With China to end a trade war one of the leaders of Hong Kong's protest movement Joshua one said it was a victory for those who had fought to defend democracy called you as president sign on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act That's the remarkable achievement of all the home callers with the courage and determination of Hong Kong as to fight for freedom and democracy to start a protest movement on it just and Grace world leaders and politicians aware that it's time for them to hold call at the same time Hong Kong police is searching classrooms at the Polytechnic University where an 11 day siege has come to an end students had barricaded themselves inside the university which was then sealed off by police at one stage more than a 1000 students were trapped inside Nick he's at the university this is a crime scene I guess and so that's why some offices of collecting evidence which could be used in prosecutions in the future at the same time we've seen a massive stash of our news petrol bombs being taken out of there also a moment ago we saw some power and arrows being carried out order to try to send all the weapons that the police were coming up against in what was one of the most dramatic and violent episodes in this conflict which has gripped the past 5 or 6 months a planned 3 day general strike in Lebanon to push for the formation of a new government has been called off by its who denies this an open ended strike by petrol stations is continuing to me Bowen reports from Beirut the protest started in Lebanon 6 weeks ago there the result of deep discontent with a system that protesters say is corrupt concentrating power in the hands of discredited leaders some political bosses will warlords during Lebanon's long and disastrous civil war in the 19 seventies and eighties the protests have mostly been peaceful and have cut across Lebanon's deep sectarian divides. At least 8 Iraqi protestors have been killed and 50 others injured after security forces opened fire to disperse anti-government demonstrators in the southern city of Nasiriyah the authorities have been trying to clear to block bridges video footage shows some protesters throwing stones and using slingshots to launch projectiles at the troops across one of the bridges there's been 2 months of protests Well news from the b.b.c. The authorities in the u.s. State of Texas have ordered 60000 people in 4 towns to flee their homes after new explosions at a petrochemical plant where a huge fire has been burning for hours the order covers a 6 kilometer radius around the plant in Port nature is east of Houston. For the 1st time the New Zealand government and the country's national airline have apologized to the families of over 250 people who died in a plane crash in Antarctica 40 years ago the Air New Zealand sightseeing flight crashed into the side of Mt Erebus the disaster was originally blamed on the pilots but an inquiry later accuse the airline of a cover up because it had changed the plane's navigation system without telling the crew. Russia's limpid Committee is meeting sports federations and top coaches and athletes to discuss the country's participation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year which has been thrown into doubt Last week a committee of the world anti-doping agency recommended Russian's drug testing agency be suspended again because of suspected new breaches of anti doping rules Scientists in Britain say they're creating a blueprint for bands and pop stars and maybe them to perform live music without negatively contributing to climate change it will be based on tour data from the British band massive attack more from door Foster. Scientists are going to be looking at every aspect of massive attacks touring cycle from the lighting to the sound to the sets the way Cruzan stages a move from city to city and what changes the audience could be making to the research will conclude next summer and will be shared with artists across the music industry it's hoped if more musicians are seen to be acting sustainably it also encourage fans to do the same was b.b.c. Knees. Thank you for the news and a welcome to News Day. Up with for the next half hour which will take us to Hong Kong and to Syria we'll also have more on the u.k. Election campaign with just 2 weeks to go before the vote and it's a who rob for my blood. Drops its controversial. More on how the very dollars shutdown came about in the 1st place and why it's now been dropped again coming up. But 1st let's start with our top story where President Donald Trump has signed a your backing pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong the requires him to annually review Hong Kong's favorable trade status and threatens to revoke it if the territories freedoms are quashed in any way one of the leaders of the protest movement Joshua won't say praise the new legislation and said that this was testament to the efforts of Hong Kong people who had fought to defend democracy call you as president a sign on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act That's the remarkable achievement of all the home callers with the courage and determination of Hong Kong us to fight for freedom and democracy to start a protest movement on it just and Grace Well leaders around the world and politicians aware that it's time for them to Hong Kong Well you know in the program I spoke to Professor Chang from City University in Hong Kong about the bill take a listen the negotiations certainly have been going on in the past year. And they do not seem to have been affected by to developments in Hong Kong the 2 crisis began in June as we all know and obviously as you said the train the conversations are entering into a very dedicated final stage and I actually seem to meet. Stage agreement may be concluded. In January next year or so. The protests the Act pass certainly is a major morrow both stuff to the people in Hong Kong to the protesters who feel robbed a helpless facing an Iraq and hawkish. Government in Beijing and in Hong Kong and they do count on the support of the international community on the support of the international public opinion now we have the response from Beijing what should we read into when China speaks of countermeasures against the United States what would they mean. There. Is something expected just not in a surprise and yet the negotiations on going on they don't seem type enough acted the stamens made by the Chinese authorities are expected to teen Chinese authorities also always at the top of very strong 9 against what they perceive to be interfering in times as to mistake affairs but in this case it is still a lot of room of minority for that on news from administration the State Department could live report to Congress in one year's time and certainly the State Department will follow the line of the Donald Trump administration Congress then recommends actions and whatever actions to be taken will be decided by the White House so both download from and the time the Steve ship understand that there is still a lot of room of Minoan about but the stamens of this kind made by the time these leaders are men photo mastic consumption Chinese leaders want to present to the Chinese people that Western powers do not want China to be strong they are trying to contain China's development and opposed these payments are also intended to discredit the Protestants. Labeling them as collaborators of Western imperialist powers not separate vested chain from City of s.c. In Hong Kong. A year ago unidentified gunmen in Syria has lost a position held provincial That left us unaided I remarkable mine many of the viewed as a flame of gender pollution 46 year old activist and democracy campaign operate for as long to fight both Islamic extremists and President Assad's regime his main weapon which was frequently expressed through has reduced. Radio fresh f.m. And when an al Qaeda linked group demanded that he stopped playing music broadcast tweeting but and grunting goats and mocked aside in online satirical Fritos our correspondent Mike Thompson who interviewed her as several times reports on the man and his legacy. The. Thing is our sounds you'd expect to be coming from a grip of what was said Mike serious. But activist right ferrous the founder of Radio fresh f.m. Which broke cause these noises was no warden remand as Al Qaida linked to extremists found out. That. That's the. But your face. Who later became known as Hyatt to me or Al Sharpton more h.t.s. Were in for another surprise when they demanded that right took his female news readers off air a lot of things the voices of the. New voices some thought. Oh no that isn't America but armed with a McCarthy for the group you're looking for a bit hard. Right also organized many anti Assad protests like this one but he had other enemies closer to him for years earlier he'd never really survived after being shot by so-called Islamic State gunman now he was in the sights of extremists he. Ts and good luck and every time I heard a gunshot I would call him and ask if he was Ok right went into hiding in October last year and he's frightened wife one time rarely saw him after that can you imagine just how worried they was all the time the threats kept growing. Right had stopped answering my phone calls and his last text stated starkly it's personal this time I remember it was a Friday I was sitting in the backseat. And I was sitting in the driver's seat another car pulled up just a meter away and opened fire alley down douche and spent 2 months in hiding with Ride and their friend Homuth I saw a ride being shot and threw herself down between the seats. I tried not to breathe and faked being dead. When I finally raised myself I saw that their eyes was motionless. For the 2 later this year h.t.s. Crushed other militia groups took control of it live for his wife or 3 sons fled the country. A few months after that Russian and Syrian regime planes began a new ongoing offensive against had led the bombing became so intense that most civilians fled Catherine Bell and radio fresh which continues to broadcast in rides memory has moved its offices to another town an hour's drive away. Gathered around a laptop in their new home in France where they've been granted asylum rights wife and 3 sons listen to radio fresh. Close. Then to mark the anniversary of their father's brutal killing one year ago they sing his favorite some my homeland. Journey or the. View. His oldest son Mahmoud believes that when his father is gone he'll never be forgotten. My brother always used to say. That he would use in is an idea and an idea. Cannot be can. Result report by Mike Thompson You're listening to news day from the b.b.c. With an and county shout the main headline this half hour China has warned the u.s. That it will retaliate after President signed into law measures approved by Congress supporting pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong Matthew Kenyon has latest sports headlines Leno messy and other mark in his record book for Barcelona 700 games for Boston now and 613 goals he has scored for them created rather a lot as well he scored one and created 2 more for boss or as they beat Brazil Dortmund in the European Champions League on Wednesday evening to go through his group winners for the 13th year in a row with a game to spare only one of the team made it through last night that's all be light sweet crude through to the last 16 for the very 1st time which means that live a pole the reigning champion still have work to do They were held to a one old troll by Nat police so they need at least a point in their final match lots of points for Le Bron James 33000 of them and counting in the n.b.a. As he helped the l.a. Lakers to a 16th when of the season they've got the best record in the league so far and Ferrari's team principal in Formula One says their driver Sebastian Vettel and Charlotte like a well aware that their collision at the Brazilian Grand Prix wasn't acceptable for Ari say they've had to clear the air talks ahead of this weekend's season ending race in Abu Dhabi but it's pretty clear they don't like each other sport today at 1930 g.m.t. Master Kenyon thank you very much and now we are going to talk about Tories we are in the business news and he guesses 1st of all little quiz for you what links these 3. Ah ah. The roads to Rochester the last one Thomas the Tank at the start and the Michael Jordan commentary I admit was slightly grainy off there any guesses well big fans of. Your home the railway sets upon Iraq I read that of your. Thomas the Tank Engine was a bit of a cheat because when we were always got a licensing deal with him when I make him and you can buy him but yeah I mean if people are seen as well go and check it out on the b.b.c. Website Rod Stewart sort of version of Manhattan he's built right away say he's not a fan he's an obsessive but the company just released its financial results this morning and while it narrowed some of its losses it's gone he goes upon for you Allan off the rails or slightly in the last few years it announced another loss this year in excess of $3000000.00 but with Christmas on the horizon and some high profile types like that Thomas the Tank when I mention the company which also owns Airfix model planes and Skeletor it's race cars police there's a big appetite for its products still here's the boss Lyndon Davis I took over something that wasn't good was given a hospital pass there's no point in trying to grow a company when you don't have the right products and what we've had to do is get the right products and become product focused so you know the revenues are growing they're up 15 percent in the 1st half year losses are narrowing and we are preparing for growth I mean if you actually look at what we've done in the last 18 months is you know we signed licenses there was a time where you say home the railway sets you know now we have Harry Potter railway sets we have micro scale electrics we have wacky races we have big dastardly Muttley You know we have a lot of product that is more relevant to the to our order next year is the 100th anniversary of the 1st loco that Frank or will be put into the market so we've got an awful lot planned this it's exciting we're going to see growth Linda Davis the boss of all me that I know Alan is very excited for that sense and I want to get you in the news day Secret Santa now and Harry Potter train a replica of the Hogwarts Express The Wiz ran around procedure towers you got a big enough garden for a nice big truck I mean no I'm not getting half of West London joking I'm getting a new roof in like a watch like. I was thinking about my little Harry was also watching. Moving on in the run up to the British general election on the 12th of December we have been visiting various areas of the United Kingdom to meet the voters and hear what issues will decide how they cost their ballots today we visit Cheltenham It's a town in the southwest of England which is about 2 hours from London the B.B.C.'s grimly joins us from their children voted largely to remain in the wind when they voted Breck's it didn't they tell us a little bit about what the voters have been telling you it's very much or a main area or it's a rather elegant quite well feast thoughts hound and it's definitely been watched by everyone who is trying to predict the outcome of this general election it's 6 on the liberal democrat hit list they want to take it from the conservatives who currently hold it now tactical voting will be key as to which way and to find out a little bit more about being speaking to Professor Chris Henry he's a consultant for the Polling Company savation. Well Charlton was one of the seats the Lib Dems would have to win if they're going to go forward in this election so see the previously held between 92 and 2015 and it's a straight conservative contest so there aren't any of these questions like Is it the Lib Dems or is it Labor who are the best placed to defeat the Tories a street fight and finally a seat that voted to remain in the referendum and so the Lib Dems with a very clear program in position to do well so can we expect conservative voters or Labor voters to sort of get behind the Liberal Democrat candidate because they're the most likely remain candidate to win I think the case is clearer for Labor voters I think because it's a straight conservative let them fight I think you could expect Labor voters to swing behind the Liberal Democrats I think there is a an interesting question about conservative remainders they're kind of really cross pressured on the 100 got some party loyalty pulling them in one direction on the other hand they've got the referendum vote which is screaming at them to defect from the conservatives the conservatives have been you know much better keeping their supporters compact certainly much better than the labor in the Lib Dems who often are fighting over the same groups of people in the same places that Boris Johnson has been on that quickly prove Rexy it's indeed saying he'd rather die in a ditch the not leave the e.u. I mean that does leave moderate conservatives in in a bit of an isolated place doesn't it you know it's difficult and we know that for most people Rex is the most important issue but there are always be some people who are willing to say well I understand it's important but I also value economic policy and for that reason I'm going to vote Conservative people's reasons for voting can be amazingly flexible if you if you push them and prod them if you ask people what's the most important issue facing the country in their selection then a clear majority of them will say if you phrase it slightly different. And if you ask was the most important issue for you in your family you're more likely to get issues like the n.h.s. Or employment mentioned I think particularly with a winter election people start looking well you know her local hospitals coping under the strain how is my G.P.'s practice dealing with winter bugs and flus and all of our kind of stuff having said I think breaks it is one of those decades generation long events which is going to be structuring our politics not just for this election but for elections of the next 20 years the British system is 1st plus the paste it's not a proportional system does that mean it's harder for the Liberal Democrats to break through in this election absolutely I mean it's very very easy for a party in the u.k. To get 1015 percent of the vote and almost no seats at the Lib Dems probably are better than most part is exploiting some of those marginal gains that the party that has historically tended to be really disadvantaged was you can no I guess the breaks the parties in a similar position a party that could get really sizable percentage of the vote until 2 in any seats. Thank you very much that said Naomi Ed just before you go to me a new polls out today what do they say yes this this special very detailed poll that is being conducted by Hugo of company it gives Boris Johnson and that 11 point lead and when money is translated into seats in the House of Commons that gives him a majority of $68.00 a comfortable majority now one would have caveats it is just one poll but this particular company predicted it exactly right last time around in 27 to the B.B.C.'s Dimmy grimly thank you very much. Yes it was truly of the New South Wales Government announced as the city's controversial lookout laws have been scrapped and they started from 2 deaths as a result of alcohol fuelled violence from 2014 the laws districted parts of Sydney city to stop selling alcohol after 10 pm and prevent a particles from entering bars or nightclubs after 1 30 am unless peak to Jackie Munro who is a signal resident and also not to vist a good afternoon to you Jackie I'm Tell us a bit more about these laws well as you say the laws were brought in in 2004 tame and although there were very tragic circumstances that the laws were brought into in response to Unfortunately it really came to be quite a significant overreach in the government's restriction of trade businesses conks essentially give patrons access to their premises despite premises things of safe Sydney being one of the safest cities in the world and it's something that remained for 5 years up until now and the legislation will be changed next year just to talk to me about what it was like to go out in Sydney. Well look before the lockout so yeah but I don't know during the lockout during the lockout so the restriction in trade meant that the footfall in Sydney was significantly reduced and we in New South Wales that we've lost literally billions of dollars in trite but total didn't mean for someone who wanted to go out on a Friday evening. Really though a very few options and businesses close. Started closing down very very quickly and new clubs didn't spring out to take place so there was a real restriction in what young people could do what people could to in the evenings so there really wasn't much choice I don't have friends who aren't clubs people who had stage a able to actually hospitality people who were sound engineers all these professions that essentially had most of. Skills became defunct in with the stroke of a pen so if I wanted to go out of me to leave by what time by 1030 is all right so so you couldn't get back into a club 130 if you left right and clubs were closed down definitely by 3 I am sorry the there is strict. That they meant that people couldn't be out and about and enjoying the night tourists would come to our supposedly global city and not have the option I mean there are stories about Madonna not being able to attend her own after policy when she came suppose form because she arrived at the venue off to 1 30 am and she had to be turned away. And the time Ceterus tempi a restriction on alcohol so there were restrictions on the types of alcohol people could buy so you couldn't have shots after a certain time you couldn't have gloss gloss wear so everything so in plastic drink holders cups and other losses were restricted so there were many aspects own consumption that were affected so how is this news being received today. With a lot of enthusiasm but there's still a lot of room. Have those restrictions lifted there's still a cessation of alcohol in place at 3 am and there are certain areas of Sydney that will still have to look out some place so people in Sydney just want to have a drink right they just want to go out when they are able to her and when they want to. Enjoy themselves and city and it's not just locals it's tourists as well and it is a bit embarrassing when people come here and they continue to live. To talk to you thank you Jackie Monroe Street Sydney City resident and also an activist all and you just thank you very much for joining us and used to this morning. Distribution of the b.b.c. World Service in the United States has made possible by American Public Media producer and distributor of award winning public radio content engaging audiences creating meaningful experiences and fostering conversations a.p.m. American Public Media with support from a lot of your melon dedicated to making a difference for children battling cancer you can join the fight Black Friday through Cyber Monday at love your melon dot com. Stella Bowles is a 15 year old citizen scientists whose grade 6 school project and a lot of youthful determination prompted a multi-million dollar cleanup along the Hay River where she lives in Canada I'm Sandra can fall and in this week's compass on the b.b.c. World Service we'll hear from teenagers who are using their initiative to try and change the world in which they live join me for The Kids Are All right coming up after the news b.b.c. News with Debbie rests China has Want to the United States that it will take firm counter measures after President Trump signed into law a bill in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong China accused Washington of sinister intentions the legislation requires the State Department to certify that Hong Kong has enough autonomy to justify favorable u.s. Trading terms at least 8 Iraqi protesters have been killed and 50 others injured after security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators in the southern city of Nasiriyah the authorities have been trying to clear 2 bridges blocked by activists the New Zealand government and the country's national airline have for the 1st time apologized to the families of more than 250 people who died in a plane crash in Antarctica the disaster 40 years ago was originally blamed on the pilots but an inquiry later accuse the airline of a cover up India's governing party the b j p has dropped one of its politicians from the defense committee after she made highly controversial remarks in Parliament on Wednesday Praga Tuku described the man who murdered Mahatma Gandhi in 1988 as a Patrick at a planned 3 day general strike in Lebanon to push for the formation of a new government has been called off but an open ended strike by petrol stations that began on Wednesday is continuing. Your thirty's in the u.s. State of Texas have ordered 60000 people in 4 towns to flee their homes after new explosions at a petrochemical plant vies been burning for hours at the site in Port nature is east of the city of Houston Russia's limpid Committee is meeting sports federations top coaches and athletes to discuss the country's participation in the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year last week a committee of the world anti-doping agency recommended Russia's drug testing agency be suspended. Welcome to the compass on the b.b.c. World Service I'm Sandra can fall. We're standing in the special exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic here in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada. We're looking at 17 contemporary women who are redefining the ways of living near the sea and still is one of them. Stella is Stella Bowles she's 15 years old it says Stella bowls m s m m s and Amazon stands for Meritorious Service Medal and that's the word I received from the Governor General of Canada last summer so when I'm at school I read a big say I'd like to put Stella balls and most of my teachers ask me sometimes is that necessary and I always say of course not bad to be 15 and have your own special initials but after a day it's pretty cool to be honest that's what earned this 10th grader the right to use such grand initials after her name the project was called open source that I thought. Oh poop it's worse than I thought was Stella's entry into her year 6 Science Competition So how is it that the results of a cleverly titled school project run by a citizen scientist from generations e convinced the Canadian government to launch an environmental project costing more than $15000000.00. If you look up the most common words used to describe a teenager you'll find a list of adjectives like awkward rebellious and arrogant is that a fair summary of teenage traits it probably depends on what mood you catch them in adults often dismissed teenagers as being irresponsible too connected to their phones to take in the world around them but I've been lucky enough to meet a large number of teenagers around the globe in the last year to say nothing of the ones I'm attempting to raise and these young adults strike me as being anything but unaware and disengaged quite the opposite. In this 3 part series The Kids Are All Right you me of a variety of teenagers who are using their initiative and determination to try and do what they can to change the world in which they live like here in this extraordinarily beautiful part of Canada. For the radio audience who can't see how unbelievably gorgeous this is describe what we're looking at so right now we're standing on my front porch and we're looking right along the river you see houses on the other side of the river there are some trees we were little front lawn here it's autumn when I visit so the vibrant colors on the trees reflect beautifully off the pristine looking river it's so disappointing to realize this is something of an illusion a river has a dirty secret when you look at it it's beautiful if you really just want to die radiance go for a swim or get in a boat but it's dangerous not scary Stella's family has lived on the banks of the Hay River in Nova Scotia for over 100 years in fact many of the houses along the river are quite old and one problem with old houses old plumbing many of the homes here were built with systems which haven't passed the test of time when the septic system established family's house collapsed they were told they had to make an expensive upgrade fast so my mom's kind of upset at the gentleman that was telling us we've had 3 months to fix it and at the dinner table that evening she was going on about straight pipes and how our neighbors have these pipes and I said What's a straight pipe and that's where the whole story starts. Straight pipes are cheap alternative to modern day septic systems they deposit the contents of a residential toilet directly into the nearest body of water they are illegal but along the the Hay River there are hundreds of them that means whoever swims in the river is going for a dip in the waste from their neighbors laboratory so when 11 year old Stella asked if she'd. Go for a swim in the river right in front of her house her mother of course said no I was disgusted I was upset I didn't understand why people had these it made no sense this is where Stella science project comes in the one you heard about earlier with a catchy title with the help of a neighbor she set out to test the contamination levels in the Hay River and when we had a result of being q. Better after 36 hours we looked at them and they were appalling anything over 170 the water should be in contact with your skin and the levels in our town Bridgwater were over a 1000 and this is a 1000 and 2 o'clock I put 100 milliliters what's in and. It's a measurement for fecal bacteria like why. Stella showed me a picture of what an early testing card looked like when it came out of the incubator so you can see the dots here they're in a circle so each dot you count and if they're over 70 you shouldn't swim and if they're over 175 the water shouldn't be in contact with your skin so our town it was gross is like one big. Oh so is that what your town looks like look that's a fairly disgusting photo but the green circle on a yellow background it should only have a few dots and if you're having a clean river and that is just covered in brown which was actually looks like the fecal matter which is a presenting it does it's quite gross This is surface water testing as well so if you go in the water and you stir up the bottom the results are going to skyrocket you're going to have worse results because the fecal contamination in Europe is settling it's not a glamorous way to put it but that's. So what do you want to do when you're a kid and you find out something really important of course you want to tell the world I wanted a Facebook page to warn our community but my mom said no you're alive and so Stella came up with a more targeted plan so we compromised we put a huge sign right here on our wharf and it said this river is contaminated with Eco bacteria and instantly we had the neighbors up the door we had media at the door asking who put the sign up and why it was there what the evidence was and evident she had I've had a credit labs validate my testing I've done duplicate testing I've gone to university I've been in the lab to do Graeme standing to prove that what I was testing for was under a cocker I think a bacteria so I've covered all my bases so people can't say well you're just a kid you don't know what you're doing because I've had scientists back me up after stellar sign got noticed her mom gave some ground on using social media and together they came up with a plan to keep the community updated on the results of her testing we compromised and we had a Facebook page my mom and I ran together then we had even more media. And even more calls and one night after hockey practice actually my mom said You'll never believe this we just had all 3 levels of government contact you the original Facebook page went up in November 25th and then February 26th of the politicians contacted me. So after that I went to multiple council meetings about this issue if only became an issue that people talk to both and had dinner conversations about it's not the best suffer conversation because it's but it's long as it got the point across then they announced that there was a chance to have $15700000.00 to clean up the river to replace these straight pipes but a chance of a government project with an estimated 15 point $7000000.00 Canadian dollars is not the same as a guarantee and Stella knew that while we were waiting for the federal funding to come through it kind of got a little quiet we were getting a little worried that the money wouldn't come through so we put up a new sign on our wharf the sign said $600.00 plus homes toilets directly into this river and it was sitting right along our busy busy busy highway and people drive past it going to work going home every day but it was going to stay up until something was going to happen so as soon as they announced the funding the municipality called me and said Ok we'll take your sign down now and I said no so not until the river is clean and then they called me back again and said Ok well now that the funding is coming through your sign down and I said Ok as long as it goes through I'll take it down but if anything stops I put it right back up. Stella had a mentor on her project a neighbor who also lived along the river retired physician David Maxwell she achieved what we couldn't as. Dr Maxwell bought one of those old houses in Stella's neighborhood and when he discovered it had straight pipes he swiftly replaced them he then tried to join forces with other locals to address the problem of pollution in the river but they struggled to get their message heard. We started doing our own testing to try to document the levels of pollution and then having got results we sent them off to all the politicians we could find and they completely ignored us then he met Stella I undertook to teach you how to do science and the concept of generating accurate valid and reproducible data we were completely unsuccessful we adults she got away with it because she was a kid and it's impossible for a politician to say well you don't know what you're talking about or you are just a kid and so you don't understand and we're not going to pay any attention to you but I think that's exactly what a politician would say that you're too young you don't know you're talking about and they happily walk away and ignore someone who doesn't vote or who can't vote absolutely but if that young person puts up a sign on the river saying this river is polluted which is seen by everybody visiting the community it's very difficult for a politician to say but it doesn't matter she shamed the politicians into taking an interest in it. How are you going to keep her from putting the sign back I'm optimistic at this point that every time that you remove a straight Pike is definitely a step in the right direction Carolyn Bolivar gets and is the mayor for the municipality of the district of Bloomberg I guess for about a decade we had been working to come up with a solution for straight pipes so when Stella Bowles came along with her science project and her national attention that she was garnishing really the stars all aligned for us we've currently replaced upwards of $132.00 straight pipes right now with approved septic systems hopefully by the end of the year we'll have 140 some done and we put together a program to make sure that the a river would be straight pipes free by 2023 and you know Sela still watching absolutely Stella still watching and I hope that she does still watch at the end of the day the overall cost of this project will be over $15000000.00 And that's a direct result of our young activist Stella Bowles stepping up to the plate and advocating for her community and for cleaner water and the ability to be able to swim in a very prestigious river I hope that she definitely has the opportunity to do that and I'll do it whether. It's done where we're going we're going to hell a fact which is the capital of no is goes we're going to a conference for what I presentations in 700 meters that Stella's the Hay River project has brought her national recognition as a teenage citizen scientist she's now a sought after speaker for all kinds of environmental conferences like the one we're headed to quite early on a Monday morning it is the Atlantic Canada water and wastewater Association to do this often and I do this often Yes for sure under normal circumstances he's been to school I should be out. School here but I feel like this is more learning for me and where excitement the school. Yes it is located. Stella has a real presence at the podium she's an engaging very composed 15 year old and has become quite accomplished at presenting her story to encourage other potential environmental campaigners now you're giving presentations all over the world how has that changed you. It certainly helped my confidence I love public speaking I love presenting it's my favorite thing to do did you have that before definitely not the 1st time I ever gave a speech I was shaking I didn't know what to do I was scared to make mistakes I didn't know how people would think I was a life in the know and my dad told me that everyone makes mistakes so just keep going and I did that and as I continued doing presentations more and more it definitely became easier and easier and I actually like presenting to larger groups rather than small groups because I sometimes tell bad jokes and I find that if you're in a small group and no one laughs It's very awkward but if you have a larger group and at least someone will probably laugh so I like having the odds with me what a bad joke well I like to say we're probably the only home on the street that goes fecal bacteria in our basement and sometimes people don't laugh at that and I just stand there kind of. I'm still here. So telling jokes isn't her strongest talent but somehow I don't think that's going to get in her way. So this is your word covered it's taken all of our family knickknacks and kind of move them to the top shelf at the bottom shelf and I have I have the middle shelf for an impressive cabinet for a 15 year old thank you very much I am very proud of everything Stella shelf in the cupboard contains a variety of science and environmental awards she's also met the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and has been invited to give a ted talk on her experiences later this year plus there's one other more unusual accolade Yes I'm the youngest ever published micro paleontologist in the world which is really fun title to tell people Well what do your friends think about all this work that you do I don't speak about my project with my friends it's just not a topic that comes up why this is awful but I find jealousy is very present in my age category with what I'm doing what you seem to be jealous about I travel a lot for this project I miss about 50 days of school year and I'm almost always like here's an article from last week I think of me in the paper and just more ways around on social media I'm not sure how does that make you feel it's kind of upsetting to know that I can't talk about something that I'm extremely passionate about with my friends because they just wouldn't listen sitting at the kitchen table with us is Stella's mom Andrea she's a teacher at a local school and also acts as stylish gatekeeper Stella refers to her as her mama Ger So Stella has a lot of teachers across Canada and around the world that are definitely in support of her and definitely want to contact her we had a little girl 11 years old the other day from Ontario who's doing a project actually have biography on Stella. It's been a hard balance really as a parent to give you all of these great opportunities and then try to help you reconnect with being a normal kid. Stars adapted to a routine which weaves back and forth between a world populated with grown ups and her everyday life as a student she plays hockey in volleyball is a fan of Taylor Swift and keeps up with her homework pump planes and buses when she's traveling with a teacher for a parent slipping grades aren't really an option there's an inevitability about my next question in that at the moment the teenage environmental campaigners getting quite a lot of attention it's got a tumor but not all the attention is good does that concern you yes but no because there are people that still understand what she's doing knowing that she's doing a positive thing for a better world and we have to really focus on the positive rather than the negative still has worked out how to handle the attention her campaign has brought her and it's a useful commodity if you're trying to attract attention to a cause however if social media has taught us anything in the past few years it's that a spotlight is something to be handled with care. With Stella situation when she was in Facebook if there was someone that posted something negative we didn't respond we let the other people in the community respond and take that on and that worked really really well and she's always so positive and I think that's the other part I don't know if she told you that often on Facebook I draft up what she was going to say and then I was never allowed to post anything obviously because it's in her voice and she'd come and read it and then she would totally rip what I wrote apart my mom would write my speeches she showed them to me a bit like no I'm not saying that that's too negative nobody wants to listen to me say things that are positive and that's made a big difference in how people hear you I think for sure yes even when I would post things on my Facebook page we'd use a big sigh and see words like cockeye or things that people might not fully understand but that in brackets I put hoop or just have things that anyone and everyone can understand what I'm trying to get across. But ability to communicate a message clearly is rare enough in adult. Style as aim is to demonstrate how anyone of any age can be the guardian of their local waterways with a simple testing kit and some determination it's a message that travels well enough I was in Sweden then I was had my kid with me I went to a few schools and the students there were very involved with the science and they were like yeah I want to take the poll I want to get the sample or can I do the next step for testing what I was eating lunch in the big cafeteria there were 2 younger boys that hadn't been in the classroom that I was presenting in and doing it has to and they said if you're from Canada right can we get your autograph and I thought was really sweet and funny because nobody had ever asked me for my autograph. What's your name than human and I will do you pretty Hello my name Sandy what's your name Emmanuel I knew how old you are 13 and so you guys met Stella when she was here. Yes What made you ask for her autograph because she was famous do you know what she's famous for you know what she does she cleans. Lakes and stuff so you could say yes that's something you'd like to do. Too much work clearly some people are going to be harder to motivate than others. Welcome to hustle homes Montessori school in Sweden where Stella demonstrated her testing kit on a visit last year the woman who organized that trip is Jenny Larson a Ph d. Candidate at the world maritime University in Malmo I think we have a lot of things in common in Canada and Sweden and we can learn from each other when I went to Canada my mission was to bring home all the good solution ideas and then I found that instead of bringing home some idea I brought home to. Help the students to actually do the sampling themselves and they had a discussion about all the e-coli bacteria that they found do you think the kids are going to follow it up yeah we actually applied for something to actually implement the levels project here in Sweden as well among 4 schools and then actually starting with 4 classes taking water samples every month and at the same time they're doing the same thing in Canada so connected to Canadian classes with Swedish classes. I miss a moment I'm 15 I'm a less and I'm a 15 I'm so feel animal 15 Did you will meet Stella Yes yes it was cool to see how she even at such a young age how much she has been able to do to us were nice to. Did you take the testing kits and go out and test the water here yeah we went down to where the river and we tested and what did you find lots of bacteria is visual in the lake and what did you think when you found out about it I was shocked because I. Like playing in there and there are so certain that you shouldn't even touch the water so now that you know this what you going to do not swim there. In has at the moment the world's most famous teenager in Grutter to him very to teenagers like Stella and Grettir do they inspire you do you think you guys could stand up and raise your voices and say listen to me I deserve to be heard absolutely everyone has something that they care about everyone doesn't care about the climate but maybe someone cares about other teenagers or poor countries and it inspires everyone to do something for their class. Where the reverse bores beach in the middle of a mama we're going down in a watery waiters. Michael Powell runs the Marine educational center in Malmo like the Maritime Museum in Nova Scotia they also have Stella's picture hanging on their wall today he's giving a class of schoolchildren kitted out in rubber waders up properly hands on lesson here we have the outdoor classroom and then I'll go there walking down this jetty as a group just into the sea just walking collectively into the sea. And that's how I ended up doing my 1st interview with waist high in the waters of an outlet up the Baltic. And you say really how old are you and 13 how you falling waiting around in the water here I like it do you think when you go home this makes you a bit more passion about the world around you and then you can even start telling your parents you really should pay more attention to this. Yes because it's very important for the animals in the ocean too they suffer from all the testing get everything just around here but if people help the player to be that. Sweden has an impressive supply of environmentally aware teenagers one is 16 year old Elsie manual originally from across in Ghana she moved to Sweden when her father a professor took up a posting here and she's the winner of a Marine awareness competition she received 20000 kroner for a project to decrease the amount of plastic in the ocean and this wasn't just a competition for young people yes actually I was the only child in my division that was made you feel really good you have had him and his comment in the environment one of the great causes of your generation I think it is because if they are predicting for a world this really true these will be real things for us up to now it has been easy for us to live just like everybody else but should. Weather conditions get harsh or life will get increasingly hard to live and it's hard to know if we will also be able to live the same. Lives that people live nowadays to do other things that we have Speier to do like everybody wants to grow up pursue their dreams get their dream job make money start a family all the usual things and sometimes I think it's sad that if we don't do something like drastic about the environment and sustainability issues a whole generation of us might not have that opportunity. Every generation has different takes on different issues so I think we also have our unique views to bring to the table. Just because we are young doesn't mean we don't have anything important. So right now we're on my mom's old computer and we're looking at my Facebook page doesn't look that old to me it's just very slow so we're just going to scroll down a little bit it could take a move. Back in Canada Stella Bowles is showing me some of the latest entries on her website it's amazing that scooping up some more of the river and being persistently her Cicely curious about it has brought you all of this I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that any of this would have happened with this project I've come to realize ation that your age doesn't matter anymore you can create change in your communities where I really want to promote that I want to show other youth that they can also create change and that sometimes you might do it yourself but you can go for me for example I didn't think this would ever happen and it has. So what do you do next what do you want to do from here I'm not sure yet I'm leaning towards maybe environmental law studying that I'm not sure I'm 58 and it is pretty silly to ask 15 year olds what they want to do with the rest of their lives and it is a little silly because the world at your fingertips at this age and you could go into anything. Stella may not be able to pinpoint exactly where her future is going but she is pretty clear about what she wants for the river the one which runs right in front of her house. Success for this river would be to have all $600.00 straight pipes removed they are legal they're gross and by 2023 The plan is to have all of them out so I'm hoping after my 1st year of university I think it will be to be able to just cannonball right and. You've been listening to the compass on the b.b.c. World Service this programme has been produced and presented by me Sandra Council the editor is Emma rippin and has been mixed by Tom brick mill next week we'll meet a Syrian refugee who decided when he couldn't go to school he would build one from scratch more than once. You're listening to the b.b.c. World Service and here's what's happening in the studio this week join me. As I meet pretty and a fellow said African and an opera singer making waves across the I meet her as she takes on her biggest role to date and find out what it means to her to be the 1st black woman to play Violetta at the palace opera in this studio at b.b.c. World Service dot com slash in the studio. You're listening to the b.b.c. World Service Washington Post Antony So as more our South America correspondent Katie Watson reports from Brazil Well our Europe regional editor Mike Sullivan is here in the studio America's editor Countess peered began by telling me about owning your own line on smartphones and on smart Speaker this is the b.b.c. World Service the world's media station. Welcomes the inquiry on the b.b.c. World Service I'm Tanya back it is a year since the July Asia own took to the streets of France to demonstrate against a hike in fuel tax. In a video I'm speaking directly to President Marco and I'm telling him Have you really thought about the decisions you're making a push back against government measures to protect the environment there's also in other countries Prince party definitely has gained a lot of support over the you know environmental questions How has the environmental agenda managed to a noise so many people Birkenstock wearing urban centered environmentalists who doesn't have to think too much about where their energy comes from in their city and what can be done to craft policies the don't alienate voters we're asking why is there a backlash against climate policy is the inquiry starts after the news. Hello I'm Debbie Ross with the b.b.c. Nice China has warned the United States it will retaliate after President term signed into law a bill in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong it requires the State Department to certify every year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favorable u.s. Trading terms Washington and Beijing are embroiled in a trade war our correspondent in Beijing John sad with says China is furious as you might expect we've had an immediate and pretty angry reaction from China's Foreign Ministry accusing Washington of having absolutely sinister intentions and threatening to take firm counter measures China which has been warning all along that it sees the signs of foreign meddling and foreign influence in the situation in Hong Kong is clearly going to take a very dim view of this in Hong Kong Police have now entered the Polytechnic University to gather evidence and look for any remaining protesters following an 11 day siege their offices collected hundreds of homemade bombs and were dusting them for fingerprints at least 13 anti-government protesters in Iraq have been killed by security forces who opened fire in the southern city of Nasiriyah the violence comes a day after demonstrators attacked.