should really check out our talk cast you can get it wherever you go your podcast you can also find us at g.w. dot com. science. this is your news live from bergland the white house facts lifting coronavirus vaccine patent protections the move could prove pivotal for efforts to bolster the global vaccine supply but how fast could production realistically be ramped up. also coming up on kong democracy activists joshua long is sentenced to an additional 10 months in person after pleading guilty to participating in an

authorized assembly plus showdown in the u.k. scotland goes to the polls today in an election that could pave the way for a new referendum on the country's independence. welcome to the program we begin with what could be a big breakthrough in the drive to boost the world's coronavirus vaccine supply the white house has announced support for waiving vaccine patent protections the u.s. trade representative said that the extraordinary circumstances of the pen demick made the move necessary the u.s. had previously resisted efforts at the world trade organization to suspend intellectual property protection by the administration says it will negotiate the terms of the arrangement with the deputies. and as william glue

crossed joins me now with more on that story so what exactly is the president advocating. well basically what is proposed here to be a temporary lifting of patent protections intellect intellectual property protections so that these vaccines including the m.r.i. a vaccine which is a brand new breakthrough technology for vaccinations could be made all around the world from producers all around the world we're basically talking about generics right this is something that came out of the hiv aids. problem in the eighty's and ninety's where there was a push to allow drugs for the aids virus to be produces generics that get into the hands and into the bodies of more people all around the world and the exception that we're talking about here was actually created in the early 2000 for example exactly this purpose and that is what biden has finally come around to to bring with you say finally come around and talk with us about the timing and fact of.

this announcement. yeah exactly i mean maybe i should say coming back around because this was a campaign promise of his he said during the campaign he would support this temporary waiver of intellectual property. there's a bigger political geopolitical picture here of course china and russia have been using their vaccines very very swiftly for their own diplomacy efforts in reaching out to countries and putting a good face on to the world the u.s. has to do a lot of catching up here to show it is also playing a role in ending the pandemic elsewhere biden came under a lot of pressure from fellow democrats from progressive groups from world health advocates to get this done of course the u.s. firmly sticks by its basic position of intellectual property and the importance of patents but in this case are saying the pen demick the urgency to mimic over rules that jen psaki white house press secretary has something to say about that i think

we're going to hear that right now we're really talking about the u.s. position as it relates to the w t o pop process right and that process will take a series of months and requires a unanimous point of view to move forward so what we are the consideration now is the u.s. position our objective overall as we look at this decision is how can we provide as much supply in the most cost effective way to the global community talk with us a little more about that timeline well yeah i mean because there's still a long way to go even though the world health organization is calling this a monumental moment. yeah it is a very long way to go you have to have you know animals consent is just heard basically every country is part of the world health organization and the u.s. is not the only country to up until this point oppose the temporary lifting of the patent rules nonetheless the urgency is there we've seen what's happening in india how desperate the situation is there and india is one of the largest suppliers of

vaccines to the world they stop exporting vaccines in order to supply their own country kovacs the international consortium of vaccine supply to lower and middle income countries say they need 20000000 vaccines just in discordia alone to make up for that shortfall so there's certainly a lot of demand to ramp up supply and lifting patents patent research is it is seen as one way of doing it and of course the pharma industry is hugely against this you know they've making a lot of money out of the vaccine development also it should be said it costs a lot of money to develop these vaccines as well well you know glue kroft thank you . and here are some other developments in the pandemic india has reported over 412000 new coated 1000 cases and almost 4000 deaths on thursday setting records for both the virus is spreading from the cities into the countryside where public health is even more limited the world health

organization is planning to set up a global pandemic cop in the german capital berlin to gather and analyze data on emerging pandemic threats and canada has authorized to use of the biotech pfizer vaccine on children as young as 12 it is the 1st country in the world to approve a vaccine for children. hong kong democracy activist joshua wang has been sentenced to another 10 months in jail for participating in an authorized protest is one of the most prominent faces of the pro-democracy movement he's already serving time in prison for his role in other protests he was handed this latest sentence for attending a vigil commemorating the 1989 massacre in beijing 3 other activists were also sentenced to between 4 and 6 months behind bars. correspondent tb kong is joining us now from hong kong as we've heard joshua wang

this is the 3rd time he has been sentenced tell us more about why he has received this additional jail time. yes this is the this is the 3rd. thing 2019 massive anti-government protests handed down on. defendants in the case they participated in and candlelight vision held in hong kong last year on june 4th to commemorate a 10 a month beijing although the vision is so what's held for 30 years in a row before it was banned by the hong kong police but if a 1st time last year. the sentence by saying that freedom is not unlimited same that the defendants. are how they participate in that rallies with but it's called purpose and he thinks. this carries potential security

reduced that has to be deterred so that's why he decided to hand it down jail sentences and all the defendants they have the 4 defendants in this case they pleaded. for months to 10 months but there are 20 more defendants including shimon and other prominent figures who face trial in june next month be given you know this is in connection with the square anniversary vigil as you mentioned what is the significance of the sentence. yes this is last year it was the fair 1st time history about the hong kong police banned the candlelight vigil and which was almost an annual tradition rooted in hong kong's protest for over 3 that case police by saying by citing code. gathering they want to control the crown and restrict all the gatherings and

almost all kind of protest worse more bans last year because of these 3 and these are some of the chickens because this is. simply to commemorate the crackdown though probably one of the most sensitive rallies in beijing. that is directly challenging the reaching and the all the nice is happening calling for ending the one party would in china for over 3 that case in this rally and so people are really skeptical about what kind of what kind of message should all thought he's trying to send by sentencing a peaceful participant in these rallies. in hong kong thank you. and phoebe kong and her colleagues have been chosen as winners of this year's human rights press awards given out i hung kong's foreign press club here for these hours how to bring what they call rioters to justice more than 10000 have been invested

and over them were prosecuted longer sentences for this report. that she filed last october about hong kong protesters who were shot by police and subsequently found themselves facing criminal charges. based correspondent was recognized for a report that he produced for d w a chinese rights lawyer went missing after defending dissidents. a check of some other stories making news there have been fresh clashes between police and protesters in the colombian capital bogota it is the latest violence highlighting days of protests against economic inequality and police brutality at least 24 people have been killed in the unrest this past week. facebook's oversight board has upheld the social media giants decision to suspend donald trump's account

but it said that it was wrong to ban the former president indefinitely for violating rules on inciting violence the board has given the company 6 months to determine what it calls a proportionate response. voters in scotland are going to the polls today in an election that could decide the fate of its independence movement scotland has been part of the united kingdom since $1707.00 but many scots say that they feel poorly represented by british decision makers in a 2014 referendum on independence 55 percent of voters favored staying in the u.k. a 2 years later a firm majority opposed leaving the european union 1st minister nicolas sturgeon says that a fresh majority of scottish national party would be a mandate for pursuing a 2nd independent strives. to mass went to scotland to hear from people on both sides of this debate. how we need to be as

a 2nd generation kill to make up during the last referendum he voted for scottish independence the stance is still basically supports our field goal to 1st sculpture society is different we have our own code your music history. but since the op he has of bragg's it and the corona pandemic he believes it's become a risky proposition i only want an independent scotland it is good for scotland and the scottish people and it feels too much for the party rivalry as opposed to thinking on a business level of how it's actually going to work scottish nationalists are trying to convince their compatriots that now is the perfect time for a new beginning they're promising a modern and liberal scotland that could become a member of the european union lisa marie hughes and michelle campbell a scottish nationalist candidates in glasgow but you know scotland those are

resource on top and i'm to st rush nation we are a nation entirely pummeled by electricity generated ecologically much better fashion you know we are looking at our own future for what is best for scotland and being part of projects at bretton versailles be in and dependent scotland and europe s no contest bracks it has been a boon for nationalists but the path to independence is spain no means a sure thing scotland was taken out of the you against its will and support for the e.u. still remains strong up here but that does not automatically translate into an overwhelming backing of independence. cattle farmer john elliott voted against brags that in the referendum he sells aberdeen angus t. is in the e.u. but he believes the union with england is more important. from his farm he can see the chariot hills straddling the england scotland borders beautiful work and

shopping everyone is always going back and forth if there were any trade barriers are very very difficult in this area because at the moment a lot of. the communities are integrated between england scotland and the syrian author. it would be a shame of those any sort of broader scotland is very dependent on its trade ties with england the nationalists are set on seeing that change post brags that scotland has become a nation in search of a new identity. temp and play football and chelsea have beaten rail madrid 2 nailed to advance to the final team over now opened the scoring for chelsea midway through the 1st half and mason mt sealed the victory with only a few minutes left in the game chelsea will now face manchester city in an all english final on may 29th. aerospace from space x. has for the 1st time successfully led to a prototype of

a rocket that it hopes of eventually will send to the moon and mars the starship rocket touched down safely in texas after a high altitude test flight for previous led me to thomas ended in explosions space x. . says that the company is just a few years away from sending one of the spacecraft to mars. up next it is physicist stephen beardsley i'm sorry kelly and berlin thanks for watching take care. sleep. carefully.

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