you that live here on al-jazeera our correspondents mona fulton is following the pope's visit in baghdad at the moment and joins us now on the phone simona this is clearly a very very symbolic site can you tell us a little more about the significance of his choice of this venue as part of his itinerary today. so the our lady of salvation church in augusta but as karada district was the venue of one of the deadliest terror attacks against iraq's christian community back in 2010 when a number of gunmen laid siege to the church and took over 100 worshippers hostage india and as you mentioned over 50 people were killed in that attack and that attack is one was one of many in the wake of the u.s. led 2003 invasion as groups like al qaeda targeted minority groups but that attack in particular is one that really accelerated the exodus of christians from iraq and is back today only a handful of survivors are left in iraq we interviewed one of them for our report that has been running throughout the day and he said that the reason he stayed in iraq is because indians this is his country and he's

parliamentary block and he joins us now also from baghdad mr khan thank you for your time i will carry us how significant is pope francis's visit for you personally today. well this is really some historic moment to all iraqis that almost 2000 year later the pope of the to come visit us here in such a difficult situation and iraq is suffering from very different issues and they make and economical and. everything and even the sick complex in the region that's an american iran and many many other issues so we are very happy and welcoming his holiness that we hope that. is for sure he is bringing the message of peace and love and forgiveness jesus' message and and his visit will has many many positive effect on iraqi society and in the region and globally as well because. as as you know they. reflect and effect of the eyes is al qaeda crimes against humanity against people here reflect very negatively on the islamic image in europe and america and everywhere so his visit to our religious leaders in iraq gives very very good positive for the plague and bring down a bit some of what we are

1st trip outside italy since the pandemic began is going to be welcomed by the prime minister in baghdad before meeting president bottom selah at the presidential palace the head of the roman catholic church says he's going as a pilgrim of peace we're bringing you live pictures from baghdad airport as the pope's flight to air bus a 330 the flight 874000 has just arrived in front of the red carpet you can see the iraqi military honor guard standing there i want to bring in our correspondents some of the full team who is outside the presidential palace in baghdad she's joining us live this is clearly a very important visit for the pope but it's also of course very important for the christians in iraq as well. yes indeed they are seeing 'd this message something very important something to give them hope after 2 years and decades really of the persecution that has resulted in a significant decline in their numbers before the u.s. led to 2003 invasion there were over 1000000 christians here in iraq and that number has dwindled in the past 17 years to less than 300000 so this is the pope fran

let's bring you some live pictures now from the chaldean cathedral of "saintjoseph" in baghdad whereis leading holy mass. the chaldean church is a branch of the catholic church dating back to the 16th century. this is the beginning of mass, the pope has just arrived to give the address. laboursinging singing. the numbers of questions are much diminished, they were persecuted at several stages. —— number of christians. persecuted during the conflicts that followed the invasion of iraq. victims of the group that called itself islamic state included a forced conversion as an alternative to death. many christians fled iraq, along with many others who tried to get out of the country, to seek sanctuary abroad, means the numbers in iraq have gone down from around a quarter of a million, sorryjust over 2 million, gone down to about 100,000, and that only the space of about 20 years. so this has been a matched diminished part of the country. here is the pope. we will return to the chaldean church of saintjoseph, the cathedral i should say, during the course of this hour when we will hear a li

and this is baghdad's square. so much of iraq's history has happened right here.his is where saddam hussein's giant statue was pulled down by american troops when they came into this city in 2003. i watched it happen, i was on a balcony right there and saw the u.s. forces, marines, arrive in big armored vehicles and they put chains on the statue and pulled it down, iraqis were celebrating. also in this square, there was a huge, huge truck bomb that blew up. now, it's iraqis who are in charge here, the americans don't patrol, even though there are still some american forces still in this city, you barely see them. and in the square, there's no statue at all. richard engel, nbc news, baghdad. >> and special thanks to my friend richard for putting together that report for us here tonight. >>> coming up, that rare moment when a first lady says, "here's what happened to me" and then women across the country nod their heads because it happened to them, too. we'll have the story when we come back. introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it's the most comfortable,

end to religious extremism on the 1st of a papal visit to iraq pope francis visits a cathedral in baghdad where dozens of people were massacred by extremists over a decade ago today he'll meet with she was islams leading cleric also coming up. for democracy for un silenced in miramar despite a week of deaths and detention the u.n. special envoy urgent search security council to act against the violence. and we take a closer look at international program helping countries in africa to vaccinate some of their most vulnerable against code 19. a michael ok welcome to the program pope francis is holding a groundbreaking meeting with 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

next from baghdad. stay with us. cleans without pre-rinsing. switch to finish and skip the rinse to save water. >>> well, despite a year of lockdowns and coronavirus restrictions across europe, the case numbers once again are heading in the wrong direction. so in this map here in all of those countries in orange, new infections are up at least 10% compared to last week. in the red countries new cases are up at least 50%. on thursday the world health organization warned of a covid resurgence in central and eastern europe. meanwhile, italy is sticking by the move to block 1/4 of a mill doses to australia. no call from astrazeneca, but australia says it has enough of the vaccination. let's go to paris and cnn's melissa bell. melissa, italy blocked vaccine shipments. france says it might do the same in the future. what's going on here? why is this happening? >> reporter: that's right. this is the first time, of course, kim, that a european country has used the export ban. 174 applications had been approved. this was the first time one was not. 250,

the house of iraqi expertise foundation gentlemen thank you all for joining us akhmed rushdie in baghdad coming to you 1st why is this trip happening now well according to the data that have been discovered by the vatican is that it's a story visit that the pope want to do a real important message is that humanity. is one humanity can be united rather than to be divided and also to have some sort of mass it from the iraqi politicians to say it's enough you kind of just. a high pressure on the people especially the christians who are actually in the eighty's or under the previous century was a quote 1400000 now it's only 200 or 300 thousands so you've got to imagine how much pressure on christian people iraqi christians now in iraq that it was done to look outside iraq so all these messages need to be matched need to be managed and yet to be said face to face to all iraqi politicians and also to save society. in a very what does iraq get out of this visit. of course. after supplant your part of this invitation this visit has many many seen if you can. message short of a phone all day in a

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 time the beginning ground 0 to come again to the understanding between people from this that religious and also because iraq was devastating the last 3040 years suffering from violence suffering for wars sanctions and so on and i think i described as a m

their homes the pope's visit as a symbol of victory over this tide of violence this cathedral in baghdad was the site of a 2010 terrorist attack the pope's visit there too strong reactions from the community . we feel indescribable joy not only me but everyone seeing pope francis in iraq as a historic event. francis also plans to visit mosul are recaptured stronghold of the islamic state and the pontiff is meeting today with iraq's top shia muslim cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani who's never met with the pope before it's a big moment for christians and muslims alike i'm joined by journalist when to hold away ease in erbil following the papal visit oh and i'm curious how iraqis particularly non christians reacting to the pope's visit. very affectionately actually yummies is known as bubba amongst a lot of the love of the non christians i think have generally the posted because he's showcasing an upper limit of iraq which is 2 losses to thought as you know very sectarian country a lot of conflict and things like that but this kind of shows a bit of a unity across the different faiths

the pope will visit whether they are in baghdad not just. all places pope francis has frequently traveled to muslim majority countries and in iraq he will meet one of the world's most influential shiite clerics grand ayatollah ali al sistani the pope's visit 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 perspiring treat the pandemic

visited baghdad and sent us this report. don't muddy or cut him enough he shares countless memories with many of the people laid to rest here. if he was a member of the parish i was leading in about a minute of it all almost everyone buried in this section of the cemetery died from cove it this is the 1st time don madill has visited it since the pen demick struck the region and home with. it's like going back months and then like reliving the moments of the people who are no longer here to. help you. these harrowing images were seen around the world military trucks loaded with caskets starting in march the bodies of deceased were transported to other cities across italy discriminatory were overwhelmed by the numbers as part of a mo became the epicenter of the pen demick in europe more than 3000 people died here in baghdad. when the pandemic 1st struck italy found itself alone among european nations confronted with an unknown threat the authorities were slow to react and when the government finally did mandate lockdowns 1st i

sectarian violence and religious strife and remembers the dozens of victims of a suicide attack in baghdad cathedral also on the program china moves to tighten its grip on hong kong as phasing shifts its focus from the fight against the pandemic to longer term goals. to take a closer look at an international program helping countries in africa to vaccinate some of their most vulnerable adults because he's 90. time philco welcome to the program. pope francis has arrived in baghdad on the 1st papal visit to a war torn iraq he began with an appeal for an end to sectarian violence and religious strife he also remembered the victims of a suicide attack on baghdad cathedral in which dozens of washington's were killed and a country with a twinkling christian community he called on iraqi leaders to 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 p

interests including here in baghdad we're very close here to the united states embassy inside the 45 green zone which is of course one of the main targets of these rocket attacks in the recent one was just a couple of days ago aimed at a u.s. base in western iraq in the anbar province which houses u.s. troops so there will definitely be a lot of challenges and of course also the southern city of nasiriyah which is near the ancient city of which approach the pope will be visiting tomorrow this is one of the cities that has been seeing the most under-estimate is one of the cities that has been the main at the center of anti-government protests and also seen escalation happened there last week of several protesters killed so the challenges are really quite numerous in the security forces have really been deployed across that there is a curfew in place today saturday and sunday for the duration of the pope's visit to really minimize the movement of vehicles the movement. people to really try to prevent any kind of security threats to the pope simona can you talk us through his agenda for

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 beginning ground 0 to come again to the understanding between people from this that religious and also because iraq was devastating the last 3040 years suffering from violence suffering for war sanctions and so on and i think i described as a martyr to coun

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. that's why this is the time the beginning ground 0 to come again to the understanding between people from this that religious and also because iraq was devastating the last 3040 years suffering from viol

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 islam and. that's why this is the the time the beginning ground 0 to come again to the understanding between people from this that religious and also because iraq was devastating the last 3040 years suffering from violence suffering for wars sanctions and so on and i think i described as a mar

pope francis has held mass in iraq's capital baghdad on the 2nd day of the 1st ever papal visit to the nation the leader of the roman catholic church called for common ground and unity after meeting with christian and muslim the deuce earlier on saturday he was in the city of najaf where he met iraq's top shia cleric. the u.s. senate has just passed president joe biden's 7 a $1.00 trillion dollar coronavirus a bill the bill now goes back to the house of representatives before it go to biden's desk to be signed off democrats and republicans are basically divided over the bill. yemen's army says its forces have killed another 23 who the fight is on saturday in monrovia where it says it killed almost 100 rebels on friday the army however hasn't reported casualties among its own side's military aircraft from the south it is coalition have been targeting who he finds is the rebels began a defensive last month to seize the city and nearby oil rich areas. security forces have used tear gas and violence to break up another day of anti coup protests across meanwhile more than 50 people have bee

later, francis celebrated a public mass at stjoseph�*s cathedral in baghdad.owen is travelling to visa live pictures from north of araghi web preferences will be arriving shortly to carry out three engagements in areas that had been taken by the islamic state in 2014. we await the pope's arrival. at the end of the red carpet, his claim of land. we hope to bring you that during this bulletin. but our correspondence mark lowen brings you the latest. peace in iraq will take time to flourish, but this visitor is determined to see it. along the narrow alleyways of najaf, and into a historic meeting of two faiths, catholic and shia islam. grand ayatollah ali al—sistani face—to—face with pope francis. at 90 and 84, it's taken long lives and generations to get here. the two religious leaders spoke of friendship to overcome oppression, rare unity after iraq's sectarian conflict. that theme of dialogue then spread further to the remains of ur, biblical birthplace of abraham. and in the shadow of its ancient citadel, pope francis met followers of other faiths. gestures o

been listening there to iraqi president barham saleh making remarks on the presidential palace in baghdad after a brief meeting with pope francis that has the pipes 1st trip out of italy since the coronavirus pandemic began significantly or so the 1st trip for a catholic pontiff to iraq and it's been decades in the making while president saleh there was addressing the threat of terrorism as a way to divide communities and really spoke of the importance of embracing diversity and now we're hearing from pope francis that let's let an end of the government to the diplomatic corps. represented to your community ladies and gentlemen. to me because i am grateful to have this opportunity to be here this. was a long time desire. and. this. will choose the cradle of civilization. and. numerous foods and a long tradition literally me of. the religion and i express my grateful i'm so grateful to have been invited to and for the kind. and welcome and gentleman that you have given me in the name of the orange is the not your people on behalf of your people of the diplomatic corps for the hood to. be i

meeting with iraq's top shia religious leader — before going onto celebrate mass at a cathedral in baghdadlegations of police brutality — as security forces in myanmar use stun grenades and tear gas against anti—coup protesters. dozens are reported dead in yemen — as fighting takes place for control of the oil—rich city of marib. and, parts of iceland are shaken by a series of mini earthquakes, causing fears that a dormant volcano may be about to erupt. president biden has described the senate's approval of his coronavirus relief bill as "one more giant step forward" in helping americans to deal with the impact of the pandemic. the package, which is worth nearly two trillion dollars will provide one—off payments to millions of people. republican senators were united in opposing the bill. our washington correspondent lebo diseko reports. the yeas are 50. the nays are 49. the bill as amended is passed. a vote on party lines gave joe biden the victory he needed in the senate, after a marathon session lasting more than 2a hours. this is his first major piece of legislation as president — a pac

and live not to see one of 14 who's outside baghdad cathedral simona the pope's visit to baghdad cathedral certainly one of the highlights of this 4 day visit tell us about what he said so far and what the expectations are in iraq from this. is you can see in fact the convoy of the pope is departing the church as we speak he was here at our lady of salvation church speak to pastors to priests to catechize to speak to them about the really the status of christianity and to encourage them to really preserve their faith and turn to courage them to reach out to the christian community to remain close to them so as to encourage iraq's christians christians to say you saw earlier in my report that many christians have left iraq as a result of the recent violence and in fact one of the the main objectives of pope francis' visit here is to encourage the approximately 300000 christians who are still believed to be in the country to remain he did acknowledge the victims of the attack that happened here in 2010 he also acknowledged victims from other ethnic religious minorities such as for example an

many christians fled abroad or to iraq semi autonomous kurdish region others came to the capital baghdad this camp for displaced was set up in 2015 and still hosts around 200 christian families who can't decide whether to stay for the sake of preserving the past or leave for a better future. i mean i came here with her son from the village of 100 nia she says there is nothing for her to return to. and now there are no job opportunities and most of the village residents were displaced there's nothing here for us in our street all the houses were destroyed pope francis visit may offer a rare moment of hope for the christian community here but few expect it will bring about political change and any guarantees for their safety see one awful to al-jazeera but at. still ahead on al-jazeera denied its doses why australia is missing out on a quarter of a 1000000 of these vaccines. tsunami warnings issued across the pacific 3 powerful earthquakes forced people to move to higher ground and. it's time for the perfect gentleman the weather sponsored plan qatar airways has been a spot of spring in th

rear' live in baghdad and rome this hour. >>> good to have you with us. we begin with the much anticipated rollout of a third coronavirus vaccine in the united states. johnson & johnson began shipping its doses on monday and they could start going into arms as early as today, and not a moment too soon. recent declines in case numbers appear to have stalled. cnn's erica hill has details now from new york. >> now we have three important tools in our armamentarium. >> reporter: the advantage of this latest tool, just one shot. no need for special freezers. >> this eases the capacity to get the vaccine where it needs to be. >> 3.2 million doses. >> that was the entire allotment. >> with promises of 20 million by the end of the month. the vast majority going to state and local health pharmacies, 4% marked for community health centers. j&j already testing a booster for variants and hoping to expand the trials to children and infants this summer. >> we are working with nih to accelerate that as soon as possible. >> reporter: the u.s. averaging 1.7 million shots

later, francis celebrated a public mass at st joseph's cathedral in baghdad.t mark lowen is travelling with the pope. peace in iraq will take time to flourish, but this visitor is determined to see it. along the narrow alleyways of najaf, and into a historic meeting of two faiths, catholic and shia islam. grand ayatollah ali al—sistani face—to—face with pope francis. at 90 and 84, it's taken long lives and generations to get here. the two religious leaders spoke of friendship to overcome oppression, rare unity after iraq's sectarian conflict. that theme of dialogue then spread further to the remains of ur, biblical birthplace of abraham. and in the shadow of its ancient citadel, pope francis met followers of other faiths. gestures of respect to those often sidelined, and victims of iraq's wars now brought together in a plea for peace. translation: hostility, - extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart. they are betrayals of religion. we believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion. from these windswept plains, the pope is using the

nbc's richard engel records from baghdad. >> reporter: pope francis arrived in baghdad with a message of peace and a mission to revive iraq's ancient and dwindling christian community. security is extremely tight. a curfew was in place across the city. his first stop? meeting with iraqi government officials. for many, the pope's visit is a badge of honor, a sign that this country is slowly emerging from its long civil war that began after the u.s. invasion of 2003, a war of violent religious extremists, who often targeted christians and drove them from their homes. the pope will visit a church where an al qaeda affiliate massacred dozens of worshippers and two priests a decade ago. this family who lived nearby was traumatized by that attack. larissa was so scared, she stopped going to school. her mother said most of the family moved abroad. as christians, we're always afraid, she said. 27 relatives used to live under this roof. only five remain. the pope will visit the city of mosul, much of it still in ruins from battles with isis. he will tour a christian village isis miseries. he w

this cathedral in baghdad was the site of a 2010 terrorist attack the pope's visit there drew strong reactions from the community. we feel indescribable joy not only me but everyone seeing pope francis in iraq as a historic event. pope francis also plans to visit mosul a recaptured stronghold of the islamic state and the pontiff is set to meet with iraq's top shia muslim cleric grand ayatollah ali al sistani who has never met with the pope it's a big moment for christians and muslims alike. let's take a look now at some other stories making news around the girls protesters have gathered in the turkish city of istanbul to denounce violence against women and figures show hundreds of women were killed across turkey in 2020 demonstration comes a few days ahead of international women's day which last year saw clashes between women's rights protesters and police. in a fresh clashes between police and protesters in the senate police capitol to car demonstrators are demanding the release of the country's detained opposition leader . he was arrested on wednesday before he was due to testify o

baghdad is on high alert for the 1st ever visit to iraq by the leader of the roman catholic church still faces security threats and attacks from isis and militia groups which means iraqi security forces have their work cut out for them for francis will be in 6 cities in 3 days including we're talking about all requirements have been secured through a plan drawn up by the joint operations command to secure largest tickle and security matters for all the places that the pope will visit whether they are in baghdad not just nineveh edible all places pope francis has frequently traveled to muslim majority countries and in iraq he will meet one of the world's most influential shiite clerics grand ayatollah ali al sistani the pope's visit is meant to expound on his message of indifferent the 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 imposing partial lockdown to try and stop the spread of covert 19. the vatican the bastard into iraq who would have escorted the pope to all his appointm

the club -- last brigade of the five hit baghdad in june of 2007. 60 days later, he came back to testify against the u.s. congress that they saw early indicators of the decrease of the sectarian violence trends. i'll tell you there is very little that you can accomplish if you want to with additional fire brigades. that leads me to wonder would also contribute. so something worked. she shall muddy, the awakening, ethnic cleansing, sectarian cleansing, some combination of those my only point is as americans we should be cautious not to attach the greatest way to the shiny object and shiny object here is the -- it had a role. i'm not denying that. i'm not sure that it was the dominant rule. to the extent that we can take lessons from this experience to future experience we should be suspect of a ourselves too much responsibility for a positive outcome. i think these were interrelated but i don't think that we have actually gone through but i don't think we've gone through the serious investigation of where the witch fall throughout the five factors. i

to religious extremism on the 1st ever papal visit to iraq pope francis' physical theater role in baghdad where dozens of people were massacred by islamist extremists over a decade ago. he's hoping his trip can bolster iraq's of the windowing christian community also coming up on the show. the u.s. and the e.u. agree to a truce in their long running trade disputes over aircraft makers boeing and airbus tariffs totaling billions of euros have temporarily been suspended. and a dark comedy about a teacher's private sex video going viral wins the top prize at the barely doubting german capital's international film festival. hello i'm claire richardson and welcome to the show pope francis has arrived in iraq with a plea to protect religious diversity iraq's christian community has been growing smaller every year it's now estimated just half a 1000000 iraqi christians remain friends this is making the trip despite security risks and just missed concerns over the coronavirus and sectarian violence saying the trip was his duty to iraq's remaining christians. the pilgrim of peace as pope francis c

after they were joyous scenes as the pontiff arrived to celebrate mass in baghdad. the. to miramar now where protesters are out on the streets again to continue their demonstrations against last month's military coup tens of thousands are said to be marching with the largest protests in the city of mandalay there are protests in the largest city young gone these images are from the city of da way that's despite reports of police raids overnight targeting opposition leaders witnesses described hearing shots during the night the raids a number of people were reported. journalists a joins me now from. what's the situation where you are now. so where i am a young girl what we've been seeing is that police have started to break up protests early in the day today and we're having reports that people have been getting beaten as they're out protesting and again at mandalay there's also been reports of police have begun firing rounds at least in baghdad and they have began to use libraries. so it's an aggressive standoff we've heard reports of police raids over night what can you

part of a mo became the epicenter of the pen demick in europe more than 3000 people died here in baghdad. when the pandemic 1st struck italy found itself alone among european nations confronted with an unknown threat the authorities were slow to react and when the government finally did mandate lockdowns 1st in the region and then in the entire country it was too late for back. this was the frontline in the battle against cove it. seems from march last year when doctors and nurses were caught off guard everybody we spoke to here had just one comparison in mind war. remember one night 8 o'clock maybe i was looking for body bags because i finish all but bought the backs were to put to the. body of the people who are dying moments like that are now a thing of the past says dr said joe and set it to the pen demick is far from over but for him and his team there is hope with x. nations on the rise and important lessons learned but we will have a different way sometimes because we have all the mutations of the virus that vantage now is that so we know very more i know you we're not we're not a

yesterday, francis prayed inside a baghdad church where jihadists massacred dozens in 2010. today, he celebrated his first mass here at the baghdad cathedral, offering words of comfort for iraqi catholics. "for you who are afflicted, the lord promises you that your name is written on his heart," he said. and tomorrow, he heads north to iraq's christian heartland, devastated by isis. but now, one muslim cleric tells us that francis' daring visit is another sign that the extremists have lost. "we have seen through all this ideology founded on the sword," he says. the pope's presence will help bring christians back. some are already back, an with the arrival of pope francis in cities and villages once besieged by isis, they're rebuilding, too. chris livesay, cbs news, baghdad. >> diaz: straight ahead on the "cbs weekend news," tomorrow the duke and duchess of sussex tell all to oprah winfrey, but the fallout has already begun. also, the business woman mixing know-how and magic. it's a recipe for success. and later, the very first box of the johnson & johnson vaccine was labeled

before meeting president obama himself at the presidential palace some 14 has more from baghdad most people that i have spoken have been really excited about this visit because it's not just important for the questions and also in a way shows that iraq is perhaps they will enough to welcome the pope we have very few western heads of state or important dignitaries visit this country precisely because it is a full theater with instability with war for just the very fact that the pope is coming to iraq and he is trusting the iraqi state protect him that he feels comfortable going not just to the airport into the green zone but outside the green zone around across baghdad to move around across iraq it is in a way very encouraging to ordinary iraqis not just pressure that perhaps this is a new page for iraq. china's unveiled plans to overhaul hong kong's electoral system allowing beijing veto power over who can run for the legislative council the announcement was made during the national people's congress the country's biggest annual political gathering the proposed changes would mean a p

instead of soldiers baghdad now needed workers to cultivate the iraqi soil to do so the empire brought in thousands of slaves. on some sides there were between 505000 workers. and there was considerable turnover because in such conditions their working life barely went beyond 10 to 15 years. it required hard labor. in order to get to. they're needed. and they began to import. slaves from all over. where do the muslim arabs go to get slaves out of principle they pick non muslim slaves from another culture and outside the empire. color wasn't the basis for slavery culture was the slaves weren't part of the dominant culture. in the 9th century the arabs extended their trade networks from the entire mediterranean to the caucasus turkey the balkans and russia. from the horn of africa entire boatloads of ethiopian and newbie and captives were sailed up the nile. even further out from the high plateaus of somalia and tanzania successive waves of slaves referred to as sun streamed into mesopotamia via the indian ocean appears to be a portion ward. blech and when there's begin to be brought in

the pope visited the our lady of salvation church in baghdad to commemorate the victims and honor to survivors of a 2010 attack which claimed more than 50 lives and accelerated the exodus of christians from iraq but can his words make any difference politically or stop the decline in iraq's christian population no i don't think so because. i mean bad. opinions on this situation good good vision security is that really the charges services and this is you know. the task of the iraqi government to create good more fear. people to come back that would be reigning in armed groups and strengthening the rule of law and the respect for human rights issues that many would argue lay at the root of iraq's current problems seem awful to al-jazeera but that. let's bring in our harpies the wagner fellow the washington institute for near east policy joins us via skype from washington d.c. good to have you with us on the program a lot to get through really the pope is saying all of the things peace love and harmony for the global community and that's what they want to hear but it's more often than

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 peter i think iraqis wait to debt visit a lot since long long time i think if you go back to the 2000 think the last drop. pulls the 2nd try to also to travel to iraq to visit also or south of iraq 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 turtle weights that he's present in the war and also of the the lessons that he giving not just for the ordinary people but also all for the politician leaders i think this is very important for them for one side for either 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 time the beginning ground 0 to come again to the understanding between people from this that religious and also because iraq was devastating the last 3040 years suffering from violence suffering for wars sunshines and so on and i think i described as a mar

hope their struggle to survive will get a boost from the pope's visit some of halting reports from baghdad. 10 years ago louise francis a claim is survived one of the deadliest terror attacks on iraq's christian community it cost him his left ear drum $4.00 to $6.00 other christians their lives . about in the last thing i look at i thought it was the last seconds in this life there were very difficult moments you take the shot towards the room where we were in one hand grenade exploded that's when i was injured some of the project also stone my head and my chest. lewis and his son the were among more than $100.00 worshippers trapped inside the lady of salvation church in baghdad as gunmen laid siege to the building al qaida claimed responsibility for the attack one of many carried out against iraq's christian minority after the 2003 u.s. led invasion lewis is one of the few survivors of the church attack who stayed on in iraq and. i don't want to leave this is my home. but preserving iraq's dwindling christian population can feel like a lost cause let me. there's no hope left for the chris

and simona 14 has this update from outside the cathedral in baghdad. he was here at our lady of salvation church to speak to pastors to priests to catechize to speak to them about the really the status of christianity and to encourage them to really preserve their faith to encourage them to reach out to the christian community to remain close to them so as to encourage iraq's christians christians to stay many christians have left iraq as a result of the recent violence and in fact one of the main objectives of pope francis visit here is to encourage the approximately 300000 christians who are still believed to be in the country to remain he did acknowledge the victims of the attack that happened here in 2010 he also acknowledged victims from other ethnic religious minorities such as the for example and he did also appeal to the youth he said the young people are a sign of promise and hope and what he's really saying here is that the next generation of christians the young people that they need to remain in iraq we have seen obviously a huge exodus of

coherent in putting the military on notice calling for an end to violence in iraq will france's visits baghdad's catholic cathedral a decade after an al qaeda massacre killed dozens and u.s. president biden's call that $900.00 stimulus bill is still moving forward in the senate's to spite republican attempts to slow down the process. so we begin in senegal where they are running battles between protesters and police on the streets of the capital to car after a court decided that opposition politician has months uncle showed to remain in custody violence broke out 2 days ago after sancho was arrested for taking part in an unauthorized he's also facing a rape charges which he denies saying the accusation is part of a plot to block him from running for president in 2024 that's ring in nicholas covering these protests for us from the cock quite some unusual scenes on the streets of the car today nicholas tell us about what's been happening these past few hours. where we were in front of one of the main arteries of the capital normally. at this time of the day it's a bustling with traffic look at it

his 1st trip outside italy's since the pandemic began he'll be welcomed by the prime minister in baghdad before meeting president barham salih at the presidential palace the head of the roman catholic church says he's going as a pilgrim of peace on the number of christians in iraq has dropped in recent years partly due to them being persecuted by al qaeda and i so i hope this struggle to survive will get a boost from the pope's visit someone halting reports from baghdad. 10 years ago luis francis a claim is survived one of the deadliest terror attacks on iraq's christian community it cost him his left ear drum $4.00 to $6.00 other christians their lives . about and the law that i thought it was the last seconds in this life they were very difficult moments you take a shot towards the room where we were in one hand grenade exploded that's when i was injured some of the project also stone my head and my chest. lewis and his son the were among more than $100.00 worshippers trapped inside the lady of salvation church in baghdad as gunmen laid siege to the building al qaida claimed responsibi

baghdad is on high alert for the 1st ever visit to iraq by the leader of the roman catholic church still faces security threats and attacks from isis and militia groups which means iraqi security forces have their work cut out for them for francis will be in 6 cities in 3 days. all requirements have been secured through a plan drawn up by the joint operations command to secure logical and security matters for all the places that the pope will visit whether they are in baghdad not just. places pope francis has frequently traveled to muslim majority countries and in iraq he will meet one of the world's most influential shiite clerics grand ayatollah ali al sistani the pope's visit is meant to expand on his message in defray the 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 covered 19. the vatican the massacre to iraq who would have escorted the pope to all his appointments has already tested positive pope francis and his entourage have been v