ah ah ah, this is dw news coming to live from berlin. a pierce battle is underway for a town in eastern ukraine. heavy fighting is reported in solid dar, as ukrainian forces continued to put up resistance. also on the program, poland is set to send german made the leopard tanks to ukraine, pressures melting on its allies, especially germany,

to follow suit and as human rights groups war and about imminent executions in iran, dw talks to the son of the former shaw. now living in exile and calling for the international community to help stop the brutality. ah hello, i'm terry martin. good to have you with us. ukraine says fierce fighting in the eastern town of solid, ours continuing following conflicting reports about whether the town has been captured. this comes amid a major shake up at the top of russia's military, as russian president vladimir putin appoints a new commander to take charge of his war ukrainian soldiers firing at russian positions. internet's province fighting is concentrated around

sola, dar, a mining town near the strategic city. of back moot, these satellite images show the scale of the destruction since august of last year . conditions in back mood are dire. there is no heating or electricity. most residents fled the fighting. those who didn't are now trapped or torn carto dollars follow. i sleep in the same clothes. i walk around in there, man, that we haven't been for 4 months. nature war score soon. everything will freeze your coronel so both the kitchen and the toilet tissue, or hard data. there are a lot of people here. grandfather's grandmother's. no one goes anywhere near the leader of the russian mercenary wagner. group claims it has captured sola. dar yevgeny per goshen. released this picture of himself allegedly in

a salt mine near sola, dar, he says, the town is surrounded, but ukraine's president refutes those claims as russian propaganda only will do for the law usually will present and are already presenting this to their society in order to support mobilization to give hope to those who are for the aggression, but the fighting continues. antonette is holding up at him. if so let our falls, it would no doubt, boost russian morale. it could also help president putin to appease his critics who say his war effort is fumbling. on wednesday the kremlin announced another shake up among the military leadership, general valeri garris. the mob has been appointed as the new commander to head up the offensive in ukraine of direct some of his tasks with turning round rushes fortunes in a war that has been badly legging in recent months. and yet vladimir putin has shown no sign of relenting in his quest to come out ahead against keith.

under roch's, a senior fellow with a german council on foreign relations, he told us earlier, more about russian general beloved valerie garrison. and what his appointment means did a very good move, has been the chief of russia general stop since 2000. and about before that he was a commander of russia central military district and had basically the classics for just career. he's appointment as the main commander of the operation. ukraine is unlikely to change how the voice conducted. it's actually quite likely the garage would do any operation or command because it was more than 10 years ago than last time actually commanded troops. so the more likely scenario is that the previous commander general can begin with now the deputy of get our symbol. they're still be responsible for most of the operation command by jerry. bye bye. get more at the number. one of the supreme commander ensure better coordination between direction,

but again, i do not see his appointment as any kind of a substantial change. this is put in the 3rd commanding general in ukraine since the invasion began last february. what does this latest re shuffle? tell us about the kremlin se approached the war well, taking into account how russian troops had been constantly failing in reaching the originally designated gold. it's not so surprising that the main commander change quite often because somebody has to. ready responsibility, right? actually i wouldn't be quite surprised if it turned out the get see what was not entirely happy about this new appointment. let me also call disco disappointment deleted operation and ukraine. it's kind of a hot potato that nobody really wants to have to have in he's or her hands still now get out and given the task. but again, even if his command will be successful at personal change,

a single person or change is unable to patch up for the organization or instructional flows of russia rom forces. what about the battle field itself? can you tell us, for example, what's happening in solid door because we're getting conflicting reports about who's in control there and what it would mean if russia takes control of the town? first and foremost, i would caution against overestimating the importance of florida. this is a small mining town which had a population of approximately 10000 before the war. there are hundreds of sites more industrial on the grain. so solid are is important not because of itself, but because it constitutes basically the left flank of the defense of buck mode, which is much more important ukrainians today are $45.00 today, which is the russian troops have been trying to take for nearly 6 months. and russians have been trying to big buckled by frontally attacking,

sending one be off to another, like, constantly saving to get to the city. and now they shifted their their and trying to be solid, are in debt by cutting off, bundled. but even if for god falls, this alone would not be able for the russians to cut the supply line, leaving the buckboard, let alone and soaking yesterday. so here, one more thing. how did you extend to kimberly coursework? it's all been sorted. fighting is still going, going in, but what so story in florida. so the russian claims about taking the entire city are don't, i mean, don't seem to be for the ground it fighting, get going on their defense analysts under a rush in budapest, thank you very much. thank you. poland is offering to supply ukraine with german made leopard tanks as part of an international coalition. the announcement follows talks between polish president under duda and ukraine's

laudermill lensky. on wednesday, the pledge puts pressure on germany, which has so far, refused to deliver the advance tanks itself to ukraine. boy feel ukraine needs heavier weapons that has been, keeps message to its western allies for months. on top of the list, the german built levered to battle tank. so far, western nations have been reluctant, fearing further escalation with a new killer armed russia. but that might be all about to change that incarcerated to easter. we have decided that the moment for poland to decisively support ukraine has comes through the course k. now, stumpy, a company of la tags will be handed over as part of a coalition, low bottom. her grandma would love on are crowded. see the offer from poland. president on j duda is a welcome one for keith. but there's

a catch without germany's approval of the nations cannot supply leopard tanks to ukraine. poland coal for an international coalition to deliver the weapons piles additional pressure on german chancellor, olaf schultz. so far he's been reluctant to commit but as russia claims it's making fair the gains in easton ukraine. keith says berlin's foot dragging is costing lives. although i, who only the transfer of weapons will end this war, who didn't die, otherwise the war will go on and on. luxury do not will ukrainian cities will be destroyed, hash and ukrainian. people killed elizabeth, but we will definitely keep going to the end of the but it's just that the cost will be very high. oliphant, long, poland, and other nato allies, a leaning ever harder on the german chancellor to change his tune. while the discussion about leopard battle tanks continues in agreement has been

reached to supply ukraine with german made martyr. infantry plotting vehicles. these light tanks are deployed outside of ukraine is part of nato's very high readiness joint task force. german defense minister christina lumber, has been visiting the nato unit today. she faces increasing pressure to agree to the livery of the larger leopard tags to key of berlin says it would only consider such move in cooperation with its nato allies. well, germany's defense minister paid a visit to german soldiers in eastern germany to day d. w as chief political correspondent, nina hossa is there. she spoke about whether germany would allow poland to deliver leopard tanks to ukraine. it is a tricky situation for the german government. the german army is not in the best state, and it is having to use different armored vehicles then initially planned to fulfill

its nato obligations this year. but of course, it is also coming under a lot of pressure, the german government to supply ukraine with more and heavier weapons. now this is something where christina lum placed the defense minister when she visited this barracks here in saxony. today said that the decision to send a armored vehicles of the type model like the one that we see behind me here is qualitatively speaking already a step hop. she says the german government is monitoring the situation constantly and that you can also change its approach and change its policies. once the situation on the ground changes. now asked whether germany would give its consent to poland, sending leopard 2 tanks to ukraine. that are, of course, german made where the german government has to give its consent. because in the lamplight was a little more evasive. she said that germany absolutely doesn't want to go alone. all these decisions need to be taken internationally. germany doesn't want to be

drawn into this war, doesn't want to become a party to the war. but ultimately also that their defense minister said that poland simply hasn't asked officially yet. short while ago i spoke with other cheese about her. he is a member of the german parliament with the sunrise christian democrat, his military expert and suits on the foreign affairs committee. he told us how leopard battle text could impact the course of the war. hello air. well, this would be really a change not only in the mindset, but also could create it could turn around the war. because it is a war not only against ukraine, it's a russian war of attrition and atrocities against the western world against the free who based order and ukraine is only the 1st cornerstone in the russian strategy. so to deliver this weapons would create and turn around and it would give the ukrainian forces after a smart training, also the chance to regain its own territory. now, many germans are worried about

a possible escalation of this war. do you share that concern in regards to arms deliveries to ukraine? it is not an escalation because germany was very reluctant to last 11 months. but this reluctant was not paid for by puttin. he just exploited the german reluctance and gained 20 percent of the ukrainian territory, and it was germany, which hampered to coordinate with the approach of poland of spain and other countries. so it is now a part of standardization. you of stabilizing ukraine. it is not escalating because russia has the escalation dominance, and we need to break this. and a breakthrough would be the delivery of western equip weapons because the old soviet models are running out of spare parts and ammunition. can you think that

germany is pulling its weight in defending europe? no, i don't think so. i see the germany has wasted the last 11 months to prepare the enough number of spare parts to be a be ready to start the training of the a quote of those quotes of the teams are inside the model or inside the leopards. so what we should start now is to procure the necessary ammunition to procure and produce the necessary spare parts, also for the howitzers and the ammunition. so we have wasted a lot of months and we have not answered a requests from ukraine or from poland regarding heavy weapons like marta or leopard thinks so. and then on the other side, the german leadership, the german a govern government is asking for leadership. well, there is no leadership. if you hamp others,

they ask for coordination. there is no coordination. if you don't stop with it as, as the owner of these weapons. so we have missed and we have also a little bit well, put the german appearance on the pressure. we have destroyed the german role model . we are reluctant and we have not understood that the new europe will be more eastern, more deterrent, more trans atlantic. germany is behind. we are 10 and a half months into this war. now the world is looking at europe and wondering how is this going to end? how do you see this war ending? well, i don't see many examples where a war has ended with negotiations. look at the end of the 2nd world war where hitler was, and germany was, or defeated or looked to the war of, from kuwait against kuwait, from iraq. this was also military solve. so we need to bring ukraine in a position for negotiations. that means you crane must regain its territory and

serenity, and then we could negotiate. they could negotiate with russia regarding reparations regarding security guarantees, and regarding the atrocities and war crimes. so the way out is to stabilize ukraine to bring them of the weapons they need to defend and to regain their own territory. utterly keys better, a member of germany's parliament sitting on the foreign relations committee. thank you very much for your insights. thank you so much, terry. thank you. as we get a couple of other stories making headlines to day u. s. president, jo biden's legal team says it has found more classified documents at his delaware home. earlier this week, news broke, that secret reports had been found in an office biden used after his time. as vice president in november biden has said he's cooperating with a justice department inquiry with the review and europe's largest known to positive

rare earth elements has been found near the swedish mining city of corona mining company, l. k. a b said the newly discovered pair yard deposit contains more than a 1000000 tons of the minerals. they are essential for many technologies considered vital to the green transition. europe currently relies heavily on chinese imports of rare earths police in western germany are continuing to forcibly evict climate activists from a village at the center of a battle over coal mining. protesters moved in to stop energy giant r w e from demolishing the homes to make way for operations. the government insists the coal is essential to maintain energy supplies. activists dispute this, they say. germany's climate goals should come 1st. a peaceful protest to his escorted away from a condemned farm house. police raided the building after

a tense over night stand off within minutes. hundreds of officers had flooded the complex to route out high to ways. jasa shawn, it was very scary in the morning when the alarm went off and the police stormed the barricades. it was really a very scary situation. aisd and circles, they just beat police then turned their attention to the hard core faction. hold up down the street. the barricaded themselves inside what was once residential apartments. it began with a game of cotton mouse but grew more menacing as please try to clear the way activists through fire warps and glass bottles from makeshift ramparts projectiles through ever more vulgar. police retreated

then made their move, storming the building from 2 sides. a spokesman said, police were negotiating with the activists inside my mind enforcement, according to my information. one yard has already been completely cleared and other buildings talks are still under way with the activists to me than leave voluntarily and independently enough. but the situation is very complex. and the mean time work has been done on a wide range of buildings. so it's not possible to have a detailed overview. i'll put it this way. we're making progress. progress for the police though, is a set back for activists. and they say for global climate change, i finished your other. i'm feeling very sad, disappointed for it's vibrant and a little bit last for long. oh, lucia that's last stand. may not save the village,

but if nothing else, it's brought attention to their cause. human rights organizations or warning that scores of people in iran face the death penalty for taking part in protests against the regime. a mass protest movement emerged there in september, following the death of 22 year old geno, marcia armine, while she was in the custody of the so called morality police in iran. so far at least 4 people have been executed. razor per larvae is the son of the last shaw of iran and lives in exile. he spoke to jada sar bark at the head of the w's persian service. about the challenges facing the protesters and what role he might play in the development of any new government. many people know you as crown prince or his or pat levy, the son of lasha persia. let me start by asking, what is your interest in all of this? would you like to see a role in the future of iran for yourself?

i have always stated throughout these 42 years that my only mission in life is to see to it that the iranian people can ultimately determine their own future in a free and fair election. and the day that the iranian go to the pool to decide their future, that would be mission accomplished. and the end of my political mission in life, the un high commissioner for human rights is condemned to weapon ization of death penalty to squash distant. more executions are expected to take place. what can, what should the international community do? stop this. while the most important role that the international community can play in support of the running people. and in the highest of the regimes, attempts of further execution, or any kind of violence is to heights and the level of sanctions. and punitive measures such as diplomatic measures by for instance expelling the

diplomats and recalling their ambassadors or political boycott. as we have seen in the case of apartheid in south africa in the past. and other measures that obviously will be discussed by various parliamentarians as measures to as you know, by block assets or, or fries assets of the regimes. a relatives or, or, or, sorry, gates, let me also say that it is not sufficient to focus simply on a policy of maximum pressure on the stomach republic that has to be parallel to that a policy of maximum support for the iranian people. and in that sense, very little has been done by the international community. and when the running people ask for an end to this regime, they cannot do it alone. especially under an extremely repressive regime without having some kind of direct support from the international community. this is why people like myself and other active people, whether it's social,

civil society, or human rights advocates or political leaders are asking the world to enter in a genuine dialogue with the secular democratic opposition. how do you see the role of armed forces? iranians don't trust them, but kenneth civil movement prevail against them without finding a way to integrate them. as a matter of fact, that thing, most iranians know that the run in military have never been against the people. in fact, from the very beginning, when the i r g c was created, it was as a mechanism of guarantee of regime survival because the regime did entrust the military. the r g c was not created to support the country. the odyssey became a mechanism with amanda to export an ideological revolution. it is not the military who opposed the people, it is the i r g c. that is a major problem. i think the wrong a nation would like to see these people who are disillusion now and would like to

join with the people be with them and be in a some kind of a shield of protection. when the faster citizens have to face the regime of repression, we have seen scenarios such as these occur. we have seen the in the case of the scenario in the czech republic at the time czechoslovakia, where the army did not stand against the people. such a scenario can also occur in iran. now speaking about the role of a position, where could a new leadership, an organized position emerge from, in your opinion? potentially, there are some, many people who can fill the void once we have a collapse of the regime during the transition period. technocrats, bureaucrats, administrators, within the intelligentsia, india into university catrice are writers, journalist lawyers, et cetera, et cetera. and many of these people can very well be the representative

elements to form a transitional government or any structure that has to be put in place with the support of those outside of iran who at 1st may have to take the lead because they cannot immediately do it inside and it is clear to me that the men that there's a collapse of the regime, these forces can convert and therefore facilitate the transition period by working together is i finally thank you very much for this insights into your estimations. and finally, one of rock music's most influential guitarists jeff beck has died age 78, rolling stone magazine, once named the british rocker the 5th best guitar player of all time. beck explored rock, blues, jazz, and r and b shaping the music world for decades and earning 7 grammys and 8 gold albums, along the way. a jeff beck and his fender

strata castor, the instrument, he called his other arm. his innovative technique and style were the envy of many guitarists who tried to imitate him for decades. beck was 21 when he got his big break. replacing eric clapton in the yard birds, his solos helped make some of the yard birds biggest hits, including shapes of things. back wasn't happy with the band though he left after a year and a half and formed the jeff beck group together with rod stewart. but it was a one off instrumental recording with led zeppelin founder jimmy page and the who drummer keith moon. there remains one of his most famous vex bolero. this songs primal, almost psychedelic energy, inspired even jimmy hendrix by continued making albums,

but became a kind of musicians musician playing with eric clapton and bb king recording solos for tina turner, kate bush, and most recently collaborating with johnny depp. he'll be remembered by many other musicians who admired him. despite plenty of accolades, jeff back never became a superstar, like many of his peers. he said that was for the best he watching dw news from berlin. i'm terry martin. thanks for being with us. ah, with ah,

with a goodbye winter hello. sign in with the climate and the oligarchy is pretty mild and winter and i won't do properly explore this region

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a captain and setting sail to discover a route, a race links to military interests, a race links to political and military christy, but also linked to mountain, financial, and adventure full of hardships, dangers and death. but jillions journey around the world starts january 19th on d, w. you're watching the w news asia coming up today. japan's demographic crisis and the government's attempts to fix it. the capital tokyo may be crowded, but the country's population is shrinking. now the government is paying families to move to the countryside and help revive approval communities. will this be a long.