this is, is common, but in the past decade, women wrestlers have broken barriers to both international sporting korea's protest . her see sexism is ramp into an indian sports where there are few women in leadership roles to happy bought sadie. look, a lot of girls see their future in sports so they have all come from margin lazy, poor families. and we take sports as a measure of mobility. and if they are subjected to this kind of harassment or b hall, can we keep quiet? that's why we have come forward to support them. hm. yes, it backs up. the government has asked the federation to respond to these allegations. a national coaching camp has also been cancelled. these athletes are determined to have their voices heard and said they will keep protesting till authorities take action against the federation chief, pardon him at the al jazeera new delhi. ah, no, without his era,

these are our top stories. nationwide strikes against present manual microns proposed pension reforms are underway in france. the government has announced plans to raise the retirement age by 2 years to 64 public transport schools and refineries are affected by workers walking off the job. but a smith has more from the protests, most french people acceptor agree that the has to be some sort of reform for pension system because to 70 percent or maybe even more according to some polls or are against the type of reform. emmanuel macro wants to impose that is increasing retirement to 64 from 62. they want other options explored, for example, increasing employ contributions or taxing the super rich. not 12 of francis biggest unions have combined total of lead this process started. so that was unusual. unions rarely rely, rarely united the gold cup. final match is underway in the rocky, cynthia of boswell,

despite all people being killed in the st. pete outside the stadium earlier. israeli forces have killed 2 palestinians during arranging the occupied west bank. there was shot in a refugee camp of the northern city of jeanine thursdays, violent take the number of palestinians killed by israeli forces this month to 17. and he government protesters from across peru are gathering in the capsule lima for 2 days of mass demonstrations. they won't present inability to resign, and her predecessor patrick castillo to be released from jail. more than 40 people have died since the nationwide protesters started after castillo is ousted in december. ukrainian president vladimir zalinski is calling on europe to show more age urgency in supplying arms to his country. was speaking after meeting european council president charles michelle was visiting keith. actor alec baldwin will face an involuntary manslaughter charges over the film set, shooting in 2021. boardrooms plenty. a gun on the set of the film rust when it went

off, wounding and killing simmer talk. refer helena hutchins and he was government is due to hit its $31.00 trillion dollar borrowing limit on thursday night could set the stage for political showdown between the biden administration and politicians on capitol hill. the update. now, with all the headlines, i'll be back with more news after inside story. ah, germany is under pressure to supply ukraine to this most modern battle times of my germany's reluctant, while tank scene is so crucial in the war against russia, this is inside story. ah.

hello and welcome to the program. i'm nick clark. russia invasion of ukraine is nearing its 2nd year and it's been a returned to conventional warfare in europe. something that a would have been unimaginable 12 months ago while the death hall mounts the supplies military aid to keith has become an international political battle in itself. germany is under pressure to allow the supplier, its modern leopard 2 tanks to ukraine. the new defense minister gave little away in his 1st meeting with his u. s. defense, extra counterpart, lloyd austin. and he's off to negotiation all cardiac cindy's and signed as often during history. but especially during these times, germany and the u. s. are standing together when acting, but also during the concrete question i log in, it may be the tank zine, the patriot air defense on. so multiple rocket launcher garcia. german systems are

proving itself in ukraine. what many? well, political and business figures have been me see at the world economic form in devils where the issue of german tanks for ukraine has been hotly debated both on stage and on the sidelines. our diplomatic correspondent james bay's report on the discussions the world economic forum, the doubles looks at all the issues of the world, but among the e. u. a nato leaders here, a lot of the discussions have been about ukraine, of course, and about weapons for ukraine. presidents lensky, address the world economic forum by video link, he called for more air defense, more tanks and the focus. it's been very much on those tanks and very much on germany. germany has a main battle tank called the leopard too, but it's not just in german stocks. germany has sold those tanks to many of the e u and nato countries. some of those countries, notably poland, would like to give some of that tanks to ukraine. but under the export regulations, when germany sold them, they have to get german permission at that permission has not come so far. so

a great deal of pressure on the german chancellor la schultz who was here in boss. he was asked specifically about the leper to tanks. he dodge the question. he said that germany had provided a great deal of weaponry in the 1st year of this war. he said it would operate in lock step with its allies. and i think that means very much the united states, as well as the other nato allies. and of course, the us hasn't said it's abrams main battle tank all you that to ukraine because it says it would be difficult for the ukrainians to operate in the terrain. that exists on the ground in ukraine. chancellor shots also saying that he wants to avoid any cost of food all out war between nato and the nato members and russia. and so everything now moves, i think, after all, the discussions all this week that have been taking place, a devils to ramstein that important meeting of the u. s. airbase in germany, where defense ministers will be meeting to decide what now to give to ukraine. a

james based with that update from doubles. so let's take a closer look at the specs of the leopard to tag. it's been upgraded several times since it was launched in $979.00. currently, it's used by 13 europe in armies. elaborate to its violent for its maneuverability, it's lighter than other comparable models. the tank is recent battlefield experience. neither forces in afghanistan use them, and left tongues. germany as applied to other nations require approval from berlin before they can be re exported to a 3rd country. and that means the tank cannot be sent to ukraine without germany's permission. the alright, let's bring in, i guess. now join us live from wilcher and the united kingdom, retired british major general author dinero. he's also a former middle east adviser to the u. k. ministry of defense from london dummy sack the most so is a senior lecturer, insecurity and development at kings college,

london. and from berlin, please say ben harris is joining us, the founder and editor in chief of b. e in telling, use a warm welcome to you all general dinner. if i may start with you, because i want to examine just why the such intense focus on this issue of tangs, one might think that tank is a part of a bygone era sally to a layman anyway, because in this age of long range precision missiles, you think that they weren't as potent as they once were, but i presume that's not the case is still very valid on the battle ground. yes, very about it. please bear in mind the listening to a very ancient chad general and you need to take over the printer so. so having tanks on the battlefield contributes to what we call the all arms battle. and it's integration of that or arms battle that makes an attacking force

or a defending force, much more potent, the you christians have got some good tanks. but, but as we have seen that they're not that much better than the, the russians. and we have seen how damaged the russians tanks could be. with this latest and to turn weaponry, the ukraine has been supplied with these modern tanks, particularly the leper the challenger. and the brands all have very sophisticated protection against most of these modern weapons and having them on the battlefield in support of the infantry and under the long range support of artillery and is a game changer. right? again, change in what quantity general would they be required to be a game changer would you say is in reference to the very

gallant off of britain, squadron of tanks 40 in tanks. and we, we have to look at much greater numbers. way back when we, we went to to rescue to age, to liberate kuwait from 7 percent army. we had the allies had thousands of tanks. then the british had a $150.00. so the offer of 14 is, is very symbolic. and we were 1st doing it, and we hope this might pull the others in. and i hope it does because 14 is not enough in data. it's donna tell, i think i'd be right in saying the times would be the most powerful direct weapon provided to ukraine. so far, even though at the moment the numbers for some way short what is required certainly

by ukraine i. yes, of course to that we have to are good that he mars, which have proven very effective sort of long range itinerary systems. so i think we shouldn't forget about about those this way. and what is interesting is how much they're going to time the tides in your brain favor. so i think with that, he's clearly shows that when times or other sort of western middle monday deliver to ukraine, it can really have an impact on the backing to that's why the delivery of these times is so relevant. i'm done and i would agree with the previous speaker that it really would have to sort of assist you crane and trying to sort of carry out more effective offensive operations and also be able to operate more effectively in defensive positions as are kind of also some kind of more mobile to resource and at the moment i think this is very important and that it also comes together waste

addition to the around munition and also posted me you know, 5 digits so that the whole combination of forces can operate in a more effective offensive manner. right. and been ours. what about the russian capability? what would it mean for the russian side of things if you know convoluted convoys of tant, joined a ukrainian offensive, how would it change things? do you think? i think it would be significant as a general state, if enough tanks were sent in a, in number 2 to the right appeal. i mean, you have to put this into the context. was this coming up now? and the battle now has sort of ground down to estimates. i mean, in september we had this remarkable offensive cancer offensive by the ukrainians in the hockey region. and they broke through the russian defenses and then went like a knife through butter, pushing them back, liberating hundreds of launches. and then shortly at the end of that month they, they recaptured kennestone as well. but now now the fighting is come down,

the russians done their partial mobilization. that brought 300000 fresh troops into the, into the field. and the front line has stabilized. and the epi center, the fighting now is around modes and the best region. and so that which apparently is just fall into to the russian side. but that side it has been going on for months and we're talking in a couple of meters a day if that and it goes backwards and forwards. and so the $22.00 sites and that butting heads, but nobody has the advantage. if you were to bring in these powerful times, these offensive weapons, then that would make a huge difference if you bring them in enough number. because then you can master the go on the offensive and attack the russian defensive and push them back. poland the president do the devil yesterday called on the west and a 100 of these leopard twos. and i think around to thousands of them scattered throughout europe a holiday has about $250.00. and

a 100 liquids on the field would make all the difference. because again, as the general said, that they're about 20 tons heavier than anything the russians have got the $270.00 choose, which is the workforce of the russian side. and the arm around them is significant, and russia doesn't have things like the american made javelin. that the gradient in order to take these tanks out so that they would be a real game changer. and i think that's what people are looking at is like getting frustrated this deadlock 100000 people have died on both sides with no one making any progress. and so the ukrainians is saying right enough with the defensive weapons, with the patriots, with the javelins that you sent us. these have been very useful. give us some offensive weapons so that we can actually win this war and push the rushes back over the 1990. horrible, and it's ok and general say we have been alluded to it just then, but any big scale offensive would, would need by ukraine is would need to be backed up by air and ground support. right?

yes. that. and of course that tank gives the ground force is maneuverability, which is benz just told us, you know, has ground to a halt in order to maneuver. we've got to have mo bile, well protected, hard hitting fall apart, and then you can deliver that is the tank. and the leopard is, is perfectly formed for that one. and of course it's handed by so it's, it's not going to take long to get it into ukraine and, and it is relatively easy to operate compared to some aspects, certainly of abraham's and, and of challenger. but it's the maneuverability and the protection that, that affords this berry hard hitting bitter kit. that makes it such a potent force. all right,

so that's the kind of the battlefield landscape. don't tell me. why do you think germany has been just so reticent or reluctant in committing to providing these german maintain why it's important to know that we're not to come primarily from the chancellor on a show. so i think she arbors and his party are very worried about about an explanation about the potential conflict between rec, russia, on may to germany being involved in that. and now i think of it exaggerated because, you know, germany even start by authorizing the delivery of those countries which have them already. and that wouldn't necessarily involve germany itself. there is a lot of concern in german, you know, you know, in certain orders as being seen as being sort of part of an actual corner friends too. but i think that is a really wrong approach. but there is, i think, a very strong in a way,

sort of tradition in germany and what is interesting on upshaw's, united youth really was part of a passive tradition. and, and he was sort of very much of time nato politician. although, you know, he evolved, allowed to go out, you know, he's political career. and as we know, he gave his famous speech on our, you know, and at the start of the war in ukraine where he talked about to, you know, how german you had to change in school. and again, the face of the russian fact. but at the same time, i think there is a very strong reluctance, and i think it's probably looking at public opinion which is slowly shifting on there is increasing support for so called freeing the leopards. but i think that, you know, deep inside, i think it's very reluctant to, to see germany because of its history during the 2nd world war. and also during the cold war. and germany was divided, occupied by the soviet union. and germany could be a potential see a war, you know,

that they can repeat it. so there is a very sort of ingrained deep historical sort of narrative that a strong in certain quarters in germany. that in a way putting a break. but i the keys, i get that child increasing number pressure from inside his own condition by numbers of the green party on the p. yeah. let me just bring, been in those contradictions here on that because you have this kind of this german reluctance. but i mean, i had a back in february last year. i love schultz was, you know, dancing this historical turning point for jimmy to run puppets defenses, which many said that was something extraordinary since they hadn't done that since world war 2. and even today we're hearing about the new german defense minister talking up, germany's need to strengthen defenses. yeah, but the key word there is defense. and what we're talking about here is

a war with russia, which is, you know, the tank offensive weapons. and let's step back and understand the context. this why i mean, for the service was germany has this history, i mean, uniquely, will most uniquely in europe is for the russian and lost and doesn't want to repeat that experience. i mean, they're more sensitive than anybody else. but the overriding goal of nate, so in general, in germany in particular, is not to help the grain is beat. the russians 1st implement its 1st and foremost is to prevent a world war to prevent a direct conflict between 9 so and russian. no one wants to go there, and that's one of the reasons why we've been pouring in defensive weapons in order to make sure that you lose this will, which is not quite the same thing, is making sure it wins this war. and we've now reached the point with the stalemate where everyone is getting frustrated, hundreds and thousands of people die. so there's now a push to abandon that and to give,

give ukraine some offensive weapons. thresh changed violence. and the reason why gemini, in particular, is so nervous because it's unpredictable how the remnant will react. i am so far putins indicated that he hasn't got a problem with so supplying defensive weapons in so much as russia still has the advantage on the field both in terms of artillery and men and that he can just grind the ukrainians down. and if you put offensive weapons to change the, the type of the war, and so your crimes advantage then all the new really scary possibilities, including tactical nuclear weapons appear. and that's really what's behind this hesitancy. and it's not just germany. i mean, young spoken book from nate, said right, but again, it's conflict. our top priority is to avoid level 3. second priority is to help you train defend itself, and then it's doing an amazing job. something that nobody was expecting. right. general denart do. you can concur with that. all you know, there is the other argument that defeat for ukraine,

that in itself could lead to well, 3 yes, it couldn't, it's gonna be difficult to predict which way it's going to fall. and whether the supply of these tanks, which are in the main m, offensive, but also a huge and useful in any form of defensive posture, is going to affect that balance. and i'm, you know, i'm going to have very difficult to predict that. i'd say bend, we talked about the united states and germany themselves said that the u. s. has been sent to the tanks and if they do, then we will at why do you think the u. s. is reticent as well? it's the same says, i mean nobody wants to start to work with russia because then, you know, it will becomes extremely unpredictable and becomes extremely scary with the

exchange between the major powers and the americans to have also follow this policy of supplying largely defensive weapons and the peer pressure amongst europeans, and you've got some countries in europe like the polish and the baltic states in particular that are very anti russian, very pro, you try and want to see these heavy weapons put in and others are sitting on the fence and people are hungry, of course, are friends with but for the americans, i mean show, says is trying to pass the buck. he's getting a lot of pressure from all the other members, particularly the more aggressive ones to send these tanks and germany has the largest defense sector in europe. and so everybody's got german weapons and you can explore and she kind of that jam mission. and she'll said this week, i think it was just yesterday that if the american send the abraham tanks their times, then germany will follow suit. and so he's carson the, about the americans,

but then the americans said, and i think your reporter said that they're reluctant to send that thanks to because they're not suitable in the terrain. you know, we're talking about huge, flat agricultural and this is like the perfect to right for, for times. and i do more of a necessary because this a little cover. so it sounds a bit like an excuse and again, on the english side of the u. k. side rather than they sent 14 times, which is a gesture, like the general said, you have to send a much, much more $5000.00 times with make a difference. so we're not seeing that too. so everyone's pulling their punches. i think it ramstein tomorrow. what we'll see is that show so cave to the pressure that he's on the. but there will be a token gesture of a dozen methods that will be sent from poland site in order to take the pressure off to, to do something more to help you financed. but again, not going far enough, not sending it a 100 times. that would actually make a big difference on the battlefield because of the fear of provoking russia to go

to the next level. doing mass mobilization, putting a 1000000 people into the field and over running fine. and then start taking imo dumps in poland. really stream reactions like that and don't tell i have just coming back to this point about a potential russian to feed, especially in the light of what the, the former russian president, dimitri medford. it has said that the defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional ball may trigger a nuclear war one, i think that they've been beckoning, but use of nuclear war now for several months, even before the start of the war, which was talking about this rates. if there was an attempt on, on crimea by the ukraine. yeah, i was, i think, you know, we have to take that into consideration, but it shouldn't be a sort of a sense to terra and i think that we have to be cautious. but i think that would be highly unlikely that russia sort of starts sort of a major nuclear exchange or wait, wait there waste. i mean there is also

a producer for start to nuclear weapons, but i mean what they really achieve. and i think that the americans have made it clear that if there is a use of tactical nuclear weapons in ukraine, the americans are major, would intervene even with conventional forces on the other, wouldn't be a very high risk to the regime of president for team. so i think that are often, many of the statements are in 2 sets, but they have to be taken seriously. i'm at the previous ecos notate, you know, the question of escalation is in everyone's mind. so you know that we caution, but at the same time, you know, we now have to consider that we are turning point because russia is ready to mobilize a very high number of, of so here is it is engaging its own, its entire sort of economic infrastructure and industrial infrastructure towards the war effort, the production of tanks that you know,

and other times of me trick reach me that could be a potential use for very much to russia in the back and see ok. we just run out of time. we want to finally come to a general janera setting all these munitions to ukraine. it crosses my mind that it's not just depleting. countries of their own defense capability and just make the world a more dangerous place in that sense to i didn't think so. what i read is important here is the speed of decision making because there's no doubt that to change the temper of this conflict and to get it resolved. we need to support the ukrainians with tanks and the american consent as in, in smaller numbers. because clearly the distances and also the training on the brands is more difficult. the british already planned to send a squadron and the, the, the real ox is for the leopards to be supplied by the various countries who got them

. because they're on the borders ready to go and they are much easier ready to operate. alright, well what's closely how this pans out in the coming days, we have to leave that. thank you to all our guests after dinner. don't meet us at the most and been ours, and thank you to watching. you can see the program again. anytime by visiting a website, al jazeera dot com and for further discussion, go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash a j inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter. handle is at a j insights to remain the clock. the whole team here is the me ah,

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