and i just can't i. can't even start to think. i. am i. am at least. i am . a low and welcome to focus on europe i'm liable it's nice to be back many of us are itching to travel again but the pandemic still poses huge challenges some travel agencies have found a nice market and are luring tourists to moscow for vaccine getaways the all inclusive deals offer luxury with a dose of russia's own sputnik the shot sight seeing at the red square isn't the

only main attraction for their customers. well they include this couple from germany heinz gary pinker nell and his wife catch your harmes she was born in russia and longs to travel again and see her family but germany's vaccine program prioritizes the elderly and at risk groups which means they'll have to wait their turn for profit companies are now solving this problem with the vaccine tourism but should money allow people to jump the queue for some it's a no brainer. list off on the journey to immunity. at frankfurt airport hinds get pink and his wife are setting off for an unusual type of vacation after months of searching for ways to get vaccinated abroad they're off to moscow a round trip package complete with a sputnik the shot. come on the

stuff we can't assume that will get vaccinated any time soon in germany to be honest but the more people that are vaccinated the faster will achieve herd immunity so if there's the option of getting vaccinated in moscow then that just makes sense since the last. thing the norwegian travel operator is waiting for the guests from germany on arrival most of them have booked the cove aid package it includes a tourist visa a stay in moscow and the vaccination all for just under 2000 euros 50 germans are taking part in the 1st of these trips and there's a lot of media hype including from russian state t.v. i think it's unfair for the wrong not when i feel like we're being stalked i'm a lawyer and sometimes when a deal we work on attracts a lot of media buzz this can happen and these are but it's not quite at this level and i'm not political about this i'm not a criminal critic or a criminal supporter or maybe i'm fairly neutral as long as i get my vaccine up and

that's a great result. but russian authorities seem to have their own goals in mind the so-called all russia peoples front a political organization headed by president vladimir putin himself has been providing visa support for the tour operator world visitor no 200 years before such a p.r. for russia but what's the problem. sputnik the has become russia's calling card around the world even its name is a clear nod to soviet victories during the space race the vaccine has been approved . in over 60 countries worldwide despite questions about early trial data for the job since the vaccine rollout kicked off in december bloody near putin has been personally promoting sputnik v. and presenting russia as a scientific superpower. the solution you've said from the start and now it's been shown in practice as well the russian vaccine is the best in the world. but people

in russia are still skeptical here the vaccination campaign has been slow covert restrictions have been lifted almost entirely leaving little incentive for people to get the job one survey says nearly 2 thirds plan to steer clear of sputnik he. doesn't share their doubts on the day of his vaccination politics is far from his mind i did some research i actually have a needle phobia. sputnik he has yet to be approved in the e.u. . and his wife are glad that they could afford to travel for the job. it's a nice feeling to know that this worked out. and i honestly don't really care if it's been approved in europe for me it's simple i've been vaccinated now and i feel safe with the study so far as shown it's effective. and now we're looking forward to maybe being able to travel again in the future. from.

now freshly vaccinated it's time for some sightseeing in russia the pandemic almost seems like a far off memory even if some experts warn a 3rd wave could already be underway here and her home country is enjoying freedoms she's been missing in germany. and i'm proud of my country and i feel great here in russia in germany the sense of freedom of strolling calmly down the street mosque. eating at restaurants traveling it's wonderful but just. as much chance to enjoy. the moment. a moment of fun and germany it's been a constant roller coaster ride but you never know what's next. political you can tell that the politicians and decision makers are just floundering helplessly and it makes you feel helpless as well if listened on and at the same time it also

forces you to take on personal responsibility and book a trip like this one for instance on the inside how about you've got the 5 fog or folks who run game about to bust we're going to have to be. a controversial opinion perhaps but according to the tourist agency hundreds of germans have already booked their own vaccination trips to moscow sputnik the would almost be a luxury item if it weren't so unpopular here that. scotland is a place with a rich and unique cultural identity some believe the country should be independent from the united kingdom it's a view held by the ruling scottish nationalist party they want to return to the european union after briggs that forced them out if they can expand their majority in upcoming elections they are promising a new referendum on independence but the countries are strongly intertwined and

some who were once for scottish independence were split could throw their lives off kilter. another windy day in scotland as always how we nickleby a 2nd generation kill to make cycles to work in the traditional scottish men's garment he enjoys the 30 kilometer coastal right near the 1st of 4th s.t. wary just north of edinburgh i feel scottish 1st you are who you are from where you're born and society as a writer and you. sculpture society is different from english welsh and irish society we have our own culture and music language art history that's what makes our culture. how his father taught him how to make kilts decades ago. these days how he designs and sells the traditional scottish clothing items around the world the e.u. is a key market for him 7 and a half metres of fabric are needed to make

a single kilt. about how much material is a man's. how he voted in favor of scottish independence in the 2014 referendum he does still believe scotland should be an autonomous country. and the pandemic have given him doubts he thinks independence could be risky device in society and even his family is becoming sensitive again. disharmony created within a family unit spread right across the whole of scotland and into england we head to the capital and seat of the scottish parliament in edinburgh to see what people think about independence many here tell us they'd be happy to leave britain. we have a say it's a great assets and i think throughout this well interestingly specially in edinburgh in the capital there's been a real community feel. in your shit so i think that that will be to the benefit

of our country i think scotland is a lot more liberal has a country rather than england and those choices. we can make and are making our own really and not have to get on to westminster for approval which those that we get others meanwhile feel that after the bracks turmoil scotland needs to let the dust settle either would you say the union i think say i didn't want bracks and that has been. you know an absolute nightmare so why would you want to break up the union as you know hundreds and hundreds i think it would cost a lot of money i think it would be terrible for the economy and i don't think scotland can afford to be independent we have devolved parliament we have taxation post we have quite a lot of power so i don't see what else we want. many scots living near the anglo scottish border some 100 kilometers south of edinburgh oppose the idea of independence john elliott's cattle farm overlooks the chevy had hills that straddle

the border. many people here work and shop over in england. we're aware that. that if there was any trade barriers that very very difficult in the syria because at the moment a lot of the communities are integrated between england and scotland in this area and i think that. would be a shame if there's any sort of body here between now and between the 2 john elliott runs the farm together with his father. they sell aberdeen angus cattle for breeding to the e.u. and elsewhere. so international trade is important but to them keeping scotland in britain is even more important. i personally voted in the e.u. referendum to remain within europe but i think of us asked the question why would i want to go through it all again and to try and achieve to get back into europe i

think my answer would be no i think um i think the union at the moment seems to be doing ok we've had a lot of the pain and go through it. can't make or how we nicholls b. has thought long and hard about the possible economic consequences of scottish independence and he thinks independence will have to wait for now i only want an independent scotland that is good for scotland and the scottish people and it feels too much but it's politicians and politics and party rivalry as opposed to thinking on a business level and strategy imply of how was actually going to work. the drive for independence will continue to impact scots like how we nickleby and his family and brags it has only served to stoke the fire. 30 years ago the yugoslav wars broke out in europe more than 100000 people were

killed in the decade that followed well the scars of the war are still visible ruins serve as a reminder of the conflicts that tore through the balkans one artist in serbia is using the debris to heal the wounds of the past his childhood was marred with the sounds of destruction but he's working through the trauma with the help of a secret weapon. tracking military scrap for its acoustic properties. serbian artist nicholas zahra discovering a junkyard for old guns i mean ition and army equipment from the yugoslav wars one day he hopes to find time in his studio in the city of novi sad nights returns old army equipment into musical instruments guitars built using helmets and kalashnikov rifles. and string instruments like this cello made from canisters and grenade

launchers. that pull over yet i don't really have a favorite instrument but this cello means a lot to me produces a fabulous sound it's the best instrument i've made from an acoustic standpoint. nicolo once the so-called bumper foam made from a grenade launcher and helmet to sound like a saxophone. it does make a few sounds but not many and they're not very clean. more most of us need at least a pentatonic scale so i can improvise. that's the direction we will take bomba phone. niccolo has found another grenade launcher that will be ideal for building a new even better bomb von. that's got to rebuild 1st i need to properly clean the cheap remove the old layer of paint and give it a new one not

a military color i need to add finger holes to of the court will only be able to tell if it's any good when we have the mouthpiece and blow what i'm looking at what it is an air quality. cellist militar spirit show tunes the grenade launcher cello . she advised on crafting the instrument. like the other musicians supports nikolaus art project i was a wonder the wind up in my satchel i was still very young during the war i remember nato bombs coming down and serbia those are grim memories but this project shows that we can transform ugly objects and grim advance into something positive. and impressive chalo like sound. considering this instrument only has 3 not 4 strings and a body made of metal rather than what. nickel are searching

another military scrap yard for salvageable objects this one's even larger than the 1st. he says many german and polish collectors come here to buy war relics. unfortunately nicholas still hasn't come across a tank or the mint because a nickel i won't give up hope i'll keep searching maybe i'll stumble across a ton somewhere that you converted into a joint the caution instrument and install it outside somewhere radical because you need to go to. the day of the trial concert with one guitar player husband shown up. so he gets to play the reimagined kalashnikov rifle. nicholas says he wants to instruments to something a little off key he's happy they now have a more positive purpose. slovenia

is set to take over the council presidency in july it's a role that involves mediation between member states and sharing meetings pragmatism and a level head are required but european parliament members are sounding the alarm over slovenia's prime minister he is waging a war of words against critical journalists parliamentarian say press freedom and democracy are under attack in slovenia journalist lloyd the passion has been at the receiving end of the prime minister's fury threats and insults have become a routine part of her job. these days journalists more it's a passion conducts most of her interviews outside. he she is on the hill over the slovenian capital you piano reporting isn't only in that by the pandemic hell of a manicure the facebook page of the public house offers the cheap services of the washed up prostitutes gania and might. one for 30 euros the other for 35

years as young as young tweeted this in 2016 last year he became slovenia's prime minister i didn't know that how it began and from that march 2016 just exploded everything in slovenia after after that tweet because it was like a. point. with a starting point of insulting attacking the person that attacks on journalists in slovenia. the politician was apparently annoyed by a report that passion and a colleague could released pressure going to court about the tweet and young she was sued for defamation. is currently working on a report about the slovenian press agency which has complained about the government's withdrawal of funds it will both for the trailer. again it all

began early last year for. free agency was accused of producing fake news. much like the attacks could worsen of tobar and we were described as a national disgrace the guy for 4 months didn't get a cent for work. courtrai o'clock i think that's the governments would do anything to get us under its political control so the i can see you. d w try to get an interview with prime minister a young child to discuss these allegations with no success his spokesman was also reticent i have just one question to you about your reaction to the allegations made against your prime minister that he's undermining press freedoms that we. now know from it don't i don't want. to get mark on a lot of it is a media studies professor in europe young a critic of the current government and i think that this sort of personal behavior

is also a priority of the problem it is a part of a problem when a politician does not agree with the standards of european behavior if you call journalists prostitutes if you do these sort of vulgar and aggressive things which were unimaginable in europe 10 years ago then of course we have a wider problem there is growing concern in the e.u.'s institutions about the dangers to press freedom in slovenia european commissioner johansson addressed the issue we have discussed this and of course the freedom underfloor a list of media is the corners are also some new things has happened recently when it comes to define a thing or. to be in the other place the slovenian interior minister said there's no problem and the agency would get playing up what do you do if you could spot the stuff the riddle of the assured the commissioner that there was absolute press freedom in slovenia. absolutely unsureness could report freely about anything.

but it's a passion copes despite her negative experiences and the pressure she has faced for years. in. my experience in 1st place that you are a little bit that this is the breast. but then again i am in a fighting mood and so i think that my professional work is to explain to our public the truth about our government which suppression is determined to keep telling the truth and do her work as best she can imagine being stuck at sea not in a boat but in a tower 6 stories high sounds like a fairy tale but it's in fact a lighthouse france is all this working on it was built some 400 years ago to help sailors navigate the strong currents of this year on estuary the unique structure

is still manned by life housekeepers to this day getting to work dry is one problem that still remains centuries later. that way. then why until mom are full of concentration. the tide is coming in and they'll have to get out sastre the lighthouse. first put on load everything. it's the changing of the light housekeepers. come out and then walk has everything they need for a week. they'll be totally alone as soon as the door shuts. they have to get used to a new rhythm. to a new life. once we're here

we're here. we're not going to go anywhere. i don't will be able to take of time. to support because i want to get here i'm much calmer than when i'm a home. the corridor one lighthouse in southwestern france is a national monument. it's over 400 years old and boasts 301 steps. but ben martin toma are used to them they have to check that everything is ok. the beacon is at a height of 70 meters and it needs regular cleaning. your group or if there's one thing that has to be perfectly clean it's nice for sure. but life was still serves as a navigational aid despite the existence of satellite systems. it's always important to have a visual aid just like in a car which you read means you shouldn't come through it's dangerous just green

means it so if. the lights go on automatically after dark. light housekeepers no longer have to light the beacon themselves. but they like coming up anyway. there were no but i think it's great there are always certain lights effect. the light can be seen from 40 kilometers away. the 2 always eat together there are 6 light housekeepers in total and they always do one or 2 weeks shifts in pairs. the next morning they go for a walk at low tide the weather stormy but they are well equipped they love it here . to surf and could only spice for

us if you are totally free. be advantages that we're not locked in a toll despite being c. . they go for walks as much as possible. in summer they show the tourists around and they also carry out repairs when necessary. and electrician and sculptor face regular attention to the railings which get damaged by the weather he's been working here for 9 years already. i like these old buildings. the old stone there's a lot of material to work with a lot of physical work to feed this is what i'm interested in was you know this is my passion as from one floor down to maz polishing the copper. after his studies he worked on cruise ships and at holiday resorts. he found this job by chance. that nobody will say to me if you polish the copper or not that's

good but most people don't care we're in the middle of the ocean there's nobody here to see it but if i want to do it i do i think it's a very positive context to work in it's not having to do this on among but that's on a tuesday and this on a wednesday so this is how i want to live the to also have very little contact with the outside world phones don't work well all they have to company is each other far away from their families they call it that when i miss my wife and kids it's not that i want to leave here is just what i want to be with them you know but otherwise it's good to hear if my wife and daughter were here i could live here the whole year but there's. they both want to stay in this increasingly rare profession for as long as possible. i work vacation in required well in the summer unesco will decide whether the lighthouse will become a world heritage site thanks so much for watching focus on your of do let me know

your thoughts about this week's show on twitter by for doubt.

we're all set to go. this is a. take on the. ball about the stories that matter. the back to the front of the beautifier. the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. has the rate of infection been developing the.

measures are being taken. what does the latest research say. information into context. the coronavirus and the goal of special monday to friday on w. india's coronavirus crisis d.w. new special we'll look at the drastic situation in dallas and the impact of the triple mutation on the country how can the rest of the well how what can be done for the people and how can engineer bring the situation under control as special edition of d w news on the coronavirus crisis in india starts april 30th at 11 u.t.c. and e.w. some people don't care about me. because they don't see my beauty.

some people don't care about me because they think i have nothing to give. but 2000000000 you can do. to them i am everything. their homes. their food. their livelihood. but day by day i disappear. and so does everything i give. 2000000000 people who care about me. me me me. and now. needing.

this is the. u.s. president joe biden delivers his 1st speech to a joint session of congress. america's return to a politics of international cooperation saying no one nation can succeed also on the program. india sets another world. coronavirus cases pushing. position campaign. for the 1st time since ending his nearly month long strike.

i'm. u.s. president joe biden has set out plans for what he said was a once in a generation investment in america in his 1st speech to congress as president mr biden outlined proposals for massive investments in infrastructure and said the country had to reassert its place in the world by showing adversaries that a democracy still works. joe biden spent decades in the u.s. congress as a senator. he was back with an ambitious program that could see him becoming a transformational u.s. president. will be back. he began by drawing attention

to the historic fact that for the 1st time ever the 2 people behind him where women madam speaker madam ways president. thank you president. has never said those words from this podium no president ever said those words. then a grim summary of his 1st 100 days combined with a note of optimism 100 days since i took the oath of office left in my hand off our family bible and harry revelation we all did it was in crisis the worst pandemic of the century. the worst economic crisis since the great depression the worst attack on our democracy since the civil war now after just 100 days i can report to the nation america. move again. offering a wide ranging vision of jobs prosperity and

a new era of big government with big spending plans biden said he would pay for it all with higher taxes on corporations and the super rich. continuous cycle growth is worse. 20000000 americans lost their job in the pandemic working in middle class america at the same time. roughly 650000000000. saw their net worth increased by more than one trillion dollars in the same exact. my fellow americans trickle down trickle down economics is never work and it's time to grow the economy and the bottom in the middle out. on international policy biden focus on adversaries russia and china linking america's ability to conjure them to the success of his domestic policy agenda. america's movie. moving forward but we can't stop now. we're in competition with china and other

countries to win the 21st century were the great inflection point in history. the circumstances of biden's speech where on like any previous presidential address members of congress wore masks and were seated apart because of pandemic restrictions. so that's president biden's domestic agenda what did he speech reveal about his foreign policy priorities they called it is a chance at lot of policy experts international university of applied sciences welcome to d.w. dr is china's president is china president biden's foreign policy number one. absolutely we see in his speech that he builds a lot of this on the relationship that china and the competition with china he also addresses many of the challenges united states faces in the global competition said

we really see very new. pricing he is the sighing and revolutionary also when it comes to foreign and security policy. he's also talked about the return to. internationalism a return to working with other countries to achieve his goals. we look at america against china but we look at europe against china there is no consensus of approach there is that. well i mean past certain areas where the united states. areas of cooperation with china for example the whole issue of climate protection. or efficient use of often sources is something where he started it entering and out of china and of course. and in certain areas there is more.

cooperation between the e.u. and china but in other areas the united states clearly show that it's not only competition with china but he also sees certain gateways to cooperate with the competitor here the climate change was there interesting go one on the other i'm glad you're raves about working with china because there's a the world's 2 biggest polluters something has to happen they're setting that aside though when you look at what he had to say about china achieving its goals not us america's expense this is a president who cannot necessarily look at europe to back up his stuns against china. absolutely and what i think is very interesting that if you look at the military expenditure this expenditure the united states will take it's still 4 times higher than what china can offer and here you see of course the united states have identified china as a competitor but also as

a threat and also challenges europe because europe has a very different relationship to china also a lot because of the dependency in the economic areas and i think the picture is not black and white and also the view of the vitamin ministration on china and your theory in relation to china is more gray so even though they've demonstrated that they have to be tough in the area as tough with the e.u. well they deal with china and they are our science and he can identify areas where they can cooperate so again it's not black and white but it's a great one and he has a very clear i am as it's very clear thank you so much doctor dr coburn but from the international university of applied sciences. the residence of the indian state of west bank all have gone to the polls despite the deepening cope with 19 crisis the health care system is near collapse those hospitals across the

country still lack sufficient oxygen for the sickest patients the virus is spreading faster across india in any other global hot spot. a woman in bed. she pleads. as she tries to find oxygen for her desperately sick much they're. trying to prevent i didn't get my mother is very seriously ill and for the past 2 days we've been trying to get a bed in so many hospitals in delhi and. across india oxygen is still in desperately short supply. in the capital daily volunteers from the sikh community have set up an oxygen center in a car park. lot of people are suffering as begging for oxygen we arranged for cylinders from anywhere we could we stayed in queues for

a whole nights and sometimes got beaten up by the police. or. russia is the latest country to join an international relief effort. actually that has been quite an old pouring off i would say. with india putting off. assistance from various countries over 40 countries have actually committed to provide us with many of the items that we need most urgent. india is the world's biggest producer of vaccines. but these 2 are lacking as people scramble to get their shot. i haven't given the suffering. was. there that. despite all this millions have been voting in the state of west bengal the

infection rate there is the highest since the pandemic began. political parties have been criticised for holding credit election rallies just when india is recording the deadliest days so far for any country during the pandemic whatever so take a look now at some of the other stories making headlines around the world starting germany where the country's highest court has ruled that the government must set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2030 environmental activists or dog youth the current law nephew just because they don't go far enough. german. police have detained a woman on suspicion of killing 4 people at a home for the disabled in 3 parts down near balad a 5th person suffered serious injuries the 51 year old suspect is a staff member the motive is still unclear. china has successfully launched

a rocket carrying a module for its for 1st space station beijing hopes to complete the project by next year it will rival the only other continuously facility overseen that's the international space station. the russian opposition leader alexei navalny has appeared in public for the 1st time since ending a 3 week hunger strike in jail the kremlin critic used a video link for a legal hearing on a slander case forces outside the courtroom say missed in the valley appears to have lost a significant amount of weight. straight to moscow than where we join d.w. our correspondent our until today welcome aren't so talk us through alexei navalny scores of pairs. well he appeared in court today via video link which is actually something that he had requested a sensibly to take part in the trial in the appeal process today but he also used the opportunity to greet his wife who was actually in attendance and it gave us our

1st opportunity to really take a look at him after he began his hunger strike of earlier in the week that was apparent to anybody taking a look at the video link that he had lost significant amount of weight by his own admission more than 10 kilograms and he also said that he's only able to take small portions of solid food basically saying that the prolonged effects of a through congress right make it impossible for him to eat large amounts now of course he was in court today as part of an appeal process against this slander conviction which was handed down against him earlier in the month and it's part of a kind of a broader campaign of legal pressure against him from moscow from the powers that be here in the russian capital and now prosecutors took the opportunity of today's trial to actually bring new charges against him basically base excuse him of forming an organization which goes against the rights of the russian population of the russian people now it's a new charge and that is actually comes in connection with his anti-corruption foundation and if found guilty well that would bring a fresh jail term on top of the one he's already serving at the moment yes that

russian authorities that have been tightening back grip of mr corruption foundation how has that been going today. well today the in a separate trial which was also going on in a court here in moscow basically the his and a corruption foundation the was continuing to answer on the charge that is an extremist organization now this is something that the authorities here in moscow pursuing for a while now and if actually found guilty of being an extremist organization that would in effect ban the work of mystery of all these anti corruption foundation throughout the entire country now the pressure is really mounting in that aspect earlier in the week we saw a work stoppage ordered by courts here in moscow and it does seem that the foundation is despite what they previously said starting to buckle to a certain extent under this new pressure wave alina volkova who is a key ally of not only who works also with the foundation as well basically said that they were going to be forced to close all branch offices throughout the

country saying that the current political atmosphere and this new wave of pressure was making their work as opposition figures and as an opposition group basically impossible so while the initially said that they had all possible precautions prepared for it does seem that the organization is starting to buckle under the pressure to a certain extent and it might be a case that the damage is already done even if they haven't been declared extremist as of yet very interesting thank you for that out until to most. forward germany international footballer christophe metz out there has been given a 10 month suspended sentence after admitting distributing child sexual abuse images he confessed to sending 18 illicit images and videos via whatsapp but denied another charge of possessing almost $300.00 files depicting abuse but seldom a $47.00 appearances for the national team is now offered to return several public awards including the owner of net. that's it you're up to date a lot more world news other top of the hour kris kobach has your business update in

just a bit of good to see. you ready for some great news i'm christine one glass on the eye on the edge of my countrymen with a brand new detail the news africa the show that tackles the issues shaping the continent now with more time to all bought into the cost of all of the time stuff to you what's making the hittites and what's behind the way on the streets to give you end up reports on the inside. job are you news in africa every friday on d w.