there were more metals of for grabs at the winter olympics and a french olympian takes his third gold. we will bring you that and a lot more from day 11 in pyeongchang. ♪ sarah: i am sarah kelly. welcome to the program. thanks for joining us. we begin in syria were government-backed troops have entered a kurdish enclave in the north of the country raising the specter of deadly confrontation with turkey. columns of fighters were seen moving into threthe r egion. turkey reports that they shelled the area and response of the fighters have been pushed back. the region is enjoyed by kurdish forces. turkey considers them to be terrorists. let us get you the latest on these developments. the syrian pro-government fighters. as you can see, dorian jones is standing by with the latest from istanbul. what are you hearing? dorian: the turkish president says that turkey should successfully repel the column of the syrian government fighters to support the syrian militia. they say the matter is closed, saying the militias were only acting on their own initiative rather than orders from damascus. despite these claims, images on social media show that some, if not all fighters successfully arrived in the main city of afrin. we have recordings of the fighters shouting "we will defeat the turkish ottoman invaders." some of the forces successfully entered the syrian city of afrin and joined up with syrian-kurdish fighters. sarah: we know the motivation behind the turks. they do not want the thomas kurdish region forming along their border. what is the strategy behind damascus sending the militia into the area? dorian: i think damascus is concerned by the turkish military operation. there had been initial hopes from their part this would be a small-scale operation clearing up the border zone in syria and possibly creating a border zone there and that would be the end of it. the message is this operation is increasingly expanding, with the message that they have taken over the syrian and enclave -- enclave of afrin. there is an alarm in damascus that the operation could be greater than they expected. there is an awareness they feel when turkey does military leak -- does militarily intervene, there is fear that turkey would have a long-term presence in syria, which would be a further peace stabilizing factor and a threat to the syrian regime. they do want to stop the operation and push it back, if possible. sarah: the turkish president, we mentioned hitting the airwaves, saying that pro-government convoy has turned back after turkish shelling. has the file been closed? was easily saving face? -- he si mply saving face? dorian: i think it is an embarrassment for the president because he has been delivering speechesw to the parliamentarians earlier tuesday where he said through successful diplomacy and speaking with the russians and iranian counterparts, he said the forces entering afrin have been removed. now, he is facing humiliating prospects that that is not the case. he will downplay it because it will show that the operation is running the risk of expanding for possible confrontation with damascus. we have already seen heavy falls on the financial markets and there'll be concerns within the country of the operation could be getting out of control. they will be facing pressure from moscow because it is not only supporting the assad regime but looking to i' and the syrian civil war. this is a nightmare scenario for moscow and they will be doing all they can to diffuse the rising tensions. sarah: it is a web of alliances and has the potential to be complicated quickly. dorian jones, thank you so much for putting it all into perspective for us. let us get the view now from moscow, which we just heard dorian mentioned. our correspondent emily sherwin is standing by with more. emily, russia, we know has backed the syrian regime and the syrian civil war. with afrin in particular, they are treading a difficult line because they have close ties with turkey on the other side. have they weighed in on the situation yet? emily: they absolutely have an they are treading a difficult line. that was clear from the statement the foreign minister made today. he said, it was very much of a balancing act. he said russia understands the kurdish expectations, but it also understands the turkish worries about its border region. and he also defended syria. he said it was very important to retain syria's territorial integrity, which has availed criticism at turkey because serious is turkey had no right to invade its airspace and have not been permitted by the country all. now, it seems russia is trying to balance all three sides in this conflict. sarah: in fact, sergey lavrov said the afrin situation can be resolved between talking to unger and damascus, not wanting to get in the middle here. ultimately, russia controls the airspace, don't they? so can they really avoid this year? -- this here? emily: well, i think lavrov's call for dialogue clearly, to me, seems to indicate russia will be taking an active role in that dialogue. after all, they have been kind of keen to present themselves as the mediators in syria on the international stage. they have a certain sway over both syria and turkey, particularly over syria, a long- term ally. they presented themselves with the peace talks they have been conducting last year. is the mediator, they really want to get out of the situation. as dorian said, an escalation in afrin would be a nightmare scenario. sarah: emily sherwin with the view from moscow. thank you, emily. elsewhere in syria, the rebel-held suburbs of damascus are under siege. government forces have been pounding the area since the weekend. independent monitors now say the shelling tilde more than 250 people in the last two days and that syrian defense, known as the white helmets, released this footage reporting to show survivors of shelling carried out earlier today. the u.n. is warning the eastern -- warning that this eastern area could become the second aleppo. let us turn to some other news around the world. we will head to germany where a parliamentary report has said the nation's armed forces are not good enough. the wind despair -- it lacks the person out and equipment to meet their abilities. it talks about shortfalls in everything from tanks to tents that raises concerns about whether germany will be ready to take command of a rapid response force next year. >> a rare glimpse of the airbus a 400 m. it was touted as the militay transport plane of the future. 14 have been delivered but not a single one was cleared to actually fly. and it is not an exception. in the report by the parliamentary commission described dramatic deficiencies. germany's soldiers are frustrated. >> the condions of the equipment available to the troops has not gotten better in recent years but worse. we welcome declarations that staffing, equipment, and funding are to be improved but declarations alone do not make anything better. >> the report points to problems in practically every area. more than 20,000 personnel positions remain unfilled, leaving many soldiers exhausted. part shortages that weapons out of commission. for example, not one german submarine can be put to sea right now. there's not enough money. it promised turnaround, but the plan budget increases not enough. >> at the moment, the rulers hope for the best. , the coalition deal of says if there is a budget surplus it will be taken advantage of so we will be hoping for a surplus. >> the state of the group may be lacking tanks and more for plant missions in the coming year. sarah: students from the florida high school where a mass shooting claimed 17 lives are traveling to the state capital to press lawmakers about gun control. about 100 students are on their way to tallahassee for a rally scheduled for wednesday, part of a new mobilization against gun violence that started since the shooting at the marjory stoneman douglas high school last week. survivors of the shooting started a movement called "never again," which wants more rigorous background checks for those buying guns and a ban on assault rifles. for more, let us bring in carol lina -- caolina. -- carolina. e survivors are on the way to florida to ask about gun control. on the state level, what are their chances? carolina: sarah, this kind of debate always rises after a tragedy like the one we saw last week in florida. the question is if this time the potus and movements we are sing and gun control are going to put pressure on politicians to make a major change on gun-control laws. we know that president donald trump spoke with a republican senator talking, about ability introduced with senator murphy a democrat -- senator murphy, a democrat, and how this can stop people from buying a gun based on their mental health. the suspect background checks, as you mentioned, but many units are protesting against the possession of guns. sarah: carolina, this is one of many things that the students have plans. w -- planned. we have to talk about the students because they are active, articulate, and engaged. what do they have plans? does this feel -- planned? does a feeling a turning point in american policy on guns because of these units -- students? carolina: the organizers of this big movement, also called the march for our lives, are planning a nation wide march for the 24th of march. on the 14th of march, one month after the school shooting in florida, there's calling -- they are calling for students, teachers, and administrators to to partake -- to partake in a school walkout. they're asking for participants to walk walkout for 17 minutes at 10:00 a.m. to protest congress in action to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence in schools. tomorrow, president trump is planning told a meeting with high school students at the white house. we do not know much more yet about this meeting, but we are expecting a small protest in front of the white house and we will be there, of course. regardg your last question, if this is going to change something in american gun laws, well, it is the persimmon student movement has been organized -- it is the first time a student movement has been organized so it has struck a chord but the question is how effective it will be. we know the weapon lobby here in washington is quite strong and, therefore, many politicians are not interested in a major change in the laws. sarah: at the very least, they have an effective in getting their message out. let us see if the trickles down to policy. thank you, carolina. ♪ sarah: down at the berlin international for an festival, maia shwayder and david levitz are standing by to tell us more about the red carpet action. hello to you guys. maia: we are here at the screening of the new phoenix film. do not worry, he will will not get far on film, which is about an american cartoonist. david: a quadriplegic cartoonist. his battles with alcoholism. a pretty good performance from joaquin phoenix. we saw him walk up on the red carpet. maia: he was in a slightly better mood than he was at the press conference, where he turned away from journalists. he is notoriously media shy. david: we are glad he perked up for the red carpet appearance. sarah: of course joaquin phoenix is a big hollywood star and not the only one showing his face in berlin today. david: that is right. willem dafoe is also here to collect his honorary lifetime achievement award. what a career. maia: you may know him from such films as the spiderman films in the early 2000's are the last temptation of christ. his career spanned many films and types of roles. he is up for an oscar this year. let us take a look at his storied career. >> i got a videotape of the kids illegally entering the utility room. >> you're out of here. >> and his most recent movie, the florida project, willem dafoe plays motel manager, bobby. the performance could win him an oscar this year. it is his third oscar nomination . willem dafoe plays an actor who takes his role as vampire a bit too seriously. >> what is the matter of you? you will not damage this production. >> willem dafoe's biggest blockbuster success came in 2002, as scientists turned him to the green goblin in the movie "spiderman." >> you are useless, you. >> set him down, tough guy. >> defoe has proved more than once he is -- dafoe has proved more than once he is a master of many roles. >> what a career he has had. he is assured to get a bear. but who else might win? david: well, that is what we all have been trying to figure out and we have been going to one screening after the other. one of the strong as movies i've seen was the world premiere of wes anderson's new movie, "isle of dogs," inspired by japanese animation. great voices. beautiful film and a great story. very heartfelt. if i were a betting man, i would put my bets on the mbs -- fia m ia, a movie featuring three stronger spurs with a -- female characters with a female director. maia: i love that we should not rule out "transit," dealing with refugees, and a born topic in europe. sarah: thank you so much. from the world of film to business, fanna facsar standing by for us. fanny: they're slapping and tariffs on products like whiskey. if donald trump plans to hit imported steel for units of measures. wilbur ross suggested the likelihood of putting a 24% terra on all steel -- terrorists on all -- tarriff on all steel imports. >> washington has considered imposing tariffs. the u.k. said it will not take that move lying down. >> we sound ready -- we stand ready to react appropriately is our allies are affected by swift trade measures from the united states. >> that could hit iconic brands like harley davidson. motorcycles are on a retaliatory list the eu has drawn up to punish as steel quotas are introduced as well as american-made bourbon whiskey. they are made in the home state of influential legislators. no one is talking about a trade war, but there is little question the pressure is mounting. the eu is also worried by the u.s. decision to sink corporate taxes. >> we want to avoid firms moving headquarters from europe to the u.s. and we would like to avoid slowdown of investment. those are things we will discuss. that is important because when it comes down to is keeping jobs in europe. >> germany's acting finance minister says he hopes for support from people in the u.s. that continue to want a good relationship with brussels. fanny: corruption is a huge problem in many parts of the world. often, the poorest communities suffer most. fighting back is risky. today, to mark world justice day, we are bringing the story from peru, where farmers in the ucayali area are speaking out against business deals that are destroying their glibly heads in that region right there. in the village of santa clara, locals are taking action to stop companies of turning tens of thousands of actors in the rain forest into plantations. >> we have come to ucayali, an area inside peru's amazon rain forest that has been badly hit by deforestation. they can only be reached by boat. he heads of the federation and the sport of peru. he grew up in a village here but he does not come back often. it has become too dangerous. >> i received a lot of death threats. they left a message in my house saying if i opposed their activities again, they better not see me in the village. i believe i am in great danger. >> he supposes the large-scale -- opposes the large-scale deforestation and that gave him powerful energies. he does not come here alone. the peruvian arm of transparency international visited santa clara de uchunya. they're looking to set up cocoa and palmolive plantations -- palm oil plantations. they're trying to stop new palm oil plantations near their village. >> never thought we would have such problems of transnational companies. >> now the village wants to have areas turned into legally protective ancestral territory. the initiators received threats. a few months ago, six farmers were found shot to death. so far, no one has been held accountable for their murders. but how do these large corporations get their hands on dozens of hectars of land overnight? he has -- staff from the ngo have come to inform local residents. >> we wanted to highlight one thing. the connection between deforestation, a legal land trade, and corruption amongst local officials. there have long been rumors about this, but there was not enough evidence to be able to say definitively yes, it is true. >> they gathered available documentation and carried interviews. many of the deals are linked to czech entrepreneurs. they stripped rain forests to make way for plantations and were helped by corrupt local politicians who gave existing land rights, ignoring those with legal claims, and handing the land over to companies. ♪ >> pablo foli elias is here with us from pyeongchang for the winter olympic we have to start with the nailbiting finish in the mixed biathlon. pablo: to see the images, absolutely fantastic. it was a big day for france because it gave them -- it was an incredible display from him and france. a big disappointment for germany because germany was, in fact, bleeding. in the end, france kicked them to the post. as did norway, who took silver. italy to ron's -- took bronze. disappointing for him but a great day for france. this is an event which combines skiing and shooting, which is a mad mix for some people. sarah: absolutely. every day is a good day for him because he sweeps it at the olympics. pablo: indeed. sarah: disappointment for germany but not all bad news on day 11. pablo: not at all. germany is doing remarkably well. they won 23 medals, 11 golds. the nordic combined combines ski jumping and a cross-country race. germany won first, second, and third. they are picking up metals a right, and center. 23 metals, 11 of them gold. the winner and in second was fabian and erik. great result for them. you do not usually see a one- country win for first sarah:, second, and third. in the meantime, we have to turn to some of the not so great things that happened at the olympics. there was another failed doping test. pablo: that is right. a slovenian ice hockey player. he was expelled and sent home. he tested positive for infant toddler all -- for a drug being banned. the big news is related to news from day 10, the russian curler. russian sports officials as they are starting a criminal investigation into the fact he tested positive in both tests carried out on him for this banned substance, made famous by the russian tennis start maria sharapova. she received a one-year ban for it. alexander denied taking meladonium. we will not hear the last of this. sarah: thanks so much, pablo. with that, you are up-to-date on dw news. i am sarah kelly in berlin. don't forget, you can follow us on social media. i hope to see you again soon. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] amamais made possible by.... croplife america. and it's member companies and associations in the crop protection industry including: the american farm bureau foundation for agriculture. more information at: agfoundation.org. sacramento's proud to be america's farm to fork capital visit: farmtofork.com ♪ i'm sarah gardner. and you thought sugar just came from sugar cane! find out how they are turning sugar beets into the sweet stuff. i'm jason shoultz. it's harvest time in the red river valley . and there's no time to slow down when you have to get

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