a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq and he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and hosted an interface meeting where you condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together for peace also coming up. on large scenes another day of anger and on unrest as type 2 protesters clashed once more with police and yang gone as outrage builds over the killing of a teenage demonstrator. uncle fairly welcome to the program it's day 2 of pope francis' historic visit to iraq he's aiming to rally the country's minority christian community whose numbers have dropped drastically after years of war and persecution the pontiff began the day in the holy city of najaf where he had a private meeting with one of iraq's most powerful shiite leaders grand ayatollah ali al sistani. a meeting that was months in the making every detail carefully planned after a photo op the 2 men spoke privately for 40 minutes the ayatollah reportedly telling the pope he also believes christians should be

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of the story visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and hosted an interfaith meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes turn courage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together for peace also coming up in large cities and another day of anger and on the arrest and tycoon protesters clashed once more with police and yang gone and reach builds over the killing of a teenage demonstrator plus. the skids because we don't 2 deal with a. good cook with these tunnels on the run the hunt continues in south africa for some crocodiles that have the good from the breeding farm. and we welcome to the program it's day 2 of pope francis historic visit to iraq he's aiming to rally the country's minority christian community whose numbers have dropped drastically after years of war and persecution the pontiff began the day in the holy city of new jobs where he had a private meeting with one of iraq's most powerful shiite leaders grand ayatollah ali al sistani. a meeting that was mo

when he does shiite in iraq under and the world take note. later arrived in the ancient city of who are known as the birthplace of abraham the biblical patriarch revered by christians muslims and jews it was a fitting place for an interfaith meeting at which francis underscored his message . peace does not demand winners or losers but rather the brothers and sisters who for all the misunderstandings and heart of the past are journeying from conflict to unity. after that there were joyous scenes as the pontiff arrived to celebrate mass in baghdad. on sunday pope francis will see firsthand the destruction left behind by the terrorist islamic state when he visits the group's former stronghold in the northern iraqi city of mosul. and we go to south africa now where there are crocodiles on the loose police and conservation officers are searching for an unknown number of crocs after they escaped from a breeding farm earlier in the week and they have gone into a nearby river and have told people living in the area to be vigilant but not to panic. it

senate republican also coming up on the show a historic meeting between pope francis and iraq's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah sistani a christian and muslim leaders came together to make a plea for peace in the holy city of new jobs. and the darkest days of the pandemic in brazil an aggressive a virus various sweeps through the country of presidential year both to narrow down place the straps. low in claridge's and welcome to the show the united states senate has approved a want to point 9 trillion dollar coronavirus relief plan after some 24 hours of debate democrats in the chamber voted to adopt the plan without any republican support and includes $1400.00 in and direct payments to. taxpayers and an extension of jobless aid the house of representatives is expected to approve the legislation next week. after the senate vote president joe biden urged house lawmakers to move quickly to pass the bill saying it would provide desperately needed relief by pass an american rescue plan will have heeded the voice of the american people not ignored their voices by passing this plan would have d

now he had this opportunity to meet with a leading cleric among the shiite.the catholic church. but certainly it is important. i'm looking down below right now. the pope's convoy is leaving irbil at the moment and heading to the airport and back to baghdad for what so far has been a trip very, very well received by iraqis regardless of their religion. fareed? >> let me ask you about that last point you made. ayatollah al sistani is very careful with whom he meets. i know this because i was scheduled to meet with him once. i think it was in 2003 or '04, right after the iraq war, and at the last minute i got a message saying he will not meet with an american. for some reason he thought that perhaps i had a non-american passport or something like that. he's very careful about the symbolism of who he meets with. is this a sign that that kind of ethnic chauvinism and religious nationalism that seemed to consume iraq for so many years is waning and that people are nostalgic for that multi-ethnic iraq that existed? >> i don't think they ever were opposed to it, by a

a message of unity on the 2nd day of his the story visit to iraq he meant with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and hosted an interfaith meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's christian and muslim communities to work together for peace also coming up another day of anger and unrest and young long and tycoon protesters clashed once more with police and yang gong as outrage builds over the killing of a teenage demonstrator. comical fairly he's welcome to the program it's day 2 of pope francis' historic visit to iraq he's aiming to rally the country's minority christian community whose numbers have drastically dropped after years of war and persecution the pontiff began the day in the holy city of new jobs where he had a private meeting with one of iraq's most powerful shiite leaders grand ayatollah ali al sistani. a meeting that business months in the making every detail carefully. planned after a photo op the 2 men spoke privately for 40 minutes the ayatollah reportedly telling the pope he also believes christian

sports stadium this after his unprecedented meeting yesterday with one of the world's most powerful shiite leaders grand ayatollah ali al sistani the pair came together on the 2nd day of the pope's historic visit and issued an appeal for religious tolerance. a meeting months in the making every detail had been carefully planned after a photo op the 2 men spoke privately for 40 minutes the ayatollah reportedly told the pope that he also believes christians in iraq should be able to live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other iraqis it was a powerful statement from sustain he rarely makes his opinions known when he does shiites in iraq and around the world take note. later. in the ancient city of poor known as the birthplace of abraham the biblical patriarch to feared by christians muslims and jews it was a fitting place for an interfaith meeting at which francis underscored his message . peace does not demand winners or losers but rather the brothers and sisters who for all the misunderstandings and heart of the past are journeying from conflict to unity. after they were joyous scenes

meeting. >> the extraordinary significance of the pope's visit down in the south, the shiite cleric,ah, one of the most influential shiite leaders in the world, not the first time these two men had met it, the first time a pope has ever met senior shia leaders. it place in his modest home that he's rented for decades. it took place in a city and country absolutely devastated by sectarian violence in 2003 when the us invaded iraq. having been there is a journalist during the beijing watch, this meeting play out, the pope traveled to the birthplace of abraham, the father of christians, muslims, and jews where he condemned religiously motivated violence where faith was born from the land of our father abraham, let us affirm god is merciful in the greatest blasphemy is to profane his name by hating our brothers and sisters. the final stop the pope visited a christian church, one of the world's oldest and was particularly devastated in what has enveloped iraq for two decades. there are 300,000 christians in iraq today, a fifth of the number there was before the invasion. tomorrow or sunda

2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he hosted an interfaith meeting to talk to the country's top shiite cleric the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together for pace also coming up more on rest in myanmar security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters this week sort of the deadliest day since the military coup began and the u.n. is urging action against the violence. plus all it seems u.k. and e.u. trade tensions threaten to undermine the brics a deal there are fears he could disrupt the delicate balance of pace on the island of ireland. i'm rebecca riches welcome to the program it's day 2 of pope francis's historic visit to iraq he's ending to rally the country's minority christian community whose numbers have dropped significantly after years of war and persecution the pope began the day in the holy city of najaf where he had a private meeting with one of iraq's most powerful figures in shia islam the grand ayatollah ali sistani. a meeting that was months in the making every detail carefully planned after a photo op the 2 men s

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and post it and interface meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's christian and muslim communities to work together for peace also coming up. brazil's covert 19 crisis takes a turn for the worse a new virus variants surges through the country leading to record fatalities well president also naro continues to downplay the threat. and another day of anger and unrest and myanmar's. protesters clashed once more with police and gang gone as outrage builds over the killing of a teenage demonstrator. a mickle for a while come to the program it's day 2 a folk france's historic visit to iraq he's aiming to rally the country's minority christian community whose numbers have dropped drastically after years of war and persecution and the holy city of najaf he had a private meeting with one of iraq's most powerful shiite leaders grand ayatollah ali al sistani. a meeting that was months in the making. every detail ca

air bill following the papal visit high on the pope met with one of the most powerful thinkers and shiite islam grand ayatollah ali al sistani why was as meeting so important he was extremely important because as you say these words powerful shortly but not soon iraq iran that whole middle east so i think the meeting of them to give a joint message of unity armas streaming importantly and also signals a lot that's cheerful as to you know to actually go along with that with their own christian brethren of iraq sort of a very strong message was additionally the arts for a very private man growing makes political statements or a few of them so the fact that he came out and said so. i think it's really really really powerful so several times since his arrival already pope francis has denounced extremism and violence in the name of religion but realistically what can he achieve on this trip as far as interfaith dialogue goes. i think one of communitarian level you know social level one of these theories very powerful because it suits you but essentially the christians you've been persecuted ye

when he does shiite in iraq under and the world take note. later. in the ancient city of who are known as the birthplace of the biblical patriarch revered by christians muslims and jews it was a fitting place for an interfaith meeting at which francis underscored his message . peace does not demand winners or losers but rather brothers and sisters who for all the misunderstandings and hurt of the past are journeying from conflict to unity. after that there were joyous scenes as the pontiff arrived to celebrate mass in baghdad. on sunday pope francis will see firsthand the destruction left behind by the terrorist islamic state when he visits the group's former stronghold in the northern iraqi city of mosul. well brazil is seeing a major surge in covert 1000 cases and a more contagious coronavirus variant spreads rapidly throughout the country this past week the national register to record numbers of daily fatalities hospitals are on the brink of collapse and health officials are warning the death toll could reach 3000 people a day if serious action i

revered and usually reclusive grand ayatollah ali al sistani the spiritual leader of iraq's majority shiite muslim community during the visit 90 year old houses danny stated that christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other iraqis iraq which has a population of 40000000 is home to somewhere between 20300000 christians the number was closer to 1500000 before the us invasion of the country in 2003 in recent years many churches have been destroyed as christians in iraq have been targeted by isis and continue to face discrimination by the shiite muslim majority . while 1000 celebrated the pope's visit there were some who were critical of the timing of the trip citing the global pandemic and security issues the pope responded to the concerns on its way home from iraq double after 3 months of being in a prison and i felt a little like a prisoner this is for me like reliving reliving because touching the church and touching the holy people of god touching all peoples a priest is a priest man to serve and to be in touch with the pope francis and his entourage were back sedated

of his historic visit to iraq he hosted an interfaith meeting out to talks with the country's top shiite cleric the pontiff types to encourage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together a 5th case also coming up more on rest in myanmar security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at protest is this weeks old.

other shiite militia in iraq ready to do that?are the terrorists, the islamic terrorists prepared to do that? or other waiting to see whether the united states really does make good and withdraw its forces from africa which witches be a horrific idea. trump was even talking about shutting down this entire drone bass which cost us about half a billion dollars to build just to get all the american forces out. that would be a horrific way of treating red lines. we have no idea yet help biden is going to deal with that. >> yes, you are right. we're sort of guessing. in your book you take on this concept that i can you like the students of red lines particularly french political scientists, bruno come have identified at least five different reasons they fail and six ways to make them work. they feel larger when the basic structure of crossing them are not clear. i'm thinking, is a clear with the iranians? they attacked a saudi oil facility and nothing happened. they hit a million dollar plus drone and nothing happened. that freak at ev

welcome on day 2 of his visit to iraq pope francis has held talks with the country's influential shiite muslim cleric the grand ayatollah. a historic meeting took place at home in the holy city. for the talks. around 40 minutes but a few white doves were released. underscoring his message of peaceful coexistence between. the. there has dwindled after years of war and persecution the christians remain hopeful a show of solidarity from sistan e could help secure their place in iraq. for more on this i'm joined by religious affairs correspondent martin gak martin what's the pope's schedule for the rest of the day. today the pope will be flying to the city of the site of the ancient city for which according to the bible it's the birthplace of abraham prophet you are the 3 major monotheistic religions and you will be holding. into religious ceremony there. so leading to tomorrow's mass in the north of the country which is expected to gather a few 1000 people. martin as we mentioned earlier the pope had a meeting with the grand ayatollah ali al sistani give us a sense of why this meeting was

pope francis meets one of the most senior clerics in shiite islam on the 1st papal visit to the pontiff is calling for an end to religious extremism . and we take a closer look at an international program helping countries in africa to vaccinate some of their most vulnerable against covert 19. and a warm welcome to our viewers around the world i'm michel oku the u.n. special envoy has called for a robust international response after this week's violence against protesters she made the remarks during a closed door meeting of the u.n. security council in new york but the council's unlikely to pass a resolution on miramar because of china and russia's veto wielding seats more than 50 people have been killed over the past 7 days as protesters keep up their calls for a return to democracy. oh. the march for democracy purse of years in me and maher despite brutal crackdowns by the military authorities. demonstrations are regularly dispersed by tear gas the violence has escalated in the last week with police making mass arrests and adopting more lethal force. with radio free asia published thi

the pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but who also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. well we leave you now with some winter sports scenes we're heading to the swiss alps where women and men accustomed to catching ocean winds and riding ocean waves tried snow instead the athletes came together as part of something called the x. project there was no real problem with social distancing they were outside of course most of them were math stuff anyway the extreme sports included snow wind surfing speed riding snowboarding and snow kiting. up next on the w. dock filming india's no maps i'm sarah kelly in berlin thanks for watching. different. women are in charge. archipelago has had a dream or goal system for centuries. do. differently.

welcome on day 2 of his visit to the iraq pope francis has held talks with the country's influential shiite muslim cleric the grand ayatollah ali sistani the historic meeting took place home in the holy city of. inside for the talks which lasted around 40 minutes but a few white doves were released as the pope underscoring his message of peaceful coexistence between muslims and christians in iraq the christian community there has to win gold after years of war and persecution the christians who remain. the hope of a show of solidarity from sistan e could help secure their place in iraq. for more on this i'm joined by d.w. religious affairs correspondent martin jacques martin what's the pope's schedule for the rest of the day he will be moving around the area and he's being flown. he's being flown to or where he will be meeting there will be an interesting service. sort of the biggest sort of the biggest event in the next for day 6 picked it to be the mass. in the north which is meant to be supposed to attract a few 1000 people the pope of course had a meeting with the grand ayatollah ali al

iraqis it's a powerful statement from sistan he who rarely makes his opinions known when he does shiites in iraq and around the world take note. later the pope arrived in the ancient city of moore known as the birthplace of abraham the biblical patriarch revered by christians muslims and jews a fitting place for an interfaith meeting where francis underscored his message for . peace does not demand the winners or losers but rather brothers and sisters who for all the misunderstandings and hurts of the past are journeying from conflict to unity. in praying for peace in the middle east the pope singled out syria ravaged by a decade of civil war and he condemned religious extremists who use terrorism to achieve their aims. on sunday pope francis will see firsthand the destruction left behind by the terrorist islamic state when he visits the group's former stronghold in the northern iraqi city of mosul. i'm joined now by journalist owen holdaway who's in iraq following the pope's visit oh and the pope has met with the grand ayatollah ali sistani why is that meeting so significant i think bec

the security and the coronavirus on saturday the 84 year old pontiff will meet with iraq's leading shiite cleric. sistan e in the city of najaf. that lines this hour coming up next on al-jazeera india's lady called the program. the. gunmen. take it. you're. often sol is the barber and when i'm home with. the head of then a lot of the attendants at. the same i love new station of me have the public even him on board the other. so he give me the more the other hang on say. that's when they'll be an out of up make me the league out there. got my lovelies vision mamdani out or do it caught up it made me want to sustain life. i say he prepared or nearly will be up and i gotta say at the end which we are the king of school getting. out and down getting your skull. is 2nd in command at the women police station in sunny perth. she's been a police officer for 20 years. give man do minimal. move on give me jump our captain midweek nation they have one command as they made it they become got a phone so which a child going to also begin. one of their dump some 600 minutes lost a lot of. them with t.n

he also had a closed-door meeting with a top shiite cleric. would be a turning point in relations between christians and shiite militias. now back to "dateline." >>> august 6th, 1969, bobby beausoleil was in jail, accused of murdering gary hinman. charlie manson was afraid bobby might talk, implicate him and the family. but then an idea. a crazy, horrible idea. >> they're watching some old james cagney movie where he's in jail for these murders and they do these copycat murders to prove he's not the one. >> and that's when charlie manson decided to commit murder so similar to what they did to hinman that the cops would have to think the real killers were still on the loose. and if they thought that, they'd release bobby beausoleil. but the key to these copycat killings, manson decided, was to find a high-profile victim. >> if it's somebody famous and the newspapers and the tv are making a big deal out of it, then it will work. they'll have to let bobby out. >> free bobby and maybe touch off helter skelter in the bargain by framing the black pa

wasn't the first time the two men met her it was the first time a pope has ever met such a senior shiiteistani's modest home one that he is rented for decades. it took place in an city and country that is pronounced lay devastated by sectarian violence since 2003 where the u.s. invaded iraq but on a personal note i have to confess having been with u.s. troops as a journalist in that nation it was deeply moving to watch this meeting play out. from there the pub travel to the birthplace of abraham the father of christians muslims and where he held an interfaith meeting that condemned religiously motivated violence saying quote the land of our father abraham does affirm that god is merciful and the greatest blasphemy is to proclaim his name by hating our brothers and sisters. on his final stop the pope visited the christian church. the christian community is one of the world's oldest and take the lead devastated by bloodshed developed in iraq. much of the last two decades. they are about 300,000 christians in iraq today, about one fifth of the number that was there before the invasion. sund

for up to 10000 people in a stadium there it's been a very busy day for him yesterday he met with shiite leader ayatollah ali sistani and today he is now addressing a christian community so a big big message of what we've been hearing from the pope is really around religious unity as well as also holding iraq to account as it tries to rebuild in the aftermath of so many years of war is the. my. my apologies we are still having technical problems there as pope francis addresses people in the church of the immaculate conception in the city of current we are working on those technical difficulties and will try to bring you that order as soon as possible well earlier pope francis was in mosul today here that was once home to a vibrant christian community as well before that city was destroyed by isis fighters efforts are now underway to rebuild it here's the mona fulton's report. stone by stone morsels christian heritage is being restored but will it be enough to make the city's christians come back this complex of 4 churches was partly destroyed during the war rift i saw 4 years ago now une

christian groups in iraq and in syria have seen has been basically coming from from she shiite groups although of course sunni sunni terrorists themselves are an issue so this is a very long very long planned meeting there were there were many attempts or so it's reported in general sistani had not agreed to meet with with essentially members of the vatican or people i mean but he agreed to meet with the pope so he's really momentous a momentous occasion and now pope the pope has denounced that extremism and violence that you were just mentioning any violence in the name of religion and cold for communities to work together but what can he realistically a change as far as interfaith dialogue. well i mean the the soup borat and in the open supporting the statement of you know in the statement of. basically regular regularization of relations and then dorismond to be it's a life with full rights and obligations for christians in the region we danes shia communities are in the midst of communities of course on the part of dunces a major major development over usefully i mean the question

. >> bahrain, where shiites and sunnis live side-by-side, is becoming the latest hotspot for financeand technology. tensions are easing and changes on the way. easing and changes on the way. while the government boasts of harmonious social relations, gaping inequalities and deep social scars and a different picture. >> it is really difficult to find a job. it is like a nightmare. >> can bahrain come together and stay together? >> the forgotten revúú ■ñ■ñ■ñ?ñ 03/09/21 03/09/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the officers took a great man, a great father, a great brother. he loved his daughter. she meant the world to him. and we will never get that back. amy: black lives matte

france's holds an historic meeting with iraq's top shiite cleric and calls for unity while visiting the ancient city bus of. a candlelight vigil in may and march remember the dozens of people killed in protests against the military and shops banks and petrol stations looted in senegal after 3 days of violence over the detention of an opposition leader. in sport back on top of the blunders league after a thrilling win over brushwood dortmund to go into down a robot. and secure a 42 victory. we begin in the united states where president joe biden's $1.00 trillion dollar covert relief bill has just cleared a major hurdle after a marathon session lasting more than twice. for hours the senate has approved a plan despite every republican voting against the bill which includes $1400.00 stimulus checks for millions of americans now returns to the democrat democrat controlled house before the president can sign it into law and the aid money can be dispersed so the millions of americans who need it my cameras following a story and joins us live now from washington a major step forward for one of

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and hosted an interfaith meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together for peace also coming up on marcy's another day of anger and on the arrest and tycoon protesters clashed once more with police in yangon gone.

rose to prominence after demanding more rights for the shiite minority in the sunni ruled saudi kingdom he was shocked and arrested in 2012 during anti-government protests that erupted as part of the arab spring because. i'm not i. but the charismatic religious leader was known by his followers as a peaceful reformist who opposed violence. saudi arabia executed 47 people today its largest mass executions since 1900 saudi arabia's government carried out the beheadings are 37 people today the kingdom's largest mass execution since 20161 of the bodies and the severed head were put on public display as a warning. that . this is the largest in fact a mass execution of arabs in saudi history. it's a big folly to rely on so-called international organizations and governments because the saudi government the way it is it is because as american and british support and they go on tours of security the saudi government feels secure and emboldened by the support of. mr vice president the cia has concluded that the leader of saudi arabia directed the murder of us based journalist. the state departmen

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his the story visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and those days and interfaith meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's christian and muslim community.

insurgency and not -- that held sway over any parts of the country held by russia's military and a ransom shiite he is faved to maintain power after presidential election later this year. his tent is located in a large camp or internally displaced syrians. italy was the last bastion in the country. forces pounded the area for year from april 2019. during the assault, a missile struck killing seven of hi family members. his grandchildren are all he has left now, providing someomfort to a man who has lost everything else. katty: imagine going through all of that and looking after 12 grandchildren as well. amateur historians in france have made one of the biggest ever archaeological discoveries from the first world war. it's the side of a german tunnel on the western front. in may 1917, german soldiers were trapped inside the tunnel during the french offensive. they died agonizing death by suffocation or suicide. only three people survived. our correspondent hugh schofield has taken a look at the place. >> these words had a terrible secret. it was once a busy german mind to the long-lost entrance t

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and host it and interface meeting where he condemned the religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's christian and muslim communities to.

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiiteleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and toasted an interface meeting where you condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes to encourage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together.

during his three-day visit, the pope will meet iraqi officials and a top shiite cleric.the pope will also visit the ancient city in the birth place of biblical patriarch abraham. this visit comes just days after an attack on u.s. airbase. we'll be right back. >>> the hospital notified eligible people to come on down right away. workers gave the vaccines to front line workers in the bay view and people over 65 in visitacion valley and no doses were wasted. >>> a follow-up on the damage in big basin state park from the czu fire in santa cruz county. flames destroyed a large segment of the park. >> now it won't reopen for at least a year. "sf gate" reports recently they got a tour and they say they saw some still smoldering debris, which scientists call completely normal, after a wildfire that size, but in this case, it's not helping that we've had such an unusually dry winter. the fire is still considered fully contained. >>> 4:56, and standing ovation. this is for a newborn baby and his mother. [ cheers and applause ] >> look at that when maria advantage was four months p

he says he is honored to have been received by the top shiite cleric. the pontiff is heading back to rome. this is after his first trip to iraq ever. more after the break. how do i use better than bouillon? i just add a spoonful ...to stir frys... ...sauces... just whisk it in... ...brush it on ...sauté it. it adds a "cooked all day taste" ...that doesn't take all day. better than bouillon. don't just make it. make it better i embrace getting older. i'm so much more confident now. but i don't love that as i age, i could develop gum issues. new colgate renewal reverses early gum damage, for a beautiful, revitalized smile. i can't wait to see what comes next! reverse early gum damage with new colgate renewal. >>> today is international women's day. nbc bay area is celebrating the achievements of women while hoping to raise awareness about gender equality. cierra johnson has the story of three young women joining a group dedicated to leadership and equality. >> reporter: for these young women it wasn't a matter of if but when. >> when we found out we were

guarantee equal rights for all on saturday he's to hold an unprecedented meeting with iraq's top shiite muslim cleric and despite the pandemic huge crowds are expected but he celebrates mass. the pilgrim of peace as pope francis called him self is aware of the risks he's taking made an ongoing pandemic and regional conflict. i'm happy to be making trips again. but he is not traveling alone he's protected by one of the largest security deployments in recent iraqi history $10000.00 personnel by some estimates including special forces 24 hour drone surveillance undercover intelligence officers in addition to the pope's own bodyguard entourage. it's the 1st visit by a pope to iraq and comes just 2 days after a rocket attack that seemed to put the trip in doubt his 1st remarks in baghdad acknowledge the difficult days most iraqis have had to endure without a military escort. over the past several decades iraq has suffered the disastrous effects of wars the scourge of terrorism and sectarian conflicts often grounded in a fundamentalism incapable of accepting the peaceful coexistence of differ

pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but he'll also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. so much as we heard the report many a different variants of christianity today in iraq what does what role does the head of the catholic church really playful all those different christians in iraq today. well i mean every one of these every one of these denominations has been basically under enormous pressure so i mean on the one hand even though we can talk about different communities and different different and i mean nations you know for essentially the forces that have been bingeing regularly over the ease of christian practice in iraq of course what they see is mostly just because christians. what that means is that the pool coming to the area is not really just sort of something that will be sort of the standing of got the legs in the region or in the country but it will actually go beyond that and i think that it can directly it's seen as presenting the case for the christian community as a w

guarantee equal rights for all on saturday he's to hold an unprecedented meeting with the country's top shiite muslim cleric and despite the pandemic huge crowds are expected when he celebrates mass. the pilgrim of peace as pope francis called him self is aware of the risks he's taking made an ongoing pandemic and regional conflict. i'm happy to be making trips again. but he is not traveling alone he's protected by one of the largest security deployments in recent iraqi history $10000.00 personnel by some estimates including special forces 24 hour drone surveillance undercover intelligence officers in addition to the pope's own bodyguard entourage. it's the 1st visit by a pope to iraq and comes just 2 days after a rocket attack that seemed to put the trip in doubt his 1st remarks in baghdad acknowledge the difficult days most iraqis have had to endure without a military escort. over the past several decades iraq has suffered the disastrous effects of wars the scourge of terrorism and sectarian conflicts often grounded in a fundamentalism incapable of accepting the peaceful coexistence of diffe

the pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but who also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. some sports news for you now and of the term but it's a club shot to have been playing in the top division for nearly 3 decades but this year it looks like they'll be relegated it's been a chaotic period the club's new coach is their 5th it's the season. dimitrios promotes his has been unveiled as the new head coach and the 42 year old's task is clear say shall go from relegation definitely a tall order. i see salt as a great challenge i'm really looking forward to the job and will try to channel more of the energy and power this club usually exudes into the team so we can then show that on the pitch. schult has new man gained his coaching experience in the lower division in germany but as a player promotes this made nearly 150 appearances in the bundesliga he's played at various clubs shoko only managed one victory under his predecessor their 1st all season now the aim is simple when. the voice and.

iraq's shiite militias, backed by iran, has stepped up attacks on the u.s. coalition recently, firing missiles at an air force base last month that killed a contractor and injured a u.s. soldier. in retaliation for that attack, president biden ordered his first air strikes against the militias and issued this warning to iran. >> you can't act with impunity. be careful. >> reporter: for the iranian-backed militias, this is the man they seek to avenge, captain soleimani, killed in an air strike last year ordered by president trump. he took action after militias launched repeated attacks on u.s. troops. today, iran may be testing the resolve of president biden, provoking him, even after he signaled he'll talk to iran about a nuclear deal. and this morning's attack comes just two days before pope francis is due to become the first pope to visit iraq. he asked people this morning to pray for the success of a visit to areas once controlled by isis that is fraught with danger. a threat that for u.s. troops in iraq is daily and deadly. a choice for president biden i

the detention of an opposition leader pope francis holds an historic meeting with iraq iraq's top shiite cleric and calls for unity while visiting the ancient city of or bus oh it. can live vigil in me and maher to remember the dozens of people killed in protests against the military. the u.s. senate has approved a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief package by just one vote that followed a marathon session of debates negotiations and amendment proposals last thing more than 24 hours well it does take president joe biden one step closer to delivering his 1st legislative victory the bill includes $1400.00 stimulus checks for millions of americans more than $350000000000.00 in aid for cities and states plus 100 $30000000000.00 for schools the vote played out largely along party lines no republicans backed the bill now goes back to the house again before president biden can sign it into law and before that to aid money can finally be dispersed well mike hanna is live for us now in washington so president biden closed to delivering on one of his that major legislative priorities mike bu

coexistence but francis was also in not jeff where is osama bin generator portie mitt iraq's top shiite cleric. under strict security pope francis enters not just one of the holiest cities for shia muslims another historic 1st for the leader of the catholic church as he met iraq's grand ayatollah ali al sistani is a reclusive leader who is rarely seen in public he's iraq's most revered cleric and his proclamations have influenced many since the 2003 u.s. invasion the plight of those being persecuted in the region including palestinians and syrians that discussed. short the point of equal rights for christians in iraq and peaceful coexistence the meeting between the pope and grand ayatollah ali sistani is symbolic and significant although the majority of the religious authority says it plays no role in politics has played a pivotal part in iraq recently whether it was urging people to take part in politics in elections whether it was to tell them to pick up arms against isis and more recently in the favor of the protestors clerics in najaf say the pope's visit has highlighted iraq's cent

pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but he'll also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. for more on this. religious affairs alice martin and why is the pope visiting iraq now of all times. well i mean i think that most of the work attention has been captured by you know the media see if the if the current are covered crisis in some of the major issues that the vatican press in keeping tabs on and falling through the fallen through the wayside one of the reasons why the pope travels is very often to highlight or to refocus attention on the ticklish tension by and large. but i think that this is the recent i mean you know the the numbers of the christian community in iraq have you know reduced in really radical ways i mean it was a 1.41.5000000 strong community among the different denominations and we are now we're talking about probably 250000 or so in those numbers are doing doing so you know in a way i mean the sites of the migration of one of the oldest christian communities in the wo

delivers a message of unity on the 2nd day of his historic visit to iraq he met with the country's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani and hosted an interfaith meeting where he condemned religious extremism the pontiff hopes john courage iraq's muslim and christian communities to work together for peace also coming up. now on mars seems another day of anger and unrest and protesters clashed with police as brain to mount so where is the.

the pope's visit is supposed to send a message of support but who also meet with the head of iraq's shiite muslim community sending a different message that the different faiths can get along. now to some winter sports scenes coming to you from the eastern swiss alps where women and men accustomed to catching ocean winds and riding ocean waves try snow instead and these athletes came together as part of something called the x. project there was no real problem with social distancing of course most of them were mass stuff anyway big stream sport includes snow windsurfing speed riding snowboarding of course and snowkiting. a quick reminder of the top stories we're following for you the biggest event on china's political calendar is underway the national people's congress the event is taking place with china outpacing other major economies after bringing the coronavirus pandemic largely under control china is shifting its focus from fighting the virus back to its longer term economic goals beijing has also outlined electoral reforms that will tighten its grip on hong kong. up next pope franci