♪ >> this is dw news live from berlin. the u.s. says it will resume att executions that ends a 16 year moratorium and will probably be challenge in court. crititics say it i is an electionon-year stutunt. also on n the program, hong ko's lalatest antigoverernment demonsnstrations see protesters occupy the territories airport. we'll bring you an update from the scene. as germany moves to ban gay conversion therapy we meet a man who says the practice left him

suicidal. ♪ i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. the u.s. federal government has announced that it will resume executions this year. although american states execute dozens of prisoners every year the last federal execution was in 2003. since then, there has been an unofficial moratorium. the justice department now says that review is complete and has cleared the way for executions to resume. critics of capital punishment say the decision is politically motivated and aimed at boosting support for president trump and nextxt year's election.n. rereporter: thehe execution cha, still frequent we used in the united states. but in recent years, the death penalty has only been applied by state governments. only three people have been

executeded at a national level n the past t three decades. now the attorney general has authorized the resumption of capital punishment. >> this is kind of a new surprising announcement. there is no particular call for the death penalty at any federal level. but there are people on the federal debt row who have committed serious homicides and juries have found they are subject to the death penalty. so, there is nothing that prevents the attorney general from doing this. reporter: 61 people are on federal death row, including the boston marathon bomber. for now five men have been scheduled to die by lethal injection, all convicted of murdering children. some see it as emotive. >> these cases were not chosen because they j justify the federal death penalalty. they weree chosen because they were designed to inflame the

public. reporter: and there is concern that non white defendantnts will be disproportionatelyy affected. >> you are more likely to be sentenced to death and executed if your defendant of color. reporter: president donald trump has long been an outspoken supporter of the death penalty. executions will restart in december as the u.s. prepares to enter an election year. trump several oftrump' -- several of trump's opponents are against it. the issue could become part of the presidential race. phil: straight washington where we join pamela humphrey. why is this happening now? pamela: phil, what we saw today was president trump put a card down on the table for the 2020 presidential election. he estimates this will play out well with his conservative base. he has long been in favor of the death penalty, taking out a full-page ad in "the new york times" backing executions and he

is also said in the past the united states would be better off if it implemented policies similar to the philippines where president duterte has pursued policies executing drug dealers. he estimate it will play out well with his conservative base. if you take a look at the numbers, republican support for the death penalty for capital punishment has stayed steady over the past two decades. 8 out of 10 republican voters backing capital punishment in this country. phil: we heard of the report there is no clamor for this move. how contentious issue is it? pamela: it certainly is a very contentious issue and not one that historically has necessarily fallen along party lines. in 1992, the then democratic presidential candidate bill clinton defended the death penalty. he even left the campaign trail

to return to his home state of arkansas and preside over the execution of ricky ray rector. a black man who is mentally impaired who had killed police officer. and another man. that also speaks to another reason why this is so contentious. with evidence of racial bias, currently 55% of people on death row are people of color. then, of course, there is the issue of the risk of miscarriage of justice. research from the university of michigan says 4% of people executed in the united states were innocent and as such we've seen many democratic presidential candidates today speaking out against it. one including kamala harris saying it is a moral, deeply flawed and too many innocent people have been executed in this country. the only democratic presidential candidate who is in favor of it is steve bullock, the governor

of montana who says it can be used for example, he advocates it in the case of terrorism. phil: and briefly, many u.s. states never gave up the death penalty. one wonders how big a deal this is. >> this is certainly a big deal despite the fact that there are 29 states which still have the death penalty because it goes against a trend. from 2008 to 2018, the number of death sentences has fallen by 85%. we've also not seen a big call for a revival at the federal level. there is certainly a concern also with the rapidity with which the attorney general bill barr now wants to see these the death penalty's, these executions go ahead. five men and then more to come. phil: helena humphrey in washington, thank you. let's turn to another tragedy in the mediterranean and what is believed to be the worst shipwreck this year.

'150 refugees are feared drowned after their boat capsized on thursday. scores of others were rescued and instead of finding safe harbor in europe, were sent back to libya to face more uncertainty and desperation. reporter: these exhausted migrants have been sent back to libya from where they had set off for europe. right next to the survivors are those who did not make it. this woman says she lost her seven-year-old son in the boat. accident she's angry. she says no one helpeped her and her family in libya. > they don't help anyone. they sent me away and they told me and my children we had to find our own way. i just want to go back to my home country of sudan to die. reporter: after what is probably the worst boat accident in the mediterranean is here the demands of u.n. organizations

have become insistent. >> there's an urgent need now first of all to secure the release of people from inside the detention centers in libya, but also to boost the search and rescue capacity. we need more rescue boats on the mediterranean to prevent live some being lost. reporter: at the moment, there are no private rescue ships patrolling off the coast of libya. ilia wants to prohibit their work by imposing heavy fines. there are -- is still disagreement about how rescued migrants should be distributed. phil: we will take a look at the other stories making news around the world. the palestinian president has said he will stop implementing agreements with israel, the first time he has announced such a clear break in cooperation, a sign of worsening relationships. early this week israel to malice -- demolished 12 palestinian apartment building's citing security reasons. president abbas described the

move as a crime agaiainst humaninity. anti-government protests of taken place in algeria's capital for the 23 consecutive week. it force the longtime president to resign in april. demonstrators have kept up the pressure and come calling for all -- the regime to step down. german chemicals dined bayer has been told a $2 billion compensation package awarded against against roundup will be cut. monsanto will have to pay just under $87 million to a california couple who claim the product given cancer. bayer says it will appeal the original decision. now to hong kong where processors have taken their fight for democratic freedoms to one of the worlds busiest airport. thousands of demonstrators have descended on the arrivals hall on hong kong international to

raise the alarm about what they see as a potential erosion of the territories independent. this is part of a mass protest movement sparked by a controversial extradition bill which it is feared would allow china to tighten its grip on the island. reporter: crowds of protesters greeted passengers in two arrival halls. wanting to win sympathies for their cause. for almost two months they have been holding demonstrations demanding greater democracy. the trigger was a now suspended extradition bill which would allow hong kong to transfer suspects to the in-transparent justice system of mainland china. >> we want -- we want to let the people know that hong kong is not what used toe and we don't want extradition bill to happen in hong kong.g. reportrter: air f fter asiann ms are comommon, not ass prorotectn against pollution or airborne

bacteria but also against facial recognition technology. whatever trust demonstrators may have had in the territories authorities were shattered last weekend when, despite prior warnings, police failed to stop suspected organized crime groups from brutally attacking protesters and bystanders. 45 people were hospitalized. >> we just want to fight for the rights and core values of hong kong. i can't understand why the government and the police would treat protesters who are protesting peacefully that way. reporter: p passengers seemed unfazed, many supported the protest. >> i feel it's good people are standing up for what they believe in. >> i would support the protests in terms of freedom of speech. and their rights. i believe it is has to do with extradition. so, yes, ik would -- i would

absolutely support the. >> i think people want to make their voice heard. you know, hopefully this will contntinue. reporter: h hong kong is bracicg itself foror a further weekend f protests heard the government is under increasing pressure from the demonstrators and also from communist party leaders in beijing who fear the unrest could spread to the mainland. phil: here in germany the government is moving to ban the practice of gay conversion therapy. the elf minister has been calling for the abolition of the process saying that homosexuality is not a disease. he warned of consequences of people undergo the so-called therapy. we met one man who said the practice left him almost suicidal. reporter: >> i think i first became aware

something was different during kindergarten but i did not know what it meant. >> mike is one of thousands of people have undergone a controversial therapy in an attempt to repress their homosexuality. christianity shaped mike's life from an early age but is purity hit it again to have sexual expeririences with men. >> it was a nice time in life. then t the conflict startrted to grow because of the same time i felt at home in christian circles where was made very clear -- god d doesn't want tha. you should lead another life. how can you stand before g god? this is a mortal sin. and other similar comments came from all sides. reporter: after voluntarily seeking out conversion therapy, mike committed himself to ending all contact with homosexualal friends s and partners. for a decadede he wass abstinen. the loneliness brought him to the brink of suicide. >> i reached the point where i could not go on anymore. but it was also o because of my

faith that i was too much of a coward to do it. because then i would have not been granted eternal life. today i can laugh about how stupid that is. that was actually the reason that kept me from ending my life. reporter: practitioners of the homosexual conversion therapy in germany face no consequences. but german health minister is preparing to take drastic action. >> we should ban converersion therapy y in germany. homosexuality is not a disease and does not require treatment. reporter: the germann health minister hopes to present a draft law by the end of the year, but like many critics mike worries that the therapy will be able to continue under a different guise. for him, i t'st's a step in the right directionon. >> i think it's important, for example, to put a ban in place, especially for young people that makes it clear -- doctors and

therapists are not allowed to carry out t this so-called conversion therapy. then there will be a lot less of this nonsense. reporter: 20 years on since his therapy, mike cacan look for too his wedding, putting the e past behihind him. >> i'm not bitter towards anynyone. neither the christian circles whwhere i heard everything,, nor the therapist. someone frfrom my former parirish reached out to me and said hats off, h he was sorry. i can see the changes on the way. phil: let's find out more about this with our guest from an lgbt rights now. welcome to dw. what happens during conversion therapy? >> i am not quite sure. we can have an idea because there are several types of conversion.

they try to get people back to heterosexual majority. try to vovercome homosexuality. and i think it is the wrong way to call it therapy. i think it is just quackery. they do as if they could hear something, which is no illness. but just a state of human existence. phil: it goes beyond just not being gay to being straight. and is there any evidence that it actually works? >> no, there isn't at all. 25 years ago, the world health organization deleted homosexuality as a mental disorder from the list of diseases. so, they should have learned this therapists, that there is nothing to put therapy on.

i think this kind of quackery provokes illness instead of overcomes sosome. phil: what sort of illness? >> i think depression. as we learned in the clip. and suicide rates are high. and we should show that people having problems -- homosexuality should not make their problems into public problems are try to make money off of homophobia by trying to offer or promote therapies against homosexuality. phil: where does the demand come from? these these quacks, these strange people who offer this this this therapy? where, someone is going to them. someone is paying them to do this to them. why? >> i think some perhaps religious reasons.

by religious fundamentalism. saying thaty are not created equal or kreider's -- creatures of god but by the devil. it is not to reasonable people to understand what it's in the preying of these therapies but it is quite clear it is not fitting into modern society. phil: would a ban work? >> i think it is a decisive step. to get clear that therapists promoting, offering this kind of therapy, this kind of quackery are not on the right way. phil: and so, in the broader terms, then, the 40 seconds or less, do societies across the world have a problem with people being gay? >> i think -- they want to have clear black-and-white patterns. and i think the problem is not

the homosexual, but people not able to stand diversity. and variety in society. phil: we thank you for joining us. from germany's lesbian and a federation. boris johnson appointment as british prime minister has divided opinion and the u.k. but thousands of miles away in turkey residents of a small village are celebrating his ascent to power. mr. johnson has traced his ancestry back to that vaillage. people there are buzzing with excitement that a man they see as one of their own is britain's new leader. reporter: it is a far cry from the grantor of westminster. this is the house where boris johnson's great great grandfather was born 200 years ago. now residents of the small turkish village hope johnson will return to discover his roots and meet his distant

relatives. >> boris is my cousin. we want him to visit his ancestral lands. to meet us and onerous. -- and honor us. reporter: villages have welcomed johnson's rise to prime minister. >> we were happy that boris won. in fact, we all gathered here and celebrated in front of my office. we all applauded him. reporter: their former mayor met johnson when he visited turkey as british foreign minister in 2016. back then, johnson received a warm welcome, even though he was claiming in his brexit campaign that millions of turks would enter britain if turkey joined the european union. >> he had to say such things in the political arena and order to make political gains. you know that as well as we do. all politicians know it. so do the peoplele in his count. reporter: former mayor is a

shrewd politician himself. >> in order for a town to develop we would like to benefit from people like boris johnson. under their leadership we would like investments for our town. reporter: investment or not, here there's a sense of pride that a man the local sea is one of their own is the leader of the united kingdom. -- the locals see as one of their own is the leader of the united kingdom. phil: a second heat wave and the soaring mercury is causing travel chaos. eurostar advised against travevl to our fromm paris aftfter a dae powerline cacaus delays. train tracks risk buckling in the heat. in the n netherlands, one town s resorted to o spreading sasalt n the roaoads to prevent them from melting. while in some parts of the world these temperatures may be normal, for many parts of europe

we are not equipped for this sort of whether. -- weather. rebecca can tell us more. welcome. how is europe coping with the heat? rebecca: not that well. but i am australia. you will not hear me complain. many of our viewers are from warmer climates. and might be thinking why is everyone in europe crying about 35 or 40 degrees? as you mentioned, europe is not equipped for this kind of weather. the infrastructure is not there. take for instant air which where i come from is commonplace. across most of northern europe it is pretty rare. people in houses or offices and public transport, there is no air-conditioning. that is prompted one guy to developer website mapping all sorts of places in berlin that have air conditioning whether they be shops or department

stores and people who are out and d about and sweltering in these, hotter days can map in and find out where to go to get a reprieve. we got in touch with him and he said the usage on the site has spiked in the last couple days. but you also mentioned in your lead-in about the rail tracks. they are able to bend because the train tracks in europe are prepared to withstand cold spells rather than the heat. so, austria is really tryrying this new thing where they are painting train tracks white to see if that will reduce temperatures. we have got no data on whether it is working for people said it could reduce the temperature by seven degrees. phil: people are getting creative. rebecca: they are. of course, it is a serious issue but people, we've taken the funnier things from people who are posting on twitter under #heat wave. we have this guy in france. he's gone all out creative u usg

an open n fire hydrant to keep cool. this guy in the u.k. brought the beach to the city. in asked a man -- in accident, a café has put -- in amsterdam, café has put these pools down. good news for all people across europe. we will get a reprieve in the coming days. so things will be looking a bit easier across europe. phil: thank you so much for that. and while francis sweltering heat, stage 19 of the tour de france has had to be interrupted early after hail cause dangerous conditions on the final downhill stretch. rider times were taken from the summit instead, 40 columbus before the planned finish line. bernal was the biggest beneficiary. the colombian claimed the yellow jersey. the previously to look frustrated. his title chances fading. bernal is favored to stand atop

the podium in paris on sunday. with this year's tour nearing the finish line, let's get a longer view courtesy of the race's oldest living winner. 91-year-old federico -- known as the eagle of toledo won in 1959, becoming the first spaniard to win the most cherished prize. retired for 50 years, he's still in love with the spoport but not with moder cyclistsn. reporter: federico saw many hardships early in life, during and after the spanish civil war, his major concern was finding food an staying alived. before becoming a professional ride he honed his cyclase skills while delivering bread. and fleeing the police. those skills led him to racing and eventually the spanish cycling federation pikced him -- picked him. in 1959, he won it all.

>> when i won the>> tour all the spaniards enjoyed it more than anyone. frfrom that moment onon, things changed for spanish cycling. geneneral francoo met with me ad the evolution of cycling changed for the better. reporter: decades removed from the sport he still regarded as the tour de france's best ever climber.r. winning the king of the mountains six times but he is defifinitely not a fan of the sports modern era. >> commercial firms are e killig e sport. rightt now you have x number of mimillions tmakeke a great teteam a you can't do it, because they are all thinking about money and not about the results. you know whwhat i call today cyclists? the holy week procession. they only l ack the candle to light the candle.

reporter: h he declined invitation t to witness issues event first hand, opting to watch it on tv instead. phil: here's a remindnder of ou top stotory. the trump administration has announced plans to revive the federal death penalty. critics say the change is politically motivated. this is dw news by from berlin. i'll be back in a few moments with "the day." in the meantime, there is the website, dw.com. have a good day.

to make this event so unique. phone call on front twenty four i'm from twenty four to a home. you may strike the northwest in syria leave four hundred thousand displaced in just three months and more than a hundred dead in the last few days. the u. n. condemns once it cools international indifference from world d powers. italy's interior minister refuses to let an italian case god birds carrying one hundred and thirty five migrants dog.. until e. u. countries agreed to take them in. place as the drowned b bodies of sixty two mimigrants are recoved from what the u.. n. coals the western mediterraranean tragedy say for this year