>> this is dw news live from berlin. the me a call but from angela merkel -- mea culpa from angela merkel. she reversed a decision to send the country into a five-day coronavirus shutdown. she says the plans were not feasible and a mistake. the vaccine that was out of sight. italian inspectors find 30,000 doses inside and astrazeca factory.

the company insists it was not hiding them. and the gentle eruption. that is how locals describe this volcano. after 900 years, it is active again and hikers can't stay away from the rivers of lava. ♪ to our viewers joining us on pbs in the united states and to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin with a change of plans and an apology. chancellor angela merkel canceled a controversial shutdown scheduled over the easter holiday. the chancellor saying the hastily drawn uplans were impractical and a mistake. just one day ago, she and state leaders agreed on a five-day strict lockdown scheduled to begin april 1. following criticism and confusion, merkel offered an unexpected apology. >> the idea had a many here in

germany up in arms and the chancellor has since acknowledged the measure was a mistake in an extraordinary address to the people. the idea of an easter shutdown was proposed with the best of intentions because we urgently need to slow down and reversed the third wave of the pandemic. nevertheless, this proposal was a mistake. a mistake must be acknowledged as such and above all it must be corrected as soon as possible. at the same time, i'm well aware that this entire situation causing added uncertainty. i deeply regret this and i ask our citizens to forgive me. the sudden rollback of the measure added fuel to the fire. especially from opposition

politicians. the chaos is perfect. yesterday it is like this, today it is like that. nobody knows what the rules are. the chancellor takes responsibility, but nobody really knows what this admission means. the chancellor's decision deserves respect, however it also means a deepening crisis of trust when it comes to the fight against the pandemic. the government has failed in its way to fight the pandemic and now we need caution and common sense to be able to overcome the third wave. politicians are not the only ones being left with more questions than answers. germans are increasingly bewildered at their government's handling of the crisis. >> how can it be that people who have means can fly to mallorca, but nobody is allowed to travel inland?

>> just clarity, so people have a clear schedule about how to go forward. >> i'm not really impressed. the changed rules. unfortunately, we must now stay-at-home. >> it is good on the one side, but i don't think it is enough. it is the first time that the chancellor has admitted so openly that there was a glitch in her decision-making. while some see the move is laudable, others see it as part of the jordan just german government's it and met -- german government's hit and miss approach to the pandemic. >> good evening evening to you. we rarely hear a political leader admit to a mistake and then say i'm sorry. what do you make of angela merkel's u-turn and her apology? >> the report on the one hand is

laudable that someone acknowledges a mistake. on the other hand, this will not necessarily go down particularly well with opposition parties in the parliament or with the population. the government had a whole year to think of any effective strategy and the results have not met their expectations for the expectations of people. typically chancellor merkel is being pragmatic. she acknowledges her mistake in decision-making. but at the same time, she does not quite seize the opportunity to state what could have been done instead. >> the cynical and all of us could say that merkel offered the apology because she is not running for reelection and maybe she was doing this to protect her party knowing that national elections are scheduled for later this year. what do you say? >> it is clear that the handling of the pandemic by the government and by the

conservatives of angela merkel really will play a role in the acceptance of political decisions and the trust with politicians is affected by the pandemic. also by the hesitancy and the lack of good results of the government when it comes to curbing the number of infections. today we have seen again more than 15,000 new infections, over 200 new deaths, so the coalition governing the country, the conservatives together with the social democrats, has been losing trust. >> as you say, we still have a high number of new cases being reported every day. the country is in a third wave of infections. is germany doing enough to stop the spread of this virus? >> there has been a lot of criticism about the handling of the pandemic. because the government has not decided on a travel ban, especially as easter holidays are expected to start. this is being discussed by the government. there is criticism on the

reopening of schools, the closure again of schools. there is criticism about the vaccination rollout, which is to slow. projections show that even if vaccine doses would double by mid april, they would still not be sufficient to tackle the third wave, because we mainly see the variants spread, which are more lethal and infectious. >> are political correspondent with the story for us in berlin. thank you. the european union has toughened its vaccine export rules. shipments cannot be blocked if importing nations are ahead in their inoculation camigns. the european union wants vaccine producing countries to send as well as receive vaccines. the new rules come as italian inspectors discovered a stockpile of millions of doses of astrazeneca shots. the company insisting it was not trying to hide them. >> there was great excitement when italian authorities found

29 million doses of vaccine in this astrazeneca bottling plant near rome. italian press reported they were destined for the u.k. astrazeneca has so far failed to meet its eu delivery targets. according to the european commission, a delivery of 120 million doses was originally agreed for the first quarter of 2020, but aft a few shortag, the nuer was reduced to 30 millio by march, only 21 million had been delivered. it is not clear where the truth lies. astrazeneca states 13 million of the doses were extended to low income countries and 16 million to the eu. they said it was incorrect to call that a stockpile because they needed to wait for quality control. in the ongoing row over vaccine distribution, the eu commission maintains the bloc is being disadvantaged. >> some 10 million doses have

been exported from the u.k., from the eu to the u.k., and zero doses have been exported from the u.k. to the eu. >> that is why the eu only wants exports to be allowed to a third country only if that country provides vaccines to the eu. >> brazil's covid-19 outbreak is worsening by the day. the country has recorded its highest number of daily deaths from the virus, some 3000 victims. the milestone came as president bolsonaro installed his fourth health minister since the pandemic again -- begin. brazilians are increasingly angry, but bolsonaro says vaccines are on the way. >> brazil's gravediggers have never been busier. with reports of overflowing morgues, they cannot bury the dead fast enough. families given little time to process their grief.

we are in a situation that affects the whole world and no one has been able to contain it. only the uted states has paid a higher price. under fire, president bolsonaro tried to soothe public anger in a tv address. i want to calm down the brazilian people and assure you that the vaccines are guaranteed, by the end of the year we will have more than 500 million doses to inoculate all the populatn. very soon we will return to normal life. my sympay goes out to all of you who have losses in your families. but as he spoke to the people, they pounded their pots and pans in protest. from the windows and balconies of rio de janeiro, são paulo, and beyond, they made their feelings hard. some chanting bolsonaro out. even amongst the vaccinated, the

frustration at the government handling of the pandemic runs deep. >> i really believe that we are as we are because everything was very badly managed since the beginning. i never imagined living in a country where the president of the republic is in denial, so that made everything difficult for everyone. >> vaccination has to be faster, faster. a lot of people are dying, they are very sick. >> meanwhile, pan american leaders are warning that exploding case numbers in brazil are causing the virus to spread faster in neighboring countries. >> it is a dire situation in brazil. i'm joined by a correspondent based in rio de janeiro. good evening to you. the story we just saw hints that public opinion is turning president bolsonaro. is that happening? >> we see that bolsonaro is

suffering more and more critics here in brazil. yesterday, the pot hitting protests were heard yesterday in the neighborhoods in rio de janeiro sã paulo. the critics are a lot. on the other hand, i have to say that one third of the population still is supporting bolsonaro, so it shows that at least 30% or a little bit more also agree with bolsonaro's policies toward corona. so they do this in spite of the high death toll. >> we have seen this play out before in the united states. is it likely that bolsonaro will rethink his antiscience response to the coronavirus? >> yesterday, in a television speech, he already had a much more moderate tone and he showed much more compassion with the victims and the families and for the first time in this crisis,

as i remember, and he wants to speed up the vaccination process as well. this is also a change which had happened in the last two weeks, so he is trying to get more control of the crisis, but this comes late. the bolsonaro health ministry had to admit they are not able to provide millions of vaccination doses as they wished and as they promised in april. >> we want to let our viewers know, you live in rio de janeiro. you live in a country where the pandemic is raging. it could become worse than it is in the united states. what is it like right now living in brazil? >> i think there are two realities here, who are really different from each other. on the one hand, the hospitals and the vaccination centers as i'm standing in front of, you can see the crisis is going on

in the hospitals. people are sometimes dying in front of emergency rooms. it is a really tough situation. the worst in this crisis. on the other hand, many brazilians are tired of this crisis, which has already lasted for one year, so they want to go back to normal life, they want to have work and jobs again. and this is the other reality. they go to the beaches and they do live as if it would be business as usual. these are the two realities here in brazil these days. >> we appreciate your reporting. stay safe. thank you. all right, here's a roundup of other stories making headlines. israel's fourth election in two years appears to have produced yet another stalemate. benjamin netanyahu is claiming his right wing party victors,

but with most votes counted his bloc looks to have fallen short of an outright majority and will need to enter coalition talks with rivals. a large cargo ship has turned sideways and run aground in egypt's suez canal blocking traffic in one of the world's most important waterways. it is 400 meters long and weighs 200,000 tons. several tugboats are trying to dislodge the freight. myanmar has freed more than 600 arrested protesters following new outrage over the regime's brutal crackdown. nearly 300 people have been killed in protest ainst me an mark's military rulers since they came to power i a military coup on february 1. among those released was a photographer for the associated press. an erupting volcano has forced guatemala to close its international airport. ash from the mountain has coated the runway and aircraft at the

airport. the volcano is one of the world's most active. it has been spewing out ash and violent explosions for several weeks now. after four years of strained transatlantic ties under donald trump, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has traveled to europe to reset and repair relationships with american allies. washington's top diplomat visited the headquarters of nato and the european union in brussels, his first visit since taking office. speaking at a summit of nato members, he called for the alliance to come together and present a common united front against china. here is what he had to say. >> the united states won't force our allies into an us or them choice with china. there is no question that beijing's coercive 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 share.

but that does not mean that countries can't work with china were possible. for example on challenges 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. >> let's go to our correspondent standing by who has been covering the story today. good evening to you. is europe willing to mount a joint pushback against beijing? >> well, i think europe is becoming more and more willing to see the u.s. side of things and that is not all due to the u.s. as you heard, secretary blinken took a very understanding view of europe's complex commercial relationships with china, knowing that european governments have been reluctant to completely shun beijing.

in fact, this past week there have been some developments that may aid the u.s. in pulling the europeans over to its way of thinking and that is because after the eu imposed some human rights sanctions on china for its treatment of the uighurs, china sanctioned some eu lawmakers and that has really angered some of these european parliamentarians who now say they will not be willing to ratify the eu-china trade agreement. there was already a lot of concern about that agreement and now these moves by beijing have increased that sentiment. >> we got used to the combative rhetoric or we tried to get used to that rhetoric during the trump years. antony blinken struck quite a different tone today, didn't he? >> let's be honest, the bar was not that high to strike a different tone, and more positive tone about nato and the european union, which trump said was set up specifically to destroy the united states.

secretary blinken is known to be a transatlantist. everybody already knew him from his years in service to the united states, but when you listen to his speech today and in fact all of his statements that he said since he got to brussels, they were specifically designed to reverse that trump way of thinking without ever mentioning the trump administration by name. he specifically reinforced article five, nato's collective defense fundamental tenant. he also -- his language on china was clearly designed to sort of go against the secretary pompeo way of talking about china that absolutely warned europeans they better cut off huawei from their 5g systems or they would be cut off from intelligence. sec. blinken thought of his words carefully and knew the kind of impact they would have. >> you know brussels, you know

the leaders, how did his speech go down? did it work? >> i think it works. i think that ever since the biden administration came in, you have sensed this relief among european officials both on nato and the european union side, but this was the first time there has been an in person meeting with a high-level official from the biden administration and everyone was really looking forward to it. i asked somebody after the meeting at nato tay, it can't really have been that rosie, was it? this is got to be some sort of over polishing -- he said, no, it really was. clearly, everybody is ready to turn a new page. >> there is definitely a sense of relief that is almost palpable. >> it was. >> thank you as always. with growing numbers of migrants arriving at the u.s.-mexico border, president joe biden has

put vice president harris in charge of managing the developing crisis. harris admits the u.s. needs to take better care of migrants while processing their claims. pictures show immigrant children huddled together in crowded facilities. our correspondent went to meet some of the volunteers trying to help asylum-seekers start a new life. >> they just crossed the border between mexico and the united states and they have been caught by the authorities. a group of 57 immigrants most of them from central america. th are looking for the border patrol not only because they are tired, thirsty, and huny, but because they want to start the asylum process as soon as possible. this is the famous rio grande. is marks the border between the united states and mexico. for many crossing this river from the side of meco and centl america to the united states means the difference

between life and death. a short distance from the natural order, the river, comes the unfinished fence that makes up one third of the over 3100 kilometers of the southern border. the construction has stopped under the biden administration. they are friends. her grandmother came from mexico. his father as well. in a time of no barriers between mexico and the united states. >> we want to make sure they treat them well. we have kids, we have grandkids, some are still babies. this is why it hurts to see them crossing. you saw it.eá they were seven or eight years d. this is why we are here. >> the bus arrives to carry the young parents and tir kids to the closest detention center.

at least 150,000 asylum-seekers with children have been caught in the past weeks and are being held under custody. a big chaenge for the current administration. >> i feel that biden wants to move forward and solve the problem because there are so many that have to be processed and make sure that they finally arrive in a safe place. because safety is one of the main reasons that forced them to escape from places where criminal activity as part of their everyday life. cameras are not allowed inside the detention center. even basic information about the number of immigrants and how long they are being detained is not released. but pictures taken by a democratic congressman show the conditions inside are terrible, especially for kids. the republican party is using this as a political tool against the biden administration and his party.

they are also portraying immigrants as a national security threat. once released, it is volunteers like rachel who guide them. some young asylum-seekers are being held in custody over the legal limit of 72 hours. all this after an epic journey. >> it was an odyssey, suffering from hunger, thirst, i hope the sacrifice was worth it. >> a doubt that that quickly becomes a smile since the new life is already started. >> chicken. all right. >> that was our correspondent reporting. visitors have been flocking to see a rare sight, and erupting volcano in southwest iceland. lava has been flowing since the volcano started erupting last friday following thousands of earthquakes. hikers trying to get up close are being warned they could lose their lunch. >> lava bubbles, spits, and

pours out of this volcano. it began erecting here on iceland'peninsulaast friday, e first ti in around00 years. so perhaps it is 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. >> this lava flowing just so close to us, it is insane. i haven't seen anything like that before. >> with hikers getting hungry, some have used the lava as a giant grill, but this does come with a warning. >> two ds a, a guy tried to cook eggs and bacon on it and lava eight the pan. stay away from it. >> there have also been warnings

of volcanic gas pollution. before the eruption, there were more than 50,000 earthquakes here in just three weeks. they were caused by a large body of molten rock known as magma which has pushed its way to the surface. it is unclear for how much longer this volcano will continue to erupt. for now, icelanders are enjoying its hypnotic displays. >> a year since the tokyo olympics were delayed by the pandemic, the torch relay is finally set to restart. the olympic flame began its journey at the beginning of last march at mount olympus in greece. it arrived in japan one week later. the flame has been kept alight since then and will now travel through the host nation, starting near the nuclear disaster site of fukushima. around 10,000 runners will be involved. the games are scheduled to begin in july. you are watching dw news.

a reminder of the top story this hour. german chancellor angela merkel has unexpectedly canceled plans for a stricter lockdown over easter. she held a crisis meeting with state leaders following criticism over the plans for a five day shutdown. she now says the plans were not practical and that they were a mistake. you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. tonight, the leader who says i'm sorry. we will be right back. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

>> it's 9:00 p.m. in the french capital. this is "live from paris," and here are the headlines. the eu tightens controls on vexing exports in the name of reciprocity. it could limit shamans to the u.k.--shipments to the u.k. germany reverses restrictions. chancellor angela merkel drops plans for a five-a lockdown and apologizes for creating confusion. and myanmar's military releases hundreds of anti-coup protesters and observers. a seven-year-old girl is buried after being killed by soldiers