>> liberte, egalite, actualite. >> you are watching live from paris here on prince 24, i am julia kim and these are the top stories. russia throws support behind leroux's and the showdown with -- kind leroux's -- belarus. a threat to arrest a dissident journalist last week. emmanuel macron promises to invest in vaccine production in africa. calling for a temporary waiver on intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines to boost production. tensions in jerusalem a week

after a cease-fire ended 11 days of conflict between israel and hamas. our team on the ground reports. ♪ >> russian president vladimir putin throws support behind belarus leader lukashenko. lukashenko is in a standoff with the west after ordering the grounding of a passenger jet in the arrest of a dissident blogger and his girlfriend. he plans to bck from airports and demanded the release of the man and his girlfriend. felix joins us from moscow.

what is the latest? >> julia, the meeting is still going on. it is dragging into the evening. it is a part of the course at this point, lukashenko is a regular visitor to russia these days. he is often asking for more financial and political support. he is personally dependent on russia. the two sides seem keen to have a friendly meeting, they are making concrete progress on relations. every time lukashenko comes to pressure there is speculation about what putin is asking in return, a lot of support in russia for integration with belarus that is currency union or a merger of the countries. the two presidents said they have made progress on the construction of the union state, the so-called merger between

russia and belarus. don't know what is going on behind closed doors, diplomatic negotiations with putin are very not transparent. but it seems russia is publicly displaying continued loyalty to lukashenko and support even as relations with the eu collapse. >> in terms of optics, did lukashenko get what he wanted from this meeting russian mark --? >> in terms of optics, certainly. nations between putin and look at genco tend to be complex, the two do not get on. but today they have been keen to signal a friendly relationship. almost two old comrades meeting together. it is what lukashenko needs to signal to his own people within belarus that he continues to retain support of this large

neighbor but also the eu. both sides want to signal to the eu that they should back off and this is an internal affair but it remains to be seen, belarus is facing an extreme financial crunch as sanctions from the eu bite so we don't know if you got the financial support from russia that genco was looking for. -- lukashenko was looking for. >> felix reporting to us from moscow. belarus's -- elmer's -- belarusians -- in neighboring poland,he capital warsaw is a home to a community of belarusian dissidents. we have been talking with parents, colleagues and supporters of the men who was arrested. >> he and his parents fled months ago and live in poland.

they come to were so -- more so -- warsaw. >> we have called on invented doctors and lawyers to access to our son but the authorities refused. >> he is not even allowed to receive parcels. >> as to what message she would like to get to her son, she breaks down. >> we love you and we will get you out of there. >> the demand she wants someone to get his the dictator, lukashenko. >> why is he so perfidious? why does he treat our beautiful, clever young people this way? please help us. >> also at the press briefing, a former colleague, the founder of the blog, says he has been worth -- receiving threats. >> they said i would get gunned

down in warsaw, it is hard to sleep, i have nightmares and i picture myself in that space. >> protesters in belarus believe sanctions could change this. group of five people have started a hunger strike. >> our first demand is for them to classify lukashenko as a terrorist and introduce working sanctions such as disconnecting belarusian banks from the swiss payment system. >> in recent months the belarusian diaspora has struggled to agree but this event has enraged and galvanized them. >> we forget about all of our disagreements. belarusians in warsaw are united rit now. >> there are tears here, too. she is moved by the solidarity of belarusians and they will

call others to take over the hunger strike if it gets tough. parks french president emmanuel macron has promised to help whose production of covid vaccines in africa. he is in south african -- south africa to discuss vaccines for the continent. he also supported a temporary waiver on intellectual property rights over coronavirus vaccines. here's what they have to say. >> what we need to do is vaccinate as quickly as possible maximum number of people and we have to cover as much of the population around the world as possible. it is in the interest of everyone because the more we delay vaccinating everyone in the world, the more chances we get for the virus to mutate and come back. in this context, the first thing we need is solidarity and donates it -- donations of vaccine doses. >> vaccine nationalism, vaccine apartheid is working in such a way that only a few are getting

the vaccines on an unlimited basis and the countries that need it the most are not getting them. on the african continent, only 2%. >> recommending the pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds, the first to get the green light for chiren. the eu health conditional -- commissioner says it is once or closer to ending the pandemic but the ma -- ema says it is up to individual countries to decide if and when to offer it. >> and moved to expand those who are eligible for the vaccine, the european medicines agency has green lit pfizer doses for 12 to 15-year-olds. until now, it has only been approved for people 16 and older. >> extending the protection of a safe and effective vaccine in

these younger populations is an important step for fighting against this pandemic. we recognize this achievement. >> the ema decision follows you leaders in canada and the u.s. which has authorized the job for those 12 and older on may 10 after trial data showed the benefits outweighed known and potential risks. japan, too, was set to approve pfizer use for adolescents after the health ministry panel gave it a thumbs up today. eu member states welcome the news but the world health organization warned of a global vaccine and equity. on monday, the head of the who pushed back against vaccinating kids. >> right now, there's not enough supply. countries that vaccinate children and other low risk groups now do so at the expense

of our workers and high-risk groups in other countries. that is the reality now. >> the ema says it is now up to individual eu numbers as to whether they wish to expand their vaccination drive. germany has already said it will begin vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds starting june 7. for the trials of the pfizer vaccine for use in younger children are due to start soon while moderna is expected to apply for approval from the u.s. or its vaccine to be used in teens. >> after clashes over the east jerusalem neighborhood, another storm is brewing over claims to houses and land in another area south of jerusalem's old city. 86 palestinian families face eviction but jewish settler groups say they are living on jewish land. france 24 reporters went to meet

some of those living there. >> just south of the old city of jerusalem, and the al aqsa mosque, moore is starting to bowl dust boil over. here, 86 palestinians face the risk of being moved out of homes they lived in for decades. >> this is my house. >> i've years ago jewish settlers -- five years ago jewish settlers started campaigning to evict him and his family. >> they want is in the streets, there about 750 people in this neighborhood and we refuse to leave. >> his family was to placed here airing the -- displaced air during the war in the 60's. >> we are suffering because of the settlers.

there is no security for us or our children. they threw garbage and stones on us and swore at our children and wives. >> anger flared this week as a call and jerusalem was poised to rule on ections o this family and another. israeli police arrested two protesters. amid tensions, the appeal verdict has been delayed. the settlers claim this area was built on the ruins of an old yemenite jewish village and a land from the 19th century. we approached for, to no avail. >> because of past experience, -- >> with several more eviction

cases in israeli courts there are fears that tensions over homes in occupied east jerusalem could escalate again into deadly violence. >> as american troops continue to withdraw from is gonna -- afghanistan, u.s. officials plan to evacuate some translators and support staff who have assisted. of many are applying to be says but that could take two years. namibia has called germany's recognition that it committed genocide in the step -- as a step in the right direction. activistsrotest the announcement calling it meaningless. germany's announcement comes after more than five years of talks. it has promised over one billion euros in commemorations. >> in an effort to write

historical wrongs, germany announced it reached an agreement with namibia recognizing its colonial killings between 1904 and 1908 as genocide. >> we will now officially referred to these events is what they are from today's perspective, genocide. in light of the historical and moral response ability of germany, we will ask forgiveness from namibia and the victims descendants. >> germany also said it would fund a 1.1 billion euro rebuilding and developing duster element program to benefit the communities affected by atrocities. the aide will cover infrastructure, health care and vocational training over 30 years. the german empire was the colonial power in what was then called german southwest africa from 1884 to 1915, the soldiers brutally repressed several rebellions against land seizures. historians say german troops

killed six 5000 people and 10,000 of another tribe between 1904 and 1908, survivors were driven to the desert where many died of thirst or ended up in concentration camps to be used as slave labor. while germany has previously acknowledged moral responsibility for the killings, it has avoided making an official apology. in 2015, berlin began negotiations with namibia government fort agreement that would include an apology and they returned skulls and remains of massacre tribes people. >> our top stories this hour, russia throws support behind belarus in its showdown with the eu, a meeting between the two leaders less than a week after president lukashenko ordered the grounding of a jet to arrest a journalist. >> emmanuel macron promises to invest in vaccine production in

africa, calling for a temporary waiver on iellectuaproperty rits of coronavirus vaccines to boost production. tensions brewing in jerusalem a week after a cease-fire ended 11 days of conflict between israel and hamas. our team on the ground reports. it is time never for business and we will look at the budget the white house revealed on friday, catherine bennett is here to give us the latest on that. courts is actually his first -- >> this is his first budget since he took office and it is mammoth. it makes his priorities clear, a $6 trillion proposal, a lot of money into social spending. it will be around $4 trillion worth of investment in physical and social programs used to tackle inequality and climate change and provide years of free public education. white house says it would be paid for within 15 years. the department of japan --

defense will also see a boost and employers being encouraged to hike wages. biden will increase taxes on companies and the wealthiest americans. the national debt is set to rise to over $3 trillion which would drop to $1.8 trillion in 2022. the plan would add as much as $14.5 trillion to the national debt over the years, bringing the u.s. to spending levels not seen since world war ii. those will never this is just the proposal, the next challenge is making sure it gets through congress. democrats hold a slim majority, republicans are sure to put up a fight. the plan is under a lot of fire already with opponents say it will cause the economy to overheat. here's how biden hit back at critics. pres. biden: we can't treat the global economy like a light switch, with ups and downs in jobs and economic reports, there will be supply chain issues,

price dispersions on the way back to a stable, steady growth. in the coming weeks, my administration will take steps to combat these supply pressures starting with construction materials and transportation bottlenecks and building up the work we are doing on computer chips. >> with this ambitious economic plan, it has shown a surge in consumer prices in april and slow job growth. new stats show u.s. inflation climbed 3.1% in april compared to last year, the biggest year on year increase since the 1990's. spending increased by .5%, consumers directing dollars to bars, restaurants and leisure. income dropped 13.1%. the federal reserve has been hammering home that inflationary increases will be temporary and that is -- supply chains will adapt to shifting prices. >> to see how the markets are doing at the end of the week.

all street is ending the week on a high, the dow jones up .5 -- a fifth of a percent while s&p and nasdaq are just over the line, european also close on a positive note. london puts he was just above flatline while the dax was up .75%. a tipping point for oil companies, on dutch under pressure from all sides. the government and the general public want to do more to tackle climate change and cap omissions, the french oil giant is latest to announce it will make changes. >> changes afoot for big oil in the latest shockwave to the industry, tou thao -- total shareholders -- the shift to

renewable energy. >> today at two contrary to the sustainable development of the planet basing the climate challenge, we are moving forward together towards new energies. our mission is to be -- tou thao -- total is becoming collaborative energies. >> they plan to change across global -- bringing in line paris climate agreement goals, it comes after a turbulent week for big oil, exxon mobil and chevron faced billions from shareholders over the approach to climate change. dutch shell must take more aggressive action. >> for the first time in history, the judge has decided a large producer -- polluter should stop causing dangerous climate change. this will have entered norma's impact not only on this but also major producers to the death --

netherlands and locally. >> pressure for change is not likely to let up. last week the international energy agency warned that oil companies much -- must stop oil and gas exploration projects this year of global warming is to be curbed. >> the oil sector is moving in the right direction when it comes to climate change. it is time never focus. it has been 10 years since germany voted to abandon nuclear power, six nuclear power stations are still running but three will be shut down this year and the rest in 2022. the process reaches questions how the plants will be dismantled, and what europe's biggest economy should do to build a power supply gap. also how large a role will renewable energy play? all of this with elections in september. >> these two cannot escape the site of the nuclear plant.

they live next to the power station. they grew up in the region and can still member demonstrations when it was billed at the end of the 70's. carts here in the local paper it says the battle, was a huge demonstration but protesters were not from around here. they came from across the country. >> after 35 years of generating both electricity and controversy, the station will go off-line forever december 31 this year. remaining reactors will be shut down a year later, 10 years after the disaster in the shema, nuclear power becoming -- in fukushima. it won't happen overnight. >> the decommissioning will take 10 years so it will still be here for a while. >> there will still be consequences, some risks. the nuclear waste is there so

that is a danger look, we have learned to live with the plant, it has become part of our daily lives. >> all around the area, the energy you turn has people asking questions especially as the reactor provided jobs and money to a region that has to diversify its economy now. the mayor of this commune is banking on it and industrial park to make up for job losses. >> around 700 people work directly or indirectly for the power station. they are people with good salaries. they come shopping here, they buy things, so it is impossible to know what our losses will be. >> it is a challenge here and for the whole country because europe's biggest economy is energy hungry. to make up for the loss of nuclear energy, the development of renewables has grown quickly this past decade.

and 2020, green energy source is made up 50% of the germany -- german energy mix. setting up wind farms and solar power plants often runs into local opposition like here in the brandenburg region. >> this is our land. >> this woman moved to the village with her partner 10 years ago, she teaches horseback riding, and activity she says is threatened by the plan to generate solar power here. >> everything you see right to the end of the meadow will be covered in solar panels. >> with local government approval, investors want to build one of the region's biggest solar power installations, a nightmare for her even though she is in favor of its to green power. >> the losses wi be huge for us and we have no idea how it will impact the animals. >> along with other villagers,

she is organizing demonstrations to stop the project from moving forward. the conflict shows the difficulty of the energy transition per the mayor is convinced the project is the right one. clark's future generations will suffer so we have to speed up the energy you turn and yes, i know it scares a lot of people and some are fine with things as they are and are asking why we have to do things differently. clark's another challenge, giving up nuclear is meant to go along with shutting down coal-fired power plants, right now germany the biggest coal producer and here in the north rhine region, and extracting dust extracting means five more villages may be swallowed. this man has fought for years against his mind which threatens the region he grew up in. clark's before, we had 36 villages here, forests, churches. everything is disappeared. clark's -- >> protesters across

the country take issue. clark's it is >> it is my responsibility to be here to stop the planet from being destroyed. >> he is fighting for principles but also because his own village could be wiped off the map, his family has lived here since 1862, a homestead with lead he knows by heart, horses and memories that can never be replaced. >> his hope now is that a new government in berlin will change things. >> i will wait for new government. to vote for a law that protects the villages. we will never reach climate goals if we do not abandon coal which means there is no reason to destroy these villages. >> the push to go green faster is coming from judges as well. the constitutional court has

asked angela merkel to move forward on proposals, right now the exit from coal is planned for 2038. >> ion africa is up next, stay tuned. -- i on -- eye on africa is up next, stay tuned. >> in hong kong, activists have lost hope for justice. under the communist party, leaders are going into exile rather than face trial. carts we have responsibility and the ability help thos who contact us for help. >> we will continue to fight for hong kong. we will knockabout. >> the future of democracy and hong kong's young generation is under seed -- under siege. do not miss reports on france 24 and france24.com. ♪

05/28/21 05/28/21 democracy now! [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> through these 11 days of madness, children killed, 12 now in total, who were our social programs. they were killed with their families, their dreams, and their n