AP Top Stories March 6 P

Here are the top stories for Saturday, March 6th: Dems prevail as Senate passes $1.9T virus aid bill; Pope Francis meets Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani in Najaf; Vigil held in Yangon for those killed in protests; Indian farmers protest new laws with road block (March 6).

Video Transcript

DEREK KAKARI: This is "AP News Minute." The US Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Saturday after a marathon session. President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric affirmed on Saturday that religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq's Christians. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, one of the most senior clerics in Shiite Islam, was speaking at a meeting with Pope Francis in Iraq's holy city of Najaf.

Candles lit up a solemn gathering in Yangon Saturday as mourners gathered to remember victims of a crackdown by Myanmar's security forces. As they sung and prayed, a projector showed photographs of anti coup protesters killed on the large screen.

Thousands of farmers blocked a highway near New Delhi on Saturday to mark 100 days of protest against controversial agricultural laws. The farmers burned effigies and chanted slogans against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Derek Kakari Associated Press, with AP News Minute.

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