>> this is "dw news" life from berlin. hong kong airport's haul flights for a second day in a row. police used pepper spray and batons trying to force their way into the building. hong kong chief executive carrie lam warns that the city could be on a path of no return.. also coming up, radiation in a russian town. authorities clean up the area amid fears a recent explosion at a nearby rocket testing site

involved nuclear materials. and child labor in bolivia where kids work legally from the age of 10. they can only dream of going to school. ♪ leila: i'm a lahore rock. a very warm welcome to viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world. chaotic scenes have unfolded at hong kong's international airport where dozens of right police crashed with pro-police demonstrators. hong kong's chief executive warned protesters that the city is on what she called a path of no return.

>> it is shut down day to, and there's serious anger from protesters toward the police. with protesters clearly losing their cool. demonstrators claim this man was an undercover policemen, and shortly afterward, he is attacked. eventually, medics secure his release. protesters continue to apologize to frustrated travelers. >> i need to see my family. >> [indiscernible]

>> carrie lam, hong kong's leader, is fearing or threatening the worstst. >> hongg kong society has become insecure, unstable, and violent. no matter who is perpetrating violence, it will push hong kong down a path of no return. it will puput hong kong societyn a very anxious and dangerous situation. >> she was harangued by journalists who want to know if she is following beijing's orders. pro-democracy activist joshua one thihinks beijijing will notd in the p people's liberation ar. -- thinknk regime wawant to senn the peopople's liberationon arm. >> it willll not only trigigger discontent of hong kong p peopl, but also the stotock market and financial m market might face aa serious c crackdownwn.

now is the titime for wororld leaders to pay attention. they should notot let h hg kong people work alonene. >> imagess from acrososs the bor suggest a a showdown, visible mililitary b buildup 30 kilomets away over the border mentions shenzhenen. the question now is -- is this just a threat from beijing or will the chinese military actually move in? laila: felix lee spent six years as chinese correspondent for berlin daily. he is with me in the studio to talk about these very dramatic developments in hong kong. lelet's pick up where that repot left off, that video released by chinese authorities, buildup of military vehicles along the border with hong kong has a lot of observers very worried. my question to you -- because all eyes are now on beijing. that's where the real power lies when it comes to any possible future intervention. are they really prepared to send

boots on the ground? >> they are threatening, but i don't believe that this moment that they want to do this because actually beijing does not want pictures which would remind the world of 1989, the massacre of tiananmen, crushing china's democracy movement. china is celebrating its 70th anniversary on october 21, and they don't want terrible pictures before that. >> this is such a symbolic year for china, all these anniversaries taking place. if china were to move or intervene, how much h of a game changer would that be? would it be a tipping point? >> this would be a catastrophe. for hong kong, of course, but also for china. so far, china and hong kong still have autonomy status for

28 yeaears. it iss supposed to h have sometg a little b bit similar t to wesn democracy. that is what thehe former outerr statesman ononce promised to the hongng kong people, and so far, the promise is still -- laila: valid? >> still valid, yes. laila: i wonder from the get-go, was this an untenable situation, the idea of one country, two systems? can hong kong retain its unique character? will it be swallowed up by china, basically? >> i think what nobody expected back then is that -- how society would change. especially when i look at the young people, they are pretty much raised as westerners. they believe in democracy. they share western democratic beliefs, and they are more similar to people from europe or

north america than two people in china, mainland china. this is the problem. they don't trust the hong kong government nor the china government, and everyone expected hong kong people would grow together with mainland chinese, but actually what happened is the opposite. laila: the opposite has happened. how important is hong kong for mainland china? >> it is still important, but not as important as it used to be. just looking at the numbers, it used to be almost 20% of trade with the rest of the world, between china and the rest of the world was going through hong kong. now it's less than 3%, so already by this, you can see that hong kong -- the importance of hong kong is much less than 20 years ago.

there are other cities just across the border, shenzhen, which was mentioned. shenzhen has a more successful economy and higher growth rates. laila: where did you see this going? both sides are entrenched in their respective positions. do you feel beijing is partially to blame for how it handled the situation, for it spiraling out of control? >> absolutely. five years ago, people of hong kong were already protesting, wanting to mock receipt and it was a peaceful protest. beijing and the hong kong government did nothing since then, made it even worse. we see especially young people are frustrated. that is why they turn to violence. laila: thank you for weighing in.

we turn our attention now to russia because authorities in the country tell people to evacuate after a rocket explosion caused radiation levels to spike, only to cancel the order hours later, adding to the mystery already surrounding the accident. russia's state weather agency, save e explosion which claimed e lives of five nuclear engineers last week, caused radiations in the city to rise by up to 60 times normal levels. we asked our moscow bureau chief how the accident was being reported by the russian media, and he gave us this assessment. >> russia media also have very little information about what happened exactly. not about the accident itself, nor about the danger for people in the area where it happened. according to the russian state,

directly after the explosion, the ministry of defense in moscow had claimed there was no increase. authorities of the city located close to the explosion had ordered a short-term increase in radioactive activity, but the information disappeared suddenly from their official site. nearly a week has passed since the explosion, and we still have almost no information about what happened. even today, there's been contradictory information about if the area has to be evacuated on not. laila: soldiers in portugal are driving fuel tankers to distribute gas because of an open-ended strike by tanker drivers which has entered its second day. police officers were also making deliveries because almost 500 gas stations have run dry. the government has imposed fuel

rationing. >> fully laden and under police protection, the convoy leaves a warehouse near lisbon. this is how the portuguese government has been tried to guarantee a minimum amount of fuel is available for the country's drivers. reluctantly, the picket lines allow them through. >> i thinknk the strike gives te imprpression to peoplele abroadt portugal does not respect labor rights. these people are fighting for their rights and the country, the government, and the companies are doing their best to limit the exercising of those rights. >> tanker drivers work up to 17 hours a day minimum wage in an effort to change that, they are protesting for the second time in four months. during the strike, fuel has been rationed at pumping stations and special legal measures have been brought into force drivers to

live a minimum supplies after complaints the government was not doing enough. "we notice particularly afternoon shift, the unions that call for strike and the workers involved did not comply with the minimum services determined. for example, there was not one single supply from the port refinery which serves the southern region of the country. -- country." more than 14 tankers have left the refinery driven by soldiers. with no end date set for the stririke, portuguese drivers hae to be conservative at the pumps, where the pumps are not already running dry. laila: more e stories making nes around the worldld -- spanish opera star placido domingo has

been accused of sexual misconduct. nine women have told the associated press news agency that they were sexually harassed over a p1 of decades. the less angela's he is the general director, says it will open an investigation. domingo says the allegations are inacaccurate. italy's senate has put off setting a date for a no-confidencnce vote in the government. the deputy prime minister through the coalition government into chaos when he demanded that the elections. salvini cited differences between the far right party and its coalition partners. in greece, hundreds of emergency workers are battling wildfires. helicopters s and planes droppig water have been fighting a blaze on the island north of athens. the prime minister has cut short his holiday to deal with the

emergency. to bolivia where five years ago, the providence made it legal for children to work from the age of 10. that's the world's lowest minimum age for child labor. children can work legally for themselves or their families and once they hit 12, they can work for others. it's estimated almost 1/3 of children between the ages of and 17 work. that's almost 850,000 child laborers. >> these four children are singing to honor the dead, but not because the deceased is a loved one. they are doing it for money. at the end, they chant "our father." for them, this cemetery is their place of employment. they are hired to sing for the

relatives of the dearly departed. they received 20 bolivia on as each time, worth about two and a half euros. that's a lot of money for children growing up without a father. 10-year-old kevin long's to buy a football, but he has to spend his earnings on medical treatments for his mother who is ill. >> it is strange working in a cemetery. there are growling cats and barking dogs all around and garbage everywhere. >> these children who come every day after school are known as the graveyard kids. every fourth child in bolivia has some kind of job. that's about 100,000 working children. he buy cigarettes at it kiosk and resells them for any profit he can manage.

>> i have to work so i can bring money home. >> he works in a pub district. five days a week he makes his way through rundown bars and clubs selling cigarettes. business is sluggish at first. then more profitable as the night progresses. when a client is seated, it's easier for him to make a sale. but he has to keep a watchful. -- watchful eye. >> in this district, there are lots of criminal gangs and they are the biggest threat for me. >> not far is christian, all of 10 years old. he is collecting garbage because

he wants a better life. >> and want to buy shoes and go to school. >> he works for a child laborers union. five years ago, it pushed through a demand to allow minors to work legally starting at age 10. youngsters say they have more rights now. >> i want to buy my own house and a car. i want to be an important person. >> the singing graveyard children say the only way to support their desperately poor families is by working.

laila: in the east of the democratic republic of congo, so-called dw.com -- so-called [indiscernible] are the king of the road. the homemade scooters help transport people at the breakneck speed and some local drivers have become heroes. let's take a look. >> there are many ways to transport heavy loads. and this one is unique. foot powered scooters made of wood. they are used to carry everything imaginable.

scooters painted in human colors can be seen around. >> at painted mine like this because the area i travel through is home to many rich people from the u.n. -- i painted my scooter like this. >> he makes a rule of not transporting objects that might make his brilliant scooter dirty, but his work is the same as for other drivers, transporting every object to customers. >> i like my job. i don't have any other. my scooter helps me feed my

family. thanks to this work, i can afford to send my children to school. >> when the route goes downhill, even the heaviest load is easy to transport. alexi has been memorialized for his victories in the city's annual base. he has proved himself the fastest scooter pilot several times over. the statue is a major statue, but the work itself is and so glamorous. >> it helps us plan our lives and insurers nobody tries to trick us. -- insures nobody tries to trick us. we stick together so we can all be successful and have enough work. >> nobody can say exactly how many wouldn't scooters there are here. definitely more than 100.

this man lives and works on the outskirts of the city. he is a specialist and the men who built alexi's race-winning ride. after close inspection, he spotted the problem. he knows exactly how to build a robust roller, using teen of different types of wood. the axle would comes from a strong tree that grows locally. -- using two different types of wood. >> the wheel is not turning properly. it needs adjusting. i just cannot work as well as i want to when it is running smoothly -- when it is not running smoothly. it has to be fast. you can see here something is chafing. >> within a few minutes, the

transporter is dismantled and reassembled. it's wooden wheel spinning freely again -- its wooden wheel is spinning freely again. alexi can once again provide for his family with an omissions free vehicl scooter made of locy sourced wood. laila: history will be made tomorrow night in the super cup for the first time ever. a woman will referee a major men's match in european competition. she'll take charge of the all he will clash between liverpool and chelsea that's taking place in turkey -- the all england clash. >> the frencnch referee e has already tataken charge of the men's game.

she e says she does not feel lie she has to stand o out from her major counterpoints. the respective coaches s say thy are proud to be part of history. >> there are so many things out there in which we are not smart enough to make the right decisions. i i think it's a veryy smart decisionon that we canan finally brining a woman in to referee a very important game e and a big game in front of millions of people. >> i think we were very slow everywhere on this, and now wee are tryingng to make sidides in this. a long way to go over. i think it's a huge moment that should be very well addressed and we are all very pleased.

it is a historical moment. one more step in the right direction i wowould say. >> it is a first between two english clubs and for liverpool and return to istanbul, seen as their greatest ever european triumph, a miraculous triumph in 2005. laila: we stay on the theme of football because on like most european capitals, berlin has never been a domestic footballing powerhouse, but this season, the german capital will be represented by two different teams. i'm joined in the bundesliga for the first time ever by rivals after the east berlin side were promoted after a playoff. >> the arrival of top-flight football means the historic --

meanss that teen of city capitas are on the horizon. -- two historic city capitals are on the horizon. >> it is a big, big derby. >> they have a challenger for the capital city crown. it's the climax of an unlikely success story. the journey to the b bundesliga has been a long and arduous one. 20 years ago, the club was on the brink of bankruptcy and extinction. they are accustomed to having the bundesliga to themselves.

this year, they've got company. current general manager knows the rise of their rivals puts plenty of pressure on his club. >> it will cause a lot of pressure in n the city, like a city tournament. >> the more established side have the most to lose this year. the underdogs are out to cause an upset. all eyes will be on berlin for the east/west capital city derby . with the city about to starar, e countdown iss on. it will be the first time everr that these two sidides meet in e german top-flight.t. it is a historic occasion. it will be a m msive footbalallg occasion for both teams. berlin's bragging rights are on the line. >> they certainly are. we are all very excited for

berlin's teams. before i let you go, a reminder of the top stories we are tracking or you -- for you this hour. pro-democracy protesters halted lights for a second consecutive day. hong kong chief executive carrie lam warned the city could be on a path of no return. you are watching "dw news" from berlin with me, laila harrak. i will be back with "the day," the news in review. don't forget you can always get the latest t news by heheading o our website, dw.com.. see you in a couple minutes.

. right please clashed with protesters in hong kong as the international apples is cruel to a stand still for a second day violence has escalated barras demonstrate to target people they believe to be plainclothes policemen. italian sentences aside of those on the future of the government the move comes as a set back for interior minister matteo salvini trying to spark fresh elections last week when he pulled his support from the ruling coalition. the u. n. and the e. u. european governments to allow some falliling hundred peoplean