this is deja vu news live from berlin the taliban launches one of its deadliest attacks in mobs insurgents detonating a car bomb at a military base in central afghanistan killing scores of soldiers the government is accused of trying to hide the real death toll also coming up. no end in sight to britain's deadlock prime minister made failing to read the impasse and all of that over her deal to leave the new so where does britain go from here. and the world

economic forum officially opens today in switzerland where all the world leaders full coverage for me and the business team here in davos. i'm brian thomas thanks so much for joining us an attack on a military base in central afghanistan has killed scores of people the taliban is claiming responsibility but there are conflicting reports about the actual death toll ranging from at least forty five to well over one hundred the violence in mind on a chart of that's in wardak province comes despite increased efforts by the u.s. to find a negotiated end to the country's seventeen year old war. part flattened after a car loaded with explosives past three military checkpoint and day to meet it inside the compound officials say several gunmen then stormed the base opening fire at

soldiers before being gunned down in themselves. it was around six o'clock there was a very big explosion and i thought there had been an earthquake it was very strong . but it's the latest and want to speak come near daily assaults by the taliban who have been stepping up their attacks on government facilities in recent months under terror to buy the harsh winter this time the taliban were able to breach the compound security barriers by using a vehicle they had captured from the afghan military some of the injured were taken to local hospitals for treatment more serious cases were sent some fifty kilometers away to the capital capital. the government is facing accusations that its hiding the truth death toll so as to avoid further worsening morale among afghanistan's already shattered security forces. ok let's go straight to kabul now we're joined

by journalist from there all you can to give us the latest on this attack there are conflicting reports right now on the numbers killed and we're getting a little further. so the conflicting reports continue we don't have an official updated number from the government goes beyond forty something so and basically like last night i had been hearing several different figures within a few hours so initially i heard thirty than fifty than eighty and one hundred twenty one hundred twenty six so this has become a major issue now one thing we have to remember is that this is fairly common with attacks where people on the scene on the ground will say that the actual number of killed and injured were much higher than what is being reported usually though that has to do with the civilian death toll and the fact that this was an attack on the intelligence agency. again that this is raises more questions about why the real

numbers are coming out what are the exact numbers and we also have to remember that a lot of those that were killed were killed obviously in the initial blast and then also when the building collapsed in on itself people were trapped people were. such though they were they were killed while being trapped you know with fall of rubble and things like that ok i'll leave what about the timing of this attack taleban representatives were meeting with foreign diplomats and and cots are part of the u.s. initiated push for peace talks will this attack and the attempts to get a peace progress peace process going. i have. it all and attempts are going to peace process going because the one thing is this peace process is still led by the united states in the united states has made it very clear that they want out of this war at any cost at this point the other thing we have to remember is that this is not unfortunately uncommon in this war we have

seen you know the government three years has been talking about trying to get peace and talk peace with the taliban and they continue their talks on the top of one targets and at the same time in two thousand and thirteen when the taleban briefly opened their office in doha they made a very clear statement they said you know we will consider peace talks at that time i didn't go anywhere but they said we will consider peace talks and we will keep fighting. in essentially what we're seeing is a continuation of that war where both sides say that they want peace you cannot become much more official at this point from the taleban side and yet they will continue to attack each other. and to him rile with the afghan security forces has been shaky at best recently houses likely to affect that. i mean i think the morale has been an issue for years i've done reports on this several times you know and the morale comes down to many things it comes down to feeling abandoned when you come under attack and when cities are provinces or

districts are about to fall there's been several instances where security forces say they didn't get the backup and their help that they needed it it's as simple as you know not getting proper not getting paid on time not getting to leave on time if you are martyred in the fight you know not necessarily having your body deliver to your family property these sorts of morale issues have been going on for a long time. and it comes from all sides it comes from the fact that will keep you could be killed in this war very clearly and it comes from the fact that you know you while you're fighting this war you don't feel like you're being taken care of. for us from kabul thanks very much for the insights thank you. it's to india now and for the first time women have been permitted to climb a sacred mountain in the southern indian state of corolla up to now local tribes had banned females from scaling the peak but last november

a court ruled in favor of a group of women that had been battling for permission to send them out due to abuse the. joined their track as she reports they see it as a great step towards equality. it's an unusually early start for this group of mind them and. they have set out on the road trip to make history by embarking on a trek which has only been open to men so far it took them just two hours to make the trip from the city of two to one and put them to the base camp where the check will start. but it took a trio court battle street protests and countless meetings but the god of our couldn't and to a group to be permitted to make the journey. and after finally getting the permits from officials they out through. the mountains of augusta is the second highest peak and cattle and

a tracker spotted. the nearly one thousand eight hundred metre tall mountain is also believed to be the final resting place of augusta a revered hindu c.-h. . because he was taught to be celibate women have until now not been permitted to make the trek. in hinduism menstruating women are considered impure the president of the you can't use a male dominated softly to make things bad to a mainstream a woman is i don't comes over we might as individuals having personality having mind. just sex objects that women are just sex objects men straight in fact just i don't think that thought should be changed. but last november the get of the high court struck down the unofficial ban on women's entry into the spartacist. these off to the track open for visitors they've started the journey she had thought to make but all these years. she did not fight alone for shiny rajkumar.

a biker and artist this trick is fulfilling a childhood dream. about a family as a belief that if you reach the peak of this mountain you can get a second life i was curious about why that is what that is i want to see it but five years ago i found out that the track was forbidden for women why is that why a man allowed everywhere but women aren't. the members of the mountains made of cannae tribe the answer is not at all because they have held meetings i'm trying to keep women off the beak. they said it was their right to protect these traditions. or rule for equality for women and men but in hinduism every temple has its own tradition every community has its own tradition and a specific way of offering prayers. but can you believe that if a woman reaches the peak of. all the flowers and leaves it would be. it would bring

doomed to the world. that notion couldn't be further from the truth but there we are and her fellow trekkers. we have really excited. because this is our way today and we are really happy and barclaycard some of the most important thing is that we could break the barrier break divide our gender discrimination. but these very men getting to the top of this challenging terrain is secondary step by step what they really want is a change in attitudes. time for a look at some of the other stories making the news at this hour there have been violent protests in the venezuelan capital caracas that after authorities arrested a group of soldiers hoping to spark a coup against president nicolas maduro protesters taking to the streets to back demands for the doro to step down police responded with tear gas. mexico has started burying victims of friday's explosion at an illegally tap

pipeline in the state of it all go the death toll has risen to ninety one after several more victims died in hospital authorities have opened an investigation into the incident. at least fourteen people have died after two cargo ships went up in flames near the crimean peninsula fire reportedly erupted while fuel was being pumped from one tanker to another crew members jumped overboard when the blaze bred from one ship to the other. well in just a few hours' time france and germany will be signing a new friendship pact in the western german city of aachen the new treaty supplements the commitments made at the elysee palace in one nine hundred sixty three chasseur all imac on president emmanuel mccraw will be committing their two countries to increased cooperation on european union policies the laws will be working towards a joint foreign and security policy let's take a closer look at some of the key features france and germany want to remain the drivers of european integration they pledge to work towards

a unified foreign and security policies mention they also in to deepen economic ties and promote sustainable growth inside the union the two governments will also be working towards for moaning cultural ties between germany and france something that are always a deep and important between the two and this includes student exchange programs and reaching out to young people through of course digital media another goal is to curb climate change and encourage sustained inability both at home and abroad and they pledged to meet the targets set out by the paris climate accords to do that finally both governments will be fostering cross border cooperation they need to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to promote closer ties between citizens and between businesses. in a moment we'll be talking to our correspondent about the paks prospects but first let's take a look at how the relationship between paris and berlin has been evolving.

france's president i'm on your mark cohen is really speaking german and the german chancellor hind leg now called speaking french. during their mutual visit to the french german youth center last summer that would clearly among friends but it wasn't always this way. shortly before the end of the second world war french soldiers moved into something germany this after hitler had occupied and humiliated france for years. as german soldiers became french prisoners of war and it looked as if these tried and true enemies would always be at war with each other but the head of the french military troops was charles de gaulle and ten years later when he became president he had great plans while at his private country residence called on billy do that please he shook hands with west germany's post-war chancellor. and in nine hundred sixty three the two of them signed the elizee treaty of german french friendship president to gold wanted to join

forces with his german partner to become a world power and eighteen years after the end of the nazis the young west german republic wanted to return to the community of nations and to renew friendships with their european democratic allies the west germans celebrated. the key to the newfound friendship with young people who were untouched by the hatred that motivated their parents the german french youth project was founded and even today it brings together more than nine million members from both countries through its exchange program the chancellor and the president planned a common political agenda in europe and the world good friends valid ages got their star and helmut schmidt found a coalition of the seven most important industrial nations in the world the g seven . in nineteen eighty-four president francois emitter all and chancellor helmut kohl shook hands and very darn close to the graves of the first world war they wanted to

show europe but the worst enemies have become closest of allies. today germany and france continue to meet daily to discuss european policy they even cooperate militarily on weapons programs and in conflict zones such as in mali. it's an alliance that eighty years ago nobody would have thought it possible. let's talk about where this alliance is headed with me in the studio now as leader of you political correspondent good morning what's the cornerstone of this new treaty is the joint foreign and security policy that that is being focused on right now can you sketch for us what is i can tell you well obviously france and germany have always considered themselves as the driving engine of e.u. integration of the european union as a whole and at the moment there's been a lot of discussion about the european union needing to. in

a sense basically form its own army because the reason for that is that the nato is not working so well anymore because of donald trump and the euro and united states kind of withdrawing is taking a step back from europe so europe needs to do a lot of the security promises security efficiency on its own germany and france on . marching ahead forming a kind of vanguard in the european union to promote this integration in the hope that other countries in the european union will follow ok this is vanguard comes at a very high price you just mentioned a possible european union army being set up a project for the future certainly that will take a while to get to that point german parliamentarians have been very concerned about berlin ending up footing the bill yes indeed there's been a lot of concern in germany that germany being the richest state in the european union a lot of the financial burden will be resting on german showed. german soldiers on

german shoulders and in fact it has been amount of the micro who has been pushing very hard for this kind of treaty to be formed germany has been a little bit more reticent but under the circumstances at the moment where the european union is facing a lot of tension a lot of. countries in. european union want to actually take a step back from the european union and within these countries germany and france as well populism and to european sentiment is making progress in this circumstances i think both germany and france felt this was the right time the time to form this kind of treaty to sign is treated to increase cooperation rather than to allow these forces of separation to influence. policy so strongly. for now and will be back we'll be covering that signing later today here on the. it's to britain now and prime minister theresa may has been trying to break the

deadlock over breakfast on monday she outlined what was supposed to be an alternative plan after lawmakers rejected her original deal with the e.u. last week but critics say she felt offer any new ideas. mr speaker turning to if it first you don't succeed theresa may have an uphill battle on her second go at selling her brags of planning she's faced criticism for refusing to take a no deal bragg's it off the table but she said parliament held the key to solving the problem for state money the right way to rule out snooty ill is for this house to approve a deal with the european. that's it's not this government is seeking to achieve the any other guaranteed way to avoid a no deal bret's it is true though costco fifty which would mean stay in the e.u. one of the hardest issues to untangle has been the so-called irish backstop a deal to maintain an open border between northern ireland which is part of the

united kingdom and the republic of ireland which is part of the e.u. may is facing opposition to the backstop within her own government but dublin says it's essential to maintain peace in northern ireland a car bomb exploded in the northern irish city of london derry over the weekend a possible warning from militant groups in the region. may says that she is looking for a solution with regard to the back story despite the changes we have previously agreed there remain two core issues the fear that we could be trapped in it permanently and concerns over its potential impact on our union if northern ireland is treated differently from the rest of the u.k. so i will be talking to this week to colleagues in a way that can command the greatest possible support in the house and i will then take the conclusions of those discussions back to the e.u. . just who in the e.u. is willing to listen to those conclusions is an open question the block has ruled

out further concessions to the u.k. and so far plan c. is nowhere in sight. let's get our business now with helena and the i.m.f. is sounding the alarm as palsy makers gather in davos absolutely right brian you know last year the i.m.f. was calling on leaders to fix the roof while the sun was shining it doesn't really seem that the sun is shining quite so brightly now a distinctly less a domestic tone from the i.m.f. this year with the international monetary fund cutting its global growth for cost for this year it's three point five percent it is the second downgrade in three months no less in managing director christine lagarde made that announcement on the eve of the opening of the world economic forum in davos in switzerland citing unresolved trade ties a slowdown in china and a possible no deal gregg's it as reasons for the move now the theme of this he has outlined gathering of world leaders and business executives is globalization four point zero we sent our reporter in davos out to find out what that actually means.

here in the middle of davos not everyone is toeing the globalization line during the world economic forum most stores are inundated with global multinationals but this shop window continues to display exclusively swiss souvenirs regardless for a few days every january davos becomes a truly global village. it's populated by people from around the world who come here to network but globalization is facing growing obstacles a powerful nationalist politicians across the world are openly attacking free global trade but many economists still remain unperturbed. very focused on steel and automobiles but that's the old globalization but the new globalization is much more involved than actual transactions services data and that is going very strong so i'm not terribly worried about globalization going into reverse or somehow or other dying now i think it's alive and well very well. the

consensus here is that noone. rules are needed so that less people lose out in the future some w e f participants however say the whole system needs a reboot we see the number of global billionaires increasing and increasing and increasingly dominating the global economy and that needs to change so it will be clear real systemic changes to address inequality and unless we do that we're not going to be able to create another globalization my human face is the talk seems to be going in the right direction this january but some w e f participants are ready for actions to speak louder than words. and senior business editor ben bazillion is at the forum in davos he joins me now a very warm good morning to you ben i know i've heard it's less about who's there this year and more about who's not going exactly last year trump

was the big stars you know helen at this year trump is now coming he's pulled out his entire delegation to deal with the government shutdown so there's probably going to be a full floor free over the intercontinental hotel another person who's not coming is may of course to deal with breaks it will be talking to one of her predecessors tony blair later in the day about just how enthusiastic he is i'm enthusiastic about the interview at least then there's also a macaw in france dealing with his protests and another world leader mounting gaga from zimbabwe dealing with violent protests at home so the question is whether or not the world economic forum is losing relevance or if these guys all have bigger problems to deal with that are right but also i mean he will steal the spotlight if not trump. well there is a trump ian like character turning up here. to the far right president of brazil who's new on the scene and he has some very liberal economic policies the devil's

gravel lap that up the big question is whether or not he's going to follow through on those policies within his first term or any of his terms and then there's a big question mark over the outlook of twenty nine hundred twenty nine t. and there are lots of concerns and i've spoken to the forums president big brown day about whether or not things are going to get worse before they get better. i think there is a real risk that the oregon the see a continuation of a slowdown in the global economy we are also facing possible trade wars but also the global death has increased a lot it is in fact no higher than it was before the financial crisis in two thousand and eight what about the world's top two economies china and the u.s. things could get ugly for them the u.s. economy is still growing quite substantially. u.s. has been true it's the second longest growth period since the second world war and

it is still creating a lot of jobs when it comes to china we saw numbers today where china has the lowest industry all growth in their production in eighteen years so i think we're seeing a slowing down there but what we are worried about is that also to political. competition and possible trade wars can have negative impact on the global growth and the less global growth those jobs and less well for talking about who gets invited and who does actually turn up to the world economic economic forum what about people like you where sanctioned russian oligarchs how do you decide on whether or not it's fair to invite someone or not as you know the world economic forum is an international organization for public private corporation and we in white people from governments all order world also business people

but of course we make sure that we don't end up in situations where business people come in difficult situations because they're dealing with sanctioned people and etc but we don't go into those discussions about unilateral sanctions what about regular people how do you include the rest of the world in something like a form. so the world economic forum is i think the foremost multi-stakeholder organization in the world so it's true we have three thousand participants here in doubles the leading c.e.o.'s of the world but also sixty had all states and garments from all different governments but you also have the leader of the civil society organizations that are really the most impactful ones in the world and you also have young people we have social entrepreneurs we have faith leaders we also have head of universities and faculty as faculty so it's really

reflecting. you know in a good way the reality is. the president of the world economic forum that and all team is in davos bring you all the latest from the annual meeting of the world economic forum over the next few days i'll just remind another top story that we all following for you the taliban has attacked a military base in central afghanistan it's still unclear how many people have been killed one report said the death toll could be as high as one hundred and eighty. there were nice strong about him plenty more coming up at the top of the hour of course all the latest is available on our web site that is d w dot com thanks for joining. the to.

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