ah ah ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin to night. nato says russia is not pulling back. that means nato is beefing up. dado had yen stilton begged, says the alliance plans to create new valid groups along its eastern borders to deal with european securities. new normal. also coming up tonight in germany, plans to return to normal. after 2 years of the pandemic, the country looks set to lift most coated 19 restrictions next month, and

a deadly de loops in brazil, flooding and mud slides kill dozens in the hills, north of rio de janeiro was the berlin film festival prepares to award its top prize in just minutes. the jury will announce this year's winner. for best film we will take you live to the red carpet, to find out which film took the coveted golden babe. ah, i'm burned. gov. it's good to have you with us on this wednesday. russia says that it is pulling back some of its forces from the border with ukraine today, the u. s. a. nato, who said the opposite is happening. the head of nato says, satellite images show, russia is moving critical military units closer to the border. and in a sobering assessment of the russian threat to european security,

the new normal nato announced plans to create new battle groups in its eastern european members. this is dolton beg, spoke to reporters to day after a meeting of native defense ministers in which they affirmed their commitment to members in eastern europe. awesome. alice, welcome all diplomatic efforts. and there are signs from moscow. dr. diplomacy should continue. but so far, we do not see any sign of the escalation on the ground nor withdrawals over troops or equipment. this may of course change. however, what we see today is that russia maintain some massive invasion force ready to attack. or let's go to brussels now. our correspondent terry schultz is standing by . she's been covering today's events at nato headquarters. good evening to you, terry. so the head of nato to day. yet stoughton burke,

he said that this constant threat by russia to european security is now the new normal. so what is neither going to do about i think they're hoping this is not the new norm old, but with russia continuing to send forces to the border with ukraine. as you heard, as secretary general styles and berg say, there need a feel like it doesn't have any choice. and so what it, what a defense ministers are discussing here and with what has actually been discussed to now for, for weeks leading up to this meeting is that, for example, in the coming weeks france would lead a new battalion in romania. and there may be other presences like that established in other eastern european countries. the baltic states, of course, are getting a troop reinforcements from the u. s. the u. k. and other countries, poland the same. and as long as russia continues, it's build up very near the borders of nato. nate is going to continue to do the same thing. so i think stilton berg was also warning the kremlin. this is the

normal. you have created the opposite of what you said. you wanted, but here we are. yeah, here we are. and i'm wondering how concerned is nato, which is a defense of alliance. how concerned is it that this build up will be seen by moscow? is yet another threat to russian security? well, brand, every one knows the kremlin playbook by now, i can virtually guarantee that it will say that these new deployments in romania and other eastern european countries are yet more proof that nato is fermenting aggression against russia. of course, that is not the case. and nato will repeat this over and over. there were none of these enhance forward presence. battalions in the baltic states in poland before 2014, when russia went in and a legally annexed part of ukraine, the crimea region. so all of these build ups by nato have been at because of moscow's actions and the ones that will be heading now to other eastern european countries are the same. but you can guarantee that moscow will definitely play it that way. in moscow wants

a promise from nato that ukraine will never joined the alliance. we know that that type of promise is not going to come from data. is there anything that the alliance can offer the crim one that would maybe satisfy hooton's demands? the kremlin says time and again that this pledge that ukraine would never be allowed to join nato must be binding. and of course, as you said, this is a red line. this will never happen. but even for it to be suggested that nato needs to offer moscow something in return for them. backing down on this build up is something that nato rejects. they have offered in writing time and again to moscow to have that negotiations over other things that matter to the kremlin troop of the size of, of troop presence in other parts of nato territory exercises. other things that they work together on. they want to continue working on, for example, safety exercises in the arctic, things that do matter to russia,

but all of which have been frozen in this time of extraordinarily high tension. but a moscow, although it says that it has prepared a response to nato on its offer of more talks. no letter has arrived yet in nato's mailbox. as far as i'm told to result in brussels tonight, going through the story and checking the mail for steri. thank you. ukraine's president vladimir zalinski to they urged his fellow citizens to come together in solidarity as millions continued to endure the threat of a russian invasion in a day of unity, a drip she val, that ukraine will fight back against any russian attack. oh, a show of national pride. as russian troops remain on the border, the ukrainian president called for a day of unity, encouraging people to come together. we are all united by all wish to live, to live in peace, to live a happy life with all families,

parents and kids. we have the full right to all of this because we at home here in ukraine. many joined marches to show their solidarity. it moves with seem driven, i think we only to gather at such time so as not to forget that we are the only united we need to go out in the street on such days, especially amid this political situation. doctor e exit has no, i don't think the russians are going to withdraw. i don't have faith in biden's promises. the best way to protect ourselves is to stay united as one country, as if it were the 3 the scar. zalinski is keeping his troops united by attending military drills in revenue near the bell heresy, and border where soldiers continue to prepare for a potential attack. despite the show of force, ukraine is calling for more support from nato and western allies. liomas' lucia was

knew what it would be for us. the support of western countries is much needed and important and the weapons, ammunition and protective equipment are enhancing. our defense capacities will sylium be enable us to react to threats effectively on a foot move not around. who was the muslim rosa on the day that the u. s. warrant of an invasion. d w correspondent mathias billing a is reporting from where the drills are being staged. it is, of course, no coincidence that these drills are happening on the day where many were since services have predicted an incursion. ukraine is now making the most of the attention. it is getting the people of ukraine are relieved that the feared russian invasion didn't materialize on wednesday. but nato and the u. s. maintained that the threat is high with europe security at risk. when next month's most covered,

90 restrictions here in germany will be lifted to day. the german chance are off. sholtes and germany's 16th state leaders agreed to a gradual step by step plan to lift most pandemic restrictions. now it comes amid falling corona virus infections and a rise in vaccinations with almost 3 quarters of the population. now, having at least 2 shots, germany will follow a 3 step plan to gradually remove what the chancellor calls a large part of the current restrictions by march 20th. yet it germans must keep wearing face mask and take precautions. because as he said, the pandemic is not over. we're joining me now is andrew allman. he is a member of the german parliament for the business friendly, free democrats. he's also a medical doctor by training dr. allman. it's good to see you again today. germany, germany decide to ease most of these covered restrictions by mid march. does this send the right signal in your opinion, to those who are still unvaccinated?

well, we really have to differentiate what measures are being done here. first of all, the only crone infection rate here in germany is starting to decline. our health care system is not overwhelmed. so we can lift up those restrictions that we put up there to prevent further severe diseases. however, we have to be aware that by the end of the year of this year, there might be another wave of infections and severe illnesses that could overwhelm or health care system. and nevertheless, how to prevent this kind of situation is only through vaccination. and being fully vaccinated, which means at least 3 jeff, that you need to have that immunity to tackle this virus. because if the pending isn't over yet, you are an infectious disease specialist. so let me have you put that handle and right now force. do you think that what we're doing right now is following the

science with this step by step lifting of restrictions? of course, this is very challenging. i do appreciate your question because we have to differentiate what we do in hospitals, where we need to put a strict prevention measures to, to actually protect our patients from other infections. however, in daily life, we also have a constitution that has to be followed by rules in our constitutionally relies on the self responsibility of each individual. however, this situation might change once a system is in danger and that will be our health care system. i do understand that in the hospital we react differently as we do in public. however, everybody should be aware by now that we are tackling a very severe virus and this could cause severe infection. and everybody actually should know that vaccination is the way out of the situation. you belong to

a group of parliamentarians who support a vaccination mandate for people over the age of 50. why is this a better solution than a general vaccine such as the one that we see in australia? let me correct you a little bit. ok has our, are in. what we want to do is actually a 2 step situation. we want to actually mandate the informed consent. that means that everybody who is not vaccinated as of yet should be seen by a professional healthcare profession. ideally, a physician and the vaccination should be explained. and at the same time, this person has the possibility being vaccinated. and this will be the 1st step, and once we see that the vaccine rates in germany have increased, especially by age groups, we will decide by the september, for example, if those rates are high enough, then we do not need

a mandatory vaccination if those rates are not high enough, we do need a mandatory vaccination, and we want to be very focused on those groups or are very volatile. and these are the people above the age of 50 if they're not vaccinated because those are the patients that are on the i see them being are on the respirator. all right, i'm, but you elaborated on that force. it's important to understand the distinctions, especially moving forward, mr. andrew allman, an infectious disease specialist, a member of the german parliament, the buddhist dog, dr. home. and we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. thank you to for the prospect of fewer rules and restrictions that is music to the ears of club goers and club owners. here in the german capital for linds famed night life has been hit, especially hard by pandemic restrictions. it feels like light at the end of the tunnel. so these 2 nightclub manages with coded 19 restrictions

set to be lifted. the l g b t clubs, foods is getting ready to re open. it's a schooling spring now, and after 2 years it's now time to open up again. no, you not us because we and the employee such what. so waiting to get started, but also because of our guess, it's unimaginable to go to years, not being able to go for a dance, and berlin said, come foster. this is what it used to look like. actually, before the pandemic closed it door. club culture is a big part of balance identity. and one of the main reasons, tourists visit berlin is slowly coming back to life. covet 19 case numbers are falling, and visitors are returning to the city. new changes to germany's pandemic rules main. they'll be able to visit shops, no matter where vaccination or recovery status. bed masks will remain mandatory in

doors. from early march, visitors can present and negative test results to answer, museums, restaurants and bars. proof of vaccination or recovery from period maintain, no longer needed sick clubs, the rules will be slightly different that they will be allowed to re open and guess must show a negative test results and vaccinated over covered or the classroom. but it's not entirely clear to us at which capacity can we open, will get me to wear a mask in doors and maintain social distancing. because that's something that doesn't work in a club. for now, preparations are under way to bring these rooms back to life again. or the german corona virus. developer by on tech has unveiled a mobile vaccine production unit that has meant to bring vaccine manufacturing to africa. this year. the facilities are actually made of shipping containers by on tech says that it will begin establishing

a mobile center in rwanda or synagogue. first, by the middle of 2022. ganna is also likely to get a facility. the unveiling was attended by the heads of government of those 3 nations as well as the chief of the world health organization. a boy on tech has been criticized for refusing to open its patents to other manufacturers, but it said to day that it would not pursue legal action against breaches of those pats are correspond to christine, what she covered the presentation of by on takes new production units today, she tells us more about the company's latest move. less than one percent of vaccines that are distributed in africa are actually produced on the continent. and that's just one illustration of the extent to which africa relies on other countries for the supply of medicines. now this initiative by the german pharmaceutical biotech is effectively the export of many labs. these are shipping containers fitted with the technology and the equipment needed to manufacture

vaccines locally. it's not the pasent waiver that many in the global south have been calling for, but it has been hailed as a significant step in terms of progress towards getting africa to be able to produce more medicines. locally on the continent, the presidents of ghana of cynical offer, wanda visited the biotech facility here in the german city of marburg. and they said they were pleased with what they sought just to give you an extent of what the situation is right now in the pandemic. we have heard a lot from people in africa about the hoarding of vaccines as we speak less than 10 percent of africans are fully vaccinated. compared to countries are germany, where i am today, where most adults have received at least 3 jobs of the vaccine. now, this is not going to address immediately the vaccine inequity on the continent, but it's also throwing forward to other diseases that we have on the continent was i'm talking about diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. so groundbreaking,

i will soon begin in these 3 african countries, which are due to receive these containers. and we will start seeing production happening within 12 months of that. that was christine moon, while they are reporting. let's take a look now at some of the other stories that are making headlines. this our, the european union's highest court, has ruled that brussels can cut funds for member states that disregard democratic standards. the case has major implications for poland and hungary. both countries are accused of undermining the rule of law. they could now lose millions of euros. and e, you recovery fight. embassy international says degree and fighters deliberately killed civilians and gang draped dozens of women and girls in ethiopia, as i'm horror. region, previous investigations found evidence of abuses committed by all sides in the year long civil conflict. a u. s. gun manufacturer that made the rifle that was used in one of america's deadly of school shootings as reached in historic settlement with

the families of the victims. remington arms was agreed to pay $73000000.00 to relatives of those children who were killed in the 2012 sandy hook mass in brazil, flooding and mudslides had killed at least $58.00 people in the city of patropolis . that's north of rio de janeiro, nearly a months worth of rain. a month's worth of rain fell on the city in just 3 hours. the disaster has left hundreds of people homeless. the death toll is rise. desperately digging in the search for survivors through mud and debris, houses were dragged down this hill by a mudslide. people could be heard screaming for help traps in their destroyed homes . the mud slide was set off by heavy rains that hit the city of patropolis in a mountainous area of rio de janeiro state. the firefighter department said more

than $25.00 centimeters of rain fell in the region within 3 hours. that's almost as much as during the previous 30 days. the area had already seen hundreds of deaths after heavy rainfall in 2011 brazilian president jane bull scenario was visiting his russian counterparts bloody me. putting in moscow, expressed his condolences and said he instructed his ministers to deliver immediate support to those affected level. at least 180 soldiers are working in the area to help with the search and rescue efforts. authority say that rescue and recovery operations are still ongoing. there are fears that the current the toll could rise further. at the beijing winter olympics climate noel has won. france there 1st alpine ski gold metal. the 24 year old was in 6 place after his

1st run, but returned with a bang and scorched the ice river course. in a stunning 2nd run when the men slalom event and claim the gold med in olympic hockey, the united states was eliminated in dramatic fashion in the quarter quarter finals by slovakia. take a look at this with just 43 seconds remaining in regulations lubbock, he scored a tying bill to bring the game into overtime. the game was ultimately decided in a shoot out with slovakia as goalkeeper savvy all 5 shots, mikey wolfy, sweden, who knocked out canada in the semi font. now before we go, a story that shows you should never underestimate a man in his fifties. the greatest server who has ever lived kelly slater. here, he's over 50 folks. he is competing in a world surf league event at the age of 50. he celebrated the milestone just days after winning at the famous pipeline event. that incredible feat means that this

event at sunset beach is not just part of some sentimental retirement to where it means that slater he 1st one, the world title back in 1992 goes into the new surf season. as the number one ranked surfer in the world, ready to show the youngsters, how are you really do catch away? alright, the berlin international film festival is about to announce the award winners for this year. our reporter scott roxborough. he is at the barely now let's go to him now scott: i mean i should we have a drum roll? do we know who has won the most coveted? the golden bear award? yes i do because the just happened right behind me at the inside the ban alcohol and my shannon who's the jury president just announced the golden bear winter of this year 2029. and it is 20. 22. my god. i'm so excited it's, i'll caught us at

a spanish film from a carla simone. fantastic, i happy so i'm so excited about this film a color simone, a. her film a caught us which is a story of a peach farming family in catalonia, on has one of the golden bare. it was my absolute favorite film this year, and i never pick the same film as the jury. so i'm absolutely over the moon about this. i also am a seaman a her and she made her debut here in berlin just 5 years ago with her 1st film. the summer of 1993, which one the 1st the very 1st feature award. so for her to come back to us 5 years later, when the top prize here is nothing short of a standing really wow graduations to a one that you'll be hearing a lot more of carla simone. what scott, why did you not think that this was going to win the golden beer? well, just because i liked it i, it tends to be the case at any time. i love a film, the jury hates it and vice versa. so i never bat on the a golden bear because i'm always wrong. but this year i happened to be in sync with

a m nitro milan, i guess a, he and i apparently have some sort of connection or he just has very good taste in films as i do in a case. this was my absolute favorite. um and i think it's a really amazing, amazing movie, and i hope that this award here will allow it to travel around the world. the billing all of the film festival is always known. we're pulling out some surprises . were there any surprises among the winners? um, well another one, a surprise for me because i really liked it again. um it was the um, the best performance war. this is a gender neutral acting, a prize has given out here in berlin and went to a meltdown captain, who is a german turkish actress. i'm better known, actually here in germany as a comedian. but this is our 1st dramatic role in a in robina coronado versus george w bush. i'm and he or she plays a sort of an erin brockovich type character based on a true a story of woman who fought for 5 years to get her son released from guantanamo bay

prison. it's very touching story, but also very, very funny. um, and as she is a comedian, she definitely turned on the charm on stage. here to night i'm and that i think was a delightful them delightful actress to be celebrated in this way. the film itself, german film, of course, from andreas grayson. i'm also one of the best screenplay award here, the only film to get more than one price that this years awards. it's got, you know, we've talked with you for years and years and years from the bill in all you've covered so many of these film festivals and compare what we saw last year, of course, with it being virtual because to the pandemic, to what we've seen this year which is an in person event, but we know it's, it's been shortened somewhat. yeah. it's been a bit truncated. um the last 4 days, the festival on it, which would you normally showing competition? films will just be showing repeats this year. we're having the awards army, i'm on a o. m a wednesday night, as opposed to on a friday saturday is it's typical for the berlin, a festival. the festival itself. this year i'm felt a bit different. um, it was

a physical festival which was great. we had reg carpets we had some fans coming out . the cinemas were half full, but they were at least partially awful. but the mood wasn't quite the same as it was pre pandemic. it was definitely better than last years virtual festival on. but there was still a bit more reserve, a bit more, a bit more insensitivity around the whole festival. not quite the celebration of cinema that i would have liked to see, but the films definitely made up for it. well, that's good to hear. let's hope the next year things are back to normal or at least close to normal start rocks, bro, at the bill in oliver here in berlin's. got. thank you. before we go, here's a reminder, the top stories that we're following for you native chief un. stoughton baron says that the alliance has not seen any sign. the russia is withdrawing troops and equipment from ukraine's border after a meeting of date of defense ministers. don't beck said the group is considering cindy more forces to eastern europe later was urging russia to step back from the brink of war. conflict zone is coming up next. after

a short break. i will be back at the top of the hour with more world news followed by the day we're going to have more coverage of nader's meeting to day and what it called the new norm for european security. i hope you can join easton ah ah, with

ah, enter the conflict zone with tim sebastian, much of the u. k. may be getting on with rex it but no way or it's affects more devices than in northern ireland. and no political group is angry about them in the democratic union party. it's harvey,

this the so called northern ireland protocol. my guess this week from county i'm shipping over the island is sammy wilson could be peace to whip the parliament in westminster conflict. next on d w. oh, they've had no choice for decades. people of iraq. our country is devastated and there's no end to how did it comes with witnesses? reveal unprecedented story. they were freeze the u. s. they knew what the consequences these sanctions are, and they've liked the world about it behaved exactly

like said darcy and the poison spirit. bear with me, the great documentary series destruction of a nation starts march 4th on d. w. much of the u. k. may be getting on with bread it, but nowhere are its effects. more devices than in northern ireland. i'm no political group is angry about them. the d u p. the democratic union party it's target is the so called northern ireland protocol. the device just keeps northern ireland both in the u. k. and for trade purposes in the e. u. single market at the same time. complicated. yes, very. but the aim was simple enough to prevent the hard border between the law and

the irish republic and to protect the good friday agreement.