brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. russia has launched a new wave of strikes targeting cities across ukraine. kyiv says at least 11 people have died.

the strikes come a day after germany and the united states pledged to send battle tanks to ukraine. also coming up tonight, a bitter cold wave tightens its grip on afghanistan. taliban officials say 160 people are dead as millions face freezing temperatures and dwindling food supplies. and global law enforcement authorities have shut down the notorious hive ransomware website, responsible for helping criminals extort, they say, more than $100 million from victims all around the world. ♪ to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states into all of you around the world, welcome. we begin in ukraine. authorities there say at least 11 people have been killed after russian forces fired more than

50 missiles at targets across the country today. officials say they were able to intercept the majority of those missiles. several infrastructure sites however were hit, leading to power cuts across the country, including in the capital kyiv. the strikes come just a day after germany and the united states both announced that they will send heavy battle tanks to support ukrainian forces in the war against russia. earlier, we spoke with kyiv's mayor vitali klitschko. we asked him how russia's attacks on infrastructure are affecting morale in his country. mayor klitschko: the russians tried to destroy our infrastructure. right now it is snowing outside, the temperature is pretty cold. and the targets, the targets, it's critical infrastructure. the russian forces tried to freeze civilians in our hometown, tried to make huge damage and destroy normal lives

of civilians. to try to bring a depressive mood to everyone, to all our citizens. instead, the people were angry and ready to fight. listen, i like a great saying. our citizens say, better without electricity and water than with russians. we're still fighting for independence, for our freedom. that's why we have a lot of courage. and i will think he would more time for the support of our friends, for the modern defensive weapons. it is very helpful to ukraine, to our forces. brent: that was the mayor of

kyiv, vitali klitschko, speaking with us earlier. there has been no let up in the fighting around the bitterly contested city of bakhmut in eastern ukraine. after recent russian advances in the area, many locals fear that their cities could soon fall into russian hands. we have this report tonight from the city of kostiantynivka. reporter: kostiantynivka has come under a lot of russian fire recently. it is close to bakhmut, where intense fighting is taking place. during filming, there was a rocket strike nearby. >> we are under constant bombardment because they are getting closer. closer than in the summer. reporter: oleksiy heads up the city's military administration and visits all the affected sites. two rockets hit this apartment block. four were injured, two of them children. they are boarding up windows, repairing cables.

oleksiy says there can be strikes several times a day. >> at the moment there are more than 5000 children here and more and more people are returning. although the government called on everyone to evacuate, increasing numbers are coming back. reporter: many had fled but could not find a new home. that is why they prefer to return to the war, although it is getting more and more risky. people are reluctant to be outside for longer than necessary. she's helping to clear up. she is a street cleaner and very upset. this is her sitting in her home. -- her city and her home. >> there's more firing. it is because of bakhmut. it was quieter before but now there are big strikes. before, the entire city was quieter. i live on the outskirts and i can hear exactly what is coming this way. reporter: as we are driving into the center of kostiantynivka, the news comes that the

ukrainian military is pulling out of solid are. it is now in russian hands. the front line cities are being bitterly contested. the russians also want to counter -- capture bakhmut, come what may. both sides have lost a lot of troops in this battle. we hear a missile strike every few seconds. the market is still open, but she has barely sold anything. >> business is not good because there is no one walking through the city. if you look at what has happened in other cities, it's very frightening. we don't want this destruction. reporter: fighting in bakhmut is palpable. it is only 15 kilometers away as the crow flies. the people here know that kostiantynivka could be next. brent: russia is reportedly planning a new offensive. the question being asked, can

the russian military carried out successfully? i put that question to ed arnold , the european security research fellow at the royal united services institute. ed: no, i don't think so. what we saw yesterday is a significant defensive capability in the form of tanks, which have to be used with other military assets from the west like firing vehicles and artillery. and that will have real use come spring and summer when ukraine will go on significant offensive. in terms of the strikes we have seen over the last 24 hours, russia has been striking these civilian targets for months now. so i don't think that those two things are linked in terms of escalation, in terms of the tank commitment yesterday. and then on the third and final point, yes, russia is still taking some ground, but it is incremental. it is not much ground, it is of

no strategic value, and they are paying a very heavy price for it. brent: are you convinced that once we reach a certain number of tanks in ukraine that we will see the ukrainian military then be able to, not only hold the front lines, but be able to push russian forces back? are you convinced that is going to happen? ed: yes, i mean, the ukrainian defense planners came up with a number, 300. that is what they assessed they need to take back their territory. that is what they assessed they -- roughly 20% of ukrainian territory is in russian hands. at the moment in terms of tech-support from europe and also the u.s., it is a bit over 100, but i expect that to rise. a lot of the statements, there's a bit of an insinuation that these might also be initial trenches. you might see more tanks coming in the coming days and months. but also ukraine needs defensive capability. they will take 100 tanks. it's not necessarily technical

specifications of the tanks, it is how they use them. ukraine has to decide if they put them immediately into the fight in the east, or they hold them back for a larger offensive and try to use them to train and rehearse a higher echelon, and use them in a more strategic way. that is a critical question for ukraine now. brent: we have been told that ukrainian soldiers, obviously they will have to be trained, learn how to operate these leopard 2 tanks. but can you give me an idea of the timeline we are working with in terms of transporting these tanks from where they are there? they are in numerous countries across western europe, they have to be transported from there to ukraine. what type of time horizon here should we be looking at? ed: at the moment people are saying around two to three months for the leopards, which feels about right it is actually probably quite quick given the decision was made only two days ago. this decision should have been

made in october of last year following the counteroffensive's in the south in september. where the ukrainian's objective was saying we can do the job, we just need the tools. so actually the west has delayed this decision already which means the timeline is quite tight. the m-1 abrams from the u.s. has quite large logistics footprints just because of the size of the tanks, it is larger than the leopard 2 and challenger 2, and also the way that the fuel system works. so, it needs a lot more. these are all issues, and the logistics issues are not insurmountable. but i think for europe now, what they need to decide is, is this transactional and that is it, or do they new to sustain more tanks over a number of potential months and years and stage maintenance and repair depots in poland? that is going to be a critical requirement for the europeans to make.

brent: before i let you go, u.s. president biden, until yesterday, he had said the abrams tanks, they are just not suitable for what they need to do in ukraine. he is now not saying that. we do not know, maybe the end of the year we will see the first abrams in ukraine. did he just maybe offer that to the germans to get those leopard 2 tanks where they need to be? ed: yeah, i think any main battle tanks from the west are suitable to ukraine just because of where they are in the war and what they need to achieve, hopefully this year, to try and get a resumption of the fighting this year. like i said, the challenges of getting the m-1 are not insurmountable, but the u.s. did not want to do this. they will be very annoyed at the germans for basically forcing their hand in order to release leopards. if you look at what the u.s. are providing in other assets, infantry fighting vehicles, ammunition, it is totally $26

billion, and the latest support package from the u.s. matched the u.k. assistance package for the entirety of last year. the u.s. are doing all the heavy lifting in a european war again, and they will be very annoyed at the fact that they have had to be forced to provide the m-1. brent: that is a point that has been made repeatedly and you are making it again tonight as well. mr. edward arnold, we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. germany's defense minister boris pistorius has visited with troops for the first time since taking on his new role. he confirmed german made leopard tanks are due to arrive in ukraine sometime early this spring. he also addressed concerns that sending heavy weapons to kyiv could weaken germany's own military. reporter: boris pistorius has been in office less than one week but he has never been out of the headlines. berlin's decision to send 14 german-made leopard tanks to ukraine is welcome news to kyiv. but he acknowledges it comes at the expense of germany's

chronically underequipped armed forces. >> the arms deliveries to ukraine are possibly going to tear holes in places where we already have deficits but we have to make decisions. we can hardly tell ukraine we are not going to keep helping. reporter: the defense minister said he would have talks to discuss how the gaps can be filled as quickly as possible. >> if we need to increase production in germany and europe to fill these gaps, than that is what we should do. reporter: there are concerns about how long it might take to replace the leopard tanks promised to ukraine. it is not only german armida to fear being left without the equipment. the german public is also divided about the move to supply the tanks. >> i am a pacifist. i do think ukraine deserves help, that it should be supported. but i think battle tanks are the

wrong way to go. more efforts should be made to negotiate. >> ukraine was waiting for this. we decided to support ukraine, so i think it is good. >> oh god, it's so difficult. we do not know what retaliation there will be. i have no idea. you can only hope that people will get -- that things will get better for the people. reporter: the defense minister also addressed the doubters among the german public. >> i have complete understanding for all the people who are concerned about the fact we are delivering tanks to a country of war -- at war. reporter: split public opinion, the war in ukraine. boris pistorius certainly has his work cut out for him. brent: let's look at some other stories making headlines around the world. the u.s. has formally designated the russian private military contractor as a transnational criminal organization. the move means washington can

now freeze the group's u.s. assets for its activities in ukraine and other countries. the u.s. treasury has also placed multiple individuals linked to them under sanchez. turkey's foreign minister has accused sweden of being complicit in quote, a hate and racist crime for failing to prevent an anti-islam protest in stockholm over the weekend. he said holding talks with sweden or finland about their bids to join nato is currently meaningless. the nordic countries need turkey's approval in order to join the alliance. taliban officials in afghanistan say extreme cold this winter has killed at least 160 people. the country is in the midst of its worst cold snap in at least a decade. temperatures plunging below -30 degrees celsius earlier this month. humanitarian -- dwindling humanitarian aid is making the

impact even worse. reporter: it is a brutal winter for this mother. she is grieving the loss of her two children who could not survive the freezing temperatures. open fire is the only way for her to keep her other children warm and safe. >> the weather is really cold. two months ago i lost two of my children because of the cold. we don't have any way of heating inside the room. when we bake read we also warm ourselves by sitting here. reporter: afghans with meager resources have been hit with temperatures as low as -34 degrees celsius. hunger is prevalent, and harsh temperatures are making life harder. snow has been bad news for this fruit cellar in kabul. >> when i came outside my home

the kids were cheering that it snowed, but i had to tell them that since it snowed today, they had to go hungary. they all went quiet and sad and said nothing, because they understood their mother would not work today and they would be left without food. reporter: more than 20 million people in the war-torn country need food assistance. operations of many aid organizations have been suspended due to the ban on humanitarian workers by the taliban. this is jeopardizing the lives of millions. >> my message to all the taliban ministries, to all of our operations across the landscape, is, if you cannot help us rescind the ban, give us the exemptions to allow us to operate. reporter: with no help arriving, afghans like them feel they have

been left on their own to fight for survival. brent: an investigation by authorities has led to the closure of a website run by a notorious ransomware gang. u.s. justice department sing the operation on this high targeted more than 1000 hospitals by stealing sensitive data, crippling their software, then demanding massive sums of money to free that software again. they reportedly restored more than $100 million. the justice department said since july of last year, they have prevented more than $130 million in ransom payments. >> unbeknownst to hive, in a 21st century cyber stakeout, our investigative team lawfully infiltrated hive's network and hid there for months. repeatedly swiping decryption keys and passing them on to victims to free them from ransomware.

and deprived the hive network of extortion profits. simply put, using lawful means, we hacked the hackers. brent: how did they do that? i put that question earlier to cybersecurity expert isabel skierka. isabel: that's a good question. i cannot, unfortunately, give you the technical detail of how they did that. but what seems clear is that they managed to infiltrate the ransomware network already, around seven months ago. they were able to trace back an attack, and then gained access to the network. they then observed the gang and the network from the inside and could basically look at how they operated. anda s -- and as your report already revealed, they could

also recover encryption keys and pass them onto around 300 victims, thereby thwarting a damage of around $130 million. so i'm excited to hear more as well. brent: what do we know about this hive group? isabel: so, the hive group is a so-called ransomware as a service group. that means that they provide a platform to attackers through which attackers can actually access malicious code that they use in their attacks. so, this ransomware as a service platform also provides the operational infrastructure to conduct these attacks. and in that sense, they have operated since around june 2021, apparently. and as we also stated, they have

targeted critical infrastructure service providers, and especially hospitals. what they did is that they did not only conduct ransomware attack's, so, they did not only decrypt files and then demand ransom -- sorry, encrypt files and demand ransom for decryption, but they also exfiltrated data and stored that data in a different location, then blackmailed the victims to leak that data. and demanded a sum of money for that as well, in order to prevent the black male. brent: it is amazing that law enforcement agencies were able to do this. it has a little bit of the matrix involved, too. and as you say, many people will be waiting to understand and hear more about this. isabel skierka, we appreciate your insights tonight. thank you. isabel: thank you. brent: friday is international

holocaust for member and stay, marking the liberation of the auschwitz nazi concentration and extermination camp. that was 78 years ago. three women full makers are using virtual reality headsets today to take people on a simulated tour of what it was like inside the death camps. rebecca: a virtual reality with a powerful message. these moviegoers in central jerusalem are being taken on a confronting journey. the brainchild of three young israeli filmmakers who felt this new technology would help keep the past from slipping away. >> the first thing we said is, let's take this technology and bring this emotional, superpowerful experience to so any people who cannot go. we understood that with this technology, we can re-put life into history. rebecca: the history of

auschwitz birkenau, for example. as seen in one of these headsets. four years now in israel, a concern has been growing. how to maintain awareness of the holocaust, as its last survivors disappear. sara and shlomo hartley needed a reminder. they escaped the nazi extermination plan as children. >> after we watched it, we could not sleep at night. after we saw it, all the emotions flooded in, to see what we saw. >> the mere scale of it. this industry of -- rebecca: sara and her family were on a train heading for auschwitz when their fate took a different turn. >> miracles from above bombed the railway. so instead, we were taken to a work camp. it's a miracle from god that we managed to escape this hell,

that we did not end up there, that we survived and built a family. rebecca: for the developers, building the experience is an act of remembrance. >> you know what i feel, after all of the survivors that watched this movie? i feel like they feel, and they know that they can leave this world and we're not going to forget them. rebecca: the immersive nature of this technology makes for a very powerful and intimate experience. developers hope that it will also resonate with younger audiences like this one, which will soon be played not just here in israel, but around the world, to help keep the memory of the holocaust alive for future generations. brent: that was rebecca ritters reporting. russian and belarusian athletes look set to compete at next year's paris olympics.

the international olympic committee say no athlete should be prevented from taking part because of their nationality. but some ukrainian athletes are saying that that decision, quote, endorses russia's invasion of ukraine. dw news spoke to one of them, the olympic high jumper yaroslava mahuchikh. reporter: yaroslava mahuchikh is back to doing what she does best. she's one of the world's top high jumpers, a bronze medalist in 2021, and she will be hoping for even better in paris this year. but mahuchikh is adamant she does not want russian and belarusian athletes there with her. >> they died for me. they don't exist in my life, like before. because it all changed for all ukrainian people, for all of ukraine. and we continue fighting for our lives. reporter: the international olympic committee sees things

differently. last year it recommended russian and belarusian athletes be excluded from international competition. but now it wants to welcome them back, saying, no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport. in december, the ioc presidents at athletes should not suffer as a result of the war. russians in other versions would need to compete -- and belarusian's would need to compete under a neutral flag. but some insist that is not the right view to take, saying, the ioc is strengthening russia's propaganda regime and undermining peace. that is a message echoed by mahuchikh. >> if you are in a big stadium and russians supporting their president, and of course ukrainian sportsmen will do everything possible as russian

and belarusian sportsmen. russia is a terrorist state. reporter: mahuchikh described 2022 as the most difficult year of her life. beyond sporting success ambition, her hopes for this year are more basic. >> my goal for this year is not crying. really. and of course a big dream for all ukrainian people, finishing the war and winning. brent: after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around. we will be right back. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and curacy. vit ncicap.org]

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>> welcome to "live from paris," world news editor analysis -- world news and analysis from france 24. 10 civilians killed in the occupied west bank. palestinian authorities cut ties with israel as a consequence. washington describes the civilian deaths as regrettable. 11 killed in russian rates -- raids.

trump set for a return on facebook and instagram. mark zuckerberg's meta company reinstates his access to social media. trump bent in the wake of the 2021 storming of congress by his supporters -- trump banned in the wake of the 20 21 storming of congress by his supporters. thank you very much for being with us. israeli forces in the occupied west bank have killed 10 palestinians, none of them in a raid the israeli military described as a counterterrorism operation. the bloodiest day in the west bank for years were gunshots rang through the streets. the death includes a woman and 20 people who were wounded

before israeli forces withdrew. the palestinian authority has broken off security ties with israel as a consequence of the incident. since records began in 2005, the united nations has never recorded such a high death toll in a single operation in the occupied west bank. >> palestinians were out in the streets after israeli forces killed nine people in a dawn raid. local authorities blame israel's new government. >> this is a clear indication that this fascist extreme right wing government has begun to implement its priority -- targeting the palestinian people and targeting the palestinian cause. >> the palestinian authority announced it would be so pending security cooperation with israel over the deaths.

earlier thursday, a crowd of refugee camps -- a crowded refugee camp was filled with tear gas. israel says the operation was necessary to prevent and imminent terror attack. most of the dead were gunmen, but some were civilians, including a woman in her 60's killed in her home. israel's far right national security minister offered illegal amnesty to gunmen who shoot palestinians. >> i want to congratulate those who executed a successful operation. we give our combat soldiers our full support in a war against the terrorists. >> the prime minister of the palestinian authority called on the united nations to protect the palestinian people. last year, 150 palestinians were killed in the west bank and east jerusalem. the uptick in violence shows no

signs of slowing in 2020 three with 30 palestinians killed in less than a month. >> earlier, we were joined by the senior policy fellow at the middle eastern north africa program at the council on foreign relations. >> suspending security coordination with israel is something mahmoud abbas has threatened oa number of occasions. what you see is quite likely increased friction between israeli soldiers and palestinian security forces and probably increased action for palestinian armed groups. >> q lovett there from european council on foreign relations -- hugh lovett.

next, we turn to the situation in ukraine. at least 11 people killed in airstrikes by russia a day after kyiv received allied pledges of dozens of battlefield nks to try to repel the russian invasion. moscow reacted with anger to the news of german and american announcements. in the past, moscow has replied to apparent success of ukrainian airstrikes by leaving millions without water. >> in this district, shattered trees and this able vehicles line the streets as they clean up in the wake of a russian airstrike. more than 10 were killed including one in kyiv and three in separation -- zaporizhzhia. >> the blast wave hit them.

they work in an open space. we were behind a truck and had a bit of protection so we were not hurt. they were hurt. one man was killed and 11 injured. >> as air raid sirens running out, residents took shelter underground in subway stations. ukraine's air force says 47 of 55 russian missiles were shot down after the kremlin launched a fleet of attack drones overnight. russia's latest barrage comes hot on the heels of commitment from washington to berlin to equip ukrainian forces with modern battle tanks. moscow says the tanks represent direct western involvement in the war. >> the u.s. and nato are determined to further continue making efforts to drag out this conflict.

they have become its participants. >> the tank pledge secured, ukrainian officials are eyeing the next weapon system on their wish list, u.s.-made f-16 fighter jets. >> donald trump's social media ban could be about to be lifted. the decision by facebook's parent company to reinstate trump's account comes at a critical moment as he tries to build campaign momentum to possibly return to the white house. >> it is a big social media come back for donald trump. two years after being banned from some of the most influential media platforms like facebook and instagram, parent company meta has announced it

will be restoring the former president's accounts in the coming weeks. his accounts were suspended following the deadly capitol hill riot in 2021. he had used his social network to encourage supporters and broadcast without evidence accusations of electoral fraud concerning the presidential election of 2020, but this digital return comes with a strict caveat. according to meta, guardrails will be put in place to make sure there are no repeat offenders who violate rules regardless of political status. >> the public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying, the good, the bat, and the ugly, so they can make informed choices at the ballot box. that does not mean there are no limits to what people can say on our platform. when there is a clear risk of real-world harm, we act. >> the decision to than the president was a controversial one. until then, they had never blocked a head of state for

violating rules. by regaining access to his millions of followers on facebook and instagram, trump will once again be able to address his american voters. social media platforms are key vehicles for political outreach and fundraising. this is an essential communication channel for the man who wants to run again in 2024. >> let's get the analys. were joined by an assistant professor of business technology at the university of miami and senior at the brookings institution for technology. in terms of what we are hearing, how significant do you think this is that trump is getting back onto social media? >> i do not think it is that signicant for the simple reason that trump is no longer that relant. we think that trump is as relevant as he was in 2020,

but he is not,, and i think a lot of republicans were quite disappointed by the performance of trump-backed candidates in the 2022 election. >> what does that say about social media? obviously, trump is banned for a certain reason. as far as anyone can see looking from a distance, those reasons have not gone away. >> i think they have. it was very heatedith january 6 evts, and itas been t years sce then, and i don't think the same concerns pertain. back then, we had security reasons, but that time has passed, and that's why i don't think it is as sensitive as it

was two years ago. >> nonetheless, trump's policies, viewpoints, political standpoints and view on society has not changed and now he has another platform to spread what he thinks. >> yes, and i have to remind y he already has other platforms. he has his twitter account, has been posting on true social and other social media platforms even on twitter and facebook, it was his own personal account that was suspended. trump campaign account was and is still active on both facebook and twitter, so the message is still out there. >> indeed, hear what you are saying. coming back to your first point, which is after the midterms, trump and his backing of candidates who did not perform well in the midterms -- does

this mean he is a spent force politilly? >> i think so. there are much more qualified candidates on the right. >> it will be interesting to see how it all develops. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank. >> we watched with interest as donald trump comes back onto facebook. as our guest pointed out, he is already back on twitter. elon musk the thing his been as soon as he took the helm of that particular platform -- elon musk lifting the ban as soon as he took the helm of that particular platform. a failing economy has pushed more people toward illicit drug production. this all revealed in a united nations report released this thursday.

>> the golden triane back business. the united nations says opium production in myanmar is at and nine-year high hitting and estimated -- hitting nearly twice the guild of 2020 one. in february of that year, myanmar's military overthrew the government of aung san suu kyi, sparking a civil war that continues to this day. the current booming drug business a result of direct and on the streets for the country's population. the world bank estimates that myanmar's gdp shrank by 18% in 2021. >> fundamentally at the end of the day, opium is an employer. this is all about poverty. what we are seeing is people returning to an opportunity they have available, particularly in the north and rural areas. that has been a long-standing employer of last resort in a sense in the country. >> me and the world's number two

open producer after afghanistan -- myanmar is the world's nuer two opium producer after afghanistan. poppy farmers are fetching prices nearly 70% higher tn a year ago, but they, too, e losing most of that pay rise on inflation amid soaring fuel and fertilizer prices. >> people turning to opium reduction in the face of grinding poverty in the country. we are watching developments in the situation. next, an exciting discovery of ancient egypt has been made. it includes the tomb of the keeper of secrets dating back to 2500 bc. the site is part of a sprawling acropolis.

the ruins were designated a unesco world heritage site in the 1970's. it looks fantastic. can't wait to see what is inside. amazing scenes there inside the necropolis, just discovered. we bring you more as we get it. u.s. health regulator has withdrawn authorization for astrazeneca's covid pills. >> the u.s. food and drug administration has withdrawn emergency use authorization for astrazeneca's antibody cocktail

design to prevent covid-19 infections in people with weak immune systems. the fda says the treatment is not expected to work on the subvariant of the omicron virus that is currently dominant. the move comes after the regulator called authorization for other, similar drugs, citing the same concern. european health regulators have also raised concern about the effectiveness of monochrome will antibodies against the virus that continues to evolve. astrazeneca says it will continue to work with health regulators regarding its product. boeing pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud charges spanning from two plane crashes involving its 737 max jets that killed 346 people in indonesia and ethiopia four years ago. the plane maker was arraigned in court in texas, but it was the first time it appeared in court

since the disasters. two years ago, the aerospace giant was charged with defrauding u.s. regulators. it avoided going on trial by reaching a settlement with the justice department. next, a surprise leadership change at the world's second-largest automaker. toyota's chief executive will step back from his position after nearly 14 years to be replaced by the current head of the lexus brand. >> japan's biggest company ushering in a new era of leadership. automobile maker toyota will mark a new ceo as the incumbent ceo takes a backseat as chairman

. >> another thing he has going for him is youth. the head of management must continue to stand on the front lines. for that, stamina, energy, and passion are indispensable. >> 53-year-old sato is the current leader of toyota's luxury brand lexus. >> i like cars that are fun to drive, cars with support mobility and cars that in the future will evolve into the concept of mobility itself. with that said, i hope to preserve the essential value of the car and perform new modes of mobility. >> the leadership comes as toyota is being scrutinized for lagging in the electric vehicle

base. the company has instead touted hybrid technology at pioneer. toyota is said to reach 3.5 million sales by 2030, which would be more than 1/3 of its current sales. toyota lexus also aims to achieve 100% battery electric vehicle sales globally in 2025. >> french luxury group elvia mage said sales and net profit both hit new records last year driven by strong demand in the u.s., europe, and japan. sales of louis vuitton topped 20 billion euros in 2022 for the first time, accounting for around a quarter of the group's total revenues. other brands gained market share . sales growth slowed in the final quarter do partly to fresh outbreaks of covid-19 in china following the easing of

restrictions. u.s. stocks rose this thursday following new solid gdp data that came out from the government today for last year. as you can see, the nasdaq ended the day up almost 1.3%. finally, two giant pandas on loan from china are causing quite a stir in finland as a public zoo there is struggling to pay for their care. they arrived in the nordic country in 2018 following a state visit by the chinese president. they became very popular with visitors very quickly, but their maintenance cost zoo more money than they bring. the suit says they may have no choice but to return the animals to china -- the zoo says. >> they look like a lot of fun, don't they? but conservation costs money. that's the bottom line, i suppose. they are gorgeous, aren't they?

thank you very much indeed. let's go to truth or fake, and catalina is waiting at the big board. is poland creating a special lgbtq unit in its army? truth or fake? tell us. >> this is a rumor circulating on russian social media accounts and media with this video we will show where we see an alleged news report from a polish tv news channel where we see soldiers and this alleged news ticker right here reporting on the possibility of the creation of an lgbt military unit within the polish army. this rumor has been circulating on twitter. we have examples in french, polish twitter channels, and here is a tweet in english claiming polish tv full of

surprises today, at this time an announcement of a paramilitary lgb t unit, but mostly the claim began to spread on telegram, notably with these channels, for instance, with over 340,000 views, and a man who posted this on his telegram channel, known as pressure a proper -- pressure's propagandist in chief -- russia's propagandist in chief. we have also seen this alleged news report spread on russian media that claims that poland will become the first nato country to form special detachments of nontraditional orientation, as they call it. >> sounds like a hotbed of prejudice, doesn't it? this report falsely attributed

to the polish news channel. >> this news report was falsely attributed, as you said, to tvp 1. in this false report, we can find the logo of tvp 1 in the bottom and the right and the top of this news report. the only problem is that this news report right here is nowhere to be found on the channel's official website. what we find is when we search lgbtq rights in the polish army, we find this polish news report debunking these claims, this information, and notably, the news channel tv po one -- tvp one debunking this. right here, we have a news report that is edited.

>> this all plays on people's -- sorry to say -- people's prejudices, doesn't it? where did the imagery come from? >> the images we've seen, the false news report come from 2018 extracted from this youtube channel. they are images of the polish army independence day parade that takes place every august 15, and we can compare the fake edited video to these screenshots of this youtube video from 2018 of this military parade, the same images that were used in the false claims. >> when you stack it up like that, it all looks bogus from the very start, doesn't it? what is the point behind this type of misinformation? >> the veracity of this information, it is quite

doubtful poland would create a special lgbt unit in its army considering poland remains eu's most homophobic country. poland occupied almost the lowest in this rainbow ranking in europe according to a study by an organization specializing in lgbtq rights, so why this type of misinformation? we have some reasons, of course. there is poland's recent strong show of support to kyiv and their demand to supply ukraine with leopard to tanks, making poland and strong ally for the west ukraine and of course, big nato member and has a strong and me -- enemy of russia. >> indeed, more questions than answers, as ever. thank you for the business. thanks to you for watching. stay with us here live from paris.

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01/26/23 01/26/23 [captioning de possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> further evidence of our commitment to ukraine and our confidence in the ukrainian forces. amy: under nationwide air raid alert as russia launches dozens of missile and drone strikes the day after the united states and germany announced they will send tanks to ukraine in a major policy reversa