diplomacy is. his 1st foreign policy speech the president. taken off china's fly. in the u.k. over. its ownership. urges the e.u. drugs regulator. europe continues to be. we speak to the head. and now we have a high level of antibodies we know that russia has great scientific traditions so

we have no doubts about taking the russian. just a few moments into a brand new day here in moscow friday february the 5th. welcome to the news hour on r.t. . u.s. president joe biden delivered his 1st big foreign policy speech since taking office diplomacy was the tagline used the address let's get more now on the speech. and. the main points that president biden wanted to get across. indeed well joe biden began his 1st foreign policy speech at the u.s. state department saying that america is back diplomacy is back but from there he

went into hinting at some rather hostile feelings toward russia this is what we heard from joe biden the new u.s. president i made it clear to president putin in a manner very different from my predecessor that the days of the united states rolling over in the face of russia's aggressive actions interfering with our elections cyberattacks poisoning its citizens are over we will not hesitate to raise the cost on russia and defend our vital interest on our people now it's worth noting that none of the so-called aggressive actions biden cited have come with concrete evidence that it took place or whether it's interfering in elections cyber attacks or alleged poisoning there is wide contesting of u.s. government claims around such things but such concerns were not acknowledged by the new president of the united states now he did touch on the ongoing conflict in

yemen where civilians have been killed there is a widespread crisis of malnutrition he says the usa will end that conflict this is joe biden speaking in regards to yemen are also stepping up our diplomacy day and the war in yemen a war which is creating a humanitarian is to teach the catastrophe this war has to end and to underscore our commitment we are in need all american support for offensive operations in the war in yemen including relevant arm sales. now he did say that the united states would continue helping saudi arabia to quote defend itself but simply it would withdraw from ofen of operations and ofan weapons the damage seems to already have been done billions of dollars have been made by u.s. military contractors and sales of weapons to saudi arabia meanwhile the humanitarian cost in the country has been devastating the un is describing it as

one of the worst manmade humanitarian crises in history now later in his remarks joe biden said the united states would take the lead when it came to dealing with the climate crisis he also hopes to repair u.s. relations with the nato countries so it was a certainly a significant presentation by joe biden talking about the new approach of the new administration in washington d.c. give thanks very much for breaking the phone for us sorry. been. well let's stay in the u.s. move to washington d.c. were very happy to say michael maloof a former a senior security policy analyst in the office of the secretary of defense joins us live always good to see you michael douglas see is buck the tiger the speech is big tick away it seems but at the same time joe biden voted a hard line against moscow the 2 things to me don't exactly go together do they.

but he needs an adversary and it's kind of that he didn't really names aciphex he just wanted to act tough and that's actually playing to his democrat base they are very very anti russian and i've spoken to some russian officials recently and they said well biden is basically a known entity we've see and they not only biden but the people around him so like sherman and and nuland who will be who's also in this statement put so these are no an entity's to moscow and they know how to deal with them and i think they're not surprised that as far as russia moscow is concerned there's nothing more to sanction so. but biden's speech was mostly to stress the multilateral grimace but what i'm concerned about is that in he didn't seek or push the need for a level playing field in trying to reenergize these alliances and here he almost gave me the impression that he was grovelling to the allies and as far as they're

concerned things have changed in the last 4 years and they may or may not accept the united states back as the leader in nato even though the u.s. will try to impose itself plus i think biden the ministration along with the economy in here who are undoubtedly in his administration will try to push more toward getting nato up against the federation in time and we're going to and already i'm here in indications that the u.s. could use turkey as one possibility as has been a nato member and take advantage of. air to ones the president turkey's assertiveness in primarily in the caucasus central asia or caucuses and central asia and around on and and armenia so. the these are these are potentially explosive. areas that we have to watch and i also see

even though that biden is against air to want to or at least he was. he is probably going to play a slightly different tune with with erda want because he absolutely needs there are no one in nato and so that's. so we're going to see that as for we're seeing troop withdrawals out where would. the freezing of troopers with roll out of germany and i guess that's a nod to trying to bolster nato but there's nothing about it demanding that what trump did in that they continue holding up to their 22 percent. commitment to nato as part of their g.d.p. as i know who touched upon just my got one more point on the russia he said joe biden said he'd be ready to quote raise the cost on moscow what how do you feel

that that's going to be taken by the administration do you think he's already talking sanctions. sure i mean that's that's their normal go to and but everything has been sanctioned already 2 or 3 times and this really i think it's just a show of toughness but what is the reality what is going to do then if there are sanctions died which actually some people within the administration you're right how have you we've heard appearances all that what else could be done anything. not not much they they may try to drawl greater wedges between moscow and and also. turkey for example but the thing that i'm really concerned about is that what you're going to see with israel and and that the need by by biden to join the j c p o way or the iranian nuclear agreement to rejoin now moscow does support that. but and it's really in iran centrist to sort of look favorably on

conditions to do something like that in the build up on it because they've got elections coming up in may or june and for president and iran is wants to avoid having more hardliners take over the government there so but at the same time you have israel who is basically going to. draw a red line when it comes to j.c. p.o. or any derivatives thereof and will ultimately try to engage and provoke him iran in some way because there's no biden will not have the kind of control over netanyahu that trump did and this is and so netanyahu feels he will be a free range so it's going to again we don't see any bold leadership here it's basically leading by from by events and we don't see any dynamic. initiatives being offered by the. biden ministration at this point let me just stay

in the middle east to 1.2 sure her son earlier it was yemen the president to go there at an end to u.s. support for strategic operations in in that country how do you think that's going to affect u.s. saudi relations how do they change under biden. well i think it looks like crown prince been someone has made an effort to try to sweeten the pot if you were and probably will go along with because he does want to have continued arms trade with with the united states he sees united states still as a as a major partner even though biden doesn't trust and solomon but i think biden the administration does see the need for saudi arabia to be to still be allied with the united states otherwise saudi arabia go on its own and or may end it in in fact we've seen where saudi arabia has been supportive of in the past terrorist

groups and we want to avoid that but i think i think that biden will hold back a little bit on on any kind of approvals he has frozen any f. 35 at this point saudi arabia as well as the u.a.e. i think is to do in this for now to gain leverage in there he will continue the normalization process and eventually saudi arabia will join and that is what he ultimately would like so he doesn't want to upset that relationship with saudi arabia so much that he will upset that apple cart now you have the u.a.e. has called out of yemen so and it's not surprising that he wants to stop all of fence of weapons and intelligence support to the saudis against yemen because it is a humanitarian disaster something actually meant to to bring up earlier in the discussion was the new start treaty which this week was prolonged until

2026 another 5 years it had been coming to an end conclusion the last nuclear pact between the u.s. and russia. that's something isn't it that is something that that that happened do you think that that could be the basis for any common ground over the next number of years. well here's what i'm hearing. they feel that that russian officials feel that that is a opening that it could lay lay the groundwork for future future modifications to advance to cover more things in terms of nuclear weapons limits and even launchers now given some of the people who are taking high level positions within the national security council as well as the state department there is some feeling some sense among russian diplomats that this may be

a positive opening unlike what they had before during the trumpet ministration so they're being very cautious cautiously optimistic because people people like mcgurk mcgurk is very straightforward unlike his predecessor jim jefferies and so i think that there may be room for. quieter discussions and a more positive go of going ahead with the other on other areas such as counterterrorism and whatever it could be an opening and i think that with both countries agreeing to that that was a good beginning now that and that's probably where biden will stay will stay when it comes to russia initially are these international agreements and not get into any. close close association with moscow for now unless over time we see a change in attitudes toward both countries but that may be problematic because of

people who will be guiding him who are much more anti russian within his administration just to sum up michael how would you summarize joe biden's 1st big speech as he was president. predictable he is bringing back he's a traditionalist he's bringing back multilateral alliances that's that's is a historic background and it was very predictable and when we see. how he operated when he was in the senate and as chairman of the senate relations committee as well as a vice president everything he said today was very predictable michael as always thank you very much for your time former senior security policy the a list in the office of the u.s. secretary of defense michael maloof thank you thank you. and while the u.s. is michael actually was going through their will to hold its planned withdrawal of 12000 troops from germany while the pentagon conducts a review of the trump era plans the news came just ahead of president biden's foreign policy speech getting our global force posture right making sure that our

global force posture is consistent with our national security and diplomatic priorities secretary austin will lead a global force posture review and during the pendency of that review will freeze any troop redeployments from germany it was donald trump who ordered the removal of american troops in germany he accused berlin a fellow nato member of making a fortune off u.s. soldiers and also of not contributing enough to the alliance the plums were a slum by germany which described it as weakening europe's security infrastructure meanwhile this week military officials announce the arrival of more than 200 u.s. service force personnel in norway significant because that's the 1st ever deployment to the country it is going to include and be one months or squadron which is reportedly there to assist. training flights in the region whatever that's going to entail brian becker from the anti war answer coalition told me he believes

u.s. militarization is only a benefit to big corporations. the u.s. unlike earlier empires that had colonies all over the world united states has military bases in installations as a way to guarantee american power the extension of american power in all of these countries and so the quid pro quo with the nato allies that resuscitate it both l. eyes in defeated and receiver is at the end of world war 2 was that they would agree that their countries would be occupied supplemented basically under the control of the united states and the quid pro quo was the united states would grant them access to different parts of the world market so for the elites in europe it was fine but what's the point what's the point of american troops in germany in a big new areas of military competition between the united states and russia or the united states and china or both is the arctic and of course the ultimate high

ground outer space again the american people don't gain anything from this militarization it's very good for corporations it's good for big business but it's a drain on the national treasury at a time when millions of americans don't have jobs millions have lost their health care why spend money deploying troops elsewhere occupying the arctic or planning to end outer space this is crazy. another big story of potato as flagship news channel has been taken off for altogether in the u.k. c g t n has had its license revoked by media regulator ofcom over concerns the company was ultimately controlled by the chinese communist party the network expressed its disappointment out the decision in an official statement shoddy editor stuff is following developments. well city t.n. has found itself in deep trouble and its future is incredibly unclear as china's state owned broadcaster has had its license revoked by the british regulator the

media watchdog of commodore follows an investigation by the founder of the license used by china global television network had been wrongfully held and therefore doesn't meet the legal requirements here in britain now essentially the company that owns the u.k. license for c t n which is start china media ltd doesn't have day to day control over the channel essentially it doesn't oversee any of the output of the channel again that is totally against the rules now released a statement shortly after the move and said that the company that owns the license didn't have this editorial responsibility we are only able to approve the application to transfer the license to the china global television network corporation because it's alternately controlled by the chinese communist party which is not permitted in the u.k. broadcasting law we provide a c.d.n. with numerous opportunities to come into compliance but this is not done so we now consider it appropriate to withdraw the license for c.d.t and to broadcast in the

u.k. so while this all may read as a technicality the regulator does explain that any company needs to have that editorial control and it cannot be controlled by a political body the revocation though isn't necessarily political in essence but it does read it as such in the technicalities but looking deeper into all of what this means city and is a division from china central television which is controlled by the chinese communist party obviously that is a political body and obviously that is why the company and the channel is now therefore disqualified by off and it's not as simple as simply transferring the license on to a suitable body because again of found the crucial information was missing from the initial application so therefore that wasn't an option on the table for c.t.t. and either of them though did accept that the start. china media limited was found to be the distributor but not the producer and that none of studio t.n.-c. key stakeholders all senior editorial personnel were found to be employed by the

company either so as a result the poor costa will essentially likely face separate sanctions on this matter there is interesting timing in all of this many people would look to the international relations between the united kingdom and china you only have to look at last year to see the numerous mip mishaps from wall way to the hong kong protests and uprisings there so the move is likely to meet with some sort of retaliation and will certainly stoke the tensions between the 2 countries and superpowers once again but just finally there's also a key question here about the freedom of press in the united kingdom as well and what could happen to other media outlets or guests we've spoken to say politics has played a part in the decision dubbing it's a move in the wrong direction. this is critical to these young and in a manifestation of a lead of news each uses will be a huge impact on the image of reaching. people now in china we can't hear the news

from b.b.c. from c.n.n. but. it's very very difficult to hear the voice and. it's a it's a that's a why many people us and do not understand and. china it's a very it's right i think we should. politicize asian media regulation. we. see as many channels as we can possibly have and have a proper view of you know different countries from different perspectives that's showing what again the media landscape looks like that's why i'm worried about and and how it operates and the pressures that are put on. the u.k. is no longer as independent a nation as before it has to come to the pressure of the united states in fact there are also many broadcasters in the u.k. with very strong inference from us and it is and they were not prosecuted c.t.m.

is becoming so intrusion that the praetorians afraid of it it is very important to hear different voices this is the essence of free speech is beyond just a pro causing license is an. issues. a 3rd coronavirus wave led to almost 5000 deaths in portugal last month what the western europe nation's health care system a critical levels germany has now sent a plane with military medics hospital equipment the aircraft transported around 20 doctors and nurses along with ventilators hospital beds german medical stuff will spend 3 weeks treating critically ill patients in the country's capital list bomb before being joined by another teen. well with europe's mass vaccination program still plagued by job shortages italy is no origin the e.u.'s drugs regulator to fast track the evaluation of russia's sputnik the vaccine. we must not be

afraid of the origins of vaccines what's important for us is the transition to the european medicines agency we have urged the e.u. to scientifically evaluate the russian vaccine and those from other countries the situation in the country has been exacerbated by madonna saying it will deliver fewer doses than expected in february the italian government has already said it's planning to take legal action against both pfizer and astra zeneca over a covert in 1000 delays. earlier one of the world's most prominent medical journals the lancet published a study which said that sputnik v. was 91.6 percent effective and was also safe for the elderly with no serious side effects to report we heard from the president of an italian ngo which is urging the e.u. to approve the russian job. in november my whole family received sputnik the jobs back in november and now we have

a high level of antibodies in my family and i trust science science has no borders we know that russia has great scientific traditions so we had no doubts about taking the russian job as of today many european countries including germany france italy would like to receive the russian vaccine numerous requests have already been sent these days it is particularly clear as we see pfizer has to seneca and other companies delaying vaccine supplies and fortunately the virus has no limits as well so these countries have been forced to opt for the russian vaccine whether they want it or not in italy for example despite an unfolding governmental crisis news about sputnik the covers the front pages of virtually all the italian newspapers giorgio polo the chairman of the italian medicines agency which grants permission for the use of vaccines in italy praised sputnik v in one of his latest interviews . or. the e.u.

has been determined to participate in the humbling of the pandemic the blocks to sleep put into practice furthermore there is an issue of vaccines they turned out to be a very expensive trading commodity to give rise to huge competition germany signed a bilateral contract with pfizer for 300000000 doses it certainly did not go down well with other e.u. countries the deals which the e.u. made with various suppliers are still being kept secret we still don't know their terms and why there are delays in the last few days supplies hit the gas though apparently they are trying to overcome these delays related to the deadline which have partly been caused by a virus so confusion. the 1st batch of russia sputnik vicodin vaccine has now arrived in palestine to delivery will be enough to inoculate some 5000 people the local health minister said frontline medical staff the elderly and people with chronic conditions will be given priority palestine was among the 1st

states in the middle east to approve the use of the sputnik the germ of a statewide inoculation program got underway there on choose they following the delivery of the madeira vaccine from israel the u.k. government has been accused of neglecting vulnerable groups by not giving them the necessary assistance during the pandemic benefits for many disabled people in the u.k. have not increased in line with payments for other types of welfare david allen is one such person who's been left out of pocket he says he felt abundant after multiple sclerosis led to him being bedridden sometimes we hear a really new storms where somebody who lives alone has been found dead in the home for several days. potentially that could have happened to me and nobody would have checked up on me even if i did have a carer he would cut we could coming and how we would be allowed to unless it was

formally recognize a social care as a result of the pandemic of the lock down the we've had to rely on giving off to shopping delivered to us my shopping bill normally comes to between $25.35 pounds per week if you're shopping mordor is less than 40 pounds you get whacked with a somehow on delivery charge. pounds i've not budgeted who and bearing in mind i had no increase in my income i have to find it from somewhere so i have to give something else up in order to get my family to live and the reality is for decades people living with long term conditions the abbey lincoln racism benefits i should. have not kept pace with the rise in the cost of living. and that was even before the pandemic his friends and has been compounded even more now we have

a 2 tier system so 100 people who get the universal credit have been given the additional support but those of us on legacy benefits have been given nothing. the majority of disabled people in the u.k. say they've spent more than usual on shopping and utility bills cheering the pandemic nearly 70 percent of gone without essentials and almost half for falling behind on their financial commitments david told us he's even southern the dark to save electricity believes it's the most vulnerable groups have been hit hardest by the pandemic i've left feeling abandoned and forgotten about. and it seems quite convenient for the government to forget people like us and what i find really hard to understand is the mixed messages that we get from government that have been statements about it cheaper to look after people with long term conditions in

their own home rather than putting them into care but we don't get support to the small we actually need to remain around homes there are those people that really struggle has been documented people have taken their own lives as a result of this too many people have been left behind is too many people really really struggling make it hard decision nor do you have the how are the lights on do i have a mayor who don't have the heating on the country believe we're somewhere around the 5th 6th richest country in the world it's outrageous i'm sorry i think our government should be ashamed of themselves. well that is how our news stories are shipping off and i will be here keeping the updates coming at the top of the hour but sit there for more great programs beginning and.

you'll see because that's the norm with the least you can see or news from start to mind she's going to add some stuff to new music with the evil stuff too but i mean that it will go for to admit it but did they look bad oh you could have the evil middle east you could see your new. movie the key that ended the book at c.m. view and more that was a spy.