the news d, w is coming to live from berlin, welding tears bring hopes and a helping hand to the towns in germany, devastated by the worst bloods and generations. but as the clean up gets under way, some wonder if the disaster could have been prevented. also coming up, the government's allegedly spying on journalists, activists and lawyers, an investigation ponds up to 50000 phone numbers may have been targeted with malware plus england ditches nearly all remaining credit virus restrictions is welcomed by party goers. but critics say this so called freedom day is putting

lives at risk and a rare investigation into atrocities committed by assyrian rebels group by french authorities. the w investigative team looked into what we know about the j. i was blood. ah lou terry martin. good. have you with us for days after torrential rains trigger deadly floods and western germany, survivors have now turned their focus towards the daunting task of rebuilding. but with emergency services still busy looking for bodies and securing vital infrastructure. many residents are left to seek help from volunteers. or go it alone, sun sausages and it looks like a village fate, but it's not what it seems. this is just a bright time for the volunteers organizing an arduous relief effort. now that the

flood water has subsided. solidarity is the one thing on everyone's minds. hit right now and getting people who are being affected by the floods back on their feet as quickly as possible. people have traveled from nearby villages and further to get here to lend a helping hand with the clear up over the weekend, around 200 color and football from descended on the region and have been distributed around the affected areas. they've been helping locals by rolling up their sleeves to clear jeopardy from homes restaurant and the ruined b hall. cologne, found mock or helped organize the effort. you can't leave people on their own. you just have to help. if it does happen to me that i'd want someone to help. so i think it's great that people are lending a hand around the generous responses stunned locals including this head dresser. she's had a business here for 12 years that i think there were so many people that you don't

even know. i don't even know where they come from around here helping to clear up so much were willing to help. it's wonderful. comp felt short about children. despite all the volunteers, many people have been less wondering why that hasn't be more help from the authorities. yup. and all those at the top are trying to bring order to the chaos, but it's not really working. a lot of help is coming from volunteers and residents showing an open loss of initiative. but you can't really say that people at the top of helping really get that doesn't come with so many areas overwhelmed by the floods rescue services. say they're at breaking point as a valid really own lawyer. it's pretty difficult to get help to everyone and we have to prioritize. if we get a report that someone still trapped in

a building and people with watering the basement and being pushed to the back of the queue on as much work to be done. but many volunteers say they'll stick around long after this weekend was a chef on fire game. our boss is given monday and tuesday, so we can use the time to finish the job code on the support the local and from a 100 on mentioned with many residents. still wondering how this disaster could have happened. that help would be much appreciated. was bringing correspond julie, a sub delhi. now she's an olive ayla, that's one of the towns worst hit by the floods tell us. it's been 5 days since the flood waters inundated abala and the surrounding region. how are things looking on the ground there? now any news of the dozens of people reported missing the devastation is just astounding. the streets are filled with debris. here here, for example,

we have this massive pile of books. this used to be an antiquity store and now everything is completely destroyed. the ground floors of homes have been completely filled with water and mud. so residents have been trying to clean everything up. they have put all their furniture on the streets. and the problem here is that the streets are quite small. so it is difficult, for example, for big trucks or eskoville or is to come in and take all these things out and bring them to the damp. so it is going to take a few days for the town to be cleaned up, but it's not just the loss of objects of things. it is also the loss of lives. number of the dead keeps rising up to 116 people dead and only this region and the authorities expect more casualties to, to emerge. now, i'm going to mac came to the region there on sunday. she is she visited and talk to residents. tell us more about what she said on that visit now. well,

the chancellor took stock of the devastation that occurred in this region. she said the german language doesn't have any words that are able to describe the good devastation. she also said that she is very much aware that it is going to take a long time for the towns to be cleaned up and rebuilt. and she promised the population that the government is going to be there in the long term to try to support them. she thanked the rescue cruise and many volunteers who came and show solidarity with the local residents and they're helping with the cleanup. julia, thank you so much. that was julia some dell, either in our island while many people are wondering how this could have happened, that people in the region who were so badly affected were not warned. well, let's talk now to chrysler to about that. she's from the german research center for geosciences, in part. he specializes in flood risk and forecasting. dr. shorter,

thanks for being with us. europe has a sophisticated plug warning system in place. you know all about that yet. these floods seem to have taken people completely by surprise. what happened? good morning. first of all. yeah, the flood warning actually is a very difficult undertaking because it is based on information that it's about the future and forecast about the future. all the difficult to, to make particular in the case of flash fluff events as we have seen in an island other regions last week. because this lot events have a really rapid onset and you don't have much time actually to provide your information before the flood already occurs to the people. you have technical issues to solve, to give a good forecast about the location where it is going to happen. you have to give

information to the people on the ground, you have to reach these people. and this is all with talk about that is the last critic miles. so you're right, reach the people you have to disseminate your information and you often don't have a confirmation that the information has been received and ok, well that, that's on general information. and that's, that's useful that i wanted to ask you specifically about what happened in this case because a british researcher cloak you might know her, she worked on your slide warning system. she alleges that the system, in this case did work. she says that german authorities, however, are even though they were given precise warnings, failed to act. what can you tell us about that? but i don't have actually the, the complete information from the situation on the ground. i know that the system did work very well. also that the germ weather service had provided inflammation, that something is going to happen beforehand. but as i just want to say,

it is difficult to convey this information to the people and also to convey information to the people what they need to do in these cases. often people have some experience with flooding, but this has not been the same type of flooding or the same severity of flooding as it happened right now. so maybe they might have underestimated what is going to happen, and this is something that is very, very difficult to control and very, very difficult to, to provide the information about the people actually need to do in such cases. do you have any advice on how the catastrophes like this could be avoided? i think 1st of all, we really need to take every flight event like this to really learn from that. not only in the region but also another each. and so i think everyone now has to ask contest the question. ok, what would happen in my place if such a rainfall would have fallen in such a short time alone and resistance formation?

you can then try to find old ways what would be the impact of flooding in your region. you can then decide what could be measures to counteract. and you have different possibilities. you can try to control the hazards. but in cases of the event that you see last week, this is something that is purely beyond control of technical measures. so you also need to think about how can i reduce my exposure to flooding? how can i reduce my bill in the ability to flooding for what can i do to avoid any impacts of flooding if technical control measures do not work anymore? i just wanted to, thanks very much for talking with this. that was cash flow from the german research center for geosciences in pottstown. thank you very much. governments around the world are targeting the phones of journalists and human rights activists using a spy software called thank asses. that's according to an investigation by more than a dozen news outlets, but the intrusion goes far beyond wiretapping,

the pegasus mall where allows intelligence agencies to secretly activate the microphones and cameras of their targets phones, turning them into 24 hour surveillance devices. his smartphone was the target of a sophisticated spying operation in 2019 the hungarian investigative reporter sandwich. bonnie was spied on for months with pegasus software, according to a forensic analysis of his device and his own government may have been behind it. they could effect as all my emails, my calendars, my photos, my we d o, they could even turn on my, my microphone and camera. pegasus can be installed without the victim, doing anything, usually by an invisible message. one upon your colleagues was also under surveillance, according to an investigation by an international team of journalists. coordinated by the nonprofit group forbid and stories. several media organizations in germany

took part. they analyzed records that included more than 50000 phone numbers, possible spying targets, apparently entered by customers of the israeli software developer. and so they included human rights activists, government critics, and journalists we thought, find some people, some human rights activities, one day decided to go in the street in mexico to protest. and then the next day they were on the list. i guess this apparently also played a role in the killing of saudi journalist jamal cuz shock g turkeys, chief investigator was on the list of potential targets. the spirals also linked ticket showcase v on same these rarely firm and i. so, and says pegasus was only deployed against terrorists and criminals and says it would end collaboration if the spyware was misused. the company denies any connection, took a showcase murder, subtle japan. you doesn't know the extent of the damage to his sources. when asked about it surveillance, the hungarian government said it followed all laws. earlier we spoke to paul under

. he's the chairman of the international commission on cybersecurity law at supreme court of india. we asked him why governments would want to use this particular software. purpose of governments clearly is to continue to concentrate power in the hands of nation states. and therefore, the go ahead and use these kinds of technology tools which help them to surveil and their own will to intercept and their own convenience and to potentially target all those people, which the government believes could potentially be having an impact upon the government like duties so initially, the stool, the pegasus soften, was meant only to be used in the context of the fight against terrorism and cyber crime. but today to become the de facto of kind of a method or software that's used by government. put a good idea of boxes of surveillance, including reading all potential political,

journalistic, and business targets. you're watching the w news still to come. french authorities are investigating the alleged war crimes of the syrian rebel groups of the lamb. spoke to survivors who say the group engaged in systematic torture and persecution . now let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world. government versus opposition leaders, atlanta picking australia has arrived in washington, d. c. to meet with us government officials and members of the ocean, diaz for taken off sky was forced to flee a route through the countries $22000.00 and presidential elections, which were widely regarded as rig latest round, a peace talks between the afghan government and the taliban. and don't have ended without a break through earlier taliban negotiators said they are committed to a political settlement and decades of war. and both sides agreed to continue talk

next week. no matter what a tokyo court has sentenced to us, special forces veteran to 2 years in prison and to son to 20 months for helping former renault nissan. mitsubishi chairman, carlos going please, your panels going is facing charges of financial misconduct remains of fugitive in 11 or 12000000 people in australia is 2 largest cities are set to stay under koby 19 restrictions for at least the next 5 days. melbourne extended its locked down despite only 16 new cases being reported on monday. 98 new cases were recorded in sydney, which has entered its 4th week of locked up while england has lifted nearly all of its remaining corona virus restrictions as part of what's being done freedom day. yeah. like clubs across 300 board. but like, for the 1st time in 17 months,

indoor bad news can now run at full capacity and facebook will no longer be legally mandated, but not everyone is happy about relaxing the rules, especially with the 1900 cases. surgery, i seem to quite depressing, actually, and i think most people in my situation due to some today's freedom day to rosie dolphin freedom couldn't feel further away. breezy is considered clinically extremely vulnerable, heightening her risk if she catches curve at 19. she says she feels abandoned by the decision to lift restrictions in england. i feel very angry, actually, very angry after everything that we bring through. it's not freedom day for us. it's fair day. how going to be freedom for, for those of us who being shielding if we have to go back to square one and become home, it's again, rosie isn't alone in viewing today with alarm. cases are already at the highest level since january, and by the government's own estimates. lifting the rules could see the rocket to

record 100000 a day. the prime minister bars johnson's backing, his decision to repeat the rules pointing and part of the u. k. hi, vaccination rates. johnson who's spending freedom, diane isolation, after his health minister tested positive for the public needs to be cautious. but it's not now than when, if we do it now, then we'll be up in the office in the winter months when the virus has the advantage of the, of the co. whether we lose the precious fall breaks that we get with the school holidays. we do not the law school, so when will we ever do? it says, this is the right moment. this is about ending government in place restrictions and allowing the public to make the right choices for the 1st time. since the start of the pandemic, people will be able to decide how many others they want to meet, whether they follow social distance in guidelines, or whether they choose to wear mosque cases rising sharply. there are many who see

this as a gamble. earlier this month, over $1200.00 scientists and medic signed the letter branding freedom, day dangerous and climbing hospitalizations. the risk to there is not yet double vaccinated. and of exposing a population to long coven, i can't even express how it more than unethical. i think this is leading author, if not, let us talk to dp good. assoni is the risks could also extend beyond the okay, maybe the strategy that the way it has been warned, even by on scientific advisers, valuable lead to a new emerging that is more likely to escape vaccines, which would not only put our own public response back by 7 months, but have huge global impacts. dangerous experiments? well, calculated risk. either way, it's a risk. rosie says she can't afford. she's cancelled precious visits to see family . as she in the world wait to see whether the gamble pays off.

for the 1st time since the syrian conflict erupt in more than a decade ago, a western countries looking into atrocities committed by rebel groups. frances official war crimes unit confirm to d w that it is investigating change of islam once considered the strongest armed opposition group in serial w investigative unit, spoke to several witnesses who say they suffered abuse and torture at the hands of the hard line islamists, the this is our hotline islamist group jealous lab portrays itself brain rebel fighting the regime for a free and just syrian shop owner that libya says that's all lies. the group was only fighting for power. they shot him in the face in an assassination attempt. he says and later imprisoned him for being an arrival rather group in his home town quota, as their wont even done,

while they tortured me in many different way. they wanted me to confess anything that i was homosexual working with ices or the regime or was selling drugs. it didn't matter what they brought in for teenagers to beat me continuously. so i wouldn't be able to sleep. they beat me non stop until i collapsed and started to hallucinate tele, rodeo. from after the regime retook the region show the small cells where right to spend more than 2 years in isolation was that about all that they have the heart of a prison network where he and dallas told us jason, the slam held and tortured hundreds of people opponents and civilians alive or nothing for it. and there is no difference between the presence of jason and the prisons of the regime. it's the same torture, the same mis treatment and it's all the same stuff after this. the w's

investigative team spoke to several witnesses who told us similar accounts. they said jealous lamb went after political opponents, activist ready, and religious minorities. in the city of audra, the rebel group worked with other jihadists to capture hundreds of christian santano's divides. the later put them in cages and use the prisoners as human shields against us hops forces. the sciences abuses the international community for years. embrace change and slam as the strongest, and the position force on the ground. the political lead a even let the opposition delegation to you and sanction talks on syria. j slam told d w, it denied the human rights abuses. but for the 1st time, a french court is investigating the group. it was this international team of lawyers which filed the criminal complaint. the allegations include torture,

executions, and yourself child soldiers. it is time to say out loud that the serum population has also been victims of other groups who pretended to be fighting for the revolution. the 2 who also turned against the population, they hope the court will issue charges in the coming month. their biggest challenge now is to find more witnesses and convince them to testify. many are still in syria, some even in territory controlled by jason, is not official. the syrian regime and they said the slam still have a lot of power and influence and capacity to intimidate and threatened the victims and the witnesses. so this really is a major concern for us because any prosecution, successful prosecution will also have to rely on this kind of testimonial evidence . now in 2 teeth rattle pre be isn't afraid. he would like nothing more than to

testify in court. jail islam he says ruined his life just like the sad regime and he wants to see them held accountable for what they did. and lewis sanders is a reporter with the w investigative team who worked on that report. lewis, 1st of all, tell us why you and the rest of your team decided to investigate judge. well, we started our investigation looking into several armed groups who could have been involved in the disappearance of drugs. and they turn at a syrian human rights activist and lawyer who was just monumental to the pro democracy movement in syria, especially in the wake of the 2011 uprising. now as we were in the middle of our investigation, we get a lot of evidence that placed resume tuning into the prison. and there's only one armed rebel group that operated that prison. and j shows long. as you noticed in

the report that he was many of the people that we spoke to were also in talbot prison. now, throughout our investigation, we also collected a lot of evidence that suggests that jason was also involved in other atrocities, including the rape of religious minorities, torture, and summary executions. and so what we have seen is that j shot is long was involved in quite possibly a you know, grave atrocities. and there's even credible information to suggest that there are mass created yet to be uncovered on the premises of this detention center. we heard in that report that we just watched that you, your team says that the international community embraced j shallow lamb. tell us more about that was syria today is much different than it was back then in 2013 and back then the european americans were looking to to start

gaining influence in a conflict, especially as it began to kind of spill outside of the region. and so the europeans and americans really didn't have anyone on the ground that they could trust. jason, tom at this moment, was ascending. there were the strongest armed opposition group on the ground. they were also the most organized. so it just made sense that they would bring them into the fold and, you know, bring them into the ceasefire. talk because they had influence and, and you know what? i think the important things to stay there also is that back then, you know, speaking to some of our diplomatic security sources, they said, look back to them. we weren't thinking about human rights. we were thinking about strategy and how to kind of expand our stay in the conflict. you report their focuses on j shot past activities. what can you tell us about the group status today? what their shadow of what,

who they once were in their peak, they had up to 20000 soldiers among their ranks. and today they have about 6000. now part of that is due to just years of hard by you years the siege and the eventually vacuum ration to northern syria. today, their primary support is turkey and they've been kind of assimilated into this loose collective of hard line rebel groups fighting aside. but they've also taking up other causes, such as fighting occurred, which, which is obviously in the interest of turkey. and so, you know, is that what their founders lose? envision for them, likely not, but those are the facts on the ground today. louis, thank you very much. that was louis sanders from d w's investigative team. thank you. you are watching d. w. news from berlin,

coming up next to morrow today. you can also find much more news analysis on our website, including much more on our investigation into jason of his law. for me and all of us here at d. w. thanks for watching. the news . the news, the news

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