this is the poll to unleash a long violet pass and read. imagine these teachings for relevance to gandhi's legacy starts january 28th on d, w. ah ah, this is the w news ally from berlin. still no decision reach by germany on sending tanks to ukraine. a meeting of ukraine's military backers hears at berlin is weighing up the pros and cons of allowing its advanced leverage to vehicles to be used against russian aggression. also on the program, millions of people in china,

or returning home for the special festival to mark lunar new year. but with all the increased travel comes fears of a coverage search. and all eyes are on the new buyer and keeper, yonge obama. as the bonus of your restarts after the winter. great. but leipzig deny the swiss international. a dream gave you ah. one welcome to our viewers around the world. i'm michael ok. western military leaders meeting in germany have failed to reach agreement on allowing german made battle tax to be sent to ukraine. going into the talks, keith was optimistic that berlin would give approval for its powerful leopard, 2 tanks to be delivered to the battlefield. but those hopes were dashed after

german defense minister said his country was still weighing the decision. the question of whether germany will send tanks to ukraine took center stage at ramstein abbeys. but instead of giving the green light, germany's new defense minister just said that it is up to the chancellor to make that call before an uneven and chime in the event of a negative decision. nothing needs to be done again by sunday, but in the event of a positive decision, we have to move quickly because it is then a matter of training, checking the leopard tanks and the like, my them all, that's what this morning i ordered my ministry to examined the stalks of the different types of leopard tanks, both in our own forces and in the industry in an agony like hufton i, it's all good by the end with p as sounds that has led to criticism including from other partners who want to supply the same kind of battle, thanks to ukraine. poland and finland, for example, are willing to send them to ukraine fast, but also need the green light from berlin. despite the dilemma of are tangs exports,

us defense secretary lloyd austin had warm was for germany. a country that he called the reliable l i going forward majority has contributed a lot to this search to this campaign. and you know, from the very beginning when we saw them cycle in defense capability or the gap parts. the patriots most recently are as t, i stepped up, been offered to provide martyrs, they will provide are those models and conduct the training on those platforms. but for many, including these protest us who gathered outside that chancellor relate friday. berlin is dragging its feet when it comes to sending tanks. and joining me in the studio now to get some german reaction, is the w political correspondent, benjamin alvarez gruber, benjamin all eyes on germany, and still no decision on dispatching the leopard to, to ukraine. what's been the reaction in berlin's political circles?

i would say the mix on one side of disappointment, the german or position accused the government as they called it, an attitude of refusal, one of them, a leading politician of the conservative city. you part even went further saying that the european credibility is dying now, but it's not just your position, but also leading figures within the german government that are criticizing them. one of them, mary, agnes shakima. she's a leading defense politician of the pro business f d p. party she said, unfortunately, germany just failed. that's disappointment on one side. but this also surprised by what the new defense mit is that the new german defense minister said that just now they assessing how many tanks they have. even though his new and office just full 48 hours now, keith has been asking for german leper tanks for a while now. so they are surprised why it was not clear already. how many tanks, dust germany have and would be able to deliver to ukraine if that decision is made ultimately about the german chancellor. an attitude of refusal very harsh words

there. so give us some perspective, why is berlin dragging its feet? i think we have to look at several is on one side. is it this political culture of military caution after the 2nd world will, germany has gone a long way from sending this 5000 helmets at the beginning of the war. we all remember that also cost criticism to then send a light material and then this heavy material with, with the leper tanks. that's a really difficult topic. also for the new defense and minister there is worry about a possible escalation, the war that something that the chancellor has repeated as several times and something to this new defense minister also said. and if we look at new poles, it, the german society is still split on that issue. but of course, as the pressure is mounting from within germany from within berlin, even from within his governments, we might soon see a decision. but we don't know when that will be the case. the foreign minister in poland, ukraine's a neighbor and ally, of course, has been mon,

the fact that this decision is actually costing lives in ukraine. from your vantage point, might that kind of rhetoric pressure the german chancellor to make his decision that much more quickly they even went further saying that they might even send tang, sent this leper tanks to ukraine without the approval of berlin because it's not just the german made tags that are currently here in germany that might be sent, but also germany has to give the green light to all the natal members if they want to send the tang. so once that, the rhetoric that we're hearing now is that some of the alice are saying, you know, you need to add quickly if you don't want to sent the tanks, at least give us the green light. and that's something that many were expecting from this a meeting of defense ministers at ramstein yesterday and also other defense ministers who are saying pretty clearly that germany has a special role there earlier today. the foreign ministers of lithuania is tonja and latvia that germany has special responsibility in this regard, hoping to have a green light soon. and it's something that the new defense minister made clear.

it's not up to him to make the coal, but to the german chancellor has been reluctant to do so many thanks to d. w political correspondent benjamin alvarez group or let's go to our correspondence. sonya found her car in the ukrainian capital. now. sonya, how is germans? germany's delay in sending these tanks to the battlefield being received in ukraine . when michael, there's been a huge sense of disappointment and even frustration. you're in keith, that this meeting and rom shine yesterday, failed to produce a decision by germany to send in these lepper to combat tanks. that ukraine says it badly needs if it is to repel an anticipated russian offensive in the coming months . now all this week we've seen ukraine make a big diplomatic push to get more heavy heavy weaponry from the west. it has received a lot of pledges, but of course, you know, it's these combat tanks specifically the german weighed leopards that have been at

the top of your cranes wishlist. and that's because ukraine says it badly needs them to kind of push back russian forces in the east where we're seeing some of the most intense fighting. and we're trench warfare is really inflicted huge casualties on both sides. so i think there is a real sense of disappointment here. this news has really dominated coverage here, and many ordinary ukrainians also have been taken to social media to rent their frustration and anger and germany. in the meantime, what is the latest from the front lines? when the reports of the nude fighting in the east turned on yet sweet, and we're hearing from a spokesman of the russian defense ministry who says that russia has now taken control of a village called kush chief guard. this is 9 kilometers south of the town of buckled buck moore. the 4th is a hotly contested town which seats on the most intense fighting and refuse. now that, you know, ukraine's hold on back more might be threatened by the loss of this village because it could potentially cut your crane supply routes through this. but it's, i,

ukraine hasn't reacted to this russian claim. but concerns are mounting about, you know, ukraine's ability to hold on to buck moved and back forth. of course is usually significant as in this war, because russia has made it a centerpiece of its campaign to occupy the entire don bus region. and for you korean, you know, months of bloody fighting and back would have turned it into something of a national symbol of resistance. that is sonya federal court in keith many, many thanks. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world at this hour. turkey has cancelled a plan visit by the swedish defense minister, adding further to doubts over anchor as support for sweden joining nato. the turkish defense ministers as the move was in reaction to stock homes, granting permission to a far right danish activist to hold an anti turkish protest outside the turkish embassy on saturday. you sealants education minister cris hipkins is set to become

prime minister. taking over from current piano. jacinta ardor who announced her surprised resignation on thursday. hipkins was the only candidate nominated to replace her suggesting lawmakers wanted to avoid a drawn out leadership contest was 9 o'clock. police and protesters have clashed for a 2nd night on the streets of the peruvian capital. thousands flooded into lima to call for fresh elections. and the resignation of the country's president dina blew up. dozens of people have died after weeks of violent protests. the chinese lunar new year, holidays officially begin this weekend with the associated travel rush, commonly regarded as one of the world's largest annual human migration events. this year's holiday season is the 1st in china to feature such mass travel. since the pandemic began more than 3 years ago, lunar new year is expected to provide an economic boost,

but health officials have warned that covered 19 cases could search in the coming weeks. corresponding fab in crash bar was as you come back from the airport in beijing, i asked him a, what the lunar new year looked like at the travel hubs and out on the streets of the capital. yeah, i literally just landed in beijing a couple of hours ago and the capital, he is very quiet at this point. why? because most people have already left there visiting their relatives in the provinces in the west, south or north. and so he, under capitol, it is much more calm than usual, but in the last days are basically all the train station work. really crowded. of course, also the, the airports and in are the ticket prices are searching and this year is expected to drink to 40 day and travel a season. and the chinese people will undertake roughly 2000000000 single trips.

there is really a mess of amount and almost 70 percent of pre pandemic levels. that means we're slowly getting back to normal here. i'm curious, how worried are people about the thread of yet another surge of covey, 19 infections during this short travel season? actually most people, i mean that some are cautious, but m after basically 3 years of not being able to visit relatives and the family and they still take the risk and you know, half of large gatherings this weekend. well, of course, authorities are worried because especially in the provinces and the health systems not really wary. good and, and that it's basically a super spread. he went. but m, on the other hand, you know, the authorities are very and transparent to make it very difficult to really assess the situation here. and yet the ver health commissioner has said that 60000 people that have died years since early december when china basically lifted 0 cobit restrictions. but experts say that this is really far too low, for example, on,

on base affinity. that's a company which are basically irv, have, has a model to predict how many people have died. they say that 600000 have died. so that's really a big difference. but we don't know so much. and also there's a lot of, you know, a censorship, correct? on going on. so am yet really hard to assess the situation. but it sounds like it is a risk that they are willing to take. that is a fabi and crash mark in beijing. many facts the buddhist, like a has returned to after its extended winter break. do the world cup in cat are the 1st game backs are arby leipzig, host champion spire, who were hoping their new goal keeper could fill the gloves of manual noah, who is out with a broken leg. but leipzig showed, they can go toe to toe with the leagues topside. leipzig, fans were clearly glad to be back as the bend, as league came out of hibernation on the freezing night in eastern germany.

meanwhile, the buyer and supporters eyes were all on new keeper. young zelmer but it was his opposite. no book on his glasby who was picking the ball or to the neck 1st. attic tuple, mounting bundled home for by on 37 minutes. much to the delight of newman sama. what mil at the brake? lights it got themselves back in it, thanks to some heartless, by own defending on 52 minutes. a terrible clearance eventually allowed dominic show bush light to head back across gold and left, but marcell house berg forced an equalizer referee waved the waves. almost hateful claims for an off site. with house to berg, the good meter on one all it finished. no dream, dave. you shot out for sama. but a point that keeps by and 6 quit of leipzig was the chase that 11 title in a row. and by the way,

we'd like you to know you can always get the w news on the go. just download our app from google player from the apple app store that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world, as well as push notifications for any breaking news. we're going to end their sports life is up next. and there's more news and analysis on our website, d, w dot com. you can also follow us on social media handled as you may have guessed. at d, w a michael locus. there's more news for you. at the top, the next hour i discovered stories that can change your mind just click away.