>> this is dw news live from berlin. it is election day in iran. but with reformist candidates barred from running, what choice do candidates have? millions of people fled wars and other crises last year even as covid-19 closed borders around the world. a new report shows the number of those uprooted has doubled in a decade. the french president visits

german chancellor angela merkel for possibly the last time before she steps down so what is in store for franco german friendship? havoc at a military camp and even disrupted flights at an airport. i am phil gayle, welcome to the program. polls have closed in iran's presidential election but a number of stations have extended their hours. turnover was expected to be low because of widespread apathy after candidates were barred from standing. >> a new day, but not a new dawn.

as a curtain rose in iran's election, the old guard remains firmly in control. the supreme leader casting his vote after borrowing hundreds of reformist candidates from running. with their choices limited, many have decided to stay away from the polls. turnout is projected at a record low. >> i want about, because whether i do or not, somebody has already been elected. they are only organizing elections for the media. >> posing for the cameras, the man likely to become iran's next president, the hard-line candidate is poised to exceed the moderate shifting power even further towards the conservative clerics. this will leave hard-liners in charge of negotiations to create

a nuclear deal to limit iran's nuclear enrichment. those who did turn out to vote limit the crippling sanctions after the trump administration withdrew from the deal. >> [speaking non-english language] we don't have an issue with the way the election is run or the regime but the state of the economy is hard on us. this problem should have been solved. >> if iran's new government fails to address its economic woes, the cues could be even shorter next on the polls open. phil: let's take a look at this with a journalist and local analyst who hosts the iran podcast and joins us from washington dc. let's start with the candidates. iran's guardian council whittled down hundreds of candidates to just seven and then four dropped out. what does this tell us? >> the hard-liners who control

the guardian council, the watchdog that is responsible for qualifying or disqualifying seem to be attempting to consolidate power. elections have never been free or fair but they have been competitive. there has been some serious competition and abraham one in -- ran in 2017 and lost to ronnie. -- rohani. this seems to be a clearing of the path for him. phil: this is something that often gets overlooked when looking at iran's movements in the world. the idea that there are power struggles within the regime. >> definitely there are power

struggle remember the supreme leader is a hardner and there is usually this perception that it is a one-man show but there are definitely struggles within the political system. the moderates and reformists have created some serious challenges but this election seems to be one more attempt to nsolidatpower and marginalize as many reformists and moderates as can create a serious challenge to the hard-line grid. we have seen some criticism and protest to this mass disqualification even coming from centrist politicians. even aenist hardliner was disqualified from the race in fear he could create real competition. phil: tell us about this man who

is likely to be the winner. what can we expect from an iran led by him. >> let me make a note that it is still early to call even though the moderate is the underdog. elections have also been fu of surprises so i like to wait until the end of the voting to see. it seems like raisi has a very high chance of winning this election without strong competition. he is the current head of judiciary, an ultraconservative hard-line member of iran's judiciary with a controversial past. he has gross violations of human rights, a member of a death committee, responsible for ordering mass executions of iranian dissidents. his presidency is going to make things very complicated for iran

, escially iran's engagement with the world, specifically the u.s. and its european allies when it comes to issues beyond the nuclear deal. phil: thank you so much for outlining that for us. >> thank you. phil: the number of people fleeing wars, violence, or civil disorder rose again last year even as the pandemic brought much of the world to a standstill. 82.4 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes according to the human refugee agency, double the number a decade ago. more than two thirds of those recognized as refugees came from just five countries. our next report takes us to pakistan, which has hosted hundreds of thousands of afghan

refugees for 40 years. >> they run a small grocery store at this refugee camp in pakistan. every day, he checked his income and expenses. he is about the same that she was about the same age as this child when his family fled afghanistan. today it is a distant memory. >> we had to get out of the afghanistan. there was a war going on. so when the situation became worse, we fled. pakistan took us in. we have been able to live here ever since. >> he also fled afghanistan after the soviet invasion and has lived in the camp ever since. he is one of 20 in this province alone.

more than a million afghans live in pakistan. they are largely on their own. >> i would be lying if i said we got financial support. the truth is we don't get any aid from the pakistani government. >> now for the first time, pakistan is registering the refugees residing in the country. registered refugees are issued a biometric identity card. many children born here have never been registered at all. it is hoped to the data will give international aid agencies a clearer picture of the needs in the refugee community. >> we are correcting the most updated information of afghan

refugees, such as education level, skills, language, and vulnerability. this information is also going to assist us better design activities not only in pakistan but afghanistan, when they return. >> pakistani authorities have tried to encourage refugees to return home. interviewing families to see if they are ready to return. the id cards are only valid until 2023. >> many questioners asked if the situation in afghanistan normalizes, do they want to leave? 90% answer with a no. they do not want to go back. >> for khan, one thing is clear,

he will only return home if there is peace. phil: chris spoke to the u.n. refugee agency. he told dw where most of the migrants and up after they flee their homes. >> most migrants are in a direct neighboring country in the vicinity of their me because they would lovto go back. 86%, almost nine out of 10 refugees are living in developing countries that already have a lot of problems. look at myanmar. or bangladesh. indeed, the question is if not in not only bangladesh but other refue countries, this is indeed one of the crucial questions there'd -- questions. phil: protesting palestinians at

a mosque compound inerusalem have clashed briefly with israeli police. three were injured and hundreds demonstrated in response to a rally by jewish ultranationalist. rivers around a city in brazil have swelled to levels not seen in over a century. it has displaced over 30,000 people and comes as areas of brazil have faced large drought. the united nations general assembly has awarded the secretary-general a second term. he said he would work to build trust between large and small nations and learn from the covid-19 pandemic. a belgian court has ordered astrazeneca to deliver 50 million covid-19 shots to the european union. though it was fewer than the eu wanted, both sides describe the decision as a victory.

the firm faces fines of 10 euros per missing shot if doses are not delivered on time. a brown bear has been shot dead in the japanese city of severo - - sapporo after it rampaged for hours. the drama prompted a stay-at-home alert from authorities. >> [speaking non-english language] wild brown bears are somewhat unwelcome visitors in japanese cities but it seems this one did not get the memo. the wild animal cause havoc in severo -- sapporo, prompting several closures and cancellations after he made his way across the local airport. he most likely journeyed away from from his home in search of food but he attacked four people along the way. luckily they suffered only minor

injuries. one unlucky victim was a soldier at this military camp. he was attacked after the bear clawed its way over the fence. locals received quite the shock. >> i looked out the window and saw the bear running straight towards me. i thought it might break the window, i was stunned. please and residents alike took up arms saying extermination was the only way to keep people out of harm's way. after eight hours on the run, the rogue visitor met his unfortunate demise. but at least the locals can rest easy in their beds knowing they will live to tell the tale. phil: angela has welcome the french president to berlin, holding talks ahead of the european council meeting in brussels.

pandemic restrictions mean this is the first time the chancellor has welcomed a visitor from abroad and it is likely it'll be their last formal encounter since angela merkel is not standing for reelection in september. let's get more from our correspondent. angela merkel's first foreign guest of this year, does this tell us anything? >> it tells us how important the french-german relationship is for the two leaders. just as emmanuel macron did four years ago, he flew to berlin to make angela merkel. the first visitor allowed back is a man u macron and that just goes on to show that the french german dialogue is very important for those leaders. not only in europe but the bilateral relationship between

the two countries. phil: president macron was full of praise for the alliance. >> we see cooperation once again at the g7 and nato summit which we have just completed. together, we want to define policy that is coherent and shows responsibility in terms of our topics and values that we can incorporate into cooperation with our allies and major economic powers and democracies with which we work. this should also reflect the european preferences we already have. phil: how much is this grand alliance -- has this grand alliance actually achieved? >> it did it achieve a lot during those four years. emmanuel macron said that in terms of defense, they have made

results. in terms of the need for strategic autonomy, that is a step forward. angela merkel said she was pleased there was transatlantic cooperation between europe and the u.s. that has been achieved by a constant dialogue not only from france and germany and a european dialogue with the u.s. for which france and germany were instrumental. there is common ground when it comes to foreign policy as well. france and germany still don't see eye to eye on how to communicate with russia and both leaders acknowledge this will be a challenge for a time being. for example when it comes to turkey and syria and libya, there is a commonwealth to solve -- common will to solve issues

such as migration and issues in the middle east. phil: as angela merkel steps down in september, how is the relationship between the countries likely to be affected her departure? >> the relationship has survived many presidencies and cancers over the years. it will undoubtedly continue and with angela merkel stepping down in september and emmanuel macron either representing himself as a president or not, this is a great unknown. but the french press -- french presidency should survive another chancery even without emmanuel macron. phil: thank you for that. still to come, work is a beach.

digital nomads get a warm welcome in resort towns in the philippines. first, here is a look at developments in the coronavirus pandemic, starting in uganda which is tightening lockdown measures. curves include a ban on private and public transport. italy's prime minister mario draghi has urged italians to get fully vaccinated, acknowledging an early decision to ban astrazeneca shots caused some confusion. italy abruptly restricted use of the astrazeneca vaccine last week. and face masks will no longer be required in the netherlands from next week after a fall in the number of covid-19 cases. limits on group sizes will also be lifted as long as people maintain at least a 1.5 meter distance.

in france is reopening to foreign tourists after the pandemic devastated business. paris is enticing people with bargains and unusually empty museums but as lisa louis reports, the city has found tough competition. >> harris loves its tourists. that is the language these young multilingual ambassadors are trying to spared -- spread. >> tourists should not hesitate, they should just come to pais. we will help them find their bearings. there are more and more of us to help visitors. doing this makes me happy. >> up to 500 will be deployed this year in an effort to kickstart tourism again after visitor numbers limited by two thirds last year but the tourists who normally represent a large share of the city's

visitors, people from asia and the u.s., might be a bit longer incoming -- in coming. >> we would like everybody to come to paris but we know that french tourists are likely to be the first back as it is easier for them to travel. >> many hotels are trying to lure in the locals with special deals with some establishments offering discounts of up to 70%, but no offer book convince those already desperate to go out of the city. this couple has chosen to get to higher ground north of the french capital. >> with this pandemic, people have understood that they needed to disconnect from reality. such special offers are not necessarily so from. we need to breathe and take a step back from work especially as we have all been working from home for quite a while now.

. . >> they are not the only ones who feel the urge to get out of the city bubble. reservations at these cabins have skyrocketed. >> it is like people have flipped since the beginning of the covid-19 crisis and realized they needed nature to reconnect to who they are. we cannot keep up with demand and are planning to construct an additional five cabins next year. >> and yet some might argue this is exactly the right time to visit paris. >> here at the louvre, the world's biggest museum, foreigners make up three quarters of visitors but due to covid-19 restrictions, many of these visitors from abroad are not showing up. that's why you can even get tickets at short notice and visit world famous works of art

almost by yourself. >> what is true here is true for other sites at the french capital. you no longer have to queue for art and that may be the most appealing tourist attraction of all. phil: pandemic lockdowns have put office life on hiatus for many workers in cities across asia. after months of being stuck at home, some have planned their escape and in the philippines they have found a warm welcome in resort towns. travel restriction but as these digital nomads found out, sometimes all you need is a wi-fi connection and a dream. >> this beach town, where the welcome mat stretches for miles. there are friends, sand, and sun. the commute to the office is just steps away.

nine months ago, this start of executive fled what he calls his prison apartment in manila and landed here and he has no plans to leave. >> i did not realize how stressed out and anxious i was about the pandemic until i got here inserted walking around with the beach -- at the beach with a mask on and realize no one was doing it. no reason to do it unless you are walking next to people. >> many workers are escaping to deserted beach towns like this one. the pandemic was the knowledge they needed to say goodbye to city life. for tonya and her boyfriend, if you like this just might seal the deal. >> for us, a key take away is that moving out here just is such a big quality of life improvement at a fraction of the

cost. >> local businesses could not be happier that manila salaries can stretch further here. without the stream of tourists, they are struggling to survive and the new arrivals keep them afloat. >> it helped a lot here. especially when the town was closed for tourism, you could only rely on customers from within the city. >> digital nomads are now a target market for the tourism industry. resorts are offering enticements like high-speed internet and wellness activities. just the things that could tur office work on its head forever. phil: a danish midfielder has been released from the hospital after nearly a week.

he some third a cardiac arrest during the opening match of the euros and had to be resuscitated. fans and teammates gave him a minute of applause during the latest match. despite successful surgery, it is not clear whether he will play again. and croatia held the czech republic to a draw, keeping the checks at the top of their group. and incidents led to a controversial penalty. then ivan scored for croatia, saving his team from a second loss. group e sweden jumped to the top with a win over slovakia. this swedish striker pressured these flocculants are in it penalty. which the teammate put away perfectly. our top story this hour,

iranians are going to the polls to elect a new president. turnout is expected to be exceptionally low after hundreds of candidates were barred from running. the front-runner is ultraconservative cleric eager him racy -- ebrahim raisi. i'll be back to take you through the top stories of the day, including a look at the iranian elections. have a good day.

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>> hello and welcome back to the france 24 newsroom. the ballots are being counted across iran after a subdued presidential election dominated by concerns over the economy and hard-line rule. there are four names standing hoping to be victorious, but turnout is said to below. astrazeneca and the eu claim victory after a ruling in a brussels court. the drug manufacturer is ordered to deliver 18 million doses of its covid-19 vaccifa