♪ >> this is dw news. talk to head off war in europe. u.s. and russia trying to defuse tensions over ukraine. moscow dismissing invasion talks as hysteria. joe biden morning any attack would, at a high price for the country. the countdown to germany's new government with all of schultz

formalizing the three-party coalition agreement. fighting omicron, south africa ramped up covid-19 vaccinations with the battle against the new variant. logistics and vaccine hesitancy are still hampering progress. ♪ anchor: our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and all of you around the world, welcome. we begin with the video call between two presidents that could be diplomacy's last chance to avert a war in europe. a build of russian troops on the ukrainian border has many on both sides of the atlantic worried kremlin is planning an invasion. u.s. president joe biden and western president vladimir putin wrapped up two hours of denies t

is planning to attack. biden told putin the u.s. would respond with strong economic and other measures if russia invades ukraine. after the talks, biden assured ukraine's yet -- ukraine's president of his support and briefed european allies including germany and france. >> joint military exercises with the ukrainian and u.s. armies and the black sea. images like these anger russian president putin and this before a video summit with u.s. president biden where putin wants a promise that ukraine will not join nato. >> we will insist on concrete agreements to rule out the possibility of nato expanding further east and deploying weapon systems that threaten us close to russian territory. correspondent: whether ukraine would be offered membership is not clear about more than half

of ukrainians favor it. pres. putin: nato is like a protective shield. whoever wants to conquer will think twice before acting. correspondent: nato would move ukraine forward internationally. i doubt the nato countries would even want us. europeans are not ready to sacrifice their lives for ukraine. correspondent: in the fight against the russian backed rebels, ukraine relies on weapons from nato countries, antitank defenses from the u.s. and runs from turkey, but further former defense minister, it does not matter whether this provokes pressure or not. >> russia wants to expand its influence to ukraine and wants ukraine -- correspondent: u.s. president biden supports ukraine and motion -- any russian military action would have harsh economic penalties. five european states, including germany, also called on pressure to respect ukraine sovereignty. anchor: for more on these high

stake talks, i am joined by the washington bureau chief. good evening to you. this virtual video call between biden and putin is over. has a crisis been averted? correspondent: we are waiting for the poor white -- white house press briefing to happen. we do not really have any details about the conversation. what we know is that the biden administration is obviously really considering options for possibly evacuating u.s. citizens from ukraine, so this is not too promising. anchor: that is not unpromising at all. do we know how the president is coordinating with his european allies on the situation? correspondent: yes, he talked to britain, france, germany, and italy before this call.

talking to them to discuss the outcome and also discuss further steps. he also definitely wants to show that he can respect -- can be respected as a world leader, something hehis campaign and soe underlines with his video called today and also with improve thed stage. brent: what about if push comes to shove? could we see u.s. troops deployed in europe or it comes to war or peace, is washington willing to let russia invade? will the u.s. throw ukraine under the bus if it has to? ines: well, history has taught us that we never should say yes or no to questions like that, brent. it is unlikely american forces really would come directly to the ukraine's aid, just because

joe biden really wants to be seen in the history books as a president who ended war, who ended the so-called endless war in afghanistan. it is unlikely he will use military force, but he already said that he really would impose strong sanctions, sanctions which would not mainly hurt the emirates, russians, but the inner circle of vladimir putin, and that means that he is willing to put pressure there on putin, if he dares to invade ukraine. brent: i am wondering where you are in washington, how is the situation being seen? does the president enjoyed bipartisan support, for example? ines: that is new in this really, really divided and regularized -- radicalized

company -- country. republican lawmakers that he got the bilateral support the republicans -- it has been different under the republican president donald trump with nato. one lawmakers said it is possible that putin dares to do what he is doing just because donald trump really weakened the nato with his policy. brent: following the story closely tonight. thank you. let's take a look at the other stories making headlines around the world. german prosecutors as the court to sentence a russian agent to life in prison for an alleged assassination that took place in a berlin park. prosecutors say -- was working for russian secret services when he shot dead a georgian national in 2019. the accused denied he is the killer. authorities have arrested a

killer of a saudi german us -- journalist. french media say of former royal guard was arrested at a paris airport while trying to board a flight. he is thought to have been involved in the killing inside the saudi consulate in istanbul in 2018. pakistani prime minister -- has pledged to clamp on vigilante attacks after a mob killed a sri lankan man who was accused of blasphemy. he promised to punish those who use religion to commit violence. the sri lanka manager was set on fire while workers at a factory last week. chili's congress has passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. once it is signed by the president, chile will become the seventh country in latin america to legalize same-sex marriage. the far right candidates in forthcoming elections in chile oppose this james -- gay

marriage. saying with politics, germany is less than a day from getting a brand-new government. all three political parties involved have formally signed off on their coalition agreement. olaf scholz will take over as chancellor tomorrow, as angela merkel bows out after 16 years in office. his cabinet includes many new faces and half of them are women. correspondent: finally, time to sign. 10 weeks after september's election, the three parties who want to renew germany have put pen to paper. the somewhat unlikely grouping has had to put aside significant differences to come up with this agreement. it is a sort of marriage contract, setting out ways to make germany greener, fairer, and more modern. >> if the good cooperation of these parties had during the formation of the government continues, it will be of very,

very good time to achieve the tasks that lie ahead at the beginning of the 20 20's. one of the incoming government's key issues, the pandemic. with a crisis team newly established, the government wants to break the fourth wave and ramp up the countries vaccine rollout. next up, climate change. by 2030, the parties want to phase out coal, if possible, and ensure 80% of electricity comes from renewables. the government also wants to make becoming a german citizen easier by making naturalization after five years possible, or in special cases, three years. in terms of foreign policy, it will be mostly business as usual. the coalition says it will continue a values-based foreign with strong eu ties. when it comes to china and russia, though, there are signs of out of her approach.

the incoming chancellor says he is worried about the russian troops messing on the border to ukraine. >> it must be very clear that it will be an unacceptable situation of a threat were to arise for ukraine, and that there must also be clarity among all of those who are discussing this issue with each other. correspondent: with their political agenda for the next four years signed, sealed, and delivered, it means a new government can get straight to work this week. brent: there is a lot to do. let's bring in our correspondent. good evening to you. talk us through the most pressing issues for the new administration to deal with. leon: the most pressing issue is the pandemic. the fourth wave of the pandemic that has hit germany quite hard. quite a few hospitals in the country are not able to deliver care to patients anymore,

because they have reached icu capacity and buying out patients to other areas of the country, so that will definitely be at the top of the agenda for olaf scholz and his new government that are going to be sworn in and this week, later this week, he will meet with the primaries of states to determine a path forward in this pandemic. on a general level, the aim this new coalition government has set itself is to really transform germany's economy into a climate friendly economy that is still competitive and, at the same time, to ease the social impact of this huge transformation, so it will be interesting to see whether they achieve that aim and you know, there is potential for inter-coalition conflict as well. brent: what about german foreign policy? the, you know, cohead of the greens is going to be the new foreign minister for germany. what is foreign policy going to look like with her at the helm?

correspondent: first of all, she will be the first woman to be germany's foreign minister, and she has promised more values-based approach to foreign policy, with human rights and neutrality as the guiding principles. she has said, and that will mark a significant shift, and in the past, looking at the track record, she has taken much more critical stance, at least rhetorically, toward china, for example, on their human rights track record. it will be interesting to see how that plays out with, you know, the social doma -- social democrats olaf scholz who is more cautious and who has chancellor plays an important role in foreign policy. brent: you mentioned china but china is not the only big hurdle for german foreign policy. what would you say are the biggest foreign policy challenges for germany moving forward?

correspondent: definitely a few complicated relationships, if we make often that. the relationship with china, a huge market for german exports, but not violating human rights, and a complicated relationship with russia, you know? a lot of open questions, what to do about the tensions, the increase of tensions at the border with ukraine, what will happen to the nord stream 2 gas line the project. germany and olaf scholz have emphasized they want to continue, sort of, stronger ties with the eu, to foreign policy within a stronger european union and foster the transatlantic relationships. brent: political correspondent. a lot to talk about today and tomorrow. thank you. south africa is ramping up vaccination drives as the

omicron variant pushes kansas city -- case numbers higher. officials are trying to boost and an occupation rate that was just that 25%. the number of infections has jumped fivefold in the last week with cases topping 10,000 per day. omicron has become the dominant variant in the country. many employers are taking a harder line with unvaccinated staff. the south african president is saying vaccination is now essential. our correspondent is following south africa's vaccination drive outside cape town and has this report. adrian: brain vaccines for the people is the idea of the vaccine testing. many of us bring vaccines to rural areas like atlantis outside cape town. the next house of -- health facility is 10 kilometers away in an area where unemployment is a massive problem. vaccineesitancy remainshe biggest challenge. >> i was very scared the first

time. i heard a lot of rumors. people said -- i think for myself. take it. adrian: what other rumors are people saying? >> they said you will get sick or in a few years, you will die. >> there are a lot of people skeptical about getting vaccination, [indiscernible] i need to do it for my family and myself. if i do it, who knows? maybe the others will follow. adrian: south africa was hit hard by the second and third wave in particular and is now preparing for a fourth wave of infections. we are currently seeing a massive increase in infections by the omicron variant, dominant south africa. do you believe the fourth wave will be worse than what we have

seen previously and are the hospitals ready to cope with the possible increase in admissions? >> normally people need hospitalization after a week or so so we do not know. we have not seen much increase from our side in the west. there has been zero death but the number of cases have been doubling up with a positivity rate increasing. the reproduction number has increased. we see that. all three other waves taught us something. the first thing is about avoiding people and going to the hospital, hence the issue of vaccination. adrian: scientists say there is reason for concern, but not for panic. the next days and weeks will show what impact the new variant omicron will have here. brent: that was adrian reporting from south africa. let's take this story to the

united states with a professor of preventative medicine at vanderbilt university in nashville, tennessee. let's talk about what we heard today from dr. anthony fauci, the top advisor to u.s. president biden in the pandemic, who said the new omicron variant is almost certainly not more severe than the delta variant. that sounds like good news. guest: branch, it certainly does. the rest of us are more cautious. we would likeo see more dat coming in from south africa and from other countries before we decide this fibrous inot as serious as delta or some of the other variants. what we are sure about and your reporting and so -- in south africa makes it clear this is a contagious virus, spreading rapidly and giving delta a run for its money. brent: in south africa so far,

the ratio between the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations seems less than what we have seen with the delta variant's. what do you make of that? est: my fingers are crossed. so far this virus, the omicron rus in south africa, has been spreading principally among young adults. they are less actively sick and in a population where some people have been vaccinated but many others have already been infected, so could this be a population that already has partial proteion? that is why we are not yet ready to conclude -- we hope, but we are not ready to conclude -- that this virus causes less severe disease. we are hopeful. brent: what about the number of re-infections we are seeing? they appear to be higher with omicron. what does that mean in the fight against the spread of the virus

or does it mean anything? guest: well, it surely does mean that this virus can overcome some of the protection, eithe from vaccination or from previous infection. that means it continues to spread but if it does not cause severe disease, and if it doe not make you go into the hospital nearly as frequently, that is much easier to manage. that is more, if you will, tolerable for a society than all these hospitalizations that strain on the health care systems. brent: i asked you last week and again tonight omicron is spreading like wildfire and if it is mott making people sick and sending them to the hospital. are we looking at a pandemic that is running out of steam? is omicron signaling that the coronavirus is going to be endemic like the virus that causes the common cold? guest: certainly do omicron

variant could become endemic akin to something halfway between influenza and the common cold perhaps. rememberthis is a pandemic. it is a global epidemic, and we have people getting infected around the world and other new variants could crop up around the world and oe again, in fa people. we are far from over. omicron could be help for some. brent: that would be the best christmas present anyone could get this year, other than a complete end to the pandemic. wishful thinking. it is always good talking with you. we appreciate your time and insight. other african countries have struggled to. obtain sufficient vaccine supplies. . . officials blame production difficulties and vaccine hoarding by richer countries. logistical problems also mean

jabs often do not reach let's populated areas. jan phillips holds has this report from a remote region of kenya. correspondent: the action gets going under the large mango tree, the meeting point in a small village in kenya. nurse harriet and her team hope to vaccinate 200 villages against covid-19. their plan almost fell through. the village is more than an hour from the nearest clinic and after the last moment, the team did not know whether they would get a vehicle for today's vaccination campaign. >> we normally use motorbikes to enter the villages. we did not want to go vaccinate them but at the same time we have the means. we have to use motorbikes. sometimes, if it is so hard,

they just wait. correspondent: support that should come from the capital nairobi, 500 kilometers away. a few months ago, the biggest problem was rich countries were not sending enough vaccines. today, the capital is well-stocked, but the government does not have a plan to get the vaccin to remote parts of the country. amnesty international activist diane i could try and go find that scandalous the most vulnerable people are neglected. diane: the few people in the middle class who understood why we needed the vaccine took it all. that left us falling far behind in terms of forecasting or the priority population. correspondent: another problem is that many kenyans do not want vaccination at all. conspiracy theories about rich countries wanting to hold

population growth in africa through vaccination are going viral on social media. a fact checker tries to counter online fake news. he is shocked that even politicians are promoting mors. one especially controversial video features the minister of health in neighboring tanzania. >> she is addressing why this is important for them to use alternative medicines, why we should not trust western medicine and stuff like that. that was very potentially dangerous and very misleading in the way, because she is saying no vaccine symptoms. take this and you will be safe from any iection. correspondent: in the sml village of --, a few villages are waiting under the mango tree for a job. harriet and her team did not reach their target for today. in the end, they only managed 130 rather than the planned 200 vaccinations.

they plan to go to the villages tomorrow again, if they can get the van. brent: thailand is reopening to visitors after two years of. a pandemic shutdown. . . the government aims to develop a new and more sustainable model of tourism to repair the damage caused by years of uncontrolled visitor numbers. at the center of the reshaped approach is one of thailand's best-known attractions. correspondent: this is not how most people picture paradise, but the shark filled waters are approved that it is on track to become the closest many will get to heaven on earth. for years, it looked destined to become an economic -- ecological wasteland. after the cove was featured in leonar dicaprio's blockbuster "the beach". in over a decade, visitors destroyed half of its coral, pushing the wonderland to the

brink. this fish, sharks, and turtles lost their habitat. then, the pandemic hit. the curse for many, covid has been at gift -- a gift for thailand's marine life. there has been a huge increase in the number of sharks swimming in the bay due to the fact that there are no loud noises from taurus and boats. there are lots of them, almost 100. in a country that relies heavily on tourism, the pandemic laid the groundwork for a sustainable future local say. >> we like to make sure everyone has been educated, so we come up with a marine discovery center where we show the taurus what is the impact, what is the biodiversity, what is the relationship between your behavior and the impact to the corals. we would love to have more responsible taurus, and also

those who come can help the economics of the local people. correspondent: as the babe reopens at the beginning of the new year, locals insist they will not repeat the mistakes of the past. brent: we hope so. you're watching dw news. after a short break, i will take you through the day. the presidential video call with war and peace on the line. we will be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> welcome to "live from paris," news and analysis from france 24. biden and putin in urgent talks about ukraine. the u.s. threatens the sanctions ofhe frontier is correct. russia has troops on ukraine's eastern border and kyiv fears another annexation. our correspondent standing by with the analysis live. the man wanted over the 2018 murder of saudi dissident journalist jamal khashoggi has been arrested trying to board a flight