ah, with love and respect ah ah ah, this is dw news life from berlin. china has a new 2nd in command. the national peoples congress approve the chung as the premier. he was nominated by shooting ping and is a storm to ally of the president. also coming up to pan marks, the anniversary of the fukushima disaster,

the nuclear meltdown triggered spy. the deadly earthquake answer army is still making waves with china's government and japanese fishermen denouncing plans to release the radio active water into the sea. and iran and saudi arabia agreed to restore ties and re open diplomatic missions. the surprise agreement between the long term rivals was broken by china. ah la monica jones, welcome to the program. in china, lee chung has been appointed as premier, the nation's 2nd highest post. it follows his nomination by president gigi, ping, leah's. now tasks where the running of the of the government and managing the economy. his post was confirmed during the annual parliamentary session. it's the 1st time it has take place in full in see years after being scaled back during the

pond. him or for more on this. let's bring in andrew small. he's a senior trans atlantic fellow with a german marshall funds in the pacific program. good to have you with us are. could you please tell us why li chung was chosen by president she for the premier ship? what are his qualifications? as you suggested in your introduction, his most important qualification is his loyalty. he's one of a number of officials at the top of the party now who primarily other roles to their personal relationships with. she didn't ping at different stages of his career at lee chang had a role in a job that's often called his chief of staff. bach, him back in judge young. and after that point, he was all the core helicopters into a number of other roles. and primarily around that cluster of provinces on china's coasts,

am in john to judge young and then latterly as potty certainty of shanghai. he hasn't held positions in beijing in the central lead, a ship running the country before. and he seems relatively business friendly, relatively reform minded. but the most important thing is he's demonstrated his loyalty. he's not a figure that's come from, for instance, another faction. he's not someone who has really independent standing, his standing comes from his thighs. does she read? you just mentioned reforms are over the past few years president, she has been shifting the power of the premier to party institutions. will the premier role that lee is now going to fil, allow him to make any meaningful reforms. but the other thing about lee chung is, is not just who he is, but who the isn't. he isn't leeker chung. leeker chung had a very specific and distinct role as premier because he was genuinely arrival to she didn't think he's the man who could have had at she's job. and so although

power was taken away from the state and continues to be taken away from the state to the party, it was also important degree to which leeker chung was sidelined by shooting ping. and he was, in a sense, the head, the remaining head of the youth leak faction, and lee chunk doesn't have that. and the question in this is whether he will be trusted somewhat more by she didn't ping to actually do the job of running the economy in the last few years. she didn't ping, it wasn't just the, the role of the party that at an increase. he personally had been making most of these decisions. the question is whether the town might at least be given a bit more space to do some of these things himself. right. and it, do you think that her lead shanks appointment is going to attract or deter investors primary foreign investors? short answer please. i don't think there's gonna be a huge difference. frankly. i think this is still seen as, as huge in pings government. i don't think lee chung is seen as

a kind of independent figure in this. and so i, i think it's not going to make a significant difference even though they lost international businesses like him get on with him relatively well. i think the question said at issue now m for the chinese economy are or a far greater than anything that lead john is going to decide about, okay, andrew small invalid. thank you so much for your time and for sharing your insights . thank you. in japan, the nationwide minute of silence mark the 12th anniversary of the deadly earthquake . and so now me that triggered a nuclear meltdown. it was one of the worst natural disasters in the nation's history. over 20000 people died or went missing and tired towns were devastated. by giant waves and many nuclear plants was shut down around the country. but aside from remembrance, the day was also marked by protests. japan will begin releasing waste water from the damaged fukushima nuclear plant into the c. racing fears in japan and

neighboring countries of long term health effects and damage to commercial fishing . how will pacific ocean fish be affected by waste water from fukushima, nuclear plant? more than a 1000000 tons of it is set to be released into the ocean. the japanese government says it poses no risk, but local fishermen are concerned. while mother wasn't on her 3 young, we're worried that the reputation of our pro useful suffering even more damage. still the government has decided to allow the water release. we really cannot accept this. why we feel so helpless? ever since this an army in 2011 water has been used to cool the 3 nuclear reactors, devastated by meltdowns. this produces around a 100000 liters of waste water every day. the energy from tapco runs the water through a treatment system, but it's still contains tritium, a radioactive element,

which in large quantities can cause cancer. but tapco says the low levels of tritium mean, it's not much different to see water and as run test to show that fish can live in it. still many a concerned about the long term effects. if you had just something with a beta emitter, like a tuna, or an oyster that has radionuclides in your internal cells, have no protection whatsoever. you don't see these right away. um, it takes years, sometimes decades for these numbers to show up other expense say the tritium is so diluted that it's not a problem. so you get about the same amount in the fish as in the water. and that means that radioactive dose is quite low. and the other factor about tritium is that it's got very weak radioactive emission, but the fukushima plans aren't popular in the wider region, either. china's south korea and the pacific islands of all called for rethink.

despite the opposition, japan says the release will begin in the coming months and continue for the next 30 to years. let's take a look now at some of the other news making headlines around the world. italian media say the country's coast guard has rescued some. $1000.00 migrants from the mediterranean authorities had indicated they were aiding 3 boats, found drifting off the coast. the reports come 2 weeks after the government drew criticism for failing to save $74.00 migrants who died after ship. rick. hub francis has suggested that catholic priests and nuns could be allowed to marry in an interview. he said celibacy. it was a tradition, not a requirement, and could be revised. his comments came after a german catholic association had urged him to consider abolishing priestly celibacy. a 4 member crew has left the international space station after 5 months in orbit. the space ex capsule undocked from the station

a week after replacement a crew arrived while it carries 2 americans, one japanese and one russian and asked you to splash down off the florida coast after a 9 hour return journey to the legacy. iran and saudi arabia have agreed to re establish to diplomatic relations and re open embassies within 2 months. after years of tensions, the surprise agreement was broken by china, which hailed it as a victory for dialogue and peace. the restoration of ties, office hope for peace in yemen, where saudi arabia has led a coalition against the iranian back to tips off to years. all still it is saudi arabia and iran announced their re establishing diplomatic and economic toys . the breakthrough was mediated by china. the communique was signed in beijing,

m r one he, we hope to this new chapter. so we'll end the stalemate in relations of the last 7 years and lead to greater stability and safety in the region at government, as well as to more development and prosperity for the people who. tensions between the regional powers have threatened stability in the persian gulf. in 2016 relations were severed when sunni led saudi arabia executed, revered shiite cleric, protesters, and she, i let iran then attack saudi diplomatic missions. the conflict has spilled over into other countries. the saudis and iranians are vying for influence in syria, iraq and lebanon, where terran backs has bella militants in yemen. both sides have been locked in a proxy war for years. now. observers say the deal brings a chance to end the civil war in said there will be at these moves towards a permanent cessation of hostilities in yemen and

a peace deal within your mentor to maintain that honor on a more permanent basis with washington has welcome the saudi iranian reproach more as a step towards lowering tensions in the region. the 2 sides are set to reopen embassies in the coming weeks. and i'm joined now by simon mabon, professor of international politics who studies sectarian conflict at lancaster university in the united kingdom. good, happy with us. um, what will you say, what prompted this change of heart and both sides? iran and sadie arabia to soften their at their serial stance. i don't think this is a dramatic change. i think this is something that's been in the works for a number of years now. we know that the 2 states have been talking back channel dialogue in a number of different arenas. and i think it points to broader concerns about regional security and further escalation of tensions. but it also points to

domestic challenges that the 2 states are facing with a need to work towards a more pragmatic engagement that will allow for economic transformation states. and how do you see china's role in this has it never cont, is china's role in reaching this agreement. and why is china taking on the role of peace, or at least in this case, deal maker? i think it's hugely symbolic. we know that the u. s. has long been the mediator is long, played this type of role internationally. and for china to step up to the plate here, i think it shows how important the persian gulf is to china, who's got long relations with the ran in now has deepest economic ties and saudi arabia. so china doesn't want to see a conflict. it really, it realizes that it needs to try and improve relations and it also senses an opportunity to position itself globally as an actor that can facilitate mediation and bring about reconciliation. you just mentioned the u. s. l formally being in

that particular role. so what does this new development now mean for western powers? in particular, the u. s. and it's relation to the region. it raises a lot of questions i think, and these questions had been brewing for some time. we know that the saudis and the u. s. at long had a positive relationship, but in recent years that's become more fractures. the iranian u. s. relationship is a long been fractious. so i think in the past the us would have occupied this mediator. we role, but now it sort of raises questions about the extent to which the us can take on this type of media to roll and the extent to which the us wants to take on this mediator role. i think those are questions that will come to light in the coming months and just a briefly, if you would, what could this deal mean for the region itself? is it really a step towards stability? i think it's a positive step because the saudis and the ratings have been embroiled in a rivalry that has taken on fractious components across the region. but,

and this is a really important point. i think it doesn't bring an end to all of the other points of conflict and division across the region. there are still local drivers of conflict in lebanon in yemen, in syria. and these will not be addressed by the broader diplomatic protocol between ron, i'd simon ne, than professor of international politics. lancaster university's richardson institute. thank you so much for your time. thank you. in sports now. spanish prosecutor's half charged football club. barcelona was corruption. as an owner accused of paying over 8000000 euros to the form of vice, president of the countries refused refereeing a committee was day. maria, in that case, negro ada. the payments were allegedly made between 20012018 investigation started accidentally after the countries tax authorities discovered irregularities several years ago. the club denies any wrong due in and in tennis. germany's alexander it's

fair if has breezed into the 2nd route of the indian wells atp masters. after defeating a pedro, catching in straight, sets germany number one, spare it back to a 6361 victory over his argentine hone, and in a little over an hour and a quarter. when means he will now play finland's a meal will. so warri in the next round for a sport in the competition's pre quarter final. and that's all for now up next doc film presents dirty copper. i'm one of your jones from me and that human berlin. thanks for watching interest. the global economy portfolio g w business real here's a closer look at the project.