>> this is dw news, live from berlin. escape from hong kong, u.k. opens a door for hong kong and those who want to leave. china imposes a sweeping security law but is leaving hong kong a realistic option? also coming up tonight, u.s. authorities arrest just like maxwell. -- jhuslaine maxwell.

she is the former girlfriend of jeffrey epstein. she is accused of helping her former boyfriend finding young girls. it has been a cathedral, a mosque and a museum. this could become a mosque again. a controversial and political move that could have implications on the world's two largest religions. i am brent goff. to our viewers in the u.s. on pbs and are on the world, welcome. brent: it has been 23 years since the u.k. left hong kong. now they are offering them away at. they have pledged to allow up to 3 million people the right to live in the u.k..

boris johnson made the offer after beijing improved a controversial national security law in hong kong. it outlaws pro independent sentiment. it carries a life sentence. the potential of a life sentence for offenders. >> tensions in hong kong are on the rise. one day after beijing and lamented its controversial security law, this abilities hong kong had been promised until 24/7 are gone. beijing is guilty of what it descriribes as a clelear and ses violation of a treaty that paved the way for hong kong's andover to china in 1997. hong kong residents have been promised a pathway to british citizenship. >> we made it clear that we

would introduce a new route for those with british national overseas status with the ability to live and work in the u.k. and thereafter to apply for citizenship. that is precisely what we will do. >> australia is contemplating a similar move. >> we are considering very activelyly in the prproposals ti asasked too be brought forward several weeks ago. the final touches are being put on those.. they will soon be considered to provide similar opportunities. we think that is important. >> beijing's demand in both britain and australia stop interfering in what it because its own internal affairs. it also accused london of violating past agreements. >> before hong kong was returned to china, , the united kingdom promised it would not grant rights to british national

overseas. the u.k. has changed his position and is now offering a route for residency and citizenship for these people. beijing maintains that the passing of the new security law was necessary to prevent the repetition of violent protests that paralyze hong kong for months. some say they are ready to accept britain's offer to move their. i think you can really provide an opportunity to settle in the u.k. that i don't necessarily have to stay in hong kong. it gives us a way out. i still love hong kong very much but i will reapply for the british international passport first. but not everyone is eligible to apply for citizenship. some people will have to stay in

hong kong. brent: i am joined by sophie richardson. it is good to have you on the program. let me start with this new law. what can hong kong peoplple expect? >> they can expect ambiguity. that is what beijing has i in mind. the way t the law is worded reay leaves -- leadsds to -- leavesey speech or behahavior subject t e prosecuted under the law. where the past hung congress have been -- hong kongers have been able to attend p protest without any fear of reprisal, ill have to make a choice about that. -- they will have to make a choice about that. brent: couldn't hong kongers be

arrested for colluding with a foreign p power if theyey accepd this offer? >> in theory, y yes. it is a great point but i t thik it iss important for governments to step up and offer people from hong kong safe haven if that is what they want. i think there are still lots of details to be worked out. brent: even if hong kongers are able to get to the u.k., what about the possibility of ever going back to o hong kong?g? > that remains an open question. certainly itit has been a veryry distressing 48 h hours. i think itit remains to be seen whatat sorts of behahavior thehe authorities are going to go after. how hong kong courts are going to handle those cases. the fact remains that international humanized laws still pertain to hong kong. i think we are going to see people continue to try to use

this space that is available to them. i think it is just a little too early to tell. brent: what do you see happening? china is flexing its muscle in hong kong. what would happen if it were to try to do something similar regarding taiwan? >> that w would take us down a different path given the degree of internatitional support f for taiwan as a distincnct country d entity. theree is no doubt t that beieig is behind much more diplomatically. this suggests that it applilies all over the world sucuch that e coconversation t that you and ie havingng right now could be considered for incnclusion and e could be prosesecuted for it if the lolocal authoritiess w where are sitting agree to ththat. whether it is in other

inteternational bodies, the chininese government i is tinina much more aggressive and anti-rights position. it is up to other governments to push back forcefully against that. brent: we appreciate your time and your insights. thank you. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. an explosion at a building above one of iran's facilities is being downplayed by the atotoc agency. the incident affected only an industrial shed. the facility has been targeted for sabotage in the past. the world's mountain of discarded tv's, mobile phones and other electronic goods grew to a record high. the amount of e-waste code up globally was more than 53

million tons. that is the equivalent of 350 giant cruise ships. the u.s. economy gained almost 5 million jobs in june as businesses began to reopen across the country. that pushed the unemployment rate down more than two points, just over 11%. the rebound may be short-lived with a new round of closings and layoffs being triggered by a resurgence of the coronavirus. the british socialite, jhuslaine maxwell has been arrested in the united states. the 58-year-old is said to have recruited girls to give epstein massages during which they were pressured into having sex. epstein was arrested last year in new york and apparently killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. an indictment made public on thursday says the girls abused

were as young as 14. maxwell has previously denied any wrongdoing. the acting u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york says maxwell played a critical role in epstein's alleged sexual misconduct. >> maxwell lied because the truth as alleged was almost unspeakable. maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her and then delivered them into the trap that she and epstein had set for them. she pretended to be a woman they could trust. all the while she was setting them up to be sexually abused by epstein and then in some cases by maxwell herself. >> this is an important development in this case. let's bring in oliver. good afternoon. this is a big development. it makes you wonder why it took so long to get a hold of an

arrest someone who was so close to jeffrey epstein. >> in part because she was so close to him. it was also not possible to find him. maxwell's whereabouts were a misery. the charges made against jeffrey epstein put maxwell under pressure as well. she had been accused for years to lure young girls into sex abuse with jeffrey epstein. there was never criminal charges resulting from these accusations. that would have changed with a trial against jeffrey epstein. he committed suicide last summer in 2019 in a jail in new york. justin maxwell went into -- jhu slaine maxwell went into hiding

after that. she was hiding her identity. it was there where she was eventually arrested -- brent: people have been asked about which high profile people were connected with jeff epstein. when will we find at the true extent of the crimes that epstein was accused of? >> the chances are that we are going to learn more about jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell's wrongdoings. she played a crucial role in finding victims for jeffrey epstein. she knew him pretty well and played a crucial part inis doings. the prosecutor said that maxwell

helped epstein to recruit and abuse young girls. she will be able to talk in full detail about epstein's activities simply because she was part of them. many victims are hoping for justice after decades of waiting . one of the victim's attorneys said that his clients were relieved by the charges made by -- at ghislaine maxwell. the truth -- the hope is that we will find out by the truth -- about the truth about this sex trafficking operation carried out by jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell. brent: oliver, thank you. to the united states, we will stay in the united states. it is approaching its fourth of july holiday. this year, many people are swapping the parades and

fireworks for solitude and social distancing. america's coronavirus outbreak is getting worse, nearly 50,000 new infections confirmed within the span of 24 hours yesterday. that is a new record. the caseload is stretching many hospitals for the breaking point -- to the breaking point. >> a hospital in san antonio, texas. the intensive care unit is full. they thought they had the pandemic under control but they have more patience now than before. they don't have enough beds or ventilators. >> yesterday was probably one of the worst days i have ever had. >> i got 10 calls. they are so sick that if they don't get that support, they're probably going to die. i have three beds. >> 37 u.s. states have rising numbers of cororonavirusus infections.. people wanted to get back to

everyday life and get the economy back on track but now bars and restaurants are closed again. as our beaches. that is ahead of july 4, independence day. >> i don't agree with being told that we can't do anything. especially on this holiday. this country is most to be celebrating independence. >> i feel that if people don't get their stuff together, we will be doing this for a long time. >> president trump's plane down infection rates and praising the american economy for jobs. >> 80% of small businesses are now open. we think we will have some very good numbers in the coming months because others are opening. especially as we put the flame out. >> while authorities were to -- work to reinstate precautions, president trump has been repairing for flyovers in washington. brent: now to the five villas of rio de janeiro -- favellas of

rio de janeiro in brazil. the government there is drastically under reporting covid-19 numbers. the residents have taken it upon themselves to do t the counting. >> nothing is the same sense the pandemic hit rio de janeiro's favelas. these cramped living conditions greatly increase the risk of infection. >> i am scared that my children will catch the virus. we don't always have running water. most of the time, we have to get it from far away. children don't have space to play. experts estimate the number of unreported infections to be extremely high. that is why local residents have started counting the cases themselves. many of those who died from coronavirus in our favelas did not show up in the statistics.

we know of several examples in our circle of friends. volunteers go door-to-door and report new cases not included in official data. there are several cases of the virus here. some survive, some don't. with the help of local residents, volunteers are creating a lot of cases in this neighborhood. they use whatsapp to collect data on the latest infections not registered by local authorities. the state has been completely absent ever since the five villas -- favelas were built in rio. we have to find new ways to survive. the resilient president, bolsonaro -- resilient -- brazilian president, bolsonaroro

still l refuses to wear a mask. hehe has been accucused of downplaying the number of deaths. >> you can't whitewash the figures. >> the exact number of corona infections in brazil is not known. too little testing is being carried out. this person had symptoms but was never tested. >> i left our neighborhood so i would not infect anyone. i slept on the beach for a week and a half. i thought about my neighbors the whole time. it is social status in brazil that appears to dictate whether someone is officially infected or not. the real numbers tell a really different story. brent: for more, i am joined by our correspondent in rio de janeiro. we heard this question many times regarding the united states, russia and now regarding brazil. why has this region in south

america had such great difficulty in controlling this virus. >> on the one hand, they downplay the risk. on the other hand, public administration is really weak and incompetent in some ways, dealing with this crisis. it is much more complex than others. the hygiene circumstances are not the best. people don't always have access to drinking water. people always have to go to work in order to have their income. that way the virus can spread. these are some problems we have to face here. some politicians did mistakes. they reopened daily left too early. after that, the president had to go back to stronger measures.

there were mistakes. presidents like bolsonaro have said that he wants more to protect the economy than to protect lives. brent: we know the cost of doing that is. we see that in south america, countries in south america, are they working together at all to try to stop the further spread of the virus? >> you can't see that so far. in south america we don't have this union that we have in europe. the same measures have not been taken. we have not seen much cooperation since the beginning of the crisis. there was no access to the neighbor countries. the politicians stopped any exchange. they are not really working

together. especially in this pandemic. >> what about the international response to what is happening in latin america? >> we see some help from some countries. germany sent some virologists to ecuador and peru. they are helping the authorities to deal with the crisis. but it is not much they can do here. china sends some help from -- some medical equipment. it is not the same extent of help, logically. people in other countries are dealing with their own crisis around the world. we don't see similar attitudes as bc when there is an earthquake or something else happening. brent: thank you. we want to return to our top story. u.k. offering residency to hong

kong there's -- hong kongers who want to leave. the new security law could crush him and and civil rights in the territory. the leading pro-democracy activist and former hong kong politician departed hong kong today. he confirmed that he left the city in a tweet. he said i said farewell to my city. as i gate -- as my plane took off, i gazed down at my city. he ended with the words "glory to hong kong." when he joins us tonight, he will join us from an undisclosed location. good to have you on the program. what you did does not happen without some serious risks which you are aware of.

nathan: under the n nional security law,, t this becamame e bridge of the law. possibib extradition to cha.a. that is a seriouththreat toward yone who had been campaigni. i tnk this s the impetus why i choho to do my n natnall advocacyork ononn inrnatatiol level. brent: you were able to leave the territory. is that a realistic option for

the majority of hong kongers that want to leave? there are lots of pro-democracy activists that may want to leave the territory. is thahat realistic? >> the possible outcomes are sophisticated. lots of them can live hong kong because they are under trial. brent: there is concern that with this crackdown that we are going to see the creation of an entire generation of hong kong refugees. what do you say about that?

>> by saying what reflects from the incident, hong kong is mostly talented people. they have really good language skills, education skills, they have good working experience. this -- there is a sense of fear for these talented people. that would definitely hararm hog kongng in the most fundamental way. brent:brent: what do you say about britain and australia offering a pathway to citizenship for hong kong there's that want to leave? >> it is a reflection of f how

serious s the crisis i is. if y you look at ththe path -- t attitudes toward hongg kong, there -- they y are m mostly posititive. the national security l law changed and shape t the narratie of the wororld. hong kong is n no longer aunonomous. brbrent: we just want to ask yo, do you see them having much offa fighting chance moving forward question mark -- forward? >> yes, indeed. even though thehe future is gre. the people of hong kong, i think we havave a future ahead. brent: we apappreciate your tim. we appreciate you sending --

sharing your story with us. you're watching dw news, live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. tonight, the united states and a perfect storm for a super spreading event. the fourth of july. that is next.

jeffrey epstein's longtime confidante arrested and charged in the uninited states. delaying maxwell accused of facilitating app seems crimes by recruiting grooming and ultimately abusing china vows to retaliatate this off to the u. s. congress approves the bill which includes penalties for banks that help violate hong kong's autonomy. . hello landslide addd jade mine in northern myanmar kills at least a hundred and sixty people authorities fear the death toll is set to rise