For sex abusers. Pope francis has removed the cover of papal secrecy, meaning victims of sexual abuse will be able to go to the police to report a crime without fear of exmmunicatation from the church. And tea gas onn the s streets of france as unions take their protest against Pension Reforms into a 13th day, but president macron seems determined to press ahead with the plan. Im brent goff. To our viewers on pbs in the United States and all around the world, welcome. We start with problems in the pipeline between germany and the United States. The u. S. Senate has backed sanctions on the nordstrom to gas pipeline by a huge majority, meaning the bill has passed both houses of conongress, a and president tru s says he will sign it into law. The sanctions targeted pipeline is being built under the baltic sea to transport russian natural gas to germany. It is supposed to start operating as early as next month. The u. S. Opposes the project, saying it will increase russias political influence in europe. They sanctions could be met by retaliatory measures from the europepean countries that are invested in the pipeline, including germany. For more, lets go to our correspondent in washington. Weve got construction of nord stream 2, which began in 2018, so its kind of late for the threat of sanctions to become real. Why are u. S. Lawmakers planning to slap sanctions on these companies now . Pablo essentially, this measure is part of a huge annual defense spending package for 2020, calllled the natioional defense authororization a act. Congngress and the senate haveve passed i it witeasese, andnd its now, as you said, presidenent trump, who has to sign it. The aim is to stop further construction of this pipelinee under the babaltic sea, which is worth over 10 billion and essentially the idea is that it will double shipments of russian natural gas to germany. The thing about this is as soon as it is signened, the t trump administstration wouldld have 60 days to identify companies and individuals providing services on the pipeline or they would be sanctioned, but what i think is important to note is that thisis has not really had a lot of tractition here in the United States today because, of course, the focus is very much on the impeachment votote against President Trump in congress, which is expected to take place on wednesday. Brent thats a very good point to make. On this show last week, we had a member of the german parliament, a member of the Foreign Affairs committee, who said the pipeline has been controversial in germany, but the fact u. S. Is threatening sanctions means all Political Parties will rally around the chancellor and support this pipeline. Do you think that members of congress in the u. S. Are they aware of what they are doing, and how are they justifying the causal effects . Pablo i think you are absolutely rigight that in euru, thisis is definititely getting e traction than here. U. S. Lawmakers claim the pipeline would essentially send billions of dollars to russia and lead to an increase in president Vladimir Putins influence in europe. There were a few notable voices here who were very much in support of this, one being ted cruz, a republican senator. He said that halting the nord stream 2 should be a major security priority for thehe unid states and eururope a lightht because he is saying europe should basically focus their attention on, you know, building or having strong relations with United States with regards to energy and avoid being economically blackmailed by russia, is what he said, but there have also been voices who were very much against the sanctions in the u. S. They said it couldnt of jeopardizing the relationship between europe and the u. S. And that was not really what the u. S. Should be focusing on, and if anything to go by, you mentioned that you had guests there, but lets not forget that last week, German Foreign minister had pretty strong words to say, and he was saying the u. S. Should avoid meddling in European Energy policy. From those words, it is sort of quite telling what the relationship between the u. S. And europe could end up like with this lobbying signed. Brent the irony is that it has to do with russia. Our correspondent on the story for us tonight in washington. Thank you. Here are some of the other stories now making headlines around the world. Thousands of people have rallied again in the check capital to demand the resignation of the countrys Prime Minister in the czech capital. This a the billionaire leader should divest himself of his business interests or step down. Romania is commemorating 30 years since the revolution that led to the fall of communism on december 17, 1989. The dictator gave the order to fire on protesters, but the 59 deaths failed to stop the revolt and days later, it spread to the Capital Bucharest and he was overthrown. The leaders of south sudans rival political factions say they will form a unity government in february. The president and Opposition Leader signed a peace deal last year to end a fiveyear civil war, but they have stalled the agreement to govern together, prompting sanctions from the United States. Pope francis has announced sweeping changes to the way the Roman Catholic church deals with cases of sex abuse. He has abolished papal secrecy laws, meaning they will no longer apply in accusations, trials, and decisions involving sexual abuse. Critics have accused the church of using papal secrecy to justify decisions to keep cases away from the police and civil authorities. For more, im joined now by an advocate for victims, and he is an investigator of clergy sexex abuse. He is a former priest himself as well as a survivor of sex abuse in the church. He joins us from buffalo in the u. S. State of new york. Good to have you with us on the show. How significant is this change . Thehe pope would like e you o think that this is a sweeping change, and to talkk about the lifting of the pontifical secret is a very dramatic way to talkk about this, but the reality on the street for victims like myself and advocates is that nothing significant has changed by this. Brent kind of tell me what does this mean, for someone outside the catholic world the king at the king at this story . Does this mean if someone confesses about sexual abuse, doing it, committing it, it being done, the priest has to go to the authorities . What does it mean lifting g this papal secrecy . The vatican is the opposite. They are not lifting secrecy such that if a child were to confesss to a priest that he or she had been abused, that protectition of the confessional seal i stillll in p place. The most remarkakable statetemet that camee from the vatican tody was from the sececretary for the commission onn l legislative tet that interprets these matters. What they are trying to do is they are saying a protocol, a protection for the good reputation of everyone involved, the particular church law, canon 471, is s still in place. Nothing significant has changed by this. Brent what does this mean at the end of the day then . Does this change help i in te fight to stop sex abuse by the clergy, and does it help to bring cases of sex abubuse to lilight . It realllly does not seeeem o ananything in teterms of opengnp the files of a givenen diocese r the tribunal processss. A witness that a victim brings is now free they were always free to talk about their mateterial. Thee church is simimply lelettig them off the hook, but the rest of the churchs internal procedures, notothing has c chad by this dodocument. Nothing has changed byy t this rescript issued by thee vatican. Theyey want to try to stilll protect ththose who are defendas in these cases, those whoo are accused, and they underlined that goall today in ththe press conference at the vatitican. Brent james, we appreciatee yor time and insigights. Thank you. Thank you so much. Brent French Police have fired tear gas as major labor unions hold a day of strikes across the country. The strikes come on a 13th day of her tests against the governments controversial pensionn reforms. It also m marks the first time l major trade unions have called for strikes since the protest movement began. Despite public pressure, the french president says he is determined to press forward with the plan. Every day for two weeks has been a nightmare with unruly crowds trying to force their way onto the few trains or buses still running. Commuters from the outskirts of paris feel it most. George lopez barely managed to make it to work today. He is frustrated. The government and the unions are behaving like small children. They are constantly blaming each other, and its working people who have to pay. Another day, another strike. Once again, hundreds of thousands of people are on the streets throughout france, protesting pension reform plans that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 64. As a teacher, i have to work five years longer and g get a smaller pension. French president macron is king louis the 16th, who was beheaded. Some are threatening to continue the strikes over christmas. Its time that the government drops these plans. If they dont, it will be even harder to repair the damage. The government is calling for the town for a detante. The trains need to keep running over christmas, not for the government and not for the unions, but with the french people. The trains are rants. Talks will continue on wednesday. George is on hisis way home. He will have to take a subway bursting at the seams. He says it is just something he will have to get use to. Brent the United Nations has urged countries to share the responsibility for caring for the surging numbers of refugees. Speaking at the opening of the First Global Refugee Forum in geneva, switzerland today, the United Nations secretarygeneral says the world owes those countries which have welcomed large numbers of refugees a debt of gratitude, but he says gratitude is not enough. I urge you to be bold and concrete in the pledges you make. This is a moment for ambition. It is a moment to jettison a model of support that too often left refugees for decades with their lives on hold, confined to camps, just scrappingg byy, unae to flourish. It is a moment to build a more equitable response to the refugee crisis through a sharing of responsibility. Rent that was Antonio Guterres talking about sharing of responsibilities. Lebanon can talk about that. Its a country that has had a big influx of refugees. Since 2011, 1 point 5 Million People have fled their from the conflict in neighboring syria, but an economic crisis means finding work has become difficult for both lebanese and refugees. Amira hussein is lucky today. She can work in this Firewood Company near the refugee camps in the mountains of lebanon with her son. They will earn around three euros for a few hours work. Im happy to help my mom earn money. Theres nothing worse than this. If we had enough help, we would not have to do this work. Amira and her son each received less than one euro a day from the United Nations, just enough to survive but not enough for an education for her son, even if they work sporadically. It is a similar situation for most of the estimated 1. 5 million Syrian Refugees in lebanon. Theres no hope for improvement. On the contrary, the political and economic crisis has caused many lebanese citizens their job. The economy iss shrinking. The Unemployment Rate is also rirising. Employment among the lebanese has fallen by 50 . Before the economic crisis, occasional jobs were available. Now amira is never sure if she will be able to work to earn extra money to add to the small amount of United Nations aid s e receives. Brent now a sobering statistic for those of us who report the news. In 29th and in its yearly report, Reporters Without Borders said most journalist killings occurred in just five countries syria, mexico, afghanistan, pakistan, and somalia. The good news is that that number is at a 16year low. The bad news is that more journalists are being detained arbitrarily. Tonight, three hundred 89 journalists are in prison somewhere around the world. China tops the list with 120 journalists behind bars that we know of. Its hard to get the real numbers from china. Followed by egypt, saudi arabia, syria, and as you see right there, turkey. Reporters without orders says homemade threats against journalists are growing. They include politicians attacking the media from washington, d. C. , to manila. In iran, journalists were arrested simply for trying to report on recent protests against a hike in gas prices. Our next report shows the iranian government has also intensified its harassment of persian speaking journalalists woworkin abroaoad. H he knows w what it meaea wn press freedom is threatened. The editorinchief f of the Persian Service ofof Radio Free Europe radioio liberty says harassment of journalists by the Iranian Regime has escalated during the current protest. Intelligence officers have been operating different accounts and different websites in order to detain the journalists. Protests against fuel price rises erupted in iran in novevember. The ststate reondeded with violence, and nationwide internet blackouts. Domestic media have faced increased censorship, and broadcasters b based abroad are among the o only other sources f infoformation, but theyre repoporting appears to have angered the Iranian Regime. Normally what they do, theyy summon theirir parents and siblings to the Iranian Intelligence ministry headquarters. They force them to contact their loved ones and to o tell them to resign immediately, and then they say if they wont resign, we will bring them back to rn. Some overseas pepersian language media have had assets confiscated and their journalists branded as terrorists, but despite the risk , the exiled reporters sayay thy will continue their work. In their words, journalism is not a crime. Brent here are some other stories making headlines. Police in australia have arrested two men suspected of smuggling more than six hundred kilograms of ecstasy hidden inside hundreds of barbecues. It wraps up a sixmonth investigation spanning three countries. In july, p police in cyprus tipd off authorities about a possible shipment headed to sydney. The European Space agency has popostponed Mission Control made the decision after discovering a software error. A court in pakistan sentenced the countrys former president to death for high treason. Bashar ruled from 1999. He is living in exile. The sentence has been a Long Time Coming for former pakistani president bashar, seen here in a Court Hearing in 2014. The verdictt guilty of treason. The sentence death. Musharrafs lawyer rejected the decision, calling on pakistanis to stand by former ruler. I say this complaint is wrong. Im not admitting the complaint. The verdict is part of the ongoing fallout. He may have lost Popular Support , but the former general continue to have his backers in the countrys popular military. This is a unique decision i n ththe history y of pakista for t the first time, a military didictator has beeeen punisishey the court u under the constititn anand t the law, and it was ovee because the constitution has been violated no less than four or five times in the history of pakistan. For the time being at least, the death sentence is unlikely to be carried out. Forever scharf is exiled in dubai where he is seeking medical treatment. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in cumbias capital. They are demanding the president respect his pledge to acquit. He promised to rule for three years before stepping down but now says he will govern not until 2019 but until 2021. Translated from the local language, this says three years are up. 10 thousands of gambians to the streets. They want the president to step down in january. We are here to remind him that yesterday, he sold three years to the electctorate. They are concerned after a sweari inn tha he would be e head of a transitioiol governmement that would make way for general elections after three years, but now, he wants to serve a full fiveyear term as guaranteed by the constitution. Gambians are divided by his achievements. Witnesses speak out and the country is trying to get over the trauma of the 22yearlong brutal regime of the former dictator, but the Unemployment Rate is still very high, especially among young people. The Civil Society is gaining strength. The proof for these demonstrations. In the past three years, gambians have learned it is possible to speak out for their own beliefs and convictions. Brent the question is now a valid 1 will the boeing 737 max ever leave the ground again . Yesterday, boeing announced it is suspending production of its 737 max airliner beginning in january. The entire fleet was grounded last march following two fatal crashes in just five months. Boeing has not delivered any new 737 maxis since then, and that is key. The 737 max is boeings bestselling plane. Boeing is also the largest industrial employer in the United States. Thousands and thousands of jobs are now in jeopardy. There are four hundred brandnew 737 max aircraft parked in boeings landing area. Some are even parked in the employee parking lot. The production stop slated for this coming january is a drastic measure, and its bad for boeings 12,000 employees. I think halting production is a major downside. It disrupts the supply chain, puts labor in a terrible spot, causes a real loss of economies of scale t that the airplane ha. We keep the Assembly Line going because of all the deficiencies. A 737 max crashed in indonesia and another went down in ethiopia. 346 passengers were killed in those two plane crashes with the 737 maxs faulty Steering Software playing a decisive role in both incidents. So far, boeing has been unable to deliver a software correction that can be approved b by the u. Federal aviation administration. The 737 is boeings bestselling aircraft. Airlines have placed thousands of orders, so u. S. Airlines and european air carriers have had to cancel flights due to lack of aircraft. The airlines themselves arent just a terrible spot because they are selling spring break, selling summer without knowledge of what their fleet is, and all parties need to have complete transparency here so we can come up with some reasonable plan, you know, get this crisis get things back on track. The loss of production at boeing might have a Ripple Effect that could burden the entire u. S. Economy. Brent for some, the search for a soulmate is a lifelong quest. If you are in a hurry, theres always speed dating. In japan, however, speed dating comes with an unexpected addition mom and dad. The singles looking for love and our next report have asked to remain anonymous. A nondescript banquet room in the Worlds Largest metropolili, a grgroup ofof japanese men andd women search for the spot that could change their lives. It is a speed dating event with a twist the singles have come with their parents to support them in their hunt for a suitable partner. She had boyfriends when she was a student, but those relationships did not work, so i told myself maybe now it is up to me to give her a hand. I came here today after being pushed by my mother because its true that so far ive had trouble meeting the right person. Participants fill out questionnaires and Exchange Small talk. With mom and dad there to give them a gentltle push towards pairing up. It may be outdated, but i think parents know their children best. Their character, their strengths, and their weaknesses. So i started these events thinking there might be less divorce if parents look for their childs soulmate. It is a nerveracking event for both generatioions, but they overcome their inhibitions in the hope that somewhere in the room they will find a perfect match. Brent at least they will find their parents. Im brent goff. After a shohort break, will be back to take you through the day. Stick around for that. State group all this week on from twenty four. The employee to see watching fronts twenty full live from paris im margot and these are the main world news headlines. French workers take to the streets on mass to step up the prprotests of a pension reform organized t to say the one point eight million protest is on the march across the country this tuesday. At the start of this day of action power deliberately cut to homes and businesses. In the southwest in the southeast of the country. Protests across indian cities for six day police fired tear gas during clashes in new delhi. Outrage grows over Prime MinisterNarendra Modis new citizenship lole critics say its anti muslim. Priests can