laila: this is "dw news," live from berlin. more teargas on the streets of hong kong. police fire multiple rounds of gas to disperse pro-democracy demomonstrators. following the violence that broke out at the airport sit-in on tuesday, china reacted furiously to what it calls terrorist-like attacks on its citizens by protesters. also coming up, one year on. the people of jenna while remember -- of genowa remember those who died when a road

bridge collapsed. a new report states that parts of the morandi bridge were not maintained for 25 years. and climate activist greta ththunberg sets sail for new yok city to attend the u.n. climate summit. conditions will be basic, but going by boat will keep her carbon footprint small. and not so likable. facebook under more fire this time for listening into user conversations after long dismissing rumors it engaged in eavesdropping. ♪ laila: i'm laila harrak. a very warm welcome to our viewers on pbs in the united states and to our other viewers around the world. now, there has been more teargas volleys in hong kong as hundreds of protesters gathered outside a police station in yet another violent clash in the territory. pro-democracy demonstrators were

marching through a residential district. the latest clash follows two days of mass protests at hong kong's international airport, that at times turned violent. china's hong kong affairs office condemned the violence yesterday, calling it terrorist-like. a ramp up in rhetoric during the territory's long summer of unrest. the airport in the meantime has reopened. reporter: from kiosk to cam. hong kong international starting to resemble an airport once again this morning. passengers on the move. departure boards, no longer a sea of red cancellations. though signs of the crippling protests still visible. and disgruntled travelers, too. >> it is not the protesters. but at the end of the day we are going to start to blame the protesters because we are the ones caught in the middle of the savagery.

and i'm already two days late getting to where i have to be and that is costing me money. >> the airport authority was not visible. all the counters were simply closed. how can you close the counters? reporter: hours earlier, riot police clashed with protesters. a mob cornered one officer, snatching his baton. before he drew his gun. remarkably, no one was killed. elsewhere, they captured this man, believed to be an undercover policeman. he was kicked and beaten. eventually, medics wheeled him to safety. authorities said the violence amounted to torture. >> a large number of protesters were surrounding and attacking police officers and vehicles. some were even pointing laser beams at an officer who was trying to diffuse the situation and help extricate the injured

visitors. they were causing chaotic scenes and threatening the safety of everyone on-site. reporter: now, concerns of a much bigger conflict. these images appear to show chinese military buildup in a stadadium just ovever the borde. that's consistentnt with mainina media reports, and raises the specter of an n unprecedented confrontatation on the s streetf hong kong. laila: dw's phoebe kong has been at the international airport throughout the day and she described how the day unfolded. phoebe: the authority title of security measures are the chaos of the past two days. checkpoints are set up at the entrance of the terminal to prevent anyone without a border pass from entering. the authority was also granted an injection order from the court to deter any further disruption to the airport. meanwhile, those who are still

staying here to demonstrate, they want to regain the sympathy and support from travelers. they apologize for the violence that occurred yesterday where some of the protesters beat suspected spies from mainland china. they tried to explain the inconvenience caused to travelers due to flight cancellations. despite criticism, protesters today tried to take a step back and hopefully to regain and keep up the momentum for upcoming protests. laila: phoebe kong reporting from hong kong international. we want to turn to russia now. the kremlin says it is winning the race to develop cutting-edge nuclear weapons. all this despite last week's deadly explosion at a military testing site in northern russia. authorities ordered the evacuation of a nearby village, only to cancel it hours later. local officials had reported a spike in radiation levels, which russia's defense ministry denied. for many, this denial echoes soviet-era attempts to cover up

serious disasters. reporter: a town between mourning and a sense of unease, as all relevant -- has all relevant and submit -- died in an explosion that caused high levels of radiation to be released into the atmosphere. they are being honored as national heroes, with officials praising their efforts to control the situation. the testing range on the white see is the same site where the soviet atomic bomb was developed. directors from the site's nuclear research center gave an assessment of last week's incident. >> it was a chain of tragic events. following an initial analysis, the men tried to get events under control. unfortunately without success. reporter: according to experts in washington, the incident was connected to t the development f new, powererful nuclearr missil. during an enginee test, liquid

fuel allegedly caught light, causing an explosion. u.s. scientists sayay that shoud not have released radiation. but that is exactly what happened. >> radiation levels doubled following the incident, though only for an hour. reporter: that, say experts, suggests the engine was nuclear-powered. at the russian nuclear research center, nuclear submarines are built and fitted out with atomic weapons. there have been similar such accidents in the past, though most are not revealed to the public. what is clear is that radiation levels here, 30 km from the site of last week's explosion, remain 20 times above the normal level. residence near the testing site are nervous. regularly monitoring regulate -- radiation levels with their own kits. those here were initially told

they would have to evacuate. then came the all clear, though not from environmentalists. >> even those living as far as 30 kilometers from the incident site could be at risk. depending on which substances were released. reporter: iodine tablets offer ononly limited protection againt possible radadiation exposure. local pharmacists informed people about the associated risks. but they say that did not put many off. >> people were panicking. in an hour, we sold all of our iodine tablets and medicines. reporter: pressure is determined to develop weapons that travel vast distances at the speed of sound, outpacing any missile-defense systems. but right now, it seems it still has a way to go.

laila: to talk more about this i'm joined in the studio by gustav gressel, an expert in russian defense affairs for the european council on foreign relations. good evening, sir. a very warm welcome. good to have you here. this incident is still shrouded in so much secrecy. what do we know about the rocket engine that is the source of this accident? gustav: well, not much. most of the things that are said actually don't make sense at all. so, we know that seven people have died, several were injured. we know that this was, as they call it, a radioisotope power source to produce electric power. and in combination with the explosion of liquid rocket fuel, which points rather towards a nuclear satellite, or some other space application rather than a cruise missile. but as the statements are

usually conflicting us, there is actually amateur video footage that does not fit with the description. we just do not know. laila: it is fueling so much distrust among the population as well, understandably, because why not just be transparent? why not just say what has happened and reassure people that you are on top of this problem? gustav: well, that is not sort of the soviet kind of governing. and putin's russia is pretty much governed in the style of the soviet union. so, what the scientists do is officially secret. so, there's no clear information of actually happened, what was developed. if you would declassify, or start to honestly talk about what happened there, you might actually give away to the world that what you are researching at

is not so cutting-edge as you claimed. in numerous propaganda clips they have been told things that might be embarrassing. then there is the usual bureaucracy. a state than the state is hardly controlled and not accountable to anybody but putin himself. if he does not want that to be cleared up, it will not be. laila: it is very, very concerning of course for the people who live nearby these areas. but how concerning is it for you as an observer as well to see these types of accidents happen? do you expect more of these accidents happening in the near future? gustav: the problem is with any kind of development you could not rule out accidents. the other problem is we really do not know what the russians are really developing. as to their new, bold weapons system, these computer simulations, they are very bold and very risky.

but we don't know whether that is just propaganda or serious. there is actually one thing practically the west can do. the last linchpin of transparency towards russia, at least from the military to military contact, is the start treaty, which at least has some form of bilateral dialogue between officials. laila: but no verification possibilities? gustav: verification only on deployed systems, not on research and development. once things are declared operational, american offices can go and visit it and see what kind of stuff it is. laila: the likelihood of that happening -- gustav: yes. it is the last source of serious information you can get. otherwise there is nothing. the problem is start will expire in 2020 and the trump administration has no appetite to prolong it. and that is sad, unfortunately. laila: gustav gressel, expert in russssian defense affairs for te european council on foreign relations.

sir, thank you for weighing in. we turn now to italy, where a technical report has shown that parts of the road bridge that collapsed a year ago had not been maintained for 25 years. the structure collapsed in heavy rain, killing 43 people. the local prosecutors said the ongoing investigation would show whether a lack of maintenance was instrumental in causing the collapse. the report came out as people gathered to remember those who died in the tragedy. reporter: at 11:36 a.m., exactly the time when the morandi bridge collapsed one year ago the city stood still, commemorating the victims. among those taking part in the ceremony were italy's president, and the city's mayor. >> today we stand here on the new construction site to commemorate the victims. but we also look to the future and want the city to be strong again.

reporter: parts of the morandi bridge collapsed frorom a height of over 200 meters. 43 people died and 16 were injured. hundreds of people had to evacuate their homes situated beneath the bridge, as the rest of the structure was also in danger of collapsing. in 2019, the remaining parts were detonated in a controlled demolition. authorities are still debating exactly who is responsible for the disaster. relatives of the victims would like to see justice done. today is about remembering those who lost their lives, she says. but she would also like to see the new bridge commemorate what happened. >> i cannot wait for the new bridge to be built and connect the city again. but most of all, for it to remember the victims. reporter: the new bridge posts are already in place. in less than a year, traffic should be flowing again. laila: we would like to bring

you up to speed with other stories making news around the world. an italian court has ruled a migrant rescue ship with almost 150 people on board may enter the country's waters after 13 days at sea. italy's interior ministry banned the ship from italian territory. another ship carrying more than 300 people is still adrift in the mediterranean sea with storm conditions on the way. floods a and landslides have killeded nearly 300 people in india in the past month and displaced one million more. two weeks of monsoon rains have washed away crops and damaged roads in the country's south and west. many people are still living in relief camps, waiting for floodwaters to recede. germany's latest growth figures have fueled concerns that the country could be headiding for a recession. the economy contracted 0.1% in the last quarter.

the slump has been attributed to falling global trade. if the economy contracts again in the next quarter, europe's largest economy would officially be in recession. hundreds of firefighters arare battling wildfires in greece. the largest blaze is burnining t of control on a nature reserve on an island north of athens. four villages and a monastery have been evacuated. authorities have declared a state of emergency in the area. she has become the poster girl for climate change awareness. greta thunberg, the swedish teenager, is the face of the friday's for future movement. so she is on her way to the united nations climate summit in new york city. thunberg refuses to fly because she wants to keep her own carbon footprint as small as possible.

so now she sets sail for england on a racing yacht. reporter: 16-year-old greta thunberg is embarking on a great adventure. she has never sailed before. didifficult weheher conditioione to be expepected, but she is willing to rough it to save e c2 issions inin what many see as a symbolic move. >> what i am concerned about is whether we will do something or not, whether t the people in por will react and act with necessary force. reporter: thunberg, who has been the target of online abuse from across the political spectrum, denies she's being instrumentalized by the green lobby. >> there are climate delayers who want to do everything to shift the focus from the climate crisis to just something else or want to make people question the science. and i am not worried about that. i am just going to do as i want

to do and as i think will have the most impact. reporter: conditions on board the yacht are simple. there is no toilet on board. and sleeping quarters are basic. >> it shows her determinatioioto accept uncomfortable c conditios so shehe can get across the atlantic a as carbon neutral as possiblele. on a n normal yacht she cocoulde had her own cacabin with air coconditioning and a a shower. but t she is taking this boat, that only prproduces a small amount of eltrtricity byby means of solar p power. and it is very fast, so it can bypapasstorms and huhurricanes. reporter: her journey, spanning almost 5500 kilometers across the atlantic ocean, will take about two weeks. laila: taiwanese farmers had been hit hard by the worst drought in a decade. the lack of rain has left fields parched and more than a dozen major reservoirs are almost

empty. a dire situation, but it's had an unexpected silver lining one drought-struck reservoir, a lost buddhist temple has reemerged from the receding water. reporter: a cultural treasure long hidden underwater. the construction of a d dam 20 years ago inundated this buddhist temple in thailild. now, after months of drought, it has reemerged, leading to memories to flood back. >> seeing the temple again is really emotiononal. whwhen i was young, i always cae to m meet friends at the elephat sculptures in front of the main building. that place wasas a landmark for children back then. >> the temple is normally covered by water. in the rainy season you do not see anything. reporter: but the exposed ruins

are also a reminder of the harsh reality for local farmers. the reservoir which kept the temple underwater is at a record low, as t thailand faces its w t drought t in a decade. >> currently, the water leveleln the dam is even lower than t the rest -- the last r rord low in 2015. back thehen it was 33 centimemes below seaa level. today it is lower than that by several centimeters. rereporter: the reservoir n nory irrigates more than half a million hectors of surrounding farmland, but currently there is only enough water for just over 1000 hectors -- hectares. the e land is drying out, and wh it, the crops. >> peoplee in all sectors need o be aware of the way they c conse water. we n nd to save e more water

because i believe this kind of water shortage-increasingly often. -- will happen increasingly often. reporter:: and that means these temple ruins may once again become a common sight for the people here. laila: facebook is in hot water again. this time it is due to revelations about the company's messenger app. dw reporter carl nasman is here with me. shock, horror, who would have thought? tell us, what have you found out? carl: there were all those rumors that facebook was listening to our conversations. it turns out in a way that was true. it wasn't quite what we thought was. there were rumors they were listening to our phones, giving us these creepy personal advertisements based on our conversations. it was actually for a different purpose. according to bloomberg, facebook hired an outside company to listen to and transcribe audio clips from users' conversations. facebook says this was done to improve its artificial intelligence. and this was basically something

that would automatically change your audio into text inside of facebook messenger. this is the feature we are talking about right here. you can see how this works. if you turned on v voice transcription anand sent a fried an audio message, your message would automatically be turned into text. just like here, in this case it is a grocery list. of course we know artificial intelligence is not always very accurate. that is why it turns out a human being, a real person, may have been listening to those audio clips in order to check the accuracy of that ai system. so, real people were listening in to your facebook conversations. laila: how is that legit? carl: well, it is a little bit creepy. here is the thing. facebook had not told its users that a person might be listening to those audio chats. in fact, even the contractors that were hired to do this felt a little iffy about it. apparently some of those audio clips were not grocery lists, they were quite personal conversations. we reached out to facebook

today. the company stressed, look, this audio was anonymous, so you did not know who was talking. it was only used to improve its technology, improve its products, it was not used to give you advertisements. a company spokesperson also told us they stopped the practice. they told us much like apple and google, we paused human review of audio more than one week ago. laila: so, they are basically saying we were not the only ones doing this. carl: that is what they are saying, and they are right. this is now the fifth big tech company that essentially got caught doing this exact same thing. so, amazon, google, apple, microsoft, now facebook. all the tech giants have done this. in amazon's case employees were listening to voice recordings from alexa smart speakers. and in all those cases, the companies had not told their customers what was going on. they now all say they have stopped doing it. laila: ok. what can we do about that, as users, concerned users? carl: this particular situation

is not happening anymore. but if you are worried, there is a surefire way to make sure no company can listen to your audio, and that is to turn off access to your microphone on your smartphone. it is a pretty simple fix. if you go into the settings of your phone, whether apple or android, you see the screen here for ios. go to the app you are concerned about, whether facebook, facebook messenger, and simply flip that switch, say do not allow access to the microphone. in the end, companies need to just get this message that users do not want their personal conversations being listened to for any purpose, especially not without their knowledge. laila: or maybe we users have to get used to the fact that those accounts are not ours. carl: an old-fashioned phone call, maybe, is how we have to go. laila: thank you so much, carl. we are going to tell you now about a polish village where no boys have been born in almost a decade. women outnumber men, so they have taken over jobs in areas

that would traditionally be more male-dominated. that includes thee village's volunteer fire brigade. reporter: it is a job these recruits take very seriously. even the very youngest. mya is just 2.5 years old. but whatever the age, all the girls in this polish village are expected to become trainee firefighters. >> we normally do rescue opoperationsns, putting out fir, helping out withth various accidents. reporter: there is a reason why the volunteer fire brigade is made up entirely of girlsls. no boy has been born in this village of 300 residents for almost a decade.

alththough it is notot quite the role expected of girls in poland, it is obvious these volulunteers are extremely mmititted. >> one of my dreams is of course haviving a husndnd, but our main drdrm is t t get a n new fire engi b because t this one 4 44 years old.. wewe care for it as much as s wn but we are a afraid d one day we will be called for action and it will not work. reporter: the local mayor may be offering a prize to the first couple to produce a son, but any boy born here will have a tough act to follow. laila: yes, that is right. now, space odyssey, or space oddity? an italian astronaut has become the first person to perform a live dj set in orbit. revelers onbnboard a partyty shn the mediterrrranean danceded toe sounds of dj luca parmitano.

he performed the set from, get this, the international space station, using an ipad. well, clubgoers danced hard, but they could not hope to match parmitano's space moves. check this o out. ♪ that is pretty awesome. this is "dw news," live from berlin. in just a couple moments you can join me for "the day." and you can always head to our website for the latest news around the world. i will see you very soon. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content d d accuracy. vivisit ncicap.orgrg]

. twenty four i'm constantly for .com. solidarity with christian pakistani prime minister imran khan spends his country's independence day in the part of kashmir controlled by pakistan as new tensions flare with india over the disputed region. protesters in hong kong are keeping up their pro democracy campaign despite pressure from beijing demonstrators clashed with police on the street those of the airport ask for forgiveness for tuesday's violence. and the land of fire and ice is standing in for the red planet nasa tests out its new mars rover in iceland before the space e agency heads on a a new