>> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, iraqi forces win a major's victory in the batter or westernmost the. troops have recaptured the airport from the islamic state but the battle for westernmost all is shaking up to be more difficult. we will get expert analysis on where the battle goes from here. bogota ron -- boca haram's reign of terror in nigeria.

videos give a look at life with the terrorists. u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson meets his mexican counter art who is in no mood or chitchat after all that rhetoric about the wall and deporting mexican migrants. >> it is good to have you with us. we begin with a turn in the battle for mosul. iraqi military forces regained control of the strategically important airport from so-called islamic state. a major victory in the offensive to push is out of the rack'-- iraq's second-largest city. driving them out will not be easy or as fast.

>> mosul airport has fallen. the operation is part of an attempt to push out so-called islamic state fighters out of the western part of the city. >> i.s. and its members have started to flee towards populated parts of the city and are using civilians as human shields. >> as of the offensive began, iraqi forces fired missiles at militant stronghold. then they took control of the runway. civilians who escaped to government run territory said they were shot at by rebels for trying to flee. >> the shelling became very intense. they told us to go to the back line. when we got out of there, we escaped.

>> the eastern part of mosul was declared fully liberated in january. the campaign to recapture the rest was launched on sunday. taking the military base is a important first step for the iraqi army. >> marcus joins us. a security analyst for the german institute of international and security affairs. is it the iraqi army, are they prepared for what comes? >> difficult to say because the challenge is a slightly different one. western muscle is -- mosul is densely populated. we have credible worth about citizens being used as humans shields.

the fight will be different than the liberation of eastern mosul. the liberation took four months, so i am hesitant this will be anywhere in the park. >> to have any idea how drunk or weak islamic state is in western mosul -- strong or weak islamic state is in western muscle? >> we do not know. press reports are not as credible. >> we're going to move these tory to peace talks over syria. as he talks between the syrian government and opposition negotiators have resumed after almost 10 months. the objective is to create a peaceful transition after military conflict has ended. >> it is an act of solidarity.

the u.n. special envoy for syria is meeting syrian women who have suffered either under the assad regime or the opposition. >> they were sending through me the message that while we are going to talk about the teacher of syria, we cannot forget about those who are still detained or abducted or missing. >> in the morning he held talks with the syrian government and opposition. the government and opposition groups are far apart on key point, what what role the issuing -- the regime of bashar al-assad will play after the fighting? >> they agree about the

transitional phase, but should be assad government be part of that, the majority of the opposition says in no. >> before talks go any further, the delegation in geneva want to set the ground rules or former -- further negotiations. >> further negotiations, markets, what do you think -- marcus, what do you think? why is this different? >> the momentum has shifted to the assad regime with the reoccupation of aleppo and the conference two weeks ago meaning iran, turkey and russia are in the drivers seat of the political process in syria. things have changed a little bit and finally we do not have any idea what the united states strategy towards syria or isol

will be. >> we don't know what the u.s. wants, do we know what the future of president assad will be? >> it is easy to guess. regardless of any accusations of human rights violations, he is in the drivers seat. supported not only by iran but more importantly by russia and he has openly dated he wants to rule the whole syria again. on the one hand we continue to have political pillars of the security council resolutions scheduling a roadmap for the transition but on the other hand it is not realistic. >> as always, we appreciate you

coming in and giving of your analysis. to west africa now, nigeria where recently boca haram controlled a large part of the north art of, terrorizing residents and displacing 2 million people. but it shot by the militants himself showed the reality of horror of life under boko haram. >> these images were filmed by boko haram, they offer a look into the inner workings of the militant. the footage was on a hard drive captured by the nigerian military. the fighters are recognizable. they are filmed in the north of a country -- of the country. the footage shows public execution. all the villagers are forced to watch the killing, children

included. the militants stage a makeshift tribunal, a pseudo-court. a so-called judge leans down and talk to the accused. they are charged with dealing drugs. the men denied the allegations but there out -- but their objections are futile. the onlookers are forced to shout god is great during the filming or risk being singled out as traitors. the militants to drag the accused men into the village square. they are then executed in qqq -- in full view of the villagers. they use these methods to terrorize local population. he tells of the villagers we have carried out god's will.

these images were filmed in 2014 and 2015. the fighters gather and then move on. their commander tells them, you will kill, you will become martyrs because you too will die in battle. the fighters keep on the move. as a they filmed their trail of this section. spreading fear throughout the region. the extremists left towns and villages in ruins. in 2016, the nigerian military managed to push the militants out of many of the areas.

those people who remains are traumatized. one man's photos of his village, how is once was. he tells of the numerous and fusion that took place -- numerous executions that took place and then the memories overwhelm him and he breaks down. boko haram's occupation has deeply scarred the region. the group terrorizes their victims, administering beatings and chopping off both hands. all the while they filmed to these images, documenting the atrocities they carried out. >> in the united states, thousands of grassroots activists have gathered in maryland for the annual little action conference. among the speakers were steve bannon and white house chief of staff reince priebus.

many are seen as archrivals for influence in the oval office but bannon and priebus put on a show of unity, praising trump's first month in office. our correspondent is in maryland. good afternoon to you, alexandra. did we see a show of unity or is it true that the dan and really does -- steve bannon really does have the year of the u.s. president -- ear of the u.s. president? >> it was interesting to see how bannon and reince priebus try to demonstrate that they are a team . that they do cooperate to push forward president trump's agenda

and by doing so they are trying to shut down the course of division -- reports of divisions within the white house. supports saying both men archrivals fighting for power. that was quite interesting. what was interesting as well and a bit this ring from my perspective was the fact that mr. bannon used this appearance to continue to attack the media, saying you should not expect the media is going to give back the country without a fight. as if the media were a political party. >> he has said that we are the opposition, the media, and not a political party. in terms of unity among conservatives, we know that the donald trump's approval rating is in the gutter, is that being reflected at all there? >> no, not really.

all people i was able to talk to told me they are very happy with president trump and what he is doing so far and the white house because as they put it he is delivering what he promised to in his campaign. what was interesting was that they do not agree on every issue. some people told me that they think the immigration executive orders are too rude. some told me they think the border wall is going to cost too much. others told me they don't think protectionism is the best way to bring jobs back home but at the same time they are happy to see not a politician but president trump in the oval office. that is the mood here at the cpac meeting. >> our correspondent in maryland at that cpac conference. thank you much.

you're watching dw news live from berlin. escaping trump's america, some trudge through the freezing snow for hours to get to canada and others make the journey in more comfortable way. our report on the asylum seekers looking to make canada their home.

>> you are with dw news live from berlin. in iraq government forces have recaptured the strategically important mosul airport. eastern mosul was recaptured from i.s. last month. u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has held talks with senior mexican officials to try to interest the division between the two countries.

mexico's foreign minister has warned that negotiations with the u.s. will take time and will not be simple. u.s. president donald has about to deport thousands of undocumented mexicans and force mexico to pay for a border wall. rex tillerson was accompanied by homeland security secretary john kelly. here's what he had to say. >> there will be no massive deportations. everything we do in dhs will be done legally and according to human rights and the legal justice system of the united states. listen to this, no, repeat no use of military force in immigration operations. >> john kelly speaking there. meanwhile, the u.s. other neighbor, canada, has seen a rise in assignments seekers --

asylum seekers trying to get away from the trump administration crackdown on illegal immigration. >> winter still has a tight grip on this part of the world. the border between canada and the united states, temperatures run about -20 degrees celsius. that is not enough to stop the steady stream of refugees leaving the u.s. and donald trump's immigration order. he has finally made it across the border after walking for hours. >> he is worried if you are an american police officer. >> once he has made it north of the border, mohammed is happy to be arrested. he knows he won't be reported. -- the port. -- deported. other migrants can cross in a taxi. the canadian border is very long .

canadian officials know where the immigrants will cross on foot. >> we arrest these people because we have to ascertain their identity. >> 450 people were picked up crossing the border illegally last month in the province of quebec alone. three times as many as in january of last year. those people would be turned away at an official border crossing, but once and they set foot on canadian oil, they have the right to apply for asylum. prime minister justin trudeau recently decided no one would be denied that right, no matter where they came from. >> business news, another record budget surplus for germany. the money is heavy. >> a kind of uncomfortable time because southern europe is a drowning in debt. germany scoffers are full and

overflowing -- germany's coffers are full and overflowing and it has led to calls for the state to spend more. >> how about some good news for once? >> germany's state coffers are overflowing. 2016 show to germany post a budget surplus for the third year in a row. high levels of employment, strong consumer spending and a boost in the construction sector were cited as the major factor behind the surplus. the extra cash has helped to berlin to create a large buffer just as it is poised to foot the bill for the million plus migrants who arrived last year. but not everyone is celebrating berlin's financial windfall. in the case of germany, we

observed once again that the very large current account surplus of this economy is not healthy for it. moreover this creates a very significant distortions as both the economic and political level for the whole euro area. >> he also insists that increased public spending in germany with increased growth throughout the eu. >> french and german economy ministers have met in paris. they promised to work with the carmaker in its ambitions to create a new european car champion. the french firm wants to buy general motors european division opal. it employs 38,000 people half of the year. they say there will be no forced layoff until the end of 2018. opal has 10 factories in six countries though there is -- so

there is widespread concern about the takeover. psa stands at 10 percent. together they have become the second-largest carmaker after volkswagen. gm is eager to unload opal. 14 million euros worth of losses since the year 2000. >> things are going well for psa group and its brands peaguet and other. s. presenting for your results, the chief executive was at pains to relay concerns the deal has stirred up. >> we want to keep this company german. we want to be competitive. in the business sense, we want to make sure we can get a wider

customer base. but he added that any plan for restructuring would come from its own management and not psa. the german economy minister and her french counterpart were also optimistic about opal maintaining its independence. >> psa has agreed to a cold the existing works council and wage agreements. that includes plant guarantees for various time periods and i assume this place will be kept. after all, why would it be made to both the french and the german government? opel excutives and workers are counting on psa to fill its promises. >> one of the car industry's best-known leaders is stepping down. nissan's ceo said he is quitting

to focus on the carmaker's alliance with mitsubishi. he is credited with bringing nissan back from the brink of financial real and in the late 1990's and turning it back into a successful brand. he said he hoped to hand over the running of the company. he will be replaced by the current co-chief executive. former head of the international monetary fund has been sentenced to 4.5 years of jail for misusing company credit cards when he was at the boss of a financial company. the case caused outrage in spain when it emerged. he ran up tens of thousands of euros in regular and undeclared dispenses -- expenses. the economic crisis left millions struggling for their financial survival.

germany's second-biggest airline airberlin hasn't made a profit in years. lufthansa is still bogged down with its round of crosscutting -- cost-cutting. the two rivals decided to join forces to some degree. much to the chagrin of europe's biggest carrier. >> rhineair may be known for gouging prices and now their top breath is gouging competitor lufthansa -- top brass is gouging competitor lufthansa. in comments to germany's press, michael o'leary said if it looks like it will, it is able -- if

it cried like a wolf, it is a wolf. o'leary says it amounts to a monopoly over segments of the european air market. >> that is all your business. back over to brent. >> on to formula one news. mercedes have unveiled their new car for the 20 17th season. their driver, lucas hamilton is not favored to win this year's world championship. the car was spotted driving in a rainy conditions at the silverstone track ahead of its presentation. it is expected to be faster with wider tires. that makes a difference, i am told. that is all for now. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the

day. i'm going to leave you with a picture of fat tigers as they do in siberia -- zoo in siberia. take a look.

on this week's "wealthtrack," maximizing your after-tax returns. this week's guests are focused on helping us keep those gains and not losing them to uncle sam. they're next on "consuelo mack wealthtrack." new york life along with mainstays family of mutual funds offers retirement solutions so you can help your clients keep good going. additional funding provided