the leading cleric in shia islam francis is in the city of najaf to hold talks with grand ayatollah ali sistani the meeting will be a major step in deepening ties to shia on friday pope francis met with christians in baghdad iraq's christian community has been growing smaller every year it's now estimated just half a 1000000 iraqi christians remain in the country. the pilgrim of peace as pope francis called himself is aware of the risks he is taking amid an ongoing pandemic and a regional conflict. this is an emblematic trip and it is my duty to a martyred land. 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 and undercover intelligence officers 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 effec

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 delivered real tangible results

the grand ayatollah ali al sistani has been significant in the pivotal moments of iraq's history whether it was the 2005 elections the 2014 religious edict to get fighters to rally against our brother in 2930 told political leaders to make sure that the the the core of the people of iraq when they were protesting against corruption in the government which ended up in the then prime minister the resigning so it is very significant he is a very important leader and obviously the pope looking for some sort of support from the iraqi shia community to make sure that the christian population of iraq is not just protected but gets to flourish as well. some a pinch of aid that bring us the latest from thank you. well in the coming hour the pope will attend an interfaith missing in the ancient city of it's a place of historic importance to both christians and muslims and soon a 14 reports the visits raising hopes the development of development the long neglected sites. or the ancient capital of mesopotamia it was 1st settled 5000 years before christ and became the seat of samarian kings but this

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 and then 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 able to live in peace in iraq and enjoy the same rights as other 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 thei

coming up on the show a historic meeting between pope francis and iraq's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah sistani. the christian and muslim leaders came together with a plea for peace in the holy city of najaf plus he said is going to be good to go deal with. the group of days he says that the child although he wasn't 100 continues in south africa for some crocodiles that have escaped from a grieving father. hello i'm claridge's and welcome to the show the united states senate has approved a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief plan after hours of debate and a marathon overnight a vote democrats in the chamber voted to adopt the plan without any republican support the bill includes a $1400.00 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 says would provide desperately needed for by pass an american rescue plan will have heeded the voice of the american people not ignored their voices by passing this plan

shia muslims another historic 1st for the leader of the catholic church as he met iraq's grand ayatollah sistani's 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 they discussed. short 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 merger 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 protesters. clerics in najaf say the pope's visit has highlighted iraq's central place for all religions and is a brave gesture from pope francis in the face of security challenges and the pandemic and home. clerics through their words and behavior convert the message of peace and love and convince

their faith own we understand that the meeting between the pope and the grand ayatollah ali al sistani is now over remind our viewers why is this meeting so important why was it so important. so stunning is some sense the head of the largest community the ship community of iraq on his firm occlusive each instance not that make that many political statements actual but the fact that he's chosen to meet even though that meeting is private and you know there's not not that a lot will all come what's come of it i think the fact that they've they've met it's very strange there's sort of strong connection between between the fight between the 2 eucharistic need to understand shia community chichi community of iraq so i think it's it's symbolic for so many so many different reasons but primarily because it shows it shows a strong dollar between the muslim community and christian community of this country. that's one hauled away in erbil really appreciate your time oh well some wealthy nations have already vaccinated millions of people against covert 19 many african countries are struggling to

ayatollah al sistani is very careful with whom he meets.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 and large. keep in mind, for instance, when you wanted to meet the grand ayatollah back in 2004, 2004, that was after the american invasion. it was a much more sensitive time. but, yes, by and large the ayatollah is very careful about who he meets. for instance, recently the chief justice of iran wanted to meet with sistani and he turned him down. the fact that he was willing to meet in a private meeting, it should be stressed, with po

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 able to live in peace in iraq and enjoy the same rights as other 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 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

and on his way to meet ayatollah sistani, pope francis was walking with a visible limp. pope has said in the past that he has long suffered from painful sciatica and that was also not unnoticed here. people saw that he still went ahead with this trip, still went ahead with the visit today, even though he does seem to be in a degree of discomfort. >> yeah, i'm glad you explained that because i noticed that limp so it's good to know what that's all about. this man is a very determined man. thank you so much, richard engel. appreciate that. >>> so, everyone, what is in the bill? how big will the checks be? who's going to get one? answers to these questions and more now that the senate has passed the covid relief bill. that's next. ed the covid reliefl that's next. wanna build a gaming business that breaks the internet? that means working night and day... ...and delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. your books are all set. so you can finally give john some attention. trusted experts. guaranteed accurate books. intuit quickbooks live. ♪ and a little

whose and what's making sure that he's reaching out to not just political leaders but the grand ayatollah sistani has been and we know that ayatollah ali insists on he does not like to meet a lot of people he does not meet foreign dignitaries does not make public appearances so it was choreographed event where the pope bent and he walked the last leg of his journey. greeted him standing up both of met both men in their late age frail so making sure that the message boards across to the followers of both of the many believe that they want them to live in. underlining what was said what was done by. the religious authority in iraq when the christians came into persecution from ice and him highlighting that there is more that needs to be done to make sure that all iraqis have dignity and peace in their in their lives but out here i mean this is just saying that this is a symbolism attached to it but the reality on the ground is quite different what we've been seeing over the last number of years the dwindling population of christians in iraq the divisions between not just the sects of religions but

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 sistani why is the meeting significant. the m

initiatives i think we could see further initiatives in the back of this trip the meeting with ayatollah sistani using incredibly important is the 1st time a pope has ever met the leader of course of his time he rarely receives foreign dignitaries so this is a trip or this is a visit i should say that it's been a long time in the making and i think we also should point out that the pope is going to be taking part into religious gathering in or the birthplace of abraham that's a powerfully symbolic encounter given the day perhaps is the father of monotheistic all monotheistic faiths. well still ahead here on al-jazeera they called reversal on a case of witness tampering charges against colombia's former president could be dropped and a small but significant step will tell you more about the trademarks left on the bed planted those stories after the break. it's time for the perfect gentleman. sponsored point qatar airways wrote temperatures rose in the rain fell time to change things about it by the time you get to end of saturday in tokyo feel that 20 is lovely but he's not going to last in fact

of his trip to iraq during which in that shia islam's most influential figure the grand ayatollah ali al sistani and discuss the price of iraq's christians a solid binge of aid reports now from the city of najaf where they met. 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 erupts grand ayatollah ali al sistani the reclusive leader who is rarely seen in public he's iraq's most revered cleric and his proclamations have influenced many since the 2003 years of beijing the plight of those being persecuted in the region including palestinians and syrians that discussed. short the pool of equal rights for christians in iraq and peaceful coexistence the meeting between the pope and grand ayatollah ali al sistani is symbolic and significant although the majority or the religious authority says it plays no role in politics audiences tony 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 a

cleric in the coming hours on the 2nd day of his start visit to iraq the meeting with grand ayatollah ali sistani is being held in the city of not just the head of the roman catholic church is the 1st pope to travel to iraq and has pledged to deepen his dialogue with other religions later the pope is expected to hold an interfaith meeting in the ancient city of moore it's a place of historic importance for christians and muslims and it's similar to 14 reports the visit has raised hopes the long ago acted area could be developed. the ancient capital of mesopotamia it was 1st settled 5000 years before christ and became the seat of samarian kings but this was not just the cradle of one of the earliest civilizations in the world according to the biblical book of genesis or is also believed to have been the birthplace of abraham the father of the 3 monotheistic faiths judaize and christianity and islam that is why pope francis will pay a much anticipated visit here. this visit is important in many respects tourism and will become a pilgrimage site for christians of course that will serve our province

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 spoke privately for 40 minutes the ayatollah reportedly telling the pope he also believes christians should be able to live in peace in iraq and enjoy the same rights as other 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

coming up on the show a historic meeting between pope francis and iraq's top shape cleric grand ayatollah sistani.

this morning prin the pope and ayatollah sistani's historic never before has a pope met the grand ayatollah in iraq and i thought our system is such a crucial figure for post invasion iraq but i think really at the heart of that encounter and at the heart of the pope's visit is this. point that he wants to make that religion can never be used for violence that religion is there to serve peace and in iraq which is such a diverse country of different religions this is a very very important and powerful message that is going out to the world because which other head of state has been able to travel iraq in this way so i think we really see although despite this visit being very risky a very very strong impact which is going to have reverberations for some time to come at me coming back to you would you say this is primarily a religious trip or is it primarily a political trip because if we look at those pictures again of the pontiff meeting the grand ayatollah. alsa stanny clearly in the meeting room nobody wanted to put a foot of supply base it was that big a deal well actually you dad really

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 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 able to live in peace in iraq and enjoy the same rights as other 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 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 used terrorism to achieve their aim

shia muslim cleric on the 2nd day of his historic visit to the country the meeting with grand ayatollah sistani was held in the city of najaf the heads of the roman catholic church as the 1st pope to travel to iraq wife now to a summer binge of 80 joins us from. a summer just talk us through the significance of this me. well this was history in the making the 1st time the leader of the roman catholic church has met the highest religious authority. in iraq this is a meeting which was anticipated for decades and now finally it is up and the pope made the defining. trip to words his house on 4 of those leaders in prayer how could they. be shy and give the message that they will do all that they can for the for their followers and try and promote the message of peace and harmony and this is something that we heard from the joint statement as well that visit him b.c. harmony the rights of people to live in dignity and freedom is what was emphasized in that meeting old sites that said that there is no political agenda to this meeting and the pope was trying to look for support from society for the ch

muslim cleric in the coming hours day 2 of his historic visit to iraq the meeting with grand ayatollah sistani's being held in the city of not jeff head of the roman catholic church the 1st pope travel to iraq is president joe biden's back to compromise reached by senate democrats and republicans over a key part of his coronavirus relief bill the agreement on extending federal job benefits overcomes one of several obstacles the 1.9 trillion dollars package has faced and thousands of elderly brazilians in rio de janeiro have been turned away after lining up for hours for their 1st dose of corona virus vaccine only a fraction of the doses needed to cover the designated age group were actually available you are up to date with the headlines on al-jazeera one of one east is next. to 0. case were. compensated civilians will we listen to the only music you hear is. the most beautiful music in the world is silent retreat with global news makers the stories the little just 0. madam speaker the president of the people's republic of china. when china's president xi jinping visited in november 24th chain a

suitor baghdad born journalist a member so no way who saved the pope's meeting with the ground ayatollah sistani will be a turning point in the christian muslim dialogue interesting fascinating indeed thank you. all 3 for being in today an army i would like to begin with you mentioned your baghdad born you grew up in baghdad the pope is visiting iraq what does it mean for the iraqi people well peter i think iraq is wait wait to debt visit a lot since long long time i think if you go back to the 2000 think the last poll. pulls the 2nd try to also to vote to iraq to visit also or south of iraq but because of the political situation under the saddam era it was not possible and why have they waiting so long for a christian leader to come to their country. the weight of his spiritual weight that he's present in the war and also the the lessons that he giving not just for the ordinary people but also all for the politician leaders world wide i think this is very important for them for one side for either side they say iraq is one of the most important lands for the energies and also for islam and. tha

series the pope's meeting with the ground ayatollah sistani will be a turning point in the christian muslim dialogue interesting fascinating indeed thank you all 3 for being in today and i mean i would like to begin with you i mentioned your baghdad born you grew up in baghdad the pope is visiting iraq what does it mean for the iraqi people well i think iraq is wait wait to debt visit a little since long long time i think if you go back to the 2000 think the last poll. pulls the 2nd try to also to travel to iraq to visit also or south of iraq but because of the political situation under the saddam era it was not possible and why have they been waiting so long for a christian leader to come to their country. the weight of his total weight that he's present in the war and also the the lessons that he giving not just for the ordinary people but also all for the politician leaders worldwide i think this is very important for them for one side for another side they say iraq is one of the most important lands for the energies and also for islam and. that's why this is the time the beginnin

who says the pope's meeting with the grand ayatollah sistani will be a turning point in the christian muslim dialogue interesting fascinating indeed thank you all 3 for being here today and i mean i would like to begin with you i mentioned you're baghdad born you grew up in baghdad the pope is visiting iraq what does it mean for the iraqi people well i think iraq is wait wait to debt visit a lot since long long time i think if you go back to the 2000 i think the last pope . pulls the 2nd try to also to travel to iraq to visit also or south of iraq but because of the political situation under the saddam era it was not possible and why have they been waiting so long for a christian leader to come to their country. the weight of his spiritual weight that he's present in the war and also the the lessons that he giving not just for the ordinary people but also all for the politician leaders world wide i think this is very important for them for one side from the other side they say iraq is one of the most important the lands for the energies and also for islam and. that's why this is the t

of baghdad born journalist i mean most in our way who say the pope's meeting with the ground ayatollah sistani will be a turning point in the christian muslim dialogue interesting fascinating indeed thank you all. 3 for being in today an army i would like to begin with you mentioned your baghdad born you grew up in baghdad the pope is visiting iraq what does it mean for the iraqi people well peter i think iraq is wait wait to debt visit a lot since long long time i think if you go back to the 2000 i think the last top . pulls the 2nd try to also to double to iraq to visit also or south of iraq but because of the political situation under the saddam era it was not possible and why have they waiting so long for a christian leader to come to their country. the weight of his patrol weights that he's present in the war and also the the lessons that he giving not just for the ordinary people but also all for the politician leaders world wide i think this is very important for them for one side from the other side they say iraq is one of the most important the lands for the energies and also for isla

he's the first pope to hold talks with grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, a highly influential figure inf ur where the prophet abraham, central to islam, christianity and judaism, is believed to have been born. that meeting with shia muslin cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani was an unprecedented moment. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling with the pope and has this update. after the first day of this trip was focused on the politics, and on meeting iraq's dwindling and persecuted christian minority, today was about outreach and dialogue with other faiths, chief among them the meeting this morning with grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, an extremely symbolic moment, the leader of the catholic church face to face with the leader of iraqi shia islam and one of the most influential figures in this country. this was a meeting years, decades in the making. previous popes had wanted to meet the 90—year—old cleric. they failed to do so, failed to come to iraq, pope francis has come here on the first ever papal trip to iraq and had that meeting in najaf. little was released about det

earlier he had an unprecedented meeting with the hugely influential shia muslim cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistanis sentiments, saying that it was time for wisdom and sense to erase the language of war. ina in a moment we will return to the scene inside the chaldean cathedral in baghdad. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling with the pope and has sent us this report. if the first day of pope francis�* visit to iraq was about the politics and about meeting the country's dwindling christian community, today was about the outreach towards other faiths, most notably a meeting this morning with the country's top shia cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, bringing together the leader of the world's catholics with perhaps the most powerful and influential figure in shia islam. it's thought that they discussed interfaith dialogue and the violence that iraqi christians have long suffered. then the pope came on here to ur, the ancient birthplace of the prophet abraham, in which he met again with members of other religions... ..and he spoke of how hostility and extremism and violence were, in his

countries and in iraq he will meet one of the world's most influential shiite clerics grand ayatollah sistani. is meant to expand on his message of interfaith dialogue and bring hope to iraq's christian community but it also comes during a pandemic to a country which has not started vaccinating its people and is important. to try and stop the spread of covert 19. the vatican the master to iraq who would have escorted the pope to all his appointments has already tested positive pope francis and his entourage have been vaccinated and organizers say they will strictly enforce crowd limits at public events but with a sharp rise in iraq school with 1000 cases in a week health care system critics have questioned the effectiveness of social distancing as it's expected crowds will gather to see the pope can add. some people close to the pope believe that the visit should be postponed treat the pandemic and security situation but the pope insisted on his visit iraq needs his visit and he feels the pain of the people who are suffering. iraqi authorities say all necessary steps to ensure the safety and

visit i'm joined by vid of a religious affairs correspondent not gak the pope's now met with ayatollah sistani why was there meeting so important. well the main reason is that both are essentially the most important figures within the religious denominations and groups so to some degree the pope comes into iraq not only representing the catholic community but becomes to some degree an i'm busses or a spokesperson i book a thing for the cause of christians not only in iraq but in the region and sistani being essentially the leader the time to leave there to some to some degree again. muslim shias becomes also one of the most important are not tudor's in the bleed off the boat for christians in the region mainly because of a lot of the violence that. 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

that is correct and perhaps the most significant personality he will be meeting is grand ayatollah sistani who is basically the religious. muslims here in iraq he will be meeting him tomorrow. and the idea of that meeting is really to to foster taller and coexistence between the religions that is certain expected to be a very significant meeting it is not exactly certain what will come out of it whether there will be any kind of official agreement that will be signed between the 2 sides or some kind of joint statement that will be made about that meeting very much on the line the theme of this visit which is you are all brothers which is of course of. verse from the bible and the pope really wants to underline the commonalities between the 3 abrahamic religions which are judaism christianity and islam he wants to really emphasize the similarities between the space rather than the differences hoping that that lead his visit can somehow reset relations that it can somehow be the beginning of a new start and that is of course why he's also going to order which is in southern iraq in the provi

day 2 of his trip to iraq during which he met shia islam's most influential figure the grand ayatollah ali sistani and discussed the plight of iraq's christians some avenge of a reports now from the city of najaf where they met. 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 of equal rights for christians in iraq and peaceful coexistence the meeting between the pope and grand ayatollah ali al sistani is symbolic and significant although the majority or the religious authority says it believes no rule in politics audiences tony 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 is

coming up on the show a historic meeting between pope francis and iraq's top shiite cleric grand ayatollah sistani the christian and muslim leaders came together with a plea for peace in the holy city of najaf plus. the darkest days of the pandemic in the brazil an aggressive a virus variant sweeps from throughout the country while president also narrow down in place the threats. hello and play richardson welcome to the show the united states senate has approved a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus relief plan president biden says it will give families struggling to pay their bills the breathing room that they need the rescue package narrowly made it through the chamber as one democrat threatened to vote against it but that was prevented with some last minute tweaks to the bill and the decision ultimately went down party lines. 50 days or $49.00 as amended is asked. democrats were jubilant as the legislation finally passed after a lengthy debate and the longest vote in senate history not one republican backed the stimulus package. it's been a long. long night a long year but a new day has come and

day of his historic visit to iraq these pictures just recently of this meeting with grand ayatollah ali sistani has been held in the city of now jeff the head of the roman catholic church is the 1st pope to travel to iraq and has pledged to deepen his dialogue with other religions continuing coverage of that events on al-jazeera later on today next though the latest edition of witness. org. board the. press in the haleigh saw that it matured him. beneath my dentist but you will miss elliot ness a good. that is good to get a a t.v. studio. on a stumble. in hate a so nancy cheek left oh well now i see without a fight and with men naome and mouth i just feel. and i showed you the superleague kind of mind the hacky come a sudden. the sit on the sue me but it could open when the shelter met in the system but i get elected next week. when there be no. i'm gonna miss what you have not gotten me through a lot of. it will be so well. here you finally. get it i. can imagine what the fuck do you mean. the things on the show that. you know about on the show so back in the depths. let me tell. you. carol ho

today, the grand ayatollah ali al—sistani spoke about the christian citizens.an important, not just christian people, important, notjust christian people, christian citizens. that is what we need. a state of citizens, which is not there yet. irate what we need. a state of citizens, which is not there yet.— what we need. a state of citizens, which is not there yet. we have to leave it there. _ which is not there yet. we have to leave it there. thank _ which is not there yet. we have to leave it there. thank you - which is not there yet. we have to leave it there. thank you so - which is not there yet. we have to leave it there. thank you so much | leave it there. thank you so much forjoining us. pressure is mounting on the uk government over its proposed pay offer of 1% for health workers in england — after it was claimed that a long—term plan had assumed an increase of double that. nhs providers — which represents trusts in england — accused ministers of "snatching planned pay rises from the pockets of deserving nhs staff". four health unions have written to th

also held a historic meeting with a grand ayatollah ali al sistani on this trip want to waste in. figures within shia islam how important is the establishment in najaf. not just for the shia within iraq itself but also for ethnic and religious groups. sixer a new port and turn the grand ayatollah sistani is not just the highest of thora q 4 this year on iraq he is the highest of thought before the shia are around the world some 250000000 people everywhere on the globe but also he is a respected and seen as a father figure for all iraqis because of is now a moderate position because of his defense of all iraqis as support for democratization and a civil state rather than a theocracy he is everything one hopes for any and a person with his influence in iraq and certainly this is while it is the 1st time the top 2 leaders and the catholic church and also and among the shia are meeting together this is a coronation of a long time effort between the vatican and not just what delegations visited each other for a long time that was a lot of interfaith dialogue and also projects working a

i mean as well as his trip to the country he's also going to be meeting with grand ayatollah sistani who is the highest wages of already in the country but also leader to the hundreds of millions of shia muslims around the world this is an incredibly rare meeting for. yes it's really an exciting historical moment to be witnessing this i'll say that when i 1st heard that the pope was going to visit iraq i had really hoped that this visit the sistan it would occur and i'm very happy to see it on the agenda you know the loss of stanny and the pope as many spiritual leader as around the world share some characteristics including being you know shepherds of a community through times of crises we can store a cli scene cope's and cardinals do this but we've also seen so stanley do this for iraq after 2003 and do it for all iraqis not just the shia community he played a pivotal role in trying to tamp and down and down to sectarian tensions the religious establishment a nudge of hasta store oakley stood up for minorities both ethnic and religious minorities and so it really tries to be there

us more about the the significance of the pope's visit to iraq and his meeting with grand ayatollah ali sistani well today's a historic day for iraq and for the region it's the 1st night in the press well to to visit iraq iraq a country that has you know several in storage sites and a big history of christianity dating back dozens of years and also the 1st night at the local catholic church this is the you know the ninja and meets the grand ayatollah ali sistani the head of it she. played and so in so close those that is the case this is a very historic and this symbolic visit and you know from the perspective of the rockies members of the iraqi leadership this is a story about iraq that's not what we've often heard about iraq since 2003 at least if not before a story of conflict the story of sectarianism you know a bad story this is the story of meeting in the story of trying to live up to a future to a better future but of course challenges remain and what about the words of the pope and those of the grand ayatollah following that meeting how important are those for christians in iraq. well o

he is due there shortly and he will hold talks with ground ayatollahs ali al—sistani on the spiritual the pope's is it to iraq. but will be carried out very shortly. please stay with us your bbc news. hello. last weekend was a mainly dry weekend across the uk with high pressure in control, and this weekend will be the same. but there is a significant difference between weekends — that word there, cold. a very different feel to things. spring in the air last weekend — 15 celsius in the sunshine. this weekend, with only a few sunny spells around, well, it's closer to 7 degrees. and it feels like winter's still got a bit of life left in it. but it is high pressure across us, so it is going to be mainly dry. just this one weak weather front will deliver a bit of rain into parts of scotland, especially the further north you are. there is milder air out in the atlantic. it will come our way in the week ahead — but that's not the only change coming, as i'll show you in a moment. this is how saturday begins. temperatures well below freezing. in the coldest parts, a widespread frost to start t

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 christians should be able to live in peace in iraq and enjoy the same rights as other iraqis it's a powerful statement from says dani 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 all 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 used terrorism to achieve