contest of the cathedrals from. the 12th on d w. this is the news live from berlin germany's chancellor faces lawmakers to explain her troubles pandemic policy on the american defense the european union's decision to procure vaccines jointly despite growing frustration over germany's slow rollout in a 3rd wave of infections also coming off. of all the supply of

astra zeneca vaccine heats up as e.u. leaders meet to discuss their strategy britain wants them not to block exports to the u.k. . and a hotly anticipated eruption an icelandic volcano rolls back to life after 900 years of lying dormant locals flock to the rivers of lava but they're being warned don't get too close. as welcome to the program german chancellor angela merkel has defended her handling of the pandemic in a speech in germany's parliament she said that lockdown measures would have been effective but new variants of the coronavirus mean infection numbers are rising across europe she said that germany is currently relying on mass testing to control try to control its 3rd wave of. sections of germans to take up the offer of free

tests how's been growing all over the slovak scene roll out in the country but michael said it was right that the you decided to acquire authorized vaccines jointly the disappointing of it was while he was still true to his he signed to the joint inquiry. in union we see there are some going on as different this is. huge debate about this but what's going to happen in the belief some. of us did not i cannot imagine it because it was shaking the the foundations of the union and the americans speaking and joining me now our chief political correspondent and a crane in the studio political correspondent thomas sparrow out the german bonus i believe that so with you. defended leaving procurement of the corona virus vaccine to the e.u. well she convincing i think on that point she was convincing i think she's quite

right when she says that if germany had gone it alone back in december it essentially would have shaken europe to its very foundations germany has a lot of power on international markets undoubtedly could have procured enough vaccine for itself but other european countries could have found themselves being left high and dry nonetheless that is not to say that the way that this proceeded then was correct or that germany doesn't bear some of the blame for the fact that brussels proceeded in a very bureaucratic way that put emphasis on things like liability and price when in fact time was of the essence no proper crisis management there and frankly germany stood back rather than offering brussels the benefits of its expertise and bargaining power with the big drug companies and i think germany could have done a lot more to ensure that brussels went into true crisis mode if we remember germany in fact was. the e.u.

council president at the time and therefore part of the blame also does rest with germany that that multilateral procurement process at european level did not work as effectively as it should have thomas it's not only the slow roll of the vaccination campaign and why america is being criticized for the government's handling of the pandemic how to respond to the speech. had already apologized for part of policy regarding the coronavirus as we know the tone today here in the bonus out was very different she on the 100 stressed that it was also important to see the glass half full in other words to recognize that germany has elements at its disposal to fight this 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic on the other hand i also sense that i believe michael wanted to call for action in particular when it comes to regional leaders or local leaders implementing some of those agreements that were agreed on during one of those meetings here in chancery not far away from where we are standing between

chancellor and regional leaders so the tone today was very different from under them michael obviously ritchie recognize that there are problems not only here in germany but also to european level but she specifically wanted to focus on his speech and she did that right at the end of it that it was important to have also a different view when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and in particular the 3rd wave here in germany. was mentioned this is this call for action yesterday we heard the american apologize for monday's decision to go into an extended lockdown over over easter. did she give any indication today what the government plans to do now not exactly she said testing is the bridge that we have to go over to until we have enough vaccines but then essentially she seemed to be giving responsibility back to federal states and municipalities saying they are the ones who have to put into place effective testing strategies that also reflect

local conditions so strategies for school strategies for shopping areas strategies for work places but i think many people will be left with the question ok so we're not going to have a hard extended lockdown it easter but what exactly is the federal government doing because essentially she's saying back to you states and localities that's that's basically the impression i got yesterday. and then she was kind of fed up and said ok i apologize for this but now it's up to you is she fed up i think she certainly is frustrated and we heard that as thomas mentioned with her essentially plea for people to see what has been achieved to see what is working well rather than always concentrating on the negative but the fact is there is a perceived lack of leadership people's trust has been undermined by the back and forth by the lack of clarity and that has real consequences for the federal as well

as for the local level in other words the buck does stop at the chancellery and you talking about responsibility thomas yesterday several m.p.'s even called for a motion of no confidence against america where does it go from here politically there. to the opposition has been using angela merkel's apology for their own benefit stressing. criticism or a criticism towards angela merkel not only when it comes to her coronavirus policies but also to a style of leadership and a michael yes that in an interview that she gave german television very bluntly stressed that she doesn't see that motion of no confidence as a way forward that she's focusing on trying to solve the 3rd with the coronavirus endemic that she already apologized and that she thinks that apology was the correct way forward thomas parel the journalists are within the crane here in the studio thank you both very much for this analysis. and in that speech merkel

also said that the e.u. needs to boost its vaccination production capacity that it's one of the issues on the table as evil leaders meet for a virtual summit on thursday they'll also be grappling with whether to block the export of vaccines made on european soil specifically the shop made by astra zeneca the drug maker has failed to meet its e.u. delivery targets but it says millions of doses found recently by inspectors in italy are indeed earmarked for use inside the block and for donation to poorer countries. there was great excitement when italian authorities found 29000000 doses of vaccine in this astra zeneca bottling plant near rome italian press had reported they were destined for the u.k. . astra zeneca has so far failed to meet its easier delivery targets according to the european commission but every of 120000000 doses was originally a grade for the 1st quarter of 2020 passed after huge shortages the number was

reduced to 30000000 by mid march only 21000000 vaccines had been to live it it's not clear exactly where the truth lies astra zeneca states that 13000000 at the doses were intended for export to low income countries and 16000000 to the e.u. the company also said it was incorrect to call it a stockpile because the vaccine doses needed to wait for quality control once the vials had been felled. and the ongoing right now of a vaccine distribution in the e.u. the e.u. commission maintains the blog is being disadvantaged some $10000000.00 is being exported from the u.k. from e.u. to you k. 00 dollars have been exporters from the u.k. to the and that's why e.u. only wants to allow exports to a 3rd country a fact country also supplies vaccines to the e.u. heads of state and government will decide on this proposal at thursday's summit.

brussels birgitte alexander phenomena will of course following that summit for us today joins me now under the aim is clear more vaccines for e.u. countries but how. well i think we can expect leaders here to stress one more time that accelerating production delivery and deployment of scenes are is very crucial and there is some good news for example big scene developer biotech has started for the auction at the new plant in germany and dad could significantly significantly boost the exceed supply but there is still bad news on going problems with some pharmaceutical companies in particular with astra zeneca who are not living up to their promises so that's why i think that the european commission's proposal to toughen export rules will be here very high on the agenda as some

member states say this is the right way to go because we cannot explain our citizens why we are still exporting vaccines even though our citizens do not have enough vaccines some member states however say this could backfire in practical terms and could under my undermine our vaccine supplies supply chains. will ultimately lead to a confrontation of course with the u.k. and all the e.u. countries agree on how to act in response to that. with the astra zeneca. well i think that all of them are very upset with what's going on with astra zeneca but some of them are very cautious they don't want to have a conflict with the u.k. . is being the vaccines. i'm sorry are being produced within the e.u. but also in the u.k. and the saying that the u.k. is blocking the exports of those that see that is something that the u.k.

denies the good thing is that both sides are not now talking they released a statement yesterday saying that they want to create a win win situation so that is also something that you leaders will talk about today which is under review u.s. president biden will also be addressing with some advice video messages later today what can we expect. this is going to be a very brief exchange but everyone here is excited because he will be the 1st president after barack obama in 2009 to address the as a group so they hope to talk about cooperation how to take on on the pandemic how to combat climate change and many other issues so everyone here is quite happy that joe biden decides the site has decided to join this video conference and some good news that phenomena in brussels thank you very much melissa. the

more contagious variant of the corona virus 1st found in britain is now fuelling all breaks in many european countries just across the english channel and the french city of dunkirk hospital staff are at breaking point in a strong filed this report. did you is finally feeling better the 62 year old was hospitalized with a severe case of coburg 193 weeks ago please tell me it is hard to be confined you don't see the sun nothing but you just have to deal with it as opposed to a doctor come ology out tells us his patient's condition was serious when he 1st came to this hospital in dunkerque in the north of france with covert 1000 cases rising in the region the hospital has ramped up its capacity working in pens and ignored for one year has left its mark on and his team he considers physically it's hard mentally it's hard it's

a marathon in the end is nigh end in sight puppy must persevere we are in a war and now we have to find the ammunition and we have to fight it's of earth so this is just. the doctors and nurses here at this hospital one time kirk's a think so different in comparison to last year they flirt for mistakes and the better equipped but patients are often also younger now and that is mainly due to the spread of the more contagious u.k. virus here in dakar which is only a short boatwright away from britain. don't currently have a real wait and see terminal that connected dunkirk and great britain and that's why we had a rapid increase of the virus in our region from where it then spread and what happened here was simply a 4 runner and what happened later in the rest of france. with covered 9000 cases could sing. the coastal city of dunkirk was one of the 1st places in france

to impose a near complete lockdown again a couple of weeks ago now numbers are going up all over the country france is known to be a vaccine skeptic nation still many here are now waiting impatiently for an interaction but as in many other parts of europe the rollout has been slow this retired doctor roxas a volunteer at a tanker vaccination center his shop supervising the in a queue nations where people are really impatient they all want to be vaccinated but it is the vaccine production itself which is difficult for you his 6 year old direct to sell says she's very happy it's finally her turn. but put i'm not debating anymore i will be fine. and will she go out more now that she has been vaccinated i think so yes i really think i will

have a more carrots now but for far over our concern i will soon come back for a 2nd shot she hopes the vaccine is the beginning of the end of this crisis. it's time now for a quick roundup of some other stories making headlines around the world north korea has launched 2 ballistic missiles according to south korea and japan it's believed the 2 short range missiles flew 450 kilometers before landing in the sea the country has a history of testing new u.s. administrations with missile launches and other publications to force the americans back to the negotiating table. the u.s. senate has voted to approve president joe biden's choice of rachel levine to become assistant u.s. health secretary she's the 1st openly transgender person to be confirmed by the charm despite strong opposition from republicans levine was confirmed on a vote of 52 by 48. in the u.s.

city of boulder colorado a candlelight vigil was held for the 10 people killed on monday when a gunman opened fire at a supermarket the 21 year old suspect will make his 1st court appearance on thursday he faces 10 counts of murder and one of an attempted. europe's largest active volcano erupted overnight for the 16th time since february the southeast crater of mount etna sent lava rocks flying up to 900 meters into the air it is the largest of italy's 3 active volcanoes. and sightseers have also been flocking to another more spectacular volcano eruption in iceland has been slowing since the mountain 1st started spewing file a week ago but hikers trying for the perfect selfie are being warned don't get too close. to love above spits and paws out of the crater of this for ok. it began erupting here on iceland's greatness pincer

last friday the 1st time in around 900 years. so perhaps it's no surprise that thousands of people have been flocking here to witness this rare event. trying to get as close as they dare. for that perfect picture. i mean this love of we just so close to right we. haven't seen anything like. hikers getting hungry some of these the lava as a giant grill but this does come with a warning. 2 days ago this guy that tried to cook eggs and bacon on a lovely. field stay away from it. there have also been warnings over comic gas pollution. before the eruption there were more than 50000 makes

here in just 3 weeks. they were caused by a large body of molten rock known as magma which has pushed its way to the surface . it's unclear for how much longer this volcano will continue to erupt for now the icelanders are enjoying its hypnotic display and. the torch relay for the tokyo lympics has resumed after a year long delay $10000.00 runners are due to carry the torch from fukushima. to tokyo on a tour through all of japan's 47 prefectures bar as the olympic flame makes its way to the opening ceremony on july 23rd organizers still face plenty of problems. the countdown has begun the olympic flame has started its journey through japan and here in fukushima the relay usually marks the moment that public excitement over

the games picks up but this time around the situation is different. concerns that the olympics may lead to a rising coronavirus cases in tokyo have seen the events popularity plummet surveys suggest a majority of people would support the games being postponed again or even cancelled . despite worries over kovac the international olympic committee and its president thomas back have always insisted the games will take place this summer the organization makes most of its revenue from broadcast and sponsorship deals related to the summer and winter olympics so a cancellation would be a major hit to the i.o.c. and many sports federations officials in japan have also faced scrutiny most recently as both the olympic creative director hiroshi society and the president of the organizing committee mori resigned over sexist comments they had made organizers hope that these troubles and now behind them and that the torch relay

can reignite japan's support for the tokyo olympics joining us now from japan is caroline back one who is covering the run up to go in big for us carol i'm holding a torch relay with tens of thousands of people in times like these that sounds tricky out as a work. yeah the situation is special but the rules are simple crowds are not allowed to to gather everyone of course has to use a mask and yes or no shouting so only clapping so loud and i.o.c. had plans to ask only like not less famous players to to cover the most famous parts of the crowds which feel. better to gather into. the torch no shouting there but in the mood like in japan is everyone happy that the games are going ahead finally oh i would say that there was no excitement and

there still is no exciting of course according to the motto whole. wave the organizers hope. they will start to trigger emotions and i must say i can say like i was in touch this morning to see the 1st pictures but still 80 percent of the people are against the games and that result of a recent poll and i think the recent decision just last weekend that not fans and families from players will be allowed inside the country will like not raise the excitement but maybe embrace the acceptance by the games at least. so 2 high profile members of the organizing committee have recently resigned and the comments made about women will leave a lasting legacy on the games you think. on the games yeah

yeah just thinking a step forward will it leave like an impact on the country i don't know these incidents like shed light on on a very deep rooted and cultivated system that already unlike like is very deeply rooted here in japan just to give you a quick example like. a japanese name few japanese names can be used for female and male persons like michael talk but from the 1st leg when it's used for girly if you apply the word champions with michael to china for quite some from the very beginning like yeah sexism is just. going on all the way society and. if i may answer a last comment i think that. the politicians are just worried that all the words watching and we have to thinking we are 6 countries to change the real mindset of those in power is really still far away.

in the kyoto japan on the upcoming olympics thank you very much. thank you then football germany host iceland on thursday as they begin their complaint to qualify for the 2022 world cup in qatar will be germany's 1st match since york and live and else he's quitting as coach after his this year's european championship germany will play to further qualifiers during his this international break the team will be hoping for a major improvement on their last outing back in november when they were thrashed 6 nil by space. and also a film that premiered this month berlin's international film festival is coming soon to h.b.o. and sky tina promises never before seen footage featuring personal recollections

from the showbiz legend that is. look what i have done in this life with this body . and to get a patent feel. myself. that was not top of the. chain no telling how a young go ball is and i'm a bullet became the superstar tina turner the story of the hell she lived through with hospitals and musical partner mike turner and how she escaped is familiar but still packs and then motional punch. in some ways we are telling that story to a new generation. but we are also hopefully exploring it through tina's point of view and what it means for her to be kind of. so associated with some of the worst times in life i had a decent life is no other way to tell the story. in 978 tina turner divorced her husband all right and launched a solo career by the 1990 s.

she was one of the biggest pop stars in the world no i don't consider it a comeback that never around. in her roots. to have to remember those. in the same state to give news take so. before we go a digital odd work created by a human humanoid robot skull sophia been sold for nearly $700000.00 the robot produced its art in collaboration with the italian digital artist and. so thank you very much for sharing with me and supporting. the digital artwork is a 12 2nd m.p. for file showing the evolution of watch it was portrayed interests a fierce digital painting and it's accompanied by a physical object as well painted by sophia on a printout of herself or tray the identity of the via was not immediately known for . the watch indeed of your news here is

a reminder of all top story this hour german chancellor angela merkel has defended her handling of the pandemic in parliament she said the e.u. was right to procure vaccines jointly despite growing frustration over the salt rohloff germany is currently battling a 3rd wave of on the rise infections and has a vaccination rate of less than 10 percent. what she did on the news from. don't go way up next does business with money have jobs i'll see you at the top of the all the protect.

the from. childhood like no other. for years romana me i was sexually abused by has found.

his. it is not an isolated case but only a few of the victims have the courage to speak about incest. the frenchman has decided to break through the wall of silence. in 60 minutes d.w. . children. comes. one giant trouble i'm. in no mood to see the picture you. mean by reading a little feature is included in a fuel economy. how will climate change affect us and our children. dot com slash water. the amount of plastic is increasing every year minium drama working on the. holiday destinations and drowning in custom wife me remind you

and the comes. in from here you're a good excuse to tons of plastic waste. is the way. after all environment isn't recyclable. to make up your own mind. w. made for mines. china attacks foreign closing and show brands over. this after sports and nike said she was concerned about reports of forced labor there and that it does not use cotton from the region. also coming up by george germany's a favorite island in the mediterranean looks forward to a revived.