start of a new era for istanbul's highest affair. ♪ >> for the first time in more than 80 years, the building home for muslimsms we have the latatest on p presit erdogan's dececision to make - o change the world's famousus monument back into a mosquque. also on the program, china orders the closure of america's consulate in the southwestern city of chengdu, in retaliation

for the force closer -- closuree inin houston. germany offers and coming holidaymakers and tried -- and travelers free coronavirus testing to get against a second wave of covid-19. and the countdown clock for the tokyo olympics has been reset for organizers are planning for next summer. the coronavirus pandemic is making even that decision precarious. ♪ >> i'm phil gayle paired welcome to the program. turkey's highest fear has hosted muslim prayers for more than 80 years. the hot -- it was built 1500 years ago as a christian cathedral before becoming a mosque and then a museum. two weeks ago, president erdogan issued a controversial decree returning it to use as a mosque

after a a court unknown to itss mumuseum status. [singing] reporter: prayers led by a president on a friday that will become unforgettable in turkey. thousands of muslims gathered in worship for the first time in 86 years. despititthe iconicic building's journey through time from orthodox christian cathedral, to muslim mosque, to museum, for many here, an historic role has been rated. -- righted. >> we have been waiting for highest sophia to open as a mosque for decades. for cades, we id t the cins would break and itould reopen. >> if it remained a museum this atmosphere would not have been possible. it does not mean much for the

people abroad. i think the important thing is what the people of turkey want. we are happy. reporter: but erdogan's critics in turkey see the conversion as a political ploy to score points with his conservative base. and the move has spaparked a amg christian leaders and some -- in some western countries t that ts one-titime symbol of christiaiad muslim uninity may bececome a se religiousus divide. phil: dw correspondent has been discussing this decision with turkey's nobel prize winning novelist. why aren't -- wire people unhappy with this decision? >> one reason they are not raisising their voice is there s no free speech in turkey to challenge this. unfortunately, they are afraid of saying this is our secular tradition. let's not change.

. this is important in the sense that turkey -- turkish nation is distancing -- is distinct from other muslim nations by the effect that we are secular. and about -- the rest of the world knows this. every single turkey, even if they are rooting for the ruling party, are secretly or openly proud to be different than other muslim nations saying that, like europeans, we are secular and this is the or originality of turkey. now, they are taking away that pride of being bought muslim and secular simultaneously. phil: straight to istanbul where we join dorian jones. welcome. we know this is a decision close to the presidents heart. what do you think? is it more likely to have been motivated by religion or politics? dorian: well, both.

president erdogan made clear this was a lifelong dream to convert the iso feel back to a mosque. given the fact that it has taken him the 20 years in power to do this, it does smell politics comes at a time when his ruling party is at record lows hit by the economic woes the country is suffering because of covid-19. in nicaragua furry of today's event pointed to galvanizing his religious and nationalists base. erdogan recited at the koran wearing a skullcap broadcasted across the country. and they were given by the head of turkey's religious authority. the man was carrying a sword. that is the symbol of the conquest of istanbul by the conqueror. an iconic figure not only for the religious but for turkish nationalists. throughout the ceremony, he had references to may be the conqueror seen as an icon for

the nationalists. thousands and thousands of supporters of erdogan came across the country, a rallying point to take part in the ceremonies today. it was very much erdogan seeking to galvanize his base and prevent the hemorrhaging of support for his party. phil: what does this tell us about the current religious and political climate there? dorian:: i think for supporters of the secular state, this will be a dark day. the hagia sophia is the most important symbol of turkey's conversion to a secular state by the founder of it in turkey. it is seen as so symbolically important. the fact that it is gone, critics say it is part of a wider trend of undermining secularism within the country. that is a charge denied by the government. if you look at society, this is a different storory. . the government has increased the struggling to fill religious schools let it has expanded in recent years. in recent studies do dictate the

younger are moving away from religion. that is a fact for why the main opposition of secular party did not choose to pick a fight over the conversion of the hagia sophia. they are focusing on the economy. there they see erdogan is weak and they see a chance of removing him from power. the question is what does erdogan do next? the fear is that there will be more controversial and unpredictable steps taken by erdogan in the coming years. phil: dw correspondent dorian jones istanbul, thank you. china has ordered the united states to close one of its consulates. the foreign ministry has given u.s. officials 72 hours to leave the consulate in the southwestern city of chengdu. this comes after washington told beijing to close its diplomatic mission in houston, texas this week. relations between the countries are at their lowest t point for0 years. reporter: it was less a question of if china would retaliate, but rather how. and the answer is here.

the u.s. has been told to close its consulate in chengdu. raising the stakes yet further in this diplomatic standoff. >> the current situation in china-u.s. relations is not what china wants. . in the u.s. is completely responsible for all of this. reporter: all of this includes the u.s. imposing sanctions on communist party officials and companies linked to the massed attention of uighurs, and ordering china to shut its mission in houston citing concerns about espionage. the clear out is underway. the president even floated the potential to cut diplomatic ties completely. pres. trump: as far as closing additional embassies, it is always possible. reporter: it marks the biggest followed since richard nixon renewed relations in the 70's, when he extended the hand of friendship. all the more significant that

the u.s. secretary of state would head to the formemer republicans presidents library to all but declare a new cold war with the ccp. >> the kind of engagement we have been pursuing has not brought the kind of change inside of china that president nixon had hoped to induce. the truth is that our policies and those of other free nations resurrected china's failing economy only to see beijing bite the international hands that were feeding it. we opened our arms to tiny citizens only to see the chinese communist party exploit our free and open society. reporter: back i in 2017, when donald trump and xi jinping occasionally sparred over trade, now they are even farther apart. it may be a long time before they are rolling out the red carpet for each other again. phil: jeff moon is a china trade and government affairs consultant. he is also a former u.s. diplomat. one of his diplomatic postings

was to the u.s. consulate in chengdu. welcome to dw. does this consulate have anyy particular significance? jeffff: it does. it's the onlnlamerican c consule and western chinana that has a population of almost 300 million people. there is significicant american commercial interests. chinina has tried to attract u.. industry to help develop the region which was traraditionally has s been underdeveloloped. this is the u.s. consulate that covers tibet, which is an area of great interest to the united states and american legislators and american people. phil: what has china said about the closure? is this purely in retaliation for houstonon, or are thehey sag thatat there were spies and all sorts of other thingngs going on therere? jeff: welell, the chinese statement accuses the u.s. of all kinds of mimisdeeds. i don't think it takes a lot of lookoking to realize this is all about houston. this is interesting because this is an escalation of the conflict

that has already been going on. if china had cold -- closed the u.s. consusulate in wuhan, the smallest of the u.s. c consulats and is already closed,d, because after cocoronavirus the chinese will not allow the diplomats there e to return. if it had closed that consulate, ththen one consulate from e each side wouldld have bebeen closes. noww you have the chinese effectively closing two consulates and there is one consulate fromom chihina here ie u.s. that hahas closed. theree is going to be further retaliation and i think china has made a mistake here. phil: really? where is the united states likely to go from here? do they close on other consulate or does it takake some other action? jeff: itt all dependsds on how e u.s.s. chooses to o react. trump says all the t time that whwhen you hit him, he will hit back twice as hard. he has proven to do that in public. if he keeps this in the diplomatic track, then i think another consulate closure in the u.s. is possible. however there are so many issues

now in the u.s.-.-ina relationonship and they are all lilinked together that it woulde easy f for the u.s.. t to do something in an unrelated area that we cannot predict at this point. phil: this is all coming to a head. this escalation, we knonow the relationship between china and the u.s. has been rocky for some time. but why this sudden upward tick on the graph? is this, cynically speaking, about november's electition? jeff: i think it has a lolot too with that. there is a general push in the u.s. and a genenal consensnsus frankly to get tough on china.. the administration has had f for high-level speeche pompeo's was the fourth. outlining the grievances with china. this is an election season. there was a true diplomatic rift over the inability for the u.s. to re-staff the consulate in wuhan. that's why i think this is comingng to a head in terms of e consulates right now. but pompeo made clear yesterday

that a at leaeast this administration sees this as a long-term struggle. phil: briefly then, you havee extensive experience of woworkig in c china. how do you see this ending? jeff: i think therere are two courseses. ththe election is going too hava lot to do with this. if trump is reeeelected, thehen these kind of aggressive behaviors are going to continue. my greatest fear is an a accide. an accccident along thehe linesf ships bubumping in the south cha sea, or somemething ppenens tre. there is a history of accidents happening causising lots of problems in the relationship. if biden is elected, , i think that tension willl contitinue. but t that we ll n not have alaf the emotioion and the bluster ad things will calm down a bibit ad we will l work on the e same is, what we will work on them in a much more logical and rational way. phil: very clear, very interesting. we thank you for youour time, jf

moon.. jeff: thank you. phil: let's look at some of the stories making news around the world. goldman sachs has agreed as a nearly $4 billion sesettlement with m malaysia over a corruptin scandal. prosecutors allege the bank raised bond sales for the one mbd sovereign wealth fund that allowed malaysia's former leader to steal billions. the verdict in this first trial over the affairs expected in coming days. the mayor of chicago has ordered the removal of two statues of christopher columbus until further notice. the overnight move came a week after protesters tried to topple one of the figures. mayor lori lightfoot said there would be a review of the appropriateness of all of the city's monuments. thousands of hungarians have marched in protest against a tax on media freedoms after the perceived most were at a website. more than 80 journalists at index. h you quit in protest of the sacking this week.

it is the last of hungary's key independent news outlets. face coverings are mandatory in shops and take away food stores in england, as well as other enclosed spaces like transport. hubs and shopping centers face coverings are already compulsory in many other european countries, including germany. the u.n. is warning there is a resting oil tankard in the red sea and it is a environmental disaster waiting to happen. the 45-year-old basilisk has more than one million barrels of crude oil and is floating off the coast of yemen. this ship is deteriorating and experts are warning that an oil spill could be imminent. the ongoing civil war is complete getting efforts to extract the oil from the ship. reporter: a cruelest ship with explosive cargo is docked off the coast of yemen. this is the only current image of the ailing tanker. at any moment, it could fafall

apart. potentially spelling 1.2 million barrels of oil into the red sea. that would cause a natural disaster according to u.n. coordinator lilisa grarand. >> we know that it would destroy most of the fishing c capacities and the fishing villagess all along the coast. anand we know th i it would destroy the environment of the red sea. something which would probably take 30 years. reporter: if it has not -- it has not been properly maintained since the war in yemen five years ago. thee bow, cables and valves are rested in the tanker is leaking. for the past two years, the united nations has asked for a team of experts to be allowed to gogo on board. but perermission from the warrig parties is pendnding. they are arguing over who gets the profits after the oil on board is sold. the north of yemen is controlled by the houthi rebels, in this tanker lies witithin the regigin they control. the oil minister blames an alliance led by saudi arabia for

the blockade. >> ifur maintntenance teams attempt to reach the tanker, fighter jets will fly over them and attack. that is a big problem. reporter: an oil spill would also wash up on this -- the shores of who died, in a port which is the lifeline of millions of people in northern yemen who are suffering hardship and hunger and are in urgent need of aid. phil: german authorities have confirmed to the release of the german art curator who was abducted by iraqi militants earlier this week. in a statement, foreign minister heiko maas expressed his relief and thanked the iraqi authorities. he said she is now in the care of the german embassy in baghdad. shee was k kidnapped by y gun t- by a g gunman fromom outside her offifice in thee capital. the german national is well known in baghdad where she has an a art program for young irar. she is known as an outspoken critic of the government. it is stilll not k known who was behind the abduction.

iraqi authorities say they are investigating. authorities in germany are offering the free coronavirus testing to incoming travelers. on the spot testing will be available for people coming from covid-19 hotspots. people traveling from lower risk areas will be offered tests. but laborde tories away from airports. it is part of an effort to avoid a second wave of infections. reporter: touchdown in berlin after a summer holiday. far fewer germans than normal are taking their vacations abroad. the joy of returning home is as strong as ever, but can people be sure they have not picked up the coronavirus on their travels? now, the health authorities in germany have taken the decision to offer free virus testing. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: the health minister's of the states together with a federal health

minister have today agreed the people returning from risk areas should be tested at areas -- at airports. establishing test facilities at relevant airports. . secondly, we have decided that we want to reach not only does coming -- those coming from risk areas from elsewhere. so we agreed it to pay the costs of the testing for travelers. reporter: frankfurt, germany's largest airport, is already offering tests for free. under the new plan, people arriving from the 130 countries seen as at risk can be tested directly on arrival. checks will be beefed up at seaports and on land borders. the tests will be voluntary at first, and people from corona affected areas will continue to be asked to quarantine at home for 14 days. germans love to travel and they are starting to get the travel bug again. but with these tourists arriving from the popular spanish item --

island be willing to take a test? >> guess, certainly, for reasons of personal safety. that would be the most important thing. >> i think so. >> and if you had to go into quarantine? >> then i have to go. >> i wouldn't really want to. people have responsibility for themselves. and people over there are very careful about their behavior. reporter: corona infection rates in germany remained low at the moment. a big part of keeping it that way after the holiday season will be persuading travelers to take advantage of testing. phil: it has been over 10 years since 21 young people were killed in a stampede inside a tunnel at a techno parade in western germany. in may, the trial of three people accused of contributing to the tragedy ended without a verdict. dw has been speaking with the mother of one victim about how, a decade later, she is still coming to term with -- terms with her loss. reporter: gabbyby miller will

never forget the day 10 years ago that changed her life forever. >> [speaking foreign language] translatator: i was out shopping when i heaea some peopople had died. the report said 10. i wondered how 10 people could have died. i thought perhaps a tractor had tipped over. reporter: at that moment, gabby mueller did not yet know that her son was among those killed. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: i tried to call christiaian but i it went strart toto his voimamail. then my huhusband arrrrived. then my b brother. and his girlfriend. i realized at once that something terrible had happened. i knew chriristian would not be coming home again. reporter: he along with hundreds of thousands of others had gone to the lived parade on july 24,

2010 to party andnd listen to music. the venue was not an open field but enclosed. there w was only y e exitt ramp whwhere a tunnel a and underpass converged. people were streaming in from different directions. the crash became so extreme, that many had difficulty breathing. 21 died. 650 more were injured. christstian mueller was 25 wn he died. >> [speaking f foreign language] translatator: whehen you look aw narrow the space w was, you have to ask yourself, how couldld it ever have been approved? you can see at once that it was not suitable. reporter: finally, in 2017, several workers from the municipality and events firm werere put on trial. it became clear that the event should never have been approved. yet the trial endnded without judgment this spring and no one was held responsible.

>> the court came to the conclusion that despite the terrible consequences, the individual was slight. the disaster had multiple causes. many different sectors contntributed to the tragedydy. reporter: gabby miller attended the hearings. she feels let down by the judicial system. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: i find it income principal. it is hard to accept. for me, there has been no closure. still, i will try to fight my way. there is no alternative. we fought and hoped all these years and in the end, all we got was a slap in the face. reporter: nobody has assumed responsibility for christians death. 10 years after the tragedy, gabi muller still hopes she will somehow find peace. phil: the tokyo olympics were

supposed to begin in japan today. but they have been postponed to next year because of the coronavirus pandemic. the decision to delay has raised more questions than answers, and it is still not certain whether they games will take place at all without a vaccine. enthusiasm for the event and the host nation was also plummeted. reporter: the e countdowown hasn reset on the tokyo olympic games. one more year to go. there is no trace of any festivities. japanese -- who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 is hoping for the best at tokykyo 2020 pls one. > [speaking foreign language] translatator: imagine the worldn one year. it will be wonderful when they lift the curtain for the olympics and paralympics. we live in a time with highs s d lolo. i'm h hoping that a sense of normrmal returns to our dailily lives again.

reporter: sounds like wishful thinking for some. according to a survey, only one in four japanese supportrts thet -- t the upcoming games in 2021. 70% would like to delay them further or cancel them altogether. >> athletes from across the world would come. but every country is in a state of emergency. until we find a vaccine, that will take time, no chance. >> we could hold the games without fans. but that would not be good for the economy. if the games go ahead, then we should go all out. reporter: international olympic committee president, head of the tokyo organizing committee, are against the idea of a games without's fans. a last resort would be to reduce the croros. . whatateverhe c case, the atmosphere would suffer. the japanese technology could fill the void. this digital remote control them it's sounds of celebrations. if enough join in, it could

create something similar to real stadium atmosphere. the prototype would serve as a prproxy fan in the stadium and s recently tested in japan's professional baseball league. it is how kids in tokyo for example get to enjoy a match, 830 kilomemeters away. >> you can control the robot and make it clap. kids were excited. it felt as if he w were there le without having to travel to the stadium. reporter: but who builds olympic venues and stadiums for electronic replacements? who invests billions for an olympic slide? it is an a nightmare scenario for japan's government, tokyo, the sponsors, the fans, and athletes. >> we should not expect the pandemic to be under control by next year. but if we do manage to hold at the coronavirus around, then it

should s serve as an example for the next g games and other internationanal events. repoporter: but that was not japan's initial goal. the country wantededo show thehe world d that it has reinvented itselfl. it can only hope it gets another shot at showing the world next year a tokyo 2020 plus one. phil: that is it. you're up-to-date. i will have more for you at the top of the hour. in the meantime, there's is always a website, dw.com. i will be back in just a moment with "the day." looking back at today's events. ♪ [captionong performemed by the nationonal ctionining institutu, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

the day at two eighty k. the number of committed nineteen cases claiming here in france the government issues a travel warning for the spanish hotspot region of catalonia with new checks being introduced at transport hubs nationwide. diplomatic tensions rise again between beijing and washington with china ordering the u. s. consulate in the city of chengdu to close. this up to the white house gave chinese diplomats seventy two h hours to vacate that consulates in houston. also looks christine's announced the day of mourning as the turkish president