Ideas, did not express a single plan about how he would move forward. It made me realize that we have that much at stake. Brent here after news of president trumps mounting debt, the election will be anything but peaceful. We ask if authoritarian leader, lukashenkos survival means the end of from belarus. Plus, how nature has transformed what was once the death strip between east and west germany. The tanks and guards are gone but Climate Change means this unique ecosystem now faces new threats. And a five year battle ends in success. An iranian canoeist earns his right to be considered for next years tokyo olympics. I am brent goff. To those of you watching on pbs and the United States and those of you all around the world, welcome. We begin with the fallout from americas debate debacle. Joe biden has described president Donald Trumps performance as a national embarrassment. The discussion over issues including the coronavirus, Race Relations and economy quickly descended into a series of interruptions and insults. Prompting for five reactions from the u. S. And beyond. Some u. S. Commentators are calling it the worst president ial debate in history. 90 minutes of interruptions, crosstalk, insults and accusations. Exchanges like this one were typical over the composition of the u. S. Supreme court. You should go out and vote. Your in voting now. Let your senators know how strong you feel. He does not want to answer the question. The question is will you shut up, man . Gentlemen, i think we so it went for much of the evening. Trump seeking to distract and disrupt biden with a barrage of interjections. Trump supporters watching in a bar in california appeared to love it. Our president clearly established an advantage over biden. No questions asked. He knows what he is doing about every aspect of our presidency. Our needs in america. That is what these democrats are looking to do, the socialists. We should say no to communism in the United States. Note to communism, no to socialism. We should stand up and fight against that. At a drivein in the battleground state of florida, ida supportersrs saw their man ahead. He is doing a very good job of getting his point across. He has a plan. Which donald trump doesnt seem to have a plan when it comes to various things, the economy, coronavirus, i think it is tough but he is doing very well. He is very clear. Biden is the right choice for the country. Trump had four years to show that he is capable of doing the job. He proved that he is not the right guy for the job. Several snap opinion polls taken after the debate say that biden won by a slim margin. Americans will be hoping they dont get a repeat performance. I am joined at the big table by my colleague from our u. S. Election team. Can we talk about there being a loser and a winner from that debate . It is tough. It was by any stretch a tough debate to watch. Objectively speaking, the most unwatchable debate we have seen in american history. More than trump trump alone had more than 70 interruptions in just 90 minutes. The times he interrupted himself were almost one interruption per minute. It was very hard. I dont think anyone came away with an ididea of what the visin for the country these candidates had. Polls had biden a little bit ahead. The cnn poll had six out of 10 saying biden one won. Franklins frank luntz had some very clear reaction to the debate. About biden, they say that he came across as professional and had restraint and compassion. The reaction to trump was crackhead, arrogant, unhinged. I think it is fair to say that biden came away from this looking maybe a little better. I think a lot of the time, you saw the clash of two generations. It really revealed how much we have moved in the past four years. Biden could barely understand what he was witnessing. Brent lets talk about one of the most talked about moments last night. President trump asked if he would condemn white supremacists. Give me a name. White supremacists. Proud boys. Proud boys, stand back and stand by but somebody has to do something about antifa and the left. Brent brent what is your take on that . Peter i cannot think of an easier answer for the president of the United States, a country that played an essential role in helping beat the nazis. For him not to answer and simply say no to these rightwing groups is quite a bit dumbfounded for a lot of people to watch. Howard taft famously said dont write so you can be understood, right so you cant be misunderstood. The same could be applied to trump in this case. He did not distance himself. We heard him say the same type of better care. We are looking at dog whistles and the proud boys very clearly picked up on that. Joe biden retreated retweeted a screenshot of a reaction from the proud boys. Saying trump basically said to go f them up. This makes me so happy. We saw a lot of other reactions very similar to this. Saying that this is Donald Trumps america. Brent that is considered a farright group . Peter a white nationasts group. Trump has since come out and said he does not know who the proud boys are and that they should stand down and let the enforcement do its work. Brent what is this doing to the standing of the United States and the world . It has deteriorated a lot in the past four years. It was said that they can see how they would go back to normal. Even with president biden. People think that trump has done this much damage to americas reputation. But also, this is playing into the hands of also china. We have the editor of any loose language newspaper link to the commonest party who came out saying the two political leaders of the u. S. Did not show how to communicate to the people. It reflected division and the accelerating loss of advantages of the u. S. Political system. It is a burning city on a hill is what a lot of people are saying. Brent thank you for your reporting. Lets bring you uptodate with some of the other stories making headlines. Wildfires ravaging the u. S. State of california and have spread rapidlyly. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated. Two of california posco celebrated wineries have also been destroyed in the blaze. Californias most celebrated wineries have also been destroyed in the blaze. Belgium has a new government after almost a year and a half of negotiations. Alexander will lead the Southern Party coalition as prime minister. Authorities have suspended for three months. This follows the recent crackdown following the disputed election. The government is also making it incredibly difficult for foreign journalists. What this might mean for the protest movement. Weeks of protests, capturing imaginations around the world. Colorful symbols, charismatic leaders. It has often turned ugly. Security forces cracking down brutally on peaceful protests. When it did, photographers and journalists were there to report. People tell you one thing time and time again. Knowing that the world is watching make them feel safer. Belarusian journalists are facing increasing intimidation. Two photographers who spent 15 days in jail for 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. Entire news outlets now stand to lose their media licenses. Without them, there journalists could face arrest at any time. Foreign journalists le me have not been subjected to this kind of treatment. Very soon, there may not be very many of us left in belarus. There is no outright refusal, just the same excuse over and over again. The commission in charge cant get becacause of covidid. The man in charge, Alexander Lukashenko downplays t t dangers of coronavirus. He said a visit to the sauna is the best treatment for the disease. As independent media vanishes, protesters fear a future in which there is no one left to document what the government does to its opponents. I am joined by liz. It is good to have you on the program. Are we looking at the end of freedom of the press in belarus . One situation we are seeing in belarus is clearly very grgreat. We havave seen some ofof the descriptions of what has gone on there. Following the election, we saw protests on the streets. That is what journalists were covering. Use of violence against journalists. We saw journalists being arrested. Now we have this new issue of accreditations. We have seen a problem with accredititations since before te election. We had issues with people applying for accreditation, not receivining a response or beingg denied. We have seseen people withth vad accreditation have thatt unknow. Including local journalists working for for news outlets. Now we havave the situation whee people who have filed accreditation which is expiriri and struggling to get that renewed. This is a an attack on freedom f the press. We would call on the government to s support the freedom of expressionon and to allow journalists, particularly Public Service, independent journalists to be able to do their job. We have seen this happen before when dictators are in power. When they dont like the message. Then they would try to silence and get rid of the memessenger. That is what we are seeing. In essence, that is what we are seeing. These unexplained delays. They are just an excuse for not allowing the press into the coununtry andnd trying to silene the message. The going up anand holding off account of thosese jououalists need to do. The peoplele of belarus expected their government to be held to account and they have access to ininpendent, true e formationn about what i is happing. G. It is right that journalists, both would be able to do that. What are you looking at . Hows s is that going to be nen. There are a number of journalists who still have accreditation. The prproblem is they are producing as peoples accreditatioion expires. Journaliststs are creative and they wantt f forget about belars and about what is happening. We know that our Public Service journalists who work in newsrooms across the country and beyond will be working really hard to get the story out and work with local journalists. The situation in belarus is troubling forr many. The world deserves to hear about it. Brent the road needs to hear about what is happening in belarus, that is for sure. Thank you. Here in germany, chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that a tough winter is ahead. She has announced new coronavirus measures aimed at avoiding a second nationwide lockdown but the pandemic has already put the brakes on large gatherings and events including germanys famous oktoberfest. In a normal year, oktoberfest would have been in full swing by now. But not this year. Instead, they are donning their lederhosen in small groups. Face masks are now compulsory in some busy outdoor areas. Authorities are considering a targeted alcohol ban. Local responses like this to the pandemic remained the method of choice for chancellor Angela Merkel. As germany heads into the more difficult autumn and winter months. We all want life back as we knew it. Especially our countrys young people. But we are currently putting everything that we have achieved in the past few months at risk. We must not allow nationwide restrictions, High Economic and emotional losses again. We cant allow a dying person in a hospital or nursing home to die all alone because their loved ones arent allowed to hold their hands to say goodbye. I am speaking here because i want to do everything i can to prevent another nationwide shutdown. Since may, people visiting bars and restaurants in germany have been required to leave their Contact Details. But many guests have been leavaving fake details. Donald duck has been a partrticularavorite. Anyone leaving fake Contact Details could be handeded a minimum fine of 50 euros. The number of guests committed as celebrations or rented spaces will also be limited limited to 50. The number of 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. A german favorite even in those winter months, crack a window. The United Nations has hosted a biodiversity summit. The mostly Virtual Event took place at the u. S. General Assembly Hall in new york. Most delegates attended online. The focus was to discuss strategies to reverse traumatic losses and to forge a global biodiversity pack. Xi jinping addressed the summit, saying that all countries are passengers in the same boat. Here in germany, the former porter 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 was between east and west germany. This National Park created 30 years ago, this biologist has been making sure that what belongs together is together. The unique thing about this National Park is that we are getting this amount of space to allow to take its own course. It is refrained from using its own land so that nature has free reign. Back when the National Park was created, step had to start from scratch. Like here. In 1989, soldiers were still patrolling the border between east and west germany. Here, the socalled no mans land, a stretch hundred meters wide to prevent people from escaping from east to west. The barbed wire and concrete fortification is insurmountable. Nature has found this bit filled this deadly zone with new life. The birch trees really won the race. This stretch was treated with herbicides and pesticides. Hard to anything could still grow here. So much has happened in the past 30 years. It is not just te plants that are making a comeback. Several rare animal spaces are also reclaiming the natural habitat. Species are also reclaiming their natural habitat. There has been a reintroductionn program. Lynx is links had lived here lynxes had lived here for years. We started reintroducing them to the woods. It was a success that took a lot of hard work. They carefully documented natures campaign to recapture its territory in the form of a border region. Despite everything this area has overcome, the biggest challenge for the sherman natural park still lies ahead. Dead trees as far as the eye can see. There used to be huge spruces but rising temperatures weakened the bark. It is a sad sight when you look along here. You can see that new life is emerging and the old spruce trees have died out. It is a colossal task for the authorities from the former east and west. They are not done yet. He says he will carry on until what belongs together has drawn togetherer. Brent some sports news. In tennis, Serena Williams has been forced to withdraw from the french open in paris with an achilles tendon injury. Liams was aiming to win a record 24th grand slam title. She pulled out just before her second round match today saying that she was struggling to walk. The 39yearold first suffered a flare up of the injury earlier this month. Emmanuel bell has replaced david wagner. He arrives with the club in chaos after two defeats and with major financial problems. The 41yearold managed for three seasons before being dismissed in april of last year. Brazils football star owes 34 point 6 Million Euros in taxes from his time in spain playing for barcelona. That is what official documents are now showing. He owes more than anyone else on a list of names issued by the spanish tax authorities. He is the latest in a long line of Football Players to fall afoul of the spanish tax system. Binder munich has won the german super. The referee for tonights game has announced that she is retiring six years before rules state she has to. The first female referee in the mens league says she will give reasons for quitting at a later date. The German Police federation says it regrets her decision. She has been a referee in this league since 2017. And the iranian canoeist has been allowed to join a team of refugees in the tokyo olympics. He trains and competes here in germany after fleeing his homeland back in 2015. After a rules change, he is one step closer to his dream. He is more motivated than ever. The iranian refugee has a clear way forward to next years olympics in tokokyo. He is hoping to repreresent the refugegee team after a uturn fm the International Canoe federation. Quite we have now decided we will support him competing. At home, that was viewed as him convertiting to christianit. Punishshle by deatath. Germany gave him a place to train and compete. He has since been working hard out on the water and in the complicateted procecess of seveg ties with the iranian rowing team. The International Canoe federation insisted that israels insisted they could not grant him r refugee statutu d de the fact that he had documuments proving otherwise. This was a hard jouey, fiveve yeyears lo. I just cried. If i want t to go to the olympi, i have to give 100 to be there. Now he has to meet the sporting requirements. Ththis selection is in the hands of the ioc. Whoever has such a story behind them clearly deserves the sport of International Sporting bodies. We hope that common sense prevails. After the setbacks, he hopes the federation will keep to its word so that he can concentrate fully on his sport. Brent here is a reminder of our top stores this off this hour, joe biden has described Donald Trumps performance as a national embarrassment. A series of interruptions and personal insults dominated a discussion that should have fofocused on the coronavirus, te economy and Race Relations. And authorities in belarus are tightening the screws on free media. The countrys most popular independent new site has been suspended for three months following its coverage of antigovernment protest. You are watching dw news from berlin. After a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. Tonight, americas debate debacle. Twenty four en france twenty four. Com. Be able to swap into life in paris willl use that analysis for france twenty four im not going these are the headlines. Im an american says hes concerned overr turkeys role in the carrabassett region face off between ankaraslly azerbaijan and armenia has so far cost over a hundred lives before consecutive days of fighting. Insults and interruptions some of the first us president ial debate but warren question remains after trump this is by default long just why. Trump didnt condemn far right white nationalists. The Spanish Government says it has reached an agreement to impose a partial