brent: this is dw news live at from berlin. it tonight, two liters and one message. transfer and germany make the case for globalization. emmanuel macron tells the world economic forum that free trade has to work for everyone if it is to ensure prosperity and protect democracy. angela merkel warning against protectionism and calling for a renewed european single market. also coming up, turkish troops keep up pressure in their fight to clear kurdish militias away

from the country's border with syria. president erdogan promising to extend the offensive further east. plus, a look at the cost of waging jihad. this daughter left home to join islamic state jihadists. four years later her mother in chechnya fears she will never return. i'm brent goff. good to have you with us. it was a packed house today when europe took center stage in the swiss alps. angela merkel spoke first in the day, but it was emmanuel macron who had the headliner slot. he told the forum that globalization has to ensure prosperity for everyone for all classes in society.

emmanuel: the globalization in general is going for major prizes. organizations, states, companies, civil society should find and implement solutions. brent: angela merkel made the case for closer european ties, as well as more free trade. her warning against economic nationalism comes one day before u.s. president donald trump is due to arrive in davos. it was a chance to break political gridlock here in berlin. >> the chancellor's speech remarked her return -- marked her return to the political stage. her address focused on europe and its future.

one of her key areas, the world's problems will not be solved by isolationism and protectionism. instead, she said, nations must work together to face global challenges, both economic and political. >> we know there are national egotisms. there is a polarizing atmosphere. perhaps in many places, people worry about whether or not multilateralism consult problems . >> merkel also stressed the implementation of digital technologies that risk being left behind. she said that germany lagged behind less-developed nations, in spite of its reputation for technical innovation. >> that means our task for the next several years will be to

bring digital technology into educational systems. the government has to be organized digitally. and, a better environment for startups has to be made so that we can remain a cradle innovation. >> the chancellor then turned her attention to defense. she said europe should be more responsive to the problems of its immediate neighbors. she called on neighbors to work more closely, forging common policies. >> if you look at europe's immediate neighborhood, many global conflicts are playing out at our doorstep. we experienced this in 2015 when globalization came to europe in the form of refugees, when we had not done enough to counter the civil war in syria, when we had not done enough to deal with the so-called islamic state in iraq. >> the chancellor did not openly criticize u.s. president donald

trump, who will speak at the conference on friday, but her strong warning against protectionism seemed tailor-made for washington. brent: and what did the world think of those speeches? max hoffman is in brussels tonight. what did you make of president macro and his call for action? max: it is wide arching, from details, which he has a pretty good grasp on, to his vision for europe. his speech was strongest when he talked about those visions, saying that the framework for a new world order had to be multilateral and cooperatiove,

and that europeans have the tools in hand for answers to the most pressing questions. they just have to decide to make use of them and decide that in the near future. brent: and simon, at the top of the show i did reference to these two leaders. were they singing from the same hymn sheet? simon: not literally, of course. merkel sticks to german on these occasions, but the broad line of what they were saying about reenergizing the european project, merkel was a little bit less detailed than her french counterpart. perhaps that's exploilicable, given that she does not want to put off social democrats.

but merkel really drew together the lines about security policy, foreign policy, doing something to improve the condition in africa, combating migration -- which will, in turn, combat world problems -- that she is talking about the far right rising in europe. brent: macron spoke of the need to boost the french economy. let's listen to what he said. >> my first rested -- my first message is that france is back. [applause] because we will never have any success without european success. brent: so france's back. everyone is talking about that. max, he said france's back at

the core of europe. is there a bit of france first in that message? max: they are patriotic. what simon just mentioned, though, he spoken english. i don't recall any french president really doing that at an important speech in the past. that shows you that he is not in the spirit of america first that is propagated by the trump administration, that represents a closed model. he represents an open model of globalization, if done right. multilateralism. i would say that you could probably not be much farther apart. brent: simon, did you miss anything in angela merkel's speech? what did she not say? simon: angela merkel talks about free trade and nationalist

thinking and protectionism, but what about the huge trade surplus in germany? there are many people around the world were not happy with that. it isn't just donald trump who thinks there are too many mercedes and bmw's on fifth avenue. people in italy, for instance, will say that germany's approach to boosting its own trade while encouraging its european partners to be very tough on fiscal discipline and monetary discipline -- in fact, the french aren't that keen on it. president macron did not address that had on, but what is the answer to this big trade in balance that germany has with the rest of the world? you did not hear the answer from angela merkel, but she has other things to worry about. brent: i don't think you heard the word austerity once. i want to ask you both, you see an irony here? you have a conservative like merkel and macron, a

former investment banker, praising this is a model for the world. is there an irony there? simon: they believe in doing things for the working people. i don't know if it's ironic, but it's the shape of the new politics. it's not new, of course. it's been there for a while. brent: what would you say, max? max: merkel iss a conservative, not the neoliberal. it's been a long tradition with the cdu to have their social values. m lookinlooking at macron just as an investment banker does not do him justice. what we are witnessing at the moment are intelligent

politicians in europe realizing the way globalization has been conducted in the past, and that the challenges of the future are such that you need to do something to ensure that you have people on board in the european union. otherwise, you will just feed populism. brent: max hoffman and simon young, thank you. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. a brazilian court upheld the conviction of the former president on corruption charges. the three judges confirmed the verdrdict in increaeased thee sentencece from nine to 12 year. supporters rallied ahead of the decision, which could see him barred from running for office again. the disgraced former u.s. gymnastics team dr. larry nassar has been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.n. or than 100 women and girls, including olympic gold

medalists, described decades of sexual abuse. he is already serving a 60 year sentence on child pornography charges. groups in india have stepped up protests against the controversial film due to open this week. the makers of the film deny accusations that it distorts history by portraying a muslim ruler as the lover of a hindu queen. police opened fire to disperse protesters after the supreme court gave the go-ahead for the film's release. the so-o-called islamicic states claiming resesponsibility y for deadly a attack in afgfghastan. the government stormed an office of than eight agency in the afghan city of jalalabad. two pepeople were k killed, 20 injujured. militants battle their way in.

the british-based charity has suspended operations in afghanistan. tonight, turkey's incursion into northern syria is in danger of escalating as rockets fired from within syria land in turkey, killing two people and wounding several others. president erdogan has also vowed to expand the offensive eastwards, where they risk approaching u.s. forces stationed in syria. donald trump has warned turkey against the move, but the fighting intensifies. >> the shattered turn of evidence of the forces that turkey has brought to bear on freedom, a a turkey presses on with operation all of branch -- which, to them, has been a success. >> the o operation will continue until the threat is removed. >> the kurdish ypg wanants the woworld to know they will not surrender without a fight.

>> we will resist, and we will not allow the enemy to invade our land. we will never retreat from here. >> those do not appear to be idle words. missiles crashed into this turkish border town, causing panic as worshipers attentive to free the wounded from the rubble. the death toll rises on both sides, as president e erdogan promisises to expand eastwards. u.s. troops stationed in northern syria might soon find themselves caught between kurds and turks, each ally determined to banish the other from the region at all costs. brent: for the latest now, i am joined by journalist vladimir van wilgenberg. vladimir, it's good to see you. whatat are you hearing from your contacts?

vladimir: the fighting is going on, especially in the villages near the turkish border. we are having classes there. as usualal, civilians s were kid by the ypg. brent: we understand that there has been a controversy surrounding the weapons t tt the tuturks are usising -- spepecif, the tuturks reportedly using german-built tanks in this offensive. what are you hearing their? re? is that being discusseded? vladimir: well, they're watching the news very closely. todaday i talked with an officil who was complaining that german tanks are being used to kill turkish people. brent: and we know the turkish

forces are coming across the border. there is a russian component to this, and also a u.s. component. the u.s.s. has backed kurdish forceses in the pasast. they consider the militia to be the best ground troops in the battle against the islamic state in syria. now america appears to be doing little to stop turkey's offensive. do the kurdish fighters deal the u.s. has abandoned them? vladimirir: the f fighters arart happy with the statements, because it seems that turks are being allowed to attack. a call between donald trump and president erdogan had trump calling on turkey not to escalate and to show restraint because civilians could be hit byby these aacacks. in generalal, the kurds want president trump to call turkey

to immediately stop is a tax. -- to stop those attacks. brent: the turkish president has announced his country's military will expand this offensive and move even closer to u.s. forces stationed in syria, so vladimir, are we going to see a confrontation between two o nato allies? vladimir: well actually, i just got music you minutes ago from officials. they have carried out airstrikes were there are also u.s. troops, so this can definitely escalate. it seems turkey still wants to attackck the cities whwhere u. trtroops are statitioned. if the u.s. does nothing to stop these attacks, the kurds won't be happy with this situation. brent: can you confirm that we are seeing this offensive move in where u.s. forces are

stationed?d? vladimir: well, i don't think it is an offensive yet. but it has been confirmeded by severaral sources t that the tus have carried out airstrikes there. this also shshows that there hae already been turkish airstrikes in other places, especially a sign from turkey to the u.s. that, hey, watch out, we are serious. brent: journalist vladimir v van wilgenberg in irbil tonight. vladimir, thank you. vladimir: you are welcome. thank you. brent: you are watching dw. we meet the chechen mother whose daughter left four years ago to fight for the islamic state, and

she still has not come home. sad story there. the ongoing earnings season on wall street should make people happy. javier: there is bad news for some. more troubles at general electric are ahead. it posted a $10 billion loss, and a 5% decline in revenue last quarter. the performance was driven by a $15 billion charge ge took to cover miscalculations made by an insurance company last week. that leaves shareholders to fret even more about the masimo corporation, while already facing challenges in its power, capital, and transportation divisions. qualcomm will have to pay close to one billion euros in penalties to the european union. the eu's competition

commissioner said qualcomm played apple -- paid apple to use its chips exclusively. that means the company illegally excluded rivals from the market. it ensured its own market dominance. you know the old problem with infrastructure problems like roads or train stations? they are almost never finished on time. here in berlin, we have been waiting for an airport for 12 years. in china, a rail track wawas but ovovernight. takeke a look at this. >> at 6:30 p.m., construction began. 1500 workers with diggers worked throughout the night, laying track and instalalng signals. >> we dividedethe workers into uns.s. >> seveven groups worked on tass simultaneously until the sectitn was completed inin less than n e hours.

itit is part of a two hundred 50 kilometer route that will connect the southeasast of the country to central china. it should be operational by the year's end. javier: will just call that teamwork. brent: we want to turn now to chechnya. the so-called islamic state has been driven from much of the territory it once held in syria and iraq. as defeat looms, the families of young people who joined is are wondering what has become of them. hundreds left from chechnya loan. alone. in the second part of juri's series, he speaks with the young woman who joined the islamic state.

juri: a typical chechenen subur. people know each other and help each other. this, despite higher fences. there is one thing neighbors don't discuss -- the missing children. she has kept her silence for four years, but is now breaking her silence to talk to us about her beloved daughter, who has not been in her parents house for four years. her husband went to syria to fight with the so-called islamic state. tetimaat: she took my daughter and their three children. he won't come back, because he was killed last march. juri: she says she has not heard from her daughter.

she is one of hundreds of chechens who have left her homeland since the beginning of the syrian war. the women mostly follow their husbands, as is customary for chechen women to do. official figures put the number of chechens fighting for the terrorist militia at 700. that is almost all -- almost all are listed as missing. some of the mothers gave us these photos, hoping for a sign of life from their children. back at petimaat's house, we want to know if ansor would allow himself to b be recruitedy terrorists. ansosor: no. i will not get recruited. after all, i have my own mind. and i do not listen to the others.

juri: petimaat is not giving up hope of seeing her daughter again. she even shows us things she has bought for her three grandchildren. then, she shows us thisis pictu. petitimaat: i took the p picture myself in syria. juri: when we accompany her again on a trip to chechnya, she reveals she did once managed to see her daughter in the last four years. middlemen in turkey helped her to establish conct i in december of 2014. it took are several weeks of travaveling to reach norththern syria. she says t the journeyey was frt with uncertainty, and she did not know if she would never arrive. islamic state members allowed her to stay with her daughter for fourr days. she wanted to o take her back to

chechnya, but she was not allowed to leave -- and neither were her children. together with other mothers, she has found a support group that already has over 800 members. >> my daughter was alwayays obedient. she really trusted her husband. he ordered her to go with him to syria. juri: is he also to blame for your daughter's disappearance? >> no. what must be must be. that is what i think. juri: as we hear again and again while filming in chechnya, strong religious belieieves are one of the reasons why young people are being recruited by is. the mothers of missing children keep coming back to the airport

in grozny, in the hopes that their loved ones will one day return. >> i am here often. i'm hardly at home. why should i be at home? i have to look for my daughter. juri: now that russia has declared military victory over the so-called islamic state, dozens of chechens are being transported back from syria and iraq. that gives petimaat hoped that she might hold her daughter in her arms once again -- if she is still alive. brent: that was the second part of the series on jihad is an originating in russia. in tomorrow's episode, juri meets a former jihadist who returned to russia after serving as an is guard in syria. he talks us through his

motivations, his life as a militant, and his escape. now to elton john. he says he will retire after doing one last two or. our. the british performer wants to spend more time with his family, and said he plans t to go out wh a three-yeyear global tour. he said he had had a good run. after short break i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

. com. you're watching live from paris on france24 on your city and headlines this hou. brazil's former president this is his appeal against corruption convictions it is a severe blow to the next stage is hopes of winning back the presidency. she said the children says its temporary. operations in afafghanistann after islamic state. offices in just abou. and your pain latest time out in stores defense of globalization of the world economic forum in devil's president emmanuel back on top. events and says from his back or not it is is