Selfappointed leader vows to pave the way for fresh elections. And at the womens world cup, a shock defeat for germany. The twotime winners knocked down in the group stage as colombia and morocco advance. Im nicole frolich. To our viewers on pbs in the United States and all of you joining us from around the world, welcome. Former President Donald Trump has surrendered to authorities in washington in connection with the latest criminal case against him. He is now in court. Trump, who flew in by private plane, is expected to plead not guilty to the charges that he plotted to subvert the will of u. S. Voters in the 2020 election. This is trumps third set of criminal charges, as its seen as the most serious. He is currently campaigning to return to the white house in the 2024 election. Our correspondent stephan seamounts Stefan Simons is in front of the court where trump is right now. What is going on . Stefan were on a side street here from the court along constitution avenue. You see that drone . That is a good sign that the Law Enforcement here has beefed up security. Police is all around here and secret service and other Law Enforcement. Why . Because former President Donald Trump is in the house. What is happening in the courtroom . It is expecting he is going to be presented with the charges and they will be presented to him and his lawyers and then the judge will ask how do you plead. It will assuming lead be donald trump who says not guilty. After this is all over in about half an hour or one hour, we will know exactly how this all went down but this is what is expected. After that, he will probably just motorcade behind me or there is another exit from the courthouse, and leave the courtroom back to the airport and then wherever he goes next, probably back to new jersey. Nicole security was beefed up in the capital in the runup to this arraignment. What is the mood like on the streets today . Stefan well actually, lets turn around. You can see this very nicely. You can see the american flags over there. This is the protrump crowd. Yes, the president is unjustly arraigned and indicted. Then you have right behind his truck, this is for security purposes, the crowd which is, well, pleading for donald trump, to lock him up. Go to prison, its perfectly fine. And he is justly arraigned on the charges of conspiracy and more or less treason. A few blocks away right in front of me from the capitol, which was stormed on january 6. That is critical. This is the first federal, no charge against a former president , but against a president who was in power doing something criminal and illegal, against the law while he was a sitting president. That is why this today is historic and unprecedented. Nicole you have explained the positions of the people who are there showing their support or their endorsement of him being sent to prison for all these alleged crimes he is being arraigned for. With the wider American Public, how is this going down . How do they view what is happening today . Stefan that is a great question. Because here is the trickery in all of this. New polls suggest hold your horses 625 of republicans a 65 of republicans are still thinking joe biden is illegitimately in the white house. Still 65 of republicans in this new poll say donald trump was cheated of his win. This of course is something former President Donald Trump has been saying over and over again. This is what he is accused of. Continually peddling this law he unfairly lost the election, that this is counterproductive to democracy. So, you have a very, very split in the middle voter poll here. That means almost half of the American Public is completely against donald trump and cannot stand the thought of him being reelected as president. Then you have the other half who is saying, yup, this is the right man for the right time, and we are going to vote him again back into the white house. So, a deeply split and divided United States of america. Nicole as ever. Stefan, thank you so much for that update. Hundreds of people have rallied in nigers capital city apparently in support of the military junta, which recently ousted the president. The rally comes as niger celebrates its Independence Day from former colonial power france. Antifrench sentiment has been running high since the coup. Reporter independence for niger. That is what supporters of the military junta say they are defending. Hundreds gathered in the capitals main square to protest western and regional sanctions in response to the recent coup. They also denounced threats of military intervention from west africas regional alliance, the Economic Community of West African States, or ecowas. More people are joining, and we will protest against all these ecowas countries, and anyone that wants to impose inhumane and unpopular measures on niger. Reporter on sunday, ecowas gave the junta rulers one week to transfer a power back to the democratically elected president , ousted in last weeks coup. But the coups leader has hinted at a possible compromise. Once the tense emotions are gone, we can ensure the conditions for a steady transition within a relatively short deadline. And a general election, and especially a better approach in our fight against terrorism, in saving our country from economic and social pain. Reporter many in niger blame france for that pain. Their niger achieved independence 63 years ago. Projunta demonstrators say the former colonial power has continued to exploit niger, a resourcerich nation with one of the worlds poorest populations. The failure of frances military presence in niger to end an Islamist Insurgency has also left some disillusioned. Now, many supporters of the coup are hoping the country will turn towards russia in the hopes of finding a new ally. Nicole our correspondent amaka okoye is covering for us from neighboring nigeria. I asked her if there is any reason to believe the generals promise of elections. Amaka for those projunta, those in support of them, they have several reasons to believe what he is saying, what he is promising them. This is what they want to hear. He seemed to be telling them previously, we are going to have dialogue, we are promising a smooth transition, including an election. For those who are supporting, we are seeing growing numbers those that came out today saying that we want the junta, no more for an interference, no more france. They have several reasons to believe him. He seems to be saying exactly what they want to hear. A leadership that is firm, a leadership that the people can resonate, a leadership that is not foreign. Not being led by proxy, if you like, by a former colonial power. Nicole so if we were to take his statement seriously and an election would be held soon, would this satisfy the regional bloc ecowas too . Amaka it is very unlikely that that would make any sense to ecowas. Because as you do know, ecowas is standing on the points that the deposed president is the democratically elected president of niger republic. So for them, any other voice that is not him is not democratic. And the overthrow of the deposed president for them is a threat to democracy. Even though he is promising a smooth transition, and even an election, on what basis could be the question of an election. Remember that the deposed president is just in his second year. So clearly, this is not going to impress ecowas, really, because what they want is the retaining of the status quo, which is reinstate back we deposed president as the democratically elected president of the republic of niger. Nicole the coup leaders have the backing of neighbors tina Faso Burkina Faso and mali. How could this affect a diplomatic solution to all of this . Amaka we are in a situation where we are seemingly seeing split even within ecowas. We have burkina faso, mali, and guinea saying we do not stand by these sanctions. We are against the sanctions imposed on niger by ecowas. So its a situation within ecowas itself that is supposed to be for regional cohesion, and its not being together in terms of its members. Remember also that burkina faso and mali and niger are former french colonies and frenchspeaking. So it is concerning for the region because there seems to be some sort of Alliance Within some groups within ecowas, and that will deed stabilize destabilize ecowas even further. Even more when there is an internal problem like what we are seeing. That will bring more chaos and instability even within the ecowas itself. Nicole today on the 63rd anniversary of nigers independence from france, projunta protesters have been marking the day, many chanting antifrance slogans and waving russian flags, as we just saw on the report. How important are these two foreign powers to the coup supporters . Amaka the question of importance, especially of france now to niger, is quite debatable. We have seen very strong antifrance sentiments. I spoke to someone earlier today and he said that today is indeed independence because we are celebrating being able quote unquote, to kick out the french. As far as those supporting the junta are concerned, they dont see any relevance or importance of the french for them. With russia, we know that some people see this may be an opportunity for russia to increase its influence and stretch and further to niger. Remember, mali is already gaining relevance, if you like, where the wagner group is quite operational. Even though we had the average nigerian we dont have a statement from the junta saying we want to seek an alliance with russia. But what is happening now would give russia more entrance into that region. Nicole foreign actors aside, how much Domestic Support is there really for the coup among the people of niger . Amaka that is a very important question. The first day of the coup, we saw some voices that were anticoup saying no, were for democracy. But very interestingly and very quickly, those voices seem not to have been silenced, and we hear more who are for the coup. Which means there are more people in support of it. Throughout today, most of the people who came out are saying we are in support of the junta, we are in support of taking out any foreign interference. We are in support of the military should take over. We are in support that want to see a niger that will work for all of us. It doesnt matter if it is now the military, we do not want a leader who is not speaking for us, who is still speaking, if you like, for colonies. So yes, there is massive support. And interestingly, it is growing, especially among the average nigerian. How that is going to translate we should see in the coming days. Every coup is different. It is never a cutandpaste situation where what works perhaps in mali or burkina faso is going to work for niger. Nicole dws amaka okoye, thank you very much. That was very clear. Amaka thank you. Nicole lets bring you up to speed now on some other stories making news around the world today. Colombias government and the countrys last remaining rebel group, the eln, have begun a sixmonth ceasefire. Their president reached out to the group last year and relaunched peace talks. Under his socalled total peace policy, he hopes to finally end the 60 year conflict that has killed at least 450,000 people and displaced millions. The socalled Islamic State says its leader has died in clashes with another jihadis group in Idlib Province in syria. Turkiye announced in april that its Intelligence Forces killed him in a raid in aleppo. His successor is the fifth i. S. Leader since 2019. Brazils environment has announced deforestation in the amazon fell by 66 in july compared to the same month last year. The figures show the new governments crackdown on environmental crime is paying off. Brazil is hosting a regional summit on the rain forest next week. German politics now. In a new opinion poll that shows the far right afd party further building on its recent surge in support. When people were asked how they would vote for National Election were held this week, the centerright cdu csu comes out as the most Popular Party with 27 of support. The afd is up to 21 , one percentage point more than a month ago. The three government parties, the spd, social democrats, the greens, and the free democrats, they are all polling under 20 . The afd has also been clocking up successes at the ballot box on the local level, recently securing his first ever mayor in a small town in eastern germany. That has left the other parties debating how they should deal with the afd. Reporter the far right afd is looking to gain more power. So far, germanys established parties have refused any cooperation with them. The party is deemed extreme and antidemocratic. But as the afd takes up more space in german politics, some are calling for a shift, especially at the local level. The leader of the conservative cdu party caused a stir when he said we have to look for ways to ensure we can continue to work together. He later backtracked, but across germanys towns and districts, many are echoing his words. In a small town in southwest germany, the local afd claims it is already working with other parties. Were working together at all levels for the benefit of the population, and of course we can intensify this even more. We are not at all opposed to this. We would be pleased if this also happened on state and National Level instead of just doing party politics. Reporter other parties like the centerleft social democrats reject the notion that they are cooperating with the afd, but they called for a pragmatic approach. We have to think and act pragmatically on the ground here in the local communities. Not just here, but everywhere. We have not cooperated with the afd so far. We exclude the afd from our decisions, but we do not torpedo our own motions and positions. Reporter the town is located across the country in former east germany. Despite the districts, both geographical and political, the message is similar. There is no direct cooperation, but the afd cannot be ignored either. Active cooperation means, for example, supporting their motions in the city council. We do not do that. There will always be resolutions that we put forward which the afd representative also supports, but that does not mean we will automatically withdraw that motion. It is about budget decisions, audit reports, and other decisions that are important for the town. Reporter for others like the socialist left party, any kind of understanding the afd is on except the bow and risks is unacceptable. I see these completely differently. I believe cooperation with an extreme Rightwing Party which is racist at its core an d whose entire party wants things that are not good for its citizens. Cooperation with such a party should never take place. It is entirely unacceptable. Reporter for now the afd rarely has enough power to if the scales in local politics, but if it continues tis rise and gains mo,re support, germanys established parties will have to think long and hard on whether they want to work or not to work with the afd. Nicole lets talk about that question with simon young. Good to see you. When it comes to cooperating with the afd we have seen mixed messages from the christian democrats. Is the firewall separating them from the far right crumbling . Simon well, theres a perception that it might. The cdu, christian democrats, passed a resolution in 2018 that they would not enter into any coalitions or other arrangements of that kind with the far right afd party. And that still stands. What we have seen recently is the cdu leader we saw on the piece there, appearing to look for some wiggle room to try and fish for some of that support, perhaps. For instance, he suggested some time ago that his party is the alternative for germany with substance, and other kinds of comments like that. On the question of active cooperation he has been forced to say no, there will be none of that. But this debate has certainly muddied the waters a little bit and created some uncertainty that that firewall that the cdu promised between itself and the afd will stand. Nicole what about the other parties . How united are they in their approach to the far right . Simon i think you see different approaches, as we saw on the piece. Any real problem for some local politicians. And a real problem for some local politicians. If they bring reposes into local government and the eight them, why should they then drop them . And if the afd is in a position to make proposals that are sensible, is it right to necessarily block them . Others say no, this party at its core is racist, extremist, the enemies of democracy, and if you give them any kind of oxygen, that will only boost them going towards elections. There are big elections in the regions coming up in the east, where the afd is particularly strong. Of course european elections also in 2024, and the afd are looking to compete strongly in all those places. Nicole in spain recently, cooperation with the far right turned into an issue which in the end proved to we decisive. Are we going to see similar decisions in germany regarding the afd, the you think . Simon i think it is a problem for all parties to know exactly what to do. The problem is most acute for the christian democrats, the centerright party. They dont want to leave policy decisions and policy positions to the afd. For instance, on immigration. They want to be the party of pragmatism and say, yes, we support migrants, they can bring something to the german economy, but not mass unskilled migration. That is something the afd have opposed. They have to propose how they win back support and positions without appearing to support extremists and give oxygen to that party way out on the far right. Nicole looks like we are in for a bit of soulsearching. Dw political correspondence simon young, thank you so much. Sports now, and a massive upset at the womens world cup. Twotime winners germany are out of the tournament in their final group stage match. They needed a win against bottom placed south korea, but their opponents did not go out quietly. Our correspondent Alima Hotakie was out the match. Alima they had high expectations, they wanted to win the womens world cup, but in the end they leave md handed. We leave emptyhanded. We spoke with several players and all i can tell you is they were in shock some were crying, others were hol