♪ ♪ sarah: this is dw news, live from berlin. syria's protracted war just got more chaotic as alliances shift. kurdish militia in thierry a -- syria are teaming up with president assad. also coming up, after the florida school massacre, students staged a die-in outside of the white house to demand more gun control. at the same time, the man accused of murdering 17 students last week appeared in court.

and german chancellor angela merkel tells her party that she would like this woman to be elected secretary-general. will it be her ticket to the chancellorship? plus, latvian fakers -- bankers under investigation. the governor of the baltic nation central-bank faces allegations of bribery, while the u.s. accuses a latvian lender of money laundering. and they call him the flying mustache. norway's new social media sensation steals the show at the winter olympics, and source to glory in south korea. -- soars to glory in south korea. i am sarah kelly. welcome to the program. human rights monitors say the syrian government has stepped up its bombardment of a rebel-held

area close to the syrian capital, damascus, killing scores of people. the syrian observatory for human rights says that government air raids have killed 71 people over the past 24 hours, and injured 325. the suburb has been under siege by regime forces for more than four years. the united nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in the area, which is home to 400,000 people. elsewhere in the syrian conflict, the state news agency says pro-regime forces will soon be entering the northern region of efrin to help kurdish militias repel turkish troops. turkey has warned it will confront syrian government forces if they enter efrin. i'm kara ankara began -- ankara began a military front last month. reporter: an entire town in

morning. this has become a familiar sight in afrin in recent weeks, with residents routinely attending funerals for fighters killed in clashes with turkish troops. it is against this backdrop that syrian state tv reported on a move that could change the dynamic of the fighting. the news anchor of this bulletin announcing that militias allied to the syrian government would soon arrive in afrin to help kurdish forces push back the turkish offensive. meanwhile, in government-held aleppo, just south of afrin, syrian kurds have been demonstrating against the turkish offensive, and in support of ypg fighters, many of whom can be seen in the city. >> the syrian army and we are one. the syrian people and we are one. we are all one, and we have one will. christopher: during a visit to jordan, the turkish foreign

minister said a deal would not affect his country's resolve. >> if the syrian regime really goes into afrin, there is no problem. however, if it comes in to protect them, nobody can do for -- determine stop the turkish army. operation olive branch in afrin aims to cleanse these areas from terrorists. christopher: turkey is keen to avoid a kurdish stronghold on its southern border with syria, so it's armed forces launched a major military offensive into afrin last month, in a bid to expel the kurdish fighters that control the region. the offensive has further complicated an already bewildering web of alliances and rivalries in syria. sarah: to help explain the fallout of a possible deal between the syrian kurds and decide, i have with me in the studio a middle east analyst,

the editor in chief of "zenith" magazine. as we just heard, we have this report from syrian state television, telling us the syrian regime is about to assist the kurds in this fight against turkey. could this just be tactical misinformation? or do you think this is actually the case? analyst: i do not think it -- i think it is tactical, but i don't think it is misinformation. such a move would make sense, and could also lead to a face-saving solution for all the conflict powers involved. that is a bold statement, so i should probably explain why. i think the pyd and its affiliate militias, the kurdish militias that are considered a terrorist organization by ankara, they are strong in afrin but have no way to move out or defendant in the long-term. they can give the turkish army a very difficult time. there is -- both are somehow stuck in this conflict.

inviting the syrian regime could be a face-saving solution for turkey. his is also how i interpret the statement of the foreign minister. they would say as long as the syrian regime moves and, we have achieved something politically. we can tell our constituency that the syrian regime has taken over, the pyd has been weakened, and what i think the turks want to achieve is control the border zone. they don't want to take over afrin. they want to control a buffer zone along the turkish border in this area. i think all three parties would be satisfied, to a certain extent. the pyd are the ones that are suffering. sarah: tell me if i'm hearing this correctly. do you think the syrian regime is going to take over administration of afrin, or would it be in the hands of the kurds? daniel: there is it ministration and fake administration. and menstruation in this part of syria has not had much in recent years. -- administration in this part of syria has not had much in recent years. since 2011, 2012, the syrian

regime has withdrawn from parts of northern syria and has silently given the administration of this area over to the pyd militias. the airport which is very important, the capital of one of the cantons on the turkish border, is until today held by the pyd, but the airport is controlled by the syrian regime, and it flies in and out to damascus. we have seen deals before, and i don't think this is an unrealistic scenario. sarah: what if we have a different scenario? what if we have turkey continuing to assault afrin, continuing with its offensive in order to regain this territory? how close could we be to a direct war between turkey and syria? daniel: we have seen clashes between syria and turkey. syrian jets have been down -- down by the turkish army. we saw a military intervention last year?

there is an area that is contested between afrin and other cantons. but we have seen in syria that clashes between armies would not necessarily lead to full-fledged war between these countries. what is important is to keep the promise of weakening the pyd, and in all this setting of brinkmanship, to prove himself commander in chief. if this were continues and continues for him, he is going to lose a lot of troops and it is going to weaken the reputation of the turkish armed forces. this is why i think this would be a solution. it seems the russians also were to say -- it seems erdogan has talked to prison about it. it confirms the scenario i just tried to detail. sarah: the shifting alliances are fascinating. we thank you for joining us to talk about the potential follow. daniel is the editor-in-chief of "zenith magazine," a middle east expert. this get a quick check on other

stories that have been making news around the world. iran's civil aviation authorities say they cannot confirm reports that wreckage from sunday's plane crash has been found. the domestic flight went down in a mountainous area in the south of the country. all 65 people on board the plane are assumed dead. a new anti-brexit party has been launched in britain. renew is hoping to capitalize on uncertainty over brexit to gain popular support and to pressure the u.k. government into stopping the process. the party is drawing inspiration and getting advice from france's governing party. the protesters in washington have staged a so-called die-in to demand tougher gun controls and response to a florida high school shooting. the demonstrators gathered in front of the white house and lay on the ground to push their message, although mass shootings are commonplace in the united states. the latest massacre, which saw 17 people killed, has prompted a

particularly angry public response. students and parents at the high school, where the shooting occurred, have led the call for gun reform. for more, let's bring in carolina chimoy, who is following the latest from washington, d.c. i want to begin by talking about student activists. they have been imploring lawmakers to do something. we have seen a series of very, very passionate pleas in the past few days. what has been the reaction from washington? carolina: well, speaking about the president, donald trump, he spoke with a senator on friday, a republican, about a bill he introduced with a democrat senator, a democrat. this aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun. but we have to remember that donald trump ran for president

as a pro-gun candidate, and tied himself to the nra, to the national rifle association, throughout the whole presidential campaign. so this kind of question always arises after such a tragedy. what is congress going to do? is there going to be a legislative response or not? experts say that people are not really shocked anymore after such tragedies. we have to remember this is the 13th tragedy in this year. a major change in gun control is unlikely to get the support it needs in congress. it also, among american citizens. people here in the united states still defend their rights to carry and to own a gun. sarah: carolina chimoy, taking the pulse in washington, d.c., amid this debate about gun control in the wake of the shooting. we thank you so much, kerley now. -- caroina. -- carolina. still to come, germany's

chancellor, angela merkel, told her party she would like this woman to be elected secretary-general next week. will it be the ticket to the chancellorship for her? we will have the very latest, coming right up. in the meantime, we had a star in latvia on the business front. reporter: indeed, latvia's anticorruption agency released a man on bail, the governor of latvia's central bank, accused of bribery. there is more. the government has been meeting in an emergency session. it really has a lot on its plate. one of the baltic nation's biggest banks is accused of doing business with north korea. and that despite sanctions. here is more. >> the latvian anticorruption agency is starting a criminal probe against the central bank chief. he is suspected of taking bribes.

the rules of the game for successful banking in the country -- he allegedly demanded 100,000 euros a month in bribes from the owner of a latvian bank. the financial institution then filed an international complaint. let the a's finance minister sought -- latvia's finance minister sought to offer reassurances. >> i can assure you the finance system is stable. banks do not have issues. depositors can feel completely safe. in order to protect the finance sector's stability and reputation, i think he should resign from his post while the investigation is ongoing. reporter: as a result of a second scandal, the ecb stopped all bank payments on one of the country's biggest banks. it was accused of breaching western sanctions on north korea. sarah: all right. who will win the election in italy on march 4? a lot of parties are competing,

and sympathies are growing for the five-star movement. especially people who are unemployed and frustrated with the current government. the movement embraces anticapitalist and anti-consumer ideas, and could make the difference whether or not the current government heats its majority in parliament. >> scampia has lots of social housing from the early 1970's. many of the businesses are broken down and abandoned, while many residents are unemployment -- unemployed and had few chances in life. they're frustrated by politicians and the promises, and are placing their hopes in a candidate for the five-star movement. they believe he can make things better. >> to launch employment, we need investment. we have to set an objective to relaunch plans here in the south, and at the same time, we need a basic income to help those who do not have work reenter the job market. let's start making it happen. reporter: jobs and a guaranteed

basic income sound good, especially for the unemployed youth here. >> i hope the five-star movement comes to power, because it understands young people better than other parties. they are more aware of technology, and think about a future for us young people. reporter: 10,000 workers at the fiat factory here have lost their jobs in the past few years. they are also looking to new politicians for help. >> i will go with dimaio. by getting the usual people, we know how it will turn out. they are always taking care of their own interests. we need something new. i think you will get some new perspective with di maio. reporter: in southern italy, more and more people now identify with the five-star movement, and that could soon determine whether the current government keeps its majority in parliament or not.

sarah: all right. back to sarah kelly now, and a menu probably remember. try to say this 10 times fast. annegret kramp-karrenbauer. can you do it? especially for international viewers, this is a name that might not roll off the tongue, especially for non-german speakers. that you might be hearing a lot more of it in the future. that is because chancellor angela merkel has told her conservative cdu party that she would like kramp-karrenbauer to become its general secretary. that means she would be in charge of the party's day-to-day operations. and it places her in poll position to take over as chancellor if merkel steps down. reporter: it is by all means a colorful choice. annegret kramp-karrenbauer would take the position as general secretary of the cdu, although she already has held more important posts within the party. but conservative leader angela merkel wanted a party manager

who she can trust 100%, and annegret kramp-karrenbauer has been close to merkel for many years. >> we have known each other for many years now, and i can say that we can rely on each other, even if we both have our own opinions, so i think we will have some exciting times ahead of us. reporter: the media has given kramp-karrenbauer the nickname "mini merkel," but akk, as she is known in the cd's -- cdu party, is more than a mini. she has served since 2011. her victory at the state elections last year was key to merkel's win in nationwide elections a few months later. she gives up this strong position to help merkel set up a reform agenda within the cdu. >> i am firmly convinced that germany needs, and will continue to need, strong political parties, and not political movements dominated by single persons.

reporter: annegret kramp-karrenbauer is matter-of-fact and popular. her nomination can be seen as a way of reaching out to merkel's critics. although she is loyal to the party leader, she has never been to shout -- too shy to voice her opinion in the past. sarah: for more, let's go to our political correspondent, oliver sallet, who is standing by with the latest from berlin. how have chancellor angela party members reacted to this decision? oliver: it appears that she is taking care for her legacy. she has received lots of criticism from within her party for the open door policy and the refugee crisis of 2015 and 2016, and the subsequent week election -- weak election results, and a shift to the left not everyone

is happy with. the overall question is, are we witnessing her last term, angela merkel's last term as german chancellor? and will she present her own successor at some point? kramp-karrenbauer is not her automatic successor, that this is a very influential position, and we have to take into consideration that angela merkel herself held this position before she became party head and later german chancellor. sarah: nothing is automatic in a democracy, is it? in the meantime, let's look at the other part of the planned coalition. do the social democrats have their house in order? oliver: the spd party is struggling since the election itself. they suffered the weakest election results, the worst election results, in modern german history. the big question is how to move forward. it was very complicated for the party to agree on a new grand

coalition deal with the cdu party. they had to promise their party base that they would be able to vote on this agreement. this is going to happen very soon fm now. but there is this group of young social democrats, who are fighting desperately against this to happen, against the spd party being part of another government. they believe they can only regain strength in the opposition. so it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be of this vote. sarah: oliver, what do all of the german public make of all of this? i understand we have new polls that have been released today. oliver: that is right. the new polls see the far right afd party coming out second strongest after the cdu party, even before the social democrats. that is something unheard of. that has never happened before in germany. we have to be careful with these numbers. they might be a bit biased.

the institute that published them is run by somebody who had to leave the cdu party because the positions were so far on the right end. but the general move cannot be ignored. the general trend continues, which is the rise of the right wing in germany. sarah: an alarming trend indeed. oliver sallet reporting on the very latest from berlin. thank you. sports news now. pablo foley elias is here with the big stories from pyeongchang. day 10 really dominated by the stories of doping. pablo: that is right. we have to start with the negative news. this is the man at the center of this doping story, alexander crucial minsky from the russian team. he tested positive for a banned substance, meld onium -- maldonium, which maria sharapova was banned for using, because it

was banned in 2016. this is a drug available over-the-counter in russia and several eastern european countries. it is taken normally for heart conditions. they are waiting for the second test take place. it would certainly be a very embarrassing situation for russian athletes and the ioc. sarah: in the meantime, we had a perhaps surprising result in the bobsled. pablo: this is the positive news, let's say. there is that wonderful bobsled that we can see. the german team -- there was a dead heat between germany and canada. germany's francesco frederick -- we can see these wonderful images. they managed to get the exact same time as the canadian team. this is incredible. there were four runs. two golds and no silver. it is always nice when you see these kind of things happen. sarah: everyone is happy. i like that. pablo: exactly. sarah: they had to stock up on a

couple more gold medals, though. we have to talk about the ski jump. pablo: we're going to talk about the man at the center of this, robert your hansen. -- johansen. he has a fantastic mustache. there it is. look at that. absolutely fantastic. whether it had anything to do with this marvelous jump -- he was the last jumper in the ski jumping men's team event. social media has gone absolutely wild over this mustache. will he start a trend? he may do that. we will wait and see how famous he becomes, not because of his jumps, but because of that wonderful mustache. sarah: all the hipsters of the world are taking note, i am pretty sure. pablo: i may have one next week. sarah: thanks so much. pablo: thanks sarah. sarah: now we are heading to the

berlin international film festival, where scott roxborough and charlotte chelsom-pill are standing by, individuals who get paid all week to watch movies. i am not bitter. i just want to know how you have been enjoying it. what are your favorite so far? charlotte: we have been struggling. scott: my favorite has to be the opening film, wes anderson's " isle of dogs." it is a beautiful movie -- light, funny, upbeat, quirky, as wes anderson films always are. a deeply humanist film. i think anyone except cat lovers maybe will love this movie. it really is, for me, the top film so far. charlotte: i was really excited when i heard wes anderson was opening this festival, and he delivers exactly what you would hope you would. if i were to pick a second film, i would take a more downbeat film, something less entertaining but still very powerful. that is the italian film that is

a complex and quite raw story that details women battling at motherhood. a female director as well. in the world of "me too, this could be a women's year. scott: "isle of dogs" might be too entertaining for berlin. they like to mix statements. it has a good chance. i have to say, we agree about the stones. there is another we agree on which is "transit," from one of my favorite directors. a very interesting movie, a reimagining of the sry of nazi-occupied france. very compelling. it stars forming one of the most interesting young german actors. charlotte: he is everywhere at the berlinale. he is in this film and one due

the aisles." he has also appeared on the red carpet again, because he is one of the shooting stars. that means the berlinale has decided he is one to watch in european film. we have a quick synopsis of his career so far. take a look. scott: he plays offbeat characters -- hard on the outside, but with hidden depths. he looks a bit odd, and he plays oddballs. >>[speaking german] scott: rogowski is a trained dancer, and his physicality stands out as much as his lisp and asymmetrical face, the result of being born with a cleft palette. he stars in two films, "transit"

and "in the aisles." he is also a european shooting star, one of a select band of actors being promoted as the stars of tomorrow. rogowski is an actor who lets extremes and prefers to take risks. sarah: charlotte chelsom-pill and scott roxborough with the latest from the berlin ali -- berlinale. i am sarah kelly in berlin. thanks for watching. hope to see you again soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

reyes: welcome to the show. illegal gold mining has created a pocket of poisonous destruction in the amazon forest 10 times the size of manhattan. the police have been cracking down on the small-time miners, destroying their crude camps and sometimes putting them in jail. but the amazon is a big place, and authorities say they can't keep up. illegal mining has helped make peru one of the world's largest exporters of gold. the miners claim they have no other work and must support their families. correspondent gerry hadden traveled to peru to spend time with them in the mines. this is what he found.