from berlin. tonight, china planning a no-fly zone north of taiwan. tensions are already high after last week's chinese military drills that took place around the island. also coming up, u.s. president biden begins a visit to the republican of ireland after a stop in belfast marked 25 years of peace in northern ireland. and drafted by email. russia overhauls its

conscription law, making it easier to recruit soldiers and nearly impossible to dodge the draft. and germany is about to legalize pot. owning, growing, and using small amounts of cannabis will soon be permitted. ♪ i am brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with news that china is beginning to close airspace north of taiwan later this week. taiwan says china has notified it that a no-fly zone will be imposed for half an hour on april 16. china has ended three days of military drills around taiwan following a trip to the u.s. by the president -- by the island's president. chinese president xi jinping has raised the stakes by calling on

china's military to train, and i'm quoting here, for actual combat. eric gomez is a senior fellow at the cato institute. i asked him how the dangerous the situation is now. eric: i think in the short term, the situation is certainly not good in terms of there being a lot of military activity around taiwan. but i am not that worried about a sort of near-term conflagration. what i am very worried about, though, is this is a symptom of a broader u.s.-china devolution in relations that we got a taste of with the pelosi visit last summer. we are seeing all this being done after the president of taiwan visited with the current speaker of the house mccarthy. and the u.s. and china are just any really bad place right now.

and i am worried that if that is not resolved or pulled back, we could see more stuff like this in the future that could give way to something more like a conflict. brent: this deterioration of relations between beijing and washington, is that how you would explain what we are seeing right now, and that is the fact that chinese vessels are still around taiwan despite the fact that those three days of military exercises are over? er: yes. when pelosi visited last summer, china, before the visit, issued a lot of warnings publicly saying if this happens, we will do a whole bunch of -- they did not specify we will do x, y and z, but they said they would take actions against it. a similar story happened with cyan when's visit. they said if this goes through, we are going to do things the united states does not like.

and they both have. and the u.s., china, taiwan especially relationship goes back many decades. there is a lot more to it than just visits. i think what we are seeing now is china is very clearly much unhappy with actions that taiwan and the u.s. are taking. what i worry about is that the u.s. and taiwan see these actions and we doubled down on our own activities, which encourages china to double down on future things like this. then you just wind up in a spiral that is very difficult to break out of and that is what i think we are in right now. brent: how do you think the united states is going to respond to this temporary no-fly zone that beijing is planning to impose north of taiwan? eric: it seems like a situation is very fluid. i did see a report only about an hour or two ago before coming on this program said that china had

already kind of scaled scaled-back the no-fly zone thing to only a matter of a few minutes instead of several days. and it seems like this might be tied to a notification to aircraft that china is conducting a satellite launch, and that there are certain areas where doubly -- where debris might come down, so do not go in those areas. so it seems like this instance and general, both the no-fly zone and current exercises around taiwan, in some respects they are a bit scaled-back from what we saw last summer after the pelosi visit, which i think is a hopeful sign. and also you mentioned china wanting to do maritime inspections, or stop ships. they announced that but so far there have not been in reports of them actually doing anything in terms of actually stopping a vessel in trying to board it. so hopefully that means there is some room here for people to back down. and i think over time over the next several days and weeks, we

will see a reduction in the sort of tempo, and in the visibility of all of this, which will be welcome. but this bigger concern i have identified remains, of a spiral that we are in and hard to break out of. brent: i think a lot of people would agree with you, that it would be best if it just stayed at more talking and less action at the moment. eric gomez with the cato institute. eric, we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. eric: thank you for having me. brent: u.s. president joe biden is in the republic of ireland after a trip to northern ireland earlier today to market when he for the anniversary of the good friday agreement. that deal ended decades of sectarian violence in northern ireland. today biden urged the government there to break a political deadlock in order to thwart what he called enemies of peace. reporter: it was a trip that was over in a flash. joe popped into belfast for less

than a day and met the british prime minister rishi sunak. the occasion? 25 years of peace in northern ireland. >> 25 years ago this week, the landmark belfast good friday agreement was signed. and it was not easy. and there were no guarantees that the deal on paper would hold. no guarantees that it would be able to deliver the progress we celebrate today. and it took long, hard years of work to get to this place. reporter: the agreement ended three decades of bloodshed between mainly catholic nationalists who opposed british rule in northern ireland, and mainly protestant unionists who supported it. thousands were killed in bombings and other attacks. under the u.s. brokered agreement, paramilitary groups laid down their arms, direct u.k. rule was brought to an end, and the power-sharing government was set up in northern ireland instead. the piece has been a lasting

success, but the government collapsed a year ago in a row over trade rules following brexit. some hoped that biden's visit would jolt local politicians into action. >> hoping it might give them to kick to say we need to get back here, because at the minute the countries try to run itself. reporter: careful not to overstep, biden says he hopes the parties returned to the negotiating table so government could resume. that, he hinted, could be the precursor to more american investment. the u.s. president is now the second leg of his trip in the republic of ireland, where he will address the dublin parliament. biden, who is fiercely proud of his irish heritage, will also visit his two ancestral hometowns. brent: our correspondent rosie birchard told me more about what joe biden had to say in belfast. rosie: president biden had a message for the people of northern ireland.

he said your history is our history and your future is our future. he said 25 years ago the u.s. took a bet on northern ireland and it is ready to double down on that bet. he spoke of the potential to unleash more prosperity in northern ireland. he said since the good friday agreement gdp has doubled and he said he predicted could triple if things keep moving in the right direction. but of course that does not spell out any kind of a threat. but there is a suggestion that this trip, despite it being an occasion to mark a celebration, 25 years of peace, a peace that has endured, for some, it's a bittersweet visit. that is because that peace spelled out in the good friday agreement has remained, the institutions that it lays out in documents, they are simply not functioning properly. there is no fully functioning government here in northern ireland.

that is down to a political stalemate over post brexit trading arrangements. joe biden says he hopes that the devolved government here will be restored, but he did not go any further than that, quite careful in his choice of words. brent: i am wondering, were their reactions from across the political spectrum in northern ireland to what was said today? rosie: there were some people i spoke to that were optimistic that joe biden's visit could perhaps move the dial here. after these talks i spoke to sir jeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic unionist party. that is the party which has been refusing to form a devolved government here, complaining the post-brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland are posing an existential threat to northern ireland's place within the u.k. take a listen to what he had to say when i asked him whether biden's visit would make a difference to his own party's position. >> i do not think the visit

today will change the political dynamic necessarily. we welcome the visit of the president and his commitment to continue helping northern ireland. we would like to see more american investment. some of the u.s. companies that have set up in northern ireland have done very well. and of course we always welcome that kind of investment and those jobs. so hopefully the president's visit today will lead to more american investment. but he was very clear in the conversation i had with him that he is not here to interfere politically, that it a matter for the political leadership in northern ireland to make the decisions on the way forward. rosie: brent, the source of this dispute is pretty technical. it is about customs and checks on some goods crossing from great britain into northern ireland, and the rest of u.k. into northern ireland. but of course those technical issues boil down to the most primordial questions here in

northern ireland about borders, identity, and about feelings of britishness and irishness. brent: rosie, the role os the united states in keeping the good friday agreement intact these past 25 years, that is clear. what about the u.s. role though in northern ireland moving forward? rosie: u.s. president biden announced other would be a trade delegation of american companies coming to northern ireland later this year. he did sort of dangle that economic carrot. he said peace goes hand-in-hand with economic prosperity. but as sir jeffrey donaldson alluded to, biden was careful to seem like he was not bullying or putting pressure on any political parties here. he did not stick around to labor the point. he has already left belfast, where he will be visiting ancestral towns, addressing the irish parliament, meeting the irish prime minister and the president.

plenty of talk to be expected of friendship and friendly ties come altogether much less contentious than the visit in belfast. which though the message from president biden was one of hope and perseverance, is set against a much more complicated political backdrop. brent: brexit has certainly not made the situation easier, for sure. rosie birchard, as always, thank you. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. syria's foreign minister is in saudi arabia on the first visit by a senior diplomat from damascus in more than 10 years. saudi arabia is hosting talks about syria possibly returning to the arab league. its membership was suspected when president al-assad cracked down on protests. ukraine has rejected russian claims to have captured more than 80% of the eastern city of bakhmut. kyiv says its forces control considerably more than 20%.

the head of russia's vac nerve mercenary group says his fighters are advancing on the city. ukrainian president of volodymyr zelenskyy has condemned the alleged beheading of a ukrainian soldier by a russian fighter. video purportedly showing the killing began circulating online after it was shared by a pro-kremlin blog. rushers parliament has signed off on an overhaul of the country's conscription law. the legislation makes it harder to dodge a military call up and allows draft orders to be delivered by email. ukraine is expected to launch a spring counteroffensive and there is speculation that moscow is planning a second wave of troop mobilization. reporter: it happened very quickly. both chambers of russia's parliament fast tracked changes to the conscription law that has already be on -- already been on the table for five years.

now anyone who does not report to the military after receiving a draft notice will no longer be allowed to leave russia. >> those who repeatedly do not report for duty can have their drivers license revoked, their right to engage in real estate deals revoked, and may neither register a business, nor borrow money. reporter: but the most important new feature is that draft notices must no longer be served in person to be valid, as was earlier the case. other delivery methods are now permitted, such as by registered mail or electronically via the general civil register, with which most russians have an account. >> as a result, it is no longer possible to ignore a draft notice. these changes mainly affect compulsory military service.

but it does not rule out expanding it to those who might be mobilized in the future. reporter: some members of parliament say this is not a new wave of mobilization. but president vladimir putin has not signed a law ending last year's partial mobilization. formal mobilizations could happen again at any time. human rights activists believe that the amended law aims to augment russia's professional army. according to media reports, the defense ministry plans to recruit up to 400,000 young men as professional soldiers. >> the defense ministry does not seem to be planning a new active mobilization. instead and wants to recruit more citizens as professional soldiers. that is, the men drafted to compulsory military service are probably the targeted individual server -- individuals.

it is likely there will be more cases in which draftees will be forced to sign contracts with the army. reporter: one more new feature, a standardized conscripts register with personal data on drafty's health and more. russian members of parliament maintain all of these changes would not apply to the current conscription wave which ends in mid july. brent: our correspondent juri rescheto has been working in riga since russia closed down our moscow bureau. he explains how the new law fits into moscow's wider war effort. juri: when pressure is preparing the whole of society with a long war, the army ultimately needs more soldiers. many conscripts will later be offered contracts with the regular professional army in order to increase the number of soldiers at the front. the kremlin said any conscript

could sign such a contract and the russian minister proposed to allow conscripts to participate in peacekeeping missions. just a reminder, the war in ukraine is not called a war in russia but a special military operation. from the point of view of russian propaganda, it is a peacekeeping mission, at least that is what the russian media tells their people every day. brent: that was dw's juri rescheto. here in germany, government plans to legalize cannabis are taking shape. the country's health minister says that possessing and growing small amounts of cannabis for private use will be allowed. if parliament passes the proposals, distribution will be handled by consumer associations. a five-year test phase will limit the cell of cannabis products to a few outlets. the country's health minister says the aim is to protect the public. >> we want to prevent cannabis leading to the consumption of

harder drugs. we want to better protect the youth. we want to fight the black-market. we want to push back drug-related crime. we want to get a grip on the steadily increasing toxicity of the products. in other words, we do not want to create a problem, but contribute to the resolution of an unsolved problem. brent: that was germany's health minister speaking there. our political correspondent simon young told me more about these reforms. simon: yeah brent, acquiring and possessing up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption will be legal, as well as growing a maximum of three cannabis plants at home. so that is the sort of headline. the government is also proposing allowing nonprofit associations, essentially cannabis clubs,

which would sort of cultivate plants and distribute cannabis to ehri -- to their members. the government says this is all good, it helps consumers, it will make things safer, it will fight the shady dealings on the black-market and so on. political opposition, particularly the conservative opposition, is much more critical. they say this kind of legalization opens up the potential for harms, particularly to young people. but i think there will be quite a few people around germany that will be happy that in future, smoking a joint with a few friends at home will no longer be a criminal offense. brent: the original plan by the government was for a much wider and more extensive liberalization, if you will. why is that not happening? simon: well, yeah. the government's original plans

were much more ambitious. for instance, they included the sale of cannabis through licensed shops, but i think the legal experts have looked at this and decided that it is not going to be compatible with eu rules, and with some other international agreements. for instance, the agreement which effectively got rid of national borders in much of the european union, that actually explicitly requires governments to prevent the export and distribution and so on of cannabis. and of course germany and its nine neighbors are all members of that zone, so that would be a difficulty. so this slimmed down plan, i think, might pas the -- pass the rules better. as you mentioned, there will be a pilot project in a few places to sell cannabis through licensed shops.

that will be studied, and then once they have scientific data, maybe they will try and introduce that part of the original plan at a later date. brent: what is the situation across europe in terms of legalization? is germany taking the lead here? simon: well, in europe you have some weed-friendly countries. people think of the netherlands in particular. but those original plans of the german government went much further than even the arrangements in the netherlands. what we're going to have now, what has been announced today, is rather less ambitious. of course there are different arrangements in the different european countries, and quite a few of them have allowed cannabis for medical purposes for quite some time. i think another thing to say is that things are changing on this, and it's increasingly being seen as a public health question rather than a question of criminal wrongdoing. brent: our political

correspondent simon young with the latest on the legalizing of cannabis here. simon, thank you. nasa is looking for people it describes with elite levels of patience and understanding to test this newly unveiled mars simulator. volunteers will live there for a year to test future missions to earth's neighbor. located in texas, the 3d printing structure comes with four bedrooms, a gym, and lots of red sand. reporter: the facility includes a replica of the martian environment. not surprisingly, the ground is covered in red sand, and scattered around the room are other pieces of equipment astronauts would likely use, including a solar panel, a weather station, and a treadmill, to simulate the long trips outside astronauts would take. there is also a brick making machine. >> part of the activities for a

mars mission would be, besides the geology and exploration, building and maintaining that infrastructure for life on mars, for human life on mars. so, for humans to come and future missions to come, they want to start building out that infrastructure. reporter: the astronauts would then go through an airlock before entering the living quarters. dubbed the mars do an alpha, the 160 square meter home includes four bathrooms, two bedrooms, an exercise room, a medical bay, and an area to grow crops like lettuce and tomatoes. the members of the first experiment team have yet to be named, but nasa says the astronauts chosen will likely have back grounds in science, engineering, and math. they will also be under constant surveillance to see how they handle the environment. >> besides isolation, confinement, and the sheer distance, would be things like

being able to get along. when you are in a small habitat with three other people, that can wear on you over time. we have different experiments. reporter: those experiments include testing the crew's response to stressful situations, such as restricting water availability and equipment failures. nasa hopes the simulations here on earth will allow the united states to send people to mars in the next decade. brent: the top two seeds at tennis's monte carlo masters have made it into the round of 16. stefanos tsitsipas is hunting a record time title, while novak djokovic claimed what he described as an ugly win. reporter: novak djokovic went into this tournament as the top seed, but had not won a match in over a month. after receiving a first round bye, the qualifier pushed him to

a tiebreak in the first set, which djokovic won by a fine margin. even though the world number one then claimed the second set 6-2, his russian opponent still put him through his paces with rallies like this one. djokovic had not been able to attend the miami open and indian wells masters due to his covid vaccination status. but here, he shook off the rust to move into the last 16, albeit without dazzling against an opponent who considers him his idol. >> you are the best. i hope to play more matches with the. >> you can call it an ugly tennis win for me today. i have not played my best, particularly in the first set. i kind of expected that was going to happen. reporter: fellow heavy hitter stefanos tsitsipas had an easier time in his match. the tournament's defending champion is aiming to become the third player to win the monte

carlo title three times in a row. his second round opponent injured his wrist early on, and was then unable to continue beyond 22 minutes, with tsititipas comfortably leaving -- leading 4-1 at the time. frustration, but a welcome break now awaits the greek second seed before his last 16 match on thursday. brent: you're watching "dw news." after a short break i will be back to take you through "the day." stick around. we'll be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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one shock over ukrainian video appearing to show the decapitation of a soldier life. by then in dublin as he visits ireland. his first stop was in belfast where he urged people of the british province of northern ireland to grass the