>> this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, good german made battle tanks making their way to ukraine? germany is hinting it may not stand in the way. also coming up, prosecutors in germany charge five people with high treason for allegedly plotting to kidnap the countries health minister and to then

topple the government. the head of berlin's international -- head of berlin's international film festival, we look at a documentary on the ukraine war called "superpower." ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching a pbs and the united states and to of you around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with german-made leopard 2 battle tanks and where they may or may not be headed. today poland said it would send the text to ukraine to help the military in their fight against the russians, with or without german consent. the tanks are manufactured here in germany. the government is purchasing -- governments purchasing the tanks must first seek german permission if those tanks will be shipped to another country.

with the war in ukraine entering a second year, time seems to be running out for the fine print to prevent bold moves. reporter: ukraine might be one step closer to finally getting the german-made battle tanks it says it urgently needs. the polish prime minister said his country would apply for promotion from berlin to supply its leopard tanks to ukraine, but added that poland could also export the tanks without a green light from germany. >> even if they were not given the approval within the framework of a small coalition, if the germans were not present in this coalition, we would still send the tanks together with others to ukraine. the condition for us is to build at least a small coalition of countries concerned with the issue. reporter: although germany has been providing substantial support to kyiv, it has been criticized for hesitating when it comes to sending battle tanks, or allowing others to do so. but there appears to be a shift in berlin's position. speaking to friends television

sunday, the german foreign minister said berlin would not stand in the way if poland decided to send its leopard tanks to kyiv, and at another e.u. foreign minister meeting a day later, she reiterated the importance awful surged support for ukraine. >> it is important that we as an international community do everything we can to defend ukraine so that it wins the right to live in peace and freedom again. reporter: kyiv has been asking western allies to supply them with modern tanks for months. ukrainian officials say the military vehicles, in particular the leopard tanks, are vital for fighting off an anticipated criminal offenses in the spring and retaking territory. nicole: i am joined by by our guest from the german institute for international security affairs here in berlin. brent: good to have you with us. good to see you again. there have been a lot of messages coming out of berlin in the last 72 hours or so

regarding what will be done with these leopard two tanks. do you know, is germany going to grant consent or stand in the way? what is it going to do about the strengths -- about these tanks? guest: sorry to disappoint you, i think we are all left guessing. the newspapers present different reports, which country in which mr. is saying what. the coalition. has been divided for some time. other ministers have been making the case for sending other weapons, including the tanks. in the end it boils down to the question what is the chancellor going to do, in the chancellor isn't saying anything. so we are running around in circles, waiting for a decisive signal from olaf scholz. but he is not ready to move yet. so i don't think we can make this greenlight. it might be just that the foreign minister expressed her personal preference and she already did not confirm the

statement this morning in the brussels meeting of foreign ministers. so unfortunately, no clarity at. brent: no clarity, and silence at the same time. that forces the rest of us to interpret and read into this silence. what are you reading? what does the german chancellor want to do? do we know? guest: there is a lot of speculation that it is his style to not be forthcoming, that he makes his decision on his own and then takes his time. but i think it is beside the point. of course judgment can vary on this, but the main point is that almost everybody expects that it is only a matter of time. whether it is germany leading the fray, or coming a week or two or a month later, the result is more or less predetermined, at least that is what the expectation is, and for good reasons. that is what is a little bit

disconcerting, that even if we see this on the horizon, why is germany not ready to actually go with the flow and take up the leadership position and rather than being seen as this unreliable ally? this is where the problem lies at the moment, and not only with olaf scholz. brent: what about public opinion? the latest polls show there is still support for ukraine from the german public, but when it comes to the question of sending tanks to ukraine, it's about 50-50, for and against in germany. should it be informing the chancellor in his -- what appears to be long decision-making time? guest: he can't ignore it, for sure. but of course, he is also the chancellor. edney deputy is not just following public opinion by the minute. sure, we need to explain to the german public what the intentions and strategy is, at that one thing leads to the

next. they can see these concerns. particularly matters of military strategy are not also something that average people have fully formed opinions about. so while not everybody will change their mind, if the government would really communicate what they are doing, i think it is fair to say that they may sway another 10% of the population. so this 50/50, is not the deciding factor, i think it is this hesitation of the party and also trying to sell it to the party, and of course, managing the risk of escalation if that is still a consideration. but we are left in the dark. brent: we are in the dark. profile both song from the institute, -- profile both song -- raphael bossong , thank you. five people have been charged with allegedly turned to double the german government and trying to kidnap the country's health minister. the group had a three step in,

first, to cause a nationwide blackout, then to abduct the health minister, infinity to depose the government. it is believed the plotters were prepared to kill his bodyguards to carry out their plan. let's go now to our political correspondent simon young. he has been following this story for us. this is a wild story, simon. who are these people who have been accused? simon: these five people are four men and one woman who have been in custody since last year, most of them since last april, and they are accused by prosecutors as you say of a socially to topple the german state. they were going to cause a power blackout across the country and kidnap health minister, and then according to some reports, get actors to appear as the chancellor and the german president on tv and abolish the

german state. and cause chaos, civil war conditions, prosecutors suggest. really pretty serious allegations. they also say they have found a weapons cache and munitions cache and cash money that had been put aside in preparation for taking over power and that this group had also plans to divide up the future political offices in germany between them. who are they? they are said to have links to the right citizens movement. this group came to prominence but really doing the covid pandemic, partly on the back of opposition to government restrictions over that. they are people who essentially just reject the german state, they say there is no democracy in germany and one to return to a previous german reich. they normally ascribed to the far-right. some of them can be very violent

and dangerous. these are the kind of people at least that we're talking about here with these proceedings that are going to go forward in court. brent: why was to german health minister, why was he targeted in this plot? simon: i think it is because he is somebody who has varied permanently been carrying forward the german government's policy of responding to the covid pandemic. he has spoken up the sea firstly in favor of tough restrictions and says he faced very serious threats, death threats online, and threats against his family. he said he is worried about the safety of his family and cannot go out without a permanent bodyguard. i think that explains the hatred targeted particularly against the health minister. brent: dw news simon young. as always, thank you.

sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the, let's say, trudy, which laid the preparation for world war ii reconciliation between france and germany. that agreement had stood the test of time. the countries recently intensified their military cooperation. it may have been in thinkable six decades ago. but in the next report, we are about to go on board a military airplane in which german and french pilots fly side-by-side. reporter: a hercules military transport plane lifts up from northern france. the pilot and copilot are from different countries. that does not matter to them. >> stabilization is really good. the cockpit, it doesn't matter which nation sits next to you. >> we are not supposed to regard if the guy is german or french. basically it is the same.

the composition could be 40 french, 40 german or mixed. reporter: english is the official language on board and on the ground. by the end of 2023, 10 planes will be based in the region. and the german french air transport squadron will number 280 soldiers from both countries. it is the only binational military unit in europe. some of the germans have more experience than i do they. >> taught me a few things. some have less experience with this aircraft and perhaps i can show them something. reporter: lieutenant colonel mike plans nato missions in two communications systems, one for the germans, one for the french. the unit has not yet found perfect harmony, that countries must still conduct sensitive missions separately, such as evacuation from conflict zones. structural differences can still cause hangups. >> the german army is a parliamentary army.

that is where the country cannot deploy its military without first holding a debate on it. in france, the president is also commander-in-chief. reporter: there has been much squabbling. after french president emmanuel macron, and then german defense mr. ursula von der leyen celebrated a new warping system, both countries' industries wrangled for influence. whenever germany but weapons from the u.s., france reacted less favorably. but the franco german flight crews say their cooperation. >> with the experience we are gathering now and the success we are having in the back later on, on the operational side, we know that this project will have a lot of pulling projects. reporter: the flight crew and ground personnel hope to complete even more sensitive missions in the future. brent: let's take a look now at

some of the other stories making headlines around the world. hundreds of french bakers have marched to paris: for more financial aid from the government in the face of high energy prices. the bakers say they are paying four to five times more for electricity, and that has forced them to raise prices for things like a baguette by over 50%, making it impossible to compete with cheaper, lower quality products. the holocaust survivor margaret friedlander has been awarded germany's federal cross of merit here in berlin. the 101-year-old immigrated to the united states after surviving the concentration camp. in 2010, she moved back to berlin, where she has been telling her story in schools ever since. russia and estonia have expelled each other's depositors and are downgrading their diplomatic relations. moscow says its decision came after the baltic country ordered a reduction in the number of russian embassy staff.

relations were already strained, and have taken a further downward turn since russia invaded ukraine. pakistan's government is scrambling to restore power to millions of people after a fault in the electricity grid triggered a major outage. officials are breaking the cuts on the voltage search after generators were temporarily switched off and on again to save energy. this is the second major blackout in three months. in addition to the blackout, millions of people in pakistan suffer -- in addition to the blackouts millions of people in pakistan suffer almost daily. reporter: lives reliant on backup generators. at this hospital in karachi that was running without any grid electricity for several hours. up and down the country, people sat in darkness. a regular occurrence in a country plagued by unreliable power. some attempted to keep businesses open in hope that the

power would come back on. >> we are facing so many issues. our work depends on electricity only when there is light are we able to do business. otherwise we cannot work. reporter: schools were also pitched into darkness. something many students are used to right>> now. when there is no power>> at our school, we have to study in the dark and sometimes we have to leave the classroom and sit out in the cold because sometimes there is no natural light for us to see. these are some of the problems we are facing. reporter: pakistan's grid is in desperate need of an upgrade, one which the government says it cannot afford. this is the second nationwide power outage in the last two years, highlighting the infrastructural weakness of a country struggling through economic crisis. brent: from power, to people.

in certain parts of india, child marriage is still common, despite efforts by activists to stamp it out. the tradition continues in several states, particularly in the north of the country. the practice has a dire effect on the rights of girls to study and work. we have this report tonight from the northwestern state of rochester -- rajasthan. reporter: this 19 year old loves to sing. a student in college right now, her dream is to become a professional singer. but five years ago her life almost took a different coast but her parents tried to force her to marry at the age of just 14. >> without my consent, my parents fixed my wedding. what i learned about it, i tried to reason with them, but nothing helped. they finally gave in when i threatened them that i would go to the police and the government. reporter: she is not the only

one here who has faced such a situation. rajasthan is one of the states in india where child marriage is still an accepted social practice in many communities. lack of education in high poverty levels have kept this tradition alive. according to a government survey conducted between 2020 and 2021, over 25% of women between the age of 20-24 were married before they turned 18. pahlavi was lucky. she received counseling when she was being pressured to get married to her parents. the organization was founded by a woman who managed to fend off her own child marriage when she was 14. the ngo has been working for almost 20 years to address gender inequality issues facing young girls and women in india. it has successfully stopped many child marriages.

and it provides counseling and education support to almost 5000 girls. this woman says that while many boys are also married of a young age, they don't face the same work and study articles the girls do. a lot needs to be done in terms of awareness campaigns and laws to obliterate the practice entirely, she adds. >> we need to make a stronger push for the education of these girls. secondly, we need to work towards changing the mindset of the communities here. the girls are not a liability or meant only for being in the kitchen. . they have their own life. their own dreams. parents should have faith in their daughters. reporter: that is all these girls ask for. faith and support from their families. and many already have plans. like arena here who was engaged

when she was three months old. and this one who was engaged when she was one year old. >> i told everyone in my family that it will not marry until i fulfill this dream of mine. there is pressure from the community for me to get married, but i don't want to get married now, i want to become a teacher. reporter: avoiding child marriage will still be a struggle for many of these girls, but thanks to ngos like this one, many more will follow their dreams and not give in to pressure. brent: let's take a look now at more headlines taking place around the world. burkina faso has confirmed its intentions to end its military cooperation conference. that would let her have given france one month to withdraw its troops. observers believe the junta is trying to rekindle its ties with russia. . 400 french special forces are stationed in burkina faso to battle is, insurgents.

human rights groups say this nana's abductor last week and that has badly damaged car was found outside a police station in the capital city. he was known for tackling cases of corruption on his radio program. the organizers of berlin's international film festival have unveiled this year's program. the artistic director revealed that russia's invasion of ukraine and the iranian protest movement will be major themes. actor and director sean penn will premiere "superpower," his first documentary ever that deals with the ukraine war. a french director will also be featured in a documentary about disabled people. and an anime movie by a japanese director. the festival starts february 16

and runs 11 days. earlier i spoke to dw's cultural guru and asked him whether the pre-pandemic glimmer of the festival is set to return this year guest: it has been three years without a proper one. last year we had one but there were still some covid restrictions and social distancing in place, so we didn't really have the right kind of craziness that is always a part of the festival. people like myself have been going to many festivals over the years and we were hoping it would come back this year. we at least have enough star power coming again. anne hathaway coming. cate blanchett and helen mirren are some of my favorites. the hunky alexander skarsgard be walking the red carpet. and the almost as hunky john malkovich will be coming. kristen stewart will be in

berlin the whole time because she is the jury president. and we should be able to stop steven spielberg, he will be dropping in to receive the lifetime achievement golden bear. hopefully that will be enough star power to get the festival back to its pre-covid norm. brent: people like the festival because they get to see a lot of stars and also a lot of movies. which movies are a must to see this year? guest: you mentioned a couple of them up top. sean penn's documentary superpower, which was shot in ukraine during the war and features exclusive interviews with the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, i think that will be a must-see this year. what i love about the festival is that it has something for everyone. it has such a huge and eclectic array of films. you mentioned the japanese anime film in a competition, the first anime film in competition in 20

years. and it is coming as this huge wave of japanese anime is sweeping the world. really excited to see that. for something different, we have a horror film, "infinity pool." a horror filstarring alexander skarsgard. i hear that it features a bizarre breast-feeding seen in the film. so there is something for everyone. we will find something to like in this year's festival. brent: you caught me off guard with that one, scott. [laughter] we know that the festivals are always political. what are we expecting this year, how political is this festival going to be? guest: berlin's festival is probably the most political of the big festivals. they will be a lot of political films, a lot of documentaries i have been noticing. sean penn's is the most prominent, but there will be a number of films o the ukraine situation and on the protests in iran and the history of

development in that country. berlin always tries to balance its glamour and read carpet glitz with serious fms that deal with the political realities of the world. and the festival takes place a few blocks away from the center of power in berlin, so as pple in the bundestag are discussing issues dealing with, for example sending weapons to ukraine, we will have people discussing the broader and cultural issues of the same political acts on the red carpet in berlin and that is what sort of makes the festival so special. brent: exactly, and it will be taking place as the war enters its second year. scott, thank you. it is good to see you. guest: same, thank you. brent: sports needs now. in the german bundesliga, literacy endorsement entered on the right side of a 7-goal

match. both sides traded goals until a memorable win. >> jude bellingham dazzled the defensive brca 2 start scoring. moves like this show why the 19 oh it is among the most sought-after talents in the bundesliga. shortly before the break, scoring intensified. alex berg answered through an meyer. dart one to big blamed himself for losing position. less than three minutes later, he made up for his mistake. dortmund ahead 2-1. but the other teams player broke free to level the score at 2-2. late in the second half, dortmund took the lead again. a rocket of a goal. it nearly took the head off of jude bellingham.

one minute later, david leveled for the other team once again. in the end, he saved the day for dortmund. the assist came from jude bellingham. dortmund escaped this roller coaster ride of seven goals on top. brent: you are watching dw news live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." we will be right back. ♪

>> hello and welcome to life in paris on france 24. here are your headlines. the eu approves half a billion euros in arms to ukraine as pressure cramps up on germany to improve exports to the country. they may go ahead even if the request is denied. -- confirms withdrawing troops from the country. french troops have offered support to the islamic insurgency to the north.