brent: this is "dw news" live from berlin. the u.s. blaming iran for attacks on two tankers in the gulf of iran. the attacks come as relations between the u.s. and around continue to deteriorate. -- relations between the u.s. and iran continue to deteriorate. secretary of state pompeo not mincing words. >> is the opinion of the united

states government that the attack is result of iran. brent: in germany, those helpful assistance like amamazon's alexa -- they know a lot about us, and authorities now w want to pick their artificial brains. privacy campaigners say that is a step too far. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, welcome. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has pinned the attacks on two tankers and iran firmly on iran, accusing them of trying to restrict the flow of oil through the key straight of hormuz.

oil prices jumped by four percent and tensions between the u.s. and iran have been running high ever since president trump with drew the u.s. from the landmark iran nuclear deal last year. united nations secretary-general warning that the world cannot afford a major confrontation in the gulf region. quest black smoke billows from a tanker. the norwegian maritime authority says they were reportedly three explosions on board and described the incident as an attack. the second shift involved in the incident was the japanese owned core cuckoo courageous. both ships departed from saudi arabia and were traveling through the strait of hormuz. it serves as a conduit for a fifth of all global oil consumption.

leaders f from around the world have expressed alarm. >> is there something the world cannot afford, it is a major confrontation in t the gulf region. >> these developments are exactly the opposite of what we neneed in the region and in this alreadyy tense situation. >> four weeks ago, is suspected sabotage attack on for tankers raised tensions in the region. details remain unclear, but saudi arabia and the u.s. accuse iran of being behind the incident. iran denies this. anand who was behindd thuhursd's explosions is by no means certain. iran has rejected any responsibility. the country state broadcaster says authorities have launched an investigation into the incidents. crews from both ships were rescued and brought to safety, but tension in the region has escalated. friend: earlier, we asked our

analysts who might be responsible. >> we, in fact, have three sets of actors who might be behind this. iran couould try to escalate the situation in response to the u.s. maximum pressure campaigngn it calls economic warfare against the country. we have iran's rivals that may want to drag the u.s. into war with iran, and then we have a whole range of terrorists or militant groups in the region that may also seek to escalate the tensions in the region, so it's difficult to look at who has been kind this attack. brent: i'm joined now by our correspondent in washington. good evening to you. the u.s. secretary of state just spoke about these attacks. let's take a listen to what he said. >> it is the assessment of the united states government that the islamic republic of iran is

responsible for the attacks that occurred in the gulf of oman today. this assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar attacks on shipping and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication. brent: pompeo sounds very confident in putting the blame on iran. let's flesh this out a little bit. what is he basing his accusations on? >> we can boil this down to two factors, essentially. mike pompeo is pointing out the past behavior and modus operandi , saying this was due to intelligence he has obtained as well as weapons used, almost a backhanded compliment saying the weapons used were too sophisticated and the fact he said that this attack mirrored

an attack on other ships last month. back then, it took around a week for washington to point the finger at chevron. today, it took just one day, but mike pompeo also said it should be met with diplomacy but said the u.s. will continue to defend its forces and its allies. keeping the straight open is crucial to the international community, not talking just about oil supply but much of the food supply as well. brent: how are the accusations that are flying right now influence the conflict we are already dealing with between the u.s. and iran? >> a couple of concrete ways to start off with. first, there will be more u.s. naval ships headed to the region. we also know there are 1500 u.s. troops headed to the region as well.

i think at the end of the day, it very much depends on who has the gear of the u.s. president. we also know that national security advisor john bolton is very hawkish when it comes to iran. many of his critics say this is a man looking for a conflict. i think all the while, there's this concern that inin terms of this economic warfare, ass tehrn refers too it, in terms of economic sanctions, they have stepped too far there, or for example, another threat on twitter. a threat in rhetoric, for example, could see this situation accident late over into something very serious indeed. at the end of the day, if there is a conflict between the u.s. and iran, it would likely play out in other theaters of war. for example, we would see conflict in areas such as syria, afghanistan, iraq, uae, bahrain,

something the world can ill afford right now. brent: thank you. here are some of thehe other stories making headlines around the world. a suicide bomombing at a sececuy checkpoint in afghanistan has killlled at leaea nine peoeople. the so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility. afghanistan has suffered a wave of bombings in recent weeks, killing dozens of people. the british government has approveded the extradition of wikileaks founder julian assange to the united states. assange's lawyers are expected to challenge the decision was has to b bapproved by a court with a final verdict not expected for months. he is wanted in the u.s. for leaking u.s. classified material in 2010. a severe cyclone passing by india's western coast has been lashing coastal areas with heavy wind, rain, and waves. a cyclone had been due to strike

todaday, but it changed course e understand and has veered away from the coast. a leading medical research organization has described the current outbreak of ebola in the democratic republic of congo as truly frightening. the u.k.-based welcome trust, says the epidemic which has claimed more than 2000 lives, is the worst in years and shows no signs of stopping. it has now spread to uganda where two members of the same family, including a five-year-old boy, have now died. uganda has returned other family members to the urc. the world health organization is considering declaring the outbreak a global emergency. >> borders cannot stop a virus, but ugandan authorities are trying, nonetheless. three ebola cases have been registered in the country, the first known cross-border spread

since an outbreak began in the neighboring dedemocratic repepuc of congo last august. fefears grow ththat this might y be the beginning. >> ebola o outbreak is still gog on, and today, we have overr 200 confirmed cases, so the probability of more cases is very high. >> ebola is not new to uganda. the country has seen five outbreaks of the disease since the yeaear 2000. it h has stepped up efforts to contain the virus, screreening eveveryone enterining uganda frm the eastern drc. the government is also e employe a vaccine for health-care workers along the border. >> friday, we e shall begin vaccinination for all front-line health workers.

>> because of past successes in comp heading the disease, uganda is widely regarded as being at the forefront of the right -- the fight against ebola, but given the most recent cases, many ugandans feel uneasy and wish the country would do more to educate citizens about the virus. >> the government has not done enough to inform people about the virus. >> when people have the symptoms, they want to hide, and then they mix with the bigger population,, which spreads the disease to wider areas. >> on friday, the world health organization will decide if this ebola outbreak should be declared an international emergency. rent: state media in sudan are reporting ousted former president omar al-bashir has been charged with corruption. the legal action comes as mediators step up efforts to end the standoff between the

country's military rulers and their civilian opponents. in hong kong, protest leaders have announced another mass rally for this coming weekend. this follows a series of large protests against a planned law allowing suspects to be extradited to china. authorities have been clearing away barricades following a night of clashes that left 79 people injured. a small number of protesters assembled in the city center today under heavy security. city legislators have postponed their next debate on the bill, which opponents fear will erode civil liberties. >> one day later, the city is calm but tense. police have placed barricades around the government complex. most protesters have left the area, but one group remains. they went on hunger strike a night before the events.

she has not given for 38 hours. >> physically, i'm feeling all right. mostly especially it is really exhausting. >> she is referring to wednesday's demonstrations when police used large amounts of tear gas and fired rubber bullets on protesters. authorities justified what the opposition calls excessive use of violence with claims of an overly aggressive and hostile attitude on the part of protesters. the clashes left 79 wounded. >> heartbreaking. it was just unacceptable for me. i was here. i was witnessing everything that was happening to them. i mean, it is hard for all of us to stomach and to accept that the government can do that to

peaceful protesters. >> a few people have come to stage a silent protest, cordoned off by rows of police. a pro-democratic lawmaker is trying to negotiate access to the site for protesters, but to no avail. >> my office has 15 staff, but only five of them are allowed to go into the office inside this building. >> in the afternoon, lawmakers from the pro-democracy camp leave to demand information from the chief executive, but they are stopped by the police who block their approach to the gate of her residency. any attempt to bypass this is futile. >> just keeping silent, not

responding to anything meaningful. >> the streets of calm her today in hong kong -- the streets are calm her -- the streets are calmer today in hong kong, but life is just the mood is anything but. brent: you might think life is easier for young people, but in some places, that is not the case. many are taking care of the elderly. >> learning new things and exchanging ideas to forget the stress of every day life, but most of all, receiving recognition for all that they do daily for their families -- this is the aim of the care center in brighton. for over 25 years, the center has been supporting young people who have to provide care for a relative. they had to school, educate, and assist them and their families.

they also organize field trips to offer them a well-deserved break. >> is finally a chance for them to enjoy a normal childhood, too, like i said, get a break from their caring role at home and to make friends where they don't have to worry about hiding the situation at home. they feel more open and able to talk to the other children because they all know that they've got this shared experience at home. >> last august, tail -- teo's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. since then, she is only occasionally able to leave the apartment. on the days she is not well, he is responsible for the cleaning, shopping, and cooking. the activities offered at the center are a welcome change. >> they just put me on a three-week cooking course, so now i know how to make a dinner that is not a one-minute pizza.

now i can make healthy, nice food. >> it is on my mind all the time . >> i'm glad that it takes me out a lot more. >> the situation for young carers in england has changed over the years thanks to this man. since the beginning of the 1990's, he has been researching the subject. today, the sociologist is regarded as a leader in his field. >> we were finding about intimate care and what they had to do and we were finding about the psychosocial impact it had on children's mental health, so as more and more studies came out, the government engaged more and more as the local authorities. >> the situation is not perfect. the support the young carers received depends on the region and the help offered by local partners, but there's more

awareness in the general public, and that is a good ring. -- a good thing. >> it's a bit hard not to get sad when of all the millions of people in the world -- billions of people in the world, one of them, my mom, had to be the one to get the illness. >> just knowing that he is not alone and has a place to go where others understand him helps him cope. brent: joining me now is daniel phelps from the health and well-being research group p in winchester. it's good to have you with us show. seeing the r report there, these chchildren are just so impressi. they have so much responsibility on them, and i i daresay most peoplele in the world are notot aware thatat so many childrerene the carers and caretakers for ololder relatives. how w many childreren are we tag

about juststin the u u.k.? -- jt in the u.k.? >> the lasast census p put out a gurere of 1 1,000 youngng carers living in england,d, but therere differenent estimates. even less yeaear, the bbc and te ununivsity of nottttingham did sosome researcrch and came up pa figure indicating more than 800,000 young carers in england alale. brent: that's amazing. that is an n incredibly h high numberer. how do thesese shall can do thi they have too obviously have t e to care f for theheir famamily members.s. do thehey have to drop out off hohool? >> that's a good queststion. momost will attetend schooool, t being a carer does have h huge impact o on their education.. sosome researchers i in the k. found thatat young carerss camet of secondaryry school with t the

equivalelent of ninene grades lr an theheir peers. they d do miss significant amous ofof their educatition as well,t even when thehey were in schoooi think therere's an issssue becae young carers t tell us s they ce sitting in a classssroom, , andy may be physicacally there butt mentalally absbsent because thee thinking about, worrying about the person they have left at home. brent: they are little adults, in a way. the young boy we saw in our report, he talks like an adult, but you can see he is obviously a child. their emotional intelligence, i would imagine, is very high, but the emotional strain has to be just a as high.. what kind of f support do these childrdren get from the care centnters? >> a as u saw i in the k karrer- the center f featured, one of te

things they get is respite and a break from their caring role. one of the other things as they gett to meet other childldren in similar circumstances toto himsf -- t to t themselves. for m many, that is massive. many will not know other yououng carers b before theyey start attendining, and that can be ve, very freeing and give them a lot of confidence. brent: daniell phelps from the university of winchester. we appreciate your time tonight. incredibly important story right now and we appreciate you sharing with us. thank you. >> thank you very much. brent: in germany, authorities are working on new guidelines which will allow them to access voice data held by digital voice assistance such as amazon's alexa. privacy campaigners are strongly opposed to the idea, but the country's interior minister insists law-abiding citizens

have nothing to fear or hide. >> alexa is omnipresent and here's everything -- hears everything. a command could come at any time. every piece of information is stored in the cloud. that has make the german interior ministry take notice. it wants to explore if alexa and systems like it can be useful in fighting crime. >> politicians cannot just look on while the internet aids criminals. that's what matters. it's not about law-abiding citizens who have to fear they are being monitored. >> technically s speaking, gettg a hold of crime related data would be possible, but most servers where the data is stored are located in other countries. amazon recently made it clear that no customer data would be released without a valid legal order. that means it will hand over

information afforded to. american intelligence services are allowed to ask for customer service data and pass it on, at least when it relates to foreign nationals, but german data protection is -- protectionists are skeptical. >> the price would be to make deals with other countries which would facilitate access to data on german citizens. >> german opposition parties warn of bigger dangers. >> in germany, everyone must have the possibility to exert complete privacy over their thoughts, acts, and communications. if the core privacy in one's life is affected, then every investigation a nation undertakes is a failure. >> in germany, the debate over the limits of people's privacacy is growing. brent: from alexa to vietnam and a story about an unlikely hero. a 99-year-old grandmother

standing up against big cope. some 300 people in her community have been forced to relocate, but she is refusing to leave, even after bulldozers demolished her house. >> it is a classic case of david versus goliathth, but this 99-year-old grandmother r is refusing to give up. >> i'm not leaving. i'm staying right here. the officials tried to evict me, but i would not leave. my grandparerents and my parares lived here, and i will l also sy here. >> she has called t this area he since birth. one e day she was notified the authoritiess need t to the a arr a new coal l ant. she wawas offered to move

elsewhere but r refused. this is what is left of the family house. now the 99-year-old lives in a shack next to the rubble. it is a story playing out across vietnam. the country's energy demands are soaring, and with it, it's appetite for coal. experts predict coal will account for half of vietnam's energy production by 2030, and that means building plants in remote areas like this. localsls sayay they arere being strong-armed out of their homes with only a physical relocation plan in place. >> theyy wanted us to move, but they did not give us land for cultivation. people cannot move if they do not provide a way for them to make a living. >> in addition to the human cost, activists point to the environmental implications of expanding the coal industry. they call for investment in grenoble energies, but these alone cannot currently meet

vietnam's insatiable demand for power -- they call for investment in renewable energies. >> my y house is here, my ndnd s here, and i want to be burieded here, too. >> she says she will continue to defend her home as long as she's got a fight left in her. brent: sports news at the women's world cup in france. australia have reported their first win after coming from behind to beat brazil. yesterday australians were 2-0 down from brazil before staging a comeback. they keep their hopes alive of reaching the next round. here is a reminder of the top

stories wewe are following for u -- u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo is blaming iran for attacks on two tankers in the gulf of iran. pompeo accusing iran of trying to escalate tensions. and the -- a leading biomedical group has described the ebola virus in the repepublic of congo as threatening thousands. now two people have died of the virus in neighboring uganda. coming up, i will take you through more news. stick around for "the day." ♪

. global oil prices are soaring and they said thursday they're softer two tankers were attacked in the gulf of oman near the strait of hormuz. and the us secretary of state pointed the finger of blame e aa run for the attack. but iran denies any involvement and close the timing of thursday's incident suspicions take a listen to what my palm bay i have to say a short while ago. these unprovoked attacks present a clear threat to international peace and security. a blatant assault on the freedom of navigation