some $3000.00 delegates from all over china have gathered for the national congress in beijing normally lasting 2 weeks the annual congress has been shortened this year to just one because of the coronavirus pandemic so it's straight down to business the national committee chair says new security laws for hong kong will be discussed on day one that is how. to ensure the policy of one country 2 systems is firmly held over the long term we will strengthen the sense of mission and political responsibility of national committee members representing hong kong and macau and firmly support the improvement of systems and mechanisms for enforcing china's constitution and the basic laws of those 2 special administrative region. i. the aging has long considered limiting opposition movements in hong kong but the issue intensified after large anti-government protests last year when pro-democracy activists took to hong kong streets to protest a number of proposed changes to the city's laws. the demonstrators believe but aging is chipping away at the territory's unique rights to assembly and free spee

the primary speaking at the national people's congress.he move has sparked widespread anger and criticism. with aiscuss more professor of international relations and an advisor to china's state council. professor, why are they doing it now? >> [indiscernible] rishaad: correct. has sovereignty since 1997. which the chinese central government has respected. enacted to profit any action from hong kong -- [indiscernible] nearly two site -- nearly two decades since hong kong itself is unable to enact regulations. six months of violent actions by hong kong radicals. before the break of covid-19 pandemic. greatly urged the program. the chinese government determines to do it through a national congress according to the -- [indiscernible] professor, -- rishaad: professor, i just want to get your view here. of thee imposition national security wells in fact -- security laws in fact go around the legislative council's 23,ility to pass article represent a violation of the whole principal of one country, two systems? >> i do not think so. implementatio

and national people congress show before this law costs. in beijing we must get a people on the street again what are you going to be doing joshua. no matter mobilize people to the street called the new international advocacy and more important thing is we have to let the global community to stand up hong kong just like how fellow global community is that codice stand with hong kong in 2910 you're looking for help from abroad are you thinking that america donald trump said he would react very strongly u.s. president should be doing and act this law are you hoping for help from the us extras actions speak louder in a burst support hall it's not a matter of left all right it's just a matter of right or wrong and recall allies around the world to support hong kong people against the national security law that erodes on fundamental and basic freedoms freedom so we read it wish no matter us or european country could impose the hong kong human rights and democracy act all cloven it's get do and has the sanction mechanism and left beijing to reali

adrian brown very shortly but 1st let's go to katrina you in beijing for us so katrina the national people's congress voting on a draft decision within the hour what are we expecting talk us through the process of how this is going to be enacted. well the national people's congress is the biggest political gathering of the year in china we have $3000.00 members of the communist party gathering in one room along with xi jinping and they discussed various agenda items throughout the week this year it was only 7 days compared to previous years it's been $10.00 to $14.00 days of course one of the top issues that there will be discussing and deliberating over is the national security law in hong kong we haven't heard any details as to what that will include but some officials in beijing have raised that it may ban foreign judges in hong kong from presiding over any national security cases and it may also expand the presence of china's intelligence agency in hong kong so we are waiting to hear details as you mentioned fully they are starting to vote on those issues just now actually other issues they're go

security law as soon as possible chinese premier league jang announced the bill at the annual national people's congress we're expecting more details later but it's believed to ban sedition subs secession and sub version of the central government in hong kong news of the plan has already been met with protests and leading pro-democracy figures call it the end of the one country 2 systems. adrian brown he's in on hong kong and we're getting much reaction now. well sadly this is been a very dark day for those people here in this city state who were already worried about hong kong's worsening autonomy and freedoms yes there have been some small protests here in hong kong as well as scuffles inside hong kong's legislature involving pro and anti government supporters there were of course clashes in that same chamber on monday now this new law this proposed law as you rightly point out is supposed to deal with things like sedition treatment treason as well as foreign interference now the latter is a reference to the united states because china's government has always consistently believed that the united stat

premier league laid out the program for the next year and the opening address to the annual national people's congress it includes the law which is expected to ban sedition secession and subversion of the central government in beijing in the semi autonomous territory news of the plan there's already been met with protests in hong kong leading pro-democracy figures called the end of the one country 2 systems. brown is live for us in hong kong so what kind of reaction are we getting from the streets now. well there have been a few small protests sami during the past few hours and a clash inside hong kong's legislative assembly between pro-government lawmakers and their opponents but we are expecting to be honest in the coming weeks the protests to return one small at the moment we still have social distancing regulations and rules here in hong kong which means that it's impossible for people of more than in groups of more than 8 to gather on the streets now those social distancing rules have been extended until june 4th saw i think once that is over and if those social distancing rules aren't extended t

thank you very much for joining us we begin with breaking news out of beijing where the national people's congress has given the go ahead for a new set of security laws to be implemented in hong kong despite protests and international warnings the wide ranging laws which include a ban on treason secession sedition and subversion could now be in effect in a matter of weeks why yanni jansha shank that this is a major move to practice to one country 2 systems principle it's in line with china's constitution hong kong's basic law and in line with the interests of mainland china's people as well as hold. the residents the n.p.c. will also have the following legislation to safeguard national security sovereignty and development interests as well as hong kong's long term prosperity and stability . but critics say this will take away the territory's freedom and autonomy the u.s. secretary of state michael mail is recommending to congress that hong kong special economic status be revoked if that happens it could jeopardize hong kong status as a global financial hub meanwhile pro-democracy politicians have

shery: investors watching very closely china's national people's congress. out the centerpiece of economic policy. agendae addition to the is already causing a backlash. national security law on hong kong. tom mackenzie is live for us in beijing. this already is stirring anger. tom: it is. what beijing says is that this is a very standard security law that would help safeguard the territorial integrity of china. they say other countries have similar laws. the way it has been received in hong kong and internationally speaks to the level of anger and concern about what this law could be used for. it would punish things like secession, and foreign interference. it could be used to interfere in hong kong's relatively free media and free speech. to reassure raising -- beijing's control over hong kong. that's a concern we heard from one opposition lawmaker in hong kong saying this would effectively be the end of hong kong and -- if this law goes into force. we are waiting for the details. it looks like this is an attempt by beijing to bypass the hong kong legislat

on the eve of china's national people's congress the announcement of a terrorist national security law which criminalizes secession foreign interference and a subversion of state power in hong kong jungle could be asians entry hong kong as an inseparable part of the people's republic of china the m.p.c. is the highest organ of state power in light of new circumstances and need the n.p.c. is exercising the power enshrined in the constitution to establish and improve at the state level a legal framework and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in hong kong. the new law would 5 plus hong kong's legislative council and is beijing's response to months of dissent and sometimes. iowan pro-democracy protests in hong kong the draft legislation will be discussed when china's leaders meet over the next week here in beijing it's likely to further isolate president xi jinping. reddy faces a tide of international criticism because of the chinese government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic led by its biggest trading partner the us donald trump accuses china of covering up th

join of foreign policy specialist adam needham it's good to have you on the program the national people's congress has passed this law but we understand these specifics of this legislation are not clear why do you think beijing is being so big. yes sir just to be clear the national people's congress made a decision to implement disloyal hasn't actually possible yet. so we don't actually have the text of the truck legislation which i understand is nearly complete at this point so all the next few months will well hopefully be able to get a copy of that legislation is see exactly what it is proposing well we want to be clear about this the what what has happened in this this this coming from the people's congress has agreed to enforce this legislation that's correct right and shot that's right so although it has it has it has agreed to pass it has agreed to implement such legislation and national security legislation election hold on that legislation hasn't been passed yet. we understand that britain here to australia and the us. they've issued a statement condemning this move do you think they're l

laid out of the country's plans for the next year in his opening address to the annual national people's congress he also told the 3000 delegates that beijing would introduce laws to ensure national security in hong kong the proposed new legislation which targets pro-democracy protesters in the territory empowers mainland china to set punishments for the activities its considers subversive well agent. brown's in hong kong we're going to be speaking to him in a moment 1st let's go to trina you who's been listening to that speech in beijing katrina it sounded to me as though the message from the premier as far as covert 19 was concerned was quite confident but when it came to the economy it was a bit more cautious. that's why roll over roll cautious was the tour and it's quite a server and speech have got it in my hands here 23 pages which sounds have but in fact that's the shortest speech we've had from the premier in years here in china and as you mentioned indeed he talked about how the current virus has had a huge impact on china triumphant in a sense that the government he said sped no measure

also coming from the national people's congress for the 1st time in decades china will not says a growth target premier league chang told the $3000.00 delegates promoting development would be set aside as beijing works to repair an economy is badly hit by the current virus pandemic could really use in beijing with details of that economic plan. the theme was that the chrono virus has had a huge impact on china they've managed to get that under control they're still fighting the war no measures no resources have been spared but because of this the economy has suffered heavy losses but in premier league chung's words that was a price worth paying and because of this and because of the uncertainties due to the pandemic and trade no g.d.p. target has been set in china for the 1st time since 1988 he went on then to elaborate on a few measures that will be implemented to bolster the slowing economy the 1st being to stabilize employment that is key and he repeated that throughout the speech $9000000.00 urban jobs will be introduced and they will also invest in group projects and boost agricultu

for the national people's congress in china is being held as the country has abandoned its annual economic growth target for the 1st time in 30 years it's out of the coronavirus and global uncertainty in his annual work report to the congress premier league chung says china has set a target of creating 9000000 new urban jobs he also promised to increase spending and financing to support the economy which contracted by some 7 percent in the 1st quarter of this year alone and. not have a look at some of today's coronavirus developments around the world india has seen its biggest single day rise in cases as it begins easing its its nationwide lockdown more than 6000 new infections were reported on friday brazil is fast approaching russia to become the world's 2nd largest infection hotspot behind the u.s. it comes after brazil reported a record number of daily coronavirus to us the u.s. has secured almost a 3rd of the 1st $1000000000.00 doses planned for astra zeneca experimental vaccine pledged some $1200000000.00 for that and health care workers in britain and thailand started taking part in

will respond strongly to the proposed legislation the national people's congress will continue to meet over the next week but on friday its priorities were made clear reviving the economy and closing in on any threat to china's stability at the coronavirus or demands for democracy katrina al-jazeera aging as adrian brown explains many of the territories residents just don't believe that . well this has been a dark day for people who were already concerned about autonomy here in hong kong now china's leaders say that this new law is needed to come back things like terrorism succession sedition as well as foreign interference now the latter is a reference to the united states which beijing has often accused of being behind and funding some of the protests here in hong kong now on friday this new law was debated by members of china's national people's congress that's the parliament which meets once a year in beijing and it seems this new law could take effect as early as august there were protests in hong kong on friday as well as skirmishes inside the legislative assembly now currently s

until gail welcome to the program china's national people's congress has overwhelmingly passed a plan giving beijing the power to impose new restrictions on public protest in hong kong pro-democracy advocates say the law violates the freedoms of hong kong special one country 2 systems a status in a joint statement the united kingdom the united states australia and canada said the new legislation would curtail people's liberties and dramatically erode the chinese territories autonomy. disorder in the hong kong legislative council a democratic lawmaker has struggled to get past security guards with a bag he said it contained a russian plant symbolizing what he said was the decay of hong kong's. rule of law and way of life china's latest move against disobedience is imposing national security laws on hong kong the national people's congress approved plans to move forward with laws against things china sees as a threat to its authority over hong kong the law would allow mainland security agencies to operate openly in hong kong pro-democracy activists now fearing for their civil liberties.

political advisor a body is underway right now these are live pictures on one day ahead of the national people's congress when china's top leaders meet national people's congress is likely to announce measures to kick start the struggling economy after the outbreak caused the biggest contraction in decades and maybe as u.n. recognize government has launched air strikes against forces loyal to warlord honey for have to are government forces bombed several targets including have tar stronghold into near the capital tripoli those are the headlines on al-jazeera inside story is next. what impact will called it 19 and the drop in the oil drilling coupled the rings to the white. donald trump took only these historic sent down until the job only takes to beat. the special coverage on al-jazeera. is the world health organization on life support its response to the coronavirus demick is to be scrutinized by a number states with calls for change growing louder all the lessons to learn for the next time that this is inside story. hello welcome to the program on burn it's the coronavirus pandemic is one of the bigge

the chinese government currently dealing with let's take a look. 2 on the eve of china's national people's congress the announcement of the national security law which criminalizes secession foreign interference and the subversion of state power in hong kong. could be shins and hong kong as an inseparable part of the people's republic of china the m.p.c. is the highest organ of state power in light of new circumstances and need the n.p.c. is exercising the power in trying to in the constitution to establish and improve at the state level a legal framework and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in hong kong. the new law would bypass hong kong's legislative council and is beijing's response to months of dissent and sometimes violent part of the protests in hong kong the draft legislation will be discussed when china's leaders meet over the next week here in beijing it's likely to further isolate president xi jinping he already faces a tide of international criticism because of the chinese government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic led by its biggest trading partner the us

the chinese government and national people's congress ass ert the supreme legal authority overseeing law. by trying to insert chinese national security law and undercutting some of the fundamental liberties that are so core to both the basic law and joint declaration is really violating the spirit of it. and threatening the identity of hong kong in -- and all the freedoms the people of hong kong enjoyed for so many years. haslinda: how do you expect the trump administration to respond? how will it retaliate? evan: first there will be a lot of harsh rhetorical condemnations. the fact that this move is coming during a very politically charged election cycle means that politicians on both sides of the aisle are going to be looking for trump to do something tough. i think the trump administration is very likely going to invoke several pieces of legislation to decertify hong kong as enjoying its meaningful autonomy. once that decertification is made, then washington will have to decide what to do about that, what elements of hong kong's special status the u.s. will withdraw. it is a diffi

well right now in the study is the national people's congress press conference and they're introducing all the different items that are going to be tabled and discussed by the 3000 strong palm and during the national people's congress over the next 7 days and item 5 on that list is discussion of this national security law and that means that any discussion of this law is very highly likely to be passed. as you mentioned this is said that this will ban secession any really attempts to topple the central government and it seems like they jean is really taking things into that or in hands when it comes to this protest issue that's happening in home called what will happen as we understand it is that they will make an amendment to the basic law which is hong kong's mini constitution using a legal backdoor which essential a allows it to bypass the usual legislative process is in hong kong and this is because as beijing sees it they're simply too much opposition from pro-democracy lawmakers in hong kong so they're going to have to to put this in themselves and make this very strong impositio

you've covered the national people's congress of 14 years in a row. this has never happened before why has china ditched its annual growth focus for the 1st time in decades i think it's very significant i mean no one's ever seen anything like this pandemic before even though china's coming out of the pandemic it's still reliant so much on what happens in the rest of the world so clearly with so many different moving parts there's decisions made not to have to deal with the issue of g.d.p. forecast there was a particular focus on unemployment in there by some estimate i was reading today 80000000 people are without work in china which is nearly the same populations germany and so they've got a lot of problems to deal with so i think at the moment they're holding fire on the g.d.p. forecast how is europe coping with china's slowdown and of course of the slowdown in china has an effect around the world but the potential of europe it's a big factor for europe european project the same germany we have the carmakers are very big in china obviously what happ

china's national people's congress is under way in beijing. subjects for discussion include a new security law for hong kong. it's already been criticised by pro—democracy activists. another 2.5 million americans claim unemployment benefits. now it's middle class suburbia queuing at the food banks. president trump visits a ventilater plant in the key us swing—state of michigan. he trades verbal blows with the state's democratic governor and chooses not to wear a mask in public. getting into greece. we look at how tourists will be screened this summer, as hopes rise of reviving the multi—billion pound tourist industry. china's annual session of parliament has begun in beijing after being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. in his opening speech premier li keqiang acknowledged the fight to contain the virus still on going — he joined thousands of delegates in holding a minutes silence for those who had lost their lives to the illness. he also told the hall that the government hadn't set an economic growth target for 2020. media reports

here in beijing, the national people's congress is under way.ost important annual political gathering for the chinese communist party. and this time round, china's leaders do feel like they've got a pretty good story to tellm with the handling of the coronavirus, and perhaps they thought this would give them cover to almost sneak through new security legislation, and that it wouldn't attract much attention. well, it's certainly attracting a lot of attention in hong kong. hong kong protesters know that, in the coming days, the legislation will pass through china's rubber stamp congress. then, there is little they can do to prevent it coming low. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. as stephen mentioned, the china's annual national people's congress — the most important political event for the communist party — is under way in beijing. and in addition to the brewing tensions with hong kong over the proposed security law, this year's congress has also seen an escalation in beijing's war of words with the united states. china's foreign minister war

beijing circumvents the hong kong government through the national people's congress meetings.tration suggests strong condemnation and well restrung -- respond strongly. there was a reported wearing of the presidential mask as mr. trump went all ford versus ferreri. --hours of lemans 4g the four gt. citigroup gave everybody the day off, michael corbat is too big to fail genius. from new york, from

china's national people's congress begins in a few hours to lay out the centerpiece economic policy blueprint. one late addition to the agenda, plans to impose a national security law on hong kong. tom is at the forbidden city in beijing. is this even technically possible? they are talking about implementing this new national security law. we have seen protests in hong kong the past year. but would this mean? can they bypass the local parliament? tom: that is a key question. it looks like a way to write this law into hong kong's chart. we will have to wait to see if that is indeed the plan. certainly that would be the concern in hong kong. we heard that expressed as well from pro-democratic lawmakers in the city. one even came out and said this would be the end of hong kong if this law was passed. previous governments have tried unsuccessfully to get this law enshrined into hong kong's charter. were03, attempts to do so met by process, and they failed to do it. it seems beijing is trying to work around the hong kong legislature to make this into law, and the concern is it what he wrote hong k

outlining the country's plans for the next year but in his opening address at the annual national people's congress he said china would not set a growth target for 2020 the government he said would step up spending to bolster an economy badly hit by the corona virus pandemic later and brown is in hong kong will be speaking to him in a moment but let's 1st go to katrina you she's been listening in to that speech in beijing katrina so a rather long and detailed opening statement from really touching but the overriding message from the chinese premier seems to be that china's claiming victory over the coronavirus pandemic and despite the hit to the economy it's back to business as usual. that's why it was quite a long detailed report i've got it here in my hands 23 pages of different issues but as you said mentioned the main issue we tackled was the impact of the coronavirus basically the premier league the child was saying that no results and no measure has been spared in fighting this epidemic in containing. and is saving as many lives as possible that was what he called a price worth paying but bec

. ♪ correspondent: on the eve of china's national people's congress, the announcement of a proposed nationality law which criminalizes secession, foreign interference, and a subversion of state power in hong kong. >> hong kong is an inseparable part of the people's republic of china. of mpc is the highest organ state power. it is exercising the power enshrined in the constitution to establish and improve at the state level a legal framework and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in hong kong. correspondent: the new law would bypass hong kong's legislative council and is beijing's response to months of dissent and sometimes violent protests in hong kong. the draft legislation will be discussed when chinese leaders meet over the next week in beijing. it is likely to further isolate president xi jinping. he already faces a tide of criticism because of the chinese government's handling because of the coronavirus pandemic. led by its biggest trading partner, the u.s. donald trump accuses china of covering up the outbreak. beijing denies this, but the argument is pushing the

opening session of its top political adviser a body is now underway one day ahead of the national people's congress when china's top leaders meet the n.p.c. is expected to announce measures to kick start the struggling economy after the coronavirus outbreak caused the biggest contraction in decades as speak to katrina you in beijing for is so katrina the advisory body department meeting today ahead of the opening of the conference tomorrow every year leaders tackle a number of issues but this year it's a bit different isn't it. that's right so the 2 sessions the long way to 2 sessions began today the c.p.p. c.c. is an advisory body made up of about 2000 business leaders academics and celebrities who advise the government they don't have any real legislative power but tomorrow the national congress will open and that includes 3000 of most powerful people in china including president xi jinping and they meet every year but as you said fully this year is different because we've spoken to many analysts and they all have the same opinion that never before has in 2 sessions met under such challenging cir

shown that laid out the program for the next year in the opening address to the annual national people's congress a few hours ago it in the set of growth target for the economy is the 1st time that's happened in decades he's also told more than $3000.00 delegates that new laws will be introduced to ensure national security in hong kong we're going to speak to adrian brown in hong kong in a moment 1st let's go to katrina you in the chinese capital katrina's presently given premier league i should say giving a confident message that china has covert 99 to control but he has been more cautious when it comes to the economy. that's right cautious being the operative term and we had a hefty speech 23 pages got here but actually it was the shortest speech we've had in years and that's because the message was very clean and very pragmatic the theme was that the chrono virus has had a huge impact on china they've managed to get that under control they're still fighting the war no measures no resources have been spared but because of this the economy has suffered heavy losses but in premier league chung's

beijing circumvents the hong kong government through the national people's congress meetings. the trump administration suggests strong condemnation and well restrung -- respond strongly. there was a reported wearing of the presidential mask as mr. trump went all ford versus ferreri. --hours of lemans 4g the four gt. citigroup gave everybody the day off, michael corbat is too big to fail genius. london, tomk, from and francine are working this morning unlike the good people of citigroup, although tobias levkovich will join us later. on a serious note, things deteriorate in hong kong in the last 24 hours. francine: a lot of the focus is on china. we have the national people's congress and the premier talking about targets being abandoned because it is too difficult to predict gdp and they want to create 9 million jobs, less than the 11 million jobs in 2019. we will have to see what happens with hong kong, the lobbying passing through. the u.s. will weigh in and china is pushing back. i would focus on china all day today. tom: absolutely would. jon ferro way out front on the tens

the chinese government choosing not to release a forecast for economic growth at the people's national congressncing they will be imposing security rules on hong kong. at china'sar national people's congress, leaders unveil an annual gdp target that serves as a guide for local spending and investment. the fact that this year they did not unveil this target for the first time in decades underscores the scale of the disruption and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. detailset more concrete on economic growth targets in other areas. china said it would be beefing up stimulus, spending half $1 trillion in local government bonds to boost infrastructure investment, with a focus on technology. will also be widening the budget deficit to more than 3.6%, to passing the level set in the wake of the global financial crisis. the premier also made a strong emphasis on job creation. this is critical because in recent years rising employment wages have become a key part of justification for communist party rule and legitimacy. it's been estimated that some 130 million people have been laid off or

the ongoing pandemic has upended china's most important political event, the national people's congress in beijing today after i delay, bringing delegates to get a leadership's plans for the upcoming months. he was a look at the challenges ahead. the annual sessions of the national people's congress and the parallel advisory body typically bring together 5000 party members over 10 days. this time, onlookers expect a different format. the convention was postponed in march. the first day change in decades. reports suggest both meetings could run shorter, while the number of delegates may be reduced. we can see strict hygiene measures. a sign that china's leadership considers the fibers to be contained. the agenda may change, including a shifting focus on the economy, now heading for his worst performance since the days of chairman. the customary -- chairman mao. it could be a bandit a more ambiguous goal. stimulus measures will be another focus. they have pledged more powerful monetary policies while the government may further support sectors including construction, health care and 5g. on

the national congress is expected to rubberstamp the new legislation later this week.nalysts think it marks the greatest reform to beijing -- beijing's relationship since china took control of the territory. brent: -- i am joined by the chair of the human rights and humanitarian aid committee in the german parliament. it is good to have you on the program. hong kong's protesters have turned back to the streets. do you think their anger about this new security law -- is it appropriate? >> well, g good evening toto be. yes, it isis definitely propriatee.. when we see, and t take a look t the proroposed nationonal secury law that will be passed, and i am very certain that it will be passed on thursday by the standing committee of the national people's congress, we see that the principles of freedom and the promise of one country, two systems, not only hangs by a thread, but it will be breached beyond compare, and that is why i think it is necessary for the hong kongers to take to the street again, to protest, and to fight for their freedoms, definitely. brent: on your soc

some 3000 delegates from across the country gather for china's political event of the year the national congress in beijing the law is the most controversial item on the agenda beijing has vowed to uphold hong kong special status but says the law is needed in the wake of protests and foreign interference. these activities have seriously challenged the fundamental principles of one country 2 systems and have seriously undermined the rule of law threaten the sovereignty security and development interests of the country strong measures have to be taken according to the law to prevent stop and punish them. fine kong has been semi autonomous since britain returned the territory to china in 1997. special privileges including the right to assembly and free speech were promised under the one country 2 systems agreement. but beijing has long wanted more control over hong kong a similar law was scrapped in 2003 after fierce opposition as well as an extradition bill that sparked last year's pro-democracy protests and plunge hong kong into crisis. activists fear the bill could spell the end of autonomy in h

the communist party's national congress is expected to rubber stamp the new legislation later this week analysts think it marks the greatest reform to beijing's relationship with hong kong since china to control of the territory so. let's take a look now at some other stories making news around the world japan has ended its coronavirus state of emergency for the entire country following a sharp decline in new cases the move lifts curbs on economic activity in tokyo and other areas nationwide but prime minister shinzo adding one to the outbreak is not over. domestic flights have resumed across india air travel was suspended as part of a 2 month long shutdown implemented to contain the spread of the crop fires. children have returned to school in australia's most populous state new south wales which includes sydney as schools also we opened in queensland pacific toria plants and students back in stages early june australia has recorded 7000 covert infections and 102 deaths from afghan president bush has promised to release up to 2000 taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture his statement c

the national congress is expected to rubber stamp the new legislation later this week analysts think it marks the greatest reform to beijing's relationship with hong kong since china to control of the territory so. spain has started the next phase of relaxing its coronavirus restrictions people are being allowed to meet in groups in madrid and barcelona the country's 1st beaches are also reopening the pandemic has already cost millions of spaniards their jobs that number is so high that welfare programs cannot keep up with soaring demand for food aid the w.c. and philip schultz visited one spanish family that is now dependent on charity 2 months ago a man who wouldn't have believed it if you told him he would be in this position in mid march the father of 3 was still a substitute teacher then his life went into freefall 1st he lost his job then his wife lost hers then the family had to use the last of their savings now he has to get food from the red cross without this charity his family wouldn't be able to get by. all of a sudden i stood there and went through a range of emotions 1s

this is after the close of the national people's congress. just after parliament approved plans for a new national security law for hong kong. these are his first public comments since tensions are flared between beijing and washington over the coronavirus pandemic. more recently the united states comments about it. steven, we have been monitoring the pictures. we don't know the content of what he said. what's he been talking about so far? >> reporter: well, rosemary, the premier is still answering the first question from the reuters agency asking him about china's plunging economy and what the government's response will be. as you mentioned, the premier will have a full plate. so many issues to talk about from the ongoing pandemic to the plunging economy. taiwan increasingly contentious relationship with the u.s. not to mention the very controversial hong kong security law you just mensed. he is very likely to be asked about it. if we are assessing this correctly, he is going to reiterate the chinese government's position that this is long ov