>> this is dw news tonight, the trillion tree plan. the trees would cover a landmass the size of the united states. researchers say there is enough room, but is there enough political will? in a divided venezuela, both sides of the political divide celebrate independence day.

but the un's human rights chief says there is little to celebrate. a young woman with big ambitions. she is crazy about mechanical engineering and she wants to build it so that the flooding stops. we will meet her at the pan-a frican robotic competition in ghana. ♪ welcome. tonight we began on a positive note amid the gloomy predictions amid the climate crisis. swiss scientists say the solution is easier than we think. we simply have to plant a lot of trees. a trillion of them, all over the

planet. the researchers say this would buy us enough time to help recece carbon emissions. >> the best remedy for the climate? nature. by their calculation, planting trees is the most efficient way to beat the time of crisis. it is possible to have -- halt global warming. >> as soon as we start restoration, we start to be effective, we start a caption carbon. >> the earth is covered with 2.8 billion hectares of forest. 900 million hectares could be planted. that i is about a third of whatt alalready existsts. space fofor the new trees coulde found in russia.

there is also enough room to plant trees and other industrialized countries, according to researchers. they have been looking for natural solutions that aim to restore destroyed ecosystems. they intentionally left out cities and farmland. >> we are encouraging the restoration of the natural ecosystems. we do not advise people to plant foreign species or exotic species that could grow fafaste. >> refororestationon is nonot ty solutition, but itit may buy use to change our habits. brent: with spring and the scientists that we just saw in that report. he is of the swiss federal institute of technology in zurich. we are talking about one trillion new trees. that is a lot of trays.

is there really aon the planet where conditions are just right to grow trees? >> this is what we did in our study. it is the first time we managed to quantify what could be done on the planet. our model is only based on climate data. on this combination of variables that we observed in natural conditions. we can have that amount of trays. -- trees. just based on those conditions. brent: is there a certain type of tree that is better for

helping to fight climate change? >> it allows me to make an important point. the idea that we are defending his we need to restore the natural ecosystem. we do not support the idea of planting eucalyptus or pine trees everywhere around the globe. we can restore the natural ecosystem. we need to respect the local species to preserve the local biodiversity. all of the forest ecosystems shelter 80% of the biodiversity we can find on land. it is very important to respect local conditions. brent: i think it is interesting this plan is getting the public attention it is getting right now. we heard this week that the president of brazil is planning

to accelerate the cutting down of more of the rain forest. my question is, as a scientist, do you think there is political will to plant one trillion trees? >> you raise problems. the problem of deforestation. we are talking about restoration. this can buy us some time in the fight against climate change. i think we have a common agreement between scientists that the source of climate change for more than 30 years. you have had reports that have try to push politicians to make decisions. i am not a complete optimist. we need to continue to fight. we hope that our paper will provide a tool that can be used

by anyone. citizens, engineers, small agencies. brent: anyone can plant a tree. let's assume that we did this. and we had a trillion new trees. can we continue to drive our cars, run the air-conditioning, use fossil fuels? >> no. this is what i was saying. if we managed to restore everything, it would buy us about 20 years. in order to change the way we are living on the planet. to reach a way of living that is carbon neutral. which has no impact on the marmot -- environment. if we keep to business as usual,

it is postponing the problem. . it is transmitting the problem to younger people. brent: a trillion trees could buy us two decades. i would not say that is a bad deal. we appreciate your time tonight. thank you. pro-government rallies have been reported in venezuela as the country marks its independence day. a large crowd of antigovernment demonstrators rallied in the capital of caracas led by juan guaido. they were calling for an end to alleged torture in the country. the un's head of human rights accused security forces of abuses and action judicial killings. joining us is our latin american desk.

the u.n. report is accusing been a widow -- venezuela's regime of murder, torture, repression. what is the reality? jenipher: the report indicates what observers, ngos, and independent media has denounced for months. special forces that maduro has deployed to the poorest areas of caracas, houston house and take members of the family away. they killed him. this is something they have done to crack down dissent in venezuela's poorest areas where the government has been strong. if they lose these areas, they knew it would spell the end of them. for the opposition, this is very

satisfying, to finally have confirmation from the u.n. that this is true. this is happening. it help re-galvanize the cause. for the government, it is very damaging. the report also shows that's the humanitarian crisis is happening. it blames the maduro government for the crisis. it is a detailed explanation of what is happening on the ground. brent: do you think it will make a difference? it seems that guaido has lost the momentum he had. jenipher: this is exactly the question. the problem for the opposition is they are on their six month of this push. they honestly thought it would only last one or two months. they were hoping that the maduro

government would fall. how much of the population is in this report? it is difficult. venezuela suffers from a lot of media crackdown and censorship. bequest and is, beyond the opposition, who knows about this? we just don't know. maybe we find out today if this is able to give the opposition new blood. brent: thank you very much. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. iran has threaeatened to seizeza partnershihip in retaliaiation r the capture of a iraraan tanker on thursday. royal marines ordered the ship on suspicions that it was breaking sanctions by taking oil and fuel to syria. the greek prime minister is holding his final rally and --

ahead of the general election. the left-wing leader called for the snap vote. polls suggests he faces a defeat by the center-right opposition. thousands of women whose children were part of hong kong's protest movement have staged a demonstration to show their solidarity with their kids. they oppose a bill that would allow people the extradited to mainland china went -- to stand trial. malta has agreed to accept dozens of migrants rescued by a charity ship in the mediterranean. in retururn, italy will take dozens of other migrants who are currently sheltering and -- in malta. italy's interior minister refused to allow the boat to dock.

african union mediators say that opposition leaders and sudan's ruling generals have finally reached a power-sharing agreement. under the deal, a joint military-civilian counsel well the country for the next three years. sudan has been shaken by protests after the ousting of the longtime president back in april. opposition leaders say it is a victory for their movement. >> celebrations in the capital khartoum as a political stand up the escalates. as a gesture of peace, the ruling military freed more than 200 rebel fighters were part of the opposition. a step toward reconciliation. one rebel leader prpraised the release. >> its shows clearly that the army and the armed forces are our partners and not our enemy.

with cooperation and understanding, we will meet the demands of the sudanese people. >> those demands are forced -- four civilian role. it is been the heart of the conflict after the ousting of the longtime leader. activists called for a transition to a civilian government. and impasse ensued, and the bloodshed. security forces opened fire on a protest camp, leaving more than 100 dead. after a month, the warring sides were at the table again. after two days, a breakthrough was announced. >> the two parties have agreed to sharere the sovereigngn counl equally between them. military and c civilian for the. of at least three years. they have also agreed on an

independent civilianan governmet under the leadership of a prime minister. >> in a further sign of healing, they also agreed to launch a national investigation into the deaths of the sudanese who were killed in the fight for democracy. brent: have you ever tried building a robot? it is not easy for everyone. there is a teenager and, -- ion nn ghana who wants to build a robot to prevent flooding. she has taken her robot to the pan african robotics competition. we bring you her story. >> for children packed into one small room. this used to be her bedroom before she moved to boarding school.

now she is in a brief visit home. that much is changed. suitcases still serve as closets. that shares in dire need of repair. there has alwaysys been lots of books here. >> sharing with three siblings is not e easy. but that did not stop meme from achieving what i want to be. you know what you want to do in life. so you drive toward that end. you don't let small things pushing back. >> she l loves sciencece. she says i it explains everythig in our world. one day, she wants to become a mechanical engineer. >> i want to invent a machine that can solve a problem in the community or the world. i like solving problemems. >> not long ago, she joined a club at school that is building

robots. that means more expenses for trips to compete with other schoolols and mamaterials. >> sometimes it isis very challenging. sometimes you have to use credit. >> today, regardless of how much money it costs, she feels just like any child coming here. she is thrilled to be at the first pan african robotics opposition i in ghana. >> don't ask me that question because it took weeks for this to be put together for one main purpose. >> to avavoid flooding in our cities. >> the participants are from the entire continent. many of them are young women. this team is from benin. they want to reduce congestion and big african c cities by artificial intelligence.

finding solutions to everyday problems. her team is competing today, but wiwinning is not the priority. it i is about leaearning from or groups a and their ideas sohat one day she can improve the life of her family and others in her community. brent: from machines to movies. in myanmar , efforts to revive the country's cinema. it has a long and rich history. decades of military rule suppress creativity and impose censorship. it left the country isolated from the outside world. now, with a country slowly opening up, a new wave of directors is hoping to reboot myanmar's golden era of film. >> lost temples, buried jules, and a lot of action. the film mystery of burma was a

box office hit in myanmar last year. this is the man behind it. not so long ago, he was an i.t. technician working in singapore. now he has turned his passion for film into a job, hoping to reinvent the way myanmar makes movie. >> it is very different from what we can see most of the time in burma. is totally different. the look. everything is really different. >> myanmar was a leading light in regional cinema before the military junta took over in 1962. the country opened up again in 2011. but critics say bad habits remain. movies rely on the same storylines and pedal stereotypes. >> the condition of our film

industry is similar to that of our country. after 100 years, neither is in gogood condition. >> old habits die hard. at this year's academy awards, myananmar' version of the oscar, the new generation of filmmakers left empty-handed. this director was among those who missed out on a prize. his adaptation of a novel set in the 1940's had d won him a lot f fans i in the horror film crazy nation. >> it is a problem with all generation and new generation. independent filmmaker and mainstream film maker. these are divided. we need more people who can work together. > myanmar is also learning ge

foreign n film makers. it was used as a backdrop for a hong kong movie shot this year. the next goal is to get the country's movies picked up overerseas and ush in a new golden era f for the indusy in myanmar. ♪ brent: cycling's biggest race, the tour de france, gets started tomorrow across the border in belgium. the first stage is always a massive event, and this year's grand depart marks the 50th anniversary of a breakthrough performance by a belgian who many consider to be the greatest cyclist of all-time. >> belgium is probably most famous internationally for its beer, fries, and of course, chocolate. that combo might not screen top level athleticism. but it is not stopping some of the world's fittest sportsmen

from swooping into the capital. brussels will host the grarand depart, the opening stage of the tour de france. the city has been transformed for the big start, honoring belgian sporting history while putting the country back on the map as a cycling power. >> we want to be the country of bicycle again. that is why it is so important to have the most important competition concerning bicycling here in brussels. >> the tour's belgian beginning has special residence, marking the 50th anniversary of national hero merckx's first win. he is still revered by locals. >> when he won his first tour de france, i was 12 years old. it is great we are doing the grand depart here in brussels. >> it will add another chapter

two belgians cycling book. brent: onto tennis. last year's men's finalist was the big loser on game five of wimbledon. defending champion djokovic had to for -- work hard to win in four sets. the serbian is in the other half of the draw from rivals rafa nadal and roger federer. in the women's draw, wozniacki is out after a punishing loss to china's zhang. and 15-year-old sensation coco gauff of the united states continued her fairytale run with a comeback win. the first openly gay couple to play doubles at wimbledon were knocked out.

let's move to soccer. the women soccer's world cup ends this weekend with the united states taking on netherlands in the final. it has been widely acclaimed as the best women's world cup. fifa wants to increase the number of teams and double the price -- prize money at the next women's world cup. >> the semifinals of the women's world cup went exactly as fifa has helped, as the whole thing has in the words of the fifa president. >> it has been incredible, emotional, passionate, fantastic , great, the best women's world cup ever. >> he wasted no time in announcing fifa's big plans for

the future. he hopes to expand the field to 32 teams and double the prize money. and he also brought up new competitions. women's football is becoming big business. politics is a hohot topic in the u.s. camp. in protest against donald trump, several players have suggested they may refuse an invitation to the white house. >> i think we will make that decision after we finished sunday's game. there has been a lot of talk prematurely about the white house and trump. first we have to do business. >> the u.s. had since it sunday's showpiece as the clear favorites. the netherlands would appear to have little chance, but they will put up a real fight. lyon, site of the two semi finals and host of the final, is already flooded with fans. much to fifa's delight. brent: from the pitch to the

plow. a completely different kind of sport. farmers in pakistan have competed in a traditional bowl race -- bull race. this involves pairs of bulls as they hurtle down the track. farmers and landowners around the region bring their fastest animals to entertain the crowds of spectators who are eager to catch a glimpse of the action. i think this is where the saying comes from, eat my dust. here is a reminder of the top story that we are following. a team of swiss scientists has concluded that the best way to beat the climate crisis is to plant trees all over the world to absorb co2 emissions. they say there is enough space on earth for one trillion new trees. and sudan has been celebrating a breakthrough in its political crisis. protesters have agreed to join

the ruling generals and a transition to civilian rule over the next three years. opposition leaders are hailing the new deal as a victory for their movement. you are watching the w news live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. we will be looking at migrant misery in the mediterranean. ♪

welcome back to france twenty four on the lawn of the suzanne rely from paris the headlines this hour. thousandnds into the streets across algeria foror the twentih friday in a row protesters keeping up the pressure on the authorities to dimond independent institutions as well as a re issue calls for regime insiders to go. nicolas m maduro overseas a military parade today after t te u. n.. human rights chief accusd his security forces of f torture sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings. opposition lawmaker one wait -- meanwhile has called on venezuelans to take to the streets initial force against maduro. and big surprise at the africa