>> this is dw news, live from berlin. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken. in the west bank after a visit to israel. his message of: after weeks of tensions between israelis and palestinians. also, grieve in pakistan is a suicide bombing claims 100 lives in a mosque inside a police compound. there is a limit to a lapse in

security. caruso hands of africa. pope francis crisis centuries of colonialism on a visit to the democratic republic of congo, and man's foreign powers stop wandering the continent -- plundering the continent. ♪ i am nicole frolich. to our viewers dragging us on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. this is dw news. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has finished his visit to israel and the palestinian territories. on tuesday he met with allison president mahmoud abbas talks amid the spike in violence between israelis and palestinians. he expressed his condolences for the quebec "innocent palestinian civilians who lost their lives in the last year." he urged mahmoud abbas to de-escalate tensions, and also

reiterated washington's support for a two state solution, albeit without positing any new solutions. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken went on to say this -- >> it is also important to continue to strive only for reducing violence, but ensuring that ultimately, the israelis and palestinians alike enjoy the same rights, same opportunities. what we're seeing now for the palestinians is a shrinking horizon of hope, not an expanding one, --, too, we believe needs to change. nicole: earlier i asked our correspondent in jerusalem and his take. reporter: the secretary of state of course showed his close ties to israel. he met with the prime minister, the minister of defense, and

they had this very close link on security issues and also on the issues connected to the israeli society. but what was really striking was his statement that he made in ramallah, the sympathy he expressed towards the palestinians, also condemning or criticizing the kind of policies that the israeli government has decided on the last few days. he said he is opposing the expanding of the settlement project, opposing the legalization of outposts. the demolition of palestinian homes. evictions. these are the kinds of things we heard saturday night from the israeli government, the kinds of policies this government wants to promote. nicole: blinken stressed the importance of the two state

solution in solving the long-running conflict between israelis and palestinians, but it does not appear to be popular with either side at this point. how do we get out of this deadlock? do we need a new generation of politicians? guest: blinken himself did not have any strategy. he talked about reducing tensions, but he did not say how we reach a two state solution. abbas, on the other hand in ramallah was very clear, he said the key is to follow the arab initiative. the arab initiative talks about israeli was brought to the 1967 borders. the establishment of a palestinian state with east jerusalem being its capital. this would be the key for normalization with the rest of the arab countries and with the rest of the muslim world. the other hand, netanyahu put a

different perspective. when he was speaking yesterday he was saying that first of all, israel has to engage with the arab world and reach for normalization with the arab countries. and then the palestinian question would be solved. he does not say how. and with this government that supports more settlement, clearly a palestinian state is not the agenda. nicole: how important was antony blinken's visit to ensure further influence over the course of events in the middle east, including working towards a solution to this conflict? reporter: the americans don't have any plan. they just want to lower the flames. they give a good boost to the movement here in israel that is trying to block these judicial reforms, that want to weaken the

judiciary. he said he would add another $50 million to a united nations agency that helps palestinian refugees. basically the whole idea is to keep things on a low flame. but we note here that things could explode again. nicole: our correspondent in jerusalem, thank you for your time again. at least 100 people are known to have died in pakistan following us we said, tag at a mosque -- following a suicide bomb attack inside a mosque. the pakistani taliban initially claimed response ability for the explosion in shower, but later denied any involvement. authorities are investigating how the bomber managed to get inside the compound without being stopped. dw spoke to officials in the peshawar.

>> there is no denying that this has been a security lapse. if someone can enter a secure compound at this one, there is no way for us to argue otherwise. for now, the investigation is on. nicole: a journalist is in the pakistan city of karachi and she told us more about this possible security lapse. reporter: unfortunately, this was a huge security lapse. we know that a suicide bomber entered the mosque in peshawar yesterday, killing 101, injury 251. 53 folks remain unaccounted for. 15 of those remain critical. attack in another city in that province, with 50 or more unknown gunmen entering the police station and trying to assault the police personnel.

that attack was thwarted, but the pakistan taliban claimed responsibility. we have seen that one section claimed they would never attack a mosque. at the moment we do not pakistan is in a state of heightened alert. cities like karachi and islamabad are on alert. we have seen snipers placed on a grace: in buildings and flag marches have been carried out as a sure support for police personnel in the city. nicole: the investigations are ongoing. but are there any indications of what the motives of the perpetrator could have been? reporter: what we do know, this is the fourth attack in the spate of attacks to avenge the death of --.

one individual has been identified as a potential suicide,, but investigations are underway. we know that a high level army meeting was held today and they took stock of the situation across the country. investigations are being carried out for various functions of the government and its various organizations. nicole: our journalist in karachi with the latest on the attack in peshawar thank you so much. let's take a look now at some other stories making headlines around the world today -- a couple in their 20's have both been jailed in iran for 10 euros each after posting video of themselves dancing in the street in front of a famous tehran landmark. you can see it there. ♪ according to human rights activists, they were jailed for "encouraging public persecution as well as gathering with the intention of disrupting national

security." u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin said washington would boost security cooperation with south korea. austin also promised that the u.s. would deploy more advanced weaponry to the korean peninsula amid rising concern over north korea's weapons testing program. the nato chief yellowstone hamburg, and the japanese prime minister have promised to boost ties. stoltenberg and kishida said they were disturbed by the growing threat to national security first by russia and china. japan is not a nato member, but cooperates closely with the alliance. here is president joe biden. he has ruled out sending f-16 fighter jets to ukraine. there is growing debate about delivering warplanes to kyiv. ukraine has been seeking modern jets to replace its soviet-built air force since the war began. a lack of political stability in libya has led to the growth of human smuggling, making libya at

one of the most important starting points for migrants trying to reach europe. the route to europe via the libyan coast is known as the "central mediterranean route," with travelers often try to reach italy or malta. the european union registered 1258 regular crossings at its external border via the central mediterranean route in 2022 alone, an increase of over 50% from the previous year. the u.s. and project reports that 1377 died or went missing attempting this crossing last year. reporter: visible scars of a traumatic escape. 19-year-old mohammed is stranded on the coast of libya. his journey began two years ago when he left his home in ivory coast, a place where he saw no opportunities. >> living conditions there were

very difficult. i had to drop out of school. then i went looking for work to support my family. reporter: he came to libya via mali and algeria. his goal, to cross over to europe. but while on route, violence erupted between the traffickers and the libyan coast guard, with mohammed in between. he was shot in the leg. the coast guard then put him into a camp for migrants. >> they insulted us, beat us. we had no rights at all. we were hungry and thirsty. the way they treated us was catastrophic. reporter: survival in libya is a struggle for many of the roughly 700,000 migrants here. only 1 in seven has entered the country legally. their destinations vary widely. some want to go to europe, others want to work as day laborers in the oil-rich country

where they can earn more than that home, but the competition is stiff. >> there is not enough work for everyone. thousands are coming from nature alone. everyone is just -- from niger alone. everyone is desperately seeking work. reporter: libya is often just a transit country. it wants europe to invest more in the migrants' countries of origin. >> people are hungry. they want to eat. so, what is a sustainable solution that we can do? this is not a problem of libya or italy or malta, it is a combined, and i think also germany has a big role. reporter: germany, europe -- mohammed has given up his dream. he now plans to return to ivory coast by a u.n. repatriation program. >> i talk to my mother. she said, come home. reporter: mohammed wants to

return home gratefully. after all, he has survived. now his greatest wish is that one day be able to walk properly again. nicole: for more we are now joined from toronto by a senior analyst at the global initiative, and a nonresident senior fellow at the atlantic council. good to see you. libya has become a habit for migrants trying to reach europe through the mediterranean. what are the main problems these people face? guest: migrants are obviously frequently compelled to accept assisted return to escape abusive detention practices and also threats of torture and ill-treatment and sexual violence in some cases as well. extortion. a lot of them are abused at the detention centers where they are kept and they are beaten and tortured and sometimes money also extorted from them from their families and friends back

home. they are kidnapped for ransom, essentially. the conditions they face are quite harsh. outside of them, they face really harsh working conditions, and as you documentary printed out, there is limited work for everyone so they don't have the ability to secure their rights or their subsistence, essentially. nicole: in libya, migrants are a major source of income for criminal networks that facilitate their journey across the mediterranean, what is being done to fight these criminal networks? guest: multiple things are done. i am not entirely sure whether it is to fight the criminal networks, per se, but at the level of the european union, for example, there have been policies put in place. unfortunately, the main engine marks that the e.u. uses is a number of interceptions -- the main benchmarks that the e.u.

uses to measure its success as are the numbers of people returned to libya, and also the decreased rate of arrivals in europe. that is a flawed benchmark because it hides, to an extent, what happens inside the country. as for inside the country, there are cosmetic measures, is what i would call them, taken by the european union and by the national authorities to improve the detention conditions, which has not been very effective. nicole: you point out many different problems that all sound like they are very difficult to tackle. where should authorities start? how can cooperation with libya be improved to improve the status and the situation of migrants who are stranded in libya, that their situation can be improved and made livable?

guest: there are central pathways that should be taken. obviously this is a holistic problem and as you pointed out, libya is mainly a transit point, though that is to an extent changing and increasingly some libya nationals are also considering illegally migrating via the central mediterranean route. there needs to be a holistic effort put into actually establishing legal pathways for migration. there also needs to be legal pathways for migrants to arrive and settle and be able to work legally in libya, which is something where the current government has made some effort, but this remains very ad hoc to an extent, and ineffective. and not across the country, unfortunately. another thing that has -- that needs to be done is for europe to revise its containment strategy.

it has been proven time and time again to be ineffective. now you have the new dynamic emerging whereby migrants are not only traveling via the western coast of the country, but the eastern coast of the country. that is primarily, from my perspective, the result of a flood policy from the e.u., whereby it incentivizes criminal networks, or even nonstate actors, into engaging in human smuggling in hopes that they ge gave european support. nicole: thank you so much to our guest. guest: thank you. nicole: france has seen another wave of protests over president emmanuel macron rounds to raise the retirement age from 62-64. . for the second time in january, more than a million people joined walkouts and rallies in cities across france. many say they are not just fighting against his reform plans, but against a vision of society that they don't agree

with. our correspondent from paris. [chanting] reporter: for these students retirement is still decades away. and yet, they are here to protest against a reform that they feel leaves a question mark over the very heart of the french social state. >> our pension system does not work anymore. but what we should do is increase -- on employers and get more people into jobs to finance our pensions. we need a reform that helps workers and not just the company bosses who exploit us. >> we reject the government's vision of our society which includes the retirement age of 64 years, and no investment in education. we are fighting for another society where the public sector is valued. >> financial support for students has been cut, and we are increasingly struggling to

make ends meet. instead of helping us, the government puts this pension reform on top of all that. we are sick of it. reporter: the young people were the young people were to mr. thune alongside older generations that would already be hit by the changes. >> some people are urging a lot of money nowadays and workers have to make extra effort when times were difficult. there needs to be more redistribution. >> i have started working before the age of 18, and we now have to work three additional years for this reform. i will lose money and work longer than others. that is not fair. reporter: the government says the changes are needed to save france's fashion system that relies solely on a pay-as-you-go mechanism. today's workers contribute to current pensions. but this political analyst says what is at stake is also president macron's standing at home and abroad. >> emmanuel macron wants to show

that he is a president who implements reforms. no president before him managed to carry out in france. reporter: that is also important under european level, where he would lose credibility as a strong leader if he were not able to reform his own country, especially in the context of the war in ukraine. reporter: but polls show that more than two thirds of the french are opposed to reform, and counting. even the government has acknowledged that it is unlikely it went over the majority of the french with its reforms. president macron is determined. but analysts fear that that could alienate people even further from the government and strengthen extremist parties. the protesters are determined to

win the standoff with the government. additional demonstrations are already in the making. nicole: other news making headlines around the world, lawmakers in peru are considering bringing forward elections, to try to end week s of protests. elections could be held this year. protesters have been demanding fresh elections since former president pedro castillo was removed from office in december. new zealand is bracing for more heavy rain this week following new severe weather alerts. at least four people have died in flash floods and landslides. our client is under a state of emergency order. on friday, the city experienced its worst downpour on record. the biden administration says it plans to end covid-19 emergency decorations in may, nearly three years after the u.s. imposed the measures to curb the spread.

the move is likely to trigger changes and charges for covered tests, vaccines, and treatments that americans are now used to receiving for free. more than one million americans have died from covid. pope francis has received a rapturous welcome in the democratic republic of congo. he is making the first papal visit to the drc since 1985. an address, francis condemned centuries of exploitation at the hands of colonial powers in africa. he demanded foreign powers stop the current -- stop pillaging the continent. >> high hopes and happiness in the democratic republic of congo. a massive crush of believers crowded the streets at the capital, can sascha, for a glimpse of pope francis as his bookmobiles cruised through working-class neighborhoods towards the presidential palace. >> i am very happy. i don't know how to express the sentiment of joy. all kinds of feelings that i

have. >> when i saw the pope, i saw the face of peace and i cried. not out of sadness, but for joy of seeing our father. reporter: the drc has been plagued with decades of conflict, exploitation and poverty. the pope blames what he calls a governing mentality that continues to rob africa of its self-determination. >> this country and this continent deserve to be respected and listened to. they deserve to find space and receive attention. hands off the democratic republic of the congo. hands off africa. stop choking africa! africa is not a mine to be stripped and plundered. may africa be the protagonist of its own destiny. [cheers and applause] reporter: africa is one of the few places in the world or the

catholic flock is growing in terms of practicing faithful, as well as vocations to the priesthood. the drc has the church's's largest following on the continent. half of it 105 million people are catholic, and the vatican hopes that boost continues. nicole: dw news correspondent in kinshasa told us more. reporter: people here are overjoyed the pope has finally come to the drc, he was due to come here last year but had to cancel the trip because of health issues. now, he had to scrap initial plans of traveling to the east of the country, due to the ongoing fighting there. instead he will meet victims of the war here, have one-on-one conversations with women who have survived a rip and sexual abuse. it seems he wants to listen to the impact of the conflict happening here. it speaks to his will to highlight these issues. his trip is about peace and reconciliation. and people here they said they

went to see the pope deliver a clear message of peace, addressing the war in the east. others have told me he could play an active role in brokering peace between congo and rhonda. here in the drc, the church is not to be very political. priests have organized protests throughout the last year against violence in the east. the church has a history of promoting democracy, and will monitor, for example, the upcoming elections at the end of this year. i will correspondent from kinshasa. nicole: in sports now, bayern munich have completed the purchase of a defender from manchester city on a loan deal until the end of the season. until a disagreement, with the coach he had been given the all clear to leave manchester in search of more playing time elsewhere. he lives in munich during a spell of uncertain form for the german champions, who have not won a league game so far this year. it is understood the deal includes an option for bayern munich to purchase the player out right that a price of 70

million euros. and a reminder of the top stories we are following for you today. u.s. secretary of state antony blinn called r a de-escalation of tensions in a meeting between the policy and president -- in a meeting with the palestinian president. he said to the country must sees what he described as unilateral actions, which violate signed agreements and international law. you are watching dw news live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." ♪

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>> this is live from paris. these are our headlines. on the second national strike day of the year, thousands take to the streets to protest against reforming the pension system and raising the retirement age. following a meeting with his ukrainian counterpart, france alleges a howitzer and more air defenses. on what is the first papal visit to the democratic republic of congo since 1980 five, pope francis demands foreign powers