what is pope francis like? _ was very significant. what is pope francis like? i— was very significant. what is pope francis like? i spent _ was very significant. what is pope francis like? i spent a _ was very significant. what is pope francis like? i spent a lot - was very significant. what is pope francis like? i spent a lot of - was very significant. what is pope francis like? i spent a lot of time | francis like? i spent a lot of time with political— francis like? i spent a lot of time with political and _ francis like? i spent a lot of time with political and religious - francis like? i spent a lot of time | with political and religious leaders and i would say of everybody i have met, he exudes a calm that is quite extraordinary. i think he has our deep self—confidence and kind of humility that allows him... really he is calm and it affects everyone around him, genuinely extraordinary. to myanmar now, where an increasingly brutal crackdown by police and the military has not stopped protests against the military coup. today, security forces have conti

this pope, pope francis, has spent a large partj pope francis, has spent a large part of his pontificate see engaging in dialogue with people east and west, he has been very concerned about interreligious dialogue, he has been aware that relations between catholics and muslims took a dip during the previous pontificate see i pope benedict xvi, so he has been working towards this. in 2019, and the united immigrants, he signed a declaration of fraternity with a leading sunni cleric. —— united immigrants. now he is engaged with one of the great sea ayatollahs in iraq. so it is part of a dialogue that he want to develop. —— united immigrants. but being there now for christians in that part of the well is important. they had had so many years of persecution and many of them led and now there seems hope perhaps they can rebuild. —— united emirates. going to iraq, pope francis is asking for attention for the safety christians there but more than that really, the conversations that he had are sustained were also about rights and about the importance that christians should have equal

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. for more on this i'm joined by d.w. religious affairs correspondent martin jacques martin the pope is now meeting we understand with grand ayatollah. sistani in a nutshell why is this meeting so important. i think generally speaking this has been the policy or the policy position of this vatican which restricts trends and strengthening relations across really just religious boundaries and it has made you know it has made islam one of its name one of its main targets in the sense i mean they are very interested in fostering part of their relations with the world they have done sort of a thorough going where we would. would sunni's and now there is an opportunity for this pope to meet actually one of the main few years of the show were. so. here is that you k

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 symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was on to mass, pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people ca

this is al jazeera and these are the headlines pope francis is in northern iraq for the 3rd day of his historic visit here dressed people in the town of car of course a major center for christians in iraq earlier he held a prayer service in mosul for fixin's of war pope francis has used the trip to appeal for tolerance and unity among religious groups you know. it's a matter of conversion of the hearts reconciliation and putting aside our differences we must all work together for the future for turn all of which recognizes a common humanity and together build a dialogue and forgive. a prominent muslim politician has reportedly died in myanmar after being arrested overnight by security forces his cause of death is unknown police have used tear gas and live fire to disperse anti could protesters in several cities see it turned out despite the escalation in violence to only chain has more from bangkok in their brain thailand clearly they have a target list of people there are many people who know they're on those target lists that have gone into hiding but the other role that these night

pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people came together today. but as this country knows too well, the spirit of coexistence can quickly fade. mark lowen, bbc news, in iraq. nicola green, is an artist who has been painting religious leaders — and their meetings — for ten years — including pope francis — i asked her what it's like being in the same room. often i was the only person in the room other than usuallyjust to religious leaders meeting with each other. i have travelled all over the world. i was usually the only woman but second of all i was only allowed in there because i was not recording their words, everything i recorded was in drawings and photographs and a visual image. but i have spent ten years following and witnessing these interfaith meetings where religious leaders have been trying to work out together and individually how they speak about each other without undermining the absolute truth of their own faith and this is why religious leaders have not met in hisstory. it is r

visit so far as one of the waiting for pope francis she to speak in a car of course. that give us a sense of why this is so significant and why the pope is giving this speech here. so current crotchet is a christian chant town east of mosul between mosul and below where we are at the moment and it is part of this area that is called the main there are planes which are prior to isis arrival they're relatively vibrant christian communities not just kind of course there are several other towns that were christian majority towns but of course when i saw i arrived in 2014 all of those christians fled the area some of them emigrated abroad others floats to the bill in the semi autonomous kurdish region and a few of them have returned in fact have a coach is one of the christian pounds a little plane but they have seen a steady number of return is the communities have gone back they have felt safe to do so to try to rebuild that community but of course there is still a lot of destruction there the the church of immaculate conception where the the pope will give his speech la

speaking out for dialogue, pope francis meets one of the most powerfulfigures in shia islam on day two of his historic trip to iraq. concerns over unnecessary self—isolation for school children in england because of inaccurate coronavirus test results. a warning for the un security council that anti—coup demonstrators in myanmar are beginning to lose faith in the organisation. they're usually a sign that spring has sprung, but why is this host of golden daffodils being left unpicked? in cricket, india thrash england by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth test to secure the series 3—1. and coming up — click looks at how gaming has helped people with their mental health through the pandemic. hello and good afternoon, welcome to bbc news. let's bring you some live pictures now from the chaldean cathedral of "saintjoseph" in baghdad where the pope is 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 a

we start in iraq, where pope francis has begun the country's first ever papal visit. he brought a message of tolerance, and urged the different religious communities to work together towards peace. our rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling on the papal plane. still 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. on the first ever papal visit here, he told me he was very happy, calling it "special". beneath the pomp is a significant message — dialogue between faiths and support for persecuted christians. no open—top popemobile here. in a country torn by conflict, an outstretched hand through an armoured car was all most will see. but less protection from the other danger here — the pandemic. little social distancing and few masks are what's worrying many. after a meeting with the president, the pope called for an end to extremism. translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences | and see each other as members of the same human family will w

my apologies we are still having technical problems there as pope francis addresses people in the church of the immaculate conception in the city of current we are working on those technical difficulties and will try to bring you that order as soon as possible well earlier pope francis was in mosul today here that was once home to a vibrant christian community as well before that city was destroyed by isis fighters efforts are now underway to rebuild it here's the mona fulton's report. stone by stone morsels christian heritage is being restored but will it be enough to make the city's christians come back this complex of 4 churches was partly destroyed during the war rift i saw 4 years ago now unesco workers are collecting the fragments which will be used to rebuild what's left of the assyrian catholic church the nave of the church it was too. long. it's the goal is to restore it to its original design. a message to people to come back we rebuild it again so they can do with their prayers and their muslims as well i saw used our church as the court and the adjacent armenian church as a p

pope francis�*s first trip since covid is riskiest of all. a powerless pilgrimage to iraq in the grip of a pandemic. on the first ever papal visit here he told me he was very happy, calling it special. beneath the pomp is a significant message, dialogue between faiths and support for persecuted christians. no open top pope mobile here in a country torn by conflict an outstretched hand through an armoured car was all most will see. but less protection from the other danger here, the pandemic. little social distancing and few masks are what's worrying many. after a meeting with the president the pope called for in an end to extremism. translation: only if we live turning to look beyond our differences - and see each other as members of the same human family we will be able to begin an effective process of rebuilding. for iraq's dwindling christians it's like salvation. hannah, who named her son after pope francis has watched as much of her community were killed orforced to flee. we've been dreaming of this visit day and night, she says. we must

we start in iraq, where pope francis has begun the country's first ever papal visit. he brought a message of tolerance, and urged the different religious communities to work together towards peace. the trip is taking place amid tight security — as our correspondent mark lowen reports. still 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. on the first ever papal visit here he told me he was very happy, calling it special. beneath the pomp is a significant message, dialogue between faiths and support for persecuted christians. no open—top popemobile here. in a country torn by conflict an outstretched hand through an armoured car was all most will see. but less protection from the other danger here, the pandemic. little social distancing and few masks are what is worrying many. after a meeting with the president the pope called for an end to extremism. translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences | and see each other as members of the same human fami

we start in iraq, where pope francis has begun the country's first ever papal visit. he brought a message of tolerance and urged the different religious communities to work together towards peace. the trip is taking place amid tight security, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. still 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. on the first ever papal visit here, he told me he was very happy, calling it "special". beneath the pomp is a significant message — dialogue between faiths and support for persecuted christians. no open—top popemobile here. in a country torn by conflict, an outstretched hand through an armoured car was all most will see. but less protection from the other danger here — the pandemic. little social distancing and few masks are what's worrying many. after a meeting with the president, the pope called for an end to extremism. translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences | and see each other as members of the same h

pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people came together today. but as this country knows too well, the spirit of coexistence can quickly fade. mark lowen, bbc news, in iraq. the headlines on bbc news... pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to health service staff in england. more unions have joined the backlash. hundreds of rangers fans gather outside the ibrox stadium in glasgow, despite lockdown rules. the team's on the verge of winning the scottish premiership. pope francis delivers an impassioned condemnation of extremism and violence, during the first ever papal visit to iraq. one of the largest legislative packages in us history has passed its biggest hurdle by the narrowest possible margin. the senate has approved president biden�*s 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus relief plan — the plan at the heart of his election campaign — by 50 votes to 49. the vote means millions of people will get a payment of fourteen—hundred dollars. and there'll be multi—billion dollar payout

tension sound expectations are running high with pope francis the head of the catholic church visiting iraq the 84 year old pontiff is on a mission to bring peace and reconciliation to the war torn country including to northern iraq where between 20142017 thousands of christians were killed under the rule of the islamic state fanatics these days there are still great concerns about the threat posed by terrorism and by covert 19 and the catholic church itself is in turmoil in many parts of the world not least germany so on to the point we ask pope francis in iraq mission impossible. thanks very much indeed for joining us here on to the point where my guests in the studio are journalist and filmmaker doosan tekapo who says iraq is one of many countries where christians are being persecuted which is why it's so important that pope francis is traveling to the region and also with us is the author and theologian alexander girl after who say the papal visit to iraq in times of corona is far from why it's not a warm welcome suits of baghdad born journalist i mean most of our. who says the pop

pope francis, on his second day of his visit to iraq, will visit najaf. he is due there shortly and he will hold talks with ground ayatollahs ali al—sistani on the spiritual leader of millions of shia muslims. the talks have taken years to arrange and they mark a high point of the pope's is it to iraq. but will be carried out very shortly. please stay with us your bbc news. hello. last weekend was a mainly dry weekend across the uk with high pressure in control, and this weekend will be the same. but there is a significant difference between weekends — that word there, cold. a very different feel to things. spring in the air last weekend — 15 celsius in the sunshine. this weekend, with only a few sunny spells around, well, it's closer to 7 degrees. and it feels like winter's still got a bit of life left in it. but it is high pressure across us, so it is going to be mainly dry. just this one weak weather front will deliver a bit of rain into parts of scotland, especially the further north you are. there is milder air out in the atlantic. it will come

tension sound expectations are running high with pope francis the head of the catholic church visiting iraq the 84 year old home to face on a mission to bring peace and reconciliation to the war torn country including to northern iraq where between 20142017 thousands of christians were killed under the rule of the islamic state fanatics these days there are still great concerns about the threat posed by terrorism and by covert 19 of the catholic church itself is in turmoil in many parts of the world not least germany so on to the point we ask pope francis in iraq mission impossible. thanks very much indeed for joining us here on to the point where my guests in the studio journalist and filmmaker. who says iraq is one of many countries where christians are being persecuted which is why it's so important the pope francis is traveling to the region and also with us is the author and theologian alexander girl laughed who say he's a papal visit to iraq in times of corona is far from weiss and a warm welcome suits of baghdad born journalist i mean was it always. series the pope's meeting wit

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 called himself is aware of the risks he is taking a

there's a steely news line from berlin pope francis arrives for the 1st papal visit to iraq the pontiff is it urging dwindling numbers of iraqi christians to stay put and help rebuild after years of war and persecution also coming up. china shit its focus from the find against the coronavirus to a longer term economic goals beijing also moves to tighten its grip on hong kong. and the golden bear goes through the dark comedy carries off the top prize at the burly not less the german capital's international film festival. welcome to the show pope francis has arrived and back to us to kick off a historic 4 day tour of war torn iraq it's the 1st time a pope has visited the country the 84 year old touched down in the capital and the last few hours prime minister mustafa me led a welcoming committee before the papal convoy made its way into the presidential palace france's then attended a ceremony to mark the beginning of what he has described as a pilgrimage of peace he also is also due to visit mosul a former stronghold of the so-called islamic state. father against petzold is a catholic. m

we start in iraq, where pope francis has begun the country's first ever papal visit. he brought a message of tolerance and urged the different religious communities to work together towards peace. the trip is taking place amid tight security, as our correspondent mark lowen reports. still 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. on the first ever papal visit here, he told me he was very happy, calling it "special". beneath the pomp is a significant message — dialogue between faiths and support for persecuted christians. no open—top popemobile here. in a country torn by conflict, an outstretched hand through an armoured car was all most will see. but less protection from the other danger here — the pandemic. little social distancing and few masks are what is worrying many. after a meeting with the president, the pope called for an end to extremism. translation: only if we learn to look beyond our differences | and see each other as members of the same

speaking out for dialogue — pope francis meets one of the most historic trip to iraq. concerns over unnecessary self—isolation for schoolchildren in england, because of inaccurate coronavirus test results. a 50—year—old man has been arrested in dundee in connection with the disappearance of a woman and two children. 0fficers entered a property in troon avenue in the city yesterday afternoon as part of an enquiry into a missing 25—year—old woman. a warning for the un security council that anti—coup demonstrators in myanmar are beginning to lose

pope francis has just this moment landed in iraq at the start of his storied 4 day tour the 1st ever papal visit to the country seeing live pictures from back down at airport right now the 84 year old head of the catholic church arrived in the capital back of amid hats and fears over security and a nationwide coronavirus curfew cancer terrible trolls have been beefed up after a spate of recent rocket and sewer ties bomb attacks. or francis will meet with political and religious leaders and visit the former islamic state stronghold mosul it's the pope's 1st trip outside italy since november 29th. and for more on this i'm not joined by our religious affairs analyst martin got martin and why is the pope visiting the country now. well i think that you know most of the attention in terms of geopolitics pass being focused on essentially the coverage crisis and to a lesser degree i mean the transition in the u.s. probably conflict with china and india but in that space the situation of christians in the middle east which is quite dire really has has actually sort of disappeared so i think t

grand ayatollah ali al—sistani face—to—face with pope francis. at 90 and 8a, 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 symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was on to mass, pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people ca

tensions and expectations are running high with pope francis the head of the catholic church visiting iraq the 84 year old pontiff is on a mission to bring peace and reconciliation to the war torn country including to northern iraq where between 20142017 thousands of christians were killed under the rule of the islamic state fanatics these days there are still great concerns about the threat posed by terrorism and by covert 19 there and the catholic church itself is in turmoil in many parts of the world not least germany so on to the points we ask pope francis in iraq mission impossible. thanks very much indeed for joining us here on to the point where my guests in the studio are journalist and filmmaker dusun. who says iraq is one of many countries where christians are being persecuted which is why it's so important that pope francis is traveling to the region and also with us is the author and theologian alexander girl laughed who say the papal visit to iraq in times of corona is far from y. and a warm welcome suited baghdad born journalist i mean most are not we who say the pope's

pope francis celebrated mass in baghdad's chaldean cathedral the latest stop on his visit to iraq. early the head of the roman catholic church delivered a message of peace to a nation has been wracked by war and religious divisions prime minister most stuff for me was declared march 6th as a ranks of tolerance and coexistence pope francis was also not just where is osama bin jawad reports he met iraq's top share cleric. under strict security pope francis enters not just one of the holiest cities for shia muslims another historic 1st for the leader of the catholic church as he met iraq's grand ayatollah ali al sistani is a reclusive leader who is rarely seen in public he's iraq's most revered cleric and his proclamations have influenced many since the 2003 u.s. invasion the plight of those being persecuted in the region including palestinians and syrians discussed. short the point of equal rights for christians in iraq and peaceful coexistence the meeting between the pope and grand ayatollah ali al sistani is symbolic and significant although the majority of the religious authority

calling for an end to violence in iraq pope francis seeks to galvanize one of the world's oldest and most persecuted christian communities during a historic visit. hello again i'm just on the attack of this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up tightening its grip on hong kong china is to expand its veto power in deciding who can run for election. security forces in myanmar are accused of issuing death threats to protesters on talk the video sharing app says it's removing content that incites violence. c 6 street battles and set a goal protesters are demanding the release of an opposition leader they say is falsely accused of rape. pope francis is calling for an end to violence and intolerance in his opening address in iraq as he starts a historic visit to a nation scarred 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 interfait

a historic trip pope francis heads to iraq to support one of the world's oldest and most persecuted christian community its. security forces in myanmar are accused of issuing death threats to protest as one tick tock the video sharing app says it's removing content that incites violence. 'd 6 street battles and senegal protesters are demanding the release of an opposition leader they say is accused of rape. and the school itself america's football thought is look to solve the continent's woke up call find the european clubs unlikely to release a jew to corner virus concerns and quarantine mr actions. now and china has unveiled plans to the whole hong kong electoral system allowing beijing veto power over just who can run for the legislative council how about announcement was made during the national people's congress. the country's biggest annual political gathering the proposed changes would mean a pro china election committee decides which candidates can run for legislative council seats that group will effectively stamp out any opposition and hong kong's parliament in his opening speech pr

pope francis meets one of the most senior clerics in shiite islam on the 1st papal visit to the pontiff is calling for an end to religious extremism . and we take a closer look at an international program helping countries in africa to vaccinate some of their most vulnerable against covert 19. and a warm welcome to our viewers around the world i'm michel oku the u.n. special envoy has called for a robust international response after this week's violence against protesters she made the remarks during a closed door meeting of the u.n. security council in new york but the council's unlikely to pass a resolution on miramar because of china and russia's veto wielding seats more than 50 people have been killed over the past 7 days as protesters keep up their calls for a return to democracy. oh. the march for democracy purse of years in me and maher despite brutal crackdowns by the military authorities. demonstrations are regularly dispersed by tear gas the violence has escalated in the last week with police making mass arrests and adopting more lethal force. with radio free asia published thi

tension sound expectations are running high with pope francis the head of the catholic church visiting iraq the 84 year old pontiff is on a mission to bring peace and reconciliation to the war torn country including to northern iraq where between 20142017 thousands of christians were killed under the rule of the islamic state fanatics these days there are still great concerns about the threat posed by terrorism and by covert 19 and the catholic church itself is in turmoil in many parts of the world not least germany so on to the point we ask pope francis in iraq mission impossible. thanks very much indeed for joining us here on to the point where my guests in the studio are journalist and filmmaker doosan tekapo who says iraq is one of many countries where christians are being persecuted which is why it's so important that pope francis is traveling to the region and also with us is the author and theologian alexander girl of who say he's a papal visit to iraq in times of corona is far from white and a warm welcome suits of baghdad born journalist i mean most in our way who say the pope

tensions and expectations are running high with pope francis the head of the catholic church visiting iraq the 84 year old pontiff is on a mission to bring peace and reconciliation to the war torn country including to northern iraq where between 20142017 thousands of christians were killed under the rule of the islamic state fanatics these days there are still grave concerns about the threat posed by terrorism and by covert 19 and the catholic church itself is in turmoil in many parts of the world not least germany so on to the point we ask pope francis in iraq mission impossible. thanks very much indeed for joining us here on to the point where my guests in the studio are journalist and filmmaker dusun tekapo who says iraq is one of many countries where christians are being persecuted which is why it's so important that pope francis is traveling to the region and also with us is the author and theologian alexander girl are who say a papal visit to iraq in times of corona these far from why he's not a warm welcome suitor baghdad born journalist a member so no way who saved the pope's

francis is on a visit to iraq. our richard engel is there tonight. >> reporter: on the first people visit to the cradle of civilization pope francis was given a warm welcome. honored guard at the presidential palace. above all it was his message that's so well received in a nation where hundreds of thousands have died >> iraq today called to show everyone in the middle east of diversity instead of leaving rise to conflict i asked the president of iraq if this country is ready? do you think this can be a start of a healing process >> it has been a tough time and for the pope to come this time despite many calls for him to postpone the visit he has come to help us go to a better day the visit is encouraging for iraq's dwindling christian community persecuted by groups like isis and al-qaida >> reporter: spreading hate he says is in compatible with true says is incompatible with true religion tomorrow pope francis makes a pilgrimage, showing common ground among faiths here in the middle east too often torn apart by wa

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

this is al jazeera and these are the headlines pope francis is in northern iraq for the 3rd day of his historic visit the pontiff is holding a prayer service in warsaw for victims of war smaller 14 has more on the significance of the pope's appearance in mosul his presence in the old city is also in a way a message of support for not just north of the bridge but also in the way and in the arab way of highlighting the lack of reconstruction and rehabilitation that has the place of the city despite the war with eyesore having been over for more than 3 years there are still a lot of buildings that are destroyed not infrastructure for people to return to this is one reason why very few in parts of the few dozen members of mortals christian community have returned to. police are using tear gas to disperse sensical protesters in myanmar who turns out in their families in this despite the escalation crackdown that follows a night of raids for security forces stormed houses rounded up people including politicians and journalists 20 chang has more from bangkok in neighboring thailand in one of

after meeting shia islam's most influential ayatollah pope francis heads to iraq's kurdish region to hold prayers for victims of war. and with code inspections on the rise chile and brazil are returning to unpopular strict lock downs. me and ma security forces of storm the homes of protesters over night firing shots as they were rounded up after this. raids have taken place in several main cities part of a strict crackdown by the military human rights groups say it's a tactic designed to terrify people into submission but protesters are remaining defiant and continue to gather daily to call for an end to the military coup despite facing tear gas stun grenades and live rounds what tony chang joins us live now from bangkok in neighboring thailand tony so this isn't the 1st time the gent have used nighttime raids since the coup tell us what's been happening. absolutely not and this is something that's been going on for some time but it's certainly been stepped up in the intensity in the last couple of days we heard a lot of reports in yangon a mandalay that this was happening last night

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 on a charge one person has been killed in the unrest. u.s. aviation authorities a say they will investigate an emergency on a boein

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 symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was on to mass, pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people

pope francis meets iraq's top shia muslim cleric on the 2nd day of his historic visit. hello there i am home or he and this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up. was. the u.n. is urged to act swiftly against myanmar as military crackdown in a protest or is aren't backing down. the u.s. accuses china of an attack ultimate chrissie or her beijing's plans to overhaul hong kong's electoral system. and communities in rural south africa's say they're being left behind and it's with 19 vaccination trying. pope francis is expected in the ancient iraqi city of well he'll address an interfaith meeting in the last hour he met with iraq's top shia muslim cleric on the 2nd day of his historic visit to the country the meeting with grand ayatollah sistani was held in the city of najaf the heads of the roman catholic church as the 1st pope to travel to iraq wife now to a summer binge of 80 joins us from. a summer just talk us through the significance of this me. well this was history in the making the 1st time the leader of the roman catholic church has met the highest religious

pope francis is scheduled to hold prayers here. the father will show the pope some of the damage isis left behind. he worries decades of trauma left a deep still raw wound. >> iraq is in a dark tunnel he says, there are challenges caused by war and the terrorism still present in some areas and economic problems and corruption widespread in iraq. the visit of pope francis he hopes will spark a change of hearts and minds. maybe there will be love and peace, maybe it will soften and melt frozen hearts. the sun shines once more. people busy themselves preparing for the pope, hoping darkness will not descend upon them yet again. >> reporter: of course the question is after this visit ends tomorrow by pope francis, are things really going to change for iraq? that's hard to say. this is a country set by many problems and political instability and corruption and there are still frequent attacks by isis, none the less, these few days iraqis are able to watch some happy story, a story that does giver some hope to the future. when cnn pays at

our correspondent mark lowen is travelling with pope francis. from the rubble of war, a messenger of peace. face—to—face with the brutality of islamic state terror in mosul, pope francis came to appeal for unity to rise from its ashes. beside a church destroyed in the fighting, a powerful moment of reflection. rarely has the hand of healing been needed more than this. he called for persecuted christians to return here and gave a prayerfor the victims. translation: today, . we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide. that hope is more powerful than death. that peace, more powerful than war. then another risk in the trips finale — a large public mass in irbil in the midst of the pandemic. it's what some had warned against — spreading the virus, notjust the word of god. but the papal fans were undeterred. i hope that this visit will bring a lot of peace to this country and to all religions and nationalities — to live together in peaceful life. the short—term impact of these crowds could well be a spike in

our correspondent mark lowen is travelling with pope francis. from the rubble of war, a messenger of peace. face—to—face with the brutality of islamic state terror in mosul, pope francis came to appealfor unity to rise from its ashes. beside a church destroyed in the fighting, a powerful moment of reflection. rarely has the hand of healing been needed more than this. he called for persecuted christians to return here and gave a prayer for the victims. translation: today, . we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide. that hope is more powerful than death. that peace, more powerful than war. then another risk in the trips finale — a large public mass in irbil in the midst of the pandemic. it's what some had warned against — spreading the virus, notjust the word of god. but the papal fans were undeterred. i hope that this visit will bring a lot of peace to this country and to all religions and nationalities — to live together in peaceful life. the short—term impact of these crowds could well be a spike in

well it's indeed a historical visit to the pope francis to iraq. all the iraqi people have welcomed this visit to. astonishing. we did not expect that kind of form will come of all in archy's of different faiths to bob francis and spite of whatever happened in iraq and of course the message of the pope to iraqis to the war through this visit to faith should not be used as a weapon against others faith should be used as a way to spread love to straight peace to spread coexistence among people living in neighborhoods so it's historical visit ali this is also a real opportunity for iraq as a country to try to demonstrate its relative stability as i recall when he landed on friday in one of his very fast public speeches he also spoke about corruption and the need for justice and government is today part of that push for accountability as the country tries to rebuild. well it's a controversial. point of view with respect to the way iraq is going now with respect to the ongoing corruption which has led to minimum services. provided to the iraqi people yo

pope francis has met the spiritual leader of iraq's shia muslims, in the city of najaf on the second day of his trip to the country. he's the first pope to hold talks with grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, a highly influential figure in the middle east. pope francis has now arrived in the ancient city of ur where the prophet abraham — central to islam, christianity and judaism — is believed to have been born. our correspondent mark lowen reports. if the first day of pope francis�* visit to iraq was about the politics and about meeting the country's dwindling christian community, today was about the outreach towards other faiths, most notably a meeting this morning with the country's top shia cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, bringing together the leader of the world's catholics with perhaps the most powerful and influential figure in shia islam. it's thought that they discussed interfaith dialogue and the violence that iraqi christians have long suffered. then the pope came on here to ur, the ancient birthplace of the prophet abraham, in which he met again with members

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 symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was on to mass, pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people cam

pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people came together today. but as this country knows too well, the spirit of coexistence can quickly fade. mark lowen, bbc news, in iraq. to myanmar now, where an increasingly brutal crackdown by police and the military has not stopped protests against the military coup. today, security forces have continued firing tear gas on protesters gathered in yangon. the un's special envoy on myanmar has told the security council that there is "urgency for collective action". danai howard has this report. this is a scene that has become all too familiar in cities right across myanmar, from the northern mountain region to the major cities of yangon and naypyidaw in the south. young protesters have been standing up to police, banging on home—made shields, and marching for democracy. on saturday, security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against activists in yangon to clear the streets. and there have been further allegations of police brutality. it's b

final preparations to receive pope francis are underway in northern iraq in fact here's the live pictures from the airport in bill the pope due to land this hour expected to deliver a mass for thousands of people in the semi autonomous kurdish region later in the day it is of course the 1st papal trip to iraq and also be heading to mosul a city once home to a vibrant christian community some wonderful team has this report stone by stone christian heritage is being restored but will it be enough to make this a descriptions come back this complex for churches was partly destroyed during the war with i saw 4 years ago now unesco workers are collecting the fragments which will be used to rebuild what's left of this the syrian capital the church the nave of the church. to a line of. longs. it's the goal is to restore it to its original design. a message to people to. rebuild it again so they can be there with their prayers. as well i salute the used church as the court and the adjacent armenian church as a prison the graffiti on this wall reads and transfer a bit and on the orders of the islam