♪ ♪ >> this is dw news come alive from berlin. with west africa, france and germany disagree. berlin has rejected a request from paris, with more german troops to be sent to a region where armed groups affiliated with al qaeda and isis continue to stoke tensions. also coming up tonight, if europe cannot, china can. after complaining about the slow eu coronavirus vaccination rollout, china has become the

first country to accept doses. plus, the chinese campaign to silence dissent. telling dw news, forced to spy on his own people while traveling outside china, and he describes the tragedy that followed. ♪ brent: i am brent goff. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. we begin with the fight against islamic terror. french president emmanuel macron had a virtual summit with five countries in africa where the threat of terror is growing. they are struggling to contain a violent insurgency by islam insurgent groups. they bolster troop numbers to more than 5000, and the french president hopes that additional

forc from other european alliesill allow his country to reduce its contingent in the future. however, he ruled out an immediate reduction in the number of french troops stationed there. that said, germany remained skeptical about troops in the region. here is the german foreign minister. >> we must strengthen government institutions so that they are able to assure the security of the people, which means strengthening the police and, above all, the judicial system. it is also clear that only when governments are functioning again in a tangible way can the citizens have the prospect of development and a better life and be able in the long term to eradicate terrorism. brent: for more now, i am joined by a research fellow at the german council on foreign relations with a focus on conflict prevention and stabilization in africa.

it is good to have you on the show. i dare say, a lot of our viewers, even if they watch the news regularly, have not even heard about the conflict in west africa. tell us w france is involved. >>es, good evening. indeed. the conflict is a very important one. france has been involved since 2013 militarily when the first rebellion struck mali, and then the coup struck the government, and the new coup-led government was not ready to deal with the islamic and separatist insurgency in their own country, and they asked france for help. since then, france has supported a different mission, first mali,

and then the governments that make up the g5 southern states. brent: it is a vast region. how have they decided where the troops should be based? >> well, in general, the french troops are based where they e the most threats, and they are based in these five countries. but they are focused maly on the tribal border in the three countries with mali and niger, where there is the most violence and instability. brent: we know that france has been in the region for eight years, 5000 troops on the ground. germany is pleading for more of a nonmilitary solution to this situation. this solution, does it ve to be either/or? >> well, it is certainly a

simplistic way of putting it. i think both germany and france, as well as their european partners, would not put it in that way. brent: how would they put it? >>evelopment measures. indeed, the best solution does not lie in what has been so far the dominance of the military approach. brent: so what would you say is the german approach than to helping basically get rid of the terror threat in that region? >> well, the main focus is on strengthening governments and strengthening the security institutions in the sahara and special ashley in -- and specially in mali. the eu training mission in mali,

that mission trainshe malian forces and has been doing so since 2014, and we hope that the malina forces will be able to protect their forces from groups and other threats in the future. >> there have been french troops in the region for several years, and the threat of terror is still there. is it possible to say that maybe we need to recalibrate here? maybe a military solution is not the solution? is there that kind of thinking going on right now? >> yes, absolutely. indeed, the area closed today, that emphasizes the civilians, ose to the heart of the german government, but also the

government of the whole of the g5 southern states and france, supporting t civilian stabilization measures and especial bringing basic services to the popation. i think a different approh is needed that focuses on the protection of civilians and not primarily on the elimination of those. >> with the german council on foreign relations, we appreciate your iights. thank you. >> thank you. brent: from west africa to the middle east, in yemen, u.n. is warning that an offensive could displace hundreds of thousands of people and hamper diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict there. six years of war have devastated the economy, and the coronavirus pandemic, all contributing to a worsening humanitarian

situation, leaving parents struggling to feed their own children. >> the 13-year-old waitust 11 kilograms or 25 pounds when she was brought to this hospital two weeks ago. she is still in critical condition. >> we have got no money to feed our children. no one wants to help us. there is nothing to live for. >> half of the children under five in yemen are suffering from malnutrition. the united nations estimates that will be more than 2 million children by the end of the year, more than ever before. hundreds of thousands could starve to death. their plight is the result of six years of war, a collapsed economy, the pandemic, and folly donations. food, medicines, and doctors are all in short supply. the u.n. says the number of helpless and homeless is risi by the day. >> we have 80% of the population which cannot get by without our support, without humanitarian

support. and then we look at the range of need, it is shelter, food, lack of education. half of the area has been destroyed. >> there is litt prospect for the end of the war, with houthi rebels. they have pushed back the rebels with the assistance of sdi war power, a war in which the weakest suffer the most. brent: a look now at some of the other stories around the world. thousands have taken to the streets in nigeria to mark years since the start of the protest movement that forced the former president from power. the demonstrations have restarted recently after halting because of the coronavirus pandemic. protesters are once again calling for regime change, saying they still do not have genuine moxie. the lower house apartment in france has approved a controversial bill aimed at

curbing islamic extremists, expanding the state ability to close his place -- to close places of worship. it follows a series of islamist attacks in france, but the bill says -- but some say the bill stigmatizes islam and's -- and others. by next tuesday, reducing cooperation with nuclear inspectors, iranian foreign ministry officials say they will start restricting inspections if it gets no response from the united states. tehran is seeking to pressure the biden to a straight to rejoin -- the biden administration to rejoin the nuclear deal as well as to lift sanctions. the european court of human rights has ruled in favor of germany in a case related to a deadly airstrike in afghanistan more than a decade ago. in 2009, almost 100 afghans, many of them civilians, were killed when a german commander ordered an airstrike on oil

tankers that had been hijacked by the taliban in one region. on september 4, 2009, u.s. fighter jets bombed two tankers hijacked by taliban insurgents. among the 100 people killed were the sons of one man and many other civilians. a german officer ordered the attack. the federal prosecutor opened a criminal investigation against the officer, but it did not result in formal charges. the father was not satisfied and took the case to the european court of human rights, backed by rights activists. after a year of deliberations, the court has given its unanimous verdict, that germany did not infringe on human rights and did carry out a thorough investigation. that is not the verdict that human rights organizatns were hoping for. >> it is obviously disappointing for the villagers that there

shld be no were dressed for the dozens of civilians who were killed -- that there would be no redress for the dozens of civilians who were kill. on the other hand, it is significant that the european convention of human rights shou apply in cases like this. >> rights activists are hoping that now the legal process is over, the german government will apologize to those who lost loved ones in the attack. brent: you are watching dw news. ill to come, we will find out why some people in belgium are refusing covid-19 vaccinations, and that includes health-care workers who are at high risk of catching the virus. and the members of the chinese uighur minority detained and forced to spy on their own people outside of the country expanded china's capacity to stifle dissent. those stories and just a moment.

here in europe, hungary is one step closer to becoming the first eu country to administer the chinese coronavirus vaccine as well as russia's sputnik v shot after the arrival of a special flight carrying about half a million doses of the chinese sinopharm vaccine. the government bypassed you regulators in approving these vaccines after criticizing the slow pace of the eu immunization efforts. >> budapest has granted emergency approval to the chinese vaccine. the hungarian government allows any vaccine which has been administered to at least one million people wldwide to be used without being reviewed by hungary'sedicines regulator. the prime minister said hungary is taking measures into its own hands because the eu has been too slow. >> we cannot stop the virus

without vaccines, because it will always come back in a new wave. that is why our country' is most important task is to get as many vaines as possible -- why our country's most porton task is t get as many vaccis as possible -- most important task is to get as many vaccines as possible. >> five different types of coronavirus vaccine are available in hungary. hospitals in budapest began administering the russian sputnik v. it has not been approved by the eu medicines regulator either. the hungarian opposition says they should not be operating as a vaccines expert and warrants hungarians about being vaccinated with the sinopharm vaccine, but neighboring serbia, which is not an eu member, has been using it for weeks. the country has the second-fastest vaccine rollout in europe after the u.k. and the hungarian government

wants to catch up. the prime minister claims the additional vaccines from russia and china will allow his country to vaccinate millions more people per capital by the end of may that other european countries. brent: receiving vaccines from china and russia. we spoke with a member of the parliament for the green party. he gave us his reaction. >> how could you possibly argue that the government should not do its very best to get the people vaccited. the question, however, is, of course, whether hungary is really doing its very best,, and when you listen to th hungarian medical chamber that has refused to advise using the russian or the chinese vaccine, that is a pertinent question.

you get the impression that what orban does here, as in so many other cases, is rather motivated by geopolitical posturing rather than health concerns, and that is something that makes you a bit sad. brent: staying with the pandemic in europe, the second phase of the covid-19 vaccination program in belgium has a role that in nursing homes, but health authorities have noticed resistance to vaccinations among their french-speaking population, and many of those refusing to take the vaccine are medical workers at high risk of catching the virus. >> this is a moment to remembe a colleague photographs as she receives her secd dose of the biontech pfizer vaccine. >> i really hope to encourage my

colleagues but also my family, even the country, to come and get vaccinated. >> as vaccination drives in nursing homes like this one in the french-speaking part of belgium draw to a close, many staff are still opting out. almost half of all care workers in private institutions alone in the region are hesitating. even the director of this home is among them. >> what are the side effects, let's say, in 20ears?obody knows today. so it is a bit like buying a car. you feel like you would be safe, but i want to see the crash test results, so, personally, i am skeptical, but for the older people, clearly, it is a good thing. >> this caregiver is also preferring to wait, because he has heard some rumors.

>> you can be observed from a distance. espionage, you know? >> and this is just the tip of the iceberg. false claims that the vaccine causes infertility or even death are spreading like wildfire across social media. the french-speaking part of belgium appears particularly receptive to these ideas. the head of a nursing federation thinks making vaccinations mandatory may be the only option . so far, training sessions or onne camigns have failed to convince staff. >> i do not understand why it is so hard for them. there are a lot of elderly people who died.

so the loss-of-life, it is unbelievable all those people do not understand that they can protect themselves. it is a big question. >> experts say part of the answer is that the anti-vaccine movement c spread fear faster than mainstream media can spread information. >> it ll make you hesitant or make you even reluctant to take the vaccine. that does not mean there is a conspiracy theory. wh you stigmatize people like that by saying, oh, you are a anti-vaccine, it will have a negative effect of putting them in the hands of these movements and ostracizing them. >> voila. >> back at the nursing home, this doctor is trying his utmost

to demonstrate that vaccines are safe. >>@@ and that is why i tell the staff here, you need to get vaccinated, not 70% of you, but 100% of you, all of you, in order to win this fight. >> many of his colleagues are also taking to social media to encourage others. she hopes each photo will make a difference. brent:ore of the paicnd developmentss cepharmautical gia johntonns its one-shut vaccined approvefor use here in the european ion.un the decision is expected next t

ncedin to 25 years in jail. other uighurs gave him the news, since he cannot reach any relatives by phone. >> now, the chinese government has separated us forever.

my life was not bad. i was in good health, doing all right financially. it was a happy life. i try to see the place used to live. we were followed around, constantly harassed. >> the villages in the area seen empty, and many have been sealed by the authorities. before reaching his village, we are stopped. >> you cannot just walk around here and interview people. there have been many negative reports. >> one day, i asked, so many people have been detained, and many disappear every day.

where is this going to end? he answered, america do not become american without shedding a lot of blood. a war is going to happen here. >> he is waiting for his refugee status to be approved. he thinks that he is relatively safe here, but he also knows he could be targeted anywhere. brent: alright, sports news. in tennis, serena williams has overcome second seated -- seeded simona halep, the american going for a 24th grand slam totter. she now faces japan's naomi osaka. and novak djokovic has beaten zv erev. he battled back after losing the first set to the german.

and parting ways after 13 years at the end of this season, two sides failing to agree on a new contract, announcing the move at a press conference, the 28-year-old austrian says he is ready for something new. his name has been linked with a number of clubs in england and spain. he has won multiple cups with byron. -- bayern. stick around. we will be back.

♪ >> welcome to live from paris. these are the headlines. a dutch judge has ordered the government to drop the curfew. against the anti-covid measures that saw it witnesses -- saw businesses shuttered. a controversial law against separatists in france is before the senate. interior minister says it is a tough test but necessary for the republic. aung san suu kyi is now facing a