the week's biggest stories from r.t. rushes for a fresh constitution comes into effect after getting solid backing from voters in a challenging weeklong vote. how to handle history's contentious monuments with growing moves to take gold statues linked to racism as germany we ask found the solution to protecting the past without tormenting the present. enough is enough seattle police clear the self-proclaimed autonomous protest zone following deadly shootings and repeated by. good morning i'm kevin 0 in live from marty's world views h.q.

here in moscow this sunday it's the weekly the big stories we brought you over the last 7 days and russia's overhauled constitution came into effect on saturday following a weeklong vote which wrapped up on wednesday the majority of voters indorsed the changes with some 78 percent in favor from a turnout of around 68 percent. followed the final day of polling. now this really was a vote of the fos time people were in mosques and gloves the fos time they were using disposable patents wilson threw temperatures sconce focusing on law and facade as for the voting process itself while that was a situation where security footage allegedly caught a woman stuffing the ballots now but counting in that area of moscow has been suspended pending an investigation otherwise the central editorial commission says that it found no irregularities that was so many amendments on the table $147.00 in total that it's difficult to decide what it was that ultimately secured public

backing but undoubtedly it's the package of social amendments that house particularly white appeal i'm talking about things like adjusting pensions in law and with inflation and showing that the minimum wage should never have a fool's below the cost of living as well as giving additional financial support to low income families these proof because they have such a tangible impact on people's day to day lives but that is not to say that this was an easy decision for anyone old that it was without control of a c a few amendments proved to be particularly polarizing and one that gained a lot of media traction was consulting the so-called zeroing out of president putin's previous tubs paving the way for him potentially if he wanted to do so run again twice as president on top of the some of the more conservative amendments proved to be divisive such as defining marriage so many as a union between a man and a woman reiterating traditional family values as well as mentioning goal despite

the fact that russia is officially a sect to the nation but that's him the people themselves and what they have to say i think that it's needed because the current constitution is out of date it is a modern time and even the view of the life is new. why have i come here to vote because i'm a citizen of russia and a green with all of them men women and i am not. ok with them then went about 0 in out the presidential term absolutely do not agree with. i became familiar with all of the amendments in the constitution of. the most important to me as the prevalence of russian you know over international the head of the central election commission of says something about voting being like a meal deals you either take everything or you do not take it at all and i already do not like one dish in this meal deal so i will not take everything else i think it is nonsense according to all legal logical and ethical norms i love my country and you think everything that has been done is right is a bit of

a mixed bag in terms of reaction and people decide to show that disapproval not just at the polls but also protests peaceful ones in the capital and also in the us and petersburg but true to 2024 it was safety fast. it is not. because. ultimately many who put a tick in the yes box would argue that the russia of $9293.00 when this current constitution was born was full of political and economic instability it was still finding its feet after the collapse of the soviet union and that russia is not the same as the russia of 2020 that almost entirely different countries so i think this is just to the changes was born from a desire for the country's top document to move with the times to set russia on a new course and shape its future as envisaged by russians now today and not as in visits by russians almost 30 years ago here of course organizing

a nationwide vote in the biggest country in the world spending 11 time zones around during a pandemic pose more than a few logistical challenges and led to some creative solution. which took place just a. please . plug. or live. our lives. were lost.

i am. utterly utterly. mum. keep well there was a long list of moments in the package on offer but it was just one element that really got foreign media fired up. russia's parliament basically paving the way for vladimir putin to potentially stay on as russian president he's the longest serving russian leader since joseph stalin

a lot of your computer wants to stay in power even longer addressing lawmakers abdu words putin said he backed the amendment allowing him to seek another term in office but there are dozens of interesting traditions that should also be discussed and the one that caught my eye was on children the role of children and often as i explicitly mentioned in one of the constitutional monarch moments which i think is worse while reflecting the russian federation of the year 2020 is in many regards i would say in a different situation than was the country in 1903 when we compare the international circumstances but also of course the national economic and political situation the early ninety's were marked by the implosion of the soviet union marked by the communists and. it was more about being a fax s.

of the then the russian federation that we have today i think there is a need for. meeting this new circumstances because a constitution is almost a reflection of a society and also of the circumstances of the country it is in so the future of the legislature the parliament in order to respond to this new exigencies. begin the headlines to the campaign to take the stand choosing to racism kept up the pace through the wake of well some of the links are refutable the vandalism of denmark's little mermaid was a little harder to comprehend it was told with racist fish but academics so they can see what could be racially insensitive about the hans christian andersen fairy tale so big questions are no being asked worldwide about how best to remember our history the good and the bad better all over explains how germany may just have the answer. when it comes to assessing and dealing with difficult periods of history

germany has more experience than most but we haven't seen the type of scenes here that have played out in the united states britain belgium i i. i. i i. i. but germany isn't without its own controversial statues otto von bismarck has been dogged with red paint in hamburg while as an ongoing campaign to block the renovation of another monument to the eye and chancellor in the port city bismarck

wasn't just crucial in german unification he was also a driving force in colonialism and by today's standards an anti semite here in berlin selland of district anime as hassam and 1920 s. depiction of a needling black woman was decapitated last week hasim and remains controversial in germany he was a committed nazi and despite that fact his works continue to be displayed across the german capital this particular monument had been slated for removal by city authorities who'd already deemed it earlier this year on suitable for display in the city of berlin and if it had diverse society cannot exist with this kind of bigotry and prejudice you cannot live together if you do not treat each other equally people shouldn't be discriminated against based on the color of their skin say what happens to stand cheese in germany that no longer justify. exhibition well

here in berlin they've got just the place for them the spandau citadel although the 16th century fortress has its own troubled past it was used as a chemical weapons storage by the nazis but the proposal was to bring news that you to a museum to show it was an example of racism these mistakes are not repeated this racial stereotypes should not be demonstrated on the streets but in a museum where we could demonstrate it to people within context it's as we move through the exhibition we see hundreds of years of prussian military strongman into monuments of naziism the 3rd reich didn't really do sculpture but this casually too was one of the few described by hitler is irreplaceable the nazis preferred buildings as their monuments to time and there's plenty of those still visible in modern berlin one of the most i can't change in this collection of discarded start

to see is this gigantic granite head of blood to me a lenin it's all that remains of a 19 meet monument that was built in 1970 to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth. in the united states and also in great britain the red discussions at the moment about what to do with dismantle memorials but here we have already found a possible solutions for memorials that are so to speak toxic if we put them in a museum that doesn't mean it's over we put them here so that people can continue to pay attention to them but in a different context. germany is often cited as the example to follow when it comes to assessing periods of history troubling to modern sensibilities even if there are 2 named after nazi field-marshal when rubble that the german military calls home to this day they glossed over as they don't fit the particular narrative because history has

a tendency not to be as neat as we might like it when it's really examined peter all of r.t. early in. this cause concern part of spain's catalonia region back on the lockdown after a surge in corona virus cases there were $0.30 a gris say it was a difficult decision to keep over $200000.00 people at home just weeks after the nation began easing restrictions or just doesn't do as well as the in the last hours in the day we've seen an exponential growth in the number of infections and that's prompted us to take action it's a difficult decision the government must prioritize lives in the health of people and will take all the necessary measures to go catalonia as we want to spain's worst affected regions with more than 12000 dead the area now back on the restriction to see new cases more than double over the past week or 200 police officers being deployed to try to help to force the checkpoints the locals though say they were raised for the move. back i thought this is right because we have too

many spikes too many infractions and eventually they would have to close out of the region in more will come it seems this is necessary because we're seeing what's of cases this is a good decision so as it stands then spain ranks 4th in europe for the number of coronavirus related deaths of over 28000 the countries load nearly 300000 cases in total spain had been moving to reopen its borders to a truck much needed tourist income during the peak of the summer season but one spanish doctor we spoke to believes a selective strategy is needed but worries at the same time that a tourism boom could now lead to a bigger problem. in short i believe that given the current circumstances this is the only option going back to a total lockdown that supplies the whole country is not the way to go the other issues here is that the e.u. countries have acted on their own since the start of the lock down now the $27.00

countries have opened their borders except to americans brazilians and russians but they still allow the british to enter and visit spanish islands with little or no screening it's very important to the debate the need for a biological passport or to at least require a virus test 3 days before any trip within europe. and kevin now in the same will be most welcome here today this weekend thank you for watching let me tell you what's ahead well in more the stories we covered chess is it racist that the white pieces move 1st was a question we tried to answer strangely is national broadcaster thought it would make a radio talking point at least instead it's now accused of inflaming racial tension over the story blew up we'll tell you more cities with that.

so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy confrontation let it be an arms race in this very dramatic development that only. exists i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk. the world is driven by a dream shaped by. the day or thinks. we ask.

again so as mentioned before the break chess may be a game a strategy skill of patients but for strangers national broadcaster this week it became another pulled in the global racism debate the a.b.c. plan to ask radio audiences is chess racist because white pieces move 1st we didn't go down well for start with a former australian chess federation representative who was asked to take part in said debate john adams refused to stud took to twitter to rebuke the a.b.c. saying the taxpayer funded national broadcaster is raising relevant topics during a pandemic is it was echoed by world chess players to like russian grandmaster. the period of total insanity has become what does it have in common with the

centuries old game. john adams who said tweet propelled the row into the open on choose they says the order of who goes 1st has got nothing to do with race and called out the a.b.c. for flaming racial tension. i was on the phone call the a b. c. wanted to have a discussion about whether they should change the rule because of the current racial context i think it's a big scandal the fact they're white 1st has nothing to do with race it all comes down to a convention in the late eighty's i think in western democracies there is an agenda to push for increased racial tension and the a.b.c. tried to jump on the bandwagon by including the fact that the a.b.c. decided to pick chess as a topic i think of fully exposed what their agenda is we don't need more tension would only to divide people i think it's dangerous if we allow our games that have nothing to do with race to be. a footnote for its part the a.b.c.

later said it's a must have misunderstood on the radio host to use the show planned to hold the discussion insist they weren't looking for people to say chess is racist and said james valentine said that they were looking to create quote fresh conversation about our world. police finally moved in the clear out the celtic led autonomy's protests and in seattle on wednesday although pockets of protests are ongoing and neighboring districts activists occupy the city's capitol hill which became known as chop about a month ago after police moved out of their precinct building their campaigners said they'd hoped to create a peaceful police free utopia but that didn't last long in the 3 weeks of protests the zone saw 4 shootings 2 of them fatal there's also been reports of assaults burglaries and break the protesters some armed were warned they could face arrest if they didn't leave in the end of the 30 were detained seattle police released some video of some of the violence to.

oh my god. i wish. the 1st the man wanted to leave the activists to the takeover hoping for a summer of love as she put it but she was later forced take action the decision came up to protest has marched on the home demanding police funding be slashed and that vista the sites who watched as police moved were testers only. once so i am outside of the pine street entrance of the shop right now where a bunch of police have set up a barricade and the protesters are now today to gather not just. now but their block in the street trying to cause a little bit more awareness and the officers took that as an opportunity to play enforce their version of law oh yeah i don't know where you are you know what. the police came in to shop and ousted the remaining people who were staying there

says that of around 32 arrests and sprayed people pepper spray them in aggressive from your perspective what exactly happened basically i was at the r. and. r. and. it all started when bang bang bang screams and then my. back there were a couple individuals who were speaking loudly red megaphone switching the crowd energized to actually bringing people in off the streets and the cops in a little bike brigade actually charging targeted those people arresting them individually and throwing them into the back of a cop cars far end of chop. not too long ago there were a bunch of tents in these areas there were people hanging out just living but within 5 hours everyone has been evacuated you know like you had a. pretty tough. yeah. i just ran

down and her friend you know i don't think anybody in seattle did not see this coming ever since the string of 4 to 5 shootings that have. recently found out that the last shooting there was a 14 of a 16 year old kid who were killed so i think that it was. the cops decided it was time to put an end to it there's a lot of the moralization right now especially in the crowd of protesters because i think a lot of people are taking this is a bit of a law. because betty we're. 2 told. this entire idea. seems to have not only but come to an end. this channels of the news in the week views in latvia can no longer watch on t.v. on their t.v.'s were pulled off air on choose day along with 6 other multi-lingual channels by the country's mediations but as ever the devil's in the detail because

the person in question actually has a separate news agency that's not us we're gathered and explains the confusion. what you see here may look like news to you but others perhaps those that don't like the color green were made of soft stuff those working in latvian intelligence agencies all government this is hora the evidence we have obtained is very strong and we call on the regulators of all other e.u. member states to follow our example and ban r.t. in the territory such programs have no place in latvia or elsewhere in the e.u. personally i've looked all over fairbairns watched r t arabic with subtitles tried r.t. spanish i even checked behind the pennies and know nothing just cables the very evidence that latvia has the literally made up and didn't try very hard perhaps it was just before the end of the working day that everyone iching to go home see

there's a number of news agencies and russia hauled but i see a civil order which translates to english as russian today and this organization is led by a fellow who's on european sanctions list this organization by the way has nothing to do with r t that's been our name for more than a decade we're at sea and there i see a subordinate even our names are in different languages but the latvian special agent or official is other than easily scared apparently a lazy thing given the subject to sanctions throughout the year you the national electronic media council will inform media regulators in other e.u. countries of the decision taken and considers that a similar ban on distribution would be acceptable throughout the e.u. book i'm sorry that was mean we just put last the other intelligence agencies on red alert agents running around their headquarters waving their arms and

complaining loudly about our t. scaring them again but it really is funny even the fellow who in the sanctions list . seems to think so this decision is an indicator of the level of stupidity and ignorance of the latvian austerities blinded virus a phobia we laughed at this announcement the last you know authorities got into a simple mess but seriously speaking the reason for the ban they have stated does not have any legal basis therefore latvia should immediately return the broadcast of r.t. and apologize to our colleagues to be honest it isn't hurting our feelings that they should be worried about you can censor things not in the modern world people will always find a way to find what they're looking for what they should be worried about is undermining the very foundations of the european union no country can join the e.u. without guaranteed freedom of expression as a basic human right fine if latvia which seems to have

a thing for trying to silence media have been able to come up with a good excuse to ban a solid reason to violate a founding principle of the european union but they didn't they came up with a laughable excuse and even then managed to get it wrong then look stupid in front of their own allies the burning of our to channels and violence freedom of the press the wants of citizens to media pluralism and is a clear picture of censorship the member council's decision be lifted immediately at the end of the day if latvian special services and authorities are of this incompetent capable of confusing 2 different media organizations and everyone who leads them and in the process undermine the entire european union well there's really nothing to be afraid of little latvia flexing its muscles trying to lead the european union on our merry dance of censorship and media

repression has dropped the store and on. on feet they may have been counting on the fact that nobody would notice this rather gigantic elephant in the corner of the room but they have named the wrong guy so i think it will now be a laughingstock the european union claims to be the. norm free speech free expression and democracy and all of that and yet just goes to show that it's all lipstick when the 'd when the lipsticks rubbed off it's a rather plain our face underneath you have painted it love it hope to be back with you soon but that's not short of the stoics it brought you of the last 7 days thanks so much even weekly turn out international reporting from moscow i'm kevin owen bye for now and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

time after time corporations repeat the same mantra sustainability and very important. transition to sustainable prize board sustainability stabler manner more equitable and sustainable world. they claim their production is completely harmless . it does not the companies want us to feel good about buying their products while the damage is being done far away and this is something else this must be done even as i am even looking. through some loops and use them to do me when i'm stumped seemed to be best understood superman and.

join me every thursday on the elec so i'm unsure when i'll be speaking to get us to the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you that. long. a long while come to worlds apart the u.s. claim off exceptionalism supremacy has long been a strong irritant to the russians especially coupled with the suffering and the humiliation brought about by the collapse of the soviet union and fast forward 30

here is how does moskos see the tearing down of statues and the revision of not just history but national identity currently underway across the pond well to discuss that i'm now joined by dimitri threading the direct. of the carnegie moscow center he said training that's always a great pleasure talking to you thank you very much for taking the time a pleasure thank you thank you for having me now i know that you're a big bookworm as evidenced by the shells behind your back and i'm pretty sure that you've already had both the chore or perhaps the pleasure of reading john bolton's latest account of he's 16 months in the white house what impression did it make on the you well. a couple impressions when it grows.