♪ brent: this is "dw news." tonight, the clash between russia and the west. you're in the u.s. announcing new sanctions. moscow warning it will retaliate. the sanctions are an answer to the poisoning of alexei navalny. biden promising his

promised to get tough on russia. nigerian schoolgirls released after being held by gunmen. it is the latest release. nigerian sphere it will not be the last. and, reports of live rounds fired in myanmar. southeast asian countries calling on the generals to stop the shooting and release the civilian leader aung san suu kyi. ♪ i am brent goff. welcome. we begin with an answer to the poisoning. today, the eu and the u.s. in a coordinated move slapped sanctions on russian officials and companies connected with the poising and imprisonment of alex a navalny. he is now serving a

prison sentence. washington said its intelligence found moscow was behind the poising with the nerve agent last august. it is the first time the new administration h sanction russia. russia says it is preparing its own against the eu and u.s. my first guest is an authority on corruption in russia. he is the author of the book "red notice." it is good to have you back on the show tonight. the u.s. has imposed sanctions on high-ranking russian officials, including the head of the prison service, former prime minister, and head of the security service. what difference will this make? bill: it is a good first step. i am glad to see biden has

veered away from the policies of trump and gotten tough on russia. this is a very short list. it is a list that does not include vladimir putin's billionaire cronies, those who can affect s actions going forward, those who alexei navalny head called to be sanction before he w arrested. it is a glass half-full type of situation. there is more to be done. brent: there is criticism with the biden administration, saudi arabia, the crown prince blame for the killing of jamal khashoggi. the reaction has been sanctions, but not against the crown prince. in this case, sanctions, but not targeting vladimir putin. you see parallels? bill: it is unrealistic to sanction vladimir putin, but it

is very realistic and has been done before during the trump administration to sanction vladimir putin' billionaire cronies, his cashiers. in 2018, the trump administration sanction seven oligarchs. that is what touches vladimir putin. that is what biden shod do right now. he hasn't, in part of the reason is biden wanted to do this in a multilateralay, combining forces with the use, but the eu gets water -- with the european union, but the european union gets water down, so in essence, a country like hungary can hijack the whole world by being one of the 27 members of the eu, and u.s. copies that, so it is not as good as it could be by any stretch of the imagination. brent: the sanctions target people close to that amir putin

-- to vladimir putin. will they affect members of the russian elite living abroad, those who live where you are, unthinking. bill: these sanctions were against important, high-level, and high-value targets in the vladimir putin regim. none of these officials keeps money in their own name. they keep money in the name of their oligarch friends who hold it for him. the only way you can touch these pele in vladir putin is by going after the oligarchs, so yes, naming and shaming is good, they are high-value targets, and i'm sure they're not happy to be on these sanctions list, but t do the properly, more needs to be done and be brought into these business people. brent: we have spoken about the threat, the danger from the kremlin.

moscow is saying it will react in kind to these western sanctions. what does that mean? what do these retaliations in kind look like? bill: the beauty of the sanctions are that most of these russians want to keep their money in properties in the west and in banks in the west, and it's not as if important government officials in the u.s. or the european union want to keep their money in russian banks, so they can sanction as many people as they want. most politicians i know consider it to be a badge of honor to be on the russian counter sanctions list. brent: bill, we appreciate your time and insights. thank you. bill: thank you. brent: hundreds of students kidnapped from their boarding school in northern nigeria have been released. the regional governor says the girls are safe and well after being taken by armed men on

friday. their abduction was the latest in a series of mass kidnappings in recent months. correspondent: their ordeal is over. officials say the almost 300 school children are healthy. however, some did suffer physical wounds. it is the psychological impact of their kidnapping that may take longer to heal. >> most of us injured our feet and we could not continue to walk. our captor said they would shoot anybody who did not continue. we walked across a river and they hid us and let us sleep under bushes in a forest. correspondent: for the families of the schoolgirls, their relief is unsurmountable. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: i am very happy.

god has brought our ordeal to a in. we are so happy. -- to an end. we are so happy. thank god. [speaking foreign language] correspondent: the students were abducted from this boarding school last friday. government officials have been in talks with the kidnappers, known locally as bandits. they say these bandits often kidnapped for ransom money and to press for the release of their members held in prison. authorities are searching for the culprits. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i am happy. they outline the details of how, when, the circumstances in this. correspondent: nigeria's president tweeted, saying they

are working hard to bring an end to these incidents of kidnapping, saying the military and police will continue to go after the kidnappers. this latest kidnapping was the fourth massive duction in nigeria in the last three months. this time, -- mass objection in nigeria in the last three months. there is fear the children will become targets of kidnapping again. brent: the fbi director chris wrey said there is no evidence that the seizure on the u.s. capitol building was carried out by people posing as trump supporters. he described the events on jeanni rhee six as domestic terrorism and plans to hold people accountable. reporters without borders has accused another group over the killing of jamal khashoggi. the media watchdog has filed a complaint with germany's public prosecutor, seeking an inquiry

under the national jurisdiction laws. the group accuses saudi arabia of persecuting jamaal shelby -- jamal khashoggi and other journalists. in afghanistan, three women who were shot who worked for a broadcaster. government sources say the women were attacked separately on their way home from work. these are the latest in series of shootings and bombings targeting journalists and other professionals in recent weeks. indonesia's mountain has been throwing volcanic ash as highs 5000 meters into the sky. activity increased in the last week. there have been no new evacuation orders. the volcano was dormant for four centuries before erupting in 2010. previous corrections have killed dozens of people. foreign ministers from southeast asian countries have held talks with me and mark -- myanmar.

the military seized power one month ago. security forces are stepping up their response as the unrest claims an increasing number of lives. correspondent: saying goodbye to a friend, the funer of a yng man shot dead by police, just one victim of an escalating crackdown by myanmar's military. thousands accompany his coffin, people showing the three-finger salute, adjuster symbolizing solidarity and resistance. >> translator: we want democracy and justice, and our human rights back. we also want justice for our fallen heroes, who have given their lives for this revolution. correspondent: crowds were saluting in another area. road testers continued to flood

the streets despite crackdowns here and across the country. many gather behd barricades and homemade shields, hoping to slow or stop the police response. as security forces struggle to disperse them, they resort to increasing levels of violence, deploying water cannon, firing rubber bullets, and even live ammunition, as one activist told dw news. >> they are real bullets. they shoot head shots. they are that accrual to the people. the military is not the same thing anymore. they are already a terrorist organization here. correspondent: as the standoff continues, international pressure on the military is mounting. >> translator: the situation is wearing, because an increasing number ocivilians ve lost their lives and or injured. correspondent: and it is wearing

because if it is not addressed at once, this crisis could affect peace and security in the entire region. myanmars neighbors have cold on the army to stop the killing, release political prisoners, and return the country to democracy. until that happens with the protesters say they will continue mobilizing, no matter what. brent: when will the coronavirus lockdown in germany end? state and federal leaders will need to find an answer. it has been in effect for some for five months. germans have supported the cautious approach, but opinion polls showws that people now wat the country to begin opening up, despite warnings of a possible third wave of infections. correspondent: how much longer? that is the question many are asking at the moment.

the lockdown began in early november, and it is dragging on, and many germans are growing increasingly tired of it. >> translator: i am hoping for the easing of restrictions, something other than closed shops and restaurants, so yes, i hope we will open up a bit now. >> translator: i am unemployed. i can't work, nothing, so i just sit around at home. >> translator: there has to be some prospect that some things will be possible soon. correspondent: the latest poll shows a clear majority of germans now want to see lockdown measures ease. the past two weeks have seen tentative steps in that direction. primary school children have returned to some classroom teaching. and on monday, hairdressers were allowed to reopen. still, there does not seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.

vaccinations in germany are moving at a sluggish pace, and infection rates are inching up again, fueled by more contagious variance of the virus. listening restrictions now is dangerous, says one warng. >> if we open up now, some normal life as before,e woul risk a msive third wave. the speed of infectn is taking up, and we have seen a high number of infections in the weeks, with the consequence of people getting sick and the people needing to go to the hospital and risking their lives. correspondent: the german chancellor angela merkel says while listening to scientists and taking a cautious approach to the pandemic, but now pressure is growing to prevent germans from losing patients that associate might have to be ready for compromise as she heads into the latest meeting to determine germany's next moves in the pandemic. brent: if you have children you

will know what i mean when i say this pandemic is being calm the biggest education emergency in history. new data shows how damaging it has been to schooling. the charity save the children says students have lost an average of one third of their standard 190 days school year. the lost classroom time is not treated equally. the report says pupils in europe have missed 45 days of school due to the pandemic . in sub-saharan africa, 69 days. children in the middle east, about 80 days of education. hardest hit were children in latin america and south asia, where they lost a total of 110 days of classroom time. james cox is head of policy at save the children and joins me from london. it is good to have you on the program. your organization, you said this

is an education emergency. quite an emergency? james: thank you for summarizing the key issues in the scale of education losses for these children. it is already huge. the amount of time in e classroom already represents 10% of the entire time they are expected to spend in school and their entire lifetime, but on top of that, the disparity is what we are hilighting tay, so highlighting that as well as digital divide in countries. there are big digital divides in countries and regions as well, and it will take a long time. these losses will have a big impact on these children in the short-term and long-term, so we need an urgent response now. brent: let me ask you about that. we are not worried about just the time in the classroom lost, but what this will do to the future time when the children will be in the classroom, right?

james: yes. we know from previous crises that learning losses can be big and last for a long time. for example, the pakistan earthquake, children in schools are sti 1.5 years behind in learning after the outbreak itself, so it needs the right support, such that and can be taught at the right level. teachers need to be making plans to support the now and implement this process. -- them now and implement this process. brent: does it affect gender equality? >> no, we have seen evidence girls are facing bigger challenges with these lockdowns. plenty of research shows gir have less access. studies from india show rural girls have never used the

internet, 90% of them, and bs have muh more access. if there is one device in the class or home, they are prioritized for that. girls are at risk of child marriage. one million more girls are likely to be subject to forced marriage as a result of school closures alone. brent: i think everyone would agree that the reason why the schools have been closed is to protect the children. do you think governments and local school governing bodies, have they missed an opportunity to bring their classrooms into the 21st century? we have serious proms with digital haves and have-nots now, don't we? james: indeed. some of the great responses that teachers, parents,ommunies, and governments have put in play , radio, tv, iernet learning,

these things can b built on for learning for these children, but we need to focus on fundamentals, basics, and marginalized children, what they need, because they are the ones who have suffered the most, a theyeed a care plan to know they areupported sthey come back to school, and when they are they are, they are supported properly, and three, governments put the investment behind that, supported by the international community, the g7, the replenishment of education, and the international community can play a big role in making sure they are supported. brent: if there was one thing that could be done tomorrow for all of these children who are missing classroom time, what would you like to see happen? james: one thing, a clear plan from every government about how they will support the teachers, support those children whenhey come back in with clear

messaging to parents about the support those children get, so pares, children, and teachs can be part of the process and the support they will get when they come back in. brent: all right. james cox from save the children from london. we appreciate your time, insight, invaluable work you're doing. thank you. mikael gorbachev is often celebrated as the man who ended the cold war, and with it, the post-war division of europe, but his home country, the legacy of the last leader of the former soviet union is much more complicated. as he turns 90, we asked three russian politicians what mikael gorbachev means to him. >> freedom fight, he, and other ways he is known in the west. in gerny, people creditim with reunification, but what does the last soviet president stand for in today's russia? what do three young politicians

think that when they hear his name? >> decay, hunger, and fear. perestroika, changes, something like that. >> for me, freedom. correspondent: when gorbachev was elected chairman of the commonest's party in 1985, nobody had an inkling how far-reaching his reforms would be, nor how painful the transition from a command economy to a market economy would be for millions of soviet citizens. >> translator: when i was 14, i earned money as a cleaner in my own school, starting at 6:00 a.m., then change clothes and went to school with other children at 8:00 a.m. otherwise, our family could not afford bread. i associate that with gorbachev. >> translator: he gave the russians the opportunity to exercise political freedoms, not fear telling the truth or not fear protesting in the streets are voting for outspoken politicians.

-- for voting for outspoken politicians. >> translator: gorbachev had to come to change the system. at some point, he had to loosen the political screws. that is his main achievement. >> translator: reforms and freedom of expression don't mean much to me. freedom must have hundreds, otherwise things will get out of hand. gorbachev's freedoms of the 1990's led to the tightening of the political screws today. correspondent: although mikael gorbachev was a staunch communist, the communist regime collapse as a result of his reforms. the entire soviet union collapsed in 1991, almost 70 years after it was founded. >> translator: i that region. someone who renounces their

countries -- i call that region. someone who renounces their ideals, no longer loyal to the soviet people, that is a traitor. certainly the country we live in today is not ideal, but it is better than the totalitarian state call the soviet union that we used to live in, and we owe that to gorbachev. >> translator: gorbachev did not leave the country with the help of the kgb secret service, but with the support of human rights activists, intellectuals, and people with humanistic ideals. on the other hand, if you ask young people from my generation what they associate with the current system, none of them will mention the terms freedom, openness, and honesty. [applause] correspondent: at 90, mikael

gorbachev has been celebrated by some sections of russian society for his profound social reforms. the rest condemn him for being the architect of those very same changes. brent: a painting by britain's wartime prime minister winston churchill has been auctioned in london for about 7 million pounds. churchill painted the painting of the 1943 casablanca conference in morocco, and stayed one extra day to finish it, then send it to his u.s. ally, president franklin roosevelt, as a birthday present. the picture was later acquired by angelina jolie, who has decided not to sell it. here is a reminder of the top stories we are following. the eu and u.s. have slapped new sanctions on russian officials and companies over the poisoning and imprisonment of alex a navalny, the first time the new u.s. administration -- ale

xei navalny, the first time the new u.s. ministration has done so. russia has promised it will respond. hundreds of girls kidnapped in nigeria have been released. authorities say they are safe and well. it is the fourth mass adduction in nigeria children in the last three months and has cast doubts over the ability of the government to provide security for its own citizens. finally, great a legend -- a reggae legend has died. he was 73. his career spanned seven decades , but is best known for founding the wailers, the group that catapulted bob marley to stardom. after a break, i will take you through "the day." but first, one of their early hits, "go tell it on the mounta." ♪ >> ♪ go tell it on the mountain

to set my people free ♪ ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> ♪ go tell it on the mountain to set my people free ♪ ♪

ç■ç? >> 10:00 p.m. in the french

capital, this is live fromh paris. the u.s. hits russian officials with sanctions over the poisoning of alexei navalny. france shifted policy towards moscow. hundreds of kidnapped nigerians have been freed. the nation's president vowing to crackdown on lawlessness in response to the inductions. and a