brent: this is dw news live from berlin. tonight, more promising news in the fight against covid-19. the drugmaker astrazeneca says the vexing it developed with oxford university is up to 95% effective, cheap to make, and easy to store. also coming up, germany accuses turkey of blocking its troops from searching -- searching a turkish cargo ship.

was the searching breach of international law? facing prison for their protests guilty in charges related to last year's pro-democracy demonstration. plus it is the toughest race in sale. we hit the high seas with the first german to tackle the nonstop race around the world. ♪ brent: to our viewers joining us on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. we start tonight with more encouraging signs in the race to develop a coronavirus vexing. the drugmaker astrazeneca and oxford university have announced their vaccine is up to 95% effective in preventing covid-19. the vexing was most effective

when patients were given a half dose followed by a full dose a month later. crucially, the new vaccine does not require extreme cold storage and is relatively cheap and easy to mass-produced. >> these 5 -- vials hold a promising formula -- a cheap, effective, ey to disibute vexing. >> we have to get a lot of people vaccinated. we are not thiing abouone person at a time. we have to thi about vaccinating community's, populations, reducing transmission so that we get on top of this pandemic and it looks like that is what we will have the ability to contribute to in a really big way. >> the vaccine was developed at the u.k. university of oxford. researchers took a common cold virus that infects chimpanzees, genetically engineering it to trick the human body thinking

it'd has been infected with the virus that causes covid-19 and producing an immune response. over 24,000 volunteers took part in the clinical trials in the u.k., brazil, and south africa. the late-stage trials sw the vaccine is better at preventing hospitalizations and severe cases of covid-19 than the mrna vaccines developed by moderna and pfizer-biontch. >> people are not getting sick. even if you were to get you would have mild symptoms and that is important to keep hospital beds free, and people will not be dying from this virus. >> that is not the only advantage. it can detect abnormal fridge temperatures, making it easy to distribute, especially in developing countries. it can also be manufactured at scale -- meaning it can be produced in much greater

quantities and much lower -- at much lower costs than its rivals. >> i think it will be truly global vaccine in terms of its deploy ability and its accessibility and it is going to be probably more affordable than most others. >> astrazeneca has pledged it will not make a profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. if it gets regulatory approval, the firm says it is ready to produce 3 billion doses next year. brent: i am joined by an associate professor of the oxford institute that developed the vaccine. it is good to have you on this show. congratulations are in order. you must be excited and delighted. >> yes, we are delighted with these results. itas been a long, difficult nine months for all of us on the

team so we are absolutely delighted with the results. brent: nine months, not even a year to develop this, that is quite an achievement. has that comedy thing, set in with you and your colleagues of how quickly you have been able to get to this stage? >> we have been preparg for an event like this for several years. the technology has been in development for over a decade and we have always worked on how we would produce a vaccine against an unknown pathogen, and -- we have been planning for this vaccine this quickly and at this scale. brent: what differentiates this vaccine from the ones we have heard for example,rom pfizer and biontech? >> is a much newer technology.

no mnra vaccine has been licensed. this technology is not new. it has been developed for other diseases like malaria, hiv, influenza -- they have been challenged in children, older adults, and lots of vaccine settings, so we have more experience with these. brent: 20 to about the efficacy of this vaccine are talking about from 70% to 90%. why do we have this spectrum? >> we tested different doses because we did not know what would be most effective and most well-tolerated. as you mentioned, we saw 70% across the whole vaccine trial, but in a subgroup where they were given a half dose first of many full dose we saw 90% efficacy, which was surprising to all of us and that is one of the great things about working in science. sometimes you don't get the

relt that you expect. brent: you know people around the world when they hear the news will be asking the question i have asked about the one from moderna, pfizer --how safe is the vexing question -- thi vaccine? >> we have lots of experience. ey have eneo before trial. we have a lot of good safety data to show they are suitable for use in large populations in young children two very older adults. we are confident the vaccine will work well in the whole population. brent: because the vaccine does not have to be held at arctic like temperatures, and because it is relatively extensive to manufacture, is thishehe global vaccine to help end the pandemic >> is very much what we hope and what we have been working for toward the beginning.

the deal that was signed between the university of oxford and astrazeneca was intended to supplied vaccine at a global a sc ale and that is when we partnered with many organizations have -- organizations can we have 10 partners. the deal we have with astrazeneca mes the university does not profit from the sale of the vaccine while the pandecmi is happening that we will never prof from the sale of it too low and middle income countries. we want this to be a vaccine for the whole world. brent: before we run out of time, can you tell us who will be the first people to actually get this vaccine question --vaccine? >> i don't know. lots of different governnts have ordered them. that is probably a question for astrazeneca. there will be enough eventually. brent: that is what is most important.

the professor of the institute that developed this latest vaccineccane. we appreciate your time and congratulations again. >> to a very much. >> despite the promising news about these vaccines, an end the coronavirus crisis is a long way off. here is a closer look at how ukraine's underfunded hospitals are struggling to keep up with a surge in patient numbers. >> i do i would get sick eventually. when i got the news i was infected i was sick -- i cried. this places my baby. nobody versace here without a mask. >> i'm a senior doctor here at the hospital. most of the doctors and nurses have gone through covid. we had a big outbreak here in the town with as many as 58 new

patients. many of them were very ill. i am a narrow pathologist by training, but i had to learn how to operate a ventilator with no choice. i did some meeting and called my husband who is an anesthetist. he was telling me what to do over the phone on the loudspeaker, and it worked. it is hard toxplain just how happy i was. >> one of my father's friends is an hour intensive care unit right now. u aralways aware that your own parents considering the patient's here. and then i got infected myself. it was scary. really scared. i had seen what covid could do.

i was lucky i did not get pneumonia and was back at work two weeks later. our main problem is people come in too late, many with serious pneumonia. some tell you they don't have money to others don't believe covid exists. i say it is just the flu. this most definitely is not the flu. the most precious thi right now his oxygen. you can see the patient's hands stretching out with the mask. you can see how they come to life when they get it, trying to turn the dial up on their own. i go to bed imagining what would happen if we run out of oxygen supplies. i'm sure it will happen eventually. will we have to slam the door shut in patients' faces and tell them we run out? brent: details of the pandemic in ukraine. here are the other stories

making headlines. u.s. president-elect joe biden has confirmed he will nominate tony blinken to be secretary of state in his new administration. he served as deputy the same office under barack obama. he also named former secretary of state john kerry to be his special envoy for the climate. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has refused to confirm or deny me reports that he made a clandestine visit to saudi arabia for a meeting with crown prince mohammed bin salman. the alleged visit would mark the first known encounter between senior israeli and saudi officials. saudi arabia has denied the meeting took place. the corruption trial of former french president nicolas sarkozy has been postponed due to the concern of his codefendants. it is the first time a french president has appeared in court on such serious charges.

if found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison. the foreign ministers of germany, france, britain have met in berlin to discuss the future of the around nuclear deal. they have spirited efforts to keep the deal alive after donald trump abandoned it. germany has expressed hope that they you knew -- that the new u.s. administration might revive the accord. turkey has prevented a search operation by the german navy of a cargo ship suspected of smuggling arms into libya. th intercepted the vessel on sunday night. it is part of a european union naval mission. they had to abort their search after the turkish government protested to the european union mission. i am joined now by my political

correspondent ons. what can you tell us about this incident? hans: the break it confirmed they wanted to search it. they give a couple of hours, once the waiting period had passed, they entered t ship and started the search. until that point, everything went reanably well, and the crew of the ship cooperated, but it was only once the germans had entered that turkey protested against this action, and is a result of international law, when such a process is recorded -- they had found nothing untoward in the ship was allowed to continue on to libya. brent: how customary is it

former means to board ships and conduct searches and who is giving the orders for these marines to carry out the search? hans: it is not something that is veryhans: usual, but at the same time it is not completely unheard of. it is all based on an international mission by the european union. the headquarters in italy gave the orders for the german frigate to stop and search the ship. some of things have happened about a half-dozen times in the last six months or so. in some sense it was a coincidence that it was a turkish flag ship. similar searches have been conducted by french frigates by greek marines on ships moving under various flags. the fact this was an incident in the end between germany and turkey was all based on

international law and on an attempt to stop arms being transported into civil war in libya, which is being prohibited by resolution of the united nations. brent: will this have an impact on bilateral relations between germany and turkey? hans: relations have been in a very bad state for several years in this incident will not make anything better. the turkish side reacted with acrimony today, and the german side said well, this is just a further incident that is going to be reported and discussed at the next european union summit because what is behind us as tension not only between turkey and germany, but turkey and the international community here in europe with the european union and also with nader -- nato. brent: thank you.

three prominent hong kong activists have been detained after pleading guilty to their involvement in leicester's pro-democracy protest. they are due to beach -- sentenced next week. they could face up to five years in prison. >> they arrived knowing it could be the last moments of freedom. >> it would not be surprising if i am sent to immediate detention today. >> that proved correct. the vehicle transform the activists into custody after they face trial over their role in massive, pro-democracy protests in 2019. >> perhaps authorities wish me to stay in prison, but i am persuaded -- no arbitrary power will stop us from activism. >> the three were charged with organizing and taking part in

unauthorized assembly, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. they decided to plead guilty after consulting with lawyers, hoping to draw global attention to what they say is a justice system manipulated by beijing. china says it supports the hong kong justice system. >> this is not a diplomatic issue. we support the relative departments of the hong kong government to perform duties in accordance with the law. >> after pleading guilty to the charges, he told supporters he would not kowtow to beijing or surrender. saying he wanted to demonstrate the power of freedom to the world. >> ethiopia's government is warning residents of the embattled region that anything could happen at the clock kicks down on its ultimatum.

the government has given forces until wednesday to lay down their arms or face an assault on a regional -- the regional capital. the people's liberation front has vowed to keep on fighting. the u.n. fears 200,000 people could fear -- free to neighboring sedan because of the conflict. >> ethiopian forces pushed further. the advance has not gone unchallenged as it did dish the debris of battle on the wrong side. ey called on rebel forces to surrender. >> the prime minister had to issue several hours to lift the people and their stand that this is the beginning of the and and

that the defense forces have no authority, and now it is easy to target any military installations. >> what happens when the ethiopian military targets any positions in civilian areas can be seen in the town. these women were wounded when the army took the town. >> we did not expect shelling. suddenly, we started to hear the weapons of war, explosions. then people panicked. i couldn't leave my house. i was terrified. seeking to avoid fighting, over 30,000 people have pled that fled to neighboring sedan. here, too, the scars of war are

evident. >> this is just a new chapter for the country. in terms of the latest arrivals, which are in thousands every day. >> and as long as the guns don't fall silent, the refugees will continue to come. brent: sports now, and world's football governing body has and the head of the gain in africa from all football duties for five years because of corruption. he was hoping to win a second term in march. the ethics committee found him guilty on a host of charges, including accepting gifts and the misappropriation of funds. he was supported by the fee for

president during his 2017 election campaign. he can challenge the ban. >> in tennis, russia's daniel medvedev has won the atp titles after coming from behind to win a gripping match against dominik team. he won seven straight points to level of the match, then held his nerve to win 6-4 in the third said to clinch the title. the russian follows up his victory earlier this month at the paris masters to take us biggest title of his career. he ends the year ranked number four in the world. pope francis has met with five nba basketball players in the vatican to discuss their social justice advocacy. sterling brown, who led a player strike last season and the orlando magic's jonathan isaac,

who is known and minister, were among those attending. the state organized an overnight flight after the pope's office contacted them to find out more about how players were tackling issues of social justice and economic inequality. >> it is regarded as the toughest race in saline, some 33 solo skippers set sail from france. among them, the first german to ever compete in the event. he is not only finding the elements. he is also helping to understand global warming. >> alone in a sailboat, against the evidence -- elements, he is the first german ever to compete. the solo, nonst race around the world. his racing vessel, a state-of-the-art sailboat with

wings. >> right now, we're mostly flying, just touching the water with our foil. it is aggressive and powerful, and in no way romantic. >> two weeks ago, 33 sailed out, setting 45,000 kilometers. they are heading around the cape of good hope. after that, the antarctic ocean awaits them. it is a 70 to 80 day solo race around the world and finally, the cape horn. before racing back to france at speeds of 75 kilometers an hour -- only half of the competitors will make it to the finish line. >> i only live in the moment anyway, and i try not to think about how far i have to go. when you look at my progress on the map, and i look at them

crawling around at a snail's pace, but then i look at the water and they are moving pretty quickly. the first storms cropped up early, and a few of the the favorites -- he was able to bypass them. surrounded by noise, snatching sleep for only a few minutes at a time. this is what he has spent years training for. he is able to trim the huge sale spanning two tennis courts. it might be jampacked with high-tech, but he is the one that has to navigate his way through the wind and rain. they have completed around one. of the root. they have moved a vessel to sixth place. this research is set to record data on global warning -- global warming.

>> i find that sailing is always a great metaphor for the power of nature, of nature's energy, vucevic wish and be trying to harness, such as in other areas like wind energy, for example, and why not have cargo ships with sales. -- on this endeavor, great distances, dreams, and goals lie ahead of him. >> hello from the globe. it is a journey he will be on until at least the middle of january. brent: reminder -- the top story we're following, astrazeneca says late stage trials show its new vaccine is highly effective against the novel coronavirus. the team said the vaccine offered 70% to 90% protection, a week after two other drugmakers reported their covid-19 maxine's were almost 95% effective. the forget, you can get dw news on the go.

he will give you access to the latest news around the world, as well as push notifications for any breaking news. and if you are part of a news story, you can also use the app to send us photos and videos of what is happening. i'm brent goff. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. the coronavirus vaccine three times the charm, and the meeting garage that could -- mirage that could signal real change coming to the middle east. we will be right back. ♪

charlie: it's 10 p.m. in the french capital and we begin with the headlines. joe biden announces six top cabinet picks, all foreign policy veterans, signaling a stark shift from the trump administration to a more traditional double back approach. a third major covid-19 vaccine raising hopes for an end to the crisis -- the astra debt -- the astrazeneca candidate is less effective but cheaper than easier to stores and the other two shots. and the clock is ticking -- ethiopia iss