♪ brent: this is dw news, live from berlin. tonight, more vaccinations in more countries. going to -- going to -- ghana's prident gets the covid-19 vaccine. also coming up tonight, the former french president sentenced to jail after a 10 day trial. the 66-year-old is found guilty of corruption and influence.

and a shortfall in funding to avert famine in yemen, as a you when appeal raises less than half of the 3.8 billion dollars target. -- u.n. appeal raises less than half of the $3.8 billion target. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs, in the united states and around the world, welcome. the president of ghana and his wife have become the world's first recipients of the coronavirus vaccine from covax. covax is the global plan to procure and distribute free inoculations to poorer countries. the 76-year-old received the astrazeneca vaccine live on televisi today. ghana is the first country to receive vaccines from covax and plans to begin vaccinating its population on tuesday. nearly 28 other countries will receive supplies next week. as well as battling a second

wave of the infection, health authorities are also fighting this information about the safety of vaccines. the president said he hoped getting the job would encourage others to do the same. >> it is important that i set the example that this vaccine is safe by being the first to have it. so that everybody in ghana can feel comfortable about taking this vaccine. is important that everybody at the end of the day is vaccinated. brent: let's go now to our correspondent, covering ghana's covax vaccine rollout. ghana's received 600,000 doses of the astrazeneca vaccine via the covax initiative for a population of about 30 million. what sort of affect is that going to have -- effect is not going to have? >> it is very critical,

actually. because the country until now has not been able to secure vaccines to vaccinate the population. the 600,000 doses are going to be important in that effort to fight the pandemic. ghana is working hard to secure some of the vaccines from russia. these vaccines under the covax initiative are very important to help the country contain the current spread of the virus. brent: we know that the president is obviously very keen to spread the message about the safety of vaccines. here's a quote from what he recently said on television, "taking the vaccine will not alter your dna. it will not embed a tracking device in your body. neither will it cause infertility in women or men." how embedded are conspiracy theories about the coronavirus vaccine where you are?

where do they come from? >> so these theorists have been saying the pandemic broke, people thought it was far away from the continent. it was not something that was going to hit them. once i got to africa, the concern is that this was being done -- once it got to africa, the concern is that this was being done to wipe out the population. some people don't believe in vaccines, so they feed onhis and spread it across social media. the theory is come all over the place, you see many unwilling to take the vaccine. brent: has that take been growing thanks to these conspiracy theories that are being spread? >> yes. it's been growing. that is why the president had to come out to say that these

vaccines are not to alter the dna of people. he took it today to prove to citizens that indeed the vaccine is safe. because these theorists are there and this is widespread. that is why he came out, to ensure the minds of his citizens that if you go into get the vaccine, you will reduce the virus rate in the country. brent: isaac, thank you. here in europe, the former french president is facing a three-year prison sentence. he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling. his lawyer plans to appeal the conviction. he's been embroiled in several corruption investigation since his presidency ended in 2012. reporter: h leaves court a

convicted man, spectacular fall from grace from former president, once the most powerful man in france. the court heard house are cozy told his lawyers he offered a cushy job in exange for information into an inquiry into him. the court said the verdict was never in doubt. >> it would have been impossible to have another decision. citizens should be reassured there are no double standards in france. the judiciary is independent. reporter: in a post on instagram, the former president's wife called the verdict unfounded and unjustified. she said her husband was determined to clear his name. the verdict is a blow to his plans to relaunch his political career and put him on the back foot before he is doing court again next week.

on separate charges, that he overspent and his failed 2012 election bid. but it is unlikely the former president will spend a single day in prison. two years of his sentence was suspended. he could spend the remaining year on home wearing an electronic tag. brent: catherine field is a journalist based in paris, joining us now for more. what has been the reaction to his conviction? >> it pretty much depends who you are his lawyer has said it is completely unjust. that there is no evidence. she will launch an appeal on behalf of our client. if you speak to members of his political party, the republicans say they are stunned, they cannot believe this verdict has been handed down, there was absolutely no evidence and there should never -- and this should never even have come to court.

president macron's political party says they are pleased about this, because it shows that for once, the courts are doing their job. one of the members of macron's party said "it is about time the courts were doing the verdict." and that it was out of the public opinion polls. that have come out before now. brent: what does this mean for the politician, sarkozy -- sarkozy? can he enter power again? >> he has cases pending, the 2012 failed attempt to get reelected as president, questions of overspending and hidden costs. plus, his 2007 successful presidential campaign, questions there on whether or not he received millions of euros from the libyan leader then, gaddafi.

he has legitimate legal questions he has to answer. i can't see there will be much space for him to be able to go and fight a political campaign. not only that, but politics has moved on a lot in france since he left office in 2012. there's a whole new range of would be presidents, wanting to have ago at dethroning -- a go at dethroning the french prident. brent: when they consider sar -- sarkozy, are they considering a political ha been? >> not only a man who has been arnd the courts, but the men around him, they have all been in some sort of way and trouble with the law since leaving office. so he's a bit of a has been. it was fun when he was there. he said several wives that she had several wives -- he had it several wives.

photos on the palace. those days are gone. he is 66 years old. here in fnce, that isoo old to be thinking about getting back into the political arena. brent: thank you, reporting from paris tonight. here are some other headwinds we are following for you this hour. two u.n. human rights experts say russia bears response ability for the poisoning of opposition leader alexei navalny. they are calling for a national investigation into the exit as well as his immediate release from prison. the kremlin critic is serving a 2.5 year sentence at a russian pinot column. -- penal column. the enforcing of tight new covid 19 restrictions. 500 checkpoints ha been set to stop the spread of the highly contagious u.k. coronavirus vaant. the czech republic is one of the european union's hardest hit countries.

history was made at this year's golden globes for film and television. the 70 edition saw chloe zhao become the first woman to take best picture for her film, "nomadland," also the second woman ever to win best director. this was a virtual event to this year. the u.s. is calling on the african union to intervene in the deepening crisis in ethiopia. washington has expressed great concern over reported atrocities and the worsening humanitarian situation. amnesty national has accused forces of killing hundreds of civilians. thousands have fled the region. many tell stories of violence. reporter: stranded in aborted tenants to ban -- in a border town and sudan, these are refugees from ethiopia.

they will likely never forget the day soldiers invaded their home. >> they shot innocent people. i saw 12 bodies. they took people's belongings and everything we had. >> all i've got left are the clothes on my back. reporter: tens of thousands of people fled the ethiopian army's offensive. reports of atrocities and massacres of civilians followed. the border reception center has been overwhelmed by the flood of refugees. there's not enough tents, often just plastic sheeting. food is scarce. some lucky few manage to get bus tickets to refugee camps further away from the border. but these facilities are also full now. the camp is now at twice its planned capacity. many children here are sick and

initiated. their mothers are desperate. >> when we arrived, no one could give us wood for the children. we didn't have enough to eat, either. i didn't have any money to buy food at the market. reporter: the upcoming raining season could bury the camp and mud. no one is prepared for that here. many predict a catastrophe of subs are not taken quickly. >> what has been built is going to be broken. the resilience of the refugees is going to be broken again. they will be back to a point where we have to start supplying them. reporter: in the coming weeks, it is feared tens of thousands more people could flee from ethiopia over the border to sudan, one of the world's poorest countries. brent: it is often referred to as the world's worst humanitarian disaster. 80% of people in yemen are in need of aid and some 16 million are going hungry after years of

civil war. today they u.n. held an international donor conference for yemen. the results according to the u.n. secretary general are disappointing. he would help to raise more than three point $8 million to ward f large-scale famine, but he got a lot less than that, less than half, only $1.7 billion in pledges. he said cutting aid is like a death sentence. i am joined now by the country direor of the united nations developer program in yemen. he is in the many capital -- he is in the yemeni capital. the secretary-general of the u.n. has called the outcome of the donor conference today disappointing. what will this mean for the people in yemen? >> well, as the u.n., we had hod to be le to mobilize $3.8 billion from the outset.

as secretary good syria's sd, -- secretary gutierrez said, this is disappointing. we see this as a down payment for fuher disbsements to bable to help the great number of desperate you many -- desperate yemenis that need assistance so badly. at the moment, you cannot fully scalable systems in yemen to feed the 16 miion people that currently are living in the state of hunger. brent: you are in yemen. you know what is happening on the ground. talk to me a little bit about the humanitarian situation there. >> well, it is absolutely devastating. we have about 20 million yemenis at the mont and need of assistance. 16 million people that need emergency food assistance.

we have a looming famine around the corner that would really cause famine that we have not seenn the world for decades. therefore, theituations absolute urgent. it is absolutely desperate. we absolutely need the funding come through as soon as possible for us as an international community on the ground, to be able to assist all these yemenis that require so much assistance at this moment. brent: germany has pledged 200 million euros to the fundraiser. the german foreign minister earlier today said this, "as we all know, no matter how much we give, it is not enough. the suffering of the people in yemen is man-made. there is hope for real improvement, only once we succeed in stopping the fighting." so, are we any closer to ending the fighting in yemen tonight? >> well, i think we need three

things -- first we need to fighting to stop and come to a cease-fir the seco point is, if fundings not coming through, we will not have a basis to work towards peace. at the same time, working on peace is absolutely also important. i think what is encouraging from our perspective is that the new biden administration has signaled that they are giving more impetus into the peace efforts of the u.n. also working with the region to ensure we can get the parties to the table to end this terrible war and get on with assisting people in yemen, but also with the recovery of the country as a whole. brent: how do you make sense of this? we've got a contributor today, a donor country, saudi arabia pledging $430 million, actually involved in the war in yemen, also paying to keep the fighting

going. >> well, we work with all countries, all member states of the u.n. i think the saudis are absolutely crucial for t peace in yemen. this is also why all of us, including the u.s. special envoy for yemen, are looking forward to working with saudi arabia and other members of the coalition to bring this war to an end and rebuild yemen. bren we appreciate your time and your insights tonight. thank you. myanmar's military chief has issued a threat to punish protesters today one month after overthrowing the democratically elected government. it's printed weeks of rallies instructs calling for a return to him democracy -- return to

democracy. at least 18 people have been killed. reporter: burying the dead. after a weekend of violence, west security forces fired live rounds at demonstrators in cities across myanmar. this muslim woman was shot in the head while crossing the street. the three fingered salute of the protest movement, draped over her coffin. [shouting] [gunshots] protesters were back on the streets on monday. undeterred by the crackdown. security forces used tear gas en masse here. rubber bullets were also in use. >> i am here as a frontline or. because i don't want my son to grow up in this evil era. i am here for our heroes, who died yesterday in the protests. reporter: they are calling for

their votes to be respected, with the reinstatement of the government, whose party won a landslide victory in november. lawyers say she is now facing two more charges, including one for publishing information that may cause alarm. her lawyers still have no access to her. >> videoconferencing began on the others. on this side, the court. we cannot give any access to look at the screen on the side of the court, to look at her face. reporter: the army crackdown has drawn international condemnation. >> the arrested top politicians

must be released immediately. the rule of law must be respected. reporter: but myanmar's army chief, who protesters have branded a murderer, instead vowed to punish the protest leader. hundreds of thousands have faced off against the army over the past month. now, as the military steps up its response, there are fears the more they end up paying the ultimate price in their struggle for freedom. brent: earlier, we spoke with a journalist in kuala lumpur, malaysia. we asked him what he makes of the additional charges against him. >> i mean, he put out a statement that was set up before that happened, which basically told the public do not back down, do not accept this military takeover, fight for democracy.

the bottom line is this, it is more trumped up ridiculous charges. if you look at the charges they have, they are using colonial era laws to twist and turn to make anything a violation. this new military in myanmar is taking pages out of the playbook that the old military used to use. they have been fighting him for 30 years, and they cannot beat her in a fair fight. the november election is when a sample of that where her party won by a landslide. now they are trying to use the country's judicial system, not independence, to try to put her away for good that way, because they cannot beat her fair and square. brent: dozens of prominent hong kong pro-democracy activists and politicians have appeared in court today. charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.

many were charged under the new national security law which beijing imposed last year. critics accused china of using the law to stifle political dissent. reporter: flashing the three finger hunger game salute, hong kongers are using the same symbol as fellow democracy campaigners in thailand and myanmar. this is one of the biggest protest gatherings seen in hong kong in many months. the crowds adhere -- are here to support the city's best-known activists, brought to court on charges of subversion. >> they sacrificed their future for hong kong. this is maybe the last chance to see them or say goodbye. that is why it means so much to me. reporter: the activists' alleged crime, organizing an informal primary election last year. the hope was to select pro-democracy candidates to run for legislative council elections.

a routine matter and much of the world, but it took place shortly after the national law took effect. for china's rulers, it was a threat. one they say was manipulated from abroad. >> a small number of countries are vilifying china by spreading lies about territories, including hong kong. they are up to their usual tricks of polite -- of politicizing issues to interfere in other' internal affairs. we will resist this. reporter: the activists taken to court face up to life in prison if convicted. >> 47 individuals are being charged today. the chinese and hong kong authorities promised the china security law would be used in a very narrow sense. it is clear that is no longer the case. that is deeply concerning to us. reporter: the international community can see the resolve

of the hong kong people. we want the judges to be fair, independent. to be objective and to give them a fair trial. reporter: activists are concerned that the courts could be pressured to impose severe sentences in a bid to cripple the democracy movement once and for all. hoping for international support, they say hong kong's last freedoms are at stake. brent: the berlin film festival is always one of the most anticipated events in the german capital's cultural calendar. but this year, the pandemic has forced it into lockdown. the audience has been limited to a select group of critics and industry professionals. they will watch the contenders for the festival via livestream. but that will not stop us from bringing you the highlights, starting with 2 911 inspired authors. >> you need to tell me the truth, you need to tell me what happened. i can't offend you, do you understand that?

>> whatever i say, it doesn't matter. reporter: a defense lawyer and her client. he is in custody in guantánamo. he is accused of aiding the terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks. but is he really guilty? jodie foster please lawyer nancy hollander. like a real peon, the characte is based on, she also believes in the law. >> how our country is shaped by that, how the world is shaped by that. if there was ever -- if there was anything that made me believe in democracy and the rule of law, it's been making this film. reporter: the film is also based on a true story having to do with 9/11. she loves him, a seemingly perfect love story. but then he becomes one of the terrorists on that fateful day, september, 2001. >> she must have asked herself, was that a monster?

could i have loved a monster? but on the other hand, she knows very well he was also lovable. >> [speaking native language] reporter: the film dissects pain without making the main character seem naïve. that makes "copilot" a successful illustration of the maxim "love is blind." he found the backdrop of the terrorist attacks that changed the world. brent: you are watching dw news live from berlin. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." finger at russi [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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correspondence around the world. >> you're watching live from paris on france 24. here is what is coming up. a former french president sentenced to jail. gless sarkozy convicted of trying to bribe a judge and handed a three year sentence. we explained why he is unlikely to see a jail cell. armenia's prime minister offers snap elections to the angry opposition facing demands to resign. he says the people should choose if he stays in office. and, seen for t firstime