along mileage and re imagined these teachings for relevance to us. gandhi's legacy starts january 28th on d, w. ah, ah. this is d w. news life in berlin. germany is new defense ministry hits the ground, running just hours after being sworn in force. the story is, is meeting with the us defense secretary lloyd austin, likely top of the agenda. german battle tangs for ukraine. also coming out. i'm leaving because we've got your privilege roll comes responsibility,

responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead. and also when you are not in a shock announcement, new zealand prime minister jacinta r durn says she stepping down early almost a year before her term is due to end and billions of trips are expected as lunar new year. travel gets underway in china this sunday, but a huge surgeon cove at 19 infections is casting a shadow over a normally festive season. ah. michael ok, welcome to the program. germany's defense minister boys destroys has been in office for just a few hours and is already holding talks with his u. s. counterpart lloyd austin in brief statements for,

for their discussions. austin and historian, stress the importance of the close alliance of their countries. their meeting ahead of nato consultations on friday in germany about further military aid to ukraine. here's some of what the u. s. defense minister had to say. it's been a turbulent time for european and global security. but throughout the crisis caused by russia's unprovoked invasion of ukraine, germany has remained a true friend of united states in a staunch defender of our, our large and values. so we'll continue to support ukrainian people as, as they resist russian aggression and defend their sovereign territory. i'd like to thank the german government for all that it is dawn to strengthen ukraine, self defense, and your contributions of security of systems and training for ukraine's defenders

have been a vote and valuable d. w political correspondent to benjamin alvarez. goober joins us now to shed some more light. a benjamin germany has a new defense minister boyce pastorius sworn into office just a few hours ago this thursday morning. talk about having to hit the ground running . how ready was he for this meeting with his us? can a port lloyd austin absolutely probably would also have like to have a few more days to get into this new role. but that's something that the german president fun fight. i may, i told the new defense minister earlier today. you have to get started right away in another high ranking politician of the pro business f d p party said that won't be a grace period. so he needs to start it with the talks already. he meant the secretary of defense. he also had a phone call with his french counterpart and to morrow of course, will be a big day for

a politician that has known this topics. if for several weeks he has been following all this evolution is interior minutes of lowest saxon. he also dealt with many of the security topics and that's something that the german chancellor will actually set when he announced that boyish disorders will be germany's new defense minister . no doubt the most pressing issue, whether germany should provide battle tanks to ukraine. the pressure on germany is clearly growing benjamin both from outside the country and within where did the talk stand between washington and berlin at the moment. definitely, and that's one of the biggest tavis. it's a dilemma between both countries between germany and the u. as the german chancellor has been dodging the questions on sending tanks, he did the same. also yesterday the world can amik for as in a divorce, in what germany is saying, according to a german media. now is that germany would send a, these leopard tongues to ukraine, but with the condition that the u. s. does the same,

what they abram tank so they will be something that they will definitely discuss. that's a dilemma there because the gas is not signaled yet that they will st battle tanks to ukraine. although some european countries have said already the germany and that europe should step up, their weapon exports a to ukraine. but to see how big this difference is, we will actually get to know their better to morrow when at the allies of ukraine, me to morrow drumstick. abbeys. on the invitation of the u. s. secretary of defense, lloyd austin 8. to discuss if there will be any further weapons export, there will be further weapons expo that some something that we know for sure. but the big question now will be will there be tanks? will germany wait for the you asked to take the 1st step because that something that the german government, that bill in his repeated saying that they will not take any steps alone, that they will wait it to discuss with alice what the new weapons experts will look like, and that's something that germany and berlin has been severely criticized over the past months. is since

a rush us invasion of ukraine saying that they have been dragging the feats when it comes to this in a, taking a role. not taking the lead in this question. many thanks to d, w political corresponded benjamin alvarez gruber, ukrainian tank unit, say they need modern equipment like the leopard to, to break through russian front lines. right now, nato allies are in possession of thousands of leopard tags, which include the leopard 2 and the older leopard. one model, ukrainian tank brigades have expressed confidence. they'll be able to quickly integrate the technology on the battlefield if germany gives the go ahead. let's bring in marina miran, she is a defense analyst with the war studies department at kings college london and currently happens to be in munich welcome ukraine. believes tanks can turn the tide of this war. that is clear. remind us all how tanks provide a competitive advantage,

particularly in this conflict. while ukraine hasn't got any tanks or many tanks, laughed, and whatever it was using, those were old soviet tanks and obviously to gain a competitive edge, especially in light of the fact that the russians have billed ashlock. defense along the front line. ukraine is in desperate need for tanks, and as a matter of fact, they are asking for some 2 to 300 tanks, which is a significant number. but this number indeed, makes sense because sake would be integrated to conduct defensive, as well as offensive combined arms operations. as our correspond just made clear moment ago report suggests germany is said to be ready to supply the leopard to tanks. if the us sends the abrams to ukraine. what are the salient differences between these 2 vehicles? well, technically speaking, they stand from the same project and the 7th ye,

so the leopard to and the everest hank, in terms of a say or performance. abrams has seen battles though it's battle tested. it doesn't have that theme and armor is that the leopard do has. so leopard too is definitely superior when it comes to armor. and abrams a has successfully performed a, in the goal war and 9, he won in 2003 in iraq and also in afghanistan. so it has seen battle, it's battle proven. it's reliable lap for it to has great armor. it has also $120.00 millimeter. that high explosive anti hang crowns, but it depends on the version of flapper that the ukrainian armed forces are going to get because there have been some problems was e caldwell version that as to a for in syria when turkey deployed those tanks and they were vulnerable to

more tours and mines, you'll know, of course it, in the early years of the 21st century, military planners were musing about the possibility the tanks would become obsolete . does the warn ukraine demonstrate just how far off those speculations were? i think it is a, an interesting question because most in military officers think about how future wars will look like. and the idea was that there will be no p r and p or warfare. and there that will be contactless worse, where you wouldn't actually see your enemy. and i think the lessons here are, is that we have to be prepared for everything. we have seen syria, we a, we have seen a combination of kind of old m world will want tactics along with some modern technology being used in war. so i think it would be premature to discount the roll

off tanks for now. got it. that is a marina marina defense analyst with the war studies department, kings college, london. many, thanks. thank you. let's have a look at some other stories making headlines around the world at this hour. hundreds of thousands have gone on strike in france to protest pension reforms. proposed by the government of men will nicole in a rare show of unity by all french trade unions. most strange metro's and buses are not operating. the french president wants to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years. rescuers are scrambling to get to 6 people trapped under a collapsed building in the dominican republic. cameras have been wedged into the rubble and firefighters are in contact with those waiting to be rescued. several inhabitants were injured when the 4 story structure collapsed, but no deaths have been reported. swedish climate act of his greater timber has

accused global fossil energy firms of fueling the destruction of the planet. she was speaking at the world economic form in davos, switzerland. the twin berg presented a letter she and other activists had written to energy companies demanding they stock exploitation of fossil fuel reserves. i'd be willing dw caught up both louisa, ny bower, germany's most a well known climate activist at davos, and asked her what they were hoping to achieve at the for he and diverse am some of their most polluting industries have all a meeting and their investors. and as someone needs to spread the message that the fossil fuel era used to come to an end and the future belongs to renewables and m that message, it's certainly not coming from those people. so we're, he, instead a lot of talk about getting to net 0. do you think that world leaders and business leaders will actually deliver? i think am, well, it is business leaders. i doing very good job. he,

i am demonstrating that they know their climate change vocabulary very well by now . am congrats. am batch clam address isn't about nice words and air the green rhetoric. it's about substantial change and ending her am fossil fuel expansion. and if you look at the business plans of the beek philosophy and see the around the world, all of that, most, almost all of them plan to expand. so am clearly, they're not drawing the line here when it comes to instruction, they're not clearly not planning to stick to and climate targets. so someone outs will need to stop them. who is a know i bow. thank you so much. sure. turning out to another part of the world, new zealand prime minister, jacinta, or dern, has shocked her country with the announcement she is stepping down early. she led her labor party to a landslide, re election victory 2 years ago. but now our durn says, february 7 will be her last day on the top job. just in the arden led

newsline through the pandemic terrorist attack and natural disasters. she now says she is ready to pass on the baton inserted, di i'm announcing that i will not be seeking re election and then my tim as prime minister will conclude no later than the 7th of february. i know what this job takes and i know that i no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice . it's that simple. father became the was youngest female head of government when she was elected in 2017. at the age of 37, she quickly gained global recognition for her brand of liberal and inclusive politics. the following year, she had a baby becoming the 2nd elected leader in history to give birth while in office.

how compassionate response to the mar shooting at christ church mos in 20. 191. her widespread praise. we newsline spiderman wanted to change the nation's gun laws less than a month later. voice wisely. 4464 to the level 2 and the governments go hard. go early approach should the pandemic is bodily. what got her a 2nd dome in 2020 newsline quickly shot bordeaux's and imposed a prolong lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. but bold suggest her popularity has waned in reason one's plan to boucher has come as a surprise not only to those who support her but also those who don't i think she was an excellent leader and i'm devastated to that. she's skinny, she's resigning. now. it was time for her to go in and no one in the right. mine

would have been fighting for her. so like, i was never surprised. i actually, i was a bit shocked. i was shocked that she, for in the tell a little, you know, i kind of thought that she was going to be in it for the long haul. it was, it was a shock. it is a shame to see and effectively to like pick go. but i guess nobody's a replaceable pardon, says she has no plans yet for the future. other than spending more time with her family the german parliament has recognized the massacre of ethnic yes cities in iraq as genocide. it was a unanimous vote in the german buddhist dog after a debate that lasted an hour. the move was hailed by city community representatives who attended the session as visitors, fighters from the so called islamic state mass recurred more than a 1000 your cities in northwestern iraq. in 2014 d. w spoke with one year cd family who found refuge here in germany. it's shopping,

talent slow is still shaken when he recounts the attack on his home village or by the islamic state. and my mom, he is now in germany, but lived in iraq until 2014. that was the year when is lambs, militia, concrete, large parts of his homeland is. and so her bud see, mom will tell us slow and his family fell into i asked him to the tea and we're separated his christian shopping hub voice. my father on my house. where is my father? where is my uncle? one of the i s man said to me, we asked them several times if they would become muslims or not. and your father and other men said no. so we shot them of the a hub alleged shows. it shall be nourished. his father, like the rest of the family, belonged to the years edi ethnic religious minority among the i as brutally persecuted them because of their beliefs and traditions. the family used to live in

the main settlement area of the easy des, cynthia. it's also where tele, his mother and his sisters were held captive by the i s hot on sky schleiden. they beat us and gave us little to lead her fiercely took over for a sisters away and forced each of them to marry a member of the i did. and in this one, i latin, according to the you and the i as has mad at more than 5000 she cds and kidnapped, there was 7000 women and children since 2014 to this day, thousands of years edi refugees live in camps in iraq. although the i s was considered defeated, but their homeland still lacks basic infrastructure, but has kept kind of us. there is no water and no electricity honk and there are no hospitals or schools either. it truly support from a country like germany would help. formal recognition would release government funding to help you see these rebuild their homes. it is crucial for us. i am

ever yes, it is called back to the city has. if this does not happen, the i ask will have a chief exactly what it wanted, but its attack, which is to free this region of years. it is using in 2015, the iraqi government paid the i asked a ransom and tallow and his remaining family were released and came to germany. but even if the region recovers will go kind file. i do not want to go back to a country where i suffered so much a live in wooster. for now. he has everything he needs here. iran has warned that the european union would quote, shoot itself in the foot if the block designated the revolutionary guards as a terrorist entity. it comes a day after members of the european parliament appealed to the e. you to sanction the military force. the lawmakers condemn the crackdown on protesters by iranian security forces,

which include the powerful revolutionary guards as brutal to ron, says any sanctions will affect global, as well as regional security and peace rules on the resolution of the whole by roku for some insight. so let's bring in evan in sir, us, readers social democrat, who's a member of the european parliament and an expert on iran. first of all, i want to make sure we've got your name correctly. did i pronounce that well? evidence your it was for now. excellent. um, did you have been you've been a leading voice in the call to sanction ron's revolutionary guard. what would it mean practically speaking, if the e you designated the military force as a terrorist entity? look, it's very important that the european union starts acting. we have heard a lot of very nice words from math from a member state the salesman, but we have seen lack of action. so it's time to go from words to action and showed the sad boosted regime that we will not seek silent. and what should be said

situation in a question of the people continue going on the the m p. 's appeal doesn't oblige the european union to act. so what effect can it actually have? well, he, thirdly, we have seen how well the power all vast, strong voice of the european convent also, it's a said the yeah, the members faith you encounter that do and take on board their decisions and the demand. so by the european apartments, are there plans for any more sanctions? so am i what i heard now from the commissioner and dana, i listen day the other day to any to you by on the lie and the president of the it mission her cell, where she said that the issue all that yet. and it's like nation of, i heard you see as a terrorist organization is under a bunk, but from the side of the european parliament we have also demanded sanctions the on the leadership of this booted to reveal the ali khamenei the biggest says the

leader of the country but also the president and the chief that prosecutor and their families. iran has been under sanctions for quite a while now, but crack down on anti regime protests and executions. continue. is there any sign that sanctions or having of any effect? well, we need to a sure it work to do what we can do and the, and i tear the spoof to regime the co cons back to it under the stone that it came from. i'm the end dead. we know that for over 40 years of silence and no progress have happened. so the only way we can assure that fleet and also applies on the people of iran, easy air to so all the muscles to words didn't salinas being silent, member of the european parliament. evan ensure many, many thanks. thank you. the lunar new year gets under way this sunday and in china, it's

a holiday with an even more special meeting this year. it's the 1st time chinese citizens there will be allowed to travel. since the pandemic broke out transport authorities say billions of trips will be made during the holiday season. and that sparking concerns for the spread of the crone of virus from cities to you to rural areas. that travel rush on a scale not seen in years lunar new year and china marks the world's largest annual migration by land, air and water. travelers are relishing a life after lockdown was absolutely i'm going home and i feel so happy so excited recently that this has been my 1st time going home in the past 3 years. you're older when i get to my home town, you know, i'll surely do a p c r test just to protect myself. otherwise, i wouldn't know if i'm infected. china abruptly ended it 0 cove policy in december

after imposing some other world strictest. pandemic measures, residents of big cities are now reuniting with relatives in the countryside. that has china's president jean pink concerned. it says state tv medical resources there are spread thin in a video holiday message g paid tribute to china's health care workers. bologna upon hill tree border reaching are this wave of the epidemic. hm. came fast iowa and fierce grandfather. all the medical workers have been working on epidemic prevention and control. and while providing daily medical care at the same time for dr. tongues ga, all you have been working long our household goods or hard work putting an overtime remission all for the sake of protecting the lives of health of the people. even a great contributionship, i thank you for your efforts. are gushing corolla at time of caution and joy for

travelers. this lunar new year now to his song, made in germany that became a global head at a time of nuclear. anxiety has been 40 years since the release of 9 anointed loft belongs by nina. the cold war era sing all was one of the biggest german language hits ever recorded in english as 99 red balloons. it captured the hearts of generations of music lovers, and its anti war message endures. ah, 40 years ago, an unknown german singer and her band released a song that floated around the world. nay, as 99 red balloons captured the angst and sight guys of the iraq, perfectly. in 1983, the cold war was in full swing relations between the u. s. and the soviet union were deteriorating and the world feared

a nuclear apocalypse nato responded to eastern bloc proliferation by stationing pershing to nuclear missiles on german soil. nina and her band took a stand against war with pop music. 99 red balloons, became the sound tract of the peace movement. isn't. am i? it was the time when the big question of whether nuclear weapon should be stationed in germany was at the fall. it was a question that occupied people everywhere, not just in germany, and this was when name as anti war, saw 99 red balloons, burst onto the scene and quickly caught on him why. the idea came from the band guitarist carlo par guess at the end of the concert in west berlin. in 1982, the rolling stones released balloons into the sky carlo wondered what would happen if they floated over the border to east berlin and were mistaken by soviet radar from missile. the idea for 99 red balloons was born. the song top, the charts in germany, japan, australia, new zealand,

and reached number 2 in the us. the band later recorded an english language version, but in many countries the original german song was preferred. 40 years on the music may be showing its age, but the lyrics about the senselessness of war remain as pertinent as when they were 1st written. ah, and a reminder of our top story, german defense minister boys, the story us is holding talks with is us counterpart, lloyd austin, at this hour in berlin. this comes ahead of a wider meeting of european defense ministers at the u. s. air base and ramstein in southwestern, germany on friday, berlin is under pressure to facilitate the delivery of leopard to battle tanks to ukraine. you're watching d. w. news coming up next is d w asia. the prime minister of pakistan extends in

olive branch to india, suggesting the 2 countries sit down for talks, but just how sincere is his overture and the president of vietnam resigns less than 2 years into his tenure. we look into why he has stepped down and what's next for the country. that's all coming up next in d, w 's asia with melissa chan. don't forget you can always get more news and analysis on our website. that's d w dot com. you can also follow us on social media. our handle is at the w news. i'm michael. ok. thanks for watching. with

ah ah, ah, weight is also vulnerable to attacks. since the start of the war in ukraine, this scandinavian country has become europe's largest gas supplier. also making it a potential target for act sabotaged. armed forces are on high alert

with focus on europe. in 60 minutes on d. w. for what people have to say matters to us for me, that's why we listen to their stories. reporter every weekend on d. w. and then jim and with d, w at any time i've own any place using music video to velez. we have a question. don't move the thing along to the is the code from super safe with interactive exercises. everything is online, mobile and interactive and gym. and for free, like with d w,

the only way i can be on the top is to create my own empire. discover a story with just a click away. the journey, the destination right. finds out this documentary with a tree. you're watching d. w. news asia coming up, the prime minister of pakistan, extends in olive branch to india. but just how a sincere is his overture. we'll take a closer look at his offer and the main sticking point that is kashmir plus the president of vietnam resigns less than.