hundreds of millions of euros or controversial foreign consultants present across government comes under heavy fire for its vaccine distribution campaign. microstates summary now turns to rush's code that shot after e.u. approved vaccines failed to arrive. on the b.b.c. reveals plans to reverse the dominance of american car to the city extremely ambitious targets to get children watching more british culture. in the morning here at international at the weekend good morning the live from moscow this saturday is kevin 0 in for the next 30 minutes with the latest from our

news h.q. weekends going good so far. france has suffered its worst week in the pandemic since november reporting more than 25000 new cases on friday and m.p.'s want to know why foreign consultants with deep ties to president mccrone pocketing huge contracts for a vaccine rollout plagued by delays and failures charlotte to penske reports. as the vaccine rollout in france gains ground questions being asked about the role of private companies and consulting firms involved they said to be playing a major role in the strategy which to many has been a major disaster several companies were hired by the french government between them they have signed contracts with millions and millions of euros the lion's share went to american for kinsey the lucrative contracts signed with mckinsey and not initially disclosed to the public was supposed to help ensure vaccine doses could

be transported across france work you might think is perfectly suited to france's loss network of civil servants so the fact that it's been contracted out to us firm is that many with a bitter taste in their mouths. in government as in our hospitals consulting firm serve policing public administration that astronomical cost why such contempt for civil servants was an admission of an effectiveness and helplessness and our whole state operator what is it for absolutely amazing what is mckinsey doing there we have a ministry of health the ministry of the interior and the ministry of defense that know how to manage crises if we know how to mobilize them this is decay of the state. mckinsey appears to be a particularly poisoned chalice the firm recently agreed to pay more than half a $1000000000.00 to settle lawsuits brought by u.s. states it was accused of fueling the opioid epidemic for its work bursting with

sales of oxycontin a painkiller not a squeaky clean reputation for a firm helping the vaccine roll out. it's a big scam yes for me it's a scam i don't have much to say personally but it's a scam and i'm not really surprised after all it's the government so it is bizarre it's not spoken about in the newspapers here you've spoken about it and we don't talk about it on television or in the newspapers the things that are said in our country it can mean nothing but in another country it's a scandal what can we do here in front no government toying consultancy firms. uncommon these days but what has surprised me is just how quickly this appears to be accelerating calls government to sign some 575 contracts with consultancy firm since october 28th covering everything from economic recovery to.

public sector accounts of big business to be. for around 10 percent of their overall profits so how do people feel. especially since there was a call for tenders all of that was it for french firms to will not because i don't understand why would it be a group that would benefit from these funds that's the story you just told me something actually i trust the government listen listen. i think these are things to deserve to be thought about we do need a private company to think about how we do transportation we still have the french railways air france on getting business. i think we could use them more wisely more courage to do more for france 1st you don't for example he doesn't give enough to front we give the impression that mccrone is no longer the president he does nothing french government has played down the role played by groups like mckinsey

consultancy firms have been used for several years by multiple governments when the elaborate and implement big projects require a strategic or logistical support and advice from what really got people angry here is just how close the consultancy firms like mckinsey are to president macro and with toys going back many years and with such sons lining the pockets of a private american consultancy firm at the same time when the economy here is being laid low by the pandemic many are now asking questions so much even r t s. in other developments san marino has begun vaccinating with russia sputnik the vaccine after deliveries of e.u. approved alternatives have failed to arrive the microstate surrounded by italy isn't an e.u. member so was excluded from blocked deals with pharmaceutical giants overshot supplies it had managed to negotiate a tiny part of each delivery to italy but seeing delays the medical director at

summary state hospital said there were no doubts about russian vaccine quality. we chose the sputnik vaccine because there is an agreement between us and italy through the european union for the supply of money and pfizer vaccines that unfortunately are delayed at the moment therefore given the excellent diplomatic relations with russia we have chosen to get the sputnik the vaccine faster we saw some excellent reviews from renowned international medical journals like the land set or the spawn sanny in rome that have already tested the quality of this vaccine . officials say the russian major can 5 eventually vaccinate some 15 percent of its population of $34000.00 some renos labor minister told us why they made the choice . being an independent state even within the territory of italy and the european union we have the right to make independent decisions and have excellent relations both with e.u.

members and countries outside borders at the moment europe showing an increased interest in the sputnik vaccine and we've reached out instead of staying only inside the e.u. market we acted in the interests of our own citizens and i'm sure that over time more states will draw conclusions and make similar decisions it comes as e.u. states also step up talks to get support for the austrian chance to sebastian coe spoke on the phone with potent about supplies as soon as the european medicines agency approved russian's jab we spoke to one top austrian for all or just about how the scientific community is responding to russia's development. albert is i think that the lancet publication shows that sputnik the is a high quality vaccine we have promising data 91 percent effectiveness which is high demonstrates this is this is a vector based vaccine which means it is injected using a virus into our immune system to form immunity the difference between the other

vector vaccine since it would make v is that it uses 2 different viral vectors and this is important as in some cases the immune system can create antibodies to the vector making the 2nd jab less effective whilst with the has 2 different viruses it makes the back seem more effective. if. the b.b.c. is pumping extra cash to reverse dependence on american cartoons like the simpsons and will cost a certain extraordinary target of 90 percent no less of it being british just the latest sell of who are very old battle and for children's minds show the address daschle reports. let's face it cartoons shaped all of our childhood the simpsons tom and jerry rug rats the looney tunes you name it we've probably spent far too many hours glued to the t.v. . era.

actually to do according to the director of the b.b.c.'s children's department too many cartoons washed here in britain all while not british but i think we can do set our characters in the british setting or at least european when i'm talking now i'm saying what about roast beef instead of turkey we should be thinking about these things children grow up with these cultures why not infuse more of our culture the drive as a developed homegrown animation series aimed at young says a 7 to 12 but should children be told what to watch in favor of promoting british culture or should kids be left to be kids just kind of shift focus i don't think the british people lack identity because they don't have any culture to speak like that in fact just running around london right they can step outside in a strange place and still chat that they need to be understand which coaching isn't have that retail for a young age sometimes kids like to hear something that's familiar towards them at

school or waste time listening to somebody theory makes any difference since it takes you to see the culture is not a big mystery depends on where the country comes from they can't watch it every couple of its critics are american it's really obviously as broad as possible it's going to be the best answer to anything the b.b.c. is even toying with the idea of recreating british versions of the world's most popular cartoon imagine if we could have a version of the seams since for children and families in the u.k. it would be amazing. but is that even possible how it's come up with new things i think i'm kind of the age of remakes deceived on a lot and i cannot. so i quite like mr best new story to town and i think we've been through enough this year tonight as news stories that could probably come up but i would say that yeah would be great to see that like medium come to the u.k. and be more like british and that type of humor i don't know if that would go abroad do you see climate change it seems pretty well maybe the b.b.c.

is on to something here after all there's been huge successes like peppa pig in fact it was so popular that kids across the atlantic were hit with the pepper effect and began imitating british accents it's not the 1st time that foreign cartoons have come under fire a few years ago critics lashed out at a russian cartoon musher in the bag accusing of having a more sinister side being wait for it a propaganda tool. trying to. do just. what it really is something here the cartoons are really used to indoctrinate children's minds and promote interests 30 start the better i guess. dozens of us democrats have signed a letter asking president joe biden to give up his sole authority for nuclear launch is covering that quarter donald trump is nuts for the democrats that's just

an undisputed fact but it seems like they feel he isn't the only head of state who's lost a few of his marbles. you alone possess the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons this thing one person with this authority entails real risks past presidents threaten to attack other countries with nuclear weapons or exhibited behavior that caused other officials to express concern about the president's judgment nearly 30 democrats signed that letter which outlined 4 different ways to reduce presidential power over the nuclear button congressional oversight creating a special counsel consulting the speaker of the house why the need for all these new rules if the guy they say is bonkers isn't in the white house anymore the dems say they just don't want to repeat of the past 4 years but some republicans think the reason is a bit more senile i mean cynical sleepy joe wasn't just a political nickname it appears to be a governing strategy a growing number of democrats who are not concerned about giving joe biden the codes for the nuclear system it's not just republicans though back in election

season one poll said most voters in a number of pivotal swing states felt they had to choose between 2 old guys who were both mentally unfit for the presidency and judging by biden's campaign trail was making things easy for him self when you know they shoot 370 man i'm a creative go when you know that you know thing no man has a right to raise a hand tool and. other than self defense and that's rarely ever occurs and so we have to just change the culture period and keep punching at it and punching out of . the slow sister valerie and i'm just. a showman so the democrats might be scared with that guy behind the nuclear button but it's not much different than having biden at the head of their expanding war agenda the very same democrats for example are saying america's longest war in afghanistan should be even longer. to pull out within several months now is

a very challenging and destabilizing if it's we've got to be able to assure the world and the american public that afghanistan will not be a source of planning plotting to project terrorist attacks around the globe that's the minimum i'm not sure we can do that without some presence there and there's this year's national defense authorization act which the democrats put forward to boost the military budget to a total of around 740000000000 dollars today the house and a strong bipartisan message to the american people are service members and our national security are more important than politics they're clearly not trying to put forward some kind of pacifist agenda so why should biden be at the head of military operations but not have his finger on the nuclear button it could be because mutually assured destruction isn't fun for anyone but in the killing is going on far away anything goes this is out international at the weekend things taken time to chewed in covered up that's another corporation changes the branding of its products to see more socially aware we look at

a growing backlash against progressive. head. is your media a reflection of reality. in a world transformed. what will make you feel safe. isolation community. are you going the right way or are you being led. by. what is true what is. in the world corrupted you need to descend. to join us

in the depth. already made in the shallows. join me every thursday on the alex salmond show and i'll be speaking to guest of the world of politics or business i'm show business i'll see you there. last couple of days next let's check out the latest in the south caucasus what's happening there where the armenian president is now discussed the national unrest with parliamentary group leaders as the capital here advance of his another day of mass opposition protests calling all promised a nickel to quit after his controversial sacking of the armed forces chief thousands really didn't get a vote on friday marching from the parliament building to the presidential and

prime ministers residences and back again and groups have laid siege to parliament since thursday night setting up camps outside and pledging to hold round the clock demonstrations opposition leaders say they want nothing less than the resignation of the prime minister and his allies. the pressure from the public will rice and we will eventually make posh union resign we have an unprecedented situation in our country a government that has lost cannot continue to be the government they need to have the courage to think like statesman like adventurous from the streets and to resign . at the time of the 2800 protests people were in a good state and now everyone is depressed everyone is shocked we've lost the war we've lost thousands of people we've lost territories our prisoners haven't returned so far they're still searching for thousands of people who have gone missing in such a climate it's very hard to do something for

a healthy society the crisis escalated after defied calls for military chiefs to resign and claimed they were trying to stage a coup the country's been on edge since november over the peace still with. the disputed region the other back the government had vowed victory in that war but armenians saw the agreement as a humiliating defeat and protesters reacted to the truce by storming then the government building year of much of the current volatility is being fueled as well by a top level dispute right now over army weaponry the program early claiming that russian made missile systems had failed in the war but the russian defense ministry saying armenia didn't even use that weapon in the conflict. ok. chalk it up a bit of record which one of them. why the iskenderun that fired did not explode or only exploded 10 percent.

of. the prime minister and the governments of all me are no longer able to make adequate decisions in this fateful and critical situation for the armenian people given the current situation the own forces of armenia demand the resignation of the prime minister and the government. that the. power.

to bring up spade we discussed the latest with an army an army officer and also the vice president of the country's national assembly and i presume you that it's yearly that for 30 years the military has been poorly managed in terms of equipment and maintenance this led to the army becoming weak it isn't the army it used to be and pushing and came to power without a team knowledge experience the prime minister was an absolute 0 in military affairs as well as in economics and politics and this management disorganization noncompliance with the mobilization plan the destruction of command and control systems and the dismissal of military officers all this led to the fact that the general staff lost all patience and demanded the supreme commanders resignation. as he was destroying the army this destruction resulted in the loss of 5000 soldiers and tens of thousands of wounded. to communion. its post-war turbulence when the military makes political statements it can only be called

a military coup the military must carry out its immediate task of protecting the borders of the republic politics is not a military matter our colleagues from other countries are emphasizing that this is unacceptable the prime minister has problems with a few military officials following the war and i must say the authorities and the prime minister are in control of the situation putting the blame on one person is wrong it's not fair and there are millions understand that and we all have our share of the blame it's. well if you know it seems one of the easiest ways these days for multimap nationals to look trendy is to make socially progressive changes to classic brands case in point next then as much love toys mr potato head becomes the latest victim of the social justice craze growing numbers though appear to be seeing through the marketing to me trip reports. if you somehow thought there weren't enough corporations using wolk ideology as a marketing strategy well know woke bandwagon is roll when roll and roll and we

have some new passengers 1st off we have hasbro who have announced our huge change so their famous potato head toyed. mystification had to you backstab well actually it's not anymore 2 genders family structure be gone with all of that says hasbro no more mr or mrs potato head no it's just potato head a proper 21st century toy woke and gender neutral now kids of all ages and genders can aspire to be a plastic potato but hasbro isn't actually changing anything about the toy it's just a name change and if you think that this is kind of a lazy and shameless p.r. stunt well you're not alone imagine thinking in the middle of a global pandemic what's really important is dropping the mr from mr potato head

and making him gender neutral in case we upset a few woke ece mrs potato head has also been killed off she will be replaced by a sexual can of pringles but hasbro isn't the only one jumping on the woak wagon oreo have joined into with a very lazy 3 word tweet trance people exist. seriously guys that think any more genius observations like i don't know grass is green water is wet sand is courson rough and gets everywhere if you're going to virtue signal to promote selling your cookies at least pretend like you actually made an effort because unsurprising really most people saw a right through the shameless p.r. stunt sunnen brave to point out the obvious trans people exist as a marketing tool for cooper ations i finish the sentence for you look we get it there's no such thing as bad p.r. but this whole woe corporations thing is really getting old and quite frankly

annoying we get it you're woke just go broke already that's enough of that for a sort of a morning answer up what we're talking about here. for so much more reporting from moscow for me the team have a good day. since it other than. for them if they pay for them as long. as about the him i'm obviously to let. his employer. crocks get that's. just the type to use a punishment to be in the tongues of mom i'm going to have as

a boss is my least been. used to feel good in though it is a. little too melodramas them is but again it was on the other. one else seemed wrong. why don't we just don't. i mean the world to get to shape out these days to come out to it and engagement equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. during the vietnam war u.s. forces also bombs neighboring laos it was a secret war. and for years the american people did not know. until our found my skin is a mouth carry back country per capita. as human history millions of unexploded

bombs still in danger lives in this small agricultural country jordyn wieber thing going on a canal it's happening there even today kids in laos full victims of bombs dropped decades ago is the us making amends for that tragedy in laos what help do the people need in that little land of mines. were more politicized than ever or more polarized than ever the 21st century when speed is measured in megabytes per 2nd. most on their. own of course he'd see him at a tronic mail electronic money electronic media infinite possibilities for exchanging information i mean me and my military wife the freedom of speech and social media bent censorship of double standards who should judge what can be said online.

and that's the internet audience know totals almost 4500000000 almost all of them are active social network users put one wrong move on their pages deleted digital annihilation don't exist anymore. it's not who runs the show on the web how can anyone stand up to the tech giants if even heads of state face the threat of being banned is there any limits to hold that virtual power. reasonable for a nudist but i will the reasonable way. this

is the one business show you can't afford to miss i'm rachel levin then washington coming up rising bond yields are impacting markets and commodities all around the world this week so what does that mean for the future of oil and gold prices all of us got what china is calling on president biden to lift trade restrictions put in place by the left ministration thank you as president yet to back away from the ongoing trade war. which at 1st sight and sound from mars being revealed this week we're taking a look at the role of private companies in space exploration we have a lot to get to so let's get started. the house of representatives is finally set to passed out wong awaited $1.00 trillion dollars stimulus package labeled by democrats as the american rescue plan and a virtual meeting with the nation's governors president biden said the goal for the package is to provide some much needed relief the economic toll this pandemic

continues to tear through our country as broadly as the virus itself. and so we need to comfort the economic you know we we just have to step up the economic toll we have to address with the same aggressiveness and seriousness of purpose as we do the virus and that's what the american rescue plan does instead of chasing covert 19 allows us to get ahead of it. the current package includes $1400.00 stimulus checks $400.00 per week and unemployment insurance $20000000000.00 for a national coded 19 vaccination program and $350000000000.00 for state and local aid it is expected to be sent to the senate on friday nearly 2 weeks before several key provisions from the last package are set to expire. the prices of both gold and oil took a hit on friday with gold declining for the 2nd month in a row as the u.s.

treasury yields remained high oil was also down as a selloff in the bond market lifted the u.s. dollar on top of that we are now learning that last week where a storm in texas led to the 2nd largest natural gas withdrawal in u.s. history so joining me now to discuss apology that mcilvaine me c.e.o. of the mack of any financial group now david let's start with oil here it's now asked in they did that as a result of the production freeze texas likely lost between 18000000 and 40000000 barrels of oil what kind of a long term impact are we looking at here. question i think the long term impacts from the freeze is minimal the real impact was last year when we had the rig count get decimated and so what we really saw as a definitive 2021 event was recalibrating for us production. we continue to expand to get to the point where we are actually putting.