♪ >> this is "dw news" live from berlin. the french farmer who has become a symbol of europe's migrant crisis after helping african slip into france gets a suspended fine. he says he was only doing his civic duty. our correspondent in nice will explain. also coming up, trump and abe, japan's prime minister meets the president as he faces a setback to reinstate his controversial travel ban. they are back 20 years after the

original trainspotting. reuniting to spread mayhem. we will catch up with them at the berlin film festival. ♪ >> i am sarah kelly. a court in france has ruled against an activist farmer on trial for sheltering illegal immigrants. he was convicted of helping migrants cross from italy and given a suspended fine. his case has been widely publicized in france, where immigration is a hot topic. >> his cause has become something of a cause celebre. he was in court for aiding the illegal entry of migrants and sheltering them on his farm in southern france. prosecutors had been pushing for

an eight-month sentence, but the judgment was relatively lenient, also suspended. some were emotional come of he resulted continue his fight. >> we will continue because it is urgent to continue. we will continue to act and will not stop because of threats of regional politicians. we will continue because it is necessary to continue. >> his lawyer suggested that the verdict recognized his motives. >> the only grounds he has been found guilty on is having help these people to cross the border into france. my client did not have to give a list of the people or prove each individual was in danger. >> while some european countries are trying to close their borders, he has been doing the opposite, giving shelter to refugees who have made the crossing into france.

his welcoming attitude has provoked support for many local people, although not everyone shares his views. >> there are rules. there are laws. you have to follow them whether you like it or not. >> one young woman he had helped voiced her support. >> it is not a crime to help me. i am on my own without my parents, but thanks to french society, i have a french mother who is white and i go to school. imagine if this had happened to you. >> he says none of the refugees should ever be sent back because the dangers they face are too great and the people of his region will not back down. >> let's get more on this case. our correspondent is standing by with the latest rum nice. we understand this sentence is lighter than the eighth month prison term that prosecutors had asked for.

why is it lighter? >> it goes back to a law that only a few years ago came into force which basically grants immunity to those people who act on a humanitarian basis and who do not seek monetary benefits from helping migrants, and that was applied here in this case and on other charges there was not enough evidence, so put it in a nutshell, a slap on the wrist for the farmer. sarah: meantime, he has vowed to carry on as before. what would that mean? >> absolutely. throughout the trial, he has said if he would be sentenced to serve time in prison, he would come back and help these people. he regards this as his civic duty, and today he turned the tables on the local government, where he said, the local governor he said deliberately

asked of police forces to detain children and then to as he put it dump them back on the tying site of the border, and that would be something illegal under french law. sarah: and presumably there will be some consequences if he continues. how significant has this case been in france's national discussion about immigration? >> very significant, huge media attention, a boost for all those who say that given the right-wing shift in the country, we have to uphold the very values, why people in the first place are seeking to come to france, and secondly, it puts a flashlight on the problems, the negative side effect, if you close the borders to italy, some people will get through.

in the past year, 100 80,000 refugees came across the mediterranean from africa into italy, about the same number in reception centers, and a huge amount of these people are trying to get into france, and that is where he says, look at we have to do better than this. these people are arriving here under terrible conditions am a walking up train tunnels, risking their lives, and local organizations like us, but it should be the government who is taking care of these people. sarah: the latest from nice. thank you. elsewhere in southern france, police have arrested four people on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack. the four aged between 16-33 were detained in montpellier, where authorities say they had been planning an imminent attack. the group was arrested after buying acetone, a liquid used to make bombs. lee say they had been making

explosives similar to those used in the paris attacks on november 2015. in germany, the city of dresden is preparing to mark the allied bombing in 1945 that killed thousands and left the historic town center in ruins. commemorations have been marred by protests. police are angry over to outdoor installations meant to be symbols of reconciliation, instead highlighting deep divisions over islam in germany. >> people are stunned, surprise, or confused. this installation in dresden is provoking mixed reactions. it is a temporary monument to remember those people who lived in a war zone like syria, using buses as a barricade against sniper fire. a few minutes from here, at the famous opera house, pictures of

graveyards representing the thousands who died on their way to europe trying to cross the mediterranean sea, and many of them don't even have a name. a are buried anonymously. like this person. opinion in dresden is divided over the art installations. they are and not graded ahead of -- to choose the state just to have a remembering when dresden was destroyed is inconceivable for many people here. the victims of dresden should come first, they say. the woman behind the project leads this is the right place to raise awareness for an ongoing crisis. >> today in our globalized world , tragedies are global and we have to remind ourselves of that. it is not tied to the location

of where a tragedy has taken place. the idea is to make people look at what is happening in the time that we live in. graveyards are a place of peace, but police are compared for possible vandalism during the night. >> the mayor has received death threats for his activism mother defends the installations. >> if someone is hostile to you, then your motivation is even bigger to take action. >> tensions are running high. far right group say they will take their opposition to the streets of dresden over the weekend. ♪ sarah: let's bring in our correspondent in dresden at the moment. as we have just heard because these are projects, dresden has been the scene over recent days of tension p or what is the situation tonight? -- days of tension. what is the situation tonight? >> it is quiet.

people walking the streets looking at the projects around where i am standing. there are no altercations at the moment, but we can feel the tension, even just by the fact that we are standing here talking about these matters, it causes people to come closer and to discuss these things with us, so the matter really is at the top of the agenda for dresden and something that everybody is thinking about and everyone is discussing. sarah: meantime, monday marks dresden xoma's total discussion during world war ii. now we have these art projects behind refugees. what was behind the initiative to use public art to commemorate this anniversary? >> well, there has obviously been quite a lot of attention drawn to dresden by the right-wing voters hear many years and by the feeling this area of germany, this city, is a particularly strong point for

the right-wing groups in germany, and as a result, the authorities have said they will try to start a discussion about the human issues involved in refugee -- the refugee crisis, and they are trying to set a parallel between what happened to dresden at the end of the second world war, the calming, the suffering, and the reasons for which people are fleeing today from cities such as aleppo in syria. in other words, the suffering of people in dresden is similar to the suffering of people are arriving as refugees today in europe, germany, and even in the city. sarah: the latest from dresden. thank you. some sports action now. saturday, frankfurt, visitors exceeded expectations and are on track for a champions league spot in third place. that is where they hoped to be, but instead, they are a 11

points behind frankfurt, and things are getting dicey for the coach. >> they are in crisis. they have lost two games and stranded in the love the table. the lifeless performance in hamburg has increased the pressure on the coach and it means he has to deliver results. >> one thing is clear. the manager is responsible for leading the team in sporting and and mental terms, in such a way that we achieve our goals. i would like to be judged against these criteria. >> schmidt allowed his team to play beach of volleyball training during the week in an effort to ease the tension. against frankfurt, three points are a must. >> we certainly won't be able to play at our absolute best at the moment. we just him have the necessary confidence. that only comes after a few

victories. but we are still in a position to play well. >> and that against a team dripping with confidence. frankfurt are now third. the coach has built a team that is compact and difficult to beat. >> the pressure is on them regarding their somewhat relaxed , and hopefully we can get something out of the game. >> if they do end up taking something home for their trip, then the heat will continue to rise for certain. sarah: speaking of rising heat, a fine of 100,000 euros after fan trouble at last week's match. banners were held up and laser pointers were directed at players.

the punishment only refers to what happened inside the stadium, not the attacks on fans outside. they have until monday to decide whether to except or contest it. cross-country skiing world champion has been banned for 13 months after testing positive for steroids. the band backdated to october 18 means she will return in time for next season's world cup races and the winter olympics. in pyongyang south korea. she admitted using a lotion to treat sunburn on her lips, but says she was unaware it contained a band substance. you are watching "dw news". when we come back, shinzo abe meets with trump for trade talks. trade is a "truly win-win relationship" he insists.

so will they be able to agree? and the bad boys are back 20 years after the original trainspotting. they reunite to spread more mayhem and we are back in a minute with that and more. i will see you soon.

sarah: welcome back. a reminder of our top story, a french farmer who shelters illegal migrants has been convicted in a court in nice. he was given a suspended 3000 euro fine and has vowed to continue helping migrants, saying it is his civic duty. a german court has ruled that certain passages from a poem insulting turkey's president may not be read. he ridiculed the turkish leader, saying that president erdogan

like child poern and beastie out he. today, the court defended the right to satire, but within limits. his attorney says that his client will appeal the ruling. let's head to the united states, where president trump has lost his attempt to get a federal appeals court to reinstate his controversial travel ban. the court said the trump administration had failed to offer any evidence that the ban against travelers from seven majority muslim countries was necessary for national security. trump meanwhile promises new security measures next week. >> it is good news for people from seven countries who need to come to the nine it states. among them, a family of refugees whose home and aleppo was torn apart by the war in syria. a man fleeing the so-called islamic state after he helped

the u.s. in iraq. and an iranian woman bringing her daughter for emergency eye surgery at a hospital in pittsburgh. the judges all rejected the government's case. >> today is a great day for democracy. the courts sent a very strong message that no one, including the president, is above the law, basically the courts said in response to the u.s. government's argument that even the president has to, his actions have to be reviewed by the federal courts, especially when questions are raised about whether those actions are violating the constitution. >> donald trump vowed to fight for the ban with more legal action. he tweeted "see you in court. the security of our nation is at stake."

but if the case it reaches the supreme court, the president could face an embarrassing defeat. some say the judges would be evenly split and a tie would kill b travel ban. -- kill the travel ban. >> i think if they go to the u.s. supreme court, they miss getting a serious adverse ruling. if you are thinking strategically, you would not go up there, but this president does not seem to shy away from confronting anybody. >> the u.s. president maintains the ban would prevent terror attacks, but the court say that is not proven. they have made clear that trump cannot do whatever he wants. that means for now that refugees with proper visa can continue boarding planes to the united states. sarah: i am joined by christina gonzalez, a journalist based in berlin. i want to begin first in fact

telling our viewers more about how trump criticized this ruling. we have a tweet we can pull up here. he said "see you in court. the security of our nation is at stake." how far do you think he will take this fight. christina: i think he will take this fight as far as he can go. if that means the supreme court, then that is where he will head. it is clear from the nature of this tweet being in all capital letters that he is extremely angry and serious about this fight, and national security is an important issue for his base, so this is an important issue from the standpoint of playing to his base, but also he truly believes he is doing what he thinks is best to protect the united states. sarah: how big of a setback is this for him? do you think the basis see this as a setback? christina: absolutely. there is criticism that this will be his entire presidency. that he will constantly be

facing setbacks from the courts or congress to delay his efforts come as of this will be one example of many to come in the future of them trying to prevent him from doing what they see as within his power as president. sarah: in addition to your journalism, you have done extensive work in public relations. how would you rate to trump's public relations so far? it's fair to say he has had a unique style. rosina: we have seen it for quite a while, so when it comes to him being president now, it is not shocking, to be honest. he made promises he was going to do out of his gate in the first 100 days, and he is delivering on those promises, and to his base, this is great fuel for the fire. this is what they have been waiting for for so long, to see action and see things happen, and he is delivering on that front, and for others, it is quite terrifying, so in some sense he is doing real well with some people, but he certainly

has the attention of the entire world, so from a public relations standpoint come you cant say he has done anything wrong, but the content of the matter is a different issue. sarah: i want to thank you for your reporting, christina gonzalez, journalist based here in berlin. i want to thank you for your insight. amid does legal battles, donald trump is hosting a prominent guest this week. we have more on that. >> thank you very much indeed. this guess came from far away, all the way from japan, the japanese prime minister shinzo abe meeting with donald trump. we know they have different stances on many crucial topics, especially on trade. that is an understatement. the moment donald trump decided to take the u.s. out of the transpacific partnership trade deal, he blocked one of the cornerstones of japan's economic strategy, and while his visit would do little to bring the u.s. back, shinzo abe hopes to keep the strong ties between the two countries and recast them in the new framework. >> first, a nod to history,

prime minister shinzo abe laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery, and now he has to deal with the challenges of the future. trade and security issues topped the agenda at his first meeting with the u.s. president donald trump. ahead of the session, he outlined his goals. >> i wish to firmly build a relationship with the united states. and to show our people and the world the unwavering alliance between japan and the united states. i am hoping in earnest that my visit this time will usher in a new era of bilateral economic relations. >> that could prove difficult. donald trump once to put america first. looking at trade relations between the tubing countries, the u.s. clearly comes in second. take this toyota prius, highly popular in the u.s., been imported, therefore contributing to the train and bounds between the tubing countries. in 2016, the u.s. imported a

total of 1.6 million vehicles from japan, while the japanese bought just 19,000 american cars. overall imports from japan unmounted 132 billion dollars last year. the corresponding exports to japan came in at $63 billion, creating a deficit of $69 billion. to make matters more complicated, washington has rejected the transpacific trade deal come a which japan has lobbied for. >> president trump is a businessman, so i think there is a high chance he may impose rather severe demands in bilateral talks. that would mean a negative impact on japan's economy in the long run. shinzo abe and donald trump will have a lot to discuss. >> may be a more personal approach can ease the pressure on negotiations? after talks at the white house,

the two leaders are set to jet down to florida for a day of golf. >> on to the other asian superpower, china offered some answers to pressing questions about its economic performance today. there are no signs of a slowdown, export surprisingly higher at 7.9% in january to 180 $3 billion, a sharp year on year increase that the analysts expectations and reversed decembers plunge. -- january's plunge. china's trade surplus climbed to more than $51 billion. china's economy was a reason of concern last year when it expanded at its lowest pace in 25 years, but a surprise improvement is now calming moods. that is all for the business news. sarah: it is time to roll out the red carpet. 20 years ago, director danny

boyle's film trainspotting became a called favorite with its scathing view of the dark underside of the scottish capital edinburgh. now a sequel brings the misfits back to spread more mayhem. it is being shown at the berlin film festival tonight. >> everything changes in 20 years, or does it? danny boyle's colt movie is back. >> hello mark. so what have you been up to? for 20 years. >> a former heroin addict is back in edinburgh. not all his old friends are happy to see him. no surprise, he had taken 16,000 pounds and skedaddled, but there is no problem he can't fix with drink and drugs, lots of drink and drugs. ♪

>> friendship, chaos, drugs, and great music him the old trainspotting formula done a new. sarah: that is one to watch. a quick reminder of our top stories before we go. you are up-to-date on "dw news". thank you for watching. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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