this is d. w. news line from berlin and a landmark ruling for gay rights in india the country's top court strikes down a nineteenth century law that means gay sex a crime gay people who have been forced to live their lives in the shadows now hope for a new era of freedom we'll go live to delhi also coming up a father in syria's implicit prepares for the worms he's making gas masks for his children fearful residents brace for bloodshed in syria and russian forces threaten

a final assault on the last rebel held strongholds and. a rock star reception from a tale selvi italy's far right interior minister he helped launch a populist coalition into power nearly one hundred days in office of g w looks at how well people think the coalition is doing and actually governing the country. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program in a landmark decision in the u.s. supreme court has thrown out a colonial era law banning gay sex it was one of the world's oldest criminalizing consensual gay sex making it punishable by up to ten years in jail this decision just coming in so let's bring in our correspondents sonia found the car who is standing by live for us in delhi at the courthouse where that. vision has been

render and sonia as we mentioned there this is really a landmark decision to walk us through the verdict. you're right i mean this is really i think a historically in india you know i'm standing outside the supreme court where the many activists and students lawyers for the position and the scenes are really very moving you know people celebrating cheering really breaking down in tears and you know when we look at the verdict and the chief justice of india the official said you know what reading the judgment that should we have to pay if it favors the prejudices and power of all citizens and he said respect for individual choice you know it's a little particular cd it should be community but it can equal rights under the constitution so really there is no doubt here that this law of the vehicle only even though all has finally been scrapped and remember i mean this has been a really long battle campaign as you know the law has the potential of course back to the chile since two thousand and one and since july to create between

a really emotional debate at the top court over the right to keep in mind and quite . and this love of course and yet really having an emotional cost for gays who were living in india all these years of one hundred fifty years of antigay n.p.l. g.b.t. legislation we have to mention in that country you know people can just be picked up by police persecuted we know that you actually have reported on this extensively and we have a report that you filed for us from long block i'd like to just have a closer look at it and then we can talk with you perhaps a little bit more about it there after. a nineteenth century muslim in luck now a refuge for gay men like our if jeff i and his partner of over ten years it's a place where they can be free from society's glare in a country where a lot criminalizing homosexuality known as section three seven seven has been used

as a cover to hound gay people it is making their lives hell. are they fear is really a fierce blackmails extortion. harrison beating what people sent of them just commit suicide just because of the fear that they would be outed by the police or the by the community because it is seen as the. irish knows that all too well he runs h i v awareness programs among the working class gay population an activity fraught with risk in india several years ago he and his colleagues were thrown into prison they were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy and for possessing so-called obscene materials. it for the schalke because of the crying was trying to save lives and we're being imprisoned. for the horrific because. to. deny drinking water being

beaten up or a girlie. lift so many scars are if lost most of his teeth because of the beatings and the poor hygiene in prison he was shunned by his friends it took years before he dared to enter a police station again but he hasn't given up the fight that he's one of the petition is who fought for india's top court to decriminalize homosexuality among the gay community the poor of the most vulnerable. in no one at this workshop on safe sex wants to show their face their husbands and fathers some of them a sex workers all of them lead a double life that will get my boyfriends out the there was a lot of pressure on me to get married as a man you're expected to do that and run the family more liberal have a target goes up there and no one in my family or my neighborhood knows i'm gay if they did they'd call me a faggot my family wouldn't accept me anymore say as he goes out the. irish

spends long hours at the office he draws strength from his face and his family especially his mother he's been hugely supportive. in the evening irish work is far from over he goes to public parks where homosexual men can find sexual partners and yet remain anonymous in the shadows the risk of contracting h.i.v. is high and that's not the only danger. the men when they're approaching their customers school instead will trade them off putting them in the years on the under the pretext of section three seven seven that and and use that pretext to blackmail them extort money or rape them and that of why we feel that the law should go because if it while it's obvious that fundamental rights do exist. but india's supremes court has just decriminalized section three seven seven making gay

sex legal there's finally hope that people may be able to step out of the shadows. and now gay sex in the country and no longer a crime but sonia we have to mention though being gay still very much chad and socially conservative india right i mean how are indians likely to react to this court decision. yeah i think you're right i mean you know the good six still remain very much trouble even conservative you know there is widespread sometimes you can live in a local phobia there's a lot of police brutality and how do we go on that trip or i think most of the night i spoke to today about you know things that the speaker looked at that it's really to throwing out the boys the first day but it's a simple step in the ongoing far more difficult journey off you know battling the social and by being gay then it's also the spike regularly you know in india that

almost actualities is a disease which can be cured so i think the real battle now is really about acceptance in new jobs in colleges in housing to psyches even in family gatherings and it's really about getting people to rethink that perfection about what isn't although i think that to simply get tight. to debbie is very own sonia phonic are joining us a live from outside india's top court which has struck down a nineteenth century law making gay sex a crime sonia thank you so much for bringing us up to date. thank you. well now we're going to turn to japan where at least four people have died after a powerful earthquake struck the island of hokkaido in the north of the country the magnitude six point seven quake triggered landslides in the last tally three million homes without electricity power has since been restored to the to laurie nuclear power plant which had switched to emergency backup generators to keep the

spent fuel safely cooled transport networks and hospitals were also damaged dozens of people are missing. a spring and michael pena now president of the saying it's soon news agency in tokyo joining us now so michael tell us what is the current situation in the area. well yes the the area is still quite a disaster zone most people do not have power and all of the public transportation essentially shut down the airports the buses the trains the bullet trains the casualty figures at the most recent word have now risen to nine people confirmed dead and thirty three people missing and most of that death and missing it has to do with the landslides particularly in one town called out soon where the hillsides collapsed on the houses while people were sleeping so it's a very grave situation absolutely very grave and also you know

a logistical nightmare probably for the emergency authority as we hear electricity knocked out also we heard about that power plant which was switched to emergency generators for a short period what more can you tell us about you know how those emergency services and how people just generally speaking are coping. right well a lot of people for example when outside of home appliance stores trying to store up on water and year because electricity for the entire island of hokkaido was knocked out for about half a day we have heard just in the last half hour or so that some electricity is now being restored to parts of sapporo the largest city but the main reason was that one of the thermal power plants was seriously damaged and will not be able to be restored immediately and as you mentioned the tamari plant also lost power the nuclear power plant and is running on emergency power so they're starting to restore power but it's probably not going to be fully restored for some time yet

michael pan in tokyo thank you you thank. well now let's get a quick check of some other stories making news around the world british prime minister to resign mays says that two russian military intelligence officials carried out the no he took a nerve agent attack on former russian spies survey scribal and his daughter alexander petroff and russian son but sure all are the two men who have been charged but police believe that their names are most likely aliases. north and south korean leaders are set to hold a summit later this month to discuss practical steps toward the denuclearization of the north korean peninsula north korea's kim jong un has again expressed his willingness for close cooperation with south korea and the united states to achieve that goal. and paraguayans says that it is moving its israeli embassy back to tell of the just months after relocating it to jerusalem paraguayans former president

carter has and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu inaugurated the building in jerusalem with much fanfare but paraguay's new president is against the move and retaliation israel says it will now close its own embassy in paris why. world countries are warning that the syrian and russian governments or warning those governments rather against attacking province in what may be the final showdown in syria's seven year war the united states has urged to be assad government not to use chemical weapons while the united nations is warning of a potential bloodbath it is the last major stronghold of the rebels and is home to about three million people. with nowhere left to go civilians and struggling to find ways to keep their families safe having witnessed a massive military build up over the last week this father is preparing for the

first. making protective masks for more chilled. and others in the area because people fear there will be a chemical attack. in this densely populated region others are seeking safety underground. most people in this village have a cave connected to their house. these caves were abandoned during the truce that lasted six or seven months now people are again preparing for an offensive and stockpiling food inside so it's an attack takes place so we can go into the caves. fearful residents are bracing for bloodshed as the syrian government masses its troops on board. the first strikes hit the rebel enclave on tuesday syria's ally russia released footage purporting to show russian warplanes attacking

what it calls terrorist targets but human rights groups say several civilians were killed. international calls amounting to avoid an all out onslaught and an ensuing humanitarian catastrophe. turning now to italy where the country's populist government is closing in on one hundred days in office taking center stage is begin terrier minister matteo salvini he's behind the new policy of banning migrant rescue ships from entering a talian ports that is certainly pleased his far right league party and polls indicate its support has doubled since the march election but skeptics say about migration isn't the word of the country's problems and fear that the populace are ill equipped to advocate italy's trouble to economic waters. max hoffman reports from solving his home turf near the northern italian city of.

the side of the show is about to start after hours of waiting such enthusiasm begs the question is this really the interior minister of italy or a pop star. lego was founded close to where we are right now and it's been hosting this first of all the many years now so this is classic home turf for my to with the uni and you can tell people here absolutely adore him. and his fans appear satisfied with what he's done in the first one hundred days in office especially on migration why why it should be is a part of his trying to protect the three strike to give us a better part of. compact on before i need to get it. we believe in solving any and why he's doing it this can be a revolution for. a lot of things are moving for i went and he's keeping his promises. even mean that it's time and. no surprise that his

promises on migration are a big part of the show but outside the populist bubble many are getting nervous about what the new government is actually achieving especially the financial markets. there are people who are against us government is free and independent from the multinationals from big finance from the banking powers both international and european we have no fears the italian economy is sound italian business is sound. and most economists disagree insisting that italy's in trouble but facts don't seem to get in the way of success. across the river from the festival people are trying to do something about that. the political entity has organized a protest picnic they are sick of their new government claiming that migration is response. for everything. you got that would mean that you thought it was going on

in reality it has problems like elsewhere we have high youth unemployment and many other people have only temporary jobs there are very few young people who get permanent contracts but we have a high poverty rate in relative and absolute terms. it's no surprise that the event on this side of the river is the only one to host some migrants. on the other side the side show is drawing to a close the interior minister's folks and sometimes funny demeanor is one of the reasons why he's managed to govern and gained in popularity he admits though when pressed that it's not all been fun and games just. well it's not easy it's really is a big country we have important challenges but i was tired of being in the opposition and. in the opposition answers to complex problems are often

easier salvini has survived the first one hundred days in power unscathed but soon he will have to show if he can actually. see the past. at the u.s. open japan has plenty to cheer about as naomi osaka and kay nishikori reached the semifinals of the men's in the women's tennis competitions the twenty year old osaka breeze through wednesday's match to set up a showdown with last year's runner up madison keys and she corey battled through a five set thriller against former champion mark in church. the twenty first seed now faces two time winner novak djokovic who beat australian john millman. and sharing his national football team is preparing for their first outing following their stunning world cup exit the bad news is their first match against world

champions france in munich tonight the showdown opens germany's campaign in the new nations league competition. the german press are not best pleased at the world cup debacle and had to wait to see team training for the squad hit their stride once they're on the pitch confidence is slowly returning. to the senate bill of course we're expected to create a positive atmosphere. is still there we just have to find the best way to bring it out. of those ones who does it coach you learn has moved on from the world cup upheaval there are some new faces but most of lives attention is focused on adjusting the team's play producing productive ball possession and working more on defense. much. of us you know if you can already begin to sense a bit of optimism but we're also not naive enough to believe that we can forget

everything that happened after a good match or to come in the. world champions france and short on confidence and spirits are high following their world cup triumph despite that they're not considered favorites in the nation's league group but their own coach d.d.a. de sean look disagrees. she said they totally deserve to be world champions especially because they are so balanced strong in defense with lots of good tacklers that can win challenges and take possession and they have speedy players up top that can go deep and transitioning from the back. should be look the. game if they can manage it a strong showing against france will be a start in repairing germany's battered image after the world cup. munich could be in for a classic and speaking of being in the hot seat facebook and twitter are there as well helena humphrey has that story fisher also are there basically scrambling to make themselves less vulnerable to manipulation crucially ahead of those midterm

elections coming up in november when executives from facebook and twitter testified in congress on wednesday addressing growing concerns that their platforms may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas that concern the u.s. president shares trump has already accused big tech companies of being biased against him and warned of a possible make a crackdown. social media is a somewhat safer place these days if you believe top executives at facebook and twitter they spoke in front of a senate panel on the role of social media and spreading false information during elections facebook says it is now in an arms race against that perceives we are more determined than our opponents and we will keep fighting when bad actors try to use our site we will block them when content violates our policies we will take it down and when our opponents use new techniques we will share them so we can

strengthen our collective efforts unions to enter c.e.o. jack dorsey said his company is that that a fine millions of suspect accounts every week. we've made significant progress recently on tactical solutions like identification of many forms of manipulation intending to artificially amplify information more transparency around who buys ads and how they were targeted. and challenging suspicious logons and account creation . lawmakers are skeptical though and some are calling for talks lead to stricter regulations. for a long time talking about electric cars essentially meant talking about tesla but that's changed you know musk's baby is no longer the only vehicle in the car race competition is revving up china is racing ahead and german car makers also want in on the action early this week to say he's on bailed it's first electric vehicle

another german giant say they have new models just waiting in the wings. in the city's hopes this s.u.v. will be its breakthrough into the electric car market a direct challenge to us competitor tesla mercedes says its latest model will cover four hundred kilometers on one charge it's a german car makers first purely electric heater and car nine for the mercedes e. models are expected to follow by twenty twenty two the companies investing over ten billion euros in them knowing it has a lot of catching up to do in the car race. america's tesla holds first place amongst international economy because with almost fifty two thousand cars sold across the world in the first six months of this year germany's b.m.w. is close behind with over forty eight thousand sold in china's b y d with forty six thousand folks is intense position. and b.m.w. also unveiled their latest electric cars this month almost all german car

manufacturers are pumping billions into eco research and development to make sure the country's champion industry stays in pole position on the markets. well here's a sales opportunity for those in carmakers from february next year a quarter of all vehicles driving around frankfurt will no longer be classified as road worthy a german court has ruled that the city must introduce a ban on diesel vehicles which don't meet euro four emission levels while the aim is to ensure clean air for the city citizens older petrol cars will also be affected the court found that measures put in place so far to reduce pollution haven't really gone far enough the case was brought by the environmental action germany n.g.a. which is calling on twenty eight cities across the country to reduce air pollution to levels below in the next. to cuba now where off the

years of u.s. trade sanctions and an inefficient soviet style centralized economy people have learned to live with very limited resources their response is what cubans for the prouty refer to as invent talk about no substituting everyday items for things that are in short supply demonstrating for example that sometimes a little piece of rubber can go a long way. you don't have to look far in just about any aspect of cuban life to find something like this a condom doubling at this rally as a balloon. condoms are so cheap and plentiful in cuba that they end up in the most unusual of places fisherman use them as bobbers to float their hawks in the sea and every mechanic knows that a condom makes a terrific plug for a flat tire. the problem with all this repurchasing say health workers is that many people are liable to downplay the fact that condoms were actually invented for something completely different. the way they see the condom as

a tool to use for other things that they really were made for like fishing and all those other things this is it for fishing it's used to protect your life and the lives of other people about a little they had to. push all. cubans are natural born inventors it seems so it's no surprise that the strong stretchy characteristics of the condom make it far more useful than its original brief of contraception and disease prevention. here or hobbyist has discovered the rubber has an excellent application in home winemaking he just covers a bottle of grape juice with a fresh condom and when the fermentation process is complete gas trapped in the balloon collapses signaling it's time for a drink. twenty nine something every day britain and france have reached an agreement and the so-called scout pools the two sides have now agreed on a common a fishing period for the prized mollusks and in the east an english channel

a french fishermen were angry that british banks could gather them all the own government ban them from doing say. space had been exempt from the requirements which will now apply to overthrow if this comes off the clashes at sea where fishing boats were seen ramming into each other no one was hurt. and her. now the top story we're following for you. in a down the block decision india supremes court has thrown out a colonial era law banning gay sex it's considered social to by many in india and have been punishable by up to ten years in prison. they're watching b.w. news from bottom plenty more coming up out of the top of the hour the latest on was available on our web site that is the w dot com i'm home frame by the end of the seen. such a. cool move.

move. to. reset the computer game brings actually to ancient egypt. like small software and didn't even move maybe even to some of the numbers two thirds of the hunger games. it's a groove to egyptologists over. to the to do. double. enter the conflict zone come from the powerful two years ago

of the philippines began a brutal war against the drug gangs in which thousands of people died human rights activists and journalists charge the police with illegal killings charges which president detested as vigorously denied murder says we here in manila is used legal of my. salvatore of colorado welcomes the cause of conflict. in sixty minutes on g.w. . they make a commitment. they find solutions. they inspire. africa on the move. stories of both people making a difference shaping their nation. and their continent of africa on the

move stories about motivational change makers taking their destinies into their own hands. d w multimedia series food for god. d w dot com africa on the move. hello and welcome to new edition of tomorrow today the science show on d w. coming up on the program. fresh brewed coffee is it healthy oh not. our skin is literally crawling with millions of minute cretinous. and our water is laced with traces of medication how can it.