berlin. a tragedy that short but conscious of a continent, 71 people found dead in the abandoned delivery truck in austria. after that grim discovery two years ago, a human smuggling ring members are on trial, highlighting the desperation of refugees and the brutality of those who exploit them. those -- the queen has spoken, the british monarch outlined in the conservative government plans for brexit. what are the odds when the

government has no majority in parliament? the ride has come to an end for the boss at hoover. -- uber. forced to resign. what is next for the scandal prone start up? we will take a look. ♪ brent: i am brent goff. it is good to have you with us. we begin with the deaths of scores of people that caused revulsion across europe. in a desperate journey across for a better life, 71 people including four children perished in the back of a truck on an austrian highway, stuffed in the sweltering heat into a delivery van meant to transport chickens. they stood no chance, and they suffocated. 11 people are standing trial in

hungary over their depths. four are charged with murder. seven others with trafficking and torture. the defendants include 10 bulgarians and one afghan nationalal. these reports suggest that human selectors -- smugglers knew the migrants were dying. reporter: a refrigerator truck with 71 refugees in the air tight compartment. with air running out, it was unclear if they knew they were suffocating. the police telephone recordings say how cold-blooded they werer. >> don't open the door, , whatev happens. they wilrun away >> but there banging on the walls. can you hear how hard they are banging? >> i don't think they can breathe. i'm 100% certain.

>> they are yelling, damn it, they are yelelling.. reporter: there was only enough air for three hours. all 71 people suffocated. the smugglers left the truck and a highway in austria. it was a day before police opened the compartment. the corpses had already begun to decompose. this 14-year-old iraqi girl arlene was one of the passengers in the truck. in her last phone call, she told her father how difficult her trip had been so far. she said she would soon be in germany and woululd go to her autn in hildesheim. >> my daughter was always afraid

of the dark she was a little girl. she always got panicky when she was in the dark, closed rooms, that is what pains me when i imagine the situation she was in. i can't get it out of my head, the fact that she died in the sort of cirircumstances t that terrified her. reporter: that summer, people smugglers were taking increasing risks with human lives, preying on the desperation of thousands to cross borders every day. >> started to smuggle people, some of them are under investigation. they did not care if there was enough air or water or how long the trip would take. they did not care about anything. weeks before this happened i had been warning of this kind of behavior leading to tragedy. reporter: this ring based in hungary was run by an afghani and bulgarians that at already a done dozens of runs, many

discovered by police across europe. most all the drivers had been arrested. but the ringleaders founder drivers and carried on their operations. hungarian police started tapping their phones in mid-august 2015. > we had enough evividence tt to wiretap. there was no reason to assume based on conversations being monitored thatat they were going to let migrants suffocate in their trucks.s. reporter: but a a report by gern broadcdcters ndr and wdr suggest thee contrary. nine days before the fatal trip, german police stopped an identical refrigerator truck. this video was filmed by a refugee inside the truck. many people had passed out. hungarian police reported phone

calls made during the trip. the migrants were banging on the side of the truck, shouting they did not have enough air. they survived by hammering a hole in the roof. hungarian authorities have not said when these conversations reevaluated. in any case they did not arrest the ringleaders. the fatal trip was allowed to take place, as documented in the recordings made by investigators. >> the driver is scared to open the door. >> he is not allowed to open the door. if he opens, they will run out. > but how should i give them water? >> he should not give them water . he should keep driving. if they die, dump them in the forest in germany. >> the h hungarian authorities would have stopped this s awful

crime given the opportunity. but the conversations were translated and e evaluated too late. the informrmation came too lateo stop a a tragic case of people smuggling. reporter: police arrested the first ringleaders eight hours after the truck was discovered on the austrian roadside. it would work, but enough not to prevent the deaths of 71 people. brent: making money may be the name of the game, but what about the expensive human rights? let's look at the disturbing new study. reporter: whether it is in mexico, latvia, or kenya, german companies doing business abroad failed to respect human rights. that is the conclusion of a new study in germany. it names and shames big

companies including this energy group and the ksw banking group. images like these anger environmental rights activists. a village located next door to a local fire plant in south africa. it has high levels of sulfur. efforts to install desulfurization has failed. this is no isolated case. the german watch for 11 energy products in which 11 energy companies are involved, replete interfering with human rights. documented included threats made to activists ranging from death to others. they were talking about activities that damage the environment. i take a toll on human health. environmental degradation robs

people of the means to earn n a living. the companies under fire denied the accusations, but unlike france or r the netherlands, germanany has noaw that forbids companies from doing business with fororeign partners who violate humaman rights -- abror. nothing will be available until 2020 at the earliest. reporter: the co-author cornelia from german watch joins the in the studio. thank you for joining us. your study news multiple german companies including siemens. they deny abuses of human rights. how do you collect results? >> we collected evidence on our own. we also collected a lot of information from several other nongovernmental organizations who we were contact with. reporter: what you see in south

africa? >> a lot of problems, and very often it is land rights that affected people don't get good compensation, or they are just pushed away, sometimes violently. yeah, they cannot live like they lived before. reporter: tell us about the so-called activists? people in local communities trying to resist, what happens to them? >> it is dangerous for them to resist, especially in countries like honduras or columbia. we also noticed people even died when fighting against a dam or power plants. reporter: so they were killed how? >> violent forces and sometimes

like in honduras in the case of this river, the dam, this is connected to governmental structures. reporter: this is extremely worrying, and germany unlike france, unlike the u.k., neighboring countries, does not have laws regarding human rights revisions for transnational businesses. >> but is why we have ngo's are fighting for germany as well. that reestablished soon. at least we have the national action plan from last year. this is for seeing in about four years if german companies both also the u.n. guiding principles, that they think about the law, but we think it is necessary to move or say this must come if companies don't

abide by the guiding principles. reporter: some kind of legal instrument. cornelia from german watch, thank you for sharing your insights with us this evening. i will have more business news for you shortly. now back to brett. brent: we have breaking news coming in. iraq's defense ministry said the so-called islamic state has blown up the famed on the re-mosque in mosul -- al nuri mosque in mosul. others say it was a u.s. strike. this is the same where the leader discolored -- declared the islamic caliphate. iraqi forces are in the midst of a better offensive to capture mosul from the terror group. in britain, prime minister theresa may is still in talks to

reach a deal with the minority government. that is why today's speech by the queen opening the new parliament was somewhat subdued. usually it involves lavish pomp and ceremony. but she was not in her usual ceremonial robes. she did have a crown, a product of the chaos that has reigned over british politics. reporter: she arrived in a rolls-royce instead of a golden carriaiage. ♪ reporter: it was the queen's speech slimmed down from spectacle and substance. one thing was dominant throughout, britain's exit from the european union. >> my government's priority is to secure the best possible deal as the country leaves the european union. this will be complemented by legislation to ensure the united kingdom makes a successive

brexit, establishing new policies on immigration, international sanctions, nuclear safeguards, agriculture, and fisheries. reporter: today's pared down ceremony reflects losses the prime minister suffered in the month's election. she looked to strengthen her position in march. now she is trying to hammer a deal that would help her cling on to power. leader of the opposition jeremy corbyn is ready to build a government. >> this is a government without a majority, without a mandate, without a serious legislative program, led by a prime minister who has lost her political authority and is struggling even today to stitch togetherer a del to stay in office. reporter: it was the briefest of visits, but the prime minister's opponents get their way, the queen could be back to mark

moore change at the top of the british government. brent: you are watching dw news. we will take a sharp break -- short break. helen will be back with business. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back. our top stories, 11 men had g ge on tri o over th deaths of 71 migrants who perished in an abandoned truck on the austrian highway two years ago. they suffocated on ther way from hungary trying to reach western europe. queen elizabeth has presented a brexit focused agenda from the conservative prime minister theresa may's new minority government. the queen's speech was brief, a reflection of the prime minister's diminished power

after she lost her majority in an election. self driving cars, robot assistance, the network. artificial intelligence or ai is making dramatic inroads, and there are concerns we are not keeping up with ai when it comes to legal and moral implications. the german ethics counsel has been putting ai to the test in the annual conference. we will talk with one of the members in a moment, but here is a closer look at the concerns about autonomous systems. ♪ >> they can be cute and funny, and they already make many aspects a lot easier. but the rise of the robot poses a number of ethical and legal questions. >> i will make you a cup of coffee. reporter: our homes are at the

forefront of the technological revolution, the smart homes will be interconnected. if you are out of frozen brief -- pizza, your fridge will order it online, but how vulnerable to smartphones make us? -- homes make us? people c could get to our phones and computers. driverless cars have been described as the mother of all artificial intelligence projects. all companies are developing them and they can be on the roads soon. they will ease traffic anand avd accidents caused by human error, but sooner or later this car could be involved in an accident. how can you decide when it is better to avoid the child or crash into a wall? who is liable with casualties?

the biggest challenges by the so-called weapons systems, that once activated can engage anchor: targets without a human operator. drones already used in the warfare, but the autonomous could alter the nature of armed conflict.. what if they malfunctioned? and as artificial intelligence becomes more and more sophisticated, the ultimate question is perhaps, where will our place be in the new autonomously controlled world? >> if we can make super benevolent super intelligence that his wife and friendly, then guess -- that is wise and friendly, then it would helpp world better than humans alone.

brent: i enjoyed at the table by the chairman of the german ethics counsel. good to have you on the show. are we heading towards a world where all the rhythms, artificial intelligence are going to reach a point of sophistication where they will be able to judge what is best for us? >> before i answer to your question, i start questioning the position of that question. question is, or the presupposition is, here are the algorithms and here are the human beings. the thesis will be to put forward, it is us who program the algorithms. it depends on us, our responsibility, if they attack or not. brent: that is assuming we are

always more intelligent than the machines we produce. are you confident we will always be superior in intelligence? >> i should start why we are differentiating that humans have rationality and reasoning machines might be better for several reasons. but with regard to reason, the implication of freedom over responsibility and autonomy, then no, it is not on us. it does not make the difference between humans and machines. brent: we talk a lot about the future, self-driving cars. we don't talk a lot about what happens if the car is driving and is on a collision course

with another car. will the car be in a position to decide who takes the hit and who survives? are we having that ethical discussion? >> we have had that discussion about this dilemma situation for 30 years. long before we started to build up that technique of autonomous cars, the so-called trolley problem. this was widely discussed in the theoretical ethics. first of all, i would remind that it is on us to decide. there might become some critical situation where you can't find a moral sosolution which will satisfy everyone, then you might have different strategies. if that time, the human driver

has manageded a collision cours, that would take too much time. then you look for a different solution that you will get the ability as the owner of a car to think on that or consider such situations in advance that might be within your default. brent: you mean to anticipate accidents. >> many surveys show that the intuition and situation can't predict anymore. so my idea would be to start smoothly and slowly with introducing the new technologies. brent: who is going to decide

how slowly, how smartly we progress? >> there are some who think they could decide alone. those who think in this direction are mostly sitting at businesses of companies. it is on us as citizens and as societies to keep our responsibility and to stick these companies to ethical considerations, which should take place within our society. brent: before we wrap this up, are you convinced that our creations, our machines are not a threat to the human moral compass? >> in general, they could, but it is on us to take as much

measures as possible that this won't happen. brent: do you think humans are the biggest threat to themselves? >> i think so as humans are programming the machines. brent: thank you very much, fascinating discussion. we will be talking a lot about this in the future. >> thank you. brent: it is the end of the road for uber's ceo. helen is standing now. you will not drive away? reporter: i can be at the desk. the ceo of uber is stepping down . it comes as the right feeling firm is seeking to overhaul -- ride hailing firm is seeking to overhaul sexism. they are putting the reputation of the home on the line. reporter: travis kelly found the

servrve eight yeyears ago, but t is one of the most valuauable private companies in the world. he has resulted in backing from top-notch investors. a powerful block of shareholders has not liked his style and demand protection. it is plagued by a number of issues that could threatenen valuation. uber was rocked earlier this year by a report of widespread sexual harassment at the workplace. uber is also planning a lawsuit from a self driving car company affiliated with google. the risk of federal inquiry into the software they use to hide drivers from regulators. they need a more focused leader in the drivers seat before they can go public.c. >> probably thee senense is that uber i is getting closer to a pt wherere it can ipo, and maybe

travis was not the one to take over that. reporter: his fall from graraces unusua in tech startups were the persrsonalities and their foununders are personal assetst. but for over, jittery -- uber jittery investors do not like him. brent: we will take a short break. when we come back, i will take you through the day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

laura: welcome back, you're watching live from paris on "france 24." another shaken in french politics, relative unknowns are assigned post in the macron government. queen's.k., a low-key speech as parliament here's the government's plan for the next two years, heavy on brexit and light on domestic policy. the opposition is unconvinced. and a shake up in saudi arabia as the king replaces his nephew with his son as next in line for the throne. the 31 euro rose to prominence over his role in the war in