Government suspends the countrys most popular independent news site we ask if authoritarian leader with machine codes bid for survival means the end of reporting from the country plus how nature has transformed what was once the death strip on the border between east and west germany 30 years on the tanks and guards have gone but Climate Change means this unique ecosystem now faces a new threat. And a 5 year battle ends in success and iranian canoeists in germany wins his fight to be considered for the refugee team at next years Tokyo Olympics. See those of you watching us on p. B. S. In the United States and those of you all. Around the world welcome we begin tonight with the 4 well from americas debate debacle u. S. President ial candidate joe biden has described president Donald Trumps performance in tuesday nights televised debate as a National Embarrassment the discussion over issues including the coronavirus Race Relations and the economy quickly descended into a series of interruptions and insults prompting horrified reactions from the u. S. And beyond. Some u. S. Commentators are calling it the worst president ial debate history 90 minutes of interruptions crosstalk insults and accusations mostly from the president exchanges like this one were typical for the composition of the u. S. Supreme court and the senate to consider you should go out and vote your in voting now vote and let your senators know how you get on are you feeling let vote now that impact they will sure you in fact let people know it is or senator i should im not going to answer the question i wish you had said that because if you were the New Washington really has us is the radical left would you sure i dont mason who is on your list you know this we dont you know rock johnson is i think this is a little less on the president actually you know so it went for much of the evening trump seeking to distract and disrupt biden with a barrage of interjections yeah people understand this is from supporters watching in a bar in california appear to love it and she says our president clearly clearly established the advantage over by. No questions that. He knows what hes doing about every aspect of our president s our needs in america my dear son nobodys daughter fraud thats what these democrats are looking to do to a socialist because they say no to communism to the state level United States no to communism no to socialism sure we stand up to fight against that. We had a drive in the battleground state of florida by the supporters saw their man. Hes doing very good job that hes getting his point across he has a plan which is. A man when it comes to their his name the economy around and iris is. I think its sad but hes hes doing very well if they can. I dont think hes the right choice for the country. For years to show if you gave all the doing the job your proof that hes not the right guy for the job. Several snap opinion polls taken immediately after the debate said biden won by a slim margin the next debate is scheduled for october 15th americans will be hoping they dont get a repeat performance. In for more now im joined here at the big table by my colleague. From our us Election Team so peter can we talk about there being a loser and the winner from that debate. It is tough i mean it was spied by any stretch of very tough debate to watch probably the objections being the most unwatchable debate that weve seen in american history. More than trump alone have more than 70 interruptions in just 90 minutes the times he interrupted himself that more than you know almost one interruption per minute and it was very hard i dont think anyone came away you know with a clear idea of what either of these candidates vision was for the country you know postdebate polls had bitin a little bit ahead the c. N. N. Poll had you know 6 out of 10 saying that biden one republican pollster frank luntz who was very kind of famous for his for his surveys of particularly undecided voters in this case from swing states they had some very clear reactions to the debate and you know to bite him they said he came across as professional restraint and compassion and president ial those are words that we have not heard used about trump a lot of recent years the reaction to trump was crack head error get an american unhitched. So i think its fair to say that biden. Came away from this looking maybe a little bit better but i frankly think a lot of the time that you saw a clash of innocence 2 generations where just told you how that there really revealed how much weve moved you know in the past 4 years biden could barely understand what he was up against war or what he was when. Bulleted list but we want to believe one of the most talked about moments last night President Trump asked if he would condemn White Supremacist Groups take a listen give me a name give me what your problem is also not likely to indict outgross on right proud of i wish stand back and stand by but ill tell you what ill tell you what somebody has got to do something about anti fair and the left because this is not a right it is only says i love you i. Want whats your take on what the president of the you know i cant think of an easier answer for a president of the United States a country that you know pleat absolute central role in helping beat the nazis for him not to be answer simply say no to distance himself say no to these right wing groups is quite a bit dumbfounding i think for a lot of people watch former president howard taft famously said you know dont write so that you can be understood right so that you can not be misunderstood and i think the same could be applied to trump in this case he did not clearly distance himself again weve seen that repeatedly after charlottesville 2016 event where he said there are good people on both sides we heard him essentially using the same type of rhetoric here and it really is were looking at a dog whistles and the proud boys very clearly picked up on that joe biden retreated screenshot of a reaction from. One saying basically you know trump basically said to go f. Them up this makes me so happy and we saw a lot of other reactions very similar to this you know by him saying this is Donald Trumps american. Its been sort of the far right groups of people the old White Supremacist GroupWhite Nationalist group. You know trump has since come out and said that he does not know who the problems are and that they should stand down and let Law Enforcement do its work so well see if there was in that what is all of this doing to the standing of the United States in the world. It has certainly deterred a lot in the past 4 years. Said a couple months ago that he simply cant see how were going to go back to normal even with a President Biden this is how much damage a lot of people in the International Community think that trump has done to americas reputation and you know even the corporation with its allies we also this is playing into the hands it appears of also china we had the editor of the global times an english language newspaper linked to the communist party who came out saying the 2 political leaders of the u. S. Obviously did not show an exemplary role to American People how to gauge debates such a chaos at the top of u. S. Politics reflects division and society of u. S. Society and the accelerating loss of advantages of the u. S. Political system is a racy you say some show that you can hear the show for do there is no longer shining city on a hill its a burning city upon a hill and i think is what a lot of people are saying peter as always thank you for your reporting thank you thank you. Our this bring you up to date now with some of the other stories that are making headlines around the world wildfires ravaging world famous one regions in the u. S. State of california have spread rapidly in claimed 3 lives tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated in sonoma and napa valley 2 of californias most celebrated wineries have also been destroyed in the players former c. E. O. Of ality has appeared in a munich courtroom today making him the 1st person to Face Criminal Charges in germany over the diesel gate scandal and 3 other defendants are accused of fraud falsifying documents and false advertising belgium has a new government after almost a year and a half of negotiations the flemish liberal leader and former finance minister Alexander Dick wrote will leave the 7 Party Coalition as prime minister. The crackdown in villa reuss is widening authorities have suspended the independent news outlets to be why for 3 months its coverage of the governments recent crackdown following the disputed elections that coverage went viral the government is also making it increasingly difficult for foreign journalists ws Nick Connelly shows us how bill reuss is trying to stop the cameras from filming and what that might mean for the protest Movement Weeks of protests capturing imaginations around the world colorful symbols charismatic leaders. Its often turned ugly Security Forces cracking down brutally on peaceful protests and when it did photographers and journalists were there to report. People here tell you one thing time and time again knowing that the world is watching makes them feel safer. They show the outside attention acts as a restraint on the government. But pelosi and journalists are facing increasing intimidation to photographers spent 15 days in jail for quote organizing an illegal protest they had taken pictures of a demonstration an editor who published an interview in which a victim of torture names his torture also ended up in jail and tire news outlets now stand to lose their media licenses without them their journalists could face arrest at any time. Foreign journalists like me havent so far been subjected to this kind of treatment very soon there may not be any of us left here in butlers getting a new credit taishan or extending existing papers is no longer possible theres no outright refusal just the same excuse over and over again the commission in charge they say called get together because of cope with this in a country where the man in charge president Alexander Lukashenko who claims to have won the disputed election downplays the dangers of the coronavirus he has said that a visit to the sauna is the best treatment for the disease. As independent media here vanishes protesters fear a future in which there is no one left to document what the government does to its opponents. And for moral this im joined now by lives corbin shes head of news at the European Broadcasting Union that is a network of news outlets all over the cot that this is good to have you on the program are we looking at the end of freedom of the press in belarus. Well as to that we say and others is clearly very great and youve seen and head and some of the scriptures whats going on there and that in advance of the election and then following the election we saw protests on the streets which generalists were covering and we saw violence against tenants with your genitals being arrested and now we have this new and our accreditation in fact we have seen a courtroom with the accreditation as since the fall of the election and we had issues with people applying for a credit taken not receiving a response or being tonight at least seeing people with valid accreditation have that im not including local journalists working for a news outlets and i have a situation now where people who had and who have had accreditation which is expiring at and struggling to get renewed and this is really an attack on freedom of the press and we would call an edge on the government to and to support the freedom of expression and to allow generalists the Public Service independent genest to be able to do that and weve seen this happen before where dictators all the credits are in power when they dont like the message then they try to silence or get rid of the messenger thats what were seeing here isnt it. At in essence that is what we appear to be saying and the. I claim to laze been hearing accreditation really just as an excuse for not allowing at the Foreign Press into the country and trying to silence the message and going out in the end they holding up a cat and that those genest need to date and the people about a race and they expect that their governments be have to count and they have the right to have access to independent and true information about whats happening in that kind of change and that and it is right that genesis local and international the be free to be and to be able to do that and thats what are you looking at in terms of planning News Coverage and getting the story in bellerose out to the rest of the world i mean how is that going to be done now. Yeah so there are still an number of and generous to do still have accreditation with them batteries and the problem is that they. Are reducing as peoples pretensions expire journalists are creative and they will not. Forget about and every since they get whats happening that and we know that an atom except is gents working in news and across the continent and beyond and well be working really hard to get this story out to be working with local gem and to be finding creative ways to at it tell the story and the situation better east is at is troubling and many and at and the what does that say here about it thats right the world needs to hear about whats happening in belarus that is for sure theres corbin head of news of the European Broadcasting Union lives thank you and he. Well here in germany chancellor Angela Merkel has warned of the tough winter shes announced new coronavirus measures aimed at avoiding a 2nd nationwide lockdown but the pandemic has already put the brakes a large gatherings and events including germanys famous october fest. It a normal year germanys october fest would have been in full swing by now but not this year instead bavarians a dawning the later has and turned those in small groups in munich the various state capital facemasks and now compulsory in some busy outdoor areas and authours hes a consider in a targeted alcohol ban local responses like this to the come demick remain the method of choice the chancellor Angela Merkel is germany heads into the most difficult autumn and winter months the other motionlessly even if we all want back to life as we knew it is specially our countrys young people. Q but where currently putting everything that weve achieved in the past few months of risk. We must not allow a nation what restrictions High Economic and emotional losses again. We cannot allow a dying person in a hospital or nursing home to die all alone because their loved ones arent allowed to hold their hand to say goodbye. Expecting im speaking here because i want to do everything i can to prevent another nation what shut down. Since may people visiting bars and restaurants in germany have been required to leave their Contact Details as part of the countrys track and trade strategy but many guests have been leaving fake details donald duck has become a particular favorite from now on however anyone leaving fake Contact Details could be handed a minimum fine of 50 euros the number of guests permitted celebrations in public or rented spaces will also be limited in future to 50 if the number of new cases exceeds the recommended threshold otherwise the basic rules and recommendations remain the same keep your distance where a face mask and wash those hands and the german favorite even in those winter months crack a window. The United Nations has hosted a biodiversity summit the mostly Virtual Event took place in the Un General Assembly hall in new york most delegates attended on why the focus was to discuss strategies for reversing dramatic losses to buy of diversity and to forge a global biodiversity pact chinese president xi jinping addressed the summit by video link saying that all countries are quote passengers in the same book. Here in germany the former border zone between east and west has become an important haven for wildlife but despite that transformation the nature reserve is facing new threats. This is where the death strip once ran between east and west germany today its one of the countrys largest nature resorts lessons the hard snow park was created 30 years ago biologists going to cost to his be making sure that what belongs together grows together. And thats in our pockets the unique thing about this National Park is that were giving nature 24730. 00 hectares of space to take its own course its we have to completely refrain from using the land and leave it untouched by lumber industry so that nature has free rein and its saying wait for the logs. Back when the National Park was created and staff had to start from scratch like here at the former days training in 1909 soldiers were still patrolling the border between east and west germany. Here the socalled norman salon a strange 100 metres wide to prevent people from escaping from east to west the barbed wire and concrete fortifications were practically in some mountable 3 decades later nature has failed this deadly zone with new life. To build the birch trees really won the race this trip was treated with heavy sights and paste a sight so heavily that hardly anything could still grow here and yet so much has happened here in the past 30 years. And its not just the plants that are making a comeback several animal species are also we claiming their natural habitats. Lynxes are back after 200 years of being regionally extinct thanks to a reintroduction program. Linuxs had lived here in the heart for a long time until they were killed by humans they deserved to be back in harms way so in 19041005 restarted reintroducing them to the woods felt it had to look futile and to build them it was a successful undertaking which took a lot of hard work the biologists spent thousands of hours in the woods carefully documenting natures campaign to recapture its territory in the form of quarter region. Despite everything this area has overcome the biggest challenge for this chairman National Park still lies ahead dead trees as far as the eye can see here there used to be huge spruces but droughts and rising temperatures we can the trees and the bark beetles finish them off no more often costa finds he has to educate hikers presence in the region. With. The snake its a sad sight when you walk along here with him but if you look closely you can see that new life is imagine where the old spruce trees have died out they should marry theme its a colossal task for the authorities from the former east and west and going to costa is not done yet he says he will carry on until what belongs together has drawn together arts and sports news now in tennis arena has been forced to withdraw from the french open in paris with an achilles tendon injury williams was aiming to win a record equalling 24th grand slam title she pulled out of the tournament just before her 2nd round match today saying she was struggling to walk 39 year old 1st suffered a flare up of the injury at the u. S. Open earlier this month. Ive been asleep inside shaka have appointed former al gore boss manual as their new coach replaces david wagner who was sacked after just 2 games of the season. With the club in chaos after 2 defeats and with major financial problems the 41 year old managed alex borg in the bundesliga for 3 seasons before being dismissed in april of last year brazils football star neymar 34600000 euros in taxes from his time in spain playing for barcelona thats what official documents are now showing the paris on german forward more than anyone else on a list of thousands of names issued by the spanish tax authorities he is the latest in a long line of Football Players including leno messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to fall foul of the spanish tax system by a meaning of just beating dortmund 32. 00 to win the german super cup the referee for tonights game to be honest im house shes announces she is retiring 6 years before rules state that she has to the 1st female referee in the mens going to sleep it says that she will give reasons for quitting at a later date the German Football Federation says it regrets her decision she has been a referee in the bundesliga since 2007. An iranian canoeists has been boosted in his bid to represent a team of refugees at the Tokyo Olympics next year so you need funds trains and competes here in germany that after fleeing his homeland back in 2015 now after a rules change he is one step closer to his dream. Society is more motivated than ever the iranian refugee now has a clear way forward to next years olympics in tokyo hes hoping to represent the refugee team. From the International Canoe federation. And weve now decided it will support site competing for the i. O. C. As refugees. Fled iran in 2015 after taking a selfie in front of milan cathedral at home that was viewed as him converting to christianity punishable by death germany a place to train and compete hes since been working hard both out on the water and in the complicated process of severing ties with the iranian reading team and wanting to avoid a conflict with iran the International Community federation had insisted its rules meant it can grant him Refugee Status even though he has documents proving otherwise. Bass was a hard journey 5 years long i just cry if i want to go to the olympics i have to give 100 percent to be there. Now fast needs to meet the sporting requirements the selection ultimately in the hands of the i. O. C. Whoever has such a story behind them clearly deserves the support of International Sporting bodies therefore we hope that common sense prevails. Seek. After the setbacks hopes the federation will keep to its what so he can concentrate fully on his sports. All right heres a reminder of our top stories this hour u. S. President ial candidate joe biden has described president Donald Trumps performance in west minds televised debate as a National Embarrassment a series of interruptions and personal insults and dominated a discussion that should have focused on the color blind versus the economy and greece relations and authorities in bello roofs are tightening the screws on free media the countrys most popular independent news site has been suspended for 3 months following its coverage of antigovernment protests. Youre watching news from berlin after a short break ill be back to take you through the day tonight americas debate debacle in iraq that. We can see them. Sometimes since them. But what connects people is stronger than what separates them. Is some strong getting torn. We celebrate to be a center for sure of germanys reunification. To preserve w. Im not laughing at the gym well i guess sometimes i am but i stand up and whip it up and we should have moved into deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotypes clipped to any of sync you see from the country that i not. Needed to take in this drama. Its all about a new im rachel join me from the gem and from b. W. Post. How does a virus spread. Why do we panic and when well all miss. Just 3 of the topics covered and we couldnt read your show is called spectrum if you would like and information on the crown a virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. Science. It was a televised event that confirmed what many europeans have suspected since donald trump became us president europes best friend american democracy is at best consumed with itself at worst being consumed by itself for 90 minutes 2 min in their seventies were supposed to debate the future instead joe biden tried to be a deacon of decorum against donald trump the bully in chief he was the winner that is being debated who was the loser well that is clear americas des moines