here and of course this is the place where he will be received by president saleh and president barham salih he is the one who has really pushed for this visit her visit really enabled him to travel to the vatican in january last year where he met the pope this is where the invitation was extended to the vatican sort of pope to really come here because this visit has not just been on the. oh francis it was something that folks in the past have tried to implement john paul the 2nd try to come in iraq during saddam hussein's reign but that visit was called off at the last minute as negotiations broke down between the 2 sides still president barham salih is really kind of the sponsor of this visit he's also somebody who has really tried to push for minority rights he's the one who has championed a recent law that has been passed to protect the survivors of the z.t. genocide committed by as one the pope himself has also mentioned. in the speeches before coming here so it's going to this visit is not just for the christians it's really 2 to foster coexistence between all of the religions really f

by war and now the coronavirus he landed just a short while ago in baghdad and was welcomed by barham salih at the presidential palace the head of the roman catholic church is hoping his 3 day visit will boost the morale of the country's dwindling christian population he's also looking to strengthen interfaith ties but in a speech to those gathered at the presidential palace the fight for iraq's political leaders to strengthen justice and transparency and to foster a sense of hope especially amongst the youth. the politicians need to promote the spirit of fraternal solidarity there is corruption abuse of power that's not the way at the same time you need to think of justice transparency to strengthen certain values that's how credibility can grow so everyone especially the young people can have hope for the future while iraq's president saleh greeted the pope as a cherished guest and called for the visit to be a turning point for his country but know what that this is a historic chance to have this visit be a cornerstone you know building peace increasing corporation increasing the toleranc

show me what's very interesting is that it really helps the president barham salih. reinforce his agenda of unity and i think the pope spoke very powerfully about curbing corruption and nepotism and that's quite a direct message to many iraqi politicians who have actually fostered quite a hostile unpleasant environment to put it mildly for many iraqis and so it's really calling them to account and inviting them to strongly to to rethink their politics to help iraq will or won't when terms of a commentary on what's happening in iraq i think the pope in his speech he also called for more christian participation in public life in iraq and so many christians have fled the country and we've also seen with a the rise of al qaeda and i still can you talk us through a little of the history here especially of that minority persecution just has significant these comments around that. absolutely. being christian significant question communities in iraq since the early days of christianity perhaps in the 3rd century a.d. on words initially not in the iraq but all over iraq owes

and now the coronavirus pandemic he landed a while ago in baghdad and was welcomed by president barham salih at the presidential palace the head of the roman catholic church is hoping his 3 day visit will boost the morale of the country's dwindling christian population he's also looking to strengthen interfaith ties in a speech to those gathered at the presidential palace the pope iraq's political leadership to strengthen justice and transparency and to foster a sense of hope among the youth. employers will be poorly the politicians need to promote the spirit of fraternal solidarity there is corruption abuse of power this is not the way at the same time you need to think of justice transparency to strengthen certain values that's how credibility can grow so everyone especially the young people can have hope for the future. china has unveiled plans to overhaul hong kong's electoral system allowing beijing more veto power over who can run for the legislative council that announcement was made during the national people's congress the country's biggest annual political gathering those proposed

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 responsibility for the attack one of many carrie

welcomed by the prime minister when he arrives in baghdad on friday he will then need president barham salih as well as religious leaders and representatives of civil society at the presidential palace and the next day he'll fly to the city of najaf to meet a grand ayatollah sistani and later the pope will celebrate her new mass in baghdad and on sunday pope francis will travel to erbil the capital of iraqi kurdistan there he'll meet with religious and civil leaders of that autonomous region of some of the reports from baghdad on all the security preparations ahead of his present. 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

his landmark visit began yesterday, when he met the iraqi president barham salih, though some have criticisedl masked, but no longer grounded. pope francis' first trip since covid, his riskiest of all. a perilous pilgrimage to iraq, in the grip of a pandemic. 0n the first—ever papal visit here, he told me he was very happy, calling it special. beneath the pump is a significant message: dialogue between faiths, and support for persecuted christians. —— beneath the pomp. no open topped pope amabile here, in a country torn by conflict, and outstretched hand through an armoured car was almost forward c. —— all we'll see. but less protection from the other danger here, the pandemic. little social distancing and fuel asks what is worrying many. after a meeting with the president, the pope called for an end to extremism. translation:— for an end to extremism. translation: , ., ., translation: only if we learn to look beyond _ translation: only if we learn to look beyond our _ translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences - translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences a