captiong sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, may 8: covid-19 cases continue to surge in india. independence on the line in scotland and wales. and in our signature segment, serbia's winning fight against covid-19 is raising questions about so-called "vaccine diplomacy." next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family.

barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation. the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. the estate of worthington mayo- smith. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellar's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. covid-19 continues to surge in india as it continues to slow in e united states. for a third consecutive day there were more than 400,000 new cases reported, and 4,187 people died of the disease in the past 24 hours, a new record number of deaths. there is no national shutdown, but two states in southern india announced lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus. a two-week lockdown of the state of karnataka begins on monday where india's third largest city, bengaluru, has over 300,000 active cases, the highest of any indian city. vaccine supplies have not kept up with demand in india. only 3% of the country's 1.3 billion people are fully vaccinated. on wednesday, president biden announced the u.s. will support waiving intellectual property protections for vaccines to help increase production globally. but european leaders, including french president emmanuel macron, meeting at a summit in

portugal today opposed mr. biden's proposal to ft patents. president macron said the u.s. should instead dramatically increase exports of vaccines. german chancellor angela merkel raised concerns that the quality of vaccine production could be compromised if the patents are lifted. at least 30 people were killed in a blast in afghanistan today. according to the government, many of the victims were children. the explosion occurred near a girl's school in the afghan capital of kabul. in addition to those killed, at least 52 other people were injured-- most of them female students. in a statement, afghan president ashraf ghani condemned the bombing and blamed the taliban. a spokesman for the taliban also condemned the attack and denied any involvement. the taliban blamed the islamic state, which has claimed responsibility for preous attacks in the same neighborhood. there was no response from the islamic state as of late this afternoon. the explosion came as u.s. and nato troops are begiing their official withdrawal from afghanistan. the biden administration announced all troops will leave

the country by september 11 of this year. one of the largest fuel pipelines in the country shut do late yesterday in response to what it said was a cyberattack. in a statement yesterday, colonial pipeline said it“ proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations”" colonial pipeline's fuel transport system runs 5500 miles between texas and new jersey, delivering 100-million gallons of fuel per day. the company says it provides 45% of all fuel consumed along the east coast, including gasoline and heating oil. this afternoon the company said the attack “involves ransomware,” and that there is a laenforcement investigation underway. counting is still underway this weekend in local and parliamentary elections held thursday in the three countries that make up great britain: england, scotland and wales. for more on how nationalist parties that want to break away from the united kingdom are

doing, and what's ahead, i spoke with npr london correspondent frank langfitt earlier today. so, frank, why are people paying so much more attention to this round of elections? >> the scottish national party was saying if they could get a majority or a pro-independence majority in the parliament this year, they would push for an inpendence referendum to, basically to break away from the united kingdom. so, people are watching this naturally very closely. >> sreenivasan: since the last time scotland wanted to break off, we've had a brexit and a pandemic. how does that change things? >> brexit was fundamental, hari. i think that this-- the independence referendum failed. it was only 45% voted back in 2014. and a lot of those people, quite a few of them,oted to stay in the united kingdom because they were told it was the only way they could stay inside the european union. two years later, they felt betrayed when brexit happened. and that really angered a lot of scots that i've talked to. and so, they've been very

determined not only to leave the united kingdom, but hopefully in the future rejoin the european union. >> sreenivasan: there's two parts to this, the leaving of the united kingdom, that wouldn't be very simple. and then the other part is the joining of the e.u. how long would all this take? >> nicola sturgeon, she is the first minister of scotland. she's the head of the scottish national party. she looks to be hoping for a referendum, assuming that boris johnson will agree to this, and he said so far that he won't, maybe in 2023. but then after that, you have the question of a border between england and scotland that runs about 100 miles. there'd be questions of rrency, things along those lines. and then, in terms of getting back into the e.u., it could take easily a number of years. >> sreenivasan: so, in the meantime, you have a disunited kingdom. >> it's definitely a risky venture. people i talk to say that it can be done, even economists, but it could be very challenging economically. and it's a very uncertain landscape, certainly in the u.k. between the pandemic, recession,

and brexit. >> sreenivasan: and is there an idea of what the sentiment is? has there been more excitement about getting to the polls, if only 45% went to the polls for the referendum last time, are they more interested and engaged in the process today? >> the polls have shown roughly the independence issue about 50/50. back in october of last year, it got as high as 58%, a record for independence. i think the strategy of the scottish national party will b to get through these very difficult times and then finding just the right time to call it when they think that the support will be high and they'll be able to win it. as we know, in politics, timing is everything. >> sreenivasan: how does this change the balance of, well, i guess western democracieand what this does to the united kingdom? >> i think this is another reason why americans should actually be paying attention to a story like this that they might not necessarily focus on. the united kingdom is a close ally of the united states, both

militarily and diplomatically. and so, the idea that the u.k. could be tied up for another few years, that's for sure bad news for the united states, especially as it's facing off against a very aggressive and much more assertive china and also russia and vladimir putin. as one-- i was talking to one conservative party politician in scotland just a few days ago who said, you know, the idea of scotsh independence would really make vladimir putin smile, it's the kind of thing he wants, a fractured west. >> sreenivasan: what about the third leg of this tripod, wales? what's happening there? >> the last time i looked at polls, it was up around 35% in favor of independence. there is frustration there. also, the big thing that i think frustrates people is that all the power is in the conservative party, which is dominant boris johnson's party in london in the british parliament, and they are very different politically tn england. there's also a lot of discontent, or some discontent

in wales. but wales wouldn't be the first place to make a move. they'll be watching scotland very closely over the next couple of years. >> sreenivasan: npr's frank langfitt, thanks so much. >> great to talk, hari. >> sreenivasan: for more national and international news visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the country of serbia has had considerable success in its covid-19 vaccination campaign, with the third highest rate of vaccinations in europe. the supply is mostly from china and russia. while serbia's efforts have received high praise, experts are warning about unprecedented and growing chinese influence in the country and the wider region through so-called vaccine diplomacy. newshour weekend special correspondent jorgen samso and videographer aleksandar papajic report from serbia. >> reporter: here at the main vaccination center in the serbian capital, belgrade, citizens are streaming in to get

vaccinated against covid-19. among them is dalton curanovic. the 49-year-old taxi driver is getting his first of two vaccine shots. >> ( translated ): it's a happy day for me. i will finish with this suspicion about diseases and covid. >> reporter: vaccines in serbia are offered free to every citizen over 18 years of age. this is the largest vaccination center in the country. serbian health authorities say between 7,000-10,000 people get immunized here every day. as nations across the world scrambleo inoculate their populations, there are so many vaccines here, curanovic was able to pick which one he wanted to receive. the vaccines on offer here and in centers across serbia are the russian sputnik five, western developed vaccines such as pfizer and astrazeneca, and then there's the chinese sinopharm, which by far exceeds thethers in availability.

and you only chose sinopharm? >> ( translated ): yes, it's my choice. >> reporter: why? >> ( translated ): i don't know, i believe in the chinese. >> reporter: serbia has a population of around seven million citizens. it was the first country in europe to approve and start using the chinese produced sinopharm vaccine. by the beginning of march, two million chinese vaccines had arrived here. that's far greater than what western pharmaceuticals or russia, a traditional serbian ally, could provide. because of the chinese vaccine deliveries, by mid-march, serbia had vaccinated more adults than any of the other 27 countries in the european union, becoming continental europe's best vaccinator. the country raced ahead with inoculations at double the rate of spain and germany, internationally trailing only behind israel, the u.k. and the u.s. top level serbian ministers were among the first to get injections.

the minister of internal affairs received the russian vaccine. prime minister ana brnabic, widely believed to be the western face of the serbian government, got the pfizer- biontech vaccine. the minister ohealth got his injection with a chinese vaccine. vuc vuksanovic is a scholar of international relations at the london school of economics and the think tank belgrade security forum. >> the prevailing foreign policy strategy for serbia is to balance and play western and non-western powers against each other. so, to avoid putting all your eggs in a single basket. >> reporter: by march, serbia hadn't received a single western vaccine through the european union or the international covax program. its tens of thousands of pfizer and astrazeneca vaccines were secured independently from manufacturers. russia sent hundreds of thousands of vaccines, but nowhere near what china could offer. >> china has become serbia's

best friend in the east. they literally replaced russia as the primary partner outside the western world. historically, we haven't seen anything like this. in the past, serbia and beijing had healthy political relations and good political understanding, but nothing that can suggest this level of collaboration or this level of influence by beijing in serbia. >> reporter: part of the answer to why china is interested in serbia lies in geography. situated at a crossroads between the east and the west, serbia has become the bridgehead to europe in china's ambitious mega infrastructure project called the belt and road initiative-- or for short b.r.i. it's the countries along this modern day silk road that have been targeted for beijing's so- called vaccine diplomacy. >> by practicing the vaccine diplomacy, i think beijing hopes it can facilitate the

implementation of the b.r.i. initiative that is, after all, the most important foreign policy initiative beijing launched in the 21st century. >> reporter: china's president, xi jinping, has called his country's vaccines, "a global public good." by march this year, chinese vacces had been rolled out globally in 25 countries. for china, serbia is a launching pad to access to the wider european market. this high speed rail project, set to be finished by mid 2024, is financed with the $4.7 billion in primarily chinese loans. serbia isn't just receiving railroads and vaccines. chinese loans are also financing the construction of new highways and bridges like this one across the river danube. at a recent press conference, president aleksandar vucic presented new chinese investments aninfrastructure projects.

he also recalled the time early this year when he asked the chinese ambassador to serbia, chen bo, for vaccines. >> ( translated ): i was ill- mannered and bold. i had to ask from the chinese something that is not normalor them to fulfill. can we, after getting a million vaccines, quickly get another 500,000 and another 500,000? i kept insisting and, as you see, they literally fulfilled all our wishes. >> reporter: the vaccine deliveries from china has put a partnership with the european union to the test. serbia is only an e.u. candidate country, but expected its future european family to help with the most important weapon in the fight against the pandemic. speaking at a conference in early february, the french president recalled receiving a message from his serbian counterpart about chinese vaccine deliveries. >> the serbian president was here to get access to vaccine, thanks to chinese cooperation. to be very direct with you, with clear and genuine remark, these

guys are more efficient than your covax initiative, the european union and my very good friends. >> reporter: the e.u. has helped elsewhere. it built crucial infrastructure for the vaccine campaign in serbia, hired 200 medical workers and shipped a fleet of special covid ambulance vehicles. the u.s. ambassador to serbia, anthony f. godfrey, waved off china's growing influence in serbia. >> frankly, the government of serbia has a right to be very proud of how well it's done in procuring vaccines. serbia is an independent country with its own foreign policy, its own economic policy. >> reporter: he stressed that most of serbia's economy remains tied not to the east, but to the west. >> it's my view, and the government of serbia's view, that serbia's future lies with europe and 70% of its economy is focused there. it's my hope, though, that our serbian partners will see the value of engaging with companies that are transparent that answer

to stockholders and boards of directors rather than party officials. >> reporter: the price of the chinese vaccines, as well as the cost of russian and western vaccines, is a state secre the serbian government, as well as the chinese ambassador to serbia, did not respond to interview requests. at the press conference, though, president vucic fired back at accusations of beijing's growing influence in his country. >> ( translated ): did china do anything bad to us? have we been under any political or economic or other kinds of pressures? i don't care what anyone says. i'm interested in what serbian citizens will say. serbia is on the european path, but yes, serbia is collaborating well with china and we will collorate even better and we will collaborate even more. >> reporter: with seemingly plenty of vaccines to go around already, belgrade ventured into its own regional vaccine diplomacy, donating batches to

its struggling neighbors. in mid-february, the first vaccines to arrive in north macedonia came from serbia, and another serbian donation arrived in bosnia in early march. back at the vaccination center, curanovic is getting his injection. like many others here today, he has only praise for the government. >> ( translated ): they did really well, and i salute them for that. my government has worked the way it should for the people. i'm satisfied as a citizen in this country. who are our real friends? that's russia and china, because they sent us the vaccines. >> reporter: by mid-march, serbia had fully vaccinated 15% of its adult population. if it becomes the first country in continental europe to reach full mass vaccination, it will be largely thanks to chinese vaccine diplomacy injected one shot at a time.

>> sreenivasan: yesterday's jobs report showed that only a little more than one quarter of the one million jobs economists predicted were actually added in april. and while the economy may be rebounding slowly, joblessness is impting women more than men. there are 4.5 million women still out of work, compared to 3.7 million men. for more on the unemployment numbers for women, i spoke with valerie wilson, director of race, ethnicity and economy at the economic policy institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank. here we are, kind of, heading in the second mother's day during a pandemic and moms, but women more generally, have been bearing the brunt of the economic costs, haven't they? >> yes, absolutely. you know, when the recession started, when the pandemic

started, some of the industries that were hardt hit were the industries that disproportionately employ women. that includes leisure and hospitality, the public sector, and even healthcare to a certain extent. >> sreenivasan: and then when it kind of went beyond those and we saw, sort of, the economic ripple effects happening in one community after another, we saw job losses also translate into what happened in the household and who decided who was going to stick around to take care of the kids. >> childcare responsibilities disproportionately fall on women. and so, at a time when everyone was home, children and parents, women clearly took on more of those responsibilities, but they took on those responsibilities at the same time that they would usually be working. so, there was some difficult tradeoffs. >> sreenivasan: and that translates into whether being on that, kind of, corporate track or what's also known as the

"mommy track," right. i mean, that-- that can have longer term consequences even if you're able to come back to jobs full time. >> yeah, being outside of the workforce for an extended period of time definitely has costs associated with that. whether or not women reenter the workforce in a similar kind of job that they had before that period of time is time when you're not earning anything. and so, it's an inrruption in their earnings that also is difficult to make up, especially since women already experience a gender pay gap. >> sreenivasan: and what are we seeing in terms of the employment numbers and the jobs numbers that come out? is there still a level of inequity here? >> when we look across different racial and ethnic groups in particular, we see that the pace of the recovery is definitely uneven. the black unemployment rate is still nearly 10%, while the

latino unemployment rate is just under 8% and the white unemployment rate is closer to 5%. so, although at the beginning of the pandemic, everyone's unemployment rates rose by roughly the same amount, they are not falling by the same amount as this recovery continues. >> sreenivasan: is there any kind of a silver lining here? i mean... do we have a better understanding of the gender normative roles that we've been playing in the households, who's taking care of the kids and how really hard it is to take care of children? >> i mean, i would hope so. i would hope that there's more awareness of what it takes. and so, you know, i hope, as a nation, while we've all been at home, mothers and fathers together, in households where there is only a mother are only a father, i would hope the broader community of this society appreciates the work that women do, and in particular, our care workers. >> sreenivasan: valerie wilson

from the economic policy institute, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight, there is good news for a threatened bird species in chile. rhea are related to emus and ostriches, and human beings have hunted them into a precarious position in the wild. now a small, but growing, flock is making its home in patagonia. newshour weekend's zachary green has more. >> reporter: when 14 of the native south american flightless birds ran into chile's patagonia national park last month, conservationists saw it as another step in reestablishing the country's wild rhea population. >> ( translated ): with the release of the rheas into the wild, what we are looking to do is to strengthen the wild population, to gradually make this a self-sustaining population over time, contributing to its population with individual captive rheas being brought into the wild.

>> reporter: smaller than their distant cousin, the ostrich, these are still big birds. they are usually four feet tall and they sprint at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. >> ( translated the rhea are in a very precarious conservation category, in danger of extinction. there are only two valleys in the region where the rheas live, and they are very important because they act like distributors of seeds. they have an important role in the entire ecosystem of the patagonian steppe. >> reporter: raising the birds in captivity and then "re- wilding" them began here in 2014. >> ( translated ): we started with a population of at least 20 individuals and today census results show close to 70 individuals. the goal is to get to 100 individual adults in the wild. >> reporter: in the wild, the rhea have few predators. human beings illegally hunting them for their mt, eggs and feathers are their biggest threat. conservationists hope the patagonia park will be a safe refuge for a rhea recovery.

>> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of “pbs newshour weekend.” for the latest news updates visit pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine

foundation. the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. e estate of worthington mayo- smith. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs.

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