mr mason builders and architects compete with each other. this is home massive churches were created. contests to be. stored. on g.w. . this is news and these are our top stories. german chancellor angela merkel has made a surprise you turn and canceled a street east coronavirus shut down the decision overturns plans for 5 days of closures previously agreed with leaders of the 16 regional states merkel apologized to the german people saying the plans were mistake and not practical. the european union has toughened its vaccine export rules shipments can now be

blocked if importing countries already have enough doses italian inspectors meanwhile have found a stash of millions of astra zeneca shots the drug maker says the jabs were staying within the e.u. or going to the united nations skiing. u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken says america is aiming to revitalize ties with its nato allies lincoln told foreign ministers in brussels that trust between the partners have been shaken and needs rebuilding he says the transatlantic alliance needs to confront threats from china and russia lincoln also accused china of undermining western democracy this is d.w. news from berlin follow us on twitter and instagram at news or visit our website w dot com. for almost 48 hours people in germany thought easter would be a repeat of christmas another casualty of the pandemic no travel no easter egg

hunts no families coming together that was the plan until this morning america told the country the decision to shut down over easter was a mistake her mistake and she asked for forgiveness tonight a mayor kopel from europe's most respected head of state the most powerful woman in the world says i'm sorry i bring gulf in berlin this is the day. and he was a mistake must be acknowledged as such and above all it must be corrected technically it's a terms of catastrophe it's incomprehensible i'm well aware that this entire situation is causing added uncertainty we have wanted to travel but unfortunately now we must stay at home with this proposal was a mistake here i think that the whole circus the back and forth and i ask all

citizens to forgive me. also coming up america's top diplomat admitted today that the past 4 years left europe no choice but to look at the u.s. and feel frustrated and a strange then he offered a roadmap to find our way back to each other. just because we make our foreign policy to reflect the world as it is does not mean we have to give up on shaping the world as it might be. we're all this more secure. more peaceful more just more equitable. to our viewers on p.b.s. in the united states and to all of you around the world welcome we begin the day when sorry doesn't seem to be the hardest word today german chancellor angela merkel did and said something that has become rare for a political leader admitting she made

a mistake and then asking for forgiveness merkel caught everyone off guard today when she announced a u. turn in the country's pandemic plans just 2 days ago she announced a 5 day shutdown that the country over easter a circuit breaker to stop the spread of the coronavirus today she cancelled that plan because she said it was wrong a mistake that had caused confusion and anger a mistake made solely by her she military at the top it seemed refreshing for many observers but it left unanswered one important question how will germany get this pandemic under control the idea of a strict ethan look down had many here in germany up in arms and the chancellor has said if acknowledged the measure was a mistake in an extraordinary address to people. it is the idea of the need to shut down was proposed is the best of intentions in the mid because we urgently need to slow down and we've pressed it that way but the pandemic never that's not

the e.p.a. this proposal was a myth ok and and fida a mistake he acknowledged to folks and a bowl of it must be corrected a soon as possible i should say to see in place what about the same time i am well aware that the sentai a situation is causing added incentive but already i deeply regret this and i ask all citizens a pic of me sayang. they said a rollback of the measure i did feel to the fire especially for a position parties at the podium and. discuss our suspects details his paraphrase yesterday today's live stats nobody knows what their roots are anymore and that knowledge meant a failure from the chance of those she takes responsibility that nobody really knows what the submission in. the chancellor's decision they served respects however it also means it's deepening crisis trust when it comes to the fight

against the pandemic just because government has failed in its ways if i just hand them a coffin and now we need caution and common sense to be able to overcome the 3rd way. that they teach and aren't the only ones being left with more questions than answers germans are increasingly the why is that by the government's handling of the crisis. you can't adopt and how can it be that people who have means can fly to new york would but nobody's allowed to travel to who can island where their prospective all measures to curb infections i'm just. kind of. just clarity so people get set clear deadlines with a clear schedule on how to go forward with definition but i'm not really impressed that they've changed the rules and in fact we had wanted to travel but unfortunately now we must stay at home. and it's good on the one side but i don't

think it's enough. it is the 1st time that the chancellor has admitted so openly that there was a glitch in her decision making that's why some see to move as a lot of others see that's part of the chairman's government's hit and miss approach to the pandemic. i'm joined now by our political correspondent emanuel report good evening to you. so no hard shutdown over easter that is clear but the number of new infections in germany that number continues to climb so what is the government's plan. indeed brenda's number of infections continues to climb if you look at the 7 days incidence rates where the snow over 80800000 inhabitants nationwide we've reduced to more than 15000 new infections another 250 deaths in the one single day so the situation is not good here in germany and for now the losing of restrictions which had very timidly started only

a few weeks ago is being rolled back current the current lockdown 8 ease being reconnected until that least need april wheezes testings to tuesday being upped lots of criticism has been geared towards the government because it hasn't read it tackled the possible closure of schools which is fair in spreading rapidly among younger people the government also hasn't decided what to do on travel we'll travel ban. be decided especially as easter holidays are about to start and this is actually being discussed by the government as a lot of criticism towards the vaccination rollout it's way too slow when projections show that even doubling the doses of vaccine administered by me dave would still be insufficient to tackle the 3rd wave because we mainly see the variance spreading which is more lead to more infectious you know we live in a world of politicians who rarely say i was wrong i'm sorry but that is exactly

what did today so here is my cynical question was she able to admit to her own cell ability because she's not running for reelection. well you know over and having witnessed how i go america expresses herself over the is i've been here in so many i think it's a standing of policy on have thought if anything she might in fact be taking the rest all civility and of blame so as to sift it's own has several other than on her party as a whole you know to come 7th if policy is already shaken by several collections kansas it's already blamed voter handing of the pandemic until now i get america has remained a very popular pretensions figure regardless of the current situation regardless of the pen they make and typically he or she is being quite pragmatic she acknowledges a mistake she acknowledges had a mistake but at the same time why should doesn't quite seize the opportunity to us the state what could be done instead and that might not go down quite well with

hope it tickled opponents and by not quite go that well with people it might impact her popularity already and michele from the story in berlin tonight in the thank you all right from the politics to the science this police science journalist kai coopersmith tell you it's good to have you back on the program the chancellor's decision to reverse the shutdown over easter that does not reverse the course of the pandemic year in germany so what is needed to stop the spread if a hard lock down is not programmed in any more. well frankly that's a little bit like asking you know what's needed to avoid this accident if we assume we don't use the brakes the the truth is we need to slow down transmission of this virus we need to take the heat out of the epidemic situation in germany and we know that what we're doing at the moment isn't enough to do that that's not surprising we know that the 117 the very end that is spreading here at the moment is about 30

percent more transmissible than previous variants so we need to do something more than we have done so far and what we've kind of grown used to working in the last year and i think in the private setting we've probably done as much as we can in some ways and i think it's really a question of what else we can do in terms of workplaces i think we could be much more restrictive in terms of asking people to work from home and much more forceful in that regard of course testing might help and then of course we do need to continue vaccinating as fast as we can because over time this is not going to help us in the next weeks but over time in the next 2 months or so it is going to build up immunity that helps us drive down the transmission a little bit you know you talk about vaccinations there are reports of people not showing up to get back to natives here in germany once they find out that they will get the astra zeneca shot so what has to happen to change the public's perception.

that's a really tough question you know once the perception of that has been you know that it's fairly hard to change it and i did leave enough to see why that perception has kind of been created the early studies that were done the early trials of the astra zeneca you know there were very well conducted and defining in the threw up a lot of questions and that created the space in which you had you know uncertainty you then had very bad communication i think from the company and now on top of that you have this safety which which is you know something to take seriously so you know i think we wouldn't be in quite this bad situation if communication had been tiny and transparent on this from the beginning that's what i hope for in the future but it's not going to change back anytime soon no matter what we do it i fear we understand that the chancellor changed couper about this lockdown over easter after you know what the strong backlash when you consider the entire

population in germany more than a year into this pandemic how fatigued are people do you think i mean you said earlier this week germany has yet to be in a true hard lockdown. that's right i mean when i talk to people in some other countries that have had you know really hard lock downs they kind of scoffed a little bit at our lockdown but of course that it's not about how hard the lockdown as i actually think that in some ways to me you know the worst thing in terms of fatigue is if you keep you know if you're in a lockdown and you don't see it working out i think that's the really really hard thing that makes you very athene so i would rather have a harder lockdown and then you see that it's working and that can keep you motivated rather than what we're seeing at the moment which is this endless like lockdown but then the numbers are still rising that's i think not reassuring to anyone and i have to say we do have good data from surveys that show that a majority of people say that they are very fatigued and the majority of people

also say it think that was that the right or should even be made tighter you know this is a very good point to bring up people say it could be tighter and maybe it would be better as we enter the 6th month of a lockdown in this country kai coopersmith as always we appreciate your time and your insights tonight thank you and. the headline from the speech delivered today in brussels by the u.s. secretary of state could have been europe you can trust us again here is why today anthony blinken reached out to america's european allies in what felt like a reunion after 4 years of a strange meant and alienation lincoln said europe's doubts over america as a reliable partner were justified but now no longer necessary he then laid out why america needs europe and why your needs america at the same time he promised a future with no bullying saying coersion that's

a weapon wielded by china the united states won't force our allies into a us or them choice with china. there's no question that beijing's course of behavior threatens our collective security and prosperity and that it is actively working to undercut the rules of the international system and the values we in our allies share but that doesn't mean that countries can't work with china where possible for example on shell is like climate change and health security we know that our allies have complex relationships with china that won't always align perfectly but we need to navigate these challenges together. my next guest tonight is benjamin schmidt benjamin is a fellow at harvard and at the center for european policy analysis he's also served at the u.s. state department advising on energy security bridgeman it's good to have you back on the program you heard the speech by secretary blinken today was there a name missing from today's speech didn't name you know did something strike you as

missing. no in fact i'm just excited to be here to talk about the sort of speech the entire transatlantic community has been yearning for from america's top diplomat for over 4 years now i think you're alluding to mr trump in this was a real refreshing diplomatic speech in a speech at nato headquarters secretary of state blinken made sure to emphasize the biden administration's emphasis on reaffirming in revitalizing aren't alliances to strengthen the national security and democratic resilience of the u.s. and our global partners and allies including nato of course in a world facing a ray of emerging global challenges foremost from china and from resurgent russia and in this election of nato headquarters as the site of this speech really was i'm certain i'm convinced was nose in to send a signal that the uncertain rhetoric and the estrangement as you said about the transatlantic relationship under trump is not going to continue and that again very

quickly washington's commitment to article 5 of nato is an unshakable vow is secretary blinken said today yet he mentioned that today that article 5 you know that since and there's a reason to doubt it but the fact that he even had to remind his allies of article 5 that speaks to the fact that trump was the reason that blinken had to do and say what he did today right. absolutely absolutely that is that is something that i think this administration is trying to quickly both repair and move forward on because but it can move forward by focusing on 3 main threats including conventional military threats to the alliance both external and internal threats to democratic resilience and fostering democratic backsliding across the west and of course transnational threats such as climate change and pandemics looking at how china and russia are targeting us as a collective community and that's the sort of collective response that we need as

blinken said china and russia in terms of both human rights abuses conventional military force projection whether it's china in the south china sea towards or into office if it partners and allies or russia towards ukraine in the baltic and black seas in the case of moscow influence projection by economic deals in critical infrastructure was really reflected by blinken choice to visit wolf southeast asia pacific region and nato as its 1st his 1st overseas trip to reassure partners over the last 2 weeks well how do you think the nato partners in europe views the fact that secretary of state blinken 1st met with with china you know he did the 2 or 3 asia and now he's coming to europe so europe was not number one on his calling card . i think it really was a reflection of the u.s. commitment to our our nato partners and allies was reflected in that to go 1st and

talk to china at least and i think that what you saw this week was that unified approach and kind of i think a coordinated effort to 1st put a line in the sand at least with what this this administration and its core nation with partners and allies will do when china takes. actions that are malign and has human rights violations such as against its weaker minority population that included sanctions on chinese officials that were coordinated and rolled out this week during the visit to europe by the u.s. e.u. and canada and that resulted in chinese retaliation against those e.u. officials and institutions including think tanks and academics that have tires least spoken truth to power when it comes to beijing's malign activities and then includes my friend and german member of the european parliament right now to put a couple of those it really hits close to home for me this and it really is something that that i think was coordinated having that speaking to china and then

having this sort of approach i don't think it's in any way a reflection on thinking that europe is the top of the of the relationship agenda you mentioned being hard to come for he was on our program this week and i asked him if he had been informed why he was on this list of sanctions and he said no he just had been told that he was on the sanctions so go figure i want you to take a listen to part of what secretary blinken said today and then i've got a question for you take a listen. when our allies sure shoulder their fair share of the burden they'll reasonably expect to have a fair say in making decisions we will honor that. will treat the efforts of our allies to develop greater capacity as an asset not a threat stronger allies make for stronger alliances so bridgeman again what was not said here is what was important to germany's nord stream to pipeline with russia and the us is not backing down from its position that germany should kill

this project so what happens next to you that. well i think that i think that there's there's 2 things at play here lincoln is really calling on our collective alliances worldwide to update their for threat vector responses to both beijing and moscow including through critical infrastructure emerging technologies and using economic and engagement for international coercion and that's why it's for myself as a practicing physicist that really hits home to me these sort of sectors that need close coordination of our allies and partners between senior diplomatic and national security fishelson with practitioners of science and technology to really address these cross-cutting challenges but when it comes to north stream 2 again this is something that the majority of the transatlantic community us canada and most of the european continent as opposed because of its national security threats this is a russian project 100 percent owned and operated by russia and like it made it very clear at nato when it comes to u.s.

german relations there is a multitude of policy cooperation after the trump era that washington berlin have from climate change to addressing troop level questions in germany to trade well the same time but blinken has made sure to make clear on this trip and before that there's been no ambiguity in the by the administration's position on the kremlin back nordstrom to pipeline and he made this clear that these project participants mostly russian firms by the way would face potential mandatory congressional sanctions and i'm wondering in washington do you think that the view is germany has allowed itself to be low old into a false sense of security with russia when we're talking about this pipeline is that how washington sees what's going on. well i wrote for the atlantic council that you know when we look at germany's approach towards russia it's been decades of. hondo or change through trade policy that was reinvigorated by former

chancellor gerhard schroeder who by the way works for nord stream too and russian state over price rosneft at the same time but there's been a lot of hondo or trade without much of on dole in terms of change when it comes to russia's national security threats towards the e.u. the us and germany in particular and so in washington i think there is this consensus that the national security threat posed by the pipeline to ukraine to you to the transatlantic community writ large is simply too great to allow it to go forward without real verifiable behavior changes by the russian federation that's why you saw both blinken statement on sanctions as well as this week 2 top democrats in the senate foreign relations committee chairman menendez and senator shaheen called for an accelerated sanctions rolled out by the by did administration to ensure that putin's geo political aspirations aren't realized by the completion of nord stream too in other words whatever the future of north korean 2 might be

the physical construction of the pipeline needs to be stopped 1st for any real dialogue and leverage on the kremlin to be maintained and why now the german green party has already made it a part of its party platform they said that if they get in power after germany's september election they will cancel the project so this isn't even a unified position in germany itself let me ask about about a minute left here at last year you and i spoke about i'm going to america's ability to separate business in geopolitics when it comes to russia you're despite all of this pressure she has not changed her position. that's right i mean there have been a number of off ramps that this current government in berlin could have taken and decided not to there are you know from the buddhist hack to the extradition murder of a georgian dissident in the gotten in berlin russian security forces the 2 to

the russian security services poisoning opposition leader lexing of all me who berlin took and and supported very admirably before he went back to russia and has been sent sent to a penal colony in siberia so there's been no positive behavior changed by the russian federation if you marriage this sort of economic project of this scale again 100 percent owned and operated by russia ok benjamin of course they were out of time virginia but we appreciate your time and your insights as always tonight good talking with you. thanks so much brant. in his address from brussels today u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken did not mention the name donald trump what the entire speech was about the former u.s. president and doing what trump did to america's alliances it speaks to how much impact 4 years of the trump presidency had on the world we were reminded of that today here in berlin when

a reporter asked german chancellor and of america about the lack of a national plan for code 19 testing merkel's answer the federal government cannot do everything the states will have to handle this where have we heard this before for a moment it sounded as if america had taken a page from trump's handbook on deflecting responsibility in a pandemic but the chancellor she went on to surprise us yet again she said the decision to shut down the country over easter had been hers alone and that it was a mistake and she asked the public to forgive her a head of state offering a mayor culpa and affirming that the buck stops with her where have we heard that before the answer we haven't today blink and said trust in public institutions has been lost and he's right that makes what the chancellor said today all the more remarkable and she owned a mistake and she said i'm sorry no hiding behind

a tweet just an honest assessment of her own deeds this may not sound like the former us president but it is music to the ears of those who want to trust their leaders again. well the day is almost done the conversation it continues online you'll find us on twitter either at g.w. news or you can follow me a brick golf t.v. and remember whatever happens between now and then tomorrow is another day we'll see you then everybody.

enters the conflict zone peace talks are back on between afghanistan's government and the taliban with her new the urgency as the u.s. increases pressure on reaching a political solution before a may 1st troop withdrawal i guess this week is afghanistan's ambassador to the u.n. nato but also lost is the government strong enough to deliver on human rights be tougher on to sell. conflicts of.

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going to find relief from being pain. so we are here is actually on fire. lines. peace process is that lengthy process what will you sacrifice for a political solution there is a strong goodwill on the part of the hour neither shifts to promote women or you powerless to protect our civilians i wouldn't say that there might not be any incidents of peace talks are back on between afghanistan's government and the taliban with renewed urgency as the u.s. increases pressure on reaching a political solution before a may 1st troop withdrawal deadline amid a surge in violence there is concern over what a power sharing arrangement with the taliban could mean for human rights especially for women and girls.