopes he's already completed 8 laps the great grandfather is doing it all to raise money for the charity fair share which helps feed hungry children and their families it's really quite endearing and a bit humbling and they were only limited to feel a bit like a real grown. up with them both and the people who donate the real heroes

with. one of them are doing using his watts roller frame john wilcox has already smashed his initial fundraising target with 9 months to go. in football news no now north macedonia have stunned germany 21 in a world cup 2022 qualifier into spark midfielder. scored the winning goal late in the 2nd half the result and strawman he's 18 match winning streak in world cup qualifiers was also their final competitive game before this summer's european championship. a quick reminder of our top story here on your news a hong kong court has found 7 high profile democracy activists guilty of unlawful assembly during anti-government protests and 2019 sentencing of the group will take place at a later date but they could face up to 5 years in prison. up

next it is focus on europe or we will be bringing you stories from around the continent this also is warner website to the views dot com you can follow us on social media i'm sorry kelly in berlin thanks for watching the film to. cut.

one continent. 700000000 people. with their own personal stories. we explore every day life for. what europeans fear and what they hope for. some kids when they're up. next on d.w.i. . entered the conflict zone the government of sri lanka has been strongly criticized

the un human rights council which warned them into gear aging situation in the country and the increase marginalize ation of minorities my guest this week is giant tough column by a unique secretary just sri lanka's foreign ministry is there any chance of the move to take the criticism seriously i'm still something about the conflicts of. the 60 minutes t.w. . the little guys this is the subject the 7 percent is the platform for africa's future to the speech issues and share ideas. you know for the sandel we're not afraid to touch on delicate topic. africa's population is growing

. and young people clearly have the solutions the future. is 77 percent now. on d.w.m. . hello everyone and welcome to focus on europe we're going to start today with a new development in a story about europe's most tragic maritime disaster since world war 2 the sinking of a large fair.