this is d.w. news live from berlin and veteran pro-democracy activists in hong kong await their fate they are due to be sentenced for their roles and one of the city's largest ever protests but the latest in a string of anti establishment figures to face the courts we'll go live to our correspondent. also coming up a plea for urgent action against germany's 3rd wave german doctors are calling for swift measures and the head of the public health institute says the time to change course is now. thousands of images tell the story of the pandemic but this touching

photo captures what has been a dramatic years we'll get a close up of the winner of the world press photo contest. i'm sleepy so let's go that's good to have you with us some of hong kong's most prominent democracy campaigners may be minutes away from being sentenced for speaking out against the government they've already been convicted for various roles in the 2900 protests among those in court the 82 year old lawyer martin lee who's considered hong kong's father of democracy also well known publisher jimmy light back in 2019 an estimated 1700000 people marched in protest of a bill allowing hong kong residents to be extradited to china for trial.

and let's go right to hong kong for the very latest our correspondent phoebe kong is standing by for us hi phoebe you are outside of the courthouse to tell us what you've been seeing and hearing where you are. just suggestions now reading out the sentence of the 4 to 10 defendants that they were all convicted of all denies saying or participating in an authorized assembly back in august 29000 trained to antigovernment protests so the issue of the charges carries a maximum sentence of 5 he imprisonment that in the past similar cases similar confection facing. an activist he received actually 13 months of imprisonment so many people are concerned whether these 10 defendants will be chaired for the very 1st time for many of these is the fare for the 1st sentence of multiple charges facing about right now so earlier today many defendants made their

mitigation in front of the church. looking back on their for that whole life and advocacy and this circus in the community in hong kong that being the charge for a more lenient sentence and because many of them have no criminal record before so they hope that the judge could give a more likely sentence without custodial detention light sentence on them ok so they are hoping for more lenient sentences what do you expect that will end up seeing. these charges not very serious like compared to other charges evolved in the social movement like rotting on national security charges these charges like this really not that serious that a few years ago we're talking about fine or non custodial sentence but now we know. without the political atmosphere in this situation the climate has changed so

drastically and after all the money slow antigovernment protests to call it seems out there want to stand up deterrent effect to the society deter people from committing similar crimes again so this all comes down to the judge that's whether she will consider their political achievement a contribution of peace a factor in focus that they have made in the past few decades as a reason to all over to settle their sentence while there are so many concerns about what this trial what the sentencing means for the pro-democracy movement in our kong and c.b. you had the opportunity to speak to one of the defendants the former chairman of the hong kong democratic party and ask him about how he sees this increasing a crackdown on dissent let's take a look at that now. a silver medal awarded to your by the government for his political work it was something this former lawmaker felt proud of but 12 years later it seems to represent

a hong kong that's been lost time this photo government everything. is to. approach to hong kong tigers my country home cause my whole life to love your country doesn't mean your love so to political regime young so much as one of 10 defendants found guilty of organizing or attending marches in 2019 during massive anti-government protests many opposition icons of his generation now face sentences for the very 1st time this is the 1st of 6 charges for you. the 73 year old has taught at the university of hong kong for decades while also engaging in politics in court she was the only defendant to reach out to submission in person. as a civil disobedience i perk duty but i don't feel remorse because i don't feel i

have done anything wrong and so i don't be picky my case. will go for appeal in prison. won't be a surprise to me. young son calls himself a moderate who hoped for democracy under chinese rule but that hasn't happened before hong kong's handover from britain to china you saw him and fellow activists martin lee set up the democratic party they were among the 1st snow make his directly elected to voice dissent in the chamber and pave the way for hong kong's party politics but now the national security law and intellectual overhaul are making it difficult for opposition parties to even survive. right typical believe the press we disagree we're all the praise of democracy we have many over the past

50 years so this is a big retreat of democracy you know is it time for you that's when i gave up being torn about the politics i think is a big quest or whether to go back to the pressure group politics i didn't like in 70. 5 his generation may soon become history but he doesn't think that efforts will have been in vain hong kong history is so full of stock was. never the same gauge myself on politics and i don't think i would leave hong kong i tore democracy in waters about the party politics not as about the wall take but also just how it affects our ways of living but i through instance of the russian know peaceful approach and i think this is the way to solve the problem in the long run your own beliefs democratic values are now deeply rooted in hong kong culture his fight isn't over yet. the we heard their young son's

dedication to continue fighting for democracy but what do you think this trial actually means for that movement in hong kong. to come to action and sentences of these town of very iconic leaders of the opposition came word definitely be anonymous and sent back and also a deterrent to other peaceful protest leaders and organizers which are responsible for many of the lemark much as we that we have seen over the hospital decades in hong kong that they would now have to face a higher price for it like civil disobedience or other like an authorized the peaceful assemblies so this will be another best friends an example for other similar cases that. that may affect the other verdicts about a similar case as we we have mentioned in the report step down some and also why

she me and i in the chain that many of us are still facing amanda multiple charges about this so show movement that the pending further so this case will set an example for now the added sentences that are like that no matter what they will know no matter whether they will have to be checked out today but many of them might carrying so many charges that today the prosecutors just passed 2 more charges on cimi line including one national security charge that even though they're not receiving like jail sentences today they are expecting that they will go to prison any time soon. our correspondent cv kong just outside of that courthouse there where these pro-democracy activists are due to be sentenced any moment thank you so much. multiple people have been killed in a shooting in the u.s. city of indianapolis local media say several more have been taken to hospitals in the area police responded to reports of shots fired at

a fed ex facility on the southwest side of the city near indianapolis international airport now the police have confirmed that the gunman is dead and say they do not believe the general public is in immediate danger. after a preliminary search of the grounds inside a now. we have located 8 people at the scene with injuries consistent to gunshot wounds. those 8 were pronounced the ceased here at the scene. it is very heart breaking and you know when there was not promptly stuff partment the officers responded to came in they went in and they did their job and a lot of them are kind of faces because this is a site that no one should ever have to see. let's take a look now at some other headlines chicago police have released bodycount footage of the moment a police officer shot and killed a 13 year old boy adam toledo the police said the teenager had a gun

a lawyer for the boy's family said he had complied with demands to show his hands when he was shot. japan's prime minister yoshihiko has arrived in the united states for talks with president biden he will be the 1st foreign leader to visit the biden white house in person japanese foreign policy commentators say china will be the main topic of discussion. the united nations is warning that conditions are worsening as a result of the conflict in the northern ethiopian region of the un say says people have begun to die of hunger and sexual violence is still being used as a weapon of war. china's economy grew rapidly in the 1st 3 months of 2021 as it recovered from a pandemic induced slump the total value of goods and services trying to produce jumped by at least 18 percent compared with the same period last year. europe is in the middle of an intense 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic in

france more than 100000 people have now died from covert 19 and meanwhile germany is seeing its largest rise in new infections since early january that is despite vaccinations picking up pace new national controls have been approved by the country's cabinet but they could take another week to pass through parliament doctors and health officials are pleading for immediate action. on germany's intensive care ward the 3rd wave looks like. 29000 new target 19 cases were reported on thursday the highest number since early january doctors are warning that in parts of the country only 10 percent of intensive care beds around. the head of germany's public health institute is alone. just the reason. is clear that we need to act now on all levels above all the decision makers need to take action we need to reduce our contacts now break the infection chain now and

save lives and the health of many people. but not all decision makers share that sense of urgency in particular some regional leaders have been reluctant to implement tough restrictions now chancellor merkel is introducing a change in the law to grant the central government temporary powers to enforce lock downs in areas with high infections but even for the health minister this could be too little too late. as i already said a week ago that we needed extra measures and that we needed to take firm action time is not on our side and everyone already has the option to be taking measures they need not wait for the law to be finalized but. the new nationwide regime mandates school closures and contact restrictions when infection rates hit defined levels much of the public support staff action but critics say the focus is too

much on limiting personal freedoms for instance with the proposed introduction of night turn curfews. much of my doubt a lot of people of my age will just meet at home in secret curfews won't get this under control people will meet privately this dimension i've got to that's my guess and i don't like it you can't do that with people marking that's you know it's. all i also like to be outside and meet people but i think we just need to shut things down for 4 weeks and. those who didn't follow the rules before won't listen to these new laws but those who did of barry feel they're being treated like foals . restrictions in some parts of germany have been light for much of the pandemic but as long as the toilets and people here having to face the fact that corona virus not only costs lives it corrodes liberty as well. well that debate over whether to grant the central government more powers for

pandemic management is currently playing out in the german bundestag and earlier chancellor angela merkel made her case to members of parliament. staples and the curfews are not a magic bullet against the spread of the virus can be effective when combined with other measures including strict contact restrictions listening. also miss minturn and so we have to decide whether they are an appropriate proportionate and necessary measures when the pros and cons. come i came to the conclusion that yes the benefits of this measure in fighting the pandemic outweigh the downsides. and that is why i would like to push forward the measure as it is in the proposed law. our chief political correspondent linda crane is at the bundestag following this debate for us hi melinda we saw transamerica making her case there earlier are we going to see german lawmakers today finally taking the steps that

public health officials and doctors are really pleading for. yes indeed it was quite an enthusiastic case that she made but certainly this law will not get passed today and in fact it is not on track to meet the schedule that the government had originally hoped to namely to possibly even to see passage in this week policymakers are talking about getting agreement on the law at the earliest by the and next week and even then it is possible that the opposition may challenge some measures including those curfew restrictions referred to in the report in front of in the courts so it will indeed take some time and of course we are already in the midst of the 3rd wave with surging infections so the law alone is not going to be enough to get this under control and we're already

more than one year and a pandemic so well into why is there still no clear consensus among germany's leaders on how to tackle this andranik. there are a couple of different reasons for that 1st of all german federalism until now the countries in factious disease laws put the main responsibility in the hands of the federal states and conditions differ dramatically amongst the states there are states with pretty low rates of infection and others where infections are absolutely surging so it's perhaps understandable that state leaders often took different interpretations about the necessity and nature of tighter restrictions this new infectious disease law would change that and make the so-called emergency brake measures to be imposed when infection rates surge mandatory but as we heard in the report there's

a lot of discussion about provisions like the curfew because they do represent significant incursions. on basic freedoms so of course concern is justified there the problem is that it often then goes in the direction of micro regulation and hair splitting and we're hearing some of that today in the discussion here in the bundestag interesting leigh enough amongst the broader public there remains quite a broad consensus about the need for stricter measures in general and even in the case of the curfew and maybe we can get a quick look at the latest statistics on this 51 percent of germans a slim majority do say a strict curfew is necessary 46 percent oppose it but their numbers include a number of it here and of the right wing a.f.d. party and also of the business friendly f.t.p. supporters of the governing parties are absolutely in favor of that curfew all

right our chief political correspondent and a crane at the following that debate thank you. let's check in on some other developments in the penn demick now japan is set to extend coronavirus restrictions to 10 regions a 4th wave of infections is casting doubt over whether the summer olympics can be held in tokyo india has seen another spike in cases recording its 8th record daily increase in 9 days and denmark is speeding up reopening plans as infection rates stabilize restaurants and bars will be back in business next week. doctors without borders has declared brazil's response to the pandemic a humanitarian catastrophe made worse by political mismanagement brazil currently has the world's highest number of daily deaths from code 19 the country's health care system is overwhelmed with many intensive care units nearly 4 soaring infection rates are being driven by the highly contagious the one virus variant

this new strain is causing international concern earlier this week frances spent it all flights to and from brazil in a bid to prevent this variant spread. now millions of people in latin america's biggest country are struggling to put food on the table as the covert 900 outbreak wreaks havoc on the economy fairly goma's starts a day early she gets up at around 4 am worried about having enough food for her 4 children to have breakfast. i wake up with the feeling of being in agony i jump out of bed in the 1st thing i do is stand guard i'm alive i look at my children and think to myself today i'll bring home some food for them i leave the house early to fetch bread there are days when i consummated should bring them anything but they run out of the night. lives enough for venner of around

100000 people in sao paolo here and across brazil unemployment hit a record high last year this community association helps people living in marginalized areas to find work. we had an 84 percent increase in demand for employment after the government's imagine c. 8 ended and the number of people seeking our help tripled because so many people didn't have any support anymore and it. up. in december government aid of around $84.00 euros a month was cut making an already difficult situation for many much worse the number of people living on less than 36 years more than doubled to cook started using firewood 27000000 brazilians live in extreme poverty renate tardelli has been researching the featherless for 20 years. noel

bullet data shows that the poorer you are the higher the rates of infection. the more on the periphery the person finds themselves the higher the death rate from coronavirus. brazil has added 2000000 more people to the marginalised areas in the past year it's not ethical that brazilians have to choose between going hungry or getting the virus it's an ethical. choice. for adults live in the home of sylvia de hayes us she's a cook and the only one still to have a job but it's just one day a week she used to cook in other people's homes but they let her go for fear of infection. that this pandemic is difficult it's going to leave all of us starving and that's apart from all the damage it does to your health look at this q we're all in the same boat.

with a shortage of vaccines and hospitals are overwhelmed it's hard to see a way forward for people in the lowest social groups who are trapped by both poverty and disease. but how do you capture a year's worth of emotion and drama anxiety and loss and a single photograph judges of the world press photo contest have selected the one image they say tells the story of the unforgettable year that was 2020 it was taken by a danish photographer and a portrays the power of human touch. the many aspects of the coronavirus pandemic top photographers around the world captured their impressions of exhausted caregivers people dying alone social distancing and loneliness. the winning photograph shows an 85 year old woman receiving her 1st hug after 5 months isolation and her son paolo nursing home through

a plastic curtain which happens to resemble an angel's wings. and the jury viewed this photograph as one of the pandemics few positive images this picture suggests vulnerability loss grief and death but above all survival of. brazil has been especially hard hit by the pandemic 350000 people have already died there nursing homes were closed on for months to protect residents. in this split of a 2nd that we see the images we feel. how it must be that all the person get a sense of. what unites us the jury looks through nearly 75000 images. but disposable surgical mask even made its way into the winning photo in the nature category. our giant cloud of sand is darkening the skies above

beijing and showering residents with mighty rain the city suffers from several dust storms every year but this one is being called the worst in a decade flights are being canceled and people are urged to stay indoors. sick and opaque pollution clouds the atmosphere and shrouds beijing skyscrapers and dust and sand. it was bright earlier this afternoon but after a little while it suddenly went dark and then there was stunned and rain with muddy raindrops. i don't feel good we've had several dust storms this year than in previous years. and. is forced to wiped out his motorcycle. about it. just as

a particle shifted from mongolia and the chinese region and. high winds are expected to propel more polluted air to central and eastern parts of the country by friday. now zookeepers in havana cuba are celebrating the birth of 4 bengal tiger cubs including a rare white tiger the new arrivals are the result of 2 decades spent trying to bring to the endangered animals at the zoo white tigers are genetic variation of bengal tigers which are usually orange numbers in the wild have dwindled in recent years due to poaching before station and excessive hunting. and we do have an update on our top story now coming into us a number of the most prominent of hong kong for democracy advocates have now been sentenced to time behind bars though among them 82 year old martin lee and well known publisher jimmy live received they were both convicted along with a number of others for their roles in the 21000 pro-democracy protests that. only

in people to the streets against a bill allowing. photo

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came to global streets thousands. underwater bangladesh's farmers are having to adapt to climate. sustainable knife stop farming can you met. the former gangsters finding god in brazil.