>> this is dw news live from berlin. superpower tensions in the spotlight. u.s. house speaker defies warnings from china and welcomes taiwan's president, with support from the self-governing island that beijing claims. thanking poland in the report with russia. volodymyr zelenskyy is being

welcomed to warsaw and being promised more mig fighter jets. fighter jets in israel as -- the holy month of ramadan. viewers on pbs in the united states and all of you around the world, welcome. taiwan's president has met with u.s. house speaker kevin mccarthy, the first of this kind for decades. the face-to-face outside los angeles comes at what is technically a stopover for the president. kevin mccarthy's position makes him number three in the u.s. political hierarchy and the most senior figure to meet a taiwanese authority since 1987.

beijing claims taiwan as its own as resents -- and resents what it sees as u.s. meddling. at the end of the talks, they gave these statements. >> taiwan is a successful democracy, a thriving economy, and a global leader in health and science. and whether it is our deep commercial ties, strong people to people relationships, or shared values, our cooperation with the people of taiwan continues to expand through dialogue and exchange. >> we are stronger when we are together. taiwan strives to be a reliable partner to the world. the cornerstone for stability in the region. and a force for good. >> when former u.s. house speaker pelosi was in taiwan, china launched its largest ever

military exercise in waters around taiwan. i asked the china expert if we could expect a similar reaction. >> thank you so much for having me. i don't expect the same degree of chinese reaction. in a way, also the fact that mrs. tsai has come to the united states on a stopover and not the speaker mccarthy visiting taiwan is sort of already seen as some form of concession to the chinese. i would expect the chinese to make a couple of statements. we already see a couple of movements, maritime movements around taiwan for many ships, but i would not expect a similar scale response as we have seen when speaker pelosi visited. >> talking about tough

statements, here is china's foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to the taiwanese president's trip. >> we urge the u.s. to abide by the one china principle, not to allow transit to the u.s. and not to arrange meetings between u.s. officials. china will closely follow the developments and defend its sovereignty and integrity. >> china is demanding the u.s. abide by the one china principle that taiwan is an inalienable part of china but -- could you briefly explain the difference? >> one trend or principle that china pushes leaves absolutely no room for cooperation between democratic taiwan and other countries because they insist on chinese full sovereignty.

and whatever matter foreign government wants to discuss with regard to taiwan needs to be discussed in beijing as the sole limited representative of one china. while the one china policy does sort of accept that the general fact that there is one china, but the one china policy is much more room. it is much more ambiguous. it does include the possibility of a number of somewhat sort of lower-level contacts between taiwan, the democratic government there and the united states. that is a deep friction between china and the united states, and also european allies of the united states that also claim the one china policy instead of the one china principle. >> why is mccarthy meeting taiwan's president now? what message could he be sending?

>> it has to do with domestic politics in the united states. there is hardly any bipartisan issue left but being china is certainly one of -- being tough on china is certainly one of them. speaker pelosi has visited and sent a strong message to beijing. she has sent a message to the domestic audience that she as well as the lead democrats are really standing close with taiwan. i think speaker mccarthy wants to repeat this very strong signal, and taiwan is not just a very important domestic issue in the united states but also of utmost importance in terms of technology, in terms of the overarching rivalry between the united states and the people's republic of china. >> thank you so much for giving us your take.

she met speaker of the house kevin mccarthy. >> thank you so much. >> let's take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world. french president emmanuel macron has said europe must maintain trade and dip o-matic ties with china. he is at the start of a three-day visit with china where the war in ukraine is topping the agenda. he will meet with xi jinping to try to discourage him from supporting russia. former u.s. president donald trump has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a court in new york. he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records linked to hush-money payments prosecutors say he orchestrated. esther trump says the charges are baseless and part of a political campaign against him. the united nations has demanded the taliban immediately revoke its decision to bar women from working for the agency's regional mission.

taliban authorities have said women in afghanistan will no longer be allowed to work there. the secretary-general described it as an unparalleled violation of women's rights. ukraine's president zelenskyy has been to the polish capital, warsaw, on a rare foreign trip. poland is one of ukraine's staunchest allies in the war with russia. the polish president promised more mig fighter aircraft and to push for ukraine to join nato. >> standing shoulder to shoulder, ukraine's president on a visit to one of his country's staunchest allies. low to mayor zelenskyy was awarded poland's highest order, the warder of the dutch order of the white team. later at the tomb of the unknown soldier in warsaw. but crucially for ukraine,

poland offered to seek more security guarantees from kyiv. >> i am firmly convinced that we will succeed in obtaining such guarantees for ukraine, as an introduction to ukraine's future full membership in nato which poland strongly supports. >> warsaw is also the first nato member to send fighter jets to ukraine. four mig 29's are being delivered which brings the total to eight polish mig 29's delivered. i told president zelenskyy that we are ready to deliver another six which are undergoing maintenance. i think in the future, we will be able to deliver the rest of our mig 29 fleet to ukraine if it is needed. >> zelenskyy said he wanted poland as one of the main nations in helping rebuild ukraine.

>> an important point in our relations is the reconstruction of ukraine. it will bring our business is closer, our nations closer. it is important for us that poland be one of the main partners in the reconstruction of ukraine. >> it's a rare trip abroad during wartime for zelenskyy. a show of thanks for poland's support for kyiv. poland has taken more than a million refugees. many of whom gathered outside the presidential palace, where the two leaders were meeting. >> martel use of scuff works in warsaw and i asked where the polish-ukrainian relationship stands. >> this visit has strengthened polish-ukrainian ties. they have definitely deepened since the start of the whole

scale invasion due to the fact that the response from the polish side was bottom up, was extremely strong, and this has had an incredible impact. and sped up the relationship, which historically really had a couple of rough patches to really say the least. so this visit was extremely moving and it was another step towards the strengthening of a relationship which still has a lot of things to work over, to smooth over. but it is stronger than it ever has been in the past. >> can zelenskyy and the people of ukraine be sure of poland's full support for as long as it may take? >> well, that is the stance that is shared not only by poland but of course the united states. it is what president biden said when he came to poland twice now within 12 months, and is

currently the official stance of the western alliance that is supporting ukraine. i do believe that poland here is even a bigger supporter of ukraine compared to what could potentially happen in the future with a changing presidency, with an election in the united states. poland has come as you said in the reports, it is the staunchest ally. ukraine is guaranteeing poland its security. it is its security umbrella from a russian invasion that could potentially spread beyond its borders. it is in poland's full interest to try to provide more military support and to get other allies on board to back ukraine, because it is guaranteeing poland's security right now. >> in light of that, i want to ask about this new pledge. poland is indicating it is

indicating it wants to give away all of its mig jets. where does that leave their defense? will they leave it all in the hands of ukraine? >> poland has sped up the modernization of its army. there have been several purchases from the united states and south korea, and has pledged to spend as much as 4% of its gdp on defense spending. that is the highest level in nato. thesemig -- these mig fighter jets, i believe 14, will be replaced by a newer fleet of jets, the f-16s poland has purchased, and the f-35's. >> marta, thank you so much for your analysis. during the visit, zelenskyy told reporters the situation is very

difficult. he did not rule out withdrawing from the town should ukrainian troops risk being surrounded. military analysts expect ukraine to launch a wider spring counteroffensive. kyiv says its goal is to regain control of all its territory. >> the front line, ukrainian soldiers are dug in. it is still unclear who's in control of the city. the u.s. and other backers have you -- advised ukraine to back out, saying the cost is too high. ukraine and russia have lost huge numbers of soldiers in the battle, but ukraine insists on defending the area as it prepares for a major spring counteroffensive. >> it will happen. we are waiting. we do not know when it will happen. that's a good question. but we will be a part of it. >> we are all waiting for

equipment from the west. ours is pretty old and worn out. it breaks down quickly so we are waiting for some new equipment from our partners abroad. >> that equipment is arriving, slowly but surely. western tanks, including british challengers and german-made leopards have arrived in the country. there are also rumors that u.s. and swedish built glsdb guided bombs are already in use. these munitions fired from the back of a truck have a range of 150 kilometers, nearly double the range of the rockets ukraine now uses. that would put many more russian targets including ammunition depots in ukrainian sites. ukraine's foreign minister says foreign weaponry is critical. >> a lot is on the plate. as usually, we very much appreciate everything the united states has done, specifically in

the last months to help our army prepare itself for the counteroffensive. the biden administration has fulfilled its commitment to providing ukraine with what we need and set an example, to give an example to other allies. >> ukraine says its goal is to liberate all of its territory, including the crimean peninsula in russian hands for nearly a decade. analysts say ukraine will likely mount a major attack through the partially occupied region, aiming at the russian held city. a successful push would cut through russia's supply lines to its forces further west. whatever form the counteroffensive ends up stake e western backers want to see a defeat. >> hodges is a former commanding

general of the u.s. forces in europe and he outlined some of the considerations ukrainian military commanders have to take into account to pull off a successful counteroffensive in spring. >> thank you. my sense is that the ukrainian general staff has done a terrific job protecting information and conserving the forces that they are going to when they do inevitably launch this counteroffensive. i think the fighting was very costly but it also was necessary. the general staff could see that they were able to stop russian forces there, and to bleed them out and cause them to use a lot of resources without ukraine having to push its own armored forces in. that's what they are going to need when they launch their own counteroffensive which i would anticipate would be on a very

narrow fronts, to achieve a decisive effect much like their previous journalist just reported, to break the land bridge between crimea and the rest of russia. crimea is the decisive terrain. you could kill every russian soldier within 200 kilometers and that would not change the strategic setting, but if you liberate crimea, that changes everything. so the counteroffensive will be aimed towards the liberation of crimea and then the rest of the donbas i think comes later. >> that was been hodges speaking to dw earlier. here are some more headlines. italian media say the former prime minister burly's goni is in intensive care with heart problems. he has suffered bouts of ill health in recent years.

berlusconi leads the party which is part of the coalition government. a man wielding a hatchet killed at least four children at a kindergarten in southern brazil. several others were seriously injured. a 25-year-old man scaled the wall around this -- the preschool. the suspect later turned himself into police. israeli prime minister netanyahu is working to calm the situation following violent clashes at the mosque in julie solem. tensions -- jerusalem. tensions have escalated over clashes inside the mosque. they say they were forced to enter the building to remove people they say were rioters. this has sparked anger and allies of the palestinians accused israel of using excessive force against worshipers. >> an eruption of violence in

one of jerusalem's holiest sites, clashes broke out when they were forced to enter the mosque where masked youths had barricaded themselves armed with fireworks, sticks, and stones. this footage provided by the israeli police appears to show people setting off firecrackers. the palestinian -- says at least 12 worshipers were injured in what is described as a brutal assault by is really forces. >> in the yard, the police were firing tear gas and stun grenades. i can hardly describe it. then the police stormed in and started beating everyone, detained people and put the young men face down on the ground. and they also beat them. >> the violence spread beyond

jerusalem when palestinian militants fired rockets from the gaza strip toward israeli territory. hours later, israel shot back, launching airstrikes in gaza. >> i want to be very clear. we will hit anyone who tries to harm us. and there will be a heavy price that will make them regret any threats against israeli citizens or troops. i hope we all enjoy happy and peaceful passover. >> meanwhile, palestinian minutes tent -- militant islamist group hamas warned of repercussions. >> the resistance sent its message in gunpowder by responding to the aggression. it's a clear message to the

occupation. if this aggression continues, there will be a large, open ended war with the zionist occupation. >> the international community expressed its consult and hoped for calm but they are fearing there will be no peace this holy season. >> the dw jerusalem correspondent told us how the violence spilled over into gaza and the west bank. >> from gaza overnight, and in reaction to that, there were some barrages of mountains -- rockets being fired by militants to communities. in the gaza strip, at least 10 rockets have been fired and some have been intercepted by the defense system, according to the israeli army. hamas has called for more

protests and demonstrations, but they also understand firm reports in the media that it seems neither side wants to see an escalation at this point in time right now, but it all depends what is happening in the old city in jerusalem. >> tania kramer speaking to us earlier. february's earthquakes killed tens of thousands in turkiye and syria and left millions homeless. at least 5 million syrians need accommodation. there are emergency humanitarian shelters but conditions inside can be harsh. it is how countless families are now observing the amount -- the month aroma done. -- month of ramadan. >> the earthquake destroyed her house and she now lives in this tent. as the call to prayer comes, she

repairs to break the fast. she is like thousands whose homes have been destroyed and who can hardly afford it. i feel psychologically shattered . it doesn't feel like ramadan to me and my neighbors here. we don't feel anything. here at the shelter, we've lost everything. we have nothing left. it's hard for us to get into the spirit of the month of ramadan. everything is missing here. >> even before the quake struck, syria was facing crisis upon crisis. 12 years of war had already left the country in a dire humanitarian situation. now what was left of the ramadan atmosphere has vanished. more than half the population doesn't have enough to eat. the displaced people in this camp which includes about 250 families say they are struggling

to survive. >> last ramadan, we were all living at home, thank god. now things are different, as you see. one day the tents collapsed, another they flooded. we lost our businesses and everything in the earthquake. we are all injured. the whole family usually comes together for ramadan but now we are all scattered. >> this is the hardest ramadan for us because we've lost our families and friends, been displaced from our homes, and have moved to tents that aren't suitable and lack life necessities. >> volunteers gather in the ramadan kitchen, preparing 200 meals for those affected and displaced. whole operation is funded by donations. >> the difficulties we face include too few donated meals as

we rely on individual donations. and we are here to help our brothers and sisters who are affected by the earthquake, and who have lost their families and homes, and who are unable to get meals. we are here to help alleviate their suffering. >> resident's here hope their living conditions will soon improve. with no homes to go back to, they will probably have to live here for a long time. >> and football bayern munich have crashed out of the world cup by losing 2-1. with the score tied 1-1, jim always called for a handball. they stepped up and converted from the penalty spot. they hope to win the cup for the first time. here's a reminder of the top stories we are following at this hour. the u.s. house speaker has defied warnings from china and

welcomed taiwan's president. the meeting highlights support for the self glib -- governing island which beijing claims. volodymyr zelenskyy has thanked poland for its support. the polish president has pledged to provide kyiv with more mig fighter jets. i will be back after the break to take you through the day. tonight, we will talk to a legal analyst about the 34 charges faced by former president donald trump. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> welcome to "live from paris." trump says his indictment is marco my country and the u.s. is going to hell, he says. how ex-president trump this cashing in on the controversy over the hush money scandal. china's officials have already said