>> this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, to stay or to go. defense ministers have begun a two day, virtual summit to decide whether to continue the fight in afghanistan or to draw -- withdraw their troops. at the same time, violence is increasing. also coming up, nigeria gunmen storm a school and take dozens of children captive. the government has launched a rescue operation to hunt down the kidnappers and free the

hostages. and, signs of life from a missing by princess. video emerges of her saying she has been held hostage by her own family. ♪ i'm brent goff, reviewers on pbs in the united states and all of your around the world, welcome. defense ministers have begun a today summit to begin the -- to consider the future and afghanistan. this is the first gathering since the new administration the white house, the deadline that put out by the trump administration is in doubt. they will consider whether to pull out troops even as the

taliban increases attacks against police and civilians. they laid out the alliance's plans for the mission in afghanistan. >> we will leave when the time is right. and the focus is on how can we support peace efforts and peace talks. there is new strength a new momentum in peace talks because that is the only part of the piece. as you know, we went into afghanistan together. nato allies, partners of the united states, we have made decisions together. and we will make the decision when the time is right to leave together. brent: we have coverage from both sides of the atlantic tonight, joining us is dw's ruffles studio -- brussels studio and in the u.s. as well.

brandon, let me start with you. you follow the press are closely today, he does not sound like a man who is ready to pack up his bags and leave afghanistan. >> no, not at all. quite the opposite. he stressed in his press conference that a withdrawal should be based on conditions on the ground at the taliban has to stop attacks. they have to stop supporting international terrorist groups. in some nato members, even have said, they would be willing to remain in afghanistan if washington stays. the german defense minister says they are not in a position to will talk about withdrawals. there will be no formal decision , everybody is waiting for the u.s. to complete its policy review.

it is also true that the longer this is taken, the more likely it is that they are going to drop the may 1 deadline. brent: very true. all of her, this looks like a major shift away from the u.s. withdrawal that president trump had promised. i am wondering, how much of a political risk is this for the biden administration. oliver: the question president biden is asking himself right now is thomas -- is how much risk would it be to move on with the plans of the trump administration and pull out troops from afghanistan. as a reminder, the trump you that was negotiated a year ago with the taliban included that the troop withdrawal takes place only if the conditions are met. the pentagon made it clear that they do believe the taliban does not stick to commitments and they do not see a future for that deal. experts in do you see -- experts in washington, d.c. saying a

troop withdrawal would lead to a collapse of the afghan state and return to a civil war in afghanistan, resulting in terror threats for americans. president biden does not want to be held accountable for this in the long run. but he also knows americans are tired of these endless wars. it will certainly be a tough sell for joe biden to explain the u.s. soldiers have to stay. brent: alexander, we are dealing with the new administration. this is the first nato meeting in the biden presidency. what did we learn today? reporter: what a change of tone, brent. he made it very clear that he was making a message of renewed teamwork. he said the u.s. was going to

lead again. they were good teammates. he also said the u.s. wants the alliance to consult together and to act together. so, it was an important message. after four years of donald trump in the right house, four years of frictions, that rattled the alliance. this message was welcome here. that is what was stressed in the press conference. brent: oliver, let's talk about a change in tone. former president trump publicly chastised company -- countries, especially germany, for being freeloaders when it came to defense spending. is the biden going to maintain that pressure on spending? oliver: that is certainly one of the big challenges for the biden administration. to improve relations with the germans.

as you know they have suffered under president trump for the last four years but also to move on with many american feel is a necessary step -- to call for higher military spending of allies. certainly, we are going to see a different approach and tone. a diplomatic approach. that is one example where biden and trump have similar policies, joe biden will ask more money from germany. he knows germany is not opposing what is at stake. what is to be discussed is the timeframe and when germany will meet its goal on what to be spent in the budget. brent: all right, transatlantic coverage tonight. to both of you, thank you. all right, let's look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. german chancellor angela merkel has felt that has spoken with

the iranian president to voice her concern that ron is failing to -- he ran failing to meet obligations with the nuclear accord it signed with world powers. the accord has been in jeopardy since former u.s. president withdrew from it in 2018. there were protests in barcelona, crowds of people rallied to protest the jailing of left wing rapper pablo hostile. he was jailed on insulting royalty in his songs and tweets. russian opposition has called to release jailed opposition leader russian -- alexei navalny. they say keeping him in prison is in breach of the human rights convention. nigeria's government is launched a rescue operation after a

government kidnapped 27 students -- were seven teaches an unknown number of students from school today. to they said the students from the college in been your ste were taken by menressed in military uniforms. although a few managed to escape. the abduction, for the other recent kidnappings, blamed on violent gangs. let's go now to dw correspondent -- a dw correspondent joining us from the nigerian capital. what more do we know tonig? reporter what is happened -- what has happened and the latest information we have is that rescue oppressiohas started -- rescue operation has started. they're trying to find out the rescue of schoolboys. military, police and others have gone and we learned there was some bumping us in the bush.

in the forest, where suspected lead this kidnapper was cited. a delegation of the nigerian government has affirmed that the government is ready to rescue them. brent: do we know who the kidnappers are? and do we know why they are doing this? reporter: up until now, no group has come out to claim responsibility. but this is an area where, in the past, we have this group of terror that had and credited. some analysts have said theres a pocket of iswap there.

it is clear there is a kidnapper ransom. the way the kidnapping is going, [indiscernible] that is not clear and till now. if they did, the indation is that it is trying to stop people from going to school. brent: you know as well as we do that nigeria has suffered a string of these school abductions. what do we know about the likelihood of the students being returned? and can we trust the government to be doing all that it can to save these children? reporter: if we look at what happened recentl where over 300 schoolchildren were abducted, the government had all of them

returned without any casualties. but we still have will happen in 2014 where 276 were abducted. up until now, there are still 112 that have not returned. their parents have gradually lo any hope of getting them back. but if the government decided to come in weekly and negotiate, pay ransom, there is hope. the is hope that these childrenay return d the re knighted -- and be reunited with their parents. brent: that is certainly the hope the entire world has tonight. thank you. south africa has, by far, the highest number of covid-19 cases and deaths on the african continent.

but the vaccination campaign has suffered a setback after the study showed that the astrazeneca vaccine was ineffective against the quick spreading viral mutation that accounts for most infections in the country. vaccinations have begun but, with significant challenges. >> i can't wait to get this vaccine. very excited. reporter: this is one of the first in south africa to receive the covid-19 vaccine. a doctor in cape town has been working with covid patients since the beginning of the pandemic. one in three callings here have contracted the virus. >> is a front-line worker, i'm among the first. so i think i should be protected, and is very important. 've been waiting for this to become. i am very happy. we will still be standing and have -- a helping the

population. reporter: six weeks ago, this ward was at the peak of the secondave with dozens of patients waiting for a bed. the first one million astrazeneca vaccine doses arrived two weeks ago. but shortly afterwards, a n small study show that i does not protect enough against mild disease caused by the mutation of the virus that is dominant here in south africa. the governmendecided to stop the rollout of the astrazeneca vaccine and offer it to other countries. much to the dappointment of some scientists, they say the vaccine does not ptect against severe disease. >> the pfizer vaccine, the moderna vaccine, the have efficacy against variants. so you are going to use those

vaccines but not the astrazeneca vaccine. reporter: the first batch being used now is from johnson & johnson, a vacne still in phase three trials. one study suggests efficacy against the new variant. this back-and-forth has made many south africans worried about getting vaccinated. >> i don't know much about the presence of the current vaccinations. ere was this vaccine that came from india, it is coming in at the end of the day, making profits. so, maybe we'll get it from them. so, -- >> not everybody sees it that way, a study from johannesburg found that 60% of south africans

want to get vaccinated. there are dissenting voices. >> i will take it. i can't die. i will take it. reporter: you're going to take it but -- >> you will take it, if you don't take it, you have to. [laughter] reporter: south africa's president also got the shot at the hospital to demonstrate confidence in the vaine. >> this day represents a real milestone for us as south africans. we are going to be rolling out this vaccine, it has already started in a number of health centers. i think it is going to be flawless. i think it is going to be done effectively. as we get more and more of these vaccines, i think we will be

able to vaccinate up to 40 million south africans. reporter: south africa has already secured about 30 million doses of different vaccines. there is no concrete time plan for the delivery and rollout. this team is preparing themselves for tough months ahead. although the second wave is ebbing, the third is expected in three to four months. brent: tonight, bun and the u.k. say they want to see evidence that a missing dubai princess is still alive. concern for the daughter of the leader of the united arab emirates is gaining after friends showed secret video recordings when she claimed she is being held hostage by her own family and set american villa. >> a troubling new video has emerged from dubai. >> i am a hostage. this villa has been converted to

a jail, all the windows are shut. i cannot open any window by myself. there is no access to medical help. i am worried about my safety and my life. reporter: princess latifah is one of the daughters of the billionaire. it is believed he has dozens of children from several wives. princess latifah has already made it to unsuccessful -- made two unsuccessful attempts to flee her father's family. it was concluded that the billionaire ruler of dubai was responsible for abduction and forced return of two of his daughters. these videos were recorded on a phone latifah was secretly given about a year after her capture. now, she has disappeared. you and is underway. >> so what is to happen is that

the u.n. needs to have a serious meeting directly with those who are holding princess latifah. and make sure that an agreement is reached. so she can be released. >> but if a -- latifah has wanted to be free all of her life. i am not satisfied until latifah is allowed to travel to a country of herhoic and get the freedom that she has always wanted. reporter: some are calling for world leaders and dignitaries to consider -- reconsider their relationship with the uae and its ruling family. >> this is a country which literally, people will be on the beaches in dubai a few hundred meters away from where latifah is being held hostage. reporter: it can only be hoped that international pressure will

not come too late for the missing process. -- missing princess. brent: i'm joined now by matthew hedges. he was imprisoned for six months in the united arab emirates for spying. that is a charge he denies. it is good have you with us, you have said princess latifah's case has brought back trauma of your own imprisonment back in 2018. you see any parallels as to the trauma you experienced? >> absolutely, when i saw the video i could see the pressure she was under. i saw even the drawing plans she had of the villa, and that was controlled within. this was nearly a copy of what i

went throu, albeit under different circumstances. brent: do we know, in the case of princess latifah, do we know why her father -- why he is been doing this? why would he go to such lengths to keep his daughter basically locked up? >> so, as younow, this is not the firscase of him kidnapping e of hishildren. this is simply a case of somebody with a loof power it is used to being in control. he does not like people going beyond it. he is losing power within his own family. he is losing power within his city and within the federation of the uae. he is acting like somebody who is out of control. and is increasingly pushing limits domestically and internationally. brent: you say domestically and

internationally, one could argue that this is a story of domestic violence. a father and his daughter. the international community really has nothing to say here, would you send that? >> i would understand that point of view. but, the fact that this happened within international waters and with the aid and assistance of third-party countries, not just one daughter but to at least two that we know of. and that he has a track record of doing this. this was proved in a london high court. this is somebody who routinely commits these abuses. it is only the tip of the iceberg. this is what he does to his own family members. so what happens to his own political opponents within his country? librent: isn't that the point though? to say that regular citizens of

the uae, if they are in this citizen, they will not get this outcry from the u.k. or the u.n. >> so, the u.k. has not outcry. he has not made a statement about but, because there is a tension driven to the sittion, we have to apply the pressure to get aountability. to let tm know they cannot be acting like this. these are routine, they are regular, it can happen to anyone. it has been shown on multiple occasions. when he has brought figures like mary robinson into this case and involved her. and has legitimized his behavior with those kinds of persons. this shows how far his power reach can go. brent: can he afford this pr disaster?

he wants the uae and dubai to be seen as an open society. but at the same time, we are seeing a story here of domestic violence and almost indentured servitude inside of his own family. >> the question is correct, can he afford this? this is where it is nearly endless. because he cannot afford this. but, at the same time, it is not just a personal issue within him and his family. because the reputational damage being done against him is done against the entire country. so, the real question is, the question of the ruling family, how e they perceiving this? if the damage done to them reputational in going to be too much? the ones who run the uae, will they be able to survive this complicity in these actsf needless and senseless aggression? brent: matthew hedges from

durham university of the u.k. tonight, we appreciate you taking the timto share your experiences and insights. thank you. >> thank you very much. brent: demonstrators in myanmar have gathered to demand an end. there is doubt the military will hold its promise to keep election to hand back power. she remains in prison facing trivial criminal charges. hundreds of thousands join rallies across the country today despite fears of a violent crackdown. reporter: a battle cry for democracy, tens of thousands of testers flooding the streets of myanmar. cars used as roadblocks to help -- to keep security forces from moving around the capital.

in this cat and mouse game, it appears that, for now, it is the mice that have the upper hand. internet site downs and other -- internet shutdowns and other attempts to stop the protests have been futile. exacerbated by fresh criminal charges against the leader. the young people of thi generationo not have to believe the military's promis. we have already learned our lesson from this page of history. >> there is growing concern that myanmar's bloody history could be about to repeat itself. the u.n. says it has received reports of soldiers being ready. despite these reports, that seems like merely a taste of what is to come. but as this activist told us, they are not backing down. >> i am not afraid.

we have been in military control for years. so, this is the time. we have to finish it. this time, we want to true democracy. we would no longer -- we no longer want the military rolling us. reporter: as the world watches with baited breath, there is only one way out of this. fist side, even if nobody knows where that will lead them. brent: after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stay with us, we will be right back.

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♪ >> welcome to live from paris. analysis from "france 24" these are the headlines. at least 27 schoolboys had been kidnapped in nigeria. the president has ordered a rescue operation. libya marks 10 years since the fall of qaddafi. some have pinned their hopes on the new government. friends indee the e.u. has agreed to take 300 million