♪ anchor: this is dw news, coming to you live from berlin. america first doesn't mean america alone. that is what u.s. president donald trump told a crowd in davos. in closing remarks at the world economic forum, he took credit for a booming u.s. economy, and attacked unfair global trade practices. also coming up, defying warnings from washington, turkey vows to expand its controversial offensive against kurds in northern syria. resident erdogan says the operation will extend eastwad, where u.s. forces are currently stationed. also ahead, trying to tame corruption in africa. the fight against corruption is at the top of the agenda at the african union's main annual summit in ethiopia.

we ask our correspondent whether the plans under discussion can actually succeed. i am sarah harman. thank's for joining us. u.s. president donald trump has told leaders gathered in switzerland that america is open for business. but the u.s. won't tolerate trade practices he sees as unfair. trump was delivering closing remarks at this week's world economic forum in doorposts. one of his key messages -- growth in the u.s. spells gross for economies around the world. >> the anticipation was palpable. politicians and highflying executives waiting in line for over an hour to get inside the hall where donald trump would deliver his speech. the first u.s. president to do so since bill clinton two decades ago.

and eventually, with plenty of pomp, trump arrived on stage. he did not mince his words. pres. trump: as president of the united states, i will always put america first. just like the leaders of other countries should put their country first also. but america first does not mean america alone. when the united states grows, so does the world. reporter: and what is being viewed as a disguised reference to china, he demanded a reformed trade system. pres. trump: we cannot have free and open trade if some countries exploit the system at the expense of others. we support free trade, but it needs to be fair, and it needs to be reciprocal. in the end, unfair trade undermines us all.

the united states will no longer turn a blind eye to unfair economic practices. reporter: the u.s. president stuck to his america first message, and used the davos stage to pitch to investors. pres. trump: america is open for business, and we are competitive once again. reporter: trump took advantage of a q and a session afterward to take a swipe at the media for reporting fake news. his comments were met with disdain. despite the booing, the u.s. president later tweeted his speech was a success. sarah: nicholas cassels joins me . he is a political scientist here in berlin. we hav got trump the protectionist addressingos, a meeting of globalists. what do you think he is hoping to achieve here? nicholas: he was speaking -- he

was not speaking to the business elite or political leaders. he was speaking to his own base in the united states. in 2018, the republicans are facing midterm elections. what he was saying was basically, i am responsible for the economic upswing in the united states, and we are open for business. what is happening is that the world economy is pulling everybody up, including the united states. he was basically advertising himself and his policies. sarah: what do you make of the standout line from his speech, america first does not mean america alone. are we seeing a softening of his stance? nicholas: he was simply catering to the audience. obviously, he was in davos, and he recognized the gathering as a gathering of world leaders, of internationalists. so he said that. but he is an opportunist. that is not necessarily a bad thing. but it was a little disappointing, to say the least,

that the american president, delivering the closing speech, did not address the question of the splintering international globalized world, and to get to the finishing touches of the doorposts meeting, outline a real strategy of how the u.s. is trying to reshape a more fair and more just world. sarah: do you think trump's speech to the doubles elite or republican voters at home is going to have impact, or is this a lot of hype nicholas:? i don't think the speech had any impact whatsoever, particularly not on international cooperation. sarah: that is nicholas cassels, political scientist at the jfk institute in berlin. nicholas: thank you for having me. sarah: ok, we have time for one more question. sometimes that happens. does not come through. i was struck watching the speech by how trump seemed on message.

it looked like they had him on the teleprompter. he gave a coherent speech, a largely scripted speech. what did you make of that? can we look forward to more of that next week at the state of the union? nicholas: i read the speech is a transcript. that is different from hearing it. what i read was everything but coherent. america is open for business. we need fair trade. we need just trade. america first, but not alone. you know, it was -- it was a lot, but as i said, it lacked a strategy. it lacked this coherent denominator that said, this is my vision for the globalist -- the re-globalization of the world. he said the forgotten men and women have been forgotten for too long. i am here to fix it. i am the dealmaker. there is no deal to be made. there is no deal to be had. he is out of the tpp. he lost the pacific economically.

this speech did nothing whatsoever but tout the uprising in world economic activity. sarah: that is nicholas cassels from the jfk institute in berlin. thank you for being with us. ♪ ♪ >> it is time not to give you the economic perspective about the from speech. despite the criticism, what is clear is that the business people in doubles-- in davos approval to the policy so far. the president left him helicopter after delivering his highly anticipated speech, but none of the economic views he presented were really new. so the world economic forum comes to an end. with other discussions focusing on everything from cyber wars to the future of education, it became evident that the global economic and political elite will continue to tackle the challenges ahead, with or without the u.s. president.

and dw's team has been covering the meeting all week long. they have been talking not only to business leaders, but also experts from the world of science. elena humphrey had the chance to meet the head of the cern, the european nuclear researcher, to discuss global challenges. reporter: thank you for joining us. >> many thanks for the opportunity of this chat. reporter: as the head of a center for nuclear research, you know perhaps better than anyone the power of a split atom, and therefore the power of nuclear warheads. does that keep you up at night, knowing there are potentially unwieldy leaders who have nuclear codes, nuclear buttons on their desks? just: of course this is worrying for everybody. on the other hand, it is clear we cannot stop science because of the fear of how science is going to be used. atomic physicists, nuclear physics, it has led to atomic and nuclear weapons. it has also led to -- nuclear medicine, which is used to cure

people. i think we cannot really stop knowledge because we are afraid of how the government or political authorities are going to use it. reporter: these are uncertain times, times of handwringing, worrying times. how important is it that we take the scientific approach to thinking that we consider facts? guest: it is important. science can play a role. it can play a role because science is unifying and universal. it can connect people, and it can help build a shared future in a fractured world, which is actually the theme of davos this year. it is also important that science becomes one essential component of the decision-making process. when authorities and society decides about the big challenges -- not the only component, but one of the central components --

decisions must be based on facts and not just on opinions, and on scientific evidence. reporter: we began by speaking of the warnings linked to nuclear armament and so on. having nuclear power can have advantages, particularly when we are talking about climate change, finding new energy needs . in the time after fukushima, can you ever see nuclear power stepping in to fill some of our energy needs again? guest: i think we have to continue to work on all our technologies in order to make them more reliable for society. we cannot just say we stop everything and use alternative energies, because we know they are not going to solve the problem. we have a challenge, and we have to try to face it in all possible ways, by using all approaches. reporter: i want to bring in the fact you are the cochair of the world economic forum this year. one of the rallying cries has been that the davos man needs to listen to the davos woman to

make things change. do you get the sense that is happening, frankly, this year? guest: i think having a panel of cochairs made of women is a very strong sign. i think it really speaks to the importance of diversity and inclusiveness. if you look at the panel, we are all women, but we are different. we have different backgrounds, different messages to bring. i am a strong believer in diversity, which means giving everyone the same opportunities. reporter: thank you very much for your time. guest: thank you. thank you. sarah: that was my colleague, helena humphrey, from the world economic forum in davos. we talk about the future of the economy, because cannabis is getting legalized in more and more countries. that means great business opportunities for those who dare to get involved now. one investor in iceland believes his country is ideal for growing

weed, and the government is missing the opportunity of a lifetime. reporter: growing cannabis, the plant used to make marijuana, is illegal in iceland, but one investor wants that changed. he believes the island offers great conditions for growing weed. >> we need electricity and water for production. we have a lot of both in iceland. reporter: iceland has a huge amount of geothermal energy. he says using that resource to grow cannabis could benefit the country's economy. >> it is clear that they are big things happening in this area, and everything is on the move. whether we like it or not, everything indicates this is going into an extensive international business. reporter: as far as legalized marijuana, the market is growing. legalizing marijuana went into effect this month in california. experts say sales of marijuana

could reach $7 billion. use of the drug is already legal in countries like spain and the netherlands. no surprise that investors in countries as are away as iceland are hoping to benefit. analyst: -- javier: that is all from the business desk. it is back to sarah, because we have more news. sarah: in brief. short news from around the world. in south korea, at least 37 people have died in a fire in a hospital. the fire broke out in the emergency room of the hospital, which also operates a home for the elderly. it is not yet known what caused the blaze. a moscow cinema says it will no longer show a band movie, following a police raid. russian police paid a visit to the cinema a day after it screened the british satire "the death of stalin." russia's culture ministry has revoked permission for that movie, saying it marks the country's soviet past. voters in the czech republic have begun casting ballots in

the presidential runoff. the pro-russia, anti-europe incumbent had been forecast to win a second to hunt term -- a second term, but it is now a neck and neck race. german chancellor angela merkel and her conservatives have begun formal coalition talks with the social democrats. besides a stressed the need for speedy negotiations, and set a deadline of february for, roughing up talks to form a government. many coalition deal still have to be voted on by spd party members. paris residents living close to the banks of the river seine art evacuating amid rising floodwaters. the water flowing through the french capital has been swelling due to heavy rain. water levels are expected to reach their peak over the weekend. turkey's president has revealed plans to expand and offensive

against kurds in northern syria, despite widespread international criticism. today, he announced that turkish forces will head east from an enclave in syria, toward the iraqi border. ankara wants to drive kurdish fighters out of the region, that there is a risk that the confrontation with u.s. troops stationed in a town -- they are allied with the kurds. the united states has raised concerns over the operation, and asked turkey to limit the military actions. turkey's president appeared to brush aside objections from washington. here is what he said. resident erdogan: we will continue operation olive branch, in its seventh day today, until all our goals are achieved. we will read the area of terrorists. no one should take issue with this, because the real owners are not these terrorists, they are our arab brothers.

afterwards, we will continue to fight up to the iraqi border until no terrorist is left. sarah: could nato allies, turkey and the united states, and up facing off in syria? terry schulz in brussels but the question tomato's number two, deputy secretary general rose gottemoeller. terry: you just returned from turkey, where tensions are rising in northwestern syria between allies of nato. are you concerned that this could move from a political class to a military clash? rose: i am not worried. i have been watching very closely what has been said in washington and and kara. the countries seem to be closely communicating with each other. they seem to be paying attention to making sure the other is informed. so i am not worried.

of course, in general, nato is always worried when lives are being lost. that goes for syria, turkey. that goes for afghanistan, iraq, anywhere in the world. in that sense, we are worried about conflict. terry: the german foreign minister is calling for nato to take a stronger role to facilitate more dialogue between turkey and the u.s. clearly, allies are worried. what more can nato do? rose: first of all, nato is already actively on the ground in turkey. we are not operating in syria, the we are on the ground in turkey, providing for air defense, for control, for surveillance. we are doing what we can as a nato ally to help turkey in their fight against terrorism, which has been going on a long time. but in addition to that, we have been hearing from the turks here at nato headquarters who have been getting briefings -- there is a lot of information flow. allies have the opportunity to ask the questions they need to ask.

i do think that will continue, and there will be great interest in this matter in the coming days. terry: it is one thing if the opponent is bashar al-assad or terrorists the pkk. it is another thing if the united states is on the other end of this operation. rose: i think we need to continue to bear in mind that the two countries have been operating closely together in the fight against daesh in syria and iraq for many months, and so they are accustomed to paying attention to de-confliction, and accustomed to staying in close to medication so their actions are transparent to the other. i only see that continuing. terry: thank you very much. sarah: that was rose gottemoeller, nato's secretary-general, speaking in brussels. fighting corruption is at the top of the agenda at the african union's annual summit, underway now in ethiopia's capital. over the weekend, african heads of state and government are due to join discussions of key

challenges facing societies across the continent. our correspondent in nairobi brings us this report about how corruption affects people's lives. reporter: police checkpoints in nigeria have been part of everyday life for years. but here, they are not about maintaining security. they are little more than pay outstations of corruption. -- pay-out stations of corruption. although the chief of police outlawed them long ago, his colleagues continue to stop cars and demand money. we are on the road from lagos, the economic capital of nigeria, to the neighboring country, benin, observing what traders and travelers go through every day. although we are still more than one hour away from the border, we have been passing several checkpoints of the police, immigration, and customs. in many cases, drivers are asked

for bribes. more than 10 checkpoints on an 80 kilometer stretch of road is hardly unusual. anyone who refuses to play along and fork over cash will need hours to proceed. many people here say that nothing has changed since mohammed bihari was elected president of nigeria. >> they used to collect money from us at the checkpoints. >> corruption is a big issue. it is a huge one, at that. the police, even when you don't want to give them money, like the bus drivers -- they do it as if it is their right. >> [indiscernible] we expected something very urgent, a kind of drastic changes, but we have been disappointed so far. reporter: during his campaign, he promised to combat

corruption. but a recent afro barometer study shows that more than 80% of nigerians still believe officials are corrupt on the other hand, 59% of nigerians think the government is making a serious effort to fight corruption. three years ago, that figure was just 21%. experts have praised the government's initial measures, and people began to fear getting caught demanding bribes. there has been no sign of change at the institutional level, and little evidence of a shift in behavior. in other words, business as usual. >> we had an example of president bukhari, -- buhari, who is said to be somebody who is detached and does not seek a lot of personal wealth. that a person who is really disciplined and understands his mission, the mission of everyone around him, is clean. nigerians do not feel, rightly

or wrongly, that those around him are clean. reporter: despite indictments and arrests of several high-ranking politicians, no final convictions have been delivered. the government says it has to abide by the rule of law. >> it is -- i mean, the judicial process is circumvented with a lot of technicalities that tend to slow -- but not slowing the war. the war is still aggressive. this snail's pace judicial process -- we will continue. reporter: the snail's pace is what people traveling the road to benin know all too well. it is one of the most important trade routes in nigeria. where the rubber hits the road, it is still a far cry from the anticorruption rhetoric in the halls of power. sarah: turning to sports news, a

passion for the sport of cycling has reunited a group of friends who were separated by the war in eritrea. the refugee cycling team was founded in neighboring ethiopia. now, they have received documents from the united nations refugee agency, and they are hoping to raise the cash to allow them to take part in international competition. >> the love for cycling is in my blood. i have been cycling all my life. if i had to quit, it would be very sad. >> i am very passionate about cycling. i cannot put it in words, but when i am writing a bike, it makes me happy, and i feel relaxed. reporter: early morning on the outskirts of addis ababa in ethiopia. these men share a love of cycling, as well as a similar life story.

they have all fled their home country, eritrea, where they could have faced compulsory military service under slave like conditions. anyone who resists risks their life. every day, they spend hours in the saddle under the professional guidance of their coach. he fled eritrea to escape being drafted into the military. >> i am very proud of being the coach of the refugee cycling team. back home, i was a professional cyclist, and had technical manager of the eritrea cycling foundation. reporter: once the training is over, the team heads back to the city. it is a tight squeeze in the car, even though several team members are not here today. three are in uganda, and others have left for europe. >> we don't have any money to pay them, so they don't get a salary. i think they might have gone to uganda to look for better clubs

and earn some money. reporter: refugees are not allowed to work in ethiopia, so they need to survive on money sent to them from relatives or friends in america and europe. but it is not always easy. cycling can make you very hungry, so things like food need to be included in the budget. >> four of us live in this room, and we pay rent of 3000 barrel -- birra per month. that is about 150 u.s. dollars. we share everything, and all of us contribute to the bills. reporter: after the rent is paid, each cyclist is left with around $100 a month. this has to cover all other expenses, including bicycle repairs and spare parts.

if you crash and damage or bicycle, you cannot train for weeks. >> our main problem are the tires. we have to change them frequently. but if other bicycle parts break, that is more problematic, and even more expensive to buy. reporter: if all goes according to plan, the team trains every day. hard work is already paying off. cycling has a long tradition in eritrea, a remnant of the colonial era. >> we started from scratch, with very limited resources. but we compete with different teams from addis ababa. we dominated the addis ababa championship. we are very proud of that. reporter: big races like the tour de france will probably remain a distant dream for the

africa refugee cycling team. it is unlikely that countries will grant visas to these eritrean cyclists. sarah: that is your news. you can always find more of the latest on our website, at deed of you.com. i am sarah foreman -- at dw.com. i am sarah foreman. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪ çñññññññññññññññññññññ

anchor: hi, everybody. welcome to "euromaxx highlights." today's show is filled with many winter wonders. here's what's coming up. cold as ice -- stay the night in a snow village in northern finland. works of art -- a swedish artist and his beadwork creations. and nerves of steel -- speedriding is an extreme winter sport. for our first destination, we venture to one of the northernmost regions of europe. lapland is covered in snow for over 5 months of the year. so it's no wonder that artists from around the world join force to create a so-called snow