biggest stories of the week from r t the developers of russia sputnik the vaccine sign an official memorandum of cooperation with astra zeneca they hope that combining the 2 vaccines will improve the efficacy. of a new more contagious strain of coke its been detected in england causing panic worldwide with more than 40 countries banning arrivals from the u.k. . for whistleblowers dozens of pardons from donald trump exclude those who spilled the beans on u.s. war crimes that include mercenaries found guilty of mass murder of civilians in iraq. there is no justification iraqi blood has her miscible and has no significance. we hold that there will be justice your

blood will not just disappear and the iraqi government must act as soon as possible . victory or a defeat of the u.k. prime minister celebrate some historic breakthrough deal cross the english channel be used to describe it as a lose lose situation. very good morning to you thanks for joining us for the weekly here. of last clinical trials of a joint corona virus vaccine that combines elements of jobs developed individually by the 2 sides. explained why they're joining forces with the russians. we have 2 main goals the 1st one is to allow heads care professionals doctors and

nurses to use 11 vaccine all the other for the 1st injection and a 2nd to make the alex employed and a 2nd goal is to hope pretty get better he just when you combine 2 different vaccines i don't think companies are competing against each other everybody is racing against the virus we would need many many vaccines because there is no one single company that can put you a cent of x. into the entire world and some of these vaccines have to be easy to use and they have to be cheap because the low income countries can't afford the expensive accident we're on the myriad of the disease when the whole world and it's got rid of it so we're on the safety for good it's safer on the world orations astra zeneca and the other producers but it's equally or something because we just need to work together and it's our national operation more competition will be or all i was thinking about a quarter and we spoke to paul hunter medicine professor nor its medical school

university of east anglia peter smith and epidemiology professor at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine they explained why the british russian scientific cooperation is so significant. one of the problems with the. i don't know virus the vaccines like this but nick 5 in the oxford is that there's always a risk that you can develop immunity to the carrier rather than to the target which is what you are wanting for now if you actually mix these 2 that seems so you maybe give one vaccine to start and then the other 134 weeks later then you you get over this problem of developing impunity to the carrier virus and i think there's quite a lot of evidence that actually does work like that and people have shown this works in other areas so to me the compound

a nation of the sputnik and the ox so that's because any vaccine could well improve its efficacy a lot greater than the individual vaccines apart now the problem with. biotech back scenes is that they are. a street which is going to make it very difficult to deliver in many parts of the world where it is both the oxford and the the russian vaccine have a much more except of all cold chain in terms of being delivering being able to deliver in many parts of the world i didn't across this but with alexander ginsberg director of russia's gamma lanes to toot about how their vaccine differs from others. we developed a vaccine from the start of receiving funding to registration really quite quickly in 5 months the main reason is that for 25 years or more we have been developing at the gum alay institute

a technological platform on which this vaccine preparation can be made we already had a wealth of experience not only the technology of how to do it but before that we had even worked out possible concentrations we knew all the dosages needed to obtain an optimal immune response with minimal side effects. the safety of the vaccine has been fully proven on a very similar vaccine are not identical against not only a bowl of viruses but also the mers coronavirus so when we were working against covered 19 we were able to use around 70 percent of an existing element which is one of the indicators by which the effectiveness of a vaccine is most easily measured is the presence of until bodies in the blood if we proceed from that experimental data in a similar vaccine against a ball or this protective immunity lasted for 2 years we simply didn't have a long observation period with the board the pfizer vaccine needs to be transported at minus 70 degrees and yours at minus 23 rate or minus 18 for now some

months down the line i hope that we'll be able to amend the registration certificates that this vaccine can be stored not at minus 18 or to the household refrigerator temperature plus to rethink that. the side effects don't force you out of action there may be a rash headache muscle discomfort and i think the most noticeable effects may be your temperature going up to 38 degrees for 2 days to take the vaccine yourself yes on march 30th along with all my employees and you're still alive not just alive but pretty active i vaccinated my 14 year old granddaughter so you violated your own instructions against vaccinating children that's outrageous you are ready to kill your entire family for the sake of a new vaccine i wasn't going to kill them but prove that the vaccine is completely safe but. what is the difference between the oxford vaccine that is astra zeneca and the gamma lanes to do next in there are

a lot of differences but they're not significant oxford and us to seneca went from my point of view on the classic path of working against airborne pathogens our colleagues applied all the rules for creating influenza vaccines to the creation of a vaccine against 19 and it seems to me that the epidemiological features of this disease this pathogen were not quite accurately calculated and that the people at pfizer also understand this and have made great efforts to modify the r.n.a. so that it would not be recognized as far as i understand it by protective proteins but i'm not sure whether my colleagues most to solve all the problems on a large scale. project team has officially registered russia sputnik v. vaccine the 1st planeload is arrived and one is there with a sleek design not a little later. the world health organization has raised the alarm over a new highly contagious strain of covert hit was 1st red state in the u.k.

in a sense spread around the world. well 16 countries have now confirmed 1st cases of the new coronavirus variant after it 1st emerged in the united kingdom and spread to europe and then reached the middle east asia and australia was detected in the western hemisphere with canada reporting its 1st case now the discovery of the new strain prompted many countries to adopt harsh measures more than 40 countries banned all arrivals from the u.k. eurotunnel services from england to the continent was suspended not of hundreds of people stranded in airports and train stations over christmas this travel ban also left more than 4000 lorry stranded for days in the british port of dover things got moving again only on thursday but hundreds of drivers are still waiting to cross

the border and at one point tensions over the ban led to scuffles with the police. a lot of people were on the forecourts just to get in and obviously usenet facilities their toilets. within the 1st day the clothes side closest movers on and close it down to anybody using the toilets now when you're talking. green. thousands of people in the town is going be a problem. station side down i am here and i want to show what not going on that i can and i think i'm going to me and i have to look at me like that was and i mean i did it i guess i'm going down to the ground but i don't think that

. the british government imposed the destructions across the u.k. to combat the surge in infections journalist and broadcaster neil clark says the british government mismanaged the crisis causing unnecessary chaos. the fact of the matter is that this so-called huge throat was known about in september we had scientists writing about it discussing it in september and yet the health secretary only says this just a few days before christmas why didn't he make an announcement about this in september why didn't he get up in september those big now so it was ever the predictable what was going to happen and it's also to link up with the other main story we'll get to where the british government is trying to terrify is the iraqi government the star about this terrible strain of course we are closest trading partners are going to say wow you're sorry we're going to block flights going to stop people coming in from britain if what you say through british government said it why should we have british people coming over to our countries and of course we

got the chaos of the whole issue about the about the french blockade etcetera coming in so it really is a total disaster really and the disaster is the responsibility of the british government. mercy to mercenaries but whistleblowers can go whistle donald trump issue dozens of pardons this week despite calls from activists and u.s. lawmakers there is no pardon for defenders of freedom of speech like a sergeant snowden and the same time the outgoing u.s. president set off alarm bells of the u.n. by giving clemency to 4 former contractors of the blackwater private military company they were jailed in for their involvement in the mass killing of civilians in iraq. i know when or if.

they were dead bodies everywhere are losing the argument going about the only t.v. from inside among the dead bodies lying on the street that summer child was 7 years old and. foreign ministry condemned the decision saying it didn't take into account the seriousness of the crime and also said the move isn't in line with the commitment to human rights and justice declared by washington by god said that it would urge the u.s. to reconsider the people of iraq also responded angrily to the bot. there is no justification iraqi blood has become per miscible and has no significance one day they will pay the price because iraqi blood does not spill easily. good enough

we hope that there will be justice god willing their blood will not just disappear in the wreckage government must act as soon as possible because the course of this is to see the infamous black water company kill its citizens a nice suit a square and today we hear they've been released on the personal routers of president truman it's like the u.s. doesn't care if the spilled a rocky blood we call on the united nations the international community and human rights organizations to intervene immediately and condemn these killings there has been widespread outrage about the trump administration's decision to grant clemency to some members of the blackwater military contracting company these were guards who were employed by blackwater who killed civilians in iraq paul slow evan liberty and dustin herd were convicted for manslaughter and the individual nicholas slotting who opened fire and 1st started shooting into the crowd of iraqi civilians he was convicted of 1st degree murder but now the white house is letting all of

them off they will no longer be in prison serving their sentences they have been hard this is the feeling of the white house about why they made this decision when the convoy attempted to establish a blockade outside the green zone the situation turned violent which resulted in the unfortunate deaths and injuries of iraqi civilians further prosecutors recently disclosed more than 10 years after the incident that the lead iraq investigator who prosecutors relied heavily on so very far that there were no exigent victims and to collect evidence may have helped tunnies to insurgent groups himself now at this point there is widespread as. outrage this seems like the trump administration is almost approving of the killing of iraqi civilians 2 children were among the 14 people in the crowd who died as a result of their gun fire but at this point people are also looking at the fact that trump's education secretary betsy to vos is the sister of the founder of

blackwater erik prince now there's also been a lot of outrage about who is not on the list of trump's pardons so the names that were missing that many were optimistic and hopeful about were julian a son john edward snowden is prominent whistle blowers had many people calling for the trump white house to grant them clemency among those who called for them were not just activists and advocates of civil liberties and for the protection of whistleblowers but also representatives of the united nations take a listen if president trump is true as well yes i think the least thing to could do is to end the suffering the purity the songs to pardon him this man has for be enough for the interest of the public and was donald trump since you're given pardons to people please consider pardoning those who at great personal sacrifice expose the deception and criminality of those in the deep state now trump still has time to grant a pardon to edward snowden and to julian

a son she can grant clemency up until the moment he leaves office to do it at the very very last minute however the number of people that were pardoned today and the information about who they are seems to have many pessimistic many of the activists supporting the whistleblowers feel like this indicates the trumpet ministration is moving in a very different direction with its clemency and what you wanted to national thanks for your company i'll be back with more after this short break. max kaiser this is the kaiser report with stacy herbert and special year end guest misfires dime the man who i must say how does the kind of sensitivity to world events and markets we're seeing anywhere except here on time for 4 minutes welcome back.

the world is driven by shaped by one person. who dares thinks. we dare to ask.

the u.k. and the european union reached a landmark trade deal after 4 years of wrangling the chief briggs it negotiated described the u.k. e.u. divorce as a lose lose deal but prime minister boris johnson was upbeat and his christmas address. this is the least. full of fish by the way and i believe it will be the basis of a happy and successful and stable partnership with our friends in the e.u. for years to come. but getting your dollar to play there is no winner and bracks it's a lose lose situation to separate especially in the world as it is today england the united kingdom has chosen to be solitary rather than stand together people. of arsenal since christmas wish may have come true it's been overshadowed by a tough year of cove it closed borders and economic woes so here taylor picks up the story. it was almost as if he wanted to become

a meme we have so much to look forward to in 2020 it's hard to pin down which one of 2020 stretches he meant the end this practice of negotiations food shortages coronavirus close borders economic collapse felt like. sending. sending a president who home grinch who stole christmas. yet i think what christmas has been known and history he might be like remembered as the prime minister. best so was about a man who wanted to be remembered as the one who got brecht's it done 4 years of preparation for a course he believed in thompson was set up for trial and he even promised back in january that it was often ready all but done we had ended a debate has run for 3 and a half years some would say 47 years i would even mention the name of the can probably. except to say that it begins with billions receding the past behind us

well be rose from the past and a haunted chorus for 11 months that's how long it took to negotiate a deal a deal that has followed praxedis claims could be resolved over a cup of tea 11 months the brink of no deal a nation of disappointed impatient angry people but boris still gave himself a pat on the back we've taken back control of our laws and our destiny we've taken back control of every jot and tittle of regulation in a way that is complete and unfettered who's going to tell him then that this celebration might be a party for one. it sounds like the british team have dropped the ball before the line no wonder they want a christmas eve announcement to hide the fishery sell out today amidst all the debates and details of the trade deal one fundamental truth remains that at the time of global insecurity we're no longer part of one of history's greatest and

most noble project bringing nations together to build peace out of the ruins of war this is a disastrous bragg's it scorches forwards and like all other aspects of bragg's it for students cortlandt against their will it wasn't just brussels that proved to be bogus on doing fresh from a caribbean holiday and still on a post-election high in the new year boris johnson didn't seem too concerned about a never heard of before virus his message was clear don't exaggerate when barry is going up. and when there is a risk that new diseases such as corona virus will trigger a panic while it was a pretty quick descent from fun to this.

but it's hard not to panic when the person who's supposed to be meeting you flip flops and utahns his way through a crisis to the point his own ministers don't know the rules so make it absolutely clear which is that it is. let me i will absolutely get back to christmas would be cancelled actually christmas is off schools are reopening actually you know they're not we're lifting the knocked out actually stay at home little wonder then the confusion on exhaust peroration grew on the confused because you know it's like things are very very quick and we don't get that much information about what's going on and suddenly boom the new school down we don't know what to do so nobody can use and they're feeding on you cannot who's devoted 48 hours so it's so confusing i don't even. know my parents live. there with it so i am allowed to go to do but i don't have

time really and i have to be very very careful what you to do was it a case of bad timing for bojo was 2020 year you just couldn't shine no matter what or was it the man himself who failed to meet one thing's for sure for boris johnson it's been not a hell of a year but rather a year from how. let's look at how the u.k. any you will cooperate from january 1st there will be no tariffs on each of these goods but no limits on trading new border checks have been agreed while the u.k. is pulled out of the long running erasmus student exchange game that exists between universities politicians will return to westminster to vote on this deal on december 30th shortly after the deal was announced scotland's 1st minister nicola sturgeon said britain had lost more than it gained from briggs it and that now scotland had to decide on its future is quote an independent european nation they want a deal as to get mixed feelings among scots and other brits. i think it makes me

feel that these because of a past couple of weeks i should be just so much hype and misinformation and media fatigue because it's been going for so long i hate breaks and i think it's completely retrograde step i think that the feeling of being part of a multinational international. i word looking community i think has been drops in a fantastic i didn't support break so i didn't pull the brakes a i have really guides to not be part of you know petty boy it does make me nervous to think how am i going to get to visit the european cities and you know friends i have to live in spain and in france and other parts of europe it would have been a disaster if there had been no deal so very pleased that there is a deal this is i suppose some people a big christmas present it's just i think if i was really saved in this year i think we will see a return to the troubles that it was it st louis. extremely disappointing. and naive shortsighted government as a for their own short sighted aims as

a. such turmoil practice of the so you have this country is dreadful and you know i'm very very sorry what's happened i think it's really. funny going off to these years but it sort of begs the question as to whether this arrangement is going to be better than the regime that you have to come before we left the european union. argentina officially approved russia sputnik the jump forward mergence e.u. some wednesday officials from both countries said the vaccine would be distributed within days. 300000 doses of the vaccine are on argentinian territory these will be distributed in all the provinces and we will work side by side with the leadership of buenos aires to start mass vaccination. or isn't we are helping argentina which is one of the 1st countries in latin america to receive the russian drug as we say in russia a friend in need is a friend and we held that our vaccine helps to save the lives of millions of

argentine. the plane carrying argentina's 1st batch has already arrived in buenos aires this was on thursday under the supply agreement moscow will provide enough doses for up to 10000000 people live this month the answer time president expressed confidence in the russian vaccine saying that he will be the 1st to take it. and will. in argentina some raise doubts about the quality of russian science to clear everyone's doubts when sputnik v. is here in argentina i will be the 1st one to take that vaccine because i have no doubt about the quality of the vaccine. members of the united states space force of finally being given a name one year after the elite branch of the armed forces was created you think after so much time us top brass would be able to come up with something truly original.

soldiers sailors airmen marines and guardians will be depending on the. set off the bomb at mediately and we'll all be dead. now or be back what i just said.

and that wraps up this news i'll be back with more headlines on our top stories in just about 30 minutes to. join me every thursday on the alex simon show and i'll be speaking to guest on the world of politics sports business i'm show business i'll see you then. this is nothing like football.

that's not a money spinner but it is expensive. mandates dangerous. this is the speed limit. and they have no brakes it's a. coca-cola some. hello

and welcome to worlds apart of george bernard shaw once said that science never solves a problem without creating 10 more fast forward 9. takes on a rather grim meaning considering that according to our guest today there is not a single contaminated square sound tomato left on this planet have we reached the point when science does more harm than good in progress that we so well to discuss that i'm now joined by a friend from his boat professor all he could talks ecology out of northern arizona university i'm all for all the chemical age how can most 4000 and disease killed millions and change their relationship with the earth frame gives good to talk to you thank you very much for your time and can.