brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, a pipeline from russia to germany, a giant energy project, now considered by some to be a threat to western security. the u.s. and france want germany to abandndon a pipeline supplyig russian gas. they say it could undermine security from western europe, but berlin says that criticism is unfounded. also coming up, dodonald trumpmd kim jong-un are to meet i vietnam, but why there?

the answer is a page right out of the history books. plus, the curtain goes up on this year's berlin film festival. we will have a preview of that and the many other treats hitting the silver screen this year. i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, welcome. in germany, plans for a pipeline supplying russian gas have been thrown into doubt by international opposition. the united states ambassador to berlin has urged germany to ditch the project. tonight, france says it could halt the construction process buys subjecting the russian company building it to tougher

union rules. the pipeline which is due to start pumping this year, but critics say it will make germany dependent on moscow and undermine european security. at least a a key part of germa's energy strategy suddenly under threat. >> construction of the pipeline is already well under way, but the fate of the project lieies n the balance. eu members have not yet agreed on how to proceed,, and germany and france in particular up your to be at august overregulation. -- appear to be at aodds over regulation. several german energy firms and one french company have also invested. at the heart of division within the eu is a plan to extend rules to foreign operated pipelines. eu regulations require a separation of gas sales and

pipeline operation activities. should those rules be extended to gasas from, it would mean the project in its current form at least could not proceed. brent: changes in the pipeline, you could say. for more, i'm joined by my colleague right here, kate brady at the big table, and in brussels, barbara. let me start with you. this last-minute announcement by france that it could support new eu guidelines extending the european union's control over the project -- how much of a setback is this for germany? >> it is a rather severe setback for germany. it also throws some doubt on the state of french-german relations because france has had germany's back or this project are quite some time now. the two big countries formed a blocking minority in the deliberations of the european council. their governments meet and

discuss this, so the regulation could not t go ahead if france w turns away. the question is why. some speculate they are finally caving to u.s.-american pressure in order to safeguard their own energy investments with russia and their own economic interests ththere, and there's also the ft thatat the french presidedent it going toto be here over t the weekend alongsidengngela merkel at the security conference, s so there is a lot w whirling a aro, and nobody knows quite what is what is the moment. brent: that is a surprise, too, to hear that about the munich security conference. what does this mean for franco german relations? >> certainly not a positive side . it could be just another issue to add to that ever-growing list of disagreements we have seen growing over the past few months between france and germany on any kind of issue from inet's to energy to military to eu reforms

-- you name it, that is on that list of disagreements right now between france and germany, but if you compare that to their symbolic friendship, that is a completely different ballgame. obviously, when it comes to policies, france and germany still have a lot to agree on. rent: they just renewed their friendship pact two weeks ago, which makes it even more disturbing what we are hearing tonight. the u.s. ambassador has also weighed in on the issue and is urging germany to abandon nordstrom -- nordstream. >> will we become dependent on russia because of this gas pipeline? i say no if we diversify at the same time to germany will expand its gas terminals with regard to liquefieied gas. that means we do not want to make ourselves dependent on russia under any circumstances,

but russia was a source of gas during the cold war and wiwill remain so today without is entering into one-sided dependence. brent: is that enough to reassure critics of this deal? >> i do not think it will be enough to quiet the criticism right now. the defense of the project we heard from merkel today is nothing new. she has been defending the project for months. complaint even from the u.s., which is not directly involved in the project -- i do not think they will go away overnight. if anything, since donald trump came the u.s. president, the complaints over this project has been getting louder and louder from washington, so i think there would have to be an awful lot of opposition, maybe even from the eu. it would take a lot of opposition to bring this project to a halt, and of course, a lot has also been invested in it and there have already been huge environmental l impacts.

>> to both of you, thank you. here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. british prime minister theresa may and european commission president jean-claude juncker have pledged to continue talks over brexit, but juncker once again refuse to renew talks. brexit is set to begin march 29. swedish police say a norwegian airplane bound for france with 169 passengers on board hass returned to stockholm m after receiving a bomb threat. the plane was evacuated and is being searched by rhonda fusil experts. members of the national swimming team were among the passengers. tonight, france has recalled its ambassador to italy in protest of the series of verbal attacks by the italian government.

french president emmanuel macron summoned the ambassador back to paris for consultations. relations between italy and france have grown increasingly tense mostly because of disagreements over migration policy. at a news conference today, italy's interior ministry outlined his country's grievances while also insisting italy would welcome talks.s. >> over the past tate of years on the french italian border, the french government, which thinks it is so generous and hospitable, sent back more than 60,000 people including women and children. some were abandoned in the middlele of the night. to me, that is not the behavior of a civilized country. italian police will be forced to reject trains entering italy from france.

brent: the future of airbus' prestigious a-380 is on shaky ground yet again. australia's qantas airlines has canceled an order for eight of the superjumbo's. other airlines are reportedly doing the same. the plane was billed as a great way for airlines to dramatically increase passenger numbers but at the same time reduce cost, but at almost $500 million each, few companies are buying. >> is the largest passenger plane in the world. the a-380 is the pride and joy of european aircraft group airbus, but as orders kept plummeting, the group was forced to reduce annual production from 32 just eight aircrafaft this year, and those eight have yet to bdeliverered. qantas dropping the planes represents a $4 billion u.s. loss for the airplanee

manufacturer and has raised doubts about the future of the a-380 itself. the australian airline ordered the jets in 2006 but since then switched to lighter, more fuel-efficient passenger jets, a worldwide trend. he a-380 is too heavy and uses too much jet fuel which would not be as much of a problem if prices had gone d down, but instead, they have almost doubled since 2016, so it is not surprising that another major airbus customer is taking off, too. the dubai airline emirates reportedly wants to cancel existingng orders for 53 units,t least part. that could mean the end of the world's largest passenger aircraft. brent: in germany, the country's antitrust watchdog is cracking down on facebook, moving to restrict the social media giant's ability to collect data here in the country. authorities say it cannot gather information through third-party sites without user consent. it is more evidence that

facebook's business model could be under threat. >> the focus was on the data facebook collects from third-party websites. examples include like and share buttons under news articles. similar functions are enabled on its instagram and whatsapp platform spirit according to the ruling, these give facebook and overwhelming advantage in the digital advertising markets. this, officials argue, requires users' consent. >> our conclusion is that facebook can still collect data on its platform. facebook can also continue to gather data on its other services like whatsapp or instagram or on third-party sites, but they may in the future collect such data only with the users' explicit consent.

>> like in most countries, facebook is the leading social media network in germany. it has more than 30 million users. it also owns the second-most popular social network, instagram, which has some 17 million users. that leaves the competition far behind. facebook said officials underestimated the level of competition it faced within the country. it has managed -- it has vowed to appeal. it has a month to do so and four months to offer remedy to the cartel office. the decision is the latest by european officials to challllene the market dominanance of amerin tech firmsmsnd reorienent data practices to favor consumers. last year, the eu enacted regulation to allow users to review and withdraw their data online, and member states are still debating a special tax for digital firms.

rent: later this month, north korean leader kim jong-il in and u.s. president donald trump will hold their second summit in vietnam -- brent: later this month, north korean leader kim jong-il and -- kim jong-un and u.s. president donald trump will hold their second summit in vietnam. is there a message here for north korea? donald trump kicks things off for us. >> chairman kim and i will meet again on february 27 and 28 in vietnam. >> the time and place is set for a second summit. both hail blasters meeting in singapore a success. in its recent history, vietnam has had a lot in common with north korea.

it is also a one-party communist state, one that has been ruled with an iron fist. it's regime reinforced by propaganda and personality cults, and in the past, it has seen open hostility to western culture and influence. it has been isolated and an international pariah, but since 1986, vietnam has taken a different path with reforms that have opened it up to foreign business. in a remarkable turnaround, it has gone from basket case to one of asia's fastest-growing economies. good vietnam-style change be a good fit for north korea? -- could vietntnam-style changnge a goodod fit for north korea? >> thehere were many things that had to b bchanged fundamentally. when you switch from a

centralized economy to a market economy, the important thing is to h have a broadad and far visn and to reformrm thoroughly anand completely. vietnam's reforms have seen its per capita income soar almost fivefold, but hanoi has not traded prosperity for democracy. the communist party remains firmly in power, keeping a tight lid on free speech and political dissent. but the social transformation is there to see. the site of skateboarders in front of lenin's stature in hanoi would have been unimaginable not longgo. compare that to today's p'yongyang where life is carefully controlled and north korean leaders are still revered as deities. the vietnam has rebuilt as with its former foe, the united states, perhaps a role model for north korea to also normalize a

troubled relationship. brent: in the last hour, the first trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for venezuela arrived in the colombian border city. officials are awaiting instructions on how to distribute the food and medicine . in defiance of opposition leader juan guaido, president nicolas maduro's administration has blocked the path to prevent the aid from entering the country. talk to me a little bit about what is happening now and what is going to happen. you have this convoy of trucks with aid. ey arriveded at the border and are waiting for instructions, right? >> yes, that's correct. [indiscernible]

about 30 minutes ago, nine trucks arrived along the border. a reminder, this is only the first caravan. they expect more to arrive over the next days. brent: what will happen to a all of this humanitatarian aid if ft is not allowowed to crososs e bordrder? quick stats the $10100 million question. we've been n asking this for a w days already. it stitill needs to be negotiatd withth the government. you have on one hand the effect of the leadership of maduro, who doeses not want t humanitarian d to enter the coury. the other side, y h have e interi presint, jn guaido.

wh hapns right nows not re. [indiscernible] the ar might block the containers. what we're waiting for is the dialogue. brent: there appears also to be two approaches on how to influence this situation. we have the u.s. with the convoy of humanitarian aid. we have also european and latin american leaders meeting today in uruguay, in the capital, montevideo, calling for an international initiative for venezuela. will they be able to help solve this crisis?

>> [indiscerernible] ththe united statess b basically capturured [indiscscernible] of venezuelala over the past few weeks. the european union and other parties discussed the issue but will have a d different approach when they wantnt to be more open to a certain amount t of dialog. i thinknk the humanitarian aid s pushing g the parties into makig decisions soon. friend: t the latest on that shipment of humanitarian aid. thank you very much. -- brent: the latest on that shipment of humanitarian aid. thank you very much. late last month, a new church independent of russia was created after the founders

receive the blessing of orthodox christianity's spiritual head patriarch. many people were glad to embrace the fully ukrainian church, but not all are ready to cut their 300 year old ties with thehe russian patriarch. >> praying in the cold. it is not their usual church, but these moscow patriarchy supporters say they do not have a choice. the decision by the leader of the world orthodox christian. within weeks, supporters were locked in a standoff. supporters of the ukrainian church collected signatures. soon they had a 2/3 majority within the congregation in favor

of joining the new body. within a matter of days, they had the keys to the new village church. leader of the moscow patriarchy insists the procedure was rigged. he says villagers were tricked into signing a petition, but that is just the beginning. >> this is reaping the community apart. people have stopped speaking to one another. we even have a husband who is threatening to throw his wife out for her religious beliefs. they called us antichrists. >> about 1/5 of the old congregation decided to stick with the moscow patriarchy. they have made their way to this rundown cottage on the edge of the village for the first service in what they hope is a temporary home for their parish. feelings are running high. >> we had a funeral the other day. the people there was split into. each side kept to itself. i could never have imagined i would end up going to pray in a

shack. >> at the other end of the village, the n new occupants of the church of st. john are also preparing for their first service. inside, their new priest is leading prayers in ukrainian rather than the archaic church language used by the moscow patriarchy. he proudly shows the congregation a copy of the official charter recognizing the independence of the ukrainian church. something many here have been waiting for since ukraine gained independence three decades ago. >> this is all about the congregation. they have decided which charge they want to belong to. the majority has made its choice. i think the others will be back with us very soon. >> we want to talk to god in

ukrainian, not in any other language. we want a ukrainian priest, a ukrainian church. russians are sending tanks against us, killing our children and grandchildren. we do not want the russians here. no way. >> we had a ukrainian church, truly independent of russia. we are not praying for their soldiers anymore. >> he refuses to accept that these changes aree permanent and is fighting to bring parishioners back in from the cold. >> i hope the people will eventually understand what they have done, the head, and return to the fold of the true church. >> for the moment at least, that seems unlikely. it began as an argument about bricks and mortar and threatens to turn into a level of division within this community. print: the berlin international film festival, the berlinale, kicked off today. "the kindness of strangers"

premieres at this year's festival. the outgoing film festival director was right there in the middle. the jury for this year's festival appeared today for the first time to answer questions from the international press. juliet the notion -- juliet binoche was asked about the number of f female contenders ad competition this year.r. > he said to me i'm very hapy that w we have seven films from women directors this year. he said he did select them because they are women because they are great films, so i think that is a good step forward. brent cold and she is jury president now, but she has been a movie star as well -- brent: she is the jury president now,

but she has been a movie star as well. we want to look back at her career. >> few in the film world have built a career as an amicable to fafacet it as juliet binoche. the french actress has been in over 60 films and from m the stt has worked with someme of the world's most visionary directors. she was already a star in france when her performance in philip kaufman's 1988 " "the unbearable lighghtness of being" lost her international career. for the 1996 passionate world war ii epic "the english patienent," she got an academy award and a back to -- back to -- bafta. in 2000, "chocolat," saw her seduce none less than a whole

town with her chocolate. the actress says she only chooses films and roles that resonate deeply with her. >> it is important for me to feel free and if i want to say no, i say no and if i want to say yes, i say yes. it has to be a very intuitive and almost hit in place for me to say yes to a film. >> like with 2010's metaphysical labyrinth "certified copy," for which she felt best actress at cannes. in recent years, she has done this repeatedly with claire denis. she asks the question what does true love mean.

and his sci-fi highlight has are getting freaky in the future as a mad scientist brimming with sensuality. with a career that spans more than 35 years, her warmth, humor, and versatility see her continuing to did i expectations. brent -- continuing to defy expectations. brent: never heard her described as freaky in the future. in a few moments, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around.

who tortured them in syria. first is elise deputy prime minister says the french people are friends and allies softer fronts recalled its envoy to rhyme citing provocation not seen. since the second world war it comes off the luigi mayer revealed that he had met with members of the yellow vest protest movements in france last month. its coalition partner matteo salvini has repeatedly called president mac on a terrible leader and has urged voters. to chchoose married d a pen n in