>> this is dw news, live from berlin. closing ranks. the west sets its top priorities for afghanistan. the chief diplomats of u.s. and germany allow humanitarian aid into the country and charter flights for those trying to leave out. they also reaffirmed the man's for an inclusive government for all afghans. coming up, terrorism on trial. the suspects in the 2015 paris attacks, including the sole surviving assailant facing

accountability for a night of carnage. and in russia, survivors remember the leningrad seizure. 80 years ago, nazi troops tried to starve sing wurzburg into submission. for those who survived, bread is more precious. ♪ hello. i am clare richardson. a warm welcome to the show. the u.s. and germany's top diplomats warned the taliban to honor their pledge for an inclusive government in afghanistan. antony blinken and the german foreign minister held talks at an airbase in germany. they hosted a virtual summit to address the situation in afghanistan, where the taliban announced a government filled

with hardliners. >> it was a quick meeting with u.s. secretary of state for these afghan evacuees. tens of thousands like them have transited the airbase on route to new lives in the west. on wednesday, the base address the uncertainty in the country they left behind. antony blinken and his german counterpart convened a virtual summit of ministers from over 20 countries. on the agenda, how to engage with afghanistan's new leadership. after the talks, words of doubt from the u.s. and germany. >> the taliban named a new, interim government. we were assessing the announcement, but despite professing a new government would be inclusive, the names are members of the taliban, close associates, and no women.

>> yesterday's news does not leave us optimistic. the formation of an interim government, not including other groups, is not bode well for international cooperation and stability in the country. we hope this will be addressed as the government continues to be formed. >> doubt on the streets of kabul, too. dozens of women rallied against taliban world. they are demanding a voice in the new government, as well as the right to work and go to school. but it is dangerous to dissent. this footage shows taliban members with female protesters. in order to demand their rights be protected, it is clear afghan women will have to confront

a real threat of violence. clare: joining me in the studio is dw's chief correspondent melinda crane. how much leverage do the u.s. and germany have with the interim taliban government? melinda: hard to say at the moment. they are hoping their leverage will be money and humanitarian help. the afghan government prior to this was dependent on 75% of its finances on outside donors. clearly, this taliban government is going to be facing an economic emergency, and we also have a humanitarian crisis already in the works. now, the west, frankly, has to ensure that we do not see terrible suffering amongst afghans because that will

undoubtedly be laid also at the doorstep of the west due to this shambolic withdrawal. nonetheless, there are other countries out there that are certainly going to be willing to provide financial support and humanitarian help to the taliban with very few questions asked about what kind of government they have formed or whose rights they are respecting. i refer here to china, but also iran, pakistan, countries whose foreign ministers were also meeting today, interestingly enough, in a virtual session, to discuss how to deal with the television. i think we will see fewer questions asked there. it must be said that china said they will be watching to see what this new taliban government does. those words are not too far away from what we heard today from u.s. foreign minister blinken. but we will see, in fact how that other group acts in the future. clare: it is interesting from

china side. this visit to germany by antony blinken, we heard things about diplomatic unity, warm words and transatlantic relations. was this a way of saying thank you for germany's role in supporting the u.s. in afghanistan? melinda: it was that, but it was also in exercising damage control because the fact is the unilateral u.s. withdrawal has terribly disappointed many people, not only in germany, but also in europe amongst the closest nato allies, who were surprised and distressed that they were not consulted. we have seen the fallout of that and the fact that many of these countries have not been able to get their local staff out in time, although, of course, they made their own mistakes. nonetheless, there definitely has been a wage driven in the transatlantic relationship. it will take more than warm words to repair it. clare: melinda crane, thank you

for joining me in the studio. for now, afghans desperate to escape taliban rule are resorting to illegal ways to leave afghanistan.many find they are not welcome in the countries where they are seeking refuge. correspondent: a deportation center in one region of turkey, the unexpected end of the road for afghan refugees who traveled across iran in the hopes to head west. instead, they are stranded here. translator: i paid a smuggler a lot of money. it took a month to get from afghanistan to istanbul. some of my family live in germany, and one it's a good there, but they caught me and brought me here. they will not say what will happen in me. when i get desperate, yell at them and insist on my rights, they beat to me. correspondent: managers of the center say no one is being mistreated deportations back to afghanistan are on hold due to the

situation. 119-year-old hopes she will not be sent back. she fled because she doesn't see a future for herself under the taliban. translator: life in afghanistan is tough, especially for women it is not safe. why should i go back? correspondent: in the regional capital, we met a journalist who says he knows many afghans who are in hiding in the city and hope to travel on undetected. translator: it has been getting a lot more difficult for afghans here. days ago, they could still walk the streets, go to the park or mosque, but that all changed nce the taliban captured kabul. now smugglers threatened them. if you talk to anyone, they will report you to turkish authorities. correspondent: in recent talks with germans foreign minister, turkey said taking in more refugees was out of the country. it currently hosts more than 3.7 million syrian refugees as part of a 2016 deal with the eu translator: turkey has so far

upheld its moral and humanitarian responsibility for refugees, we cannot take on additional burdens now. now, the european union must fulfill its obligations. correspondent: with many more afghans expected to flee the new taliban role, turkey is reinforcing its borders. clare: we can now turn our attention to other stories making headlines at this hour. voters in morocco went to the polls wednesday to choose a new parliament and elect new leaders. it is as one party sata extend its decade-long stint in power. campaigning -- party wanted to extend its decade-long stint in power. changes to election rules means it is unlikely one party will emerge with a clear majority. west africa's main political and economic bloc suspended guinea's membership following last sunday's military coup. the leaders from the 15 member countries called for the return of order and the release of ousted president -- of the

ousted president. at least one person has been killed and several missing after two passenger ferries collided in northeastern india. the head-on collision caused one of the boats to sink. emergency services say 60 have been rescued from the water. the trial of 20 men accused of the terrorist attacks in paris in november 2015 has begun. 130 people were killed and hundreds more injured in attacks that rattled france. the man believed to be the sole surviving assailant, who dropped his suicide melt before fleeing to belgium was among those in the courtroom. correspondent: the chief suspect showed no remorse and said his occupation was the fighter for islamic state. his trial began at noon under heavy security. the proceedings aim to clarify the circumstances of the 2015 terror attacks that left wounds.

hearing a statement like this is something my client see as a renewed direct threat. this was the band from the outset but it is probably how things will be in the months ahead. there are nearly 1800 joint plaintiffs in the case. naming them all is expected to take two days. the trial will give them an opportunity to testify about what they experienced firsthand. they're terrorists coordinated their attacks at several locations, carrying out a bloodbath at a theater, firing on guests who sat at outdoor bars and restaurants and line themselves up in front of the soccer stadium where france play germany. translator: everyone in france remembers exactly what they were doing on the night of november 13, 2015. what we read, hear, and see about the trial will affect all of us. correspondent: not only the

joint plaintiffs but the entire country is watching the trial that many see as a democratic answer to barbarism. translator: i expect the trial will strengthen us all as citizens of the world, our french civilization, as europeans. correspondent: france's largest criminal trial is expected to last nine months and is seen as historic. clare: all of france is transfixed by the trial. lisa louis is covering it for us in paris. i understand you were in the courtroom for opening proceedings. can you share what happened? lisa: well, the first few days of the trial have a lot of standard procedure. the head of the court will address all the accused and the lawyers of the civil plaintiffs will read all the names of the civil plaintiffs, the people they are representing, 1800, that is. during the standard procedure,

there actually was a moment when everybody was issuing a sigh inside the courtroom when the main accuser -- accused, was believed to have written some of the attackers to paris that night when he said about being asked what kind of profession he had, he said, well, i left all my jobs behind to become a fighter of islamic state, and that was the moment when i think many people understood he would probably not cooperate in these nine months of trial and also it is very unlikely he will show any remorse of what he did or what he allegedly did. clare: in addition to the shock of hearing the accused in that trial, a lot of superlatives are used to describe the moment. what makes this trial historic? lisa: well, it is a huge trial. it was the biggest terror attack in france, killing 130 after the

second world war. it really hit france and its heart. many felt targeted, terrorists attacked places where lots of french people used to go on to have a drink. it was a music hall, bars at football stadiums, places of leisure, and many understood the extent to which they are vulnerable. france wants to show, yes, we have been attacked, and maybe we were caught unawares by the attacks, but we have a response to that. our response is not barbaric but democratic. it is this trial that shows to what extent the people are now standing in front of us actually have been responsible for these horrible attacks. clare: that said, the trial is expected to last around nine months, which is quite long. why such a long time frame? lisa: it takes a lot of time

because it has been a huge investigation. more than 500 fires the investigators have gathered, -- files the investigators have gathered and at least 300 plaintiffs have wanted to speak up and tell their story or version of events, even if they survived the attacks or families or relatives of those who were killed during these terror attacks that would talk about the deceased character, why they love them, who they were, to bring them back as persons and prevent the attackers from being able to see them, just an anonymous crowd, and make sure they understand what they did. clare: our correspondent, recently was, in paris. thank you for that update. -- lisa louis, in paris. thank you. a court committed a man for an anti-semitic attack on a jewish restaurant owner. it was part of a week of anti-semitic rioting that

engulfed in eastern city. the man was given a one-year suspended sentence. correspondent: a few traces of the attack are still visible. this is some of the damage left, where they tried to cover it up as much as possible. three years ago, neo-nazis attacked a restaurant, throwing stones. the owner was injured in the assault. it happened in august, 20 18, when far-right extremist cell demonstrations. about 6000 people from across germany took part. on august when he seven, some stood outside of the restaurant. we visited shortly after the attacks. i was standing here at the bar -- >> translator: i was standing at the bar. among things they yelled at me were get out of germany, jewish pig. that is what i was able to make out.

translator: i stood here and they stood where you are standing and then came this way. the owner took a picture of the attackers with his phone. wednesday's guilty verdict for one of them closed the last open case stemming from the riot. he says he is less concerned about the punishment for the attacks than the fact that they went to trial. translator: it is a signal that if you throw stones and things at a jewish restaurant and that me, that has consequences. clare: let's take a look at some other stories we are following at this hour. in richmond, virginia, workers removed a statue of confederate general robert e. lee. the statue was seen as protesters as a symbol of racial injustice. the removal came after a lengthy court battle. the russian emgency minister

has died. his ministry said he was killed trying to save the life of a filmmaker who fell into a river near the arctic city. the filmmaker -- a filmmaker also died in the incident. the russian city of st. petersburg has been marking the 80th anniversary of an 800 eight siege during world war ii. veterans and officials laid flowers for the victims. around one million people died during the siege. after nazi troops surrounded the city and adolf hitler decided to start the residents. bread and other food was strictly rationed. for the few survivors of the blockade, bread is more precious than they can explain. translator: nina feels at home in his uniform. she worked at this bread factory in st. petersburg for 35 years.

the 86-year-old sister her, these loaves are almost wholly. there is nothing more delicious than our bread. correspondent: here at this bread factory, the dough spins through the round building in circles as it rises and bakes. the factory is nearly 100 years old. during the siege of leningrad, now st. petersburg, it was one of a few that fed the city. nina was just six when her hometown was surrounded by nazi forces trying to starve the city population during world war ii. translator: it was a hard time. i had a big family. only my mother and i survived. there were seven of us. everyone died. you have to feel hunger to know it. you cannot really put it in words. someone who was full can never believe someone who is hungry. correspondent: the nazi siege of leningrad lasted for nearly 900 days from 1941 to 1944, a

humanitarian disaster. people at anything they could find from pet still boiled leather. there bread ration was 125 grams for many people. bread was stretched with barley, peas, and cellulose. about one million civilians died, most from starvation. 80 years on, the horrors of the siege have become part of the fabric of the city. correspondent: this side of the street is more dangerous during artillery fire, the sign reads. during the war, it was a warning. now, one of many memorials and remnants of the siege that marked the city of st. petersburg today. nina once remembers. there are statues to the victims on the grounds of the bread factory that reminds the 86-year-old upper childhood self, she says. she feels the lessons of wartime are getting lost. translator: all of that is

slowly being worn away. we try to remind people. now, when i see loaves of bread in the dumpster, my heart fills with blood. people throw out bread without a second thought. people do not understand the sense of duty we feel for that bread, how much has gone into it. correspondent: nina's sign is carrying on that duty. he works -- mina's son is carrying on that duty as an engineer, and nina always keeps a piece of bread crest in her pocket. even today, she believes there is nothing more precious. clare: making sense of pain and trauma through art, exactly what many lebanese artists are doing. a festival taking place in frankfurt before moving to beirut next month, gives them a chance to examine the country's political and economic crisis, epitomized by the explosion that rocked the country's capital a year ago. ♪

correspondent: an afternoon like any other, joanna and kalil are strolling around the port district. it was here a year ago that an explosion killed over 200 people and left more than 6000 wounded. the blast was a consequence of corruption and government failure. >> you get out of your body in a way, and you look without believing what you are seeing. death went for us, and for many, many weeks, i cannot understand how to take the blast out of my body. >> you lose the realities, and you have to reconnect and reconfigure yourself, and to invoke your memories and history to configure yourself. correspondent: this summer in frankfurt, the festival, this is not lebanon, taking place

provides a platform for artists from the troubled country who want to show it from a different perspective and show that art is still driving. one video juxtaposes the destruction of last year with the political upheaval that began in 2019, which resulted in the resignation of the prime minister. the film ends with a poem that illustrates the power of dreams and imagination. >> that specific song is in no way dedicated to the first night of the uprising to october 17, 2019, and it speaks of kind of the commotion and overwhelming feeling that we all experienced. correspondent: but every day like in lebanon is harsh. people wait in line for the hours to get gas. electricity is only available

for two hours a day. as a shortage of clean water and medicine, every day is a struggle. >> it is like you feel a systematic destruction of everything. first, problem with the banks, then health, then education. it is like a systematic humiliation of sorts, of each one of us. >> it is a whole system. >> totally collapsing. ♪ correspondent: one choreographer has created a piece of work centered on an unexpected metaphor for the country's political dynamics. the mating rituals of flamingos. >> the performance piece started

when protests happened in beirut. there were a lot of pieces performing and these different questions were what kind of systems bring people together in these very different politically charged moments? how do you -- one question was, how do you become part of the crowd or what are the different dynamics that form whethe crowds form? correspondent: the political problems in lebanon arenlikely to be resolved for as long as the country remains a flashpoint of international conflict. one sound artist recorded air traffic above beirut. the noise created by military planes and fighter jets. the israeli military reaches lebanon's airspace up to 2000 times a year, leaving the general public in a permanent state of alarm. >> they create psychosomatic and hypertension and all kinds of effects. sometimes it is spectacular violence with missiles, it is

over your head and you don't know what is happening and sometimes it is routine violence. it is there in the background, you can always ignore it. in some respects, that is more disturbing. correspondent: beirut has been left with a deep wound. physical corruption continue to overshadow the country, but beirut has always been a savvy of culture, and its artistic creativity is flourishing as the festival in frankfurt goes to show. in october, it will move to beirut itself. clare: well, lyrics from a john lennon and yoko ono song "imagine" has been projected onto buildings in london, berlin, and tokyo, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the song's release. ♪ >> ♪ you may say i am a dreamer but i'm not the only one

i hope someday you'll join us ♪ ♪ clare: the theme track is considered some music publications as one of the greatest songs of all time. ono says the sentiment of the song is just as important as it was half a century ago. that is your news update at this hour. i will be back in a few minutes to take you through "the day." in the meantime, there is more on a website at dw.com or on social media anders behring breivikdwnews. -- social media at @ dwnews. thank you for joining us. ♪

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anchor: you are watching live from paris on "france 24." here is what is ahead on the program. i historic terror trial over the 2015 paris attacks. 20 suspects accused of killing 130 across the city. we bring you a recap of the first day. dozens of women protest in kabul , demanding representation and rights under the taliban. the new rulers have banned all protests without permission from authorities. the covid pandemic has had a devastating impact