berlin. europe's top make it -- medical regulator gives the astrazeneca vaccine the go-ahead again. >> it is a safe andec vaccine. its benefit in protecting people from covid-19 outweighs the possible risks. >> but questions still remain about the vaccine ot cl. grantsndsarying to enter from mexico are turned back.

we get the latestror texas. and hundreds of child sex abuse allegations in the german city dog in a new report. the catholic archbishop accused of hiding the scandals may walk away free. i'm brent goff. to our viewers watching on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. it could the a sorely needed shot in the arm for europe's stalled vaccination rollout. the european medicines agency said astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine is safe and highly effective. after a review, the ema concluded vaccine was not associated with an overall increase in the risk of blood clots. more than a dozen european

countries suspended astrazeneca vaccinations after some recipients developed clots. the ema says the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks, but it will continue to investigate reports of available and after days of in-depth analysis of lab results, clinical reports, autopsy reports, and further information from the clinical trials, we still cannot rule out definitively a link between these cases and the vaccine. brent: all eyes today were on amsterdam whe the ema meant. the ema has spoken. i'm wondering, though, is this the final word? restart? >> the european medicines agency can only recommend to restart the vaccination.

the decision is to be taken by the national authorities in every single member state of the european union and around the world. actually, the inoculations never stopped. only 15 countries in europe stopped the vaccinations, and it is quite sure they will restart. italy, spain, and france already announced this step in the next days. brent: astrazeneca gets the green light again from the european union, but has the damage already been done? >> some experts say the damage is there because now the trust in the astrazeneca vaccine might be undermined. germany says the vaccination efforts will not suffer because

still 72 percent of the population want to get the shot, and in emailed today tried to curtail the damage -- the ema today tried to curtail the damage. the ma chief said, "i will get the shot tomorrow." brent: vaccination programs have been set part -- beset by leaders take awaybeen very in terms of lessons from this incident with astrazeneca? >> eu leaders will gather here next week for a summit in person and will surely talk about the vaccination program. commission to buy more vaccines, and the commission is per promising to do that. they want to speed up this very slow process, but it is already getting more pace.

10% of the european population is vaccinated. of c t front like israel, the u.k., and the united states, but the eu wants to catch up now. is there any good news for vaccinations? >> a study says that people who months. s al, thank you. germany suspended astrazeneca vaccinations earlier this week. the country's elf minister today announced plans to resume quickly those inoculations. >> the goal of the federal government and resume vaccinati,

but the national government and states are in agreement. the decision is backed by a majority of the members of the commission on vaccines. brent: germany is in desperatedw need of all vaccines. the number of coronavirus infectionslast 20 four hours. the rise comes after an easing of restrictions in recent weeks d the spread of a more transmissible viral variant. germany faced criticism for being slow to vaccinate even before the astrazeneca shot was suspended. dw'sgida the reputation for

being efficient. >> it is important we step up the pace of vaccinations over the next few weeksns oveth the next few weeks because otherwise, we will lose the trust of our own population. that is the most important point for me. of course, we would have hoped by now to have vaccinated many more people in germany, but in april and may, we will have such large amounts of vaccine that the numbers will go up signifanictly. to makor sure hospitals do notetweave no illue probms that ve arin, the mistak that were in governments, in authorities

in germany, but of course also across the european union. across the european union. >> in that case, do you see the eu as ultimately responsible for the mistakes that were made when ordering the vaccines? >> i think everyone knows that mistakes have been made at every vel.ll not wnever,ver end up in ery lel.nik ropean, natiol,ropean, nationaiw individl membe states.

we all he to do evething we can to me cle that weave toearn fm ou mistakes. >>any are talki about a syemic conict between decracy anautocrac do youee this a dangeus exame for tseho might think the chinese and russian emre all over the world that make it clear that it sayhat an democracy with freedom and human rights.

german foreign minister speaking with our chief international editor. ality is day of mourning. prime minister mario draghi has commemorated the more than hundred thousand italians who have died from covid-19. a year has passedse w s needed o transpt ortransport coffins out of the city. tonight, sadly, the number of infections is rising again, a bergamot is on again under a fullockdown. >> don mario shares countless memories with the people need to rest here. almost everyone. in this section of the cemetery died from covid. this is the first time he has

visited since the pandemic struck the region. "it's like going back months, like relivinghe months of people whothese harrowing imagen around the world, military trucks voted with caskets. starting in march, bodies of the deceased were transported to other cities across italy. crematorium's were overwhelmed by the numbers. more than 3000 people died here. when the pandemifirst with an unknown threat. authorities were slow to react. when the government finally did mandate lockdown's, first in the region and then in the entire country, it was too late for bergamot. this was the front line in the battle against covid. scenes from march last year when doctors and nurses were caught off guard.

everybody we spoke to here had just one comparison in mind -- war. >> i remember one night, 8:00 maybe, i was looking for body bags because i was looking for where to put the bodies of people who were dying. >> the pandemic is far from over, but for this doctor and his team, there is hope with vaccinations on the rise. >> we will have different ways -- waves because we have mutations of the virus, but the difference is we know the enemy. >> these soon became iconic images of a tragedy that shook italy in the world to its core. he gave a final blessing to the

deceased here at this church which was serving as a makeshift morgues at the time. the community ringing church bells to notify loved ones of >> i told my priests that at the end of the pandemic, we should be able to look ourselves in the mirror. we should be shepherds and not run away when our flock is in trouble. one year later, he feels fear has given way to a sense of solidarity, but overcoming the collective trauma will take time, not just here at the church, in the region as a whole. brent: let's take a look now at othe stories making headlines vo legalize physician-assisted suicide d eutnasia. the law applies to

long-sufferi patients and those with incurable diseases. spain is the six countryn the world on the fourth in the european union to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients and their lives. several leaders have gone on trial in moscow including members of the band pussy u.s.taryta for china's top diplomat. they are due to discuss areas of deep disagreement in t next two days, including trade, alleged human rights abuses, and the south china sea. the situation on the.s southern border with mexico is

texas has seen the most crossing attend most crossing attempts and a surge in unaccompanied children. authorities are refusing most people entry into the u.s. because of trump-era covid-19 regulations. the biden administration has,iog alone. our correspondent is in texas tonight on the u.s. side of the border with mexico. good afternoon to you. tell us what is happening where you are. are at the americanca side. ks, unaompanied children are right now. we are assuming around 4200 kids have crossed the b tt time in tt

two weeks, so this is putting a lot of pressure government, and it is a string to the processing facilities here, and of course, also, to the shutters like the one we are seeing behind me. people are not really wanting to talk about it, but it is starting to be a big crisis for the government of joe biden. brent: we have heard from some republican lawmakers but also from just americans that these record number of teenagers and children are arriving on their own. shouldn't they be with their parents and families? >> yes, of courseyco le,ndur a a s why many are here. they are coming from countries

like honduras, routine, countries where drug trafficking are making it difficult to live there. it is important to say that some of the kids you have families here in the united states, and that makes it easier to bring them here. in this sense, republicans might be right, but it is very important to say that the republican party are tryingeat d trump was making, divining and america up to the border of the u.s. thank you.

j first major diplomatic"as killer." the president also promised to hold vl promised to hold vl pad marked a fresh load in relations between the u.s. and russia. -- >> you know vladimir putin. do you think he is a killer? >> mm-hmm. i do. >> what price is he going to pay? quick surprise he is going to pay you will >> you said he did not have a

soul. moscow has orderrd i diplomat in the u.s. to temptey to com's remarks, vladimir putin had this to say -- >> when you are judging other people or even judging other states, we are always kind of looking into a mirror. we always see ourselves. >> other criminal officials say biden's comments -- other kremlin officials say biden's comments prove he is not interested in improving relations.

inporference.he the kremlin spokesperson callead accusations leveled at pressuren russia is this statement from e for about putin being -- one russia and tt the next step afterussia recalling the u.s. ambassador would be to sever

diplomatic ties completely. you have to understand that this kind of personal insult is really kind of i think shocking for russians in a country where putin usually remains almost untouchable, even on the political landscape. kremlin en report by the catholic church has uncovered hundreds of allegations of child sexual abuse in the city of cologne, germany's largest dioceses. the study found more than 300 victims going back to the year 1975. more than half the victims were under the age of 14. the investigation cleared cologne's archbishop of breach of duty, but he's under pressure to resign, accused of hiding the allegations. inin by -- abused as a boy and has

spent much of his adult life seeking justice. >> i remem rdcrying for my mother. i was just 11. i kept cryingry, "why can't anye hear?" >> he was a boarder at a catholic school where a priest abused him for years. he is still haunted by memories. several years ago, he felt so overwhelmed that he tried to kill himself. it was only later he realized he was not alone. what had happened to him had happened to others, but he stayed silent.

>> the church is an institution that speaks and acts from a highly moral standpoin so admitting wrongdoingike this is very difficult. anyone can see that, but our suk hope earlier this year when the archdiocese announced it would aortepepam >> theeeded us asnone f orom the

wanted to go on camera to comment. meanwhile, he feels traumatized all over again. he is suffering both physically and emotionally. the victims have been exploited once again. people who were damagedagthagage institution. wh ienen finallyenthen ce back . hes s controversy has hadhe upcoming

comment and at a entertainer du. is second resignation over suchs many weeks. >> with just four months to go into the opening ceremony, the tokyo games have once more been overshadowed by insensitive marks made towards women. this time, it was the creative director who suggested to a planning group that naomi watanabe could perform aa "olympig." what an object is due to perform -- watanabe is due to perform in the opening ceremony. the head of the organizing committee stepped down justast l month after he, among other things, claimedomen taltoo much.

a new director n t ohepening and closing ceremonies. >> i saw thedl heaheeand aas rely shocked. his remarks were as the commiom baseen t most important policies, hesciweci>> he insisn would not derail t ceremonies, but they have revealed deep-rooted ndgeeper stereotypes in japanese ceremony. wednes night 6-2. chelsea advanced by defeating madrid.

yo you are watching "dw ns" lewive fr earomly in. ug

tom: these are the headlines. covid-19 is once again exhilarating here in france. the prime minister announces plans for new lockdown in 16 departments, including the paris region. the eu drug watchdogs says the astrazeneca vaccine is safe and the benefits outweigh the risks. spain becomes one of a handful of nations to legalize euthanasia.