this is g w news live from berlin the crushing impact of the pandemic on human rights activists international paints a grim picture in its annual report saying already vulnerable people have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus and its fall out amnesty secretary general tells you how she's using her platform to push back against abuse. also coming up portugal

starts to reopen after a devastating coronavirus surge nearly broke the whole system earlier this year we find out what officials say was the key to extra magic turn around. just one of the hottest shows on earth gets even hotter fishers have opened up a volcano near reykjavik stealing lava and sending hundreds of sites you are scrambling for safety. in sports spires munich without their top off against the weapon robert love and offbeat return to the champions league tonight in a rematch of last year's final persons promises from the. i'm susan was gone it's good to have you with us amnesty international's annual report says coke at 19 has further amplified massive global inequalities and it accuses many world leaders of using the pandemic to crack down on human rights. now

the report singles out 3 groups that have been disproportionately affected 1st is women they have suffered an increase in domestic violence they have also borne the burden of home schooling and in many cases they have lost their income because they had informal jobs that they couldn't do under lock downs 2nd comes health workers around the globe they have suffered more fatalities than any other group chronic under investment in health systems means that many hospitals are understaffed and their workers are not sufficiently protected against the virus and finally depend on it has also worsened the already precarious situation of refugees and migrants as well lock downs and border closures have left some trapped in squalid camps without access to vital supplies. well we can speak about all of that now with agnes cullen ma she is amnesty international's secretary general and she's joining us this kind of very good to have you with us here on the program we just mentioned there that inequalities have been exacerbated by this pandemic and we talked about

a few groups that have been disproportionately affected what do you see as your biggest priority here to tackle. well the biggest priorities for the leaders of the world is to reverse the polices that have put us to our need in 20202020 easy outcome of years of neglect it is the outcome of porn he says that and priority time just economy gross maybe but did not equally put a focus on the fight against discrimination and inequality and public investment in public as sector so the 1st priority fall of the world is to reset and reboot we need to tick stock of what happened in 2020 if it is not an accident it is a product of our poor he says we need to transform those policies if we want to be said fit for purpose for the next crisis and there will be more crises so if we do

not as a test of course the $1000.00 how do you think we're going to pass the test of far greater pandemic or indeed of the climate crisis ok so that's a message to grow governments i want to ask you now specifically about a message that you spent sent to one world leader in particular and namely to a russian president vladimir putin because you wrote him specifically in the last few days asking him to free dissident alexina vani we know that election of on the right now is on a hunger strike and his health condition is not particularly good and you wrote that you believe that russia is essentially slowly killing him and that more needs to be done so what can be done. well you know the 1st think that we need to send a clear message that the fact that alex i never really is now be hind. the war of the prison does not mean that the attention is going to go away on the contrary we know that he is facing prison conditions that amounts to torture including to

sleep deprived we know that alex signed up when he survived is one of the few person who survived poisoning by noted shock which she is 'd presenting tremendous challenges to east bloodied and to resign it requires specific care that is not receiving we know that he is of the truly detained because of the position the u.s. espoused and because of the fact that she is a vocal critic of president putin for all of those reason it is incumbent upon all of us to stand up and to ensure that they are sorry teaser pressure understand ok do i tension is not our goal we were going to campaign for him we're going to do everything we can to ensure is freed and certainly immediately that you're received dimity correct harry. i want to ask about amnesties role in that i know that you

are new to this role as secretary general regardless back in february amnesty actually stripped electing a volley of the title of prisoner of conscious of the status arguably when he needs it the most do you stand by that decision. no there is no standing by or not have been in the shop for 6 days amnesty international has initiated as it's been made public a process of review of the decisions he twill be made at the day outcome of that plus it's really been made public when they're when it's finished which should be anytime soon but the key the key misses here is independently of the eagle center sees of an organisation such as on the student or national and the fact is as an organisation we can been equally for an exile of the moment as we would. 2 months ago in needs to be freed even needs to be freed immediately in needs to be protected against torture and he needs to receive medical care we we not do

anything more if he was still prisoners of conscience that is our campaign it's our campaign for people like him ok i want to ask you now about another case that you were very involved with in your previous role as a un special rapporteur on jude extrajudicial killings namely the killing of the journalist. and you lay the blame on saudi crown prince mohammed bin simon why has nobody at his level been held to account despite this very vocal and public campaigning. well you know we know that the united states as finally made public its findings which confirmed what i and others have said which is that the president mohammed bin sentiment is responsible for the killing of the general casualty unfortunately they did not act on their findings for reasons that are probably linked to earlier legal reason about the immunity of mohammed bin

salman something that i completely disagree with and for political entity or strategy christens the fact is saudi arabia ease a partner of choice for many countries around the world it's not just about the united states the entire european union so far as failed to take actions against money had been sent and these e's why we need to continue our campaign if we do that for a man but we do have that for the rest of the john at least around because this is about sending a clear message our ever i should say though that the fact that the u.s. and other countries have not acted on their findings does not mean that nothing has happened at the moment where a very good mohammed then sentiment is assorted i will say by mention of. there are many countries around the world there where he's unable to go because he could

be sued and egypt upon our sitting feet in the land of those countries including in germany since you know that there are reporters without borders as filed complaints for crimes against humanity right also in the united states and so on so it is not just about what governments can do it is or sort about what we can do and what we have done and what we will continue to do we will have to leave it there secretary general of and this international thank you very much for joining us. thank you very much 3rd now widespread repression and the use of enforced disappearances are also documented in amnesty's annual reports we now have a closer look at one case of a thai citizen who vanished while living in exile. save one charlie on they demand this was june 2020 days after one chilly arm such sacks

it a pro-democracy blogger was abducted in cambodia. c.c.t.v. footage captured 2 men stopped in their tracks as the reportedly watch one chilly arm being bundled into an issue v. he was targeted one day after uploading this video mocking thailand's prime minister. he has not been seen since his the 9th such case of a thai exile disappearing since 2060. 5 if one charlie arm is dead we want his body brought back to thailand. in the past year thailand's military has reacted with an iron fist to a growing youth movement calling for democratic reforms rounding up dozens of activists under strict laws that forbid any criticism of the mourner. last month

the architects of the uprising began filling up courts their resolve undiminished. 30. they can lock me up but they cannot lock up the truth the truth is always the truth whether in prison under torture or awaiting execution the truth is the truth. other organizers face 15 years in prison if found guilty of sedition and insulting the monarchy protests leaders say the campaign cannot be crushed. but hyland have to let me point out how in the end no matter how many of us go to jail there will still be people outside are still fighting oh oh yeah for you and you. in the meantime the families carry the burden either of not knowing where their loved ones are or

15 years of separation. let's get around to some other headlines nepal is experiencing its worst wildfires in almost a decade huge places have been raging across forests in the himalayas a monitoring site ranked air quality in the capital kathmandu as the worst in the world international flights were delayed a steak smoke blanketed the city. mean mars best known comedian has been arrested as part of a swoop against opponents of february's military coup sargon our was taken from his home and young gone by police and soldiers he's been in and out of prison since he took part in an uprising against a previous military dictatorship. at least 16 people are dead after 2 buses collided in northern mexico officials say all of the victims were minors about aboard a minibus more than a dozen other people on a larger tourist bus were injured in the accident it's not immediately know what caused the collision. brazil has reported more than 4000 new daily

deaths from cope with 19 for the 1st time the nation's pandemic death toll is now approaching 340002nd only to the u.s. experts say a local variant of the virus has caused the latest surge which has pushed the health care system to a breaking point right wing president charles in our 0 has also opposed lockdown measures as damaging to the economy but many of brazil's poorest citizens are crying out for help they say the government spends havoc response has failed them and without more aid many risk going hungry. these protesters a sending a message to their government brazil is hungry. here and sao paulo's largest openness residents say emergency aid doesn't go far enough i mean that is there though my fear is that my daughters will go hungry one of them still under 18. this is also my granddaughter and i think to myself well they go hungry and that will

wipe us out from up until december the brazilian government provided those in need with around $1000.00 euros per month in aid community centers like this one of been offering free meals but donations have dropped president both scenarios administration is once again offering help but a more modest amount a community movement known as g. 10 is demanding more. for similar thought since i'm going to have the emergency a little of $23.00 euros is enough to buy a domestic gas cylinder 5 kilograms of rice and one kilogram of billions a family can survive a month on that it's shameful brazil is a rich country and letting its population go hungry and the pandemic is still out of control brazil is a country in crisis and there's not much light on the horizon. meanwhile portugal has started easing its coronavirus restrictions after

a strict lockdown that lasted more than 2 months cafes museums and shops can now welcome back guests under strict hygiene guidelines it is a comeback story for portugal back in january it had one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the world did all these young philip schultz went to the capital lisbon to see how they did it. sitting in a cafe with friends still a dream for millions possible again in portugal nearly everyone spent the last 2 months at home this was forbidden but now shops primary schools and cafes are open again and people are delighted. but it feels almost euphoric simply to be able to sit here and watch people walk past you see. i was in no way against a lockdown it was very important but i think we now all really need to be able to enjoy life again. instead of just going to work and then looking at our own 4 walls . seems much what i missed most was just looking out of the water and drinking

a beer yeah central the spot looked like this for the last couple of months everything was closed the government ordered most people to work from home i read it in response to a disaster portugal had the world's highest corona infection rates their health system couldn't cope intensive care units were overwhelmed lockdown took daily infection numbers from more than 12000 at the start of february to fewer than 400 just 9 weeks later here outside lispunds largest hospital more than 40 ambulances had to wait in line in front of the emergency ward during the worst days of the pandemic now only a few covert patients have to be treated in the intensive care unit and a field hospital on the other side of the street was close to weeks ago some observers already talking about the miracle of portugal but the new english believes more in science than miracles and if you're dam ologist he's

a member of the portuguese government's coronato advisory group he says one of the most unpopular lockdown measures could have been decisive. but numbers went down somewhat when we 1st closed the shops and made remote working compulsory that i'd already get to you but it was only when we close all the schools that the infection figures really started to fall. we fighting to get out he says despite the progress the danger is not over and the pun demick will continue to affect people's lives even into the next year and the lockdown was tough on the economy pushing unemployment up by a 3rd right now though many portuguese people are enjoying a moment in the sun. german chancellor angela merkel has thrown her support behind calls for a short strict lockdown to beat back surging corona virus infections germany is

struggling to tackle its 3rd wave of the pen to make amid regional disagreements over restrictions meanwhile the vaccination campaign is speeding up with shots now being administered by family doctors and general practitioners authorities are hoping this will give the campaign drive agrees to inoculate as many people as possible talks about whether to impose tighter lockdown measures are still ongoing but very in-state premier marcus soto said that would only work with a unified response he continued i could well imagine a short rigorous lockdown but that only makes sense if everyone does their part so it's inconsistent across germany with some doing it like this others like that it won't work i've said for a long time that i could imagine this but it's also obvious that it has little support from the states run by the social democrats and unfortunately even after i'm in lash and took charge of the party many christian democratic states have also reacted with a great deal of hesitation. let's bring in our political correspondent thomas sparrow who's following the latest developments on the story for us hi thomas let's

start with the situation right now with the virus because i see you steph here are warning that there are not that many beds left so how hard is this 3rd wave hitting germany. and it's not only about i.c.u. stuff coronavirus cases are also increasing in germany the 7 day rate very important here to decide further restrictions is also above the $100.00 limit so a very important statistic there so you can clearly say sumi that the coronavirus pandemic in particular the 3rd wave is hitting germany very hard and one element to explain why it's hitting germany very hard it's one of those variants the b 117 variant which has become more and more prevail and here in the country is partially behind that rise in infections now it's important to stress that this is not only a problem that germany is facing many other european countries are facing a similar situation and that includes some of germany's neighbors as well the

situation is there for a very difficult one in europe as a whole and in particular here in germany there are a few caveats and a few positive developments as well there sumi when you look for example the number of older germans that are getting infected with the coronavirus when you look also at the number of deaths here in germany those are positive developments but all in all here in germany you can clearly say that the 3rd wave or the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the country very badly and is also increasing the debates here in the country as to what the path should be there's a big dilemma faced by authorities whether to cautiously open up all on the other hand whether they should impose stricter restrictions in the next few weeks and we know that public frustration with the government with authorities is also growing we also know that germany is headed towards federal elections in september and pandemic mismanagement or management has become a very politicized issue is that why some leaders are reluctant to reimpose

lockdown measures. that's such only one of the reasons why leaders the hesitating exactly what path they should take if you look at some of the polls that have been published in recent days here in germany you will clearly see that there is a lot of dissatisfaction towards federal and regional authorities when it comes not only to the general crisis management but also in particular to the very slow vaccination rollout in fact a majority of germans now don't believe that the government will be able to fulfill its very important problem is of offering a coronavirus vaccine to every adult in the country by the end of the summer so you can clearly see that there's a lot of this side to the satisfaction towards here in the country and that's also why political parties and politicians it particular trying to position themselves very clearly when it comes to their views ahead of that all important election in september which will decide not only what the german parliament will look like

afterwards but also who will be the successor to angela merkel the german chancellor but we keep hearing from the health minister and other government officials that the rate of vaccination will pick up here in germany soon and the e.u. vaccine she said on tuesday that herd immunity in the u. e.u. could happen by mid july given the hiccups that we've seen here in germany is that realistic while it took germany 3 months to reach the stage that it is now where just about 5 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated so i think goals here in germany are a little bit more realistic than that the hope of the german government is certainly that the vaccination program will speed up in the next few weeks in particular as g.p. and family doctors are now involved but there is such a lot of criticism towards the german government when it comes to the vaccination rollout and a lot of pressure to improve things in the coming weeks are political correspondent thomas spare reporting for us there thank you so much. now in iceland hundreds of

hikers have been evacuated from the site of an a rough dating volcano new fissures opened up on this mountain spewing lava and smoke and steam the spectacle as for the huge draw for tourists since of all can a war to lice last month it's. a sight to behold iceland spectacular nearly 3 week old bookending corruption has entered a new phase 2 new fissures have opened near the rich know side in the gal doing the dollar valley measuring 200 meters in total and la voz also spewing from the new openings. some of the most impressive thing is this river down into the valley actually more than the fissure itself made a good research. the new lava river is flowing down through the hills for hundreds of meters from the fisher and into neighboring you had a live valley if. we

had 2 new cracks opening up or right developer of people or. so. what we're doing we just cleared out they are there to try to figure out what is happening to. them before we're able to not have the chargers and you cannot do it. it's beautiful but possibly dangerous authorities have sealed off access to the side as a precaution and began evacuating sightseers more than 36000 people had visited the site since the ruction began in mid march iceland has more active volcanoes than any other country in europe but an eruption like this hasn't happened and there are a can as peninsula since the 13th century. sports now in football there were 2 champions league quarter final 1st legs played on tuesday

night manchester city hosted by dortmund the german team suffered some heartbreak when cellphones scored in the 90th minute to give city the win meanwhile your clubs liverpool club are completely outplayed real madrid the reds will have to make up a 31 deficit in the return leg. and tonight one quarter final in the champions league sees cup holders byron munich host paris sejour mom the team they defeated in last season's final byron is a side looking to successfully defend their title they suffered a major blow going into the snatch the club's top striker robert has been sidelined due to injury and he's not the only byron player that will miss the action. a career season in the making for robert live and also he has been put on hold. after the striker got injured during the international break with poland. force

robert is a very important player for us so we approach this in a positive way yes it's a challenge but we'll face it understand what's going on. and says going apre will miss the p.s.g. match after testing positive for kobe 19 but bahrain have plenty of depth on their side to help pick up the slack from thomas moore into the bonus league is a system leader to midfielder leon gorecki who's been key in recent weeks. or striker eric tank could be the byron player to fill the void opponent's p.s.g. believe they know where biron strength lies. the social foot by inches in his qualities if a give and i thing the one you won't like. the champions league on the d.l. of the club i think it's because you have a squad that this is where the body strong buyers say they're confident and comb

ahead of the rematch of last year's final while p.s.g. with their stars in the lineup will be looking for their 1st victory over biron since 2017. all right coming up next our show made in germany looks at galactic progress and the question. outer space station.

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