this is d. w. news coming to you live from berlin germany and turkey reboot relations but it what calls to critics fear german tanks like these used to attack critics rebels in syria were part of the deal to free an imprisoned journalist now plans are being made for turkey's controversial president to visit berlin. also coming up after u.s. officials indicted thirteen russians for meddling in the twenty six thousand election and x. troll tells t w they're just the tip of the iceberg at russia's fake news factory.

and female driven movie scene presence at the berlin international film festival we'll hear about the italian adoption drama exploring a young girl's search for identity plus a swedish black comedy that student body critic say. hello i'm terry march and thanks for joining us. there's been a rapid evolution of relations between germany and turkey last week turkey's prime minister banally you visited berlin and paved the way for the release of an imprisoned german journalist then over the weekend more signs of a thaw told the german media he expected president to want to visit berlin soon amid hopes for renewed military cooperation but critics say it's the result of a secret deal for german tanks. seeking speedy approval from germany

turkish prime minister banally yielder him is hoping the two countries might soon cooperate on building tanks in turkey deal potentially worth billions. in january german foreign minister sic markup real only signal berlin would a proposal to retrofit tanks with new and he mined systems but that plan was put on ice after turkey invade his syria's african region with german built leopard tanks gabriele rejected speculation a deal for a tank factory would be approved but critics fear there may be a secret agreement in exchange for the recent release of the german journalist denise you jel. the foreign minister would never admitted it but in my view it's perfectly clear there's a connection there if you look at the whole story that i assume is a direct link to. the german foreign ministry has denied those claims it

says the country's acting government doesn't have the mandate to make such a deal and the pulling out of this country's future governing coalition has agreed in its negotiations to further tighten weapons exports so i wouldn't be able to support an agreement like that. the tensions between berlin and ankara where again evident in an incident at the munich security conference german parliament member gemma's demand needed police protection for the duration of the summit after the turkish delegation which was staying in the same hotel label tim a terrorist. but fifty two of these representatives of such a country can call a member of the german tala meant a terrorist but in under normal circumstances one could react by asking have you lost your mind and when will you take this back but need to this to look indeed german turkish relations are far from returning to normal turkey's foreign minister was blunt responding to questions about dimia saying simply he's lying.

earlier i spoke to did of a political correspondent called a sparrow i asked him about these rumors of an arms deal behind the release last week of jail german journalist denis you'd see your face as being a very delicate topic in recent weeks in germany not only now after his release about the possibility of this deal in order to secure his release if you ask german authorities if you ask germany's foreign ministers that my god will they will say that there's no deal no dirty deal no clean deal that's what he said himself he stressed that he's released was pure act of diplomacy but there are voices not only in the german parliament but also you can see on debate on television for example saying that that is not the case that it's such an exam thing fishing around for now there is simply nothing confirms that was

a political correspondent thomas ferro talking to me a little earlier well media reports say kurdish forces have reached an agreement with the syrian government to help repel the turkish offensive in the out for in the region and it buys or to the kurdish led administration said syrian troops will be deployed along some kurdish border positions and could enter the area within the next two days turkey launched an offensive across its border into syria for in the region last month it's targeting the kurdish y p g militia which it views as a terrorist group. well joining us now for more on these reports is dorian jones. dorian what more can you tell us about this report that syrian troops are to support the kurds in against the turkish military or yes a senior syrian kurdish militia official has been confirming

a deal has been struck with damascus in which syrian forces will be deployed on the syrian border. but it's the same time we are hearing that there is a saying that no deal hasn't been throughout they all that there have been intense negotiations going on. has actually been finally confirmed but it does appear that possibly those negotiations are going on and a deal is very close and sources syrian forces could be deployed as early as the next few days so if there is a deal dorian what could this mean for the turkish military offensive in syria. well it would be potentially a massive blow because turkey is using its front here to deploy maybe as much as seventy or eighty percent of its firepower into syria they are also opening up a front inside syria with free syrian army militia but turkey's frontier is the main gateway for this operation if syria was deployed forces on the frontier that

would pose a massive problem for turkey it have the dilemma does it continues operation with the risk of a confrontation we have syrian backed forces if that was to occur to occur then more than likely moscow would then close down syrian airspace the turkish jets which is key to its operation the over alternative it opens up dialogue directly with the damascus that is what turkish opposition parties have all been calling for turkish president reject typo's on has dismissed out of hand saying how can you expect me to talk to a man who is responsible for the deaths of half a million people potentially a major dilemma on its hands if this deal is struck between syria and the massacres forces and syrian kurdish forces and this conflict in syria is extremely complex as we all know kurdish militias in northern syria have been working closely with the u.s. against i asked forces but washington is an opponent of syria's president bashar al

assad now are the kurds not at risk of alienating their u.s. allies by cooperating with troops. while this whole syrian conflict has been characterized by all foreign powers and powers in syria following contradictory policies yes you are right the u.s. is a key backer of the syrian kurdish forces but at the same time those syrian kurdish forces have been also been working with moscow and on some occasions in the syrian civil war they've been working with damascus as well for sure that this possible deal will further complicate the syrian civil war but this whole syrian civil war has all been about contradictory policies being followed by all sides dorian thank you so much from dorian jones there in istanbul. now to some other stories making news around the world today an earthquake measuring magnitude of six point one has struck mexico u.s. agencies report it's that it's centered in the state of one haka the quake was also

felt hundreds of kilometers to the north in mexico city sounding the alarm and sending people into the streets. hungary's prime minister viktor orbán has called for a global alliance against migration this as his right wing party began campaigning ahead of an april election that it's expected to win or bonn has pushed this anti immigrant anti immigration stance ahead of his bid for a third consecutive term. five women have been killed in a shooting at a christian church in the city of kissee that in russia's republic of dagestan a twenty two year old man fired at people leaving an evening service he was shot and killed at the scene so-called islamic state group said it was behind the attack . the u.s. special council has indicted thirteen russians accused of meddling in america's

presidential election and that is putting kremlin backed internet propaganda in the spotlight in an exclusive report russia correspondent yury rich châteaux spoke to a former so-called troll she worked at the internet research agency in st petersburg that's a body identified by u.s. investigators as a factory for fake news. we're not allowed to disclose an exact address not even the district this young journalist could face repercussions two years ago she was working among russia's so-called internet trolls she had a job with the russian agency for internet research that's the official name of the st petersburg troll factory whose buses have now been indicted by the united states . employees at the troll factory get a list of topics every day that they have to work through bad news about the united states was always one of the more important topics. it was getting. two

years ago we tried to make contact with those working inside these walls to no avail the revelations by luke miller lifted the lid on the trial factory unselfishly in a street here in russia's second city. curtains on the windows no sign at the entrance into that unsuspicious looking building here in san pitt as burke so called internet trolls are supposed to have dramatically meddled in the us election american investigators say. this video from inside the building was sent to us by another whistleblower according to that miller they're better paid than the average russian more than a thousand people work here according to her but it's not even the only troll factory in russia. toys last movement today no one can exactly say how far these trolls have really influenced the u.s.

elections and individual voters. but it's absolutely clear that there was a meddling going on. and as you say it's enough for just one person to put out false information in return for payment that clearly constitutes an attempt to tamper. yeah. miller says the u.s. charges should serve as a wake up call for many. in that's it's worse there weren't just thirteen there weren't even just one hundred thirty of them there were many more that there was and still is an enormous operation going on. chesterton's biscay and the thirteen who have been accused are just the ones the americans have got hard evidence against i hope the investigations will continue. or she will get them there are simply so many people

who are working professionally for the russian propaganda machine hope that others will soon be investigated would suddenly shown. up. until that time petersburg is unlikely to be the sole source of russia's fake news . they're watching g.w. news still to come a powerful drama about a ten year old girl torn between her birth mother and adopted mother daughter of mine premieres at the police international film festival. allen is with us now to tell us about the trouble for one of europe's top bankers that's right terry he also happens to be the governor of the lot central bank we're talking about it in moscow and he was detained on sunday off to being questioned by anti corruption all thora ts out inch of it is also a member of the european central bank's governing body and he was questioned for our was and made accusations of bribery

a money laundering in the country's financial system. latvia's top ranking official illness from savage arriving at the country's anti-corruption agency wearing a hat in the middle of the night this after authorities raided his offices and property it's unclear exactly what charges he is facing but the news comes a week after u.s. authorities proposed banning one of latvia's largest private banks because of its allegedly next to north korea but his finance minister sought to offer reassurance . you know if i can assure you that the latvian finance system is stable banks don't have liquidity issues so depositors can feel completely safe. and oh me privately is the only one who are saying well you know i think in order to protect the finance sector stability and reputation i think that room savage should resign from his post while the investigation is ongoing. but the news is

likely to spark further jitters about the state of latvia's banking system this high profile case goes beyond the country's borders as a member of the e.c.b. he's governing body when savage has access to confidential information relating to europe's most powerful financial institution. and on the story for us is all financial correspondent con had was in who's in frankfurt where of course the e.c.b. is headquartered good to see you calling had i one of the possible repercussions in this case. good morning helen well there's no official statement coming out of the european central bank but it's safe to say that many people who work for the european central bank are having a very busy monday morning today. especially so as not very many details are known about why exactly mr rim savage was interrogated latvia's financial sector has been in focus for quite a while there's been a couple of corruption cases also money laundering cases and those cases often

were involving russian citizens russian corporations and also state officials so this makes this topic highly political one and a highly systemic systemically relevant one and that's why of course the people here at the european or solid key the european central bank are in charge and obviously working today and late is the day we've got the year is own finance ministers meeting in brussels what's on the agenda there. they will talk about the revolving door about change of positions and i'm talking top positions here remember mario draghi he will have his he will see his term ending in the fall in autumn next year twenty nineteen but before him in summer this year a new vice president will get into the job hill with the person will succeed victor

constancio in the position of vice president and here the question is will a person from the euro zone south because become the new vice president this would make it more likely that somebody from the north maybe from germany will eventually succeed. next year in twenty nine hundred eight and see canada booze in for us in frankfurt thank you. well japan has posted strong growth in both exports and imports meaning a continuation of the expansion seen in the country's economy and twenty seven thousand goes on back then it was growing at its fastest pace in thirty years and in january japan ended up booking its first trade deficit in eight months so some strong consumer spending and a rise in the price of crude oil as well as natural gas meant that more was spent on imports than exports for the trade balance deficit bringing in at eight point

nine billion dollars last month that says the deficit was still slightly though it in the finance ministry had expected. well yesterday was the fourth day of the berlin international film festival it was a day dominated by strong willed women and their stories with me in the studio to talk about all that is my colleague melanie courage to fall hello. even spending a lot of time at the movies i guess yemen definitely got a lot of fun i got to say how many how many movies do you think you see in all to get counted fifteen twenty ok so you're spending a lot of time watching that ok let's get to it one of the favorites for the golden bear this year that's the biggest award of the berlin film festival feel me ask you a bit more about that film in just a minute first let's have a look at what it's all. it's

a stunning portrait of motherhood figure me a daughter of mine for whose ten year old victorian is nice turned upside down by the discovery of her birth mother forcing as navigate a treacherous path between opposing maternal figures. even. that. full. of intelligent and rich in metaphor the film dismantles the classic madonna and whole truth behind a complex picture of two powerful but flawed women. of my. love it is the work of italian directed lure the first female director of the competition so far the feature debut school and also starring about her by her was

a bad analogy hits in twenty fifteen this time she's returning with renowned italian actress malaria galina. and all and all i was the new go at. it that i had to elbow my way in. between them they are for a sensitive and moving exploration of the female condition. the idea was to investigate maternity in a more way to deconstruct the image of a perfect mother which is often idealized and to tell the story of inadequate mothers. women stories all front and center at this. but here bashful here mia for its rule and complex picture of womanhood you may be the prize how often you'll be on the edge of your seat. history missed out on a golden bear in twenty fifteen we may still have a weeks ago before this year's winner is announced. there's already chances about

whether this could be. so funny a me old truck for a golden bear or maybe you know what makes this film stand out from the competition right so as you have seen it's about this conflict centered around the young girl who was adopted. us and what makes the film so outstanding and special is really this triangle relationship between these strong three females you have an abusive biological mother who's claiming that daughter back then you have the adoptive mother who is release god she might lose her and the center of it you have this young ten year old girl who's trying to find a sense of belonging and find out who she really is it's really moving so it's really powerful there was another strong female lead performance yesterday i understand in the swedish film the real estate. and right so we have the real has always seen life as

a big party and she doesn't really want to tell and and so she goes back home after she inherits an apartment block that had dedicated to hahn and dash of rives just to find a lot of kaos it all turns into a big night man she is doesn't have any friends and feels like she's being taken advantage of but also has no sympathy for immigrants living in the house and by yes it's a strong female lead she plays the role of the business woman and tell who takes things into her own and hands in the end and becomes a. cause so strong performances by female leads in this belly and all that's one of the big topics so women in cinema the me too movement also getting a lot of attention to have got a lot of attention the path towards just last night to how is the meat to movement women and sort of in general making itself felt at the belly. so of course there's

a cross route campaign to speak out about sexual harassment in the film industry has also reached about in on it's a big talking point that they've had a panel discussion seminar set up by the organizers we did not have a black cop at all that they organize a state turn up in black in the open at the opening night and solidarity but we've had what has been paid to female voices and one of them is the curator of the panorama section has that as a rare and we have a piece on her for you let's take a look at the belly now there has more to offer than simply the glamour of the main competition there's also challenging cinematic art aimed at getting audiences thinking the panorama section is known for films like that and this year under a new director passed last year oh it's tackling the topic of the moment.

i think that this year the focus is on women and not simply because of the large number of women directors and producers nearly forty percent intersection but also because women are at the center of most of the productions we're showing and. that's certainly the case in the opening film of the panorama special a self-confident woman dr spends her vacation alone on a sailboat but an encounter at sea changes her journey dramatically she's just one of the courageous and assertive women on screen in the panorama. and kind of ends up with it and in general you can say that in all of the films but especially in the ones from latin america there's a strong resistance to portraying women as victims. like in this documentary from brazil. the guiding imus from speed got his knauss to score. yeah he was so good but if you doubt the whole thing you kids you both. it shows

a transgender artist from the poor outskirts of sao paolo in her daily struggle against machismo this is one way films that the belly nala responding to the me to debate. the fact that so many courageous women were willing to bring injustice to light has deeply changed the audience and us to know. them and that's reflected in the panorama program with films that promote social change or show utopian visions like this japanese science fiction film in which the end of the world is near and only a woman can save humanity. so you've got some strong female characters in the films obviously represent. me to movement also making an impact but just how well represented are women at this year's belly and. why when it comes to the strong female needs they are represented very well and we see that across all

sections and when it comes to the jury they also made sure that they have a very gender balance jerry. talking of producers and directors across all sections and spend about forty percent female in direct is exempt for when it comes to the competition section that we only have four women out of nineteen so i think there is a bit of improvement that. a room for improvement still to. thank so much melanie deval d.-w. is very well thank you. sports now and days after regaining world number one status for the first time in six years tennis star roger federer has won his ninety seventh career title at the robert m. open facing world number five greegor never approached the ball very early and from there the swiss remained on top and he cruised through the match sealing victory in just five minutes at thirty six federer is the oldest male tennis player

to be right number one in the world. and just before we go a reminder the top story we're following for you here today on d.w. news the release of a german journalist imprisoned by turkey has led to a rapid improvement in times between berlin and ankara germany could now sanction a tank building a joint venture with turkey despite concerns the vehicles could be used in syria against kurds. you're watching news we have more for you coming up at the top of the next hour and you can get all our stories online at d.w. dot com thanks for being with us. my

song choice also took. the. good dropping bombs on civilians. more troops the situation escalates there's no longer for schools. to flex coalition military leaders were go be

extended the classroom technological progress to come the gracious massacre's the become a comfort to her mom in forty five minutes on d w. w's program guide. highlights. the home. dot com highlights. and why. the bench of. a trip by airplane. seventeen thousand kilometers in six weeks. breathtaking landscape the bridgehead of experience a. touching story. this is our home as god's country of purpose was another better place seventy thousand kilometers through canada

starting february twenty seventh joe. your tuned to tomorrow today coming up. driving cars who's responsible on the road. slow brain waves fly deep sleep is crucial for memory. and culture make a great guitar out of non tropical woods. look ma no hands.