we have had so little from aung san suu kyi.t theirjudicial case, thing she said, really, was to pre—empt their judicial case, she said they had broken the law. however, i think the message coming from her department now will be we have let the legal process take its course. we haven't interfered with that. and now we have been in a position to look at this again, and we have been saying, look, these are reporters who were doing theirjobs, and all things considered, they should not be in this prison. so i think that will be the line the aung san suu kyi government will be looking to take. just to be clear, this is a massacre of the government admitted happened. yes, i mean, the story at the heart of this, mike, is an incredible piece ofjournalistic work. ten men were murdered in rakhine state at the heart of the rohingya crisis. we know that in 201710 men were executed. these two reporters from reuters got to the heart of this, they got eyewitnesses, they went up there, they got real evidence on the ground, and they then put for

this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon.rk a turning point in myanmar‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. earlier, i spoke to kayleigh long, who used to work with wa lone, at the myanmar times. i asked her is she expected the two journalists‘ release. well, i mean, it has been a case that has had an unparalleled amount of international pressure on it. i think that by this stage, after the appeal with the supreme court was shot down, that was the last ditch legal route. it is the right result. they should never have been jailed in the first place. but it is great they have been released. you worked out the myanmar times. you worked with wa lone, what w

this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon.urning point in myanmar‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. joining us kuala lumpur is phil robertson, deputy director with human rights watch in asia. many thanks for your time. it is fantastic news that these two journalists are released. but when it comes down to what they were accused of. they have not been pardoned as such, it is not that they did not do anything wrong. from they did not do anything wrong. from the perspective of the myanmar government that is absolutely correct. from the perspective of the international community it is quite clear that these two are heroes and they were simply doing theirj

the government of nobel peace prize—winner aung san suu kyi has insisted it will deliver legal reformnt but still in control, is trying to jail more and more citizens. the filmmaker who called for the generals to get out of politics, the farmer who told aung san suu kyi at a public meeting that the military had grabbed his land, the newspaper editor who published reports of the latest fighting in the western rakhine state. back at this court house, this woman is taken to prison to await trial. her mother will not see her tonight. "is she really a criminal?", she asks. "how can they treat her like this? "they didn't even give me a chance to hold her." the traditional burmese performers, who now face four years behind bars for expressing how the country feels. myanmar‘s leaders of tomorrow, prisoners of today. taliban forces have said they must leave the country for any deal to be reached. it marks 100 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between pakistan and afghanistan. the ex—wife of amazon founder jeff bezos has promised to give half her fortune to charity. mackenzi

this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited for securing the pardon.lieves it could mark a turning point in myanmar's relations with theest. >> what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works. we are to help, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to bring peace and prosperity. nick: tonight the journalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embracednce again the roles they had been denied, husbands and fathers. nick beake, bbc news. jane: let's have a look at the day's other news. mikesecretary of state pompeo has visited baghdad on an unannounced trip. iraqi government sources said he met iraq's prime minister an . yet canceled a visit to germany hours before he was due to meet chancellor merkel becaus wof whe called pressing issues. german authorities have find it -- fined porsche nearly $6,000 over the diesel emissions tandal. prosecutors saidt the company had been negligent 2009 -- negligent from 2009 by failing to ensure that nitrogen oxide emissions did noh -- breach regulatio

one group claims 50 journalists n charged by aung san suu kyi's government since 2016.s have been arrested for taking part in peaceful prests and even artistic performances. our myanmar correspondent hasbe investigating. reporter: this is a comedy actav that could hlanded you in prison during the humorless military dictatorship. a satirical sketch burmese style, oft at the expense of the powers that be. but those who hoped in 2019 that the army would see the funny side were mistaken when the still powerful generals watch this show streamed live on facebook, they had the performers aested for painting the armed forces in a bad light. this morning she is going to court, accompanied by her mother and ster. they have no idea if she will be coming home tonight. >> this kind of situation is really bad. we didn't make violence. j t want to speak. we just perform in front of the people. it really shows what are people's feelings in their mind. rthis is our freedom of s reporter: but do yret it now that you have been charged? >> no, not at all. reporter: the case held up as myan

the government of nobel peace prize winner aung san suu kyi has insisted it will deliver legal reformut of government but still in control, is trying to jail more and more citizens. the filmmaker who called for the generals to get out of politics, the farmer who told aung san suu kyi at a public meeting that the military had grabbed his land, the newspaper editor who published reports of the latest fighting in the western rakhine state. back at this court house, this woman is taken to prison to await trial. her mother will not see her tonight. is she really a criminal, she asked? how can they treat her like this? they didn't even give me a chance to hold her. the traditional burmese performers, who now face four years behind bars for expressing how the country feels. myanmar's leaders of tomorrow, prisoners of today. just time to let you know about something coming up later on newsday — the leading think tank the lowy institute is releasing its second ever asia power index, ranking 25 countries in terms of power they wield in the asia—pacific region. taking into account factors such a

this british adviser to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon. point in myanmar‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. a british soldier has died after being trampled by an elephant while on an anti—poaching operation in malawi. guardsman mathew talbot, who was serving on his first deployment with the 1st battalion coldstream guards, was on a patrol when he was killed by the animal. his commanding officer described him as determined and big—hearted. a woman whose parents died when she was nine years old as a result of contaminated blood has told a public inquiry that her life was shattered by the loss. lauren palmer's father had been given infected blood products for his seve

this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon.r‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. you can read more about the case and the journalists' fight for justice and freedom on our website, bbc.com/news. in the main article, if you scroll down, you'll find a link to the original reuters investigation entitled massacre in myanmar by wa lone and jaw soe oo and their team, which won a pulitzer prize. do check it out. stay with us on bbc news, still to come. the smiling — dancing — survivor of war. we'll bring you the story of this brave young afghan boy. i, nelson rolihlahla mandela, do hereby swear to be faithful to the republic of south africa. after six years of

this british advisor to aung san suu kyi is being credited with securing the pardon.ng point in me myanmar‘s relations with the west. what i've learned from all of this is dialogue works here. if we are to help rakhine, we need to engage with the international community, the myanmar government, to really bring peace and prosperity. tonight, thejournalists who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. a woman whose parents died when she was nine years old, as a result of contaminated blood, has told a public inquiry that her life was shattered by the loss. lauren palmer's father had been given infected blood products for his severe haemophilia. he passed the virus to her mother. 0ur health correspondent sophie hutchinson reports. lauren palmer, born in 1983, a christmas day baby — the local newspaper took this picture of her with her mother and father. butjust nine years later, both her parents died of aids. i do solemnly, sincerely and truly... today

but, actually, he also does more serious things and i remember when i went to see aung san suu kyi, hese two journalists. and aung san suu kyi is someone who has suffered a lack of due process herself in her life, as someone who has fought hard for democracy. does that make it all the more disappointing then when she hasn't stood up strongly enough or done enough to support the journalists or spoken out against the... what happened to the rohingya minority? we have to give her credit, that, on this occasion, she said she would look into the lack of due process and she has and we've ended up with this presidential pardon. obviously, we hope this can be the start of a new chapter in our relations with myanmar and that same openness can apply to what's happening in the rakhine province with the rohingyas. the cause of this imprisonment was that these two reuters journalists wrote an article about what happened to the rohingyas, which obviously upset some people in authority. this story is being talked about across social media platforms. the hashtags #journalismisnotacrime and #myanmar ar

striking the new government here refers to the government led by me and mas de facto leader aung san suu kyi the nobel laureates government has no shortage of laws to use against journalists the committee to protect journalists has compiled a list of what you've called me and was anti press noles there's a twelve laws listed including the official secrets act on the rich one known and josue when prisons. for more i'm joined by done you know bastar from reporters without borders in that you had the issue pacific desk of the organization daniel good to have you with us if i can just ask you at the outset what does the release of wallowing and to mean for press freedom in myanmar. well it is a great victory for press freedom in myanmar of course we have been demanding the release of for almost a year now how because there is actually no legal grounds on which they would have been arrested and convicted. so of course this is a victory because one of the just so we are now able to walk freely and to not meet with their family again but. the movie three reasons going off and big us because they ar

international criticism and put the spotlight on myanmar state councillor and de facto leader aung san suu kyi who was already under pressure for the oppression of the reunion minority u.n. investigators said it amounted to genocide. the release of the two men comes at a time of year when it is traditional for the president to grant amnesty to prisoners to dating a back with their families but the future of press freedom in myanmar is unclear. and when we use the internet or social media aspects of our identity are often stored online on official intelligence can explore that danger in various ways some of which are morally questionable so scientists dumbstruck university here in germany are trying to teach our machines a moral code should like people know this is a bad thing to do should i kill time. yes why not the moral choice machine analyzes masses of texts written by humans and determines which combinations of words appear together most often its answers based on that analysis. make a distinction kill time or kill people that means that the machine has acquired a kind of context within a

profile preacher the monk who was charged with sedition for criticizing the country's leader aung san suu kyi supporters say that the warrant is an infringement of free speech. authorities in afghanistan say that at least 6 people have died after a suicide attack on a military academy in the capital kabul a ministry statement said that the attacker detonated his explosives after being approached by a soldier as of yet no group has claimed responsibility. and a man charged with a bombing in leone france has reportedly confessed to the crime explosion last week injured 13 people the suspected bomber a 24 year old algerian citizen was arrested along with other family members in what is being treated as a terrorist attack. more than 20 people have died in a bus crash in the southern mexican state of veracruz dozens were also injured most of the victims were catholic pilgrims on their way home to mexico city the bus burst into flames after colliding with another vehicle on a steep highway. israeli lawmakers have voted to dissolve parliament after prime minister benjamin netanyahu failed to form a

we welcome their return much of the international pressure was focused on me and miles leader aung san suu kyi and her party the national league for democracy before forming the government they campaigned for human rights and freedom of speech but throughout the case they refused to speak out in support of the journalists or to amend laws like the official secrets act that critics say are open to abuse we can talk about the n.l. the not having very much power over the military they do have power over the laws the have a parliamentary majority if they wanted to they could abolish them and then not the ordeal for a while alone and who has come to an end but it's one that should never have happened to journalists who say they were simply trying to uncover the truth when hey al jazeera bangkok that's it for me for the moment i'm about in just a couple of minutes half an hour. main on al jazeera. as the world's biggest democracy goes to the polls we focus on the economic challenges facing india and the rise of ultra nationalism a new series of you would win environmental shows that meet some of the

british preacher known as the monk was charged with edition for criticizing the country's leader aung san suu kyi supporters say the warrant is an infringement of free speech. lawmakers in israel have voted to dissolve parliament paving the way for a 2nd election in september just 5 months after the 1st prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been unable to form a coalition between his likud party the secular nationalist party of i think born lieberman an ultra orthodox jewish parties the issue of military conscription has been a major sticking point. with arteries in afghanistan and states say at least 6 people have died after a suicide attack on the military academy in the capital kabul the ministry statements and the attack at detonated his explosives after being approached by a soldier no group has claimed responsibility. no austria's president alexander found the bell and how is that named constitutional a judge a big get to be alive as the country's interim chancellor a judge be allowed will lead a caretaker government until snap elections judge will for september the interim government will

through international criticism and put the spotlight on myanmar state council and de facto leader aung san suu kyi who was already under pressure for the oppression of the reunion minority u.n. investigators said it amounted to genocide. the release of the two men comes at a time of year when it is traditional for the president to crown amnesties to prisoners today they are back with their families but the future of press freedom in myanmar is unclear. joining me now on the line is a freelance journalist david gergen a bomb he's in young one david you been working in man law for many years and you've also been following this trial as a journalist what's your reaction to the release of these two reuters journalists. my first reaction is just release and happiness for them and their families of this nightmare than being over that's my first reaction but then on the on the back side of that but back to the patient had never been in prison they should have never been arrested in the first place from the one to the trial and there was a police captain with a prosecution witness who came out in the tria

through international criticism and put the spotlight on myanmar state council and de facto leader aung san suu kyi who was already under pressure for the oppression of the reunion minority u.n. investigators said it amounted to genocide. the release of the two men comes at a time of year when it is traditional for the president to grant amnesty to prisoners to dating a back with their families but the future of press freedom in myanmar is unclear. i'm now joined by freelance journalist a diva good obama in young god and dave as a journalist working in me and my you must be delighted by the release of the two reuters journalists. yeah certainly the right of them and relief for them and their young families that have been there just an absolute nightmare for more than five hundred days now so in that sense relief yes but on the flipside the truth is they should have never been arrested in the first place i mean they did an incredible pulitzer prize winning investigation of a mass killing by security forces that led to them getting the pulitzer prize as i said. and then during their trial a police ca

through international criticism and put the spotlight on myanmar state council and de facto leader aung san suu kyi who was already under pressure for the oppression of the reunion minority u.n. investigators said it amounted to genocide. the release of the two men comes at a time of year when it is traditional for the president to grant amnesty to prisoners to dating a back with their families but the future of press freedom in myanmar is unclear. phil robertson is deputy asia director for human rights watch and joins us from the malaysian capital quantum welcome to d.w. why do you think least a man have been why didn't these men have been released. two words international pressure this is all about the international community campaigning for these two men reuters did an incredible job pressing for their release taking this issue and putting it before policymakers of the global level and making this a test case for press freedom in myanmar so. if this is a test case for press freedom in the country does not mean that the situation for journalists in me and mine is not better sadly no the reality i

through international criticism and put the spotlight on myanmar state council and de facto leader aung san suu kyi who was already under pressure for the oppression of the reunion minority u.n. investigators said it amounted to genocide. the release of the two men comes at a time of year when it is traditional for the president to grant amnesty to prisoners to dating a back with their families but the future of press freedom in myanmar is unclear. joining me now is stephen butler from the committee to protect jenison he's based in hong kong steven know your organization was involved in the campaign to get the reuters journalists released first to give us your reaction now that they have been freed. well my reaction is i'm very happy i'm very happy that these two talented and brave journalists are on the out of those in the able to see their families and get that the war. over on them or how do we as an organization work very hard in all kinds of different ways and hoping for this outcome and it's very pleased that it's happened now when i think they've really been eased up to be a sentence for sev

fellow journalists here in myanmar and it also has raised big questions about the direction that aung san suu kyirize winner's government has been accused of targeting otherjournalists, as well as democracy activists. until now, all international pressure to release the reuters pair has been resisted. minister, just a word for the bbc, why have you decided to free wa lone and soe 0o today? we got no explanation from this government minister. is this an admission that these two reporters committed no crime? tonight, thejournalists, who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom, finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. nick beake, bbc news, yangon. a paralysed man who lives with what he calls excruciating pain has begun a fresh legal challenge to overturn the law that bans anyone helping another person to take their own life at a time of their choosing. 63—year—old paul lamb from leeds lost a case at the supreme court in 2014, but argues that public and professional medical opinion on assisted dying have changed. clive coleman reports. this was a you

welcome their return much of the international pressure was focused on me and muslim leader aung san suu kyi and her party the national league for democracy before forming the government they campaigned for human rights and freedom of speech but throughout the case they refused to speak out in support of the journalists or to amend laws like the official secrets act that critics say are open to abuse we can talk about the n l d you know having very much power over the military they do have power over the law to have a parliamentary majority if they wanted to they could abolish them and then not the ordeal for a while lone and who has come to an end but it's one that should never have happened to journalists who say they were simply trying to uncover the truth when hey al-jazeera bangkok. model term for use the director of the international press institute and she says the release does not signal increased press freedom in myanmar. and numbness a presidential pardon it's like and act of. somehow is out of the goodwill of the president which is absolutely enough except the poll indicates of to

but, actually, he also does more serious things and i remember when i went to see aung san suu kyi, heg in the rakhine province with the rohingyas. the cause of this imprisonment was that these two reuters journalists wrote an article about what happened to the rohingyas, which obviously upset some people in authority. jeremy hunt talking about the release of those two reuters journalists. as a cricketer he was known for targetting the world‘s best bowlers but now kevin pieterson is taking aim at rhino poachers. a new bbc podcast launches today following him as he tries to save the engandered mammals from extinction. 5 live‘s sarah brett went to meet him at his home in south africa. kevin pietersen, the maverick south african batsman who brought england to glory, but whose talents and temperament was the cause of constant controversy. he has retired now, after all that drama, relaxing at home in south africa. but what happened in my england cricket career is so far gone from anything that i‘m doing now, in any walk of life that i‘m in at the moment. and i actually feel sorry for people

we welcome their return much of the international pressure was focused on me and miles leader aung san suu kyi and her party the national league for democracy before forming the government they campaigned for human rights and freedom of speech but throughout the case they refused to speak out in support of the journalists or to amend laws like the official secrets act that critics say are open to abuse we can talk about the n l t you know having very much power over the military they do have power over the law the have a parliamentary majority if they wanted to they could abolish them and they. not the ordeal for a while alone and who has come to an end but it's one that should never have happened to journalists who say they were simply trying to uncover the truth when hey al jazeera bangkok one of the united nations has called the release good news but says the situation for journalists in myanmar is still die. we remain concerned about flaws in the judicial process that led to their conviction in the first place and this case is one of many where restrictive legislation has been used to limi

fellow journalists here in myanmar and it also has raised big questions about the direction that aung san suu kyivernment has been accused of targeting otherjournalists, as well as democracy activists. until now, all international pressure to release the reuters pair has been resisted. ministerjust a word for the bbc, why have you decided to free wa lone and soe 0o today? we got no explanation from this government minister. is this an admission that these two reporters committed no crime? tonight, thejournalists, who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom, finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. a british soldier has died after being trampled by an elephant while on an anti—poaching operation in southern malawi. guardsman mathew talbot, who was serving on his first deployment with the 1st battalion coldstream guards, was helping to train park rangers in to tackle poaching. his commanding officer described him as "determined and big—hearted". tonight the defence secretary, penny mordaunt, paid her tribute to 22—year—old guardsman talbot. she say

welcome their return much of the international pressure was focused on me and muslim leader aung san suu kyi and her party the national league for democracy before forming the government they campaigned for human rights and freedom of speech but throughout the case they refused to speak out in support of the journalists or to amend laws like the official secrets act that critics say are open to abuse we can talk about the n l d you know having very much power over the military they do have power over the law the have a parliamentary majority if they wanted to they could abolish them and then not the ordeal for a while lone and who has come to an end but it's one that should never have happened to journalists who say they were simply trying to uncover the truth when hey al-jazeera bangkok. other been protests in istanbul over a decision to run the city's mayoral election demonstrators took to the streets after turkey's election authority ruled there were irregularities in the vote candidate of the main opposition party the c.h.p. was elected mayor in march a result that's now been scrapped be

fellow journalists here in myanmar and it also has raised big questions about the direction that aung san suu kyiinternational pressure to release the reuters pair has been resisted. minister, just a word for the bbc — why have you decided to free wa lone and soe 0o today? we got no explanation from this government minister. is this an admission that these two reporters committed no crime? tonight, thejournalists, who inadvertently became global icons of press freedom, finally embraced once again the roles they had been denied — husband and father. there are many more in prison. courtney radsch from the committee to protectjournalists joins us now. the number of journalists and prisons around the world are startling. there are three years of record high set in around the world, 250 or more over the past three yea rs, 250 or more over the past three years, the most we have ever recorded. what do you put it down to? three countries account for the majority of journalists jailed, turkey, they have a democratic crisis there, china, that regularly tops the list, and egypt, a new entry, has again tried

myanmar's civili leader aung san suu kyi was accused of not doing enough to stop the persecution of rohingya, or to free the journalts. today, without explanation, the pair were included in a mass pardon of more than 6,500 prisoners. reuters editor-in-chf steve adler: om since their arrest 511 days ago, they have bece symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world. we welcome their return. >> yang: on twitter, u.s.ta secretary of s mike pompeo also welcomed their release. j as thernalists celebrated with their families today, there was no apology from myanmar's military, which still controls much of the government. their release was part of an annual amnes marking the nation's traditional new year, which began last month. we are now joined byilla clapp, whose long career as a u.s. diplomat includes time as chyf of mission in the emba in myamnar, which is also known as burma. senior advisor to the u.s. institute of peace and the asia society. priscilla clapp, thanks so much for joining us. help us understand what was going on re. the defenders of these two journalists said they w

the process -- the legal process had been fully exusted, and i think that the state couelor aung san suu kyi is concerned about restoring the rule of law to the country and is ting to make anmple of the legal process, and she wanted the league patrol sases to run its course which it did with the final supreme court denial. >> reporter: her reputati has taken beating in this. nobel peace prize winner, former political prisoner herself, couldn't say that she should have done more to help these political prisoners. but you em to be saying it's a little more nuanced. >> it is quite a bit more nuanced because she's not in charge of the courts.e vilian leadership is not in charge of the legal process, it is still under control of the miliryry. the milicontrols key parts of the government under their constitution, the 2008 constituti which broughe transition. and, so, this seups impervious to civilian, interventid if she had tried to pardon them earlier or free them earlier, they probably would have resisted, the military or court system would have resisted. but she's not th one who pardoned them.

we welcome their return much of the international pressure was focused on me and miles leader aung san suu kyi and her party the national league for democracy before forming the government they campaigned for human rights and freedom of speech but throughout the case they refused to speak out in support of the journalists or to amend laws like the official secrets act that critics say are open to abuse we can talk about the n l d not having very much power over the military they do have power over the law the have a parliamentary majority if they wanted to they could abolish them and then not the ordeal for a while alone and who has come to an end but it's one that should never have happened to journalists who say they were simply trying to uncover the truth when hey al-jazeera bangkok. still ahead on aljazeera we'll look into why the european union is expressing support for iran after a u.s. pressure. find daniel shriner in one outsider it's one hundred years after the presence of the former first lady eva peron can still be found all over argentina in sport australia's biggest rugby star lea